guardian tales: deviation from the tale

The legendary sword

In the middle of the tranquil night, while I was immersed in a deep and peaceful sleep, I felt something wet and soft licking my face. I wanted to stay lost in Morpheus's arms, but the incessant tickling finally got the better of me. Upon opening my eyes, I saw my dear friend looking at me lovingly. A torrent of joy overwhelmed me to see that he had come to find me, so, unable to resist, I got up and hugged him with all the affection my heart could express, taking special care due to his small and delicate size. "I'm sorry for being absent," I whispered. He responded with another lick, a sweet gesture I interpreted as his way of forgiving me.

Then, I sat with him on my lap and began to explain everything I had been doing during my absence. My excitement at sharing my experiences with him was such that, without even realizing it, I ended up waking Abdiel. I felt a bit embarrassed for interrupting his sleep, but he simply smiled upon seeing me with my little friend. After stretching lazily, he commented, "Wow, he's so cute and small. Do you know him?"

"Of course," I replied without hesitation, "he's a friend I met in the snowy mountains." Abdiel approached and gently petted him before stepping away, saying, "I'll go get some food, be right back." When Abdiel left, I continued telling my little friend my anecdotes.

A few minutes later, he returned with the fruit we could always find in this forest, fresh and juicy. Carefully, he placed it near the campfire and, in an atmosphere of joy and camaraderie, we prepared to eat. Everyone was happy, but especially the little one, who was so delighted to eat something in perfect condition. Once he finished his meal, I lifted him and placed him on my head, then looked at Abdiel and declared confidently, "I'm ready to go." Without hesitation, he took his sword and shield, ready to face whatever came our way.

We continued our journey and, despite the challenges, everything seemed to be going normally. We faced goblins, fought ghosts, solved riddles, and explored secret passages. Wait, did I say normal? Well, putting that aside, we reached a part that seemed like a labyrinth within a forest. Abdiel seemed to know exactly where to go, but just when it seemed we were about to find the exit, we magically ended up back at the start. I thought he had made a mistake, but then he began to take another path while humming a very curious song. He seemed genuinely happy to be in this labyrinth.

After a while, we found a portal. The sight of it left me speechless. Abdiel showed no hesitation and entered immediately. I stood frozen, but my little friend started jumping, as if indicating I should move forward. So I decided to listen to him and, gathering all my courage, entered the portal.

When we finally arrived at that place, we found ourselves on floating blue blocks, all framed by a dark background, a sort of dungeon. This place was not only home to more enemies but also promised more rewards. The atmosphere was both strange and intriguing. But what really left me puzzled was that, after opening the last chest, the three of us were transported back to the labyrinth's exit. At that moment, Abdiel approached me and asked with genuine concern, "Are you okay?" I nodded in response, and we continued our journey.

Shortly after, we spotted a little girl wearing a tiara... Wait a minute! Suddenly, I remembered she was the princess Abdiel had spoken about. And beside her was the lady with closed eyes; they seemed to be engrossed in a conversation. Just as I was about to approach, the lady pushed the girl. At that moment, a robot descended from the sky, piloted by two figures I recognized as Abdiel's rivals. And to my surprise, there was also a... raccoon?

Barely trying to process what was happening, Abdiel launched himself with immense bravery at the robot to prevent them from taking the little princess. At that moment, the battle had begun. Without a second thought, I joined the fray, attacking from a safe distance. Although it initially seemed that the battle would be intense and long, in reality, just a few minutes later, we managed to defeat the adversary. The enemies, defeated, flew off comically, as if they were in a cartoon.

Abdiel, relieved and happy, ran forward and hugged the little princess tightly. The reunion was truly emotional, a moment full of joy and relief. However, amidst that happiness, something caught my attention. I saw a sword, stuck in a stone, which I found very curious. It didn't look like the previous sword, also embedded in a stone. This one was... peculiar, unique in some way.

Not wanting to interrupt Abdiel's emotional reunion, I decided to approach the sword on my own. I took a deep breath, mentally prepared myself, and pulled it out. To my surprise, the sword turned out to be so light that, out of shock, I ended up falling. However, upon opening my eyes, I found myself on another stone, but this one was floating... How is it possible that I'm floating above the planet!?

I was completely lost, unable to understand anything that was happening. I looked up, and before me was a woman claiming to be a queen from many years ago. Behind her was an intimidating figure in the background. I was about to ask her about the figure behind her, but she spoke first with a question: "Wait... who are you?" I looked at her, her eyes reflecting an expression of strangeness I couldn't understand. "I'm Coco, just an Inuit," I replied. The queen seemed puzzled by my response, as if it wasn't what she expected to hear. "No, no, this shouldn't be happening, the legend doesn't..." she murmured. Intrigued, I asked, "Excuse me, what are you talking about?" She looked at me again, this time with a look that scared me, but then she simply said, "Y-yes, if the legend is false, that means, it means..." I was about to discover the meaning of her words when the stone I was on suddenly descended, making me fall. In the distance, I could hear voices; it was the knight and the princess. Then, I felt licks on my face, and in an instant, everything disappeared. I woke up, discovering that it had all been a dream, or so I want to believe.

I awoke in a state of deep confusion, still dazed by recent events. Immediately, I apologized to the others. "I'm sorry for worrying you all," I said in a calm voice. Then, I picked up the sword lying on the ground, still glowing in the air with a strange light. I noticed the little princess looking at the weapon with palpable curiosity. I decided to give her the sword, and in doing so, I felt more relaxed seeing the smile that formed on her face.

However, our brief moment of peace was abruptly interrupted when the mysterious woman with closed eyes appeared out of nowhere and attacked us by surprise. Quickly, she grabbed the sword and prepared to launch another attack. But the little princess, quick and clever, threw a stone to the other side, distracting the woman long enough for Abdiel to launch a surprise attack.

The woman was left motionless, paralyzed by surprise. What happened next was so strange it left me even more bewildered, if that was possible. The woman began cursing us with a voice full of rage, while her body changed shapes in an almost supernatural way. She even took on my appearance for a few brief seconds before completely disappearing into nothingness. We stood there, all completely confused, wondering what had just happened.