My Guardian Angel [Chara x Reader]

Ebott Chronicles #1

The town of Ebbot is a child of war. Originally an area landmarked by a treacherous mountain and dense forests, it was a place where nobody dared to settle. Wild animals roamed the enshrouded place, taking refuge in the darkness provided by the canopy. Legends hid in the shadows, slipped through the branches, and dwelled within the mountains. There were few who dared to look into the depths, even fewer who'd adventure into the darkness.

There were two settlements on opposing sides of this ineffable place. Once they got along, trading valuable resources unique to each side. One had direct access to the vast oceans; fishing and alcohol brewing were intrinsically linked to its establishment, while the other was blessed with deep caverns rich in precious metals.

However, it quickly became clear that the two cannot coexist. The side with the precious minerals would always have access to stronger metals and alloys. Their weapons would be able to cut with more efficiency, and their armor would protect with greater certainty. And as if that wasn't enough of a concern to the oceanside settlement, word quickly spread that a type of volatile dust had been invented by the cave dwellers. Dust, that if ignited in a certain way, could catapult even a pebble through someone's skull.

The monarchs of the two sides both knew they were upon the precipice of an abyss.

If the ocean clan kept standing by, who knows how far the other side would advance? For them, it was a matter of cutting out a malignant tumor before it could get out of hand. If they didn't strike now, their nation would forever be at the mercy of the cave dwellers, fearful of an inevitable massacre. The cave dwellers, who although had an upper hand, predicted that if they kept extending their help, the ocean clan would be able use their kindness to catch up, and they couldn't risk giving up their advantage in worthless acts of benevolence.

With this dilemma in mind, the rulers quickly set their eyes on the other civilization in hopes of conquering the other before their own fell. Mere moments before the two nations broke out into full-fledged war preparations, the heirs of the two empires, fearful of mutual destruction, proposed a compromise. The two future rulers will meet in no man's land accompanied by 100 soldiers each, and draw out sustainable borders to keep the lands at peace. Certain that negotiations would break down, the monarchs agreed on this suggestion, hoping that their people, with hearts blackened by hatred, would ceaselessly demand annihilation.

Then came the destined day. The heirs mounted their horses outfitted with their family crests, and soldiers claded with armor and supplied with food the other side had once sold to them, marched toward the doomed meeting, for fate is a cruel mistress. The two sides met at the designated point, the glaring sun reflecting off armor and bayonets on one side and shields and spears on the other. The air was thick with suspense, unyielding eyes stared across both sides, as if demanding the other to try something so they'd have a reason to retaliate. The soldiers were the slightest provocation away from readying their arms, their muscles held taut to the point of cramping.

The heirs met at the center, a princess and a prince. Both held their heads high, a radiant gleam shining off their crowns, determination glowing in their eyes. They would not allow the two nations to destroy each other over nothing. It was a novel cause, to protect the lands they grew up in. They had hoped that the people would see the purpose behind this cause, that they'd see the bloodshed that would be had if negotiations broke down, that they'd understand the devastation a war would bring to both nations.

But they were only human.

Whether it be malice, stress, or a cruel twist of chance, a gunshot rang out in the middle of a tense discussion. And like a powder keg meeting a spark, all hell broke loose. The prince's soldiers surged forward to keep the heir safe, but all the cave dwellers saw was a provocation. They quickly raised their rifles, the inevitable clash finally coming to pass. The heirs yelled for their soldiers to fall back, but their commands fell on deaf ears. The soldiers were already primed for battle, their minds already resigned to a bloody battle where only one side would make it out alive, and so the two sides converged upon each other. Even if they had heard, who knows if they would have been able to stop themselves.

If it were any other battle, maybe the outcome would have been obvious, but because of the circumstances in which the battle began, the cave dwellers were unable to use the advantage their rifles gave. The two sides started too close, the spears offered far more benefits than the small knives at the end of the cave dwellers' rifles. Some managed to get shots off while others didn't even get the chance to aim because of the crush of comrades and enemies in front of them.

At the end of what was supposed to be a diplomatic discussion remained a prince and 39 bloodied troops on one side and nothing but casualties on the other. The heir of the cave dwellers was dead. With her crimson painted sword planted firmly in the ground, dozens of lacerations from spears scattering her body, and a fatal wound through the stomach, she laid upon the ground, leadened eyes gazing upon an azure sky for a naive hope that had already been scattered amongst the winds, just like the lives of those soldiers that had joined her on this accursed campaign.

The prince could only stare at the macabre scene before him. How did things end up like this? It was as if one moment the two heirs were in a cooperative agreement, and the next only he stood before a pile of corpses. He gagged at the sight then nearly doubled over in pain. It wasn't noticeable before during the heat of the battle when emotions and adrenaline were running high, but now his injuries quickly made themselves apparent. The remaining soldiers rushed over to offer assistance, but the prince waved them away in frustration.

He had only sustained a few non-lethal gunshot wounds, but it wasn't himself that he was worried about. This conflict would undoubtedly be the catalyst that begins a war that both nations would regret... if he were to return with his remaining soldiers. There was one last gamble that he could take to prevent this conflict. With this final wager planted in his mind, he steeled his resolve and ordered the rest of the soldiers to return home. Although not without a little hesitation, the soldiers eventually gathered the wounded and began to head back, leaving the prince to the bloodied carnage.

He walked over to the princess's pale body and knelt, gently shutting her eyes and clasping his hands in a prayer. The prince then carefully picked up the princess's cold body, her blood staining his trembling hands, and set off for the cave dweller's settlement, following on the outskirts of the dense forest to his left. He could only hope that this act of reverence would be enough to save a sinking ship.

It's a shame that this ship was already destined to fall into the depths of the sea.

The prince was tentatively let into the city, only to be surrounded by guards. His act of respect was nothing more than a despicable joke in the rose-tinted eyes of those prospectors. From the moment the prince set foot in the cave dweller's settlement, his fate was sealed. A monster that murdered their future queen, a heartless brute that came to gloat about this victory. That's what this place will remember him as. That is what the guards saw when they aimed their rifles at his head.

He fell to his knees, his blood splattering across the princess's body.

...

And thus both heirs of the two nations fell, a bloody war etching itself into the fates of these two nations upon the final breaths of two unsung sovereigns.

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Happy New Year everyone!

A perfect time for a purging fire to make space for the new, don't you think?