Guarded By Fate

Chapter Two

Karlie had moments of the morning routine that she loved. It always started with Scott softly knocking and speaking through the door. Sometimes it was a, "Morning kiddo!" and other times it would be "Rise and shine Taylor, happy *insert day of the week*."

Karlie always thought it was incredibly sweet and the habit reminded her of her own father. She wondered what her dad might be doing that morning and she wondered if he was as happy as Scott always sounded. She hoped beyond measure that her whole family was healthy and joyful.

Within a few minutes, the smell of Andrea's coffee would inevitably waft upstairs. Karlie would try to guess the flavor of the day. Hazelnut? Macadamia chocolate? Mild morning roast? She sniffed the air one more time. Today's flavor is definitely French Vanilla!

Without a second thought though, Karlie's favorite part of the morning routine is the days like today. Days where Taylor is chipper enough to prance around in her robe while singing into the end of her hairbrush. Despite the weekend starting off with Taylor's tears, it had ended in a majorly exciting way; she had scheduled a meeting at the beginning of the week with a music executive to play for other management at the label.

Karlie had been there for every pivotal moment of Taylor's eighteen years of existence but always felt an overwhelming rush of exhilaration at each rite of passage. The success of this past weekend proved to be no exception.

The message from her Overseer, Ms. Wintour, had provided the same limited information she always got. A date, a time and three key words. This most recent one had been pretty easy to ascertain the significance: Saturday, 8 p.m., Guitar, Performance, and Executive.

Selfishly, Karlie was thankful this had been a happy moment of destiny. Given Taylor's disappointment over the camping trip and Drew's obvious interest in someone else, Karlie had become skeptical and was preparing herself for the possibility of sharing in Taylor's sadness and disenchantment.

That's why this morning she was fully relishing in the sound of Taylor belting out from the bathroom, "When the sun shines, we'll shine together, told you I'd be here forever, Said I'll always be a friend, took an oath I'ma stick it out 'til the end, now that it's raining more than ever, know that we'll still have each other, you can stand under my umbrella, you can stand under my umbrella, (ella ella eh eh eh), under my umbrella."

Out in the bedroom, Karlie caught a glimpse of herself smiling in the makeup mirror as she sat down in Taylor's desk chair. She momentarily tuned out Taylor's singing as she squinted further into the mirror. She began to tug at her cheeks and closely examine the pupils of her eyes. She pulled her face back further and began taking stock of her hair. It had continued to grow out from last fall's shoulder length and it was now perfectly aligned with the bottom of her shoulder blades. Also, her formerly brunette hair was getting lighter day by day and the color was certainly qualifying as sandy blonde.

Although her twenty-one-year old memory and consciousness had remained intact after her Re-awakening, Karlie's physical form had reverted back through her rebirth. Instantly, she began aging simultaneously with Taylor, experiencing only occasional bouts of advanced growth in comparison to Taylor's. As her reflection stared back at her it registered with Karlie just how far her physical features had matured. She glanced over at the desk calendar and counted the weeks. She felt a churning in the pit of her stomach and the palms of her hands became moist and slightly tingly. Sure enough, the day of her accident and inevitable death was approaching in only a few months and the realization filled her with immeasurable anxiety.

Karlie made a mental note to bring up the topic with Lily at their weekly brunch. Although Karlie was a guardian of a destined while Lily was a guardian of the free willed, Lily was often a mentor of sorts to Karlie. Lily has been a guardian for over a century now and had immediately taken to Karlie when they'd first met ten years ago. During that time, Lilly had proven to be more than just a mentor, she had become the closest thing to family Karlie has since losing her biological family.