The Guardian Demon (The Guardians of Nine Heavens #3)

Chapter 2: Mei

The parents helped Johanne pack her things up. She was going to stay in the East Land with her aunts and particularly her younger aunt - Linda's cousin - for a long time.

In the evening, Johanne and Mei were already in their coupé on the train, ready to take off for the Temple City, the capital of the East Land. Johanne, as instructed, wore her Bond Item, the Skull Bracelet, on her arm.

"Ah! I'm so happy! Finally, a new life!" She jumped onto her seat from happiness once the train moved.

"I am glad you are so eager to learn the eastern arts, dear." Mei unfolded her red fan and began to fan her face with it.

"So, anyway, Mei... What are you to my aunt Lucy Caldwell?" Johanne asked. "My mom always says you are her relative, but never specifies of what kind."

Mei started, but then a faint smile flickered behind her red fan:

"Do you know the term 'soul relatives', dear?"

"Huh? Well, kind of..." Johanne blinked in confusion at such a sudden inquiry. "It is written in dad's books that soul relatives are one's soul kin. Soul kinship is only possible between higher-level energy forms such as angels, spirits, and demons. It can also be possible with humans, though, if they had a special interaction with the three higher forms mentioned."

"Yes, it is true. Your aunt Lucy and I are soul relatives."

"Really?!" Johanne's jaw dropped.

"Yes. Both of your aunts have interacted with the higher forms. In Lucy's case, it was with spirits. That is why she is an expert when it comes to the eastern arts, as to how to acquire a guardian spirit. So, she can help you."

"Amazing! So, what kind of soul relatives are you? And how can you be soul relatives? You both are humans, aren't you?"

Instead of giving her answers, Mei covered her charming blush with the red fan and grew silent for some moments. Then, finally, she replied:

"There is often more to this world than meets the eye."

"Huh?" 

Johanne raised an eyebrow at such a vague answer of hers but then decided to cease with her questions - if Mei wanted to give a clear answer, she would've already done so.

The train clunked on the rails, moving steadily towards its destination as the hours flowed by. Johanne was reading a book, but soon she got bored by such passive activities and put the book aside. She glanced at Mei again, who was looking out the window:

"Say, Mei..."

"Hmm?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Mei widened her eyes and grew all red. She quickly covered her face with the red fan again:

"Um, I have a husband..."

Johanne gasped - already a husband? Amazing!

"Why asking so suddenly?" Mei chuckled.

"Well... I am already fifteen but I've never got to be admired by boys, since I lived in Golden City where everyone had an angel, except me. So, I wondered if the East Land was any different."

Mei sighed and put a hand on Johanne's shoulder, giving her a kind smile:

"Johanne, dear, fifteen is a very young age to fall in love. You still have a whole life ahead! And yes, the East Land is different. There, you don't need to be born with an angel (even though such an occurrence is unlikely, even there), because everyone who acquires a spirit at your age, loses their angel (as angels and spirits do not enjoy operating together and prefer to work separately). In the East Land, it is quite common for people of your age to be Former Hosts, thus not have their guardian angels. Do not worry about that."

Johanne beamed - Mei's touch was so comforting, and her smile... was so charming...

She almost seems unearthly... She thought, enraptured by the woman's beauty and grace. If she were a spirit or an angel, I'd wish to form a bond with her.

"So, Mei, what kind of a person is your husband? What is his name? What does he look like?"

"His name is Zefiro. He was named so because the name resembles both 'sapphire' and 'sefirot', and his hair does look like sapphire and emerald joined together." A scarlet blush painted Mei's cheeks as she recollected her beloved man's appearance that had charmed her so much since her deep childhood. "As for 'sefirot', he is a nobleman belonging to one of the highest noble houses in the East Land, thus, his name can be associated with divinity. More than that, he is quite gentle, kind, strict, and well-mannered... He is a man possessing all the virtues - truly a dignified one."

Johanne could see how her friend had already flown into her rainbow-coloured dreams while recalling her husband, so she laughed. The hopes of finding love, friends, and happiness, rekindled in her heart - the East Land might just be too different from her home in the West Land, after all.

"Mei..." she woke her friend from her daydreams, "Do you think I will find my love in the East Land?"

"In time, you will find your true destiny, Johanne. A person whom you're seeking might be the one you least expect."

Johanne raised an eyebrow at this yet another vague answer of Mei. Little did she know, that this answer was the clearest of all she had received - she knew not that her fate was already sealed long ago, and it was not really a blessing... rather a curse.