The Princess's Guardian

6

The moment Sunny walks through the portal, I can feel my tiny stomach churn out of uncomfortableness. Sunny seems to be aware of my feelings because she's still stroking me. There's just something about this whole situation that's not causing me to panic the way I should be. 

I peek Sunny's uncle and aunt who is flanking Sunny. The way Sunny addressed her uncle earlier made me think twice about their true relationship. Are they truly family? Why isn't anyone freaking out about the fact that I'm turned into a hamster? Where the hell is this Oppenheim?

"Your Highness," a deep masculine voice grumbles, making Sunny nod at whoever it is. "The King has instructed us to accompany you back to the palace as swift as possible. I am Sir Udenter, the Third in Commander of His Majesty's Royal Guards."

"Thank you for your service, Sir Udenter," Sunny speaks with an accent that I've never heard before. "As we have heard, Prince Alexeter and Princess Anastasia are to be escorted to their home with their own security. I would like assurance that they will go home unharmed."

"Yes, Princess. They will leave right away. Whenever you are ready, Prince and Princess."

With that, Sunny turns to face the two people who have raised Sunny since young. I can see the tears starting to form in her eyes. Her fake aunt Annie - now known as Princess Anastasia - come forward and hug my best friend, mindful that of my presence. Princess Anastasia murmurs how proud she is of Sunny. Next, the less emotional Alex come up and squeeze Sunny's shoulders. It is a gesture I recognise over the years since Alex is not a hugging type. 

Alex glances at me and speaks to me. "We have done our part in protecting and raising Sunny in Earth, Jordan. She saved you from the clutches of death and now it is up to you to protect our future Queen. Please take care of Sunny."

I blink at him and try to nod my fat head to indicate that I will do as he ask. 

Prince Alexeter and Princess Anastasia climb onto their carriage with two beautiful white horses. My mind cannot comprehend when I realise that I can hear the two horses talking about the honour of working for royals. I look at Sunny in disbelief. 

What is this magical world? Am I in Hogwarts?

Sunny's side of the mouth twitches. "Welcome to the Earth Kingdom, Jordan."

"This way, Your Highness," one of the royal guards instructs. Sunny makes her way to her own carriage with many eyes on me. It seems that many are surprised at my presence. Also, have I mentioned that all of the royal guards are walking talking trees with humanoid bodies? They remind me of Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Out of nowhere, my body starts to shake uncontrollably. At first I thought I'm suffering from a heart attack since my heart is beating so fast, but it's not the case when Sunny quickly yet gently place me on the ground. 

"Give her some space, Guards," Sunny snaps angrily when a few curious trees come closer to me. 

My fat body twists once again and bones growing before the rest of my organs follow. My fingers reduce to paws with hidden sharp claws. Although I'm aware of the transformation of my body, I feel no pain unlike earlier. It feels more like I'm a slime trying to pick a shape to form. The transformation exhausts me as my now lean yet still furry body trembles. My eyesight drastically improved as well as my hearing. I can hear the two horses neighing in fright at the sight of me.

"Get her some water!" Sunny commands as she slowly walks to me with her hand out. It is almost as if she's afraid that I would attack her. 

My new instincts are no longer fearful of everything around me. It's the opposite. I feel powerful and intimidating. My instincts prompts me to get up from such vulnerable state and stand proudly.

"Step back, Princess," Sir Udenter warns. I glare at the huge-looking tree with brown leaves as a beard. He keeps one of his hands in front of Sunny almost as if he's pushing her back away from me. 

I snarl in fear for my best friend. My slit eyes on Sir Udenter since he dares to touch her. 

"Move aside, Guard," Sunny orders with a hard glare. "She's worried for me."

He looks hesitant, which makes me growl and dig my claw into the soil beneath me. I am prepared to pounce and attack this person I've never met before. 

"We don't know if she's in control, Princess. She was not trained to handle this gift," another royal guard says with their weapons drawn for emergencies.

"Jordan, it's okay," Sunny says gently, ignoring the guards. "If you are in control, nod twice."

I try to relax my stance as much as possible. Sunny walks closer to me, helping me taking control from the overwhelming animalistic instincts. I nod twice and rumble in displeasure at what's happening to me. Sunny knows that the danger is gone and strokes my huge face. Purrs pour out of me, making her giggle a little.

Based on my deduction skills, I'm probably some sort of feline. 

"I hope the horses don't mind getting me and my Guardian to the palace under unexpected consequences," Sunny says. 

Within minutes, I am able to fit into the carriage with Sunny despite my new form taking up most of the space. I notice that ever since I become Sunny's Guardian and gain this weird shapeshifting talent, I can't stay too far away from Sunny without feeling agitated and protective. My instincts do not allow me to let anyone but Sunny to touch me. 

Everything is so confusing. 

"From what I know, you will be experiencing uncontrollable shifts for the next few weeks," Sunny tells me as we travel through small villages with trees and animals as villagers. "There are some humans under my family's rule, so it will take time for you to master and regain your human body. For now, I'm afraid both you and I have no control over what your body does."

Sunny waves at the villagers once in a while like a true princess, yet most of the attention are on me. A small part of me wonder why. 

"I was supposed to select my Guardian from a small pool of warriors who were trained to protect me," she explains. "They would have known what to expect and I would have been briefed on what to expect. This is why the people here are surprised when they know I picked a foreigner to be one of the top royal security entitlements. The limited knowledge I have on Guardians are restricted to the observation I made on my parents' own Guardians, so I apologise for not knowing anything but the basics. Alex and Annie are not heirs to the throne so they don't know anything about Guardians either. Hence why we had to leave Earth as quickly as possible."

I whimper, desperately wanting to know why she picked me of all people. Judging on Alex's reaction, I know that a lot of people are going to protest my appointment and will probably hate Sunny for going against tradition. I've watched enough of The Crown to know that all royal families have some sort of traditions that they can't go against.

"It was my choice," Sunny answers my silent question. "I couldn't let you die and I know that you're perfect for the job. You're always protecting people from injustice, even when we were young. I don't regret my decision to save your life with the price of making you bounded to me. It doesn't help that we were attacked because of my heritage."

I place my large face on her lap, letting her pat my head. I want to so badly tell her that it's not her fault. Someone out there is sending spiders to kill her and it's definitely not Sunny's fault. 

"You know, I think I prefer you as a hamster than a lioness," she jokingly says.

I roll my eyes at her and playfully bite her hand, making sure that my sharp teeth doesn't penetrate her soft fragile skin.

Somehow, I know that I can never go home and I'm okay with it. Sunny and I already talked about sharing a future once we graduate school, going to the same university, sharing a house, and try to maintain our friendship over the years. Now, we can still do that except that she will be the Queen of her kingdom and I will be her loyal protector with shapeshifting abilities.

This is only the beginning of the hero life that I dreamt of when I was young.