The Princess's Guardian

18

The king and queen then shoo their daughters to show the Wind Kingdom royal guests to their room. The group is silent with Luna and Sunny leading them up the stairs to the fancy guest hallways. I keep close to Sunny, constantly eyeing the newcomers warily. My instincts are particularly cautious with the winged Guardian since he's the only one with a longsword. 

The Guese guards bow at us as we walk past them. 

"Nice home you have here, Luna," the Prince says casually, abandoning her royal title.

Luna slows down and cast him an annoyed gaze. "Why are you even here, Leonard? I thought you'd rather stay in the academy with friends than go to a Ball as a dutiful responsible prince," she says sarcastically. I look at them in surprise, now realising that they're familiar with each other.

"You know the Prince well?" Sunny asks the question that's in my mind.

"Yeah! The four of us went to the same academy!" the cheery Prince responds, catching up to Luna's side and place an arm around her shoulders. "Your sister here is popular, smart and the most sought out student during the annual Challenges!"

Luna smacks Leonardo's arms off her while the Princess and cousin laughs at their antics. 

"Flattery doesn't get you anywhere, Prince Leonardo del  Moretti," Princess Elena warns her brother halfheartedly since his Guardian also looks done with the Prince. "We all know that you insisted on coming here just to see Luna."

Leonardo instantly looks embarassed at his sister's blunt honesty. I'm amused as the other prince joins in the teasing of their crown prince. It's amazing to see how chill the Wind Kingdom royals are and how different they are as compared to the Earth Kingdom royals. 

Sunny leads Geronimo to his room whereas Luna leads the siblings to theirs. They settle in quickly so they instantly asked for a tour of the castle. Geronimo and Leonardo are in a deep conversation with Luna in the front, heading for the library.

"So I heard that you caused a massive scandal after choosing your Guardian in a non-traditional way," Elena converses, keeping step yet a distance with Sunny. Elena seems to be aware of how near she can get to Sunny without grating my protective instincts. Once again, the princess wastes no time with pleasantries. 

Sunny raises an eyebrow at her in reply.

Elena raises her hands. "I'm not judging! Just curious about Earth and the beings there especially since you've been there for 8 years."

"Did Luna tell you?" Sunny asks sharply.

Elena looks shocked at the anger in Sunny's tone. "No... Luna was pretty tight-lipped about your whereabouts for years. We heard it after the news that a Hellpod attempted to kill you and you were brought back to Oppenheim. Let me just say, your Kingdom is not great at keeping its secrets."

My best friend sighs in exhaustion. It's apparent that she's trying to comprehend why she's a target and who's responsible for putting a bounty on her. I narrow my eyes at the newcomers, aware that anyone could have been responsible for nearly killing Sunny. If anything, the Ball could be the best place for such an event to occur again.

Now that I'm in a Panther form who's assigned by the Gods and Sunny, I'm not going to let that happen.

"Is that a question or a statement, Princess Elena?" Sunny asks snarkily.

Elena doesn't respond as she grins widely at me. "Hi there! Welcome to Oppenheim! I'm Elena. It had to be tough for you to die, come back, turn into different animals without control, leave your family and planet within weeks and people blaming you for things that are uncontrollable."

For the first time in a long time, someone acknowledge my existence and treat me like an actual person. I like this girl already. I nod at her in greeting. 

"Her name is Jordan," Sunny adds, smiling at me gratefully. I can see a tint of guilt in her posture when Elena outwardly speaks of what I've been going through.

"Nice to meet you too, Jordan! I don't know much about Terra Guardians, so please don't eat my face when I accidentally get too close to Princess Sunderlette," Elena jokes, but I can tell that she's worried of that prospect. I let out a choked laugh while Sunny rolls her eyes again at the brunette. 

"Don't laugh! When Leonardo chose Mikael to be his Guardian, Mikael was super protective of my brother for the first few weeks to the point he pointed that blasted sword at me a few times. I totally get that he didn't mean it since his instincts just force him to comply," Elena babbles, throwing a dirty glance at the winged Guardian. 

"Your brother chose his Guardian?" my best friend asks in astonishment. 

"Yes," Elena answers without hesitance. "It's common knowledge in our Kingdom that the royals have the choice of their Guardian. We believe that it's best to have a lifelong protector with someone who's more willing to sacrifice themselves without the natural instincts that come with the power. That way, the Gods' powers are not abused. It's just the way it is, so no offence!"

Sunny nods in acceptance. "That's nice," she mumbles, looking at me with some sort of assurance. 

"So I've heard that the humans on Earth are very technologically-dependent. Is it true?" Elena asks Sunny in genuine curiosity. From there, a steady flow of conversation is carried out between the two princesses in the library. I tend to nod or shake my heads at different points of the conversation to support Sunny's statements. 

It is the first time since we've arrived in Oppenheim that Sunny lets her guard down and enjoy herself. Elena is a good company for her since the Wind Kingdom princess is knowledgeable. Elena may sound like a rude person, but it's clear that she's very intelligent and curious about the world. 

Just when a butler came to announce that it's lunch time, the two princesses stands up from the antique chairs. 

"After you, Princess Sunderlette," Elena says with a smirk. Sunny walks past her, close enough for the Wind Kingdom princess to smell her flowery perfume. I ignore my instincts that's egging me to growl at the person in Sunny's personal space.

"Call me Sunny."