The Princess's Guardian

21

The dance hall is full of people in suits, dresses and weird hairstyles. I'm so thankful that as a shapeshifter, I'm not required to put on anything except for a thin collar with the Sunny's family rest on it. 

The Queen has been keeping close distance to Sunny as she spends the next two hours introducing her daughter to all the eligible bachelors. All of them are humans just like I was and have some sort of high position in politics. A few of them are sons of the Council, which makes me eye them warily for some reason. 

There are a few guys who have no concept of personal space when they try their luck at wooing Sunny, which I unhesitatingly growl at. The Queen constantly gives me warning looks yet I can see that Sunny is thankful that I got them to back off from her. So far, none of the bachelors seem to resonate well with Sunny.

My best friend sneaks from her mother's watch after a while and finds Luna with her friends.

"Save me," Sunny dramatically says, stealing a piece of bread from Luna's plate. 

I choke a laughter out while the others look amused at the Crown Princess. 

"I'm dreading for the day mother does this to me," Luna states in a relaxed state. Leonardo is too busy stuffing himself in food to comment which Geronimo scolds him for. 

"None of them interest you?" Elena asks, wiggling her eyebrows at Sunny.

Sunny rolls her eyes. "Everyone here is acting like they're in The Hunger Games trying to be king instead of staying alive."

No one understands the inside joke except for me, which I shake my head at. Sunny used to be obsessed with The Hunger Games franchise and it reminds me of the times she dragged me to watch them at the cinema when we were younger.

"Man, your Kingdom cooks potatoes so well," Leonardo comments and then let out an exaggerated moan. "Come try, Mikael!"

The winged Guardian, who is dressed like he's ready for war in a military outfit with the Moretti's family crest visible, uses his own spoon and scoop the potato from Leonardo's plate. He hums before commenting, "There's some sort of spice in it that I'm not familiar with... probably native to this land. That's why it tastes unique."

I look at him in surprise. I rarely hear this man speak since his arrival and he strikes me as someone to not piss off. Hearing him talk about food makes him sound more... normal.

"That is our national dish after all," Luna adds with pride. "Now you understand why I always complain about the vegetarian options served in the Academy."

"You weren't kidding, Luna!" Leonardo says. Luna then starts to introduce more food to Mikael, Geronimo and Leonardo. 

"I'm surprised they've not gone fat by the amount of food they both consume," Elena says in amusement, looking at Sunny with a twinkle in her eye. 

"Good metabolism," Sunny replies. "And genetics. Most of my family members have similar-built bodies. I used to be underweight when I was younger despite me eating a lot."

"Fortunate for you, Versatile Princess," Elena says with a smirk. "You have a great figure, except for the fact that you could fly off if a little wind hits you."

Sunny lets out a dramatic gasp and puts both hands to her heart. "How mean!"

In the meantime, Geronimo has quietly sneak into the conversation and clears his throat. He looks at Sunny nervously.

"Pardon the interruption, princess," he says formally. "Your mother has asked me to ask you for a dance."

Sunny's amused expression bleeds instantly into annoyance as she catches her mother nodding encouragingly. She sighs and accepts Geronimo's offer. 

My instincts tense when I realise that Geronimo is going to be in Sunny's personal space. Sunny seems to notice this as she pats me and sends an order through our private mindlink. 

"I allowed Geronimo a dance, so don't do anything unless if I'm truly in danger." Her voice seems to echo through our minds. My instincts made me bow my head a little in acceptance as Geronimo courteously lead Sunny towards a bunch of people twirling around to classical music. An orchestra of Gueses are on stage with a kangaroo Animus as their conductor.

I slowly make my way to the sidelines so that I can keep my eyes on Sunny at all times. I'm surprised to see that Elena follows me silently but ignore her presence. 

After a while, Leonardo and Luna are dancing together among the crowd. Mikael is in the sidelines just like me watching out for any signs of danger. After a song is over with a small applause, more bachelors try their luck to get Sunny to dance with them. The only reason she accepts is because of the Queen.

Yousef and Talia has been checking up on me subtly since I'm technically still under training. No one dares to get close to Mikael or I. Since Elena is brave enough to be near me and my instincts don't mind her presence due to Sunny being comfortable with her, not many dare to ask Elena for a dance.

Until a guy built up the courage to.

"Hi there. Want to dance?" an arrogant guy in stylish suit and have a permanent annoying smirk on his face ask Elena. 

"Nope."

"Why not?"

Does this dude have a death wish? I'm about to help her out and growl at the guy but Elena quickly responds with, "Because I can. I don't owe you an explanation, so scram before I test out my new combat skill I learnt from Caeli Academy on you."

The said guy pales and leaves. I wonder how good the school Luna attends judging on Luna's fighting skills whenever she spars with her sister. 

I huff in amusement, looking at Elena with a silent question. She ignores me and sips her beverage like a badass.

Then, a bunch of people start screaming. People start to flee from the dancing area, concealing my view on Sunny. I growl as my worst fear comes true once again.

I spot Mikael flying towards probably Leonardo's last position with his longsword drawn. Elena leaves her drink as she follows me against the current of people. 

"Get out of the way!" Elena screams at the panicking elitists, revealing a sword that appears out of nowhere. Some people listen and by the time I reach Sunny, I find one of the Council's son holding Sunny hostage. He's attempting to escape with Sunny alive.

I let out a threatening snarl at my enemy, wanting so badly to pounce on him like my instincts scream at me to. My sanity, on the other hand, whispers to me that if I do that, Sunny could easily be killed by accident. Elena is no longer by my side as I gain the kidnapper's full attention.

"Let us leave peacefully or else the princess dies!" the panicking man yells at me, pushing the knife closer to Sunny's neck. My best friends freezes in fear. I let out a louder snarl that gains a flinch from the kidnapper. 

Before anyone can do anything, Elena appears like a ghost from behind and apprehend the kidnapper easily. Sunny runs to me with tears in her eyes. I let out a comforting purr as she hugs me tightly. Despite the chaotic situation we are in, I ensure that I let Sunny know that I am here for her. This is her third assassination attempt. She could have died and no one did anything to prevent it.

I look at Elena who is sprawled unconscious on the wooden tiles. 

"Are you okay, Sunny?" Elena asks in concerned, coming closer to us. My chest rumbles in warning, making Elena stop in consideration. My instincts are going haywire and if Elena makes a mistake, I could easily hurt her by accident.

"I'm okay," my best friend replies shakily and then takes a moment to calm herself down from the close call.

Guese guards are ushering important people out of the hall. I don't spot anyone I recognise around us until I hear a piercing familiar scream. My head turns towards the location of the sounds of someone wheezing and loud frantic stomps of shoes.

"We have to leave," Elena urges, looking around for an alternative exit. Sunny looks torn between wanting to help others and escaping with Elena. 

"Sunny!" Elena snaps. "We need to leave! Come on!"

Without hesitation, Sunny and I follow her, trusting that she won't lead us to our deaths.