The Fifth Guardian

Chapter 2

ARISTIA'S POV

"Aristia, come back here. Your maids will have a heart attack," My Brother called me. They kept me hidden in a different castle from the central kingdom; I wouldn't say I liked it. They told me it was because everyone thought I couldn't be found dead. They wouldn't tell me what I was if it weren't for me harnessing my powers at the age of 3, it was weak, but I could feel the power from my body then. But I needed more training; I could only control sparks and make the wind go in different directions. I was upset that I couldn't control water like my Brother, but he trained me every day, I can't even use my powers too much, or I'll be found.

My Father said that I couldn't fall in love, so all of my guards were female, and all my attendants were female to avoid this. Father told me I couldn't leave this palace no matter the reason.

"Aristia, you are not listening," Aegeus told me while I was running away from him, as always. This is a routine, especially when he leaves for days, and I'm bored out of my mind in this abandoned castle.

"Don't you have training with Damaris or something?" I told him. I was very annoyed with him today, he promised to let me take a peak outside the kingdom for my birthday, but he lied; Father's Father found out and was very mad at both of us. How he found out, we do not know, but I suspect one of the attendants or maids couldn't keep their mouth shut.

I just turned 18 yesterday, the age of all guardians should receive their powers, I was born from a different mother, but we got our Father's hair, gold. But Father said I needed to hide my true hair color because of some prophecy. So he had a mage make a necklace that could turn my hair black, the color of the mother's hair.

But no matter how hard they try, my eyes won't change color. Gold. My mother's eyes are red, and my Father's are blue, but no one met my mother, so they said my mother's eyes were gold. Or people will start asking questions they are not supposed to ask. My Brother and I are half-siblings; I was born a few seconds after he did. His mother was the Queen, and my mother was a concubine, but she was hidden due to her origins, and she wanted to live a peaceful life. Some concubines, when favored by the king, can be the Queen's lady, which is basically when the Queen cannot fulfill her duties to the kingdom and the king, then the Queen's lady will step in and eventually become Queen. My mother had no desire to be Queen; she was just a simple woman with simple needs.

Despite the fact I and my Brother are half-siblings. We might as well be twins, and yet he still treats me like a child.

"Brother, it is very annoying to follow me around," I told my Brother, who was still hot on my tail.

"Well, if you stopped acting like a child, I won't be doing this" I stopped, turned around, and glared at him. I saw the Blue Gem in his sword; it is the guardian sword only guardians can use. Damaris gave it to him yesterday, on his birthday. He was about to say something when he realized I was staring at his sword.

A ceremony was held yesterday; it was a grand tradition of Guardians. When the old Guardian transfers his power to the next in line, my Brother. Aegeus was given different gemstones, and he had to cut his hand and drop blood on each one presented in front of him. This ritual determines what stone will store some of his power in his sword. The stone chooses him; in this case, it is the sapphire. This overjoyed everyone; sapphires are the trademark of our kingdom, and I am happy for my Brother. The Old Guardian, Damaris, had to cut his hand, and he said a few incantations that I did not understand nor listen to. I was distracted by the crowd; I was hidden in the crowd while watching my Brother. He made it happen that I could watch him, but he made me promise to stay clear of Damaris. I couldn't be on his radar when Damaris transferred his power. My Brother's eyes glowed briefly, and I could feel an immense power coming from him, and I started to feel weird. I'm still determining where this originated, but I walked away before anything happened. That feeling went away eventually, but it was very odd.