The Guardians of the Jrakkon Stone (Chapter 3 Part 1)

“You!” I snapped my fingers, and a maid ran over reluctantly. “Massage my back. Hurry up. Quit lagging.”

“But Sir-” She started, her hands trembling slightly.

“Don't talk to me that way!” I snapped, making her flinch. “Hurry up, don't you understand orders?”

“Yes Sir.” She replied quietly and started massaging my back as I sat down.

“Ah, much better. Father made me carry a tray of muffins to his office. It was gruel-some work.” I moaned. “It was horrible. I told Father that it would be my last time ever doing something so tiresome.”

The maid stared at me.

“What are you looking at? Hurry up!” I shouted.

“Sorry Sir.” She continued massaging. After a few more minutes I stood up and stretched

“I feel better. Alright, enough.” I started walking towards the door of the room. “I'll make sure Father fires you. You have absolutely horrible massaging skills.” A look of horror spread over the maid's face. I laughed. “You are gullible indeed. I was just joking. You did fairly well compared to that other maid that Father did fire.”

I walked down the hall, leaving the maid in the room. I passed a group of servants who were gossiping about something. “What are you talking about?” I asked suspiciously.

“Oh, it's nothing, Sir.” They hurriedly replied, before they returned to their work.

“Nothing?” I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Well if it was nothing, then why were you standing around talking? Tell me what it is, and I might let you off the hook.”

“P-please Sir,” One of them begged. “W-we were j-just t-t-talking about th-the rumors.”

“Rumors? What rumors?” I asked.

“Sir, there's been rumors. They say that the Guardians have been chosen, and they're powers are being awaken.” A braver servant replied. “Though, for all we know, it probably isn't true.”

“The Guardians? They've been chosen? I see.” I said. “Well, do you know who the Guardians are?”

“Sir, the rumors have told us nothing about who the Guardians are. And I'm sure the gods would keep the Guardians' names quiet.” The servant replied.

“Sir, who do you think are the Guardians?” A different servant asked.

“I hope it's my son.” One of them said. “He's turning sixteen tomorrow.”

“I see.” I said quietly. “Very interesting information you have there. Tell you what, next time you hear something about the Guardians or anything related to the Jrakkon Stone, tell me. If you do, and if it's true, then I will make sure Father boosts your salary.”

As I walked away, I heard them muttering to each other. The Guardians. So they are being awaken. If only I knew who they were. I very much wanted to be one, or to meet one myself. I climbed the stairs up to my room and closed the door behind me.

My room had a blue bed to my right, a closet to my left. A smooth, wooden desk had piles of my homework on top of it. I sat down on my soft, feather bed.

“It seems the gods have interesting taste in who's the Guardians.” A voice said. I sprang up on my feet, and opened my mouth, ready to shout for the guards. My eyes fell on a young lady, who was sitting on my chair. I was stunned. Her black hair tumbled down onto her green robes.

“Who are you?” I asked, though I knew I probably should have said hi.

“There's the third one.” She said with a sigh.

“Third one?” I said.

“Yes, you are the third Guardian to ask me that before saying anything else. I mean can they not say something like 'Hi'?” She said.

“What do you want? If you have no business with me, then get out of my room.”

“Like I said, the gods have odd tastes for the Guardians.” She stood up, smiling. “But I think you'll do fine. You're the Air Guardian. You do understand this right?”

“I'm not a little kid.” I spat. “So what's your name?”

“I can't tell you that. Though I'll answer any other question.” I looked at her.

“Who are you? That's a different question.”

“I'm the gods' servant. Alright, I don't have much time left. I'll be coming back. You need to go to this place. It's between two villages. You need to leave this place and go find the other Guardians by midnight. It should be easy for you. Try using your powers to get you where you need to be. You're the Air Guardian, so use air to push you to the place. Got it?”

“What? I'm going to go with my guards, not with some lame air power.”

“The choice is yours, however, you should listen to my advice. Don't go telling people that you're the Air Guardian, things like these will spread quickly. There are already people who are planning to get the Jrakkon Stone. If you fool around, wobbling about with a bunch of guards, sooner or later someone will betray you for the stone. You need to do this yourself. The only people you can trust are the other Guardians. I would leave tonight at midnight.”

“Don't boss me around. I'm going to do things the way that I want to do things.” I replied. Who did she think she was, bossing me around? “When will you come with my weapon?”

“In the evening, and hopefully no one else will know that you are the Air Guardian.” She said. Then she vanished from sight.

“Hmph.” I said to myself. “We'll just see. You can't boss me around.” I left the room and ran into the butler.

“Oh, Sir! Just in time.” He said. He handed me an envelope. “It's a letter from your Mother.” He followed me back into my room. I sat down on my desk and brushed my homework off my desk. I ripped the envelope open and pulled out a letter.

Dear Ather,

How are you? I am on my way back. I should arrive back home in two days. I miss you so much. I heard from a letter by your Father that he's started giving you jobs to do. He said they were simple ones, like carrying a few things to a different room. I can't imagine how tired you must feel. Remember to take a nap if your tired. When I come back, remember to tell me everything that has happened while I was away. I hope you are well.

Love,

Mother

The butler placed a piece of paper, a quill, and a ink bottle on my desk. I started to write.

Dear Mother,

I am tired. Today I

I crumpled up the paper and threw it behind my shoulder. The butler held a pile of paper up, and I took one. In a few minutes, there were a couple of crumpled sheets of paper sitting behind me. I heard the butler scrambling about, picking them up. I took a fresh sheet of paper and wrote:

Dear Mother,

I am well. Father is making me do tiresome work. Today he made me carry some muffins up to his office. I feel really tired. I can't wait for you to come back from the hospital. When you come back, could you tell Father to stop making me do work? Earlier, I found out that I was the Air Guardian. Isn't that cool? I can't wait to tell you more about it. Yesterday, Father fired a maid because when I asked her to massage my back, she did a poor job. He also fired 2 other servants. Today, Father has only fired 1 maid. She's been here for 1 week and I think she should be very grateful that she could serve us. But she didn't seem to understand that she should be grateful. She threw a bunch of your favorite vases around and she tore up a tapestry. Father is having the vases and the tapestry thrown away. Please come back as soon as possible.

Your son,

Ather

I folded it and sealed it in an envelope. The butler took it and left the room silently. I pushed the chair back and exited the room too. I walked down the hallway, stepping over the plush navy blue rug. I went through a few other halls until I arrived in front of Father's office. I knocked three times.

“Who is it?” Father's deep voice boomed from behind the tall, smooth, wooden doors.

“It's me, Father.” I replied.

“What do you want?” He asked.

“I want to tell you some news.” I said, then added. “Very important news too.”

“Very well, come in.” Father said much more quietly. I pushed the doors open and entered the vast room. The wooden floor had been polished so that it sparkled and shined. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were – of course – filled with books. Father sat in a black, leather, spinning chair. In front of him, a long, smooth desk that had piles of books, documents, and lots more of important stuff.

After all, what did you expect such an important man to have? Father was one of King Derex's Council, a very important job. In front of the desk, there were two plain chairs that were resting on a soft gray rug. There were filing cabinets that were in a corner of the room. A blazing fire sat in the side of the room.

Father placed a piece of paper down – it was probably a letter from King Derex. “Sit down.” He ordered. I sat down quietly. “So what is this important news of yours? If it is a complete waste of my time, you will find yourself in your room for the rest of the evening.”

Father's short brown hair seemed roused up. He must have been running his hand through his hair. His blue eyes looked dull and wearily; bags were under his eyes. Wrinkles covered his face.

“Father, I am the Air Guardian.” I blurted. I had wanted to make it more of a surprise, but I couldn't hold the news anymore. I heard Father scoff.

“You will stay in your room for the rest of the day.” He stood up and walked to one of the bookshelves. “And you will read this book. You better be done with it by tomorrow.” He tossed the book to me, and I caught it.

“Father, don't you believe me? It's true. I saw this one lady with black hair and green robes. She said that I was the Air Guardian! Father, please. At least-”

“You believe that rubbish?!” Father nearly shouted. “There is no such thing as the Jrakkon Stone. And I will not tolerate such nonsense in this house. Go to your room now.”

“Fine then!” I shouted, stamping my foot on the ground. I had stood up and was shaking in fury. “Be that way! I'll go to my room, but I WILL NOT read this rubbish book!” I threw the book hard on the ground and stormed out of the room, slamming the door hard behind me. I stomped my way up the stairs. The servants knew that I was in a bad mood and moved aside as I passed.

Once in my room, I kicked the bed hard. Then I sat down, taking long breaths.

“I never thought that the Air Guardian would ever lose his or her temper.” The lady said.

“Hand me the weapon!” I said, thrusting my hand out to her. “Make it quick! I'll show that Father of mine.”

“I must get something clear first.” She said calmly, sitting on my chair again. “You must not tell anyone else. The other Guardians have so far not told anyone else – well the ones that I've visited twice already.”

“No, I will do things my way!” I roared.

“Then you won't get your weapon. And I'll tell the gods. They can choose a different Air Guardian, very easily.” She said.

I clenched my fists and said, “Fine then! Have it your way!”

“If you tell anyone else about it, then all your doing is killing yourself. And we don't want that kind of mess.” She said. “The Lightning Guardian is already on her way. You need to get to a certain place. That's where you'll be meeting the other Guardians. Here, this is a map. The place that you will be meeting the other Guardians is circled. Understand?”

“Yes.” I yanked the world map from her hands and shoved it in my pocket.

“Good, this is your weapon.” She turned her palm upwards. I stared at it, surprised. In her palm, there lied a long elegant staff.

“A staff? What kind of joke is this? This is such a lame weapon! I was expecting something better, like maybe a sword.” I said, grumbling.

“The Fire Guardian will have the sword, and no two Guardians can have the same weapon.” She replied. “Now take it. Each weapon has already have a spell placed on it. For instance, the gods placed a Freezing Charm on the Water Guardian's arrows.”

“What's the spell on mine?” I asked, picking up the staff and examining it. “There's nothing special about it.” I was tempted to throw it across the room, but I didn't.

“Since you aren't pleased by the weapon that the gods have given you, then I shall tell you. They have placed a Summoning Charm. The Summoning Charm allows you to summon air or anything made of air – which means you can summon gas. ” She explained.

“That's it? That's such a stupid charm! I get a stupid weapon and a stupid charm.” I moaned. “Can't any Guardian summon their element?”

“Well it doesn't just summon things. The Summoning Charm is an easy one to use and not very useful for a Guardian. It's got other tricks. You can try experimenting, but be prepared for some things to go flying.” She replied. “Now, I must go.”

I was still staring at the sleek, silver staff. It was smooth and felt like marble. I looked up and saw that she had left. The staff was extremely light, and it fit my hand perfectly. I marveled at the staff for a few more minutes and decided that if I showed Father this, he would want it for himself. I placed the staff carefully under my bed.. I had also decided that I wasn't going to go and tell anyone about my powers. I was going to stay here until Mother came back, then I would leave.

Note:

If you haven't read the first chapter, this story isn't going to make sense. Hope you liked it!