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Chained Guardian
Preface: Cursed at birth
'Today is my first day of school.' That was the only thing that came to mind as I gathered my things and headed towards the courtyard where my father, older brother Artimus and younger brother Akari were waiting to see me off. "Be brave m'lord," I heard my guardian's voice tell me as he sat on my head in his small dragon form which he always reverted to whenever he was low on energy... You see, Samuel and I were born with these strange 'gifts' as brother Artimus calls them. Whenever we over use our magic, or become weak, we change forms. In Samuel's case, he turns into a small white dragon, while retaining his light blue eyes, and I have the unfortunate curse of turning into an 8 year old kid. In these cursed forms we can't use any of our magic nor can we summon our wings to fly.
I dread going to school with every fiber of my being. I know enough magic to get by already and can fly well enough, but Father says I need to work on my manners and etiquette. He tells me to "behave more like a young lord than a reckless boy." I know as soon as I walk through the doorway that the other kids will make fun of me and call me "freak" or "mutant" or "science experiment reject"... I was already prepared for it, but when I walked in the door and heard it come straight from their mouths when the Sensei was out...It hurt a lot more than I expected. 'Shall I eat them, m'lord?' Samuel said to cheer me up, even though we both know he was the wrong size to eat a normal sized person. 'No, Samuel...try to behave as Father said. We have to become proper lords and make him proud.'
It has been 6 years since I said those words to Samuel when I started my training. Not much has changed, really, except for the fact that I hear less and less of the rude comments, and more is expected of Samuel and I. "Young Lord Kazari, are you listening to me? You need to raise your shield a little higher to lessen the impact, otherwise you will suffer a grave blow," my combat teacher said to me as I was reminiscing about my childhood, which seemed to be gone in an instant. Within a blink of an eye, I felt my body hit the ground hard and my shield shatter. At that moment, I was almost 100% sure I was going to die as my vision faded to black. A few moments later, I heard a faint voice that called my name over and over, getting louder as time passed, until I could hear Samuel's voice clearly. "M'lord, wake up..." Samuel said, hovering over me in his human like form now. Samuel was rather tall for his age, and had light blue eyes, which made them easy to spot even among his somewhat messy, white, shoulder length hair. "M'lord... Master Kanzas just about took off yer head...I thought I lost ya for a moment 'cuz you weren't responding to me when I called out to ya." Samuel said worriedly as he helped me to my feet.
"I think we best quit for today, young lords. Kazari's mind is clearly elsewhere, and I can't train him if he's going to be spaced out the whole time..." Kanzas muttered under his breath for a short while, something unintelligible. "I might really kill the idiot next time..." he said as he took my practice sword from me and began reconstructing my wooden shield (now in splinters) with his magic. Kanzas explained to me once, that when you repair something, all of the original parts must be in place. In this case, my shield is still there...just in a billion pieces. Kanzas rearranges them and attaches them where they should be until the shield is back to its original shape.
"M'lord, you're thinkin' 'bout that human boy you met the last time you snuck out of the palace... aren't ya... you know, he's an exorcist...if ya cross him, he could turn us to dust with one shot..." Samuel said. "Samuel, go distract Artimus-nee-sama so I can sneak out the south wall again, will you? I promise I'll make it up to you." I said pleadingly, looking at him with big eyes. "Fine...don't blame me if he ends up purifying you and turning you into a powerless human." Samuel said, flustered, as he grabbed a rather thick book from the book shelf, called "1001 Ways to Fry a Fish." Artimus loves cooking, after all...'If Samuel asks Artimus-nee-sama to teach him how to cook one of those recipes, it should give me enough time to slip out unnoticed,' I thought to myself as I waved at Samuel.
As I made my way out to the south gate, I heard what sounded like the cocking of a gun and the unmistakable voice of Akari saying, "Kazari ... where are you going?" in a rather harsh voice. "Uh...nowhere, Akari-san hehe..." I said, turning to face him as he lowered his gun. "You're going to the human realm again, aren't you? Father will be very upset if he finds out." Akari said, very matter-of-factly. "I know, Akari...but it's just so interesting there. They have cup ramen, and cherry flavored soda, and ice cream..." I said, thinking of all the foods as I spoke. "Ah... I see. You're going to go eat more of those human foods. I thought you were going to see that exorcist. Don't be surprised that I know about him. Samuel told me that you made a friend in the human realm. Don't worry I won't tell Artimus-nee-sama or Otosama...only if you bring me back what they call a 'cookie', okay?" Akari said awkwardly. "Deal," I said, waving to Akari as I slipped around the corner of the south gate. Within a few moments, I was out of Akari's view. "Please...be careful, Kazari..." Akari said, as he stood at the gate a few moments to make sure no one saw me leave. When he was sure, he returned to his room.
In the next chapter, Kazari meets with a mysterious exorcist, while Samuel gets stuck cooking with Kazari's older brother, Artimus, the city's High Judge, who is in charge of deciding the punishment for people who commit heinous crimes.
 Samuel Alexander · Wed Jun 25, 2008 @ 01:57am · 0 Comments |
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