The Guardian

Chapter 1: The beginning

My parents were out of town for the week, which meant it was up to me to harvest the crops, fill the water tank, and keep the chickens fed until they got back. At least that meant I had some time to myself. I could spend my free time learning to read and practicing techniques with my wooden sword.
I don't even have to go out to hunt for a couple more days. All I had to do was finish organizing the pantry, and then I'd be -

"Hey, you up there!"

I turned around confused, expecting the high-pitched voice to be coming from a kid, but there was no one there when I turned.

"Hello?"
I called out, waiting for a response.

"Uhh, down here, big guy!"
The voice called, but when I looked down, all I saw was a mouse, looking up at me. Maybe I was just going crazy.
I went back to organizing the cans of food in the pantry when the voice spoke again.

"I'm talking to you, you big jerk!"
I turned again, seeing nobody but the mouse. I got down to the floor to see if there was some kid playing a prank on me, then came face to face with the mouse. It had yellow eyes and a little purple scarf. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, it was you who was talking to me, little mouse, dude. Ok, what do you wanna tell me?"

"I need your help!"

My eyes popped wide open as I jumped back in surprise.
"Huh?! Wait, you can talk?!"

The little mouse jumped back in surprise as well, putting their little paw on their heart with their mouth agape.
"Woah! You can talk too? That's really strange, man."

There was a small mouse talking to me in my house. Maybe I was just in a dream. I pinched myself, hoping I'd wake up, but I didn't. The mouse was starting to give me weird looks now.

"Yeah, you human really ARE weird."
The little mouse scurried up a table leg and became level with me, standing on top of an old pot.

"Now listen, big guy, I need your help. Nobody in this village will listen to me, but you will. My name is Rosslyn, and I need your help."

I felt myself back into a wall before I heard the mouse say her name.
"Rosslyn, like the dragon?"

She snapped her little mouse fingers, which I didn't even know was possible.
"Exactly. I got my powers taken away, and now I'm just a rat, but I need your help to get them back. So what do you say, big guy?"

Part of me thought I was going insane, while the other part of me didn't believe this little mouse dude.
"You expect me to believe that your Rosslyn?"

The rat seemed offended. She climbed up a broom propped against the stove, so they were eye to eye with me, then continued.
"I'm Rosslyn, I wouldn't be a talking mouse if I wasn't."

Rosslyn jumped off the broom, knocking it over and turning the stove on. I ran to turn it off, but the broom caught fire as I did. Rosslyn was going through the tin cans in the pantry. "You got any cheese? I've been craving cheese in this new form."

I stomped on the broom to put out the flame, but Rosslyn was knocking down cans. I dove to the floor to catch them before they fall, grabbing one with my left hand, one with my right, and one with my face.
"Sorry, big guy, didn't mean to- OH MY GOD."

I gathered the cans, then put them back in their respective places, and they noticed what they were so excited about. She was hugging and smooching up on a can of habanero cheese. "Oh yeah, baby! I'm gonna eat you up."

I grabbed the can and put it on a higher shelf before she got any ideas. "No, you're not. Now tell me the truth. How can you talk."

The rat rolled her eyes, which I also didn't even know was possible, then sat down on top of a can of fruit. "I'll tell you the reason why. I used to be a dragon, but then some stupid pirate guy stole my powers. So I need your help."