MC~The Guardians

Ch. 8

"Tia! Please come out, its been weeks since you've showed your face!" The blonde heard a familiar voice come through the locked door.

"Go away, Nightmare." Tia told her little sister.

"Tia, please just call me Night!" The bluenette again talked through the door.

"Night, please go away. I don't want anyone to get hurt." Tia replied softly and stated down get reflection in the mirror.

Her blonde hair was knotted back in a messy bun. Her green eyes glowed with a powerful intensity. Despite not taking care of herself, her features were more beautiful than ever. What really bothered Tia though, was the fact that her wings were shifted out and visible.

"You still haven't told us what's wrong!" Night pleaded through the door.

"Night. Leave me alone." Tia growled at the door.

She fluttered her wings in discomfort. The blue galaxy patterned wings were relentless, always hurting, or itchy. If they didn't have something wrong with them already, Tia would begin to worry.

"Tia... Are you still mad at me because of what I did to Seto?" A new voice asked.

"Sean. Go. Away." Tia growled.

"No! I'm not going away until you tell us what's wrong!" Prince Sean's voice came again through the locked door.

Tia tried for the five millionth time to shift out of her guardian form. Her wings just wouldn't vanish like they always did whenever she normally shifted.

She sighed in defeat and plopped down on the nearby bed. It was a good thing she had accidentally chosen a guest room to camp out in until she got her mind and body back under control.

"Go away..." She whimpered weakly.

"Night! Sean! There you are! Have you found Tia yet?!" Seto's voice called from a farther distance.

"Oh! Seto! Hehe... No we haven't found Tia, why do you ask?" Night nervously lied to Seto.

"Then why are you both hanging out right here? You should keep looking!" Seto told them, a slight edge to his voice.

"Sure thing, Seto. We just um... Heard a cat meowing and thought that it could maybe... Possibly be Tia!" Sean tried to make up a cover story but was failing miserably.

There was a shuffling and Seto said, "I want to here this cat."

Tia closed her eyes and sighed again and quietly did get best impression of a cat. Surprisingly it was great and she thought she felt a heavy weight on her head. Even she would have been fooled by it. She only hoped Seto would be fooled and leave her alone.

"Tia! Get out here!" Seto yelled and began casting spells at the door.

Tia sat up and again stared down her reflection from her perch on the bed. Nothing was different, until she noticed a pair of matching blue cat ears. And a blue cat tail. She dove off the bed away from the reflection, shrieking.

"Tia?!" She heard her siblings chorus through the door.

The door slammed open and she screamed at them, "NO! GET OUT! GET OUT! GO AWAY!"

She felt all three of her siblings pull her into a group hug, careful to avoid her wings as well as the new cat features.

"Tia. Listen to me." Seto said as the siblings pulled away, he held her shoulders firmly, "This is a normal thing for a guardian to go through. However, it normally happens much later in life. When a guardian's mentor leaves their soul, they normally find the need to either join a pack or go on a journey to find their animal companion. King Ty already has a pack and would be happy to host you as a pack member. Please, take it into consideration..."

"Alright... After I get cleaned up, I will go ask him." Tia said wiping her eyes for tears.

She began to walk away but Seto grabbed her hand, "Hey, Tia. Don't do anything crazy, I don't want the Lox Army to have to fight mom and dad off, again."

Tia smiled and let out a soft chuckle despite her tear stained face.

~

Her mother's face was priceless. Shock, hurt, anger and relief all mixed in one. But in the time she took to analyze his face, her mothers expression turned stony and cold. His face was a full on raging anger. His red eyes burned with a hatred toward his children.

Not just the oldest, he truly hated each one's existence.

It was then that Tia knew that she needed to get her younger siblings away from him. Especially Nightmare.

She might possess powerful illusion magicks -- hence the name -- but she was no match for him. After all, she wasn't of his blood.

"Sean, Nightmare, Seto..." Tia started, ripping her gaze from his crimson eyes, "I think... We should run..."

Seto nodded slowly and noticed the two younger siblings glare in their direction. Tia sighed and grabbed Nightmare. She soon around and as she began to flee, attack spells began firing.

She swept herself and her younger sister behind a pillar.

It was chaos, to say the least... Guests ran about, screams filled the air and army forces began moving in, fighting against the Lory family.

Seto and Sean were out there, fighting and Tia took the responsibility of keeping Nightmare safe. A large crack was heard and Tia watched, horrified, when Seto slammed into a pillar, much like the one they hid behind.

He slid down and Tia spotted a golden blonde man, who Seto ran to fight with. She wasn't sure if he had hurt Seto, but as she clutched the pillar tightly, she realized that her overprotective instincts would be satisfied by bearing his face in.

Not that she actually got to...

She bravely revealed herself from her hiding place, only to be pulled back by a pair if very strong arms. She logged back and recognized the ginger as Mithzan, the drunk man who mistakes Seto and her as squirrels on his lawn.

"What the? Let me go!" Tia shrieked amidst the calamity.

"Princess Tia, eh?" He asked and she nodded, "King Ty told me about your overprotective tendencies... He also told me, if a fight were to break out -- which he predicted -- Ross and I," he made a vague hand gesture to a guard with a helmet on, "Were to take you ladies away from it. So, come on."

He then hoisted Tia over his shoulder and Ross, the other guy, grabbed Nightmare's hand and led her, following closely behind Mithzan.

~

"Hey, Ty. It was brought to my attention that you are the alpha of a pack, are you not?" The blonde asked the king.

He smiled, "Yep! Here, come with me. I'll show you where we train."

He was already walking off and she had to run to catch up to him, "Wait! Ty!"

He turned back, "Hmm?"

"Can I -- *gasp* -- can I join it?" She asked, out of breath from her short sprint. She definitely needed some training if she was that easily winded.

Ty's face exploded with excitement, "YES!"

He them coughed awkwardly as a handful of nearby servants turned towards the commotion.

"Yes, lady Tia. I'd love to have you as a member of Infinity." He held out his hand and she gladly took it.

A golden snake like glittering temdril of...something... Seemed to come from both's sleeves and wrapped it's way down each arms and meet in the middle flooding their vision with a warm golden flash.

"Welcome to infinity, then." Came Ross' voice from behind.

(1,253 words)