Guardians of Plaxas

Chapter the Fourth: Opal

We arrive at sundown.

All ten of us are watching a movie, which we haven't tried before. I was afraid that Gabriella and Sydney were going to argue about what movie to watch, but, surprisingly, it turns out they both like a good comedy, so we ended up watching a long one, about a kid who joins the circus. But halfway through, Kaitlynn, who had been watching out the window more than she had been watching the movie, jumps up.

"Look, guys, we're here. I see the school!"

It's at the very end of a peninsula. I've never seen the ocean before, because travel was always too dangerous. We were always told that Plaxas is a wanted country, and attacks were often. Only the Chosen, like us, were there to keep them out.

It looks....beautiful. It sort of reminds me of what I always imagined Hogwarts to look like, a magical school from these old books that mom had found in our attic. But there's far less towers, and it seems larger than Hogwarts was.

Nails (who's name, I've found out by now, is Carrie) enters through her little secret door. She has a large grin on her face and her eyes are sparkling in the light.

"Welcome to Emberhelm, the Guardian's base and the school for the Chosen. As we enter the town, you may begin to feel overwhelmed. It's okay to feel this way, almost everyone does. It will pass quickly. Remember, this will be the home for the rest of your life. Treat it with respect and care, and always seek knowledge," she says.

A shout comes from the wall that seems to surround this place. Slowly, the doors on the tall wall begin to heave open, but it doesn't look like anyone had opened it.

The van passes through the wall, and I gasp. Inside is a miniature city. People bustle all around as we pass through a market, though they stop to wave as we pass by, calling things like, "Our new Chosen!" I recognize one or two people from our town, but there are so many other people who I don't recognize.

Buildings surround us on both sides. In front of us, a church stands tall, it's bell tolling 8:00.

I think about Ruby with a pang. She would love this so much. The chatter, the laughter, the bustle of this place. She should be here instead of me.

"Ruby. Ruby!" Bella calls, shaking me out of my thoughts. I jump.

"Huh? Where?" I cry, and Bella looks at me like I'm crazy.

"Oh," I put my hand to my head where a headache has begun to form. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

Bella grins. "Don't you just love it here? It's so....great. Beautiful. Full. I'm so excited to go to this school."

I nod, forcing a smile, but still thinking of Ruby.

The van halts at a tall building. Carrie steps out of the van and opens the back door, standing back so we can step out. Throngs of people stand outside, cheering and hollering for us. But in the crowd, I hear boos and yells, too. Like....people don't want us here.

A middle age man jumps forward in a jump that looks almost like flying, and grabs my arm. "Girl, go back to your town, go, save yourself now. We can't be letting children so young getting into this. Go! Save yourself!"

There's a sudden bang, and smoke surrounds me. When it clears, the man is lying at my feet.

"Randy. No magic in the city. You know that. And stop trying to reach these children. They were chosen to fight for our country, and they will. Now stop," Carrie leads us away from the poor man, and I wonder what he meant.

I glance at Carrie, but she stares stonily ahead. She knows what the man meant. Is there something that she's not telling us? Is there something that the guardians aren't telling the country?