Mundane

Prologue: Angie's Terrible Choice

6 Months Later

Angie lay in a hospital bed, unmoving. She didn't bother to look at the room she had been placed in; she knew that this area would be just as void of color as all the others. A quiet click from the entrance pulled her from her death-like trance.

The thick, white door opened wide to reveal the dark silhouette one of the most beautiful women Angie had ever seen... Holding a child who looked to be about two months old. Angie tried to compose herself. She distantly wondered if she looked like a mad woman.

Angie narrowed her eyes as she recognized the woman to be a royal messenger elve named Ivy. She had dealt with her several times.

Ivy hesitated for a moment, and advanced into the room. The door slammed shut behind her. Ivy quickly plastered an artificial smile on her face that looked more like a smirk.

"Good day Angie. It's been a while hasn't it?"
She spoke in a formal voice with a heavy accent.

Angie grimaced.

"Stop with the damn formalities Ivy. Why are you here? And what's with the baby?"

The grin on her face fled, and left an expression of distaste.
"I suppose your child has changed a bit since you last saw her..."
Ivy half-sneered.

Angie glared at Ivy and turned to look at the sleeping child.

"Oh my lord..."
She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to hold back tears.
"Yuli...I've not seen her since she was born..."

Hot tears ran down Angie's cheeks as she extended her stiff arms to hold her daughter. Ivy begrudgingly gave her the child.

"I could get in a lot of trouble for letting you hold her, so you better not do anything foolish." She placed one hand on her hip, and ran her fingers through her silver hair.

Angie held Yuli close and stroked her tiny curled auburn locks.

"She looks like her father..."
She choked on the word and tear drops landed on the infant's face.

Yuli scrunched her nose and began to whine softly. Angie smiled, feeling more joy than she had since Thomas's murder.

"She has more than his looks." Ivy murmured softly.

Angie lifted her head, suddenly filled with dread.

"Wha...What is it?"

She wasn't sure she wanted to know. Ivy glanced up at Angie, barely able to meet her eyes.

"She's the Guardian*... ."

At that moment, right as Yuli opened her eyes to reveal a stunning violet and coral color,something in Angie snapped.

"You're lying! She can't be! That destiny nearly drove Thomas mad!"

Yuli cried in fright, but Angie paid no attention. She knew that if she looked down she would see Thomas' s eyes... The eyes every Guardian throughout time has had. Ivy took a step back, but remained straight-faced. Her crimson skin seemed to grow brighter with her next words.

"Being chosen is an honor Angie! Even if you do not wish for her to have the power, she does. This is not a curse! An elven queen thirty thousand years ago bestowed it on humanity for-"

Angie cut her off with harsh words,
"I don't care if the damned elve queen from that time meant well! This screwed up Thomas's life, and he barely got permission to marry me just 'cause I wasn't from the palace! He spent his whole life locked in that place just because he was 'special'!I don't want my daughter to grow up like that!"

At that point, Yuli began to scream. Ivy glared venomously at Angie.

She spoke in a low, dangerous tone of voice,
"Your daughter will need proper training. We have yet to discover the talents she has been blessed with. She will live in the palace, as her father did. That. Is. Final."
Ivy annunciated each word precisely, and with the finality of one with orders from the queen.

Her grey eyes were large and stood out even more when placed next to her rose-colored skin. Angie hated those eyes.

"No. She's my daughter. I have rights as a parent."

Angie stared at Ivy with as much strength as she could muster. Ivy smirked, oh how Angie despised that knowing smirk, and spoke in a matter-of-fact voice,
"I'm afraid that the Queen of a nation's wishes overrule that of some nobody woman."
Ivy reached out her hands.
"I've fulfilled my duties. I have informed you of the implications, and it is time for me to return to the nursery with Yuli."

The babe had quieted a bit, but began to whimper as Angie held her tightly to her chest. Yuli wriggled violently, struggling to free herself from the powerful grip of her mother.

"No. Ivy please, you know she deserves a normal life. If she's raised in the palace that will be stolen from her."
Angie whispered in the most persuasive voice she had.

Ivy scowled at her with icy eyes.
"I know that Yuli deserves to live up to her full potential. I know Yuli deserves to live in a beautiful place free of crime. That's what I know."

With those words, a child was brutally separated from her mother. Angie sank into the bed, filled with bitter taste of defeat. Ivy stalked to the door of the room with more grace than any human could have.

"Ivy... Wait..."

The elve turned her head slightly and glanced with emotionless eyes at the weary woman.

"Am I going to see Yuli again?"

Hot tears ran down Angie's face as she cried silently. Ivy's eyes softened.

"I am not aware of anything that will keep you from seeing her."

"Thank you Ivy..."

Angie sobbed quietly as the door clicked shut. After several minutes, Angie became quiet again; she began to replay the conversation in her mind. She pulled herself into a sitting position and set her jaw.

Angie had decided something at that moment, that even if she had to lie and cheat and kill, she would free her daughter from the fate that Thomas had lived with.

* By this point, you're probably wondering what the heck a Guardian is. I hate to tell you, but this is not explained until later in the story! >.<
However, there is a chapter *which is not yet completed, but in the works* in my book, A Textbook Guide to All Things Sylvonna, where you'll get a full explanation on the ins and outs of what a Guardian is (and a little bonus... A brief history of the migration of humans to Sylvonna!) I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :)