*
James hadn’t really said anything to anyone after he’d returned home from walking through the park with Anna.
After their conversation, they’d had a little autumn fun together, before finally returning home after a few hours.
Night had replaced the day, and James was lying awake in bed; not wanting to sleep, unknowing what would happen in his dreams this time.
He stared at the ceiling in the dark, trying to fight the fuzzy feeling which quickly caught him. But eventually, sleep got the better of him, and he doze off to sleep.
Or did he?
Lunaria
James woke up; he wasn’t in his bedroom. But where was he, actually?
He sat up and scanned his environment. Stone walls surrounded him, letting in sunlight through two barred holes in the walls, making the room feel like a prison – despite of its fairly large size.
It took James a little longer to realize there were other people sleeping in four other beds as well; he was quick to discover that these four people were his friends.
It was a medieval scene; the beds consisted of a simple wooden frame and a straw mattress covered in linen sheets.
As he continued to look around the room from his sitting position, James noticed a fairly young girl, not older than fourteen, was staring at him from across the room.
She had olive skin and curly hair which had a dark red colour when exposed to light, which was tied into two messy pigtails. She had dark blue eyes, which twinkled with curiosity.
“Hey!” she gasped, as she realized James was looking at her. “You’re awake!”
The girl quickly approached James’s bed, smiling from ear to ear.
“We’ve been waiting for you guys to arrive for so long,” she said. “And now you’re finally here! What’s your name?”
“Uh- James,” James mumbled, slightly confused and still feeling fuzzy. “What’s yours?”
“My name is Rikki,” the girl said. “Nice to meet you, James!”
“Ditto,” James said, as he let his eyes glide through the room, looking over the girl’s head. “So, Rikki- I was wondering if you could tell me where I am?”
“Are you kidding?” Rikki said, her voice filled with both excitement and unbelief. “You’re in Keeper’s Cove!”
James clearly didn’t comprehend, as the name said little to nothing to him; although it did ring a bell in the back of his head, yet he couldn’t put his finger on it. “I’m – where?” he uttered.
If possible, the light in Rikki’s eyes started to sparkle even more. “You really don’t know, do you?” she said quietly, like a young child about to share a secret. James responded by shaking his head; as he touched his left shoulder, he noticed something which seemed to bother him more than the fact that he didn’t know where he was and was talking to a complete stranger.
“Why am I not wearing a shirt?” he exclaimed, instantly withdrawing his hand, as if his skin was scorching it. “I always wear a shirt when I sleep!”
Rikki shrugged. “I don’t think that to be very relevant if you don’t even know that you’re part of the Bond of Light, which means you’re one of the Great Five,” she said.
“What?” James blurted out, remembering the book with the changing drawings. “The Bond of- oh God.”
Rikki tilted her head slightly and pulled a pouty lip. “You really think it’s that bad, huh?” she said. As she noticed James responded with a silent nod, she couldn’t help but frown.
“Well, you better shape up, then,” she said, “as things are about to get a whole lot worse.”
James moaned loudly as he bet over to bury his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. “What have I done?” he moaned, the sound of his voice muffled by his hands. “What did I drag my friends and myself into?”
Rikki offered him a sad smile. “Don’t blame yourself, kiddo,” she said. “You wouldn’t have been able to escape this anyway. It’s fate!”
James removed his face from his hands to look- er, well, stare at her.
Trying hard not to laugh at the uncomprehending look on the boy’s face, Rikki said, “You didn’t find the book, James. It found you. It’s magical, remember?”
James shook his head as he let out a loud sigh, reburying his face in his hands, moaning silently. He only looked up when he heard a familiar voice say his name; he looked up and turned around, to see his sister sitting at the edge of her bed.
“James?” Samira said. “Where are we?” She hadn’t noticed Rikki until then. “Who are you?”
“I’m Rikki,” Rikki said, as Samira walked over to James’s bed. “What’s your name?”
Samira quickly warming up to Rikki, and smiled at her. “I’m Samira,” she said. “Nice to meet you, Rikki.” She then turned to her brother. “Mind telling me where we are, and what we are doing here?” she said, not sounding too happy.
James let out a nervous chuckle. “Uh- long story,” he said, trying to talk his way out of it. Samira moved her hands to her hips and threw her brother an angry glare. “Don’t worry,” she said, “I’ve got plenty of time.”
James let out another nervous chuckle, which quickly ended in a sigh of defeat. “Fine,” he said. “We’re, well... we’re sort of inside the book.”
“Inside the what?” Samira exclaimed, sounding both surprised and angered. James just literally said that they were inside Guardians of Light? But how could they possibly have ended up inside a book? “That’s impossible!” she spoke out her last thoughts.
Rikki looked at Samira with a rather smug expression on her face. “If it’s impossible...” she said, “...then why are you here?”
Samira pointed at the air and opened her mouth as if she was to make a counterargument, but quickly lowered her hand and closed her mouth as she couldn’t come up with one.
“...You’ve got a point,” she grumbled, unwillingly admitting defeat. “But I still don’t get how all of this is possible.”
“Didn’t you listen to the story I told you and the others yesterday?” James said. His voice had a slightly reproaching undertone. “Every century, the Master of Nightmares snatched five children – or young adults – from their beds, to mysteriously disappear... and never return, for that matter.”
“I’ll have to correct you there, though,” Rikki said. “You weren’t brought here by the Master, otherwise you would’ve been roasted long ago. We chose you.”
“We?” James and Samira said simultaneously. Rikki nodded.
“Don’t worry, everything will be explained soon,” she said with a playful wink. “We just have to wait for your friends to wake up.”
James snorted. “Well, good luck with that,” he laughed; Samira couldn’t help but giggle silently as well.
Guardian: Protectors of Light Page 7
