Death Of The Guardian

The doors were always locked

They'd been that way for as long as Alex could remember, ever since his mum died

Every door would only be opened when there was a reason to be in the room, his dad called it structure, it was supposed to be good for him, his psychiatrist had said structure was good for him

There were also rules, Don't leave the doors unlocked when you're not in a room, don't keep your drinks on the kitchen counter, don't leave the TV on when you're not watching, keep sockets off when not using them, turn sockets off when going to sleep, don't use more than three ports on an extension box, etc

His dad not knowing how to interact with him had created them in the name of structure to help him stay grounded, not that it worked but it only made his dad make even more rules hoping the sheer number would have some effect, creating a vicious cycle by which now the rules where too many to count but somehow his dad kept all of them

So it was that knowing he was breaking at least ten different rules Alex snuck out of his room, in the middle of the night, leaving it open and snuck into the bathroom to use the mirror there

He'd tried to take off the necklace around his neck but found that he couldn't

So knowing that he'd either gone completely crazy or something strange was afoot he decided to examine the necklace in the mirror. Grasping the strange item he examines it closely, it looked like an eye. A palm sized eye the color of freshly melted brass, at the moment the eye was closed but Alex could swear when he felt it around his next, it seemed to glow. Brushing his thumb along the body of the necklace he continues to inspect it feeling the runes and sigils etched along the frame. If it wasn't for the strange coincidence with which he had come to possess it, he would have thought the item was beautiful.

"Beautiful or not this needs to come off my neck." He said reaching for the fine chain which the necklace hung on. He yanks hard, expecting the material to snap with the pull. He wasn't the strongest guy around but he had pretty decent strength when he felt up to it. Rather than giving away like he expected he feels something burn his hand. Snapping his hand back from the sharp sting, he almost doesn't notice the eye snap open revealing a cerulean gem. It functioned like an eye glowing brightly. He stares in awe at it, it was exactly like

The sound of a creaking door caught Alex's attention, his father was up and would surely see the open door and the blankets pulled from the bed from where Alex had tumbled out of it in his haste to get to the bathroom. He scrambles to shut the bathroom door, locking it in case his father had woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

"Aetius," Alex called softly, the gem pulses and a warm feeling spread through his body along with a tinge of grief. Alex swallows, what was he doing, sitting on the tiled floor of his bathroom talking to a piece of jewelry. "That's your name isn't it?" The gem pulses.

"I'm Alex." He introduced with a laugh. "But it seemed you already knew that." Aetius pulses warmly in his hand and a few disjointed and discombobulated thoughts begin to swirl around in his head. Bits and pieces of information swim around making Alex dizzy but the one that stuck out the most was "Friend."

"Yeah, I'm your friend I guess." He muttered. Suddenly there was pound on the bathroom door. Alex jumps from the startling sound and Aetius' eye snaps shut.

"Alexander are you in there?" His father's gruff tone inquires.

"Just a minute." Alex said getting off the floor, he tucks the necklace into his shirt and proceeds to open the door. His father stands in front of him, arms folded and eyebrows furrowed slightly in disapproval.

"We've talked about this Alexander." Alex looks past him to see the cloth trail he had left to get to the bathroom.

"It wasn't my fault this time, I had to get to the bathroom."

"Why?"

"Why? Because I woke up with-" Alex cuts himself off, woke up with what? A magical necklace around his neck? If that didn't book him an earlier appointment with Doctor Ludlov he didn't know what would. His father stares on expectantly.

"Yes?"

"I woke up, with stomach cramps, I thought I was going to throw up. I'll clean it up." Alex said pushing past his father to begin gathering his blankets. He slams his room door shut and sinks to the floor tiredly. He digs Aetius out of his shirt and stares at the eye. No point in denying it was real when he had it on him. It wasn't coming off and the pain he'd felt when he tried to take it off was undeniably real. He sighs.

"What the hell did I just get into?"

ElseWhere

A lone figure sits upon a hill smoking from an ancient pipe, if one were to look at him they would barely be able to make out a face. Every inch of him was covered in words, names to be precise. The harsh winds of the mountain toss his hair and bite at his inked skin. Suddenly a name highlighted by an amber glow shines then burns away into nothing leaving the man wincing, he places a sleeve over the skin and bows his head for a moment in respect of a faded name. He pulls the pipe from his lips and puffs out a ring of smoke.

"So you have passed into the great beyond Shawar, such a shame you were a good guardian." He mutters, placing the pipe back to his lips with the shake of his head. Grabbing the sword beside him he unsheathes it to inspect the blade, giving the weapon a swing he tosses it into the leather bag beside him. He lifts his arm to roll back his shirt, a line of ink bleeds into his skin forming a line of writing to replace the name that was once there. The pipe hangs from his mouth as he inspects the name written there, the name of his new enemy.

"Alexander? What a strange name." He mutters releasing a puff of smoke. "Let's hope he's made of sterner stuff than the Shawar. I can't wait to meet him." The figure stands and retreats into a shelter behind him.

"The empire would love to hear about this."

Asperos

Alanna is awoken by a scream resonating through the palace in the dead of night, bolting from the bed as fast as she can, clad in nothing but a thin nightgown she rushed to the source. She'd know that scream anywhere for it was the scream of her own sister, the oracle.

She arrives to chaos, maids trying to attend to the girl who screamed a writhed in her bed and their mother pacing frantically. Valisse is the first to notice her.

"Alanna!" she calls grabbing her other sister's hand tightly. "Cicile is having a-" the girl's lip wobbles sadly as if trying to hold back tears. Alanna wants to tell her that it's okay to cry, okay to worry but the words won't leave her mouth. Instead, she pets Valisse's blonde hair tenderly.

The screaming stops and Cicile is left sweating and panting in her bed. The queen strides forward going to rest at the girl's side.

"Don't just stand there, bring cloth and water!" Alanna barks at one of the startled maids, she must have been new judging from how shaken she was by the screaming. The young woman hastily bows before rushing out of the room.

"Mother." Cicile rasps, her throat raw from screaming. The queen clutches her hand tightly hoping she could transfer strength to her daughter from touch alone.

"I'm here."

"I have seen it mother, the death of the guardian. Shawar Salim is dead." All who could hear gasped.

"And what of the stone?" The queen asked.

"It is...in some other hands now." Cecile's pained voice says before her eyes close. The maid finally returns with the cool water and soaked the cloth in it. She presses the cloth to the princess' forehead.

"We will handle it from here your majesty." The elder maid bows deeply before the queen. The woman stands and nods, passing a worried look to her daughter who lay there barely drawing a breath.

"Alanna watch over your sister, Valisse come." The queen orders, the youngest of the girls runs to her mother but not before giving her sister one last hug. Alanna places her hand on her chest and bows.

"Yes, my queen."

As the maids worked tending to her sister, Alanna couldn't help but let the forseeance drift across her thoughts. If the guardian was dead, Earth could be theirs for the taking. Asperos could be saved.

If her mother and the council of masks would act before the other realms noticed, they could claim Earth with little to no casualties. Her lips curl into a smirk, maybe she was the Heir after all.