CARE

The skies stretched above the royal palace in a soft, perfect blue, without a single cloud to be seen all the way to the horizon. The sun glowed steady at its tallest point, filling Rossmaria with an intense serene warmth, strong enough to hide away the crowds of The Keep into the inner areas of the tower, but soft enough to make a perfect contrast with the refreshing ocean breeze.

Inside the palace, an uncommon stillness could be felt in the air. Nearly everything was functioning just as it should: researchers were invested into their projects, sponsored by the royalty; servants kept everything in the palace working flawlessly, as if they were blood cells taking care of a healthy body; Royal Knights kept watch in their assigned lookout points as always, or in case they were fulfilling their duties as bodyguards, they would be accompanying their assigned royalty member.

However, a rumor was lurking throughout the hallways, all the way from the entrance gates, across the several floors of the palace, up to where the bedrooms of the guardians were carefully placed, in order to have the proper view to protect the city. No one seemed to be sure about what had happened, but it seemed like the infamous teenage guardian, Lady Aelia, had finally taken the misstep everyone in the palace had been expecting to happen. It was just a possibility, but for the first time in history, a guardian might actually be relieved of its duties.

Inai and Fennel sat worried inside Aelia’s room, next to her bed, where the guardian laid in an induced slumber, covered by a lightweight but thick plush blanket. Nearly a quarter of a day had gone by since Aelia had frozen, and Elia was well informed of the situation. She requested Inai and Fennel to keep watch of Aelia, and inform her immediately whenever she woke up. On Elia’s side, she was going to have an emergency meeting with Ataoro, in order to decide how to proceed.

It might have been the warm breeze brushing against the wind chimes at the bedroom’s balcony, that made Aelia make her first sign of waking up. She seemed to tighten her closed eyes, and carefully move her hands, as if trying to check if she could feel them. She started to gently roll her head against the pillow, becoming conscious of where she was at.

Aelia lightly opened her eyes, and Inai stood up in a hasty but careful manner, in order to check if the guardian was conscious.

"Lady Aelia. Can you hear me?" Said Inai in a soothing voice, meant to hide her worries from Aelia, as she carefully grabbed her hand trying to ground her into reality.

Aelia looked around with minimal movement, and managed to recognize her room, with the unfamiliar sight of being accompanied by two people right next to her. She could see Inai close to her with a tender smile, probably too perfect to be honest, and Fennel looking at her with genuinely worried eyes.

"Inai… Fennel…" Whispered Aelia. "I… Thanks for helping me back there."

"Don’t worry my lady. It’s our job to take care of you when this happens." Replied Inai. "We’re glad you’re back with us."

Aelia still felt slight numbness in most of her body, but managed to sit up against the cushioned headboard at her back, with a little help from her grip to Inai’s hand. Fennel also stood up trying to help, but couldn’t be of any use.

Aelia bowed her head down as she arched forward, trying to settle into her sitting position. This movement made her hair drop in front of her, covering her face from her team. She was trying to connect her memories, to distinguish what had been real and what had been a dream.

"Are you alright Lady Aelia? Can you feel your body?" Asked Inai, now with a more sincerely worried tone in her voice, thinking she might still be feeling the sequels from her minds fully disconnecting from her body.

"Yes, thanks Inai." She replied now with slightly more vitality. Aelia took her left hand to her face in order to feel it properly, and was sure she could now completely tell apart dreams from reality. "I think… I think I messed up, team."

"Please, don’t say that my lady. For now, just relax. I’ll go get Miss Elia." Said Inai as she stood up. "Fennel, please take care of Lady Aelia for a while."

"Of course, leave it to me." He said with slightly forced confidence.

Inai left the room, and Aelia kept her head down in silence, with Fennel not knowing what to say.

"Are you alright Aelia?" He asked as if trying to help in whatever way he could.

A few seconds of silence filled the room, with only the soft chiming bells sounding at the entrance of the balcony.

"I really messed up Fennel." Said Aelia in an unstable voice.

"What happened back there?"

"I said things I probably shouldn’t have…" She continued, as Fennel listened carefully. "I told Lord Ataoro, the truth about me. And that truth is enough for me not to be worthy of being a guardian."

Fennel didn’t really understand what Aelia meant with those words, but he thought it was better to listen rather than ask for any details.

"It’s funny how I’ve spent my whole life trapped here, training to be something I’m simply not suited to be." Said Aelia as her voice was slowly starting to crack. "I really don’t think the kingdom will spend any more resources to train a guardian with no vocation. I’m truly sorry… This will probably mean trouble for you and Inai."

"Please don’t say that, Aelia." Said Fennel trying to comfort her.

"I heard from Elia… You worked really hard to get in here. Leaving behind your life at your academy, chasing the dream of becoming a royal researcher like Anise." She said, as she looked at the jade green wristband Anise had gifted her during their farewell. "I wish I knew what it means to leave a life behind… but I do get it must have been hard for you." Aelia took a breath before continuing. "I really hope they keep you in the palace, and that they can assign you to a better team."

"We still know nothing about that Aelia. Please calm down." Replied Fennel. "I’m sure we can still do something."

“There’s nothing we can do. I feel nothing, Fennel. I don’t care about this city, or anyone in it. How am I supposed to be a guardian, when I feel nothing about the people I’m meant to protect." Said Aelia starting to lose her calm. "What… what have I been working for my whole life, if I don’t even have that basic drive?"

Aelia took her hands to her face, adding an additional layer, besides her hair, to cover her broken expression from Fennel. Small spasms across her body revealed how she was struggling to hold back her sobbing.

Fennel got closer to Aelia, and gently put his hand on her upper arm in sign of support. He lowered his sight down to the blanket, which was starting to get wet from the falling tears coming out of Aelia’s hidden face. Looking at Aelia like this was starting to break Fennel too.

As Aelia cried her heart out, Fennel sat next to her in silence, without for a moment letting her hand go from her arm. The least he could do was let her know she wasn’t alone.

Once Aelia calmed down, Fennel stood up and got some tissues, so she could clean her face. She took them, and made the minimal movements required to feel she could keep her decency. However, Aelia now seemed to be lacking all vitality, as she sat there in silence. Fennel didn’t know what to say, but her eyes were starting to seem awfully similar to those she had when she froze down in the depths.

Fennel felt like a worthless human being, as he noticed he was doing nothing helpful to keep Aelia grounded in reality. The fear of her superior, - and maybe even her friend - freezing again on his watch, invaded his mind like a cold shower. He was emotionally drained from seeing her in such a state, but that was no excuse to stay silent. Now he had a clearer idea of what had happened, and maybe he could figure out a solution. But he had no time to lose himself in thoughts as he noticed he was losing Aelia once more. He had to figure something out in the way. He had however a clear intuition of where his thoughts were going.

"Aelia… If I may." He said to the guardian whose eyes were progressively getting duller. "I think you have it all wrong."

These words made Aelia get back to her senses, out of a mix between feeling called out for being wrong, as well as an instinctual curiosity about what was on Fennel’s head.

"We haven’t talked enough for me to say I know you well." Said Fennel in a serene, but confident manner. "But I can say without a doubt, that you care. You care probably more than anyone here in the palace."

"Why… why would you say that?" Replied Aelia with weakness.

Fennel gently took Aelia’s right hand, and touched her tear-soaked wristband.

"It took me a while to remember where I had seen it before. But this was a gift from my mother, right?"

Aelia nodded.

"If you’ve kept this close to you for so long, it means at the very least, that you care about someone out there in the city."

Aelia looked at the wristband with unfocused eyes, trying to process if the idea placed in her minds by Fennel, made any sense.

"And right now, even though it’s your whole life’s work that’s in danger, the first worry in your mind was what would happen to Inai and to me if the team collapsed."

"I guess… I’m not sure of why I thought that way." Said Aelia, who could now focus her eyes better, feeling a bittersweet flow of complex emotions traveling throughout her whole body.

"And probably, more than any other guardian here in the palace." Continued Fennel. "You asked me about the city. About The Keep. You even told me you wanted to talk with me again, to hear more about the coffeehouse my friend is working at."

Aelia seemed a bit confused about this statement, but she seemed to understand where Fennel was heading at.

"For me, that raw, genuine curiosity, is a solid proof that you care about what’s right out there, Aelia." Said Fennel as he looked out in direction to the balcony, where the neighboring towers and The Keep could be seen glowing in the warm white light they reflected from the sun.

Aelia lowered her gaze once again, trying to organize her thoughts in order to decide if what Fennel said made sense to her or not.

"However, that care you talk about, might be just a whim." Said Aelia with cold logic. "The truth is I don’t know how things are out there in the city, or if I would actually feel any need to protect its people if the moment to do so comes. I don’t know and neither do you. I might care about Anise, but what about everyone else? I don’t even know their names, their faces, their stories. I know nothing that could make me care about them, or be willing to work as hard as they need me to, in order to become a proper guardian."

Fennel lowered his gaze, as he sat down, taking a moment to think.

"It’s true. We don’t know, Aelia." Replied Fennel after arranging his thoughts. "But not knowing still opens up the possibility that you might actually care about them if you get to know them. Right?"

Aelia’s eyes widened as if a revelation had just lightened inside her.

"Maybe rather than thinking about what we don’t know, we should focus on the fact that we don’t know it yet." Said Fennel, looking at the guardian straight into her wide opened eyes, that were beginning to reflect a shimmer of hope in them. "Does that make any sense?"

Aelia, was going to answer, when she heard familiar footsteps getting closer to her bedroom from the hallway. She cleaned her face once more, hoping to be presentable before their visitors.

The bedroom door opened without a knock, and Elia entered followed by Inai.

"Actually, it does make sense, Fennel." Replied Aelia to Fennel’s question with a now soft and peaceful smile, without caring if the two other team members were overhearing them.