8 Christmas

A few days after their picnic, Ronald informed them that they will start training separately in the new year. Right now, Ella and Brooke were out buying groceries for Christmas dinner. Holt and Harry were decorating the dining hall where they will be holding their dinner. All of their friends were invited for the night, including Elijah and Cheryl.

They had told everyone they could bring a +1 but they had to let the guardians know so they could prepare for everyone. Ella had invited Clare, princess of Oceana, and she had invited her brother Elijah. Ella and Brooke came home quickly and started making the food, they didn't trust the boys to cook.

They spent hours making the food for everyone, the workers set the silverware on the table but the guardians said they would set the food later with their friends. The guardians were talking about how excited they were when their first guest arrived.

"Knock, knock!" Clare's voice came from the door.

"Clare!" Ella walked over to her and gave her a hug. "How have you been?"

"I've been great, I should be asking you. What's it like being a guardian?" Clare asks her as they walk over to the table.

"I'm not gonna lie it's been hard but we're enjoying it," Ella shows her where she'll be sitting and they continue talking.

Eventually, all of their friends came and everyone helped bring the food to the table. They were all enjoying their conversations, laughs were going around and everyone had a smile on their face. When they finished eating the table was cleared and dessert was brought. The conversations continued as the night progressed.

They all went out to the garden in the back and sat around the fountain in the middle. Some were talking, some were enjoying the night breeze. Everyone was enjoying the night when Cheryl started talking to Ella.

"Ella," Cheryl sits next to her on the fountain. "Is there something you want to tell us?"

"What would I need to tell you?" Ella narrows her eyes.

"Oh, I don't know. Something along the lines of golden and guardian," Cheryl smirks.

"Yes, I am the Golden Guardian. We are the Golden Guardians," Ella says point blank.

"What?" Elijah asks.

"Yeah," Ella says, nonchalantly. "We are the Golden Guardians."

Elijah slowly nods his head and looks down, eventually walking away for a phone call.

"That's awesome, guys," Clare says.

"You know, I heard a rumor," Cheryl interrupts the guardians before they can thank their friend. "Apparently, Elijah was supposed to be the water guardian but because of his duty to his kingdom, the Ellers picked someone else."

Cheryl casually observes her nails while the others look at each other. Confusion was written all over their faces.

"Is that true, Clare?" Ella asks.

Clare sighs before nodding her head.

"Can the Ellers even do that?" Holt asks.

"Apparently," Harry shrugs.

"Is that why Elijah has been so off since graduation? He knew he was going to be a guardian and he turned it down? Is he crazy?" Ella starts firing questions at Clare.

"I don't know, Ella. He thought it was a good choice at the time but now, I think he regrets it," Clare explains.

"How do you know this?" Adam asks Cheryl.

"I was with him when he was told about it," Cheryl says, watching Ella's expression drop even more.

On the other hand, Prince Adam was furious.

"What do you mean, 'with him'? What were you doing at Oceana?" Adam asks his girlfriend.

"I was dating him-" Cheryl covers her mouth as soon as she says that.

"You cheated on me?" Adam says in a low tone.

"No! I mean, no, of course not," Cheryl walks towards the prince. "I would never."

"You just said you were dating him, you were dating me at that time Cheryl," Adam shakes off her arms trying to calm him down, and walks off. Cheryl follows after him.

"Ella?" Brooke walks over to her friend. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Ella smiles with sad eyes.

"Are you sure?" Brooke asks. Ella simply nods in response.

"I'm gonna go to bed, I'm exhausted," Ella chuckles and stands up.

She walks a few steps forward before almost tripping on her dress, Harry catches her before she can fall. Ella pushes his hands off and continues walking, before she can make it to the door though, she falls down on the pavement. Her friends rush towards her only to find her unconscious.

"What just happened?" Brooke asks. "Ella! Ella, wake up!"

"Hold on," Clare takes some water from the fountain and drags it over Ella's body. "There's poison in her body."

"What? How?" Holt asks furiously.

"I don't know, it must have been from the food," Clare reasons.

"We all ate the same thing!" Brooke raises her voice.

"Cheryl," Holt says. "Cheryl helped bring the plates to the table since we didn't have the workers helping us. She must've done something to her drink or food."

"This isn't ordinary poison. There are common ones you can easily make but this type takes precision to make, only mer-folk know how to make it. It can only be made in specific waters, Cheryl must've paid a large price for this," Clare explains.

"We need to get her inside, the royal doctor can examine her," Harry says.

Brooke stands up and starts moving her arms in circles. The air around Ella starts to raise her off the ground. They take her inside to the medical wing and the doctor meets them inside.

"What happened?" Dr. James asks.

"She's been poisoned," Clare says. "Stonefish venom."

"What?" Dr. James looks at Clare bewildered. "How long?"

"We think ever since dinner," Clare says.

"The only antidote for stonefish venom is to burn it out of her," Dr. James informs them. "I would ask the Fire Guardian but he doesn't know the proper technique. Only Emperor Hades knows how to properly burn this venom out. We have to take her to Hell, now."

"No! We can't, she'll dry up," Brooke interferes.

"Would you rather she die?" The doctor asks.

"No," Brooke says.

"Then we must take her, immediately," Dr. James says.

"We won't get there fast enough," Holt says.

"Us demons have a way of getting there quickly," Dr. James moves so everyone surrounds the bed Ella is laying on. "Everyone hold on to each other."

Dr. James and Clare each put a hand on Ella's shoulder. James closes his eyes and teleports them all to the medical wing of the castle in Hell. He runs out to call the royal doctor and makes sure the emperor is informed.

"They have to be quick," Clare says.

"Wait, I'm confused. How bad is stonefish venom?" Harry asks.

"A stonefish's venom is the deadliest venom in all the oceans. One small prick and your body will go into shock, eventually being unable to move. The venom can spread to all the vital organs and cause them to stop working. It can kill someone in a matter of hours," Clare explains.

"Where is she?" Emperor Hades' voice can be heard from the end of the hallway.

"This way, your Majesty," James can be heard leading him into the room.

"Move out of the way Guardians," Hades says. "I must work quickly."

"Please save her," Brooke looks at him desperately.

"I will," fire erupts from the emperor's hands.