Chapter 1

"Thousands of years ago, Divine Beings created the very first kingdom, the Kingdom of Eyra. It was given the power of the Sun, the greatest magic, hoping to make it the steward of the world they had made. From their providence, they gifted Eyra with five powerful gems to protect it; the earth, the fire, the wind, the water, and purity. Soon, the other two kingdoms were established and it had been nothing but peace and harmony. A balance was present among the different creatures that roamed the world and war was unheard of.

"However, envy and greed came forth, causing division and what may become a permanent scar for everyone. Darkness conquered the heart of one of the greatest mages at that time, wanting to make the world his own. In his mission to dominate and destroy, the world had never seen such chaos and trouble; death was everywhere, blood was shed, and the ugliest of emotions reigned. The peace they once held was taken away and replaced by sorrow and anger.

"To put a stop to it, the Divine Beings entrusted the power of the gems to five noble people of Eyra. And thus, the legend of the five Guardians was born; the Fire Sorcerer, the Ice Sorcerer, the Healer, the Hurricane, and the Purifier. There was no one more powerful than those of the Guardians. They defeated the Dark Mage who wanted to surpass the Divine Beings and gain dominion over all creatures, and their story would forever be told for generations and recorded in every book written.

"It was said that in times of great trouble, the gems would once again choose five Guardians to protect the world and the Kingdom of Eyra."

"And when are they coming back? I wanna meet them!" the little boy listening to her intently shouts in excitement, his eyes bright and cheeks red. Jana laughs at the boy's reaction and ruffles his hair fondly.

"I'm sure you will one day, Jon," she replies with a soft smile. She is not lying, although she kind of hopes she is. The adorable prince squeals in excitement at the idea and proceeds to chant "I can't wait! I can't wait! I can't wait!"

If only he knew…

A laugh is heard behind them and Jana immediately knows who it is. She turns to smile at the Princess, the older sister of Prince Jon, who's looking at them with a grin. Her beautiful hazel brown eyes twinkled as she regards her younger brother who seems to have no plans on stopping in his jumping spree.

"I knew you'd be here disturbing our Head Chef again," she speaks in a mock scolding tone. It is clear that the Princess is trying to keep a straight face despite the smile that's threatening to break out. "Come on, it's time for your bath. The maids are waiting."

As if on cue, one of the said maids entered the room. She, too, is smiling. Nobody can resist the little Prince's charm after all.

Jon stopped jumping around and pouted, looking at his big sister with sad eyes. "But I want to hear more about the Guardians! And it's my birthday tomorrow," he adds the last part, in hopes that he can get away with that reasoning.

The princess almost, almost, falls into the little boy's trap. But she persists. "Oh, you are not giving me those puppy eyes. You will get to hear more of Jana's stories if you will be a good boy and take your bath. Chef Jana shall not be going anywhere so you can always come back." And with narrowed eyes, she continues, "That is if she's not busy."

Prince Jon has always been an obedient and precious boy, so it was to no one's surprise that he easily relents. They, however, didn't miss the stubborn stomping of his feet as he followed the maid to their bathing quarters. Once the boy was out of earshot, the Princess turns back to her.

"Ah, Jana! I'm so sorry for all his troubles."

"Not a problem, Princess Jayne. You know that I enjoy the company of your little brother," she answers easily. The Princess smiles at her, showing a dimple on her right cheek while there was none on the left.

Princess Jayne is only a few years younger than Jana. If she remembers correctly, the Princess is about to celebrate her twentieth birthday this year. They've been close to the hips since the very first day Jana entered the palace. She was one of the lucky ones to get accepted to be part of the Royal Family's cooks, and with hard work (and of course, exceptional cooking skills), she became the youngest Head Chef.

"So it's the legend of the Guardians again?"

Jana nods with half a smile. "It seems like he can't get enough of that."

Jayne sighs. "I wouldn't be surprised, I guess."

"When are you planning to tell him?" was the question that hangs heavy between them. The big elephant in the room. Still, Jana has to ask.

The Princess shrugs. "I'd rather have the King and Queen told him. He's too happy about the idea of the Guardians and heroes and adventures. I wouldn't want to break that happy fantasy of a child… He's still seven. He deserves to have a proper childhood."

The chef nods her head, fully understanding where Jayne is coming from. "How about the Prophecy? Jon is smart, he'll understand what it means."

Again, a shrug. "I know. But…I don't have the heart to break his admiration to the Guardians. It's all he talks about. It would break his heart to find out that his heroes are being treated as villains now."

"Well, not really villains, but…"

Jayne frowns. "We both know what they are thinking, Jana. They're too scared. And sometimes, fear can bring wrong thoughts. There's no way of changing what everyone in the Kingdom, and probably in the world, thinks towards Eyra's Guardians now. It's sad, but that's just how it works."

If only people were not so judging…

"But anyway, thank you for taking care of my mischievous brother," Jayne speaks up again, erasing the gloomy atmosphere that enveloped them a while ago. "I'm meeting Thalia to sneak in the public market and buy something for Jon, so I gotta go now."

Not this again. Sometimes, Jana would rather not know what the Princess is up to. They both know she doesn't need to go to the public market to buy a gift, being the princess with privileges. But of course. "I am thinking of stopping you but I know it's gonna be fruitless. Always be careful, okay?"

Jayne only flashed a silly smile before taking off excitedly, about to do something a princess shouldn't do. "Come back before dinner and bring Thalia! I'll cook your favorites!" she manages to shout before Jayne is completely out of sight.

The only response she gets is a loud "Thank you!" from the princess.

=-=-=-=-=

Wearing a red cloak and putting on the hood to hide her features, Jayne didn't waste a breathe and headed for the back garden. Being the princess of Eyra gives her privileges, and as much as her parents want to keep her in and away from danger, Jayne has access to the palace's wards, making it easy for her to sneak out whenever she needs to.

Or wants to, at that.

She kind of tricked them into giving her access to that, and to this very day, no one (except for Chef Jana, her little brother, and Thalia) knows she's been spending time outside the palace without the watchful eyes of their knights. She couldn't be more thankful that her little brother is good at keeping secrets despite being young and babbly.

Once she's at the right spot, she closes her eyes and raised her hands as yellow dust slowly whirls around her arms, calling her magic and willing the portal to open. A portal that she created herself years ago when she got too tired of dealing with her knights when she's supposed to enjoy her time outside the palace and playing with her best friend. A small black hole became bigger and bigger until it's big enough for her to fit. She climbs over the portal and emerges on the other side of the wall.

Finally, out of the palace.

"Minaaaaa!" her best friend, Thalia, shouts the moment she sees her. Thalia prefers to call her differently than what others usually would (her adorable view of how best friends should be), so she calls her by her other name. Jayne closes the portal before running to her friend who's clearly been waiting for her.

"You're early," she comments, looking around to make sure no one saw them.

Jayne only receives a smile from her, her pretty features glowing the more she grins. "I was able to get away from mom. Did you see her today? She looks grumpy." The last line was said with a pout.

Thalia is the daughter of Jayne's personal maid, so they grew up together in the palace. They hit it off instantly when they met as toddlers, and they just got closer with the fact that Thalia's mother is a very kind woman and Jayne considers as her second mom. Now that she no longer needs someone to take care of her every single need, Thalia's mom was promoted as the head maid. She deserves it and Jayne is very happy for her.

Unlike the princess, Thalia can leave the palace without a knight following her around. Still, they are not allowed to go out and about the Kingdom together without a knight (or a bunch of them!) to 'protect' their most precious princess who actually doesn't need any protection. Which is why they've been meeting outside the back garden since they turned seventeen whenever they wanted to go out and have fun.

"Are you ready?" Thalia asks. Jayne nods and again lifts her hand, the ring around her forefinger glowing yellow as she uses her magic to cover her appearance and Thalia's. This way, people will not be able to recognize them. Thalia did the same, a green glow emanating from the tips of her fingers, supporting Jayne's magic to make it stronger and more stable.

Thalia, despite her tendency to either fool around or space out, is a skillful mage. Jayne could say that her magic is just as powerful, if not more, than herself. She can even talk to plants! Another reason for her not to be afraid to go out without a knight. She knows that they can protect themselves without trouble.

Once they're done, they went on their way to the market, taking the shortcut they've long discovered when they tried exploring the whole kingdom.

"Any exciting stuff happened today?" Thalia asks.

"Nope. I was hoping the exciting part will happen now."

They kick a few rocks on their way. "How about Jon? I'm sure he did something silly again."

Jayne smiles as she's reminded of her little brother. "Still won't shut up about the Guardians. There's no stopping him, honestly. The King and Queen are stressed out about it."

Her best friend laughs, almost tripping on one of the stones as her body shook in giggles. This gives Jayne the time to observe her friend's look today. Her violet hair that falls past her shoulders is tied in a loose ponytail and she is wearing her favorite white button-up shirt with frills on the cuffs. She, too, is wearing a cloak.

Thalia's pretty hazy eyes turn to her as she laughed some more, clearly fond of the little prince giving headaches to the King and Queen. Even in her unruly state, Thalia still looks beautiful. Jayne has always thought of her friend's features as out of this world and ethereal; those angled cheekbones that seem to have been chiseled by angels and lips that always carry a mischievous smile. Her best friend is nothing but beautiful, so it isn't surprising to Jayne that the Head Maid's daughter has a lot of suitors.

"I swear, he will be the death of the Queen," she remarks in between her fits of laughter.

Jayne rolls her eyes but silently agrees in her mind as a smile breaks its way to her face. She crosses her arms and shakes her head in surrender at her friend's antics. "It's not like Jon knows anything. It actually makes us find it harder to explain to him what's happening."

Hearing her statement, Thalia finally stopped laughing, her merry smile turning into a somber expression as she digests what Jayne just mentioned. "So when are you planning to let him know?"

They continue their way to the market, walking around a corner to head to a more deserted area of the kingdom that is connected to a path leading to the central market. Jayne waves her hand, casting a yellow glow around them that's invisible to everyone else. She uses her magic to make it seem like they are speaking in a different language so that other people will not be able to understand what they are talking about.

Just in case someone is lurking around and listening.

"When the time comes… Or at least that's what mom says." Thalia glances at her with a frown on her face. "I know, I know. Trust me, I don't know when that 'right time' is, too. But that's what the Queen has decided. I'm guessing it would be when Jon is old enough to understand."

They both sigh as they continue walking the narrow path that will lead them to the market. Just a few more blocks and they should be there already.

"Is there any news about the Guardians?"

The question makes Jayne sigh even more. These are one of the things she'd rather not dwell on, but being the princess and heir of the kingdom, she must face them head-on as early as now. "No news at all. They're pretty good at hiding, I must say."

"Maybe they're not hiding. Maybe they are not born just yet...." Thalia suggests, but they both know it has been an ongoing argument with the Council of Advisors. Nobody knows if the five Guardians are already born or existed, but they do know that some of them are.

His little brother is one of them after all.

"Jon is still young. You know there's every chance that the other Guardians are not born yet," Thalia says, seeming to be having the same train of thought as Jayne.

She shakes her head, remembering what the Council discussed. "It's more possible that Jon is the last one who's born and the four others have been hiding away the entire time. You know that incident in Mt. Kall years ago, right?"

Thalia nodded, looking just as somber. "That time when the entire village near the mountain got frozen to ice?"

"I'm pretty sure that's because of the Ice Sorcerer. They tried looking for the source of power but found nothing, and the effects slowly dissipated after a few days. Not just that! There are other occurrences as well."

They can almost see the market now and the farther they go, the more crowded their surroundings become. Jayne snaps her fingers to strengthen her magic to make sure that no one would hear them talking.

"I guess you do have a point," Thalia replies, her eyes focusing on the different displays in the market that they can see from afar. "Based on history, the Purifier is always the youngest among the Guardians, so it would make sense if Jon was the last one born and our Kingdom already has the five Guardians roaming around without us knowing."

Jayne can only nod in agreement because that's the same thing that the Council and her parents are thinking. They chose not to let the people of the Kingdom know to avoid panic and unnecessary rallies again. It will be better to try looking for the Guardians in secret and try to stop the prophecy.

If that is even possible.

They finally arrived at the market. It was lively and full of bustling people trying to buy items and have their errands done before midday. The princess can't help but smile as she watches her people go about their lives, smiling and content with the ways of their Kingdom. She cherishes this peaceful and serene state that they currently have, hoping that this peace won't be disturbed.

She is immediately pulled out from her thoughts when Thalia starts pulling her towards one of the stalls, excitedly pointing to a leaf-shaped brooch with green and silver gems accentuating it.

"Oh, this is beautiful!" her best friend exclaims. Jayne rolled her eyes. Trust Thalia to love anything related to plants.

After purchasing the said brooch, they move on to other stalls. Both girls are reminded of the reason why they are there and quickly busied themselves with choosing the best gift for the adorable little prince.

"He'll probably love this magical hourglass," Thalia comments as she picked up the aforementioned item. Jayne nods her head in agreement as she looks at the sand inside the hourglass change color. The merchant selling the item explains that they can set the sand to change color every minute or every hour and it can even be an alarm clock. Jayne herself buys some knick-knacks that seem interesting before they went on.

She looks around, trying to find something suitable for that little monster, until her eyes land on a pair of small leather gloves that would perfectly fit Jon's chubby hands. The seam of the gloves was adorned with shining white jewels that seem to call upon Jayne. She walks towards the stall, forgetting about her best friend as her attention is fully enraptured by the jewels. Her mind is trying to tell her that they are just plain leather gloves and that the jewels are like any other ones, but for some odd reason, she can't take her eyes off them. It's like she's being pulled towards those jewels.

"May I interest you with any of my goods?" a woman speaks, making her look up and tear her eyes from the gloves. Jayne blinks her eyes in surprise since she didn't notice the woman earlier. She was too busy looking at those white jewels.

The said woman had the bottom part of her face hidden with a shawl so that only her knowing red eyes and black hair can be seen. She is very pretty, the princess observes.

"Um… Yeah, how much are these?" Even though the woman had her mouth covered, Jayne knew she was smiling at her. There is something about the woman that she couldn't pinpoint, but she'd think about that later. She'd rather focus on buying those leather gloves now.

"Oh, these beautiful gloves are only 20 silver coins," she replied, her eyes twinkling with something Jayne can't figure out.

There's...something wrong about this.

"Okay, I'll take it." The princess hurriedly reaches out for her pocket to grab the exact amount of silver coins just as the woman was handing her the pair of gloves. Before Jayne can even touch the item, Thalia is suddenly by her side.

"What's happening here?" her friend asked, a deep frown set on her face as she stares at the gloves that are held by the woman. Her hands that were now clutching Jayne's arm glowed green, and just like that, the princess is pulled out from whatever weird trance she was in.

She blinked her eyes, confused. Her gaze lands on white jewels on the gloves but they aren't as enticing as they seemed a minute ago. The woman in front of them has a hard look on her eyes, seeming to be in a staring contest with Thalia.

"Those gloves look nice, but I found something better from that stall there," Thalia says, looking away from the woman and smiling down at Jayne. They've been best friends for so long now that Jayne can immediately understand what those subtle looks and fake smiles mean.

It means trouble and they should be out of here quickly. Giving the woman a quick glance, she smiles politely and left the 20 coins of silver even though she's not purchasing the said gloves anymore. She feels bad for suddenly leaving.

With her best friend still holding her arm tightly, they leave the stall, but not before the woman called after them, "Send my regards to the birthday boy!"

Jayne frowns. She doesn't remember telling her about the birthday, or about her brother.