(Author's note: Kaptra is pronounced with a growl on the 'r'. Psyche is pronounced sci-ke.)
Salem woke up to find to people kissing in his room. He cleared his throat and the broke apart. Neither looked embarrassed, they just looked normal.
"Oh, so you're awake? My name's Psyche* and this is Ethan, my husband. We're the Guardians of Love. Auburn or Siren might've mentioned us? Well, I brought some soup but it was cold by the time we got here. I can heat it up if you like?" Psyche was pretty. She wasn't as beautiful as Lady Kristel but if Salem hadn't seen Lady Kristel a few hours before he would have thought her the most pretty girl alive. Too bad she was married...
"Er, yeah, sure. Um, Thanks," Salem stammered. He didn't like the way Ethan was looking at him.
"You like girls?" Ethan said.
"I must say that I'm not really. I've found I have other things to think about than what to buy my latest girlfriend," Salem said. Ethan smiled, and suddenly became much warmer to him.
"Oh, right, well, I'll go and warm up the soup," He left.
"You been married long?" Salem asked out of politeness.
"Well, I can't really say... I guess we've been married hundreds of years, yet we haven't been married yet...Hmmm," Psyche frowned. "Yes, I think that's logical enough..." It didn't seem at all logical to Salem but he kept his mouth buttoned.
Ethan returned with some hot soup. Salem ate it gratefully, he hadn't realised how hungry he was. He felt slightly healed after he ate it as well. The taste wasn't all that nice though, it tasted a bit like cabbage.
"Did you make this?" He asked Psyche. She blushed.
"Yes, it has lots of healing herbs in it, to help you get stronger. It's not really made for the taste. I can see though that it's healing properties are working well. You're the first person to try this new recipe, we don't get many people needing it as badly as you," Psyche took his now empty bowl away. Her and Ethan took it back to the Kitchens.
When they got back in Psyche closed the door loudly. There was a startled growl and the sound of claws on the floor. The snow leopard jumped over the bed and onto Psyche.
"NO!" Shouted Ethan. "WHAT THE HELL!"
"KAPTRA!* Get off her!" Salem leapt out of bed a hurled himself onto the snow leopard. The leopard withdrew his claws and sat there, lying on top of the panting Salem, who had thrown him of Psyche.
"Bad cat!" Salem scolded. "You don't attack people! Bad Cat! Get off me!" Kaptra crawled off him, his tail between his legs. Salem got up and walked over to the bed. Thank god someone had put clothes on him he thought.
Psyche was in Ethan's arms on the floor. Oh dear...
"Are you hurt?" Salem asked. Ethan looked up. Psyche had fainted.
"Has she been cut?" Salem asked. Ethan shook his head.
"No, just shock I think. Why on Earth do you have a-a- snow leopard in your room?" Ethan asked. He picked Psyche up and laid her on Salem's bed.
"He attacked me on the mountainside, now he won't leave me. Weird how the world works eh?" He'd meant it to be a joke but Ethan didn't laugh. He looked deadly serious.
"Weird indeed..." Ethan said trailing off into thought.
Lady Kristel felt eyes searching for the House of Dreams. These eyes were not of a human, but of an undead power, that lay deep inside the Earth. Why hadn't Sara, the Guardian of Gaia, reported the freeing of the evil, once contained by the Gaia of the planet.
Now was the time to wonder where loyalties lay. She knew that most Guardians both respected her, feared her and loved her. She knew that they would not stay if they did not want to. So why had Sara not reported? Was she a traitor?
As if responding to her thoughts, Sara burst into the Chamber.
"My lady! The planet's core has been broken! The prison that once kept- it is gone! My lady, Gaia is leaking out of the Earth! It'll be destroyed!" Sara began to weep. Her skin was the color of chocolate, her hair a raven black. She wore green constantly. The rose that usually grew around her arm was wilting in her distress.
So, there is no traitor among us, Lady Kristel thought. That is a comforting thought but it does not answer how the evil escaped. And who it's servants are. Lady Kristel shivered as she remembered the events of last time, when she had struggled against the servant alone. She had almost lost her life in that fight. Painful and dark memories...
"Calm down. Go and talk with Trinity, she is a good listener. Do not tell anyone about this, except for Trinity. I must talk to the new boy Salem. Mysterious, this new revelation is, I will do all in my power to find the evil and a way to conquer it. Rest assured, the House of Dreams will not let Earth go until it can fight no longer," Lady Kristel turned away. Her mind was full of dark things as she thought about what the future held.
Cornflower once again sensed someone climbing the mountainside. This traveller was indeed searching for the House of Dreams. Did that make them more dangerous? Oh well, she'd go out and investigate.
Cornflower called Holly, the Guardian of Rock Music, to come with her and sent Daphne, the Guardian of Spring, Growth and Healing, to tell Lady Kristel of their other unexpected visitor.
Salem had only been here a day at the most and already another newcomer. Was there something wrong with the outside world?
Wow, I'm actually having serious thoughts for a change! Thought Cornflower as she and Holly set out. Holly didn't need a horse, as she had wings to carry her. Cornflower however stuck to Stormwing.
"Y'think it's anything important?" Holly asked. Cornflower sighed, she was supposed to be a bimbo, why didn't she feel like one?
"I don't know. Yesterday I thought Salem was a threat-" Holly interupted her.
"Who?" Holly asked.
"The new boy with the pet leopard who took out Psyche yesterday. Any way, I'm not sure what is. Salem had an aura that was new to me, and this aura is different again. Perhaps we're just not updating fast enough?" Cornflower almost hit Holly in the face with her tail, while she flicked hair out of her eyes. Holly didn't say anything.
Holly was an over-grown faerie. She wore her hair the same length as Cornflower and looked similar, they had been mistaken for twins or sisters a few times. Holly always wore a red leotard with thigh-high red boots and almost shoulder length gloves. She looked like a twisted version of a gymnast. Cornflower knew it was because she taught dance and this was her warming up time.
Strange that all this weird stuff always happens just before the start of another Academy year, she thought sadly. I wish that things didn't happen in the holidays, because it's a real pain in the neck having to stop what your doing to investigate people climbing up mountains.
"Hey! Slow down!" Holly called. Cornflower realised she'd left her friend behind. "What's the matter with you today? Goddess you're thoughtful! I haven't seen you like this since...I haven't seen you like this!" Her joke fell on deaf ears. She should've saved her breath. Cornflower wasn't listening and wasn't going to either. Today was one of those days, and Cornflower had the feeling it was going to be worse than yesterday...
Salem was anxious. He had heard that Lady Kristel was comig to talk to him again and he was filled with a sudden apprehension. His mind was still spinning after his last meeting with her. And her riddles were still going around in his head. He looked in the mirror.
His dark blue hair had already been brushed and gelled by him earlier, when he had been given some clothes. He had been given some of Ethan's but they were a bit big. He'd rolled up the sleeves to his elbows and turned up the trousers. He looked at his face and noticed a scar, that ran from the tip of his left eyebrow to his chin. Had he got that in the fight with Kaptra?
His serious blue eyes looked troubled when Daphne walked in. She had been in earlier to check how he was doing but now she saw him up and about she told him that there was no need for her to come by anymore and she'd leave him to the care of the Love Guardians.
He sat on the bed and talked to Kaptra.
"Can you understand me?" He asked him, feeling extremely stupid. Kaptra nodded his head. Salem looked shocked.
"Turn around and chase you tail, then?" Salem asked. Kaptra tilted his head to one side in a look that said, what is the point in that? He did it anyway. After that Salem believed Kaptra was something more than the snow leopard that had attacked him on the mountainside.
"Can you speak?" Salem asked him.
"If you want to hear me," Kaptra replied. Salem jumped, he'd heard of witches turning people into cats but this was just unreal.
"He is a magnificent animal, clever too, you should be proud," Lady Kristel stood in the door way, dressed in a long white dress. Her corset was emroidered with silver lace and all down the long silk skirts, crystals were sewn.
"I am my lady!" Salem said rising and bowing. Why did she want to see him?
"I see you are impatient and want me to get to the point? Very well, I shall not keep you for small talk. I need to ask you one question, that is all," Lady Kristel sat next to him on his bed.
"Do you have any family?" She asked. Salem shook his head slowly.
"No, all my family are dead, I have lived with my friends mother all my life," Salem remembered hard times, when he had woken up with clear visions- but that was long ago... Lady Kristel stood up and walked to the door. Before leaving she asked one more question.
"What were their names?"
"Sophie, my friend, Lee, her brother and Lucy, her mother. Their last name was Hayshaw," Salem remembered them sadly. He missed them so much...
"Where might we find them?" Lady Kristel asked.
"You won't, they died two years ago, a mad man shot them all in a multi-story car park..." Salem remembered the day he had been told that. Why must all happy times be memories? Lady Kristel closed her eyes and looked down.
"I am sorry for your loss, it is hard for you, I am sure. Goodbye." She disappeared, like before. Salem turned to Kaptra.
"Do you understand her? I definately don't!" Kaptra laughed and changed the subject to something else.
Cornflower eventually slowed. They were near the middle of the mountainside now, and there was no sign of any kind of person. Out of the bushes a sparrow flew across the glade. This sparrow, however had a distinct aura, and it was obviously magical.
"STOP!" Cornflower called. Holly finally reached the glade. She immediately thought attack and fired at the sparrow.
"Rock's In!" She called. There was an earth-shattering chord and a rock picked itself up from the ground it was about to hit the confused sparrow.
"Feline Agility!" Cornflower cried hurling herself against the rock. It fell to the ground after the feeling of resistance. The sparrow however landed on it. Slowly it changed into a girl. She was pretty, she had shoulder-length silvery blue hair with brown tinges. She looked shocked but not hurt. Her deep blue eyes wide.
"I'm so sorry! Are you hurt? Are you going to the House of Dreams?" Holly blurted out loudly. Cornflower ran and clamped her hand on Holly's mouth.
"Stupid, stupid idiot! You, with us! Holly you are really stupid! We're indanger on this mountainside. Quickly, back to the House!" Cornflower helped the new girl mount her Pyrina. Stormwing waited patiently as his mistress slowly transformed into a cat.
They set off together, all aware that they were being followed.
Lady Kristel saw the pieces of the puzzle coming together in her mind. Perhaps Salem was one of the-
"My lady! Another person is climbing up the mountain. Cornflower and Holly are investigating but they seem to have been gone a while!" Evangeline stood at the threshold. She was out of breath, as though she had run all the way up to Lady Kristel's office.
"I shall find them Evangeline, you go. Find Salem, ask him if any of his friends might have followed him," Lady Kristel ran out, her long trailing dresses flowing behind her. She was going to go back, to just an hour before, when Cornflower and Holly had set out...
At the door to the Gateway Lady Kristel stopped.
"Time, you have been kind and blessed my house, I am in your debt, please let me travel through your doors," It had been a long time since she had gone through the Gateway, as se had had no need. Now she needed to stop her Guardians from being destroyed by whatever evil forces were out there...
Evangeline ran all the way to Salem's room, in the Hospital Wing. He was asleep, but now wasn't the ime for politeness.
"Salem! Wake up you lazy-lazy- well whatever you are!" Salem stirred and muttered something.
"NOW!" Evangeline shouted. She pulled off the bed covers, then realised that he had no shirt on, and only his boxers. She blushed as Salem jumped up.
"Goddess!" He cried as he pulled his covers back up over his legs.
"I need to know whether you know of any friends who might have followed you," Evangeline said quickly. Salem blinked stupidly. "Please Salem think, my friends are in danger here!"
"No, there is no one. Um? Would you, er, take me with you if you go to look for them?" Salem asked. Evangeline shook her head.
"No, I don't think Lady Kristel wishes you to leave the hospital wing yet," Evangeline said. She walked to the door.
"Sorry by the way," She said and left. Salem wondered. Why did he feel the gods were playing with his life?
