The Guard

      “You’ll never in a million years guess what happened today!” Craggin babbled as he struggled to pull off his shoes. In his haste he tripped over a mop handle and ended up landing hard on the floor. To make things worse, he was in such a hurry to come home from work that he had decided to wait until he was home to take off his armor. The result was a tremendous reverberating crash that scared their kadoatie so badly that he sped out the door and zipped up the tree in the front yard.

      “Now look what you’ve done,” Fyani exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air in dismay, “That’s the third time Kibbles has gotten stuck up there! We’ll have to borrow the Smith’s ladder again!” And with that, she raced out the door.

      “Kibbles, my foot,” Craggin said, muttering several curses under his breath as he struggled to get his Meridellian amour off. Though being a royal guard had its perks, their uniforms were not one of them.

      Craggin wasn’t exactly a very dashing ‘knight-in-shining-armor’ type, being your typical green Draik. But he was apparently handsome enough for his wife, a normally pleasant, plump little woman who always kept the house clean and the garden tended to. However, today obviously wasn’t one of her good days.

      All this ran through Craggin’s mind as he slipped into his normal clothes, consisting of a worn brown shirt (torn so his wings could fit through) and a pair of overalls. He then dashed outside to help Fyani carry the ladder to get that sluggish, wailing creature out of the tree.

      “Now, you were saying something about me not believing something?” Fyani said once they had returned inside. However, she was cut off by the smell of something burning.

      “My cupcakes!” she cried, tearing through the cottage like a madwoman towards the kitchen. Craggin chuckled to himself.

      “It looks like it’s been an eventful day all around,” he murmured.

***

     Later, when they were sitting at the kitchen table, munching on some (slightly burnt) cupcakes, Fyani asked Craggin about his day.

      “Well, it certainly wasn’t very normal, that’s for sure. I was marching around the west wing with Octas. You know him, don’t you?”

      “Oh yes, I’ve seen his wife at the marketplace many times. Anyway, please continue.”

      “Well, we were marching around and all, when Octas gives a shout. I ran towards him, wondering what was up.” Here Craggin stopped to extract Kibbles's claws from his leg.

      “Beat it, you furry sneak. Anyway, it turns out that these kids had found their way into the castle and were babbling about being from the future!”

      “Children? From the future? What kind?” Fyani asked, her curiosity aroused. Her blue eyes sparkled with it.

      “A yellow Aisha clutching a wand, a blue Blumaroo dressed as a vampire, a red Zafara in a starry cape and hat, and a green Quiggle. I couldn’t hear them very well. Anyway, we didn’t believe them, so we decided to take them down into the dungeons until we decided what to do.”

      “Was that really necessary, dearest?” Fyani asked, cocking her head to one side.

      “It was only temporary until we could decide what to do. They were only children, after all.

      “Anyway, we gathered a few guards with us and started to take them down. We were at the side hall when it happened.”

      “What happened?” Fyani asked eagerly.

      “The glass from one of the stained glass windows was smashed in, and several horrible creatures spilled through. Oh, they were hideous! Some of them looked like mutants, while others had grotesque wings sprouting from their back! It was terrifying!” Fyani gasped as her hands flew up to her mouth.

      “The moment these creatures saw us, they attacked! I barely had time to charge the creatures before one of them grabbed my spear, swung me through the air, and let go! I smashed into the wall, struck my head, and knew no more,” Craggin said, showing Fyani the small goose egg he had received from the fall.

      “Oh my goodness! Were you badly hurt!?” Fyani cried, gently running her fingers over the lump.

      “Eh, not too badly,” Craggin said, wincing slightly from the pain. “I’ll live.”

      “Well, just stay there and I’ll get you an ice pack. A bump like that isn’t going to disappear on its own,” Fyani said, bustling around the kitchen. Craggin stared with love and admiration for his wife. She really is the best, he thought.

      After the ice-pack had been applied, Craggin continued his story.

      “Anyway, when I woke up I saw, to my utter amazement, that the creatures had been defeated. But it wasn’t the guard that did them in! It was the children! It turns out they’re better warriors than we gave them credit for.

      “Anyway, Octas spoke for all of us when he said, ‘It seems we judged you wrongly, and for that we are truly sorry.’”

      “Good for him,” Fyani quipped.

      “After that, it was decided that I would go to His Royal Highness King Skarl to tell him about the attack. So I did, only it turns out that Sir Jeran Borodere was with him, holding counsel.”

      “Goodness!” Fyani exclaimed.

      “I apologized for barging in on him like this, and then reported what had happened. I motioned the children inside, and they stood before the king. He grunted and motioned the guards away, including me. After that, I was told I may go home to take care of my ‘injury’ as they so put it. However, I’ll be returning to work in three days.”

      “Oh, that’s wonderful!” Fyani cried. “I’m so glad for you! Now, you just relax and I’ll get supper on.”

      “Ok, but I’m going to get a breath of fresh air first,” Craggin said. And with that, he went out for a walk, shutting the door firmly behind him.

      Craggin took a deep breath of fresh air, letting the cool, crisp air of autumn filter into his lungs. He listened as he heard the giggling of children and the honking of the geese as they started to travel south for the winter. He watched the clouds skitter across the azure sky, yet his heart was filled with guilt. He had lied to his wife.

      True, he had only done so because His Majesty had sworn him to secrecy, but the guilt was there all the same. The truth was the king hadn’t sent him out of the room, along with all of the guards. He alone had stayed behind. He alone, out of all the Draiks in Neopia, knew the tale of what those creatures were, where they came from, and how Meridell came to prosper. He, along with the children and Sir Borodere, had learned all of these things.

      And he had seen the Orb.

      The Orb. Made of solid gold, with the words of the Ancients scrolled over it surface. The Orb, with its golden glow surrounding it. The Orb which protected Meridell. Craggin would never forget it as long as he lived.

      Yet he knew what it meant, and what the creatures sought. He knew what was going to happen.

      “War is coming, Fyani,” he whispered to the four winds. “And I can’t even warn you.”

The End

Whew! My very first short story! Feel free to drop me Neomail me, but PLEASE no flames. I hope you enjoyed it!