Genevieve 'Viv' Reynolds's Story

Faybourne
There was an ominous feeling in the air, Genevieve could feel her skin crawling. She ignored the feeling though, thinking it to be a chill taking over her. She adjusted her shawl around her shoulders and continued her walk around the gardens. She was humming softly to herself as she stepped. it was growing darker, more towards night, which was odd as it was only mid afternoon. She stopped her wandering to look at the sky and ponder for a moment. She thought about rain and supposed that would be nice, but the air just didnt feel right for rain.

After a moment of supposing and wondering she continued on, thinking it was all in her head. She moved towards the doors of the courtyard and headed into a giant marble hall. She lived in a beautiful house with no expenses spared, flowers and statues adorned the halls making the place smell fresh. Fountains and small indoor ponds could be found around the house as well. Genevieve went to her room wanting to play with her dolls again, father wanted her to go on daily walks to keep up her health but she wanted so badly to play with the dolls again. The small girl smiled to herself as she opened the door to her room and headed straight for the bed, under which were her prized dolls.

She was halfway though two dolls getting married when the sky went very dark. Confused she went to the window to watch as fire began to rain from the sky. She let out a small scream of terror as chaos overtook the land. She couldnt help her cowardice, she knew father would be angry but she couldnt help herself. She jumped on her bed and hid under the covers, too scared to do anything else.
Earth
There was screaming, and then there was fire. She woke in a cold sweat and let out a soft moan. Viv sat up and looked around her nice bedroom and told herself it was all a dream. There was no fire, there wasn't any danger she told herself repeatedly. Se got up and went to smell a few carnations she had put in a vase on her dresser. They were plain white with a few leaves here and there. It was simple and it suited her. She smiled to herself and went to the bathroom, she was starting to calm down. These occasion nightmares of hers always got to her. They seemed so real, so terrifying. She didn't know what had caused them but she knew they had been plaguing her for as long as she could remember.

She let all thoughts of the nightmare go and stood in front of the floor length mirror and studied herself. She could see the gleam of sweat on her skin and let out a sigh. She went and grabbed a cool washcloth and dabbed away the dampness. She heard her alarm go off in the bedroom and groaned. It was time to go to work. She went and switched if off and began her morning routine.

By the time she was ready she had only a few minutes left to get a cab and head to work. There had been a light rain out the night before and the ground was still damp with it. She took a breath of fresh air and tried to wave down a cab, they were a few that ignored her but she managed to get one in the end. She told him her work address and she was there within ten minutes.

She entered work and let out a sigh, it was going to be another long day with so many orders to fill. She heard the roll of thunder as she got ready for work. It poured rain and she gave outside a look and smiled a bit. she liked the rain, and with that thought she got to work.

Nerissa was alone when the sky went dark. She had escaped her training for a few moments to sit in one of her favorite trees for some peace and quiet. Suddenly everything became cold and dark and her father was running up to her. "Nerissa!" He yelled up to her. "Chaos is coming. You must protect your princess now! Go and help her to escape. Keep her safe." Nerissa, didn't question her father, she just climbed down from the tree, nodded to her father, and ran off as fast as her eight year old body could carry her. She ran through the palace grounds, skirting the many ponds and streams crisscrossing the area. Finally she reached the palace and saw the palace people rushing about in fear. She pushed her way through the fray, using her small body to squeeze through tight spaces as she went. She went through the halls, trying to remember the right door. It took a few tries before she found it. "Princess Genevieve?" She said in a quiet voice, poking her head around the door. Seeing the princess huddled under the blanket she entered in and said in a little louder voice. "P-Princess Gevevieve. I'm- I'm your guardian and theres... danger outside. I'm supposed to bring you to safety now. Will you come, please?" She was nervous at actually speaking to her highness, it wasn't one of her strong points to talk to others.

Genevieve peeked over the covers and she squeaked a little at the familiar face of her guardian. She felt a bit calmed knowing she had some protection. She looked at Nerissa and said in a quiet voice "I'm scared." Her hands curled into the blankets and she tried her best to stay calm. She took a few breaths and then told herself everything was going to be alright. It took a lot of her courage to pull the covers away and she got off the bed and walked towards her guardian. She couldnt help but take Nerissa's hand and she gave her hand a squeeze. "Lets go." She whispered and they began to run.

Nerissa smiled at the princess as she took her hand and gave a little squeeze of reassurance before leading her away. Through the hallways they ran, Nerissa leading them through crowds of frightened servants. She was trying to make a beeline toward the councils chambers, as she remembered her father always instructing her to remember in times of crisis. On a couple occasions, chaos minions broke the long glass windows that lined the corridor in order to get inside, but Nerissa just picked up speed, doing her best to lead the princess to safety. "Almost there." She said. A hoard on minions were chasing them and Nerissa just managed to get to the door before they caught up. She wedged open the council chamber's door, pushed Genevieve inside and managed to squeeze inside herself. The little eight year couldn't quite get the door shut in time, however, and black groping hands were trying to get inside against the guardian's efforts.

Aquila waits in the Crystal Tower; that is where Polaris had told all the Council members to go when Chaos' attack finally happened. She was meditating, trying to ignore the tremors and occasional screams from the outside, when two young girls came in. But not just any two young girls; the water princess and her Guardian had arrived.

"Oh thank goodness!" the brunette cried, before she saw the shadowy hands attempting to enter. Palms extended, she attempted to get the two girls behind her as a horde of Chaos minions forced their way in.

Genevieve found herself being pulled behind a door into a council room. She let out a soft whimper as dark hands began to reach for her. She gripped her guardians hand tight and whispered her name. "N-No!" She trembled and moved away from the hands, on of them caught her robe and there was the ripping of material as she was tugged backwards. She fought as hard as her little child body could and managed to rip away from the hands tearing her dress. Her sleeve hung off her shoulder and she fell to the floor scraping her knees. She got up after a moment moving to her feet,she reached for Nerissa and tugged her towards Aquila. "He-help us!" She squeaked.

Aquila flashes a hopefully comforting smile at Genevieve before turning back to the advancing Chaos. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, she first puts a wall of fire between the Chaos minions and Genevieve and Nerissa, staying on the Chaos side. As they seem to merge into one large monster, she attacks, darting around and blasting it with fire in the back. Barely dodging a strong punch from the creature, she closes her eyes and concentrates, gathering up a reserve of power, before forming a large ball of light and slamming it at the creature, dissipating it. She smiles widely before falling on her hands and knees, the fiery barrier dissipating as her strength ebbs.

She forces herself to get up as a desperate cry for help is heard at the door. The princess of light is indanger, it seems, and she quickly lets the girl and her Guardian inside, shutting the door firmly behind them.

Nerissa felt herself pushed back as she tried to get the council door shut. Her little body wasn't strong enough. Genevieve squeezed her hand a little and she saw that the dark creatures hands were trying to get at her. Nerissa fell away from the door as more pushed their way in and she found herself running with her princess to a council member that stood in the room. The council member pushed them behind her and suddenly a wall of flame appeared in front of them. Nerissa stumbled back a little as the heat reached her but she recovered and turned her attention to Genevieve. She felt that for the time being they were safe now.

"Are you okay?" She asked surveying the other girl for any injuries. She noticed that her dress was ripped in a few places. Nerissa gripped Genevieves hands and focused on breathing calmly, slowing her soothing aura to spread to her. Something told her that she needed it. "It'll be okay." She whispered.

Suddenly, she felt a cool breeze brush her back and, turning she saw the fire go away. The councilwoman seemed to have dealt with all the monsters. She smiled with relief.

Jagus staggered slowly through the now open door, with the princess in hand. He didn't even acknowledge the others in the room to begin with; Evangelina was his first priority. He walked over to a corner, breathing heavily all the while, and gently placed the princess against the wall in as comfortable a position as he could. He turned and began to stand up, when a sharp burst of pain shot through his wound, and he fell to the ground on his side, right next to the princess. He instinctively grabbed at his stab wound, and finally inspected it. He moved his hand away from the wound, to find it covered in blood. As he looked at it, he saw that the stab wound went clean through to the other side of his body. This could cause some problems..., he thought to himself again. He normally would simply heal it with the power of light, but he didn't have nearly enough energy to do so yet. The fight had cost to much of it.

He finally acknowledge the others in the room, his voice still raspy from the pain. "Councilwoman Aquilla...." he managed to say. "Thank you... for the help." He glanced around to find he was not the first to arrive. The water princess, the same age as him, and her guardian, the youngest guardian of the current group. "Princess Genevieve..." he continued. "It is... an honor. Nerissa... likewise with you. I'd love to... continue the plesantries.... but as you can see... we have a... situation.. Gah!" he cried out as a new burst of pain shot through his body. He grabbed his wound again, grimacing in agony. "Well," he said. "This is... just perfect! Just what we needed....... a wounded guardian."

"Princess Annika!! Please, don't distract me, unless you want these dark beings to get the best of me. Please?!" Grayson said, raising his voice.

Force once he wanted her to take their situation seriously, but he refused to lose his temper. They were getting closer to the council's chambers when he saw a bunch of chaos minions blocking their path. Grim faced, Grayson raced forward and with one swipe of his sword, caused the floor to rise and it rose so quickly that it launched the minions towards them. Grayson ducked far enough down so neither he nor the princess were hit. When the ground settled, Grayson raced up to the doors and knocked.

"This Princess of Earth's Guardian and the Princess Annika requesting permission to enter please!" he requested.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pounding on the door caused Evangelina to wake up. She still felt out of it and very weak, but at least she was conscious. Opening her eyes, she looked around before seeing Jagus next to her, who looked to be in pain.

"Jagus . . ." she murmured as she reached for him.

It was then she saw the way he was grasping his side and saw blood. Gasping, she managed to move, only to roll onto the ground from her sitting position. Getting frustrated, she looked to see the others in the room.

"Please help . . him." she begged as she tried to get up.

Aquila smiles comfortingly at the light Guardian, she says, "It's nothing, really." Noticing the blood, she gasps, before her attention is diverted by yet another pair at the door. Ushering the earth princess and her guardian inside, she turns back to Jagus, her blue eyes dark with worry.

"Unfortunately, I cannot heal you. We-" she gestures to Genevieve and Nerissa, "-were attacked by a large monster of Chaos, and much of my energy was sapped trying to fight the creature." Her eyes brightened as she realized another solution. "But I know someone who can!" Rushing over to the other end of the room, where an enormous green crystal resides, she takes out a small flute from a fold of her dress and plays a few notes. After a few moments, an odd sound reverberates through the chamber.

"Asclepius, please hurry," Aquila whispers, hoping the great healer of the Council will arrive in time.

Annika is placed on the floor by Grayson. "Good job Grayson!" She says giving him a thumbs up and then laughs. She runs into the room and starts jumping around. She hears a weird noise and then starts imitating it humming really loudly.

If Jagus had the energy to do so, he would have been furious with himself. Not only was he now becoming a burden on the group, but he also couldn't even protect the princess he swore to defend with his life. "I will not... be.... a burden." he muttered out of earshot of everyone except possibly Evangelina. In his head, he ballparked the amount of energy it would take to heal himself enough to stand back up. It was a longshot, but he would do whatever it took, at least untill this other healer arrived.

Channeling some of the last of his energy, Jagus created a pulse of light in his arm. It was feeble at best, but just barely enough. Using it on himself, he felt himself grow faint as the pain slightly receded and the wound shrunk ever so slightly. It was still there, but it wasn't as wide as it was. Reaching for every ounce of strength he had, he stood back up, still holding his side.

"This should be enough to keep me on my feet, at least untill the healer arrives." he said. Jagus was quite aware that what he just did was incredibly stupid and foolhardy, but he had to try, at least. His head slightly clearer, he glanced around to see the newcomers. "Grayson and Princess Annika." he said, bowing his head slightly. "Its good to see you two still in one piece." He looked around and did a head count. The princesses and guardians of light, water, and earth were all here. That was half of them. Fire, air, and darkness still had yet to show up. He made a silent prayer that the other six were still alive.

Nerissa turned when the light guardian and princess came into the room, and nodded at the other guardians greeting. She gasped when she saw his wounds and ran over to see if she could help. If only she had some sort of healing power, but the most she could do send a calming aura out, which can somethimes help alieviate the pain, but not much more. The earth guardian came in and the council woman chimed the big green crystal in the center of the room. Nerissa liked the sound, it felt calming to her in a sort of way, like there was hope behind it. While the sound rang through the chamber she thought she heard a sound. she went over to the door and put her ear against it. "The Air duo is here... Please open the door!" she heard faintly, then a thump and, "Damn it..." She opened the door a crack to see the air princess and her guardian, who was slumped on the floor. She scanned the hallway to see if there was any of those dark monsters near; there wasn't. "You're hurt too!" She exclaimed in a quiet voice, moving to help the guardian inside before anymore minions came.

Aquila quickly rushes to Nerissa's aid, helping her get the air duo inside, and shutting the doors behind her, leaning against them. She falls on to her knees as a large tremor rocks the entire structure, knocking the Council member off-balance. Several crystal shards fall from the ceiling as Aquila cries out a warning to the others in the room.

Someone knocks on the door, and Aquila barely hears through all the commotion, but she opens it cautiously. A wide smile spreads across her face as she engulfs Asclepius in a hug, his presence comforting her. "Thank you for coming so quickly," she murmurs, the smile still on her face.

Her fellow Council member-the closest thing she has to a father-surveys the room with his brown eyes, before asking in a deep baritone, "Who is my patient?"

Jagus turned as he heard the knock on the door, though he didn't hear what they said. He was surprised no one had commented about his incredibly rash self healing. He was feeling a little better now, enough to stand on his feet, but he wasn't sure how long it would last. He looked over to the door to see the air princess and her guardian come in. "Princess Aurora," he said. "Its a pleasure. And Leiyon. Its good to.... Leiyon!" He staggered over to the air guardian, his jaw practically on the floor in surprise as he looked at all of Leiyon's wounds. "Jesus Christ! What in the world happened to you?!" The injuries that Leiyon had taken looked far more painful than his. "Just hang in there." he said. "There is a healer on the way. He will do what he can to patch you up." As Jagus stood back up, the tremor hit.

Jagus nearly fell over, but he pulled out his sword and used it to support himself. As the tremor ended, Jagus noticed the crystals begining to fall. Thats when he noticed Evangelina, on the floor trying to stand back up, and directly in the path of one of the shards. "Evangelina!" Jagus cried out as he put on a burst of speed he didn't know he had left in him. He ended his dash in a slide, ending up right next to the princess with his shield out. Jagus used the shield to cover him and Evangelina from the crystal, which smashed against it and mostly shattered, the last few pieces scattering around them. Jagus leaned Evangelina back against the wall. "Don't worry." he said in a calming manner, pushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes. "I'll protect you." As he moved to stand back up, Jagus found out the hard way what happens when you use the last of your strength in an instant, and fell back over, now leaning against the wall. He coughed up a slight trickle of blood. As he wiped it away, he commented "Its just a trickle, at least. It could be worse."

As Asclepius entered and asked for his patient, Jagus smiled and answered him. "If you had entered a few moments ago, that would have been just me. However, Leiyon over there needs far more medical attention than I do. Take care of him first. I can hang in there for a few more minutes, at least.

Rushing towards the clearly hurt air guardian, Aquila hung back as Asclepius ran a quick diagnostic check, closing his eyes shortly after. A sort of white flame burst to life around his hands as he leaned toward the injured guardian. "This won't hurt, but it may...tingle a bit," Asclepius says as he touches Leiyon's body. The white fire spread, engulfing them both and lighting up the entire room. As Asclepius healed, Aquila took a defensive stance in front of the doors as odd, inhuman yells were heard from behind them and the great crystal doors shuddered and groaned under a large amount of pressure. "Help me cover them!" she yells to the other guardians in the room, gesturing to the motionless healer and Leiyon.