Chapter 2
2227 Words
The cavern walls disappeared, and a few human figures appeared. The figures were Diggers, and they turned and looked at Ray with wide eyes. More and more survivors appeared. Men, women, and children stared at the Guardian of Earth as they appeared. The Diggers bowed their heads to him, and he sighed. Ray hated it when people did that.
“Wow! There are so many of them!” exclaimed Haven as she stared.
“This isn’t everyone,” said Shelby as she smiled.
At that moment, a group of magical creatures appeared before them, and they bowed and curtsied to Ray. Out of the group, three green fairies fluttered over to Haven, and they happily embraced.
“Haven, are you alright? We were so worried,” cried one of the fairies.
The Fairy Guardian smiled at them and straightened.
“Yes, ladies, I’m alright. I am pleased to announce that I have returned with the Guardian of Earth. This is Ray. He is a pureblood Selvempt who Dig chose to be his successor,” stated Haven as she gestured to the man in the green and black suit.
The three fairies squealed with delight, straightened, and bowed their heads.
“What took you so long?” asked a voice from the back, and the Diggers gasped as they turned their heads.
“Isabel!” exclaimed a blonde-haired girl.
Ray turned his head and was surprised to see who Isabel was. A stunning girl with long dark hair, almond-shaped brown eyes, and an hourglass figure stepped forward with an annoyed look. Ray shook the thoughts from his head as he crossed his arms, looking at her smugly.
“That’s the king’s daughter,” whispered Haven, and Ray looked at her in question.
“You have a king? Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered back.
The Fairy Guardian shrugged her shoulders.
“King doesn’t mean the same thing as in your realm. A king here is what the mundanes would call a pastor,” the fairy explained, and Ray gave her an odd look.
“You have religion here?” he asked, and Isabel scoffed as she rolled her eyes.
“No, it’s more of a chosen thing. The gods chose my father to speak through him, but that doesn’t matter now, he’s dead, and you’re late,” she stated as she glared at Ray.
The Earth guardian put his hands up and shook his head.
“Just wait a minute there, sweetheart. I didn’t even know that the Earth World Realm existed until Belhazur was let out of his cage. Sorry, I wasn’t here to save your father, but I am here to save our world,” stated Ray heatedly, and Isabel glared at Haven.
“Great! You brought us a newbie! We might as well rot down here while you two go on a suicide mission!” she snarled.
Ray gave her a solid look as he took a step toward her.
“You don’t know a thing about my world, what I have gone through, and about me, so I would watch your tone!”
Isabel searched his eyes and sneered.
“You can’t come down here and tell us what to do! This is our home, our people…”
Haven quickly fluttered in front of Isabel’s face, cutting her off, and glared at her.
“He is the chosen one, and you will respect our Earth Guardian!” The fairy snapped, and Isabel scrunched her face as she sighed.
“I don’t trust that he can save us by himself. I am coming along!” the girl stated, and Haven laughed.
“Talk about a suicide mission! You wouldn’t be able to kill a Dugger, not without the green magic from the center of our volcano,” explained Haven, and Isabel shot her a clever look.
“You mean like this?”
Isabel pulled a glowing green whip from her hip and showed it to the fairy. Haven stared in shock.
“Where did you get that?”
“Let’s just say that I have my own connections,” answered Isabel, and attached the weapon back to her hip.
Ray looked at the girl for a moment and then took a step back. Isabel looked at the guardian in question.
“What?” she asked with a disgusted look.
“Nothing. Maybe you will be useful. Do you know how to use that thing?” asked Ray as he pointed to the whip, and Isabel scoffed.
“Well, I guess I wouldn’t have chosen a weapon that I didn’t know how to use,” she sneered.
Haven sighed a frustrated sigh as she looked at the bickering two.
“Alright, you two. That is enough. Now, Isabel, if you are going to tag along, you must learn to put your differences aside. We are all on the same side here,” exclaimed the fairy, and Isabel sighed.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she breathed as she gave Ray an apologetic look.
“My apologies,” Isabel said sincerely, and Ray nodded.
“No worries, my girlfriend and my cousin act the same way toward each other most of the time, so I’m used to it,” he explained, and Isabel looked at him, shocked.
“You have a girlfriend?”
Ray nodded and looked at her in question.
“Yeah, why?” he asked as he raised an eyebrow, and Isabel nervously laughed.
“I thought the guardians didn’t do relationships. What? While you’re out saving the world, she’s at home knitting?”
Ray looked at her and chuckled.
“Ha, my girlfriend? Stay home and knit? No, it’s not like that.”
“Well, I am surprised. She must be a great girl if she can accept you being a guardian and all.”
Ray thought about Riah for a moment. He pictured her knitting at home and then shook the thought from his head as he laughed. That wasn’t his Riah.
“She is a guardian too, so it’s not as bad as you think it is,” he stated, and Isabel blinked a few times.
The girl walked back to where she was sitting before and sat down. The other Diggers thanked Ray for coming and asked him many questions before they turned in for the night.
******
Ray slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The Diggers and the magical creatures were all still asleep. He sat up and stretched his arms as he looked at Haven. The little fairy was curled into a ball on the edge of his pillow, sleeping peacefully. Suddenly, she stirred and looked up at him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked sleepily and rubbed her eyes.
Ray sighed as he shook his head and rested his elbows on his knees.
“Nothing. I just miss my family,” he whispered, and Haven looked at him with care.
“I know you do,” she whispered.
Ray gave his Fairy Guardian a thoughtful look.
“I hate to ask, but do you think we can get any more weapons? Some of the men want to join as well, and they can’t fight the Duggers without them,” he whispered, and Haven sighed.
“We already have Isabel joining us. Besides, how will you protect them all if we encounter the Basilis? They don’t have eye protection like you, and I do.”
Ray sighed heavily. The fairy had a point. He and Haven were protected, but the others weren’t. Not even Isabel.
“You’re right. We can’t afford to lose any more of our people,” he stated and stood up.
Haven nodded and got up from the pillow, stretching. She and Ray noticed that the Diggers and magical creatures were starting to wake up. Ray looked around at everyone and then at his Fairy Guardian.
“Alright, when everyone wakes up, we will make an announcement. I will go out and clear the outer part of the city and come back. Maybe we can get the group into a better spot to bunker down. Take shelter in one of the vacant buildings or something,” he suggested, and Haven agreed.
“But we are stronger in numbers,” stated a man.
Ray looked at the Digger thoughtfully.
“That’s true, but no one will be safe from the serpent’s stare. I cannot protect any of you from that,” the Earth Guardian stated, and the man only nodded.
“Ha! So this is who you bring us? A guardian who can’t even protect us? That’s just great, Haven!” snapped Isabel, and the fairy gave her a stern look.
“Isabel, do I have to remind you again to respect our guardian?” she sneered.
Haven fluttered in Isabel’s face, and the girl sneered back at the fairy. Isabel gave Haven a challenging look, but the fairy stood her ground.
“Or what?” growled Isabel, and the fairy gave her a clever look.
“Or you can stay here with the others while Ray and I rescue Dig.”
Isabel searched Haven’s eyes and stuck her nose in the air.
“You don’t have any say over me. I will just follow you!” the girl growled.
“If I have to, I will chain you to the wall!” snarled the fairy as she raised her hands.
Isabel gave Haven an unbelievable look and scoffed as she shook her head.
“I can’t wait until we rescue Dig, and I will tell him about everything!” Isabel sneered, and Haven flew back over to Ray.
The Fairy Guardian landed on his shoulder, and Ray gave Isabel a thoughtful look.
“Listen, Isabel. We are not the bad guys here,” he stated, and the girl glared at the guardian.
“We’ll see about that!” Isabel snapped, and she walked away.
Ray shook his head, and he and Haven waited for everyone to gather themselves. The commotion between the three had woken the Diggers up, and they seemed a little disoriented.
*****
An hour later, everyone was awake and alert, and Ray called for the Diggers to gather together. The survivors happily obliged and eagerly looked at the Earth Guardian. Nervously, Ray looked at Haven, and the fairy gave him an encouraging nod. He sighed heavily and looked out at the crowd.
“Listen. I know and greatly appreciate that some of you wish to join and fight with me, but I cannot take all of you with me,” stated Ray, and the crowd started talking at once.
“Why can’t we go with you?” yelled one of the Digger men, and Ray looked at him.
“The Basilis. As long as you stay away from the serpent, no harm will come to you, but if you get caught up in its stare, well, we all know what happens after that,” stated Haven, and everyone hung their heads sadly.
Ray sighed and shook his head as he raised his hands.
“Okay. Okay,” the Earth Guardian said, and the Diggers looked up at Ray.
“We have a plan. Haven, Isabel, and I are going out to clear the outskirts of the city, and everyone needs to stay here. When we’re done, we will come back and get you all out of here,” stated Ray, and the crowd spoke among themselves.
“You promise you’re coming back?” asked one of the kids, and Isabel looked at the young girl.
“I’ll make sure of it!” she stated as she pulled the strap on her boot.
Ray looked at Isabel and shook his head.
“Listen, it will be much smoother if you drop the attitude and work with us.”
Isabel sighed a frustrated sigh and then walked over to Ray.
“As soon as we rescue Dig, this alliance is over,” she sneered, and Ray looked at Isabel thoughtfully.
“Gladly,” he stated, and some of the refugees snickered.
“I’m glad we can agree on something,” Isabel scoffed, and Ray nodded.
Haven looked at Isabel in disbelief as she cleared her throat. She couldn’t believe how Isabel was acting, especially how she treated the Guardian of Earth. Why was she being so disrespectful? Haven shook the thoughts from her head quickly and then looked at Ray and Isabel.
“Now that’s all settled. I think it’s time to get going,” the fairs said in an even voice, and Ray agreed as he looked back at the crowd.
“Now, everyone stay put until we get back,” he stated, and the Diggers nodded.
Haven could tell by the looks on their faces the survivors felt useless.
“Listen, don’t think that you aren’t helping us. You are helping to keep each other safe and together. We don’t want to lose any of you,” Haven stated, and the Diggers only nodded.
The fairy could tell her little pep talk made them feel a bit better, and she smiled. Haven gave Ray and Isabel an eager look and gestured to the way they had come.
“Ready?” the Fairy Guardian asked and then nodded.
The Diggers watched as Haven, Ray, and Isabel disappeared into the cave wall, and they hoped that they would return safely soon.
- Writer
