My Sister, The Chosen One

Three

Kendrick Lemar- Fear.

Ericson Redwood:

Four years ago, this woman stood in the middle of a full-scale attack on the capital with a smile on her face. It took me some time to realize she wasn't one of my lieutenants. The way she moved was new to me. We lost so much that day. In a messed-up turn of events, I lost vision in my left eye, I couldn't get my head to stop bleeding to keep pushing myself. It was then that this woman skid across the floor taking down three dark fae before she turned to me and stopped the bleeding on the head with a simple healing spell.

"Sir, you were right in the center of that explosion. Permission for my team and me to cover you?" she shouted over the explosions behind her.

"Permission granted, cadet. What's your name?" I groaned when she popped my shoulder back into place.

"My name is Sasha Airstorm, sir. Sage number two-sixteen. I'm not a cadet. I just have one of those faces," she smiled. She got me out of that hell.

"Princess?"

"That's right," she smiled before pulling me up to my feet. "Let's get you out of here, sir,"

I proudly handed her the guardianship and I stood my ground when the people disapproved of her being a female. A female who had yet to earn her wings at that. In four years, she accomplished what I couldn't in my six years on the Royal council. She more than earned her wings a long time ago, but some fairies are different. Some fairies don't accept anything other than perfection and she's one of those. Her strategies are flawless. I have no idea what drives her but I've made it my life's mission to make sure she gets to where she needs to be, to keep her alive. To bring her back home every time I send her out. Her success rate is eighty-nine percent alone. When adding the other two, they're unstoppable.

"Ericson, what is your infatuation with the princess?" my brother asked when I was named an Elder of Aldrich.

"What do you care, Ish?" I asked going over a mountain of paperwork I had to fill out just to get my crest.

"Brother, you're out. It's over. You can do whatever you want with your life now. Leave the military s**t to her, Eric. She's proving to be more than capable. She's one of the last Airstorms. This was kind their thing,"

"She's the reason I got out. Why I'm still here, Ishtar. You have a brother to annoy right now because she risked her life, jumping into that hot zone to get me out and the others out,"

"It's gratitude then?" he sat down. "The fact that she's one of the most beautiful void fairies alive has nothing to do with it?"

"I don't know how to explain it to you, Ish. I was supposed to die. They were standing right in front of me with a wand in my face and this girl just swoops in and suddenly she's shouting and in control of everything. I had never been saved before that. I was always the one doing the saving,"

"I know what you mean," he sat back. "You kept me and our sisters alive when they came for us. It's not gratitude. It's proving that you were worth the trouble,"

"I'll never regret saving you, Ishtar. None of you. I wouldn't change a single thing I did,"

"Even if brought her back?" he asked. My body tightened up and an unbearable itch flooded my body. "You deserve to be happy again, Ericson. You deserve a fresh start. Jewel would want you to have everything she tried to give you. Even if it's not with her. You're Ericson Redwood. Get what you want,"

"Don't wait up, tonight," I called after him.

"She's going to come back. Even if it takes her months, man. I've got things here, Elder Redwood. Go make sure her sister has everything she needs," he tapped my shoulder before excusing himself.

It's been too long. There is no way in hell that girl is gone. What's keeping her? The little one is falling apart. She hasn't been sleeping. Although it's been some time since they've come for her, I still check in with her when the Guardian is off Aldrich. The girl is mindlessly moving around her apartment the days she doesn't have to work and when she can stay in her lab, she stays there for days on end with no intention of coming home. She even got her pet a little buddy so it wouldn't be lonely. Watching her fall apart the way she is, feels a lot like waiting around for a body to be brought back. If we get lucky. The worst thing that can happen is getting a ransom call. As her generation's Elder, it would be my order that kills her, the king, and the lord of the realm. We can't afford for any militia secrets to get out. It's what she would want.

"Elder Redwood," I stopped before walking into my office.

"Elder Brucie," I bowed respectively.

"How are you holding up? Your golden girl has been missing two weeks now. There's talk about shutting the King's portal down. If she doesn't bring him back, Lady Breeze Airstorm will have to take his place. What do you think we should do? The others want to hear your answer,"

"Tell them we'll give her the extra week as protocol dictates. She'll be back even if it's in a body bag," I nodded.

"You believe that?" he asked. "The strike team returned empty handed,"

"I believe that. Sasha is going to walk through that portal with some crazy ass report any day now," I swore.

And she did. Sasha Airstorm walked through that portal with the King and the lord in tow. She had lost so much weight. Her face was filthy and her eyes were void of all emotion. As soon as the medical fairies took the King from her, she collapsed, falling on her knees, tucking her body tightly. Her dirty hands covered her face as she cried. Whatever happened to her out there, broke the part of her that loved this. It was two years after I became the Guardian of the realm for me.

The fact that she had lasted this long without a single incident like this speaks volumes about her character. The same way she fell apart, she picked herself up and wiped her face as if nothing had happened. I couldn't bring myself to go over to her at that moment. I had wanted to be alone the first time it happened to me. Nothing anyone said made a single thing better. It puts things into perspective. The price of glory finally shows his face and literally, nothing can ever bring that feeling back. That feeling of fulfillment and purpose dissipates and the dream becomes a burden. Her report is flawless. Without going into detail, she gives a report of what it was like to be under the loop spell. It answers all pressing questions only leaving the personal ones. What happened in there? What did you see? What did you do to get out of that euphoric state?

"Ericson," the door to my office was opened. Only one elder comes in like that. We've gotten comfortable with one another this past month. He never gave up on me. Sometimes he would just come in here as a formality to the other Elders. He would just sit here quietly with me.

"Brucie," I greeted him.

"You called it. I want to apologize for everything I said," he stayed at the doorway.

"No, you were thinking logically. I was starting to let my personal emotions get in the way," I admitted.

"Ericson, I thought you were going to go out there to bring her back yourself. I get it, sir. You're young, kid but you have heart. Thank you for not giving up-on them. You're the first former Guardian to choose to stay on the council. We didn't know what we were expecting. You know what it's like to be in her position. We don't. It feels like we can actually help them come back now. That's all you, man,"

"Thanks, Bruce. I just left the portal open for her. She did the rest. Let's make sure they're okay. We should ground them for a bit before sending them off again. Maybe start them off slow later,"

"I'll let the others know. You're doing a great job," he bowed his head slightly before walking away.

"Elder Redwood?" a tap followed. I felt a chill rush down my spine at the sound of this kid's voice. Rey is really coming into his own. His grace is powerful. A lot stronger than when he left.

"My King. You should be resting," I opened the door for him.

"I'm fine. I rested enough back there," he shook his head. "I'm just starving. Can't seem to fill up,"

"I can only imagine, sir. I've never been under a loop spell but from your reports, it doesn't seem very pleasant to wake up from," I pulled a chair out for him. He took a seat without looking up at me. He still seems to be in a bit of a daze. He's counting his fingers. It's going to be a long time before he joins us back in reality.

"It's not. I'm still having difficulty wrapping my mind around being free. I didn't come here to talk about that. I want to talk about Sasha. I can only go off by what she saw in my head but I can tell you that what happened to us in there is not something she can just walk away from without a scratch so to speak. I'm worried about her. I feel better if she were monitored until we can be sure that she knows this is real,"

"Do you think she might be a security risk?" I asked worriedly.

"Yes, and as someone who has fought her to submission, I can tell you that if she thinks we're still under that spell, nothing is going to stop her from trying to get out,"

"Do you want me to mandate for you to be around her more?"

"No, Redwood. You don't understand. It has to be someone completely new. It can't be us. We were there with her. We would be part of the simulation in her head. I think you would be perfect for that. She knows who you are and she trusts you as the former Guardian but she doesn't know you. Her mind can't make up things she doesn't know. If that makes sense,"

"Yes, I understand, sir. How are you feeling?" I asked.

"I didn't know until she showed up. I didn't want to believe her. I hurt her. Sage can really use a new friend right now," he shook his head.

"Thank you for confiding in me, my King,"

"I know you're interested in her, Redwood,"

"My King-"

"It's okay. Sage and I haven't been together for a while. She's my best friend. She's been by my side since we were fourteen. I need her to be okay. You've been taking care of her since we were coronated. I used to hate you for that but I can really use your help right now,"

"I'm a little embarrassed, my liege,"

"Don't be. I remember when I first met her. Sage is an enigma and she has no idea. I wasn't worthy of her. Not then and sure as hell not now. I uh, I would like to invite you to dinner at my place tomorrow night. Knowing her, she's going to want to meet you in person and it would be a guaranteed reality check if I were the one to bring you to her,"

"We can start with an introduction. Why don't we leave the rest to fate?" I agreed.

"Thank you," he stood up. "It's casual. No formal military suits," he pointed at my unform. "You shouldn't be wearing that anymore. You made it out, Elder Redwood. Lighten up,"

I can't find the words to explain what just happened. I am both humiliated and flattered. The kid has a way with words. I knew that the moment he stood up to address Aldrich the morning he became King. The way he shuts down anyone who tries to reprimand him when he's in the zone. The only one that has a worse mouth than him is Sasha. It was why the council chose not to make her the Queen of Aldrich. She made the former king piss his pants the first time they welcomed her into the throne room when he lifted his wand against the prince. Their relationship was pretty clear then.

"Not the way I wanted to do things but I've never been more sure about anything. Let's meet Sasha Airstorm. It's more than long overdue,"