“Vigil.”

  The siblings watched as the Chief repeated the name. The name was whispered through his teeth, as if tasting the name itself.

  Chief Ata looked down at Vigil and back up at the siblings, eyes gleamed with satisfaction and a tinge of relief?

  “Vigil…” He ruminated over it.

  “A fitting name for a fitting role.”

  The siblings let go of a breath that wasn’t held consciously. They looked at each other and shared a smile. As if magic flowed through them, coursing between them, bonding them with the Guardian — Vigil.

  Chief Ata stood up, moving back towards the shrine to pick up his cane, then started moving towards the direction of the longhouse with three legs.

  As he was about to pass Morus, “Meet me at the forge when you’re done here.” Then continued on his eye, not failing to clock the keychain on the young man’s backpack, but all he did was smile as he left.

  The old man passed the trio of Asa, Ban and Gad, who were kneeling in a seiza position, on the grass behind the siblings.

  The siblings had a feeling that they weren’t kneeling at them, but out of reverence for the naming ritual that happened so suddenly.

  Just as Morus and Monica were about to discuss what had happened. Chief Ata suddenly burst out in laughter.

  “Hahaha! I finally understand!” the old man guffawed. His laughter dwarfed even the thunderous voice of Gad, all the while shaking his head in disbelief and amusement. “I’ll see you brats at dinner!”

  Once the presence of Chief Ata was no longer felt, the siblings approached the shrine, curious about what was written on the stone plaque of the Guardian’s home.

  [VIGIL]

  Carved in a stylized font of English more suited for calligraphy, on the embedded stone plaque.

  “Huh?”

  The siblings asked at the same time.

  They rubbed their eyes, and looked at each other.

  Rubbing their eyes once more before they took another look at the stone plaque.

  [VIGIL]

  It still said.

  “I have so many questions.”

  “Me too, sis.”

  They looked behind them, at the local trio.

  Asa, Ban and Gad had already stood up. They seemed to be in quiet conversation as well. Noticing that their presence was requested or desired, they moved towards the siblings.

  Ban pulled Monica’s head towards her chest, “Oh my! I never expected Chief to do that! You siblings are so, so amazing!”

  Asa placed a hand on the center of her chest, bowing slightly at Morus, “To witness a naming ceremony is a sacred blessing. Thank you, honorable guests, for allowing us to participate.”

  Gad did the same posture as Asa, warhammer planted in the ground, “The Guardian is yours now. It eats a lot, remember that. Even more than me.”

  Morus paled slightly from the implication. Then he turned to the stone plaque, he asked.

  “What does it say?”

  “Can’t tell.” Gad replied.

  Ban continued, “Me neither.”

  Asa shrugged, “Nobody could.”

  “I see…” Morus wondered. “So Vigil was here for the past 5 years? How did it get here?”

  At this point, Ban released Monica from her warm embrace, the girl’s face flushed as only her friends in the same club had done this to her, but it was something she didn’t know she needed until this moment.

  Asa received the stares from Ban and Gad, which led to the siblings staring at her too.

  “Alright! Alright! I’ll tell you. Five years ago, I think, there was a mystic who brought the Guardian here. He was nothing more than a puppy then, barely the length of my forearm. The mystic… She met with the chief directly, holding a box the length of that plaque, and I believe she was carrying a message for him as well. That’s all I know.” Asa sighed, the stares were too intense for her to ignore.

  “Where is that mystic now?” Morus asked.

  “What’s a mystic?” Monica queried.

  “Outside the walls, a few minutes walk along the path. Her tent is there.” Asa said matter-of-factly.

  “Fortune tellers! Witches! Wandering Herbalists!” Ban could hardly contain her enthusiasm.

  Gad added, “Wanderers who know and practice magic, but don’t settle. The mysterious types.”

  “That is… Interesting and useful information. So, what now?” Morus looked at Monica then at Asa.

  Asa looked at Ban’s and Monica’s pleading eyes then at Morus, “Well, our tour here is done. The sun’s going to set in a few more hours. Gad, why don’t you bring our honorable guest, Russel, to see Chief Ata, before he starts working?”

  Gad nods at Asa, then pats the shoulder of Morus, “We should go. Once Chief starts working, he doesn’t stop for hours.”

  Asa then turns to the two girls, “Ban.”

  “Yes?”

  “I’ll leave Nichole to you, alright?”

  “YES!” Monica and Ban said at the same time.

  “BUT!”

  Monica and Ban deflated.

  “Keep her safe.”

  “YES, MA’AM!” Ban saluted at Asa, doing the fist to chest thing, then ran off while pulling Monica towards the direction of her workshop.

  After everyone left and she was alone, Asa sighed then looked up at the sky. A smile on her face. Monotony was being broken by the two intruders of their village, things are going to change, but for now, she had a job to do.

  At the Tailor’s shop.

  Monica waved at the middle-aged woman sitting in front of the shop before entering it. Once indoors, she expected to see all the traditional or rustic equipment of the workshop like looms, a wall of spools or fabrics being hung near the walls. Instead, she was greeted with the sight of a living room.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The first thing that drew Monica’s attention was the brown leather couch against the wall, a knee-high rectangular wooden table with rounded edges placed before it.

  “Tea or water?” Ban offered.

  “Tea sounds great!”

  “Alright! Sit tight, I’ll be back before you notice!”

  Monica sat onto the leather couch and it absorbed her. She then took in the scent of her surroundings, it smelled a rich, earthly flavor, with the scent of herbs barely noticeable in the air. It was a surprisingly well-ventilated space, with decent air exchange occurring in the rafters.

  Then it hit her.

  After being so engrossed and excited about the aspect of Magic, she went with the flow and joined Ban in her home. Everything felt so mundane up until this point, as if the villagers were trying to ease them out of the tension, making them feel like this was just another village wherever they were. It wasn’t until she participated in the naming ritual that truly grounded the feeling into her, that this was not their world anymore.

  She came in unprepared.

  Her mind was starting to go blank.

  The rich scent of the leather, which moments ago smelled comforting, now felt thick and suffocating. The light from the window seemed too bright, yet the corners of the room were suddenly too dark…

  A panic attack was coming, she could feel it in her bones.

  “Here you go!” The sound of ceramic plonked onto the table. “Hey, Monica, are you okay?”

  Monica thought she heard her name as her ears tuned into static.

  “Huh, what?”

  Ban repeated, sitting down next to the girl, “Nichole, are you alright?” She placed the back of her hand on the paling girl’s forehead. “You don’t look so good.”

  “Probably the naming…” Monica brushed the question off.

  “Huh! Have some tea, should do you some good!” Ban pulled a ceramic mug closer.

  The mug contained a light golden liquid, two flower heads with golden centers and white petals floated on the surface.

  Monica carefully took the mug, it was warm to the touch, sipping it carefully, it was hot, but it felt good going down her throat. She could swear she tasted a bit of apple and definitely a bit of the flower, the sweetness of the Chamomile tea calmed her down a bit.

  “Tastes good.” Monica forced a smile at Ban.

  “So uhm… I wanted to apologize.” She placed a hand on Monica’s elbow. “For what I said during lunch, I didn’t know.”

  “It’s alright. I don’t mind… Too young to understand back then. I think Russ feels guilty over it, but I don’t blame him.”

  “What happened?”

  “They were involved in an accident. Left us a small fortune… My brother… He doesn’t like to talk about what happened. From what I remember, they said they found something important to Brother, and will be going to get it. Next thing we hear…”

  “I’m sorry.” Ban looked dejected, “That was 10 years ago? 15? Your brother raised you well.”

  “Haha, yeah, 10 years ago. It wasn’t easy for him either, but he took charge, you know?” She looked at Ban.

  Ban understood what she meant, and Monica could see it in her eyes.

  “I get it. I lost many family members when I was about the same age too. Then a hero swooped in and took us in. Treated us like family.” Ban thought about it, “That’s the wrong way to say it. We weren’t like a family. We were one.”

  “Really?” Monica whimpered.

  Ban flicked the nose of Monica, “Yes, really. Everyone in the village.”

  “Wow…”

  “He’s the reason we are who we are today. Otherwise, we might still be living in a cave somewhere, defending ourselves from goblins or bears.”

  “You guys lived in caves?”

  “At one point! But enough about me! What about you? How’d you guys get here?”

  “We were exploring the woods a little bit. Then we got separated and lost, then the wolves found me. I started running, then at one point when I thought I was about to die, I called my brother to save me. Then he showed up! Shoving the wolf away. Then a larger wolf appeared, when we thought we were about to die, Vigil showed up! He helped chase away the wolves!”

  At the mention of wolves, Ban’s mouth widened in shock. She was lost for words.

  “But you two look like commoners!? Do you know magic? Can you fight?” Ban exasperated over Monica, checking her revealed skin and head for any injuries, “Are you hurt!? Those Crimsonmanes are mean sons of bitches. And they’re at the bottom of the food chain!”

  “Wait wait wait. You said ‘larger’ wolf. How big was it?”

  “Uhm… About the size of a horse?”

  “WHAT!? YOU MET THE ALPHA?” Ban stood up in shock. “You’re kidding me? You’re not kidding me, are you?”

  “I don’t know. Its eyes were this big.” Monica held up two fists in the air, “Red too.”

  “What in the name of… Alright, I believe you.” Ban took a moment to calm herself down, “Wow, that was not what I was expecting.”

  “Huh… That explains how you got here. I assume Asa found you out there?”

  “Yeah… Brother felt someone watching us, so we tried to run. Asa appeared out of nowhere behind a tree in front of us.”

  “That’s Asa alright, she’s definitely the type to do that.” Ban nodded to that. “But why did you come here? Where did you come from, and why leave?”

  The long-dreaded question was here, Monica quickly mulled over options, ran through scenes of dramas she had watched, conversations she had with Morus. ‘Don’t go into any details, pick a cardinal direction, roll with it.’

  North, South, East, West, pick one. “We’re from the South.”

  “The South, ei? Since you two are not elves… The Free City!?”

  “Uhm… Yes?” Monica was gauging Ban’s reaction the entire time, but it seems the tailor-mage was trying her best to not make Monica feel uncomfortable, which means it was working.

  “How’s life over there!? Business!?”

  “Same old, same old. Business is booming, but we heard of better opportunities elsewhere.”

  “Oooh! So what happened after that!?”

  “Um… We sold the house. We’re thinking of moving to another place. Brother said he had friends at our destination and they’ll be starting a company there.”

  “Wow! Your brother is brave! Did you want to go there?”

  “Yes? I was accepted into the academy…” Monica’s voice turned into a whisper at the end of her sentence.

  “You got accepted into the Academy? Are you not secretly a princess or a noble?”

  “Not that I last checked?”

  “I don’t believe you. Are you hiding a secret identity?” Ban squinted her eyes playfully at Monica.

  “Haha…” Monica laughed awkwardly.

  “But what happened to your stuff? You showed up with literally, only the clothes on your body. Your brother at least had a bag.”

  “I lost the bag and most of my belongings in it.” She thought for a moment and added, “I mean the spare clothes I had in my bag. The rest was in the car…riage.”

  “That is… unfortunate. We’re not really allowed to leave the village, or else I would volunteer to help you get your stuff back.”

  “Aww, thanks for the offer, I really appreciate it.” Monica hugged Ban. “Why aren’t you allowed to leave?”

  Ban just shrugged, “Chief’s orders. But we do understand why that’s the case.” Ban looked down for a moment, then back up at Monica, a new excitement in her eyes.

  “So! Nichole! Do you want to learn magic?”

  “Yes! I’ve always wanted to!” Monica’s eyes burned with fervor.

  “What do you know about magic?”

  “I… don’t know?” As if trying to convince both Ban and herself, she added, “Maybe the basic elements of earth, wind, fire and water?” She threw in the knowledge of common fantasy magic, hoping it would hit the mark.

  “Those are good basics! Alright, I’m not sure how they teach it nowadays, but back when I learned magic, these were the rules.” Ban took a sip of her chamomile tea, ensuring that she won’t run out of saliva during her monologue.

  “Earth, Wind, Fire and Water are the most common elements. However, everybody also has a different affinity to the elements. For example, I’m a Water Mage.” She uncorked her waterskin and floated a ball of water just to prove her point.

  “But that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of using other elements.” She snapped her fingers and a small flame appeared on her index finger, then blew it out.

  “However, it does take me a bit more mana to use fire than water. But through practice, you’ll get the hang of it.”

  Monica nodded along.

  “You’ll be wondering, how do I cast spells?” The girl nodded her head more feverishly.

  “Our Lord said you need to have a great imagination. Know your affinity, and imagine the things you can do with it. The clearer the image you have in your head, the more precise the control over magic.”

  Monica ooh’ed and aah’ed alongside Ban’s teachings. Then the teacher turned serious.

  “I don’t know if it has changed out there, but remember… Don’t ask about someone’s affinity, that’s straight up taboo. Unless you are confident about your own skills or trust the other person, don’t reveal your affinity too.”

  Monica answered, “Understood!”

  Then Monica’s heart sank as she heard the next question.

  “So Nichole, what’s your affinity? You trust me, right?”