Guardian – 1

Anastasius usually looked forward to this. It was one of the highlights of his week. A time when he could throw aside the responsibilities of being ‘Head Guardian’ and just relax. Relax and talk with a friend. For a few hours he could be himself. But not today.

He frowned as he hurried along the pathway, barely noticing as he ploughed through a group of people, knocking one girl almost off her feet completely. Up ahead he could see the gateway that marked the entrance to ‘The Garden’. (‘The Garden’ was, as it names suggests, an area given over to trees and plants, the only areas like it up there. A place of tranquillity where they would go to think or to read) Anastasius’ frown deepened momentarily as there was no one there. No one waiting at the gate for him.

“ Where is she now...?” he mumbled quietly, wandering through the gateway. As he passed under a particularly large tree he heard a familiar giggle, followed by an even more familiar voice calling,

“ Well look who finally decided to show up...”

Anastasius looked up amongst the leaves above him and saw two sparkling blue eyes looking down at him.

“ Sorry Ro...emergency came in...nothing I could...” He started but she cut him off.

“ Come on up...pull up a branch and we can talk properly...” With a slight sigh, but with no trace of his former frown, Anastasius flapped his silver-white wings and flew up into the tree. Landing gracefully and sitting down on a branch he looked across at the girl sat opposite him. Her attention seemed to be focused on a large notepad that she had propped up on one knee, in which she was drawing furiously with a pencil. Strands of her dark auburn hair fell over one shoulder, the rest hung down her back in delicate curls. She glanced over at him and grinned, her young face lighting up as she did so. “ Just give me a minute...nearly finished...” She returned her attention to her drawing.

“ Take all the time you need...” Anastasius smiled back, leaning against the tree trunk as he tried to ignore the knot that was growing in his stomach. He closed his eyes. The garden was silent except for the occasional sigh of a tree and the almost incessant scratching of her pencil on the paper. After a few minutes the scratching stopped and, opening his eyes once more, he glanced over. His face broke into a wide smile as he looked at her now completed drawing. It was a picture of him, sat in the tree with his eyes closed. He looked completely at rest, almost asleep. Then he noticed that she had written across the bottom in her elegant handwriting, ‘Asleep on the job’.

“ It’s for you...” She beamed at him. “ You can hang it in your office!” She winked. He rolled his eyes as he carefully took the drawing, rolled it up and placed it in his pocket.

“ Now you and I both know that I’m on a break...” He smirked, his own deep blue eyes flashing momentarily. “ And I wasn’t asleep! Your drawing is improving...” He added gently, noticing happily the slight flush of colour to her cheeks for a second.

“ Thank you...” She said quietly, putting her pad on the branch in front of her and twirling the pencil between her fingers. “ I should think so too after having this long to practice…even with you as my only model! So...” She said thoughtfully after a moment, “ Do I have to ask...or are just going to tell me what’s wrong...?” She raised an eyebrow as she looked back over at him. One of his own dark eyebrows rose.

“ Who says there’s anything wrong?” He said, trying to sound impassive. The girl smirked.

“ Anastasius...after two hundred years I think I can tell when something is wrong with you...!”

“ Can’t hide anything from you...can I Rowena?”

“ Nope, I really don’t why you bother trying to!” She grinned and then added softly, “ So what is wrong...?” Her eyes widened slightly. “ You’re fine aren’t you?!”

“ I’m fine,” He said equally gently. He should have known she would have been more worried about him then anything else. It was her nature. That was why...it had to be her.

“ Good, “ Rowena let out a long sigh. “ Well, if it’s not you...then it must be to do with work and I don’t want to hear about it!” She looked up into the leaves above her. “ My months holiday started this morning...my first holiday in twenty-five years may I remind you...and until it’s over...I don’t want to hear a single word about our jobs,” She glanced over at him, “ Even from you!” She nodded and returned her gaze to the tree’s branches. Anastasius folded his arms across his chest and sighed heavily. He noticed a slight frown appear on her brow. “ It’s that ‘emergency’ isn’t it...” She said after a while without looking at him.

“ Yes,”

“ They want me to go down and deal with it...” She murmured.

“ I tried to get them to ask someone else...but...” He offered, “ You’re the best we have...”

“ Flattery, in this instance, will get you no where,” Rowena sighed, finally looking over at him, light blue pierced dark blue as her eyes gazed into his.

“ It was worth a shot,” Anastasius smiled briefly. “ Plus it’s the truth!”

“ What about you? I mean, you are ‘Head Guardian’ after all...”

“ I offered...” He unfolded his arms and sat forward, “ But they want you...” There was a hint of a pout on his handsome face and a faint tinge of anger in his voice. Rowena could tell he was a little ‘put out’ by this. But, as well as being a friend, now was not the time to gloat.

“ What about Leo? Or Frances...?” Rowena suggested.

“ Both down there already and neither of them is you...”

“ Felix?”

“ Ro...they only want you!” The silence that followed was a little uncomfortable for them both. Uncomfortable for Anastasius because he hated having to ask her and because knew Rowena would be unable to refuse. Uncomfortable for Rowena because she knew there was no reason good enough in her heart why she should say no.

“ How...how bad is it...?” She asked quietly, her eyes now fixed on the pencil, still spinning in her fingertips.

“ Pretty bad...” Anastasius swallowed nervously, “ A few more days and they reckon...they reckon it’ll be a lost cause...” Rowena sighed and ran a hand through her hair before looking at him once more. With an even heavier sigh she stopped twirling the pencil and snatched up her pad.

“ I guess you’d better take me to them then...” She groaned as she swung her legs over the side of the branch and jumped down. With a slightly satisfied smile, and the knot now undoing in his stomach, Anastasius flew down beside her and the two left the garden.

“ I wish you wouldn’t jump like that...” He mumbled as they walked.

“ Why?” She said grimly. “ It’s not like I can hurt myself...plus until you guys decide to give me my wings...I don’t have a lot of choice...do I?” She asked pointedly as they reached their destination.

“ Well, if it’s any consolation, after this one...I reckon those wings’ll be yours...” Anastasius opened the door for her but she didn’t go through. She merely stared at him.

“ This really is bad...isn’t it...” Rowena said gravely before shaking her head and going through the open doorway.

" You'll see," Anastasius closed the door behind them and they began to walk down the corridor. The two walked in silence until they came to another door. Big, solid and foreboding. Rowena shivered,
" I hate this part..." She glanced up into Anastasius' face.
" I know..." He reached out and squeezed her hand briefly, "...but we all have to do it...it's part of the job..." He reached out to turn the handle.
" I know, I know..." She grumbled, pulling her hair back behind her ears, " But they're just...so...unfeeling about it all..." She shrugged and motioned for him to carry on. With that he opened the heavy door and they walked through. As the door shut noiselessly behind them, the golden letters on it shone in the light coming from inside,

GUARDIAN PLACEMENT OFFICE

Inside, Rowena stood in the middle of what can only be described as a cloudbank. It wasn't a room (as there were no walls or ceiling and technically...no floor either!) more like a series of platforms formed entirely out of clouds. Anastasius had flown to a higher platform to sit with the other Head Guardians, Luke and Mary. Above them, on the highest cloud, sat three more people, older and with sterner faces.
" Aah, Rowena...we had hoped you would come..." The man in the middle, John, said with what would have been a benign smile if it had only touched his eyes as well as his lips. Rowena bowed her head slightly.
" You wanted to see me," She said politely, " So here I am..."
" Has Anastasius informed you of why your presence was required...?" The man on John's left asked, his name was Mark.
" No...only that an emergency had presented itself and that you require my assistance with it..." Rowena answered.
" Then, you agree to take on this 'case'..." The third man said, this last man was Peter. Rowena allowed herself to smile slightly.
" I cannot agree to take on a 'case' that I know nothing about..." She could see Anastasius smirking out of the corner of her eye. " If you would care to enlighten me...once I know the details, I will be more than happy to answer that question..." Peter smiled himself, but again it was a somewhat 'hollow' expression with little feeling behind it.
" Of course..." He nodded and a small cloud started to float down from beside him to in front of Rowena. The swirling cloud grew darker and darker in its core and then suddenly it lit up with a bright silvery light. Rowena shielded her eyes for a moment before looking into it's now glowing depths. Two dark eyes swam into view, dark brown, deep and rich in colour, framed with equally dark eyebrows and lashes. A definite jaw and clear cheekbones became obvious. Short dark hair and a day or two's growth on his chin. The face that appeared was not happy, not that Rowena had expected to see a smile there (the faces they saw rarely looked anything but distressed or angry), but those two eyes held so much pain. So much anger. Rowena found she had to tear her eyes away. His gaze alone made her heart so heavy and had caused a lump to jump painfully into her throat. Never had she seen such a sorrowful face.
" Wh-who is he...?" She asked, looking up into the impassive faces above her. Mark shuffled through some papers before speaking.
" Er...Mathieu...Mathieu Ranska..." Mark checked the paperwork, his tone business like. Clearly Mathieu's eyes had had little effect on him. "...French...an actor...now living, sorry working and living in London..."
" What happened to him...?" Rowena asked quietly, daring to look back into the dark eyes floating next to her.
" Seems he was recently married, a young actress by the name of Samantha..." John's tone was equally impassive. " They were expecting their first child..."
" She's dead...isn't she..." Rowena's was not a question but Mark felt the need to confirm her thoughts.
" Both her and the baby," He said without the slightest emotion in his voice.
" He's now going off the rails..." Peter added. " He is, was at least, a good man with a kind heart...but now it seems that that heart is in danger of turning to stone..." He paused.

” What exactly do you expect me to be able to do for him…?” Rowena raised a delicate eyebrow higher. “ It’s not as if I can bring her back…and that’s the only thing I can think of that would make him happy again…” The three men sat on the highest cloud looked at each other.

“ Your records show that you have had a lot of experience in cases such as these…” John’s voice was firm as he looked down into her eyes. “…Your gift with the sick and dying has shown itself time and again…”

“ But he’s neither of those,” Rowena mumbled.

“ You must show him that the world still has much to offer…”

“ And that he still has a lot to give,” Peter added quietly.

“ …Why me…?” Rowena’s voice was hesitant; it was not good to ask too many questions. The ‘benign’ smile returned to John’s face.

“ Well not only do you have an exceptional record…making you one of our highest and most efficient guardians…” Rowena blushed slightly at this. “ We all feel that you are the best suited to this case…”

“ You and Mathieu have a lot in common…” Mark glanced down at her. “ There are many parallels between his life and yours…you’ve both suffered great sorrows in your lives…you both love the dramatic arts…”

“ You’re both stubborn!” Anastasius smirked quietly.

“ We realise you were due to start your holiday today…” Mark glanced at his papers once more, his eyes widened slightly, “ Your first I believe in some time…but this is an emergency and when you return I’m sure we will be happy to double your time off…”

There was a moment of silence. Rowena looked into the eyes of the man she would have to help. His sorrow seemed to pour into her heart, into her very soul. She had to help him.

“ When do I leave?” She asked firmly as the others sighed with audible relief.

“ As soon as possible ideally…” Peter said.

“ I’ll go this afternoon…” Rowena answered quietly.

“ Of course, should you need assistance…Anastasius will be ready to give you advice as and when you need it…” Mark gestured to the Head Guardian sat below him. Who gave Rowena a small wink.

“ If that is everything, then I ask to be excused…I have some packing to do…” Rowena bowed her head slightly.

“ That is all…” John smiled down at her as she bowed and turned to leave, this time there was a slight sparkle in his eyes. “ Good Luck Rowena…”

“ Thank you…” She smiled back before going back through the doorway.

“ You put me up for this didn’t you…” Rowena fumed as she hastily packed various books into a large bag.

“ I might have suggested your name at some point but that’s not reason to go off the deep end at me!” Anastasius watched her from the safety of the doorway, leaning on the frame. He ran a hand through his long dark hair and sighed.

“ I’m not!” She snapped as she stalked over to the bookcase and grabbed at some more books.

“ Plus you are the best we have,” Anastasius reassured her.

“ Stop it, you’ll make me blush…” She said angrily without breaking stride on her third march to the bookcase.

“ If anyone can help him it’s you!” He said firmly, walking over and stopping her angry pacing. She looked up at his olive toned face,

“ You really think so…?” There was fear in her eyes, he could see it. He smiled warmly at her,

“ I know so,” He pinched her nose before pulling her into a tight hug. “ They wouldn’t send you if they doubted you…not once in two hundred years of this have you let them down…” He turned her face up to his. “ This time will be no different!”

The sound of a horn came through the air. Rowena smiled and rolled her eyes.

“ That’ll be my beam…!” She sighed as she picked up her bag and followed Anastasius out of the door. Soon they were at the beam of purest sunlight that would take Rowena down to earth. As she was about to step into it, Anastasius caught her arm.

“ Take care…and not just of him!” He said softly and she grinned.

“ I will! Don’t worry…” She hugged him quickly before stepping towards the beam. “ That’s what being a Guardian Angel is all about isn’t it?!” She winked, before waving and stepping into the sunlight. There was a flash and she was gone.