Senshi (Guardians)

The sun had set, and the three moons were rising. Thael and Kyoko took the girls through the tunnel that led to the Valley of the Singing Stones. They stood in front of the rise. It wasn’t long before Una and Shinto appeared on top of it. The old priest held the ring box while they each removed a ring, put it on the other’s finger, and recited the oath. Then they stood at the pedestal and began professing their love for one another. The shawl covering their ring hands lit up very brightly. The girls could hear a beautiful song coming faintly down to them.

Then the pedestal lit up and began to sing the song. It slowly spread to every rock in the area. The whole valley lit up and sang the soul song of Una and Shinto. The girls stood in awe. The song seemed to pass around them and through them. They could feel a strong feeling of pure love coming from everywhere.

Thael and Kyoko’s rings were shining brightly and singing along. Thael stood behind Kyoko, holding her in his arms. When the priest lifted their hands and removed the shawl he proclaimed, “It is done! Watanabe Shinto and Watanabe Una are forever bonded. May their lives be full of love.” Everyone clapped.

The joined couple stepped from behind the pedestal and stood on a small shelf of stone. They bowed. Everyone could see them. They all bowed too, clapping and shouting congratulations to them.

“Show us your rings!” one of the girls shouted.

They raised their ring hands. The rings were brightly shining and singing their soul song. The entire valley sang with them like an accompanying orchestra.

Shinto and Una soon came down the stairs and around the rise to greet their friends. Kyoko hugged Una and Thael took Shinto’s arm in a warrior’s handshake.

“You know, Thael,” Shinto said, his eyes wet with tears, “I had no idea what this was actually about today. In spite of people explaining it and even seeing your Vid. I am still overwhelmed and amazed by this. There really are no words to explain this bonding thing. I don’t think any language in the universe has the ability to express it. I am so glad I met you and Una.”

Thael answered: “The stones are still singing your soul song. Even our rings joined in for a while. I must say I feel the same way. This was as if Kyoko and I had bonded for a second time.”

Una and Kyoko joined them.

“Omedeto gozaimasu, Oneesan, Oniisan.”

Thael bowed. Kyoko bowed to her brother, “Hai. Omedeto gozaimasu, Oniisan, Oneesan.”

Una hugged Thael while Kyoko hugged her brother. The girls had all gathered around congratulating them. Leura hugged them both. Hiro bowed to Una and shook Shinto’s hand. Takeda sensei had tears in her eyes. She congratulated the couple and turned to Thael, “You were right, Thael sama, experiencing this live was so much more incredible than watching a Vid. I’ll never forget this experience as long as I live.”

“Neither will we, Takeda sama. I’m glad you could come and share this with them. When you find someone you love, perhaps you might come back here and share your bonding with us.”

Miss Takeda blushed a little, “Honto? Is it possible for two Earth people to have a Taelon bonding ceremony?”

“I can’t see why not. It worked for Shinto and Kyoko sama. Maybe you could be the first non-Taelon couple to bond here.”

She bowed to Thael. “Thank you, my Prince. Thank you for letting me come here. If that day ever arrives, I would want all of you to share it with me. Until then, I am happy to have been able to experience this and to be able to witness your ceremony tomorrow.”

“We couldn’t very well do any of it without Kyoko sama’s favorite teacher and her classmates here.”

The King and Queen congratulated the couple. Their bonding rings were glowing brightly and singing their own soul song.

“Everyone…?” The King began, “We’ve arranged a reception for the newly bonded couple at the Palace.”

The party was in full swing by ten thirty. The girls had asked the chambermaids and wait staff to dance with them. With some encouragement, especially from the girls, Thael reluctantly agreed to sing a few songs. For a short time the girls reverted to being Paru fans.

At eleven, Thael sang his last song and invited Kyoko up to the stage.

“Minna? Kyoko sama and I have an announcement to make.”

The room quieted down.

“As you know, according to Taelon law and tradition, Kyoko sama and I were legally married the day her eye color changed to the Royal violet. Tomorrow’s ceremony is to ask the maker to bless our union and announce to the thirty-nine Galaxies that we are married,” he moved to the side so Kyoko could continue.

She put her hand on the mike stand and Thael lowered it, “It was very important to us to have our friends and family here to share the moment. Since you are all gathered together tonight, we decided to tell you that we are expecting an addition to our family.”

No one said a word. Kyoko looked at Thael questioningly. He stepped forward, “We’re having our first child.”

“Honto?” Ami chan asked.

Thael and Kyoko looked at each other. She put her ring hand on her lower stomach and it immediately glowed brighter and began to sing.

“Sugoi! How wonderful!” Ami started clapping.

The whole room burst into applause and words of congratulations.

As the applause died down, Kyoko added: “Our mutual friend the Crown Prince Kip said she will be a Princess.”

Yamada chan raised her hand, “Does that mean we’re all going to be Aunties?”

“Of course it does,” Kyoko affirmed. “Princess Aunties.”

Thael spoke into the mike, “She is the luckiest Hime sama in the thirty-nine Galaxies to have so many beautiful princess Aunties, ne, minna?”

The girls laughed and clapped again. Then they rushed the platform.

In the morning they ate breakfast together in robes and p-jays, at the King and Queen’s request. Shinto and Una were there. Everyone was excited for the day’s events. The ceremony was set for late afternoon, but there were many dignitaries to greet before it would take place. Lunch was to be a buffet in the great hall and patio area. The Bagneroth would sit outside where they would feel more comfortable and less cramped.

After breakfast the girls bathed and dressed up to meet the various and diverse gentry from the thirty-nine Galaxies. Everyone was excited and nervous at the same time. Thael was already in the hall waiting for the girls when Takeda sensei led the group of Princesses into the hall.

Thael addressed the group: “Minna, you all look beautiful. Takeda sama, I have to say you look absolutely gorgeous – ne, Minna?”

“Hai! Thael sama,” they bowed respectfully, “Takeda sama.”

Kyoko walked into the hall. She was wearing the violet dress along with the crown jewels given her by the King and Queen. For a moment, no one could speak. Then the girls all bowed reverently. Thael and Takeda sensei stood together staring at the most beautiful Princess they had ever seen.

The girls said together respectfully, “Ohaio Gozaimasu, Kyoko sama.”

Thael walked over to her and took her arm. He was wearing a crown and his formal Prince’s outfit.

“My Princess, you are truly…,” he paused. Thael was temporarily speechless at seeing his wife looking more like a Goddess than a Princess.

“Truly what, my Prince…?”

“Your beauty has left me speechless.”

Kyoko giggled, “Baka.”

“True, but I am, and will always be, your fool, and yours alone.” He bowed, with his right hand across his chest.

“I have a gift for you, my Prince.” She handed him a small ring box.

He opened it. Inside was the ear cuff Kyoko had commissioned Imamoto san to make. It looked just like Kip. Its paws were curved around to grasp his ear so it wouldn’t fall off.

“Thank you, Kyoko sama. Thank you. It’s perfect.”

“Here, let me.” She took the cuff from the box and fitted it to his ear. “Just as I thought, it suits you.”

She giggled again. She looked at the girls, “What’s wrong with them?”

“I think they – or all of us rather – are stunned, your highness, by your appearance. You are truly the fairest of the land,” Ami chan said in awe.

She walked over to the group, “You all look so beautiful.”

That broke the silence. They began to surround her and compliment her appearance. Thael moved back a little and watched with a large smile on his face.

The King and Queen came in, “Everyone looks so marvelous. It warms our hearts to see you looking like proper Princesses.”

The head butler came in and rang a bell. “Your Majesties and Highnesses, The Crown Prince of Dràken and his crown Princess Shissaree.”

They greeted the Prince and he introduced them all to his wife. The girls were thrilled to meet the Dràken Princess.

The bell rang again, “Her Majesty the Queen of the Shnark and her son the Crown Prince.”

Kip saw Thael and flew into his arms, knocking him down, “Uncle!”

Thael scratched Kip’s head and chuckled, “You need to give me a little warning so I don’t keep getting knocked down when you greet me, Kip.”

“Sorry, Uncle,” he helped Thael up, “I‘m just so happy to see you that I forget sometimes.”

“I’m not complaining. You’re family, I just don’t want people thinking you are attacking me,” he hugged kip. As he stood up he saw the Shnark Queen, “Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” he bowed to her, his right hand across his chest. “Thank you both for coming. You already know Prince Skessh. This beautiful lady next to him is his wife, Princess Shissaree. This is the Queen of the Shnark and her son the Crown Prince. It’s impossible for me to pronounce their names without growing another set of vocal chords, so I just call her Your Majesty.”

Shissaree curtseyed, “It’ss a pleassure to meet you, Your Majessty.”

The Shnark Queen bowed respectfully and purred: “Prince Skessh was certainly right when he said how beautiful you are. I am very happy to meet you, Your Highness.”

Many other dignitaries from the Nine Galaxies arrived and were introduced to the group. Princess Mari brought along several of her fairy people. The Larrian contingent was made up of the King and Queen as well as the Prince and his Princess and some other important Larrian dignitaries.

As Thael had said there were many people that looked human in appearance. Some had small differences which set them apart from being human, not unlike the Taelonites.

The girls were especially awed by the Bagneroth who were seated on the patio area. Kyoko introduced the girls to Lord Rocknash. He was a perfect gentleman so it wasn’t long before the girls made friends and were comfortable with his size.

The luncheon meet and greet was over too quickly for the girls. It was time for everyone to get ready for the official wedding ceremony.

All the banquet tables, etc. had been removed from the great hall. They were replaced with chairs. The whole place was decorated with flowers and candles. Up front in place of the serving tables was a white stone altar. Standing in front of it was the old priest.

Thael came in with Kip, Skessh, Shinto and Hiro. Takeda Sensei Led the bridesmaid procession with Takeda sensei, Ami chan, the Shnark Queen, Leura, Una and Hana. The music started for Kyoko to walk the aisle, but she didn’t appear. The music stopped. People began to murmur. The King waved for the procession music to start over. Soon, Kyoko appeared in the doorway carrying something. She was followed by her three Imperial Guardians. They were wearing their swords and shields.

As she came up the aisle people began to gasp. In her arms was a dead Larrian girl. Kyoko’s beautiful white dress was covered in blood. Thael rushed to her.

“What happened? Are you all right?”

“I’m okay, but this poor girl…” Kyoko was in tears. He took the fox girl from Kyoko and laid her on the white runner. Thael checked for life signs. He tried to revive her for a few minutes, but finally, he shook his head. He bowed his head, “Who is she, Kyoko sama?” She could see teardrops appearing on the chambermaid’s uniform. Thael was weeping.

“She was substituting as my Lady in Waiting because Leura was in the wedding party. Her name is, Orianna. I had stepped into the washroom for a moment to check my makeup. When I came back into the room, I saw her lying on the floor covered in blood.”

“Did you see who did it?”

“I caught a glimpse as he ran out. I’m sure it was a Thrallkyre, but why would they kill a chambermaid? She was such a sweet girl.”

“Did you hear him say anything?”

“Something like, ‘death to the Princess!’ I thought he was referring to me, but when he saw me he ran. I just don’t understand,” she put her hands over her face and cried.

“Maybe I can help you understand,” it was Leura. Her eyes and fur were wet from crying, “That assassin was meant for me.”

Kyoko looked up. She was more confused now, “You? What have you ever done to deserve this?”

“I am not Leura the lady in waiting. I am Princess Leurianna of Larr.”

Thael spoke up: “Sumimasen, Kyoko sama, I only found out today who she is, and I didn’t have time to tell you. Her father the King and mother the Queen told me at lunch and thanked us for being so good to her.”

Leurianna continued, “I volunteered to come and serve you as thanks for saving my people and my planet. I had no idea something like this would happen, especially today. The majority of the Thrallkyre are happy where they are, but there are a few that are holdovers from the evil royals reign. They want to be the new rulers of Thrallkyre and Farrengale.

“This is my fault. I don’t know how they found out I was here, but they meant to kill me,” she started crying into her paw-like hands.

Kip comforted her as best he could, “Lady in Waiting or Princess, doesn’t matter, you are our friend and we will help you end this once and for all.”

Thael activated his communicator. A 3d hologram of a Palace Guardian appeared, “Yes, Your Highness?”

“Has any ship taken off in the last few minutes?”

“Yes, Your Highness. One just left. His diplomatic status was in order so I cleared him for Taelon space.”

“Thanks,” he tapped the communicator again. The hologram changed, “Yes, Your Highness?”

“Has a ship passed you by yet? It will have fake diplomatic codes.”

“No, your highness, nothing yet.”

“It should be passing you soon. Stop it. We want the people on board alive. Transport them here to where I am standing.”

“It shall be done, Your Highness. Hold on…Picking up something on the scope. It’s broadcasting your imperial passcodes… transporting two occupants in thirty seconds.”

“Right, all Guardians, make a circle. Be ready to welcome our guests.” They spread out in a circle around the spot Thael had been standing, their weapons at the ready.

The air shimmered in the center of the circle. Two surprised Thrallkyre in sitting positions fell to the floor because there were no longer any seats to hold them up. They looked around and saw that they were surrounded by Guardians.

“What’s the meaning of this? We have imperial passcodes! You have no…”

“Shut up!” Thael stepped forward, “You are both accused of murdering a citizen of Larr who was invited here and under our protection.”

The two were smiling to themselves. Thael stamped his foot and the entire room shook. “Wipe those smirks off your ugly faces! I’m upset enough to jail you, pluck your feathers, and cut off little pieces of you every day until there’s not enough left of you to bury in a shoebox! You’ve traumatized my Princess who had the misfortune of finding Orianna after you took her innocent life.”

The two prisoners looked at each other. The one who was in charge gave the other a stern look.

“Surprised? Yes, you missed your target. Princess Leurianna still lives. Why attack her? I’m the one that blew up your precious evil King and Queen and burned down the castle. I’m the one who rescued the nine hundred Larrians you had in cages. I’m the one who stopped your evil war. Why kill Leurianna and not me? I’m your enemy – not her or her family.”

Shinto shouted: “Speak the truth or I’ll start taking little pieces off you right now!”

One of them snorted, “I might as well tell you. It’s true that you are our biggest enemy, but you are much too powerful for us to kill. Killing the Larrian Princess right under your nose would be a huge embarrassment that would make you incapacitated by grief and guilt. It would send a warning to the King and Queen of Larr that they will be next, unless they surrender their rule to us. We missed our target – so what? There will be others to replace us, and one of them will succeed.”

The other spoke up, “You can stop threatening us with torture. Your family outlawed those things many years ago. So, show us to our comfy cells and feed us for the next thirty years.” They both laughed at that.

Thael just stood there for a few seconds fuming. Finally: “You seem to have the wrong idea of what is going on here. No Taelon has arrested you for any crime and we aren’t going to.”

“What do you mean by that? We’re free to go?” The first one said in a mocking tone.

“No, I said no Taelon has arrested you. That Guardian over there is the one that will officially arrest you and take you into custody.”

A Larrian fox stepped forward. His eyes shone with the Guardian shine. “Yes, His highness is correct. I am Larrian and a Guardian sworn to defend the Larrian world, it’s King and Queen, and the Royal family, as well as its citizens. I arrest you on their behalf for the murder of a Larrian citizen and attempted murder of our beloved Princess. You will be incarcerated and tried on Larr under Larrian law.

“I would have thought Taelon would want to punish you, but Thael explained that your crime was against a Larrian citizen and an attempt to assassinate Larrian Royalty, therefore, it is our right to take you home and try you.”

“You can’t do that! This is Taelon soil.”

“Be quiet! It’s already done.” Thael touched his communicator, “Is the Larrian Guardian ship ready to receive its prisoners?”

“Yes, Your highness, we are ready to transport them to the ship’s brig.”

“Then do so. They need to be out of my sight in the next five seconds or I will find myself breaking Taelon law by flaying them both alive.”

He hardly finished his sentence, when the two prisoners glowed and vanished. Thael sat down on one of the chairs and held his head in his hands covering his eyes. Kyoko went over to comfort him.

The dignitaries had all sat down again. They sat and waited in silence in respect for the dead Orianna. Princess Leurianna stood up: “I think the best thing we could all do to honor Orianna is to have the ceremony anyway. I know, at first thought, it seems disrespectful, but I think that Orianna would rather we don’t give in to terrorists, but show our enemies that we are strong.”

The consensus was that Princess Leurianna was right and since everyone was already there and the hall ready, the wedding would continue. The Larrian King had his guards remove the body as all this was going on. Leurianna went with them. Kyoko returned to the bride’s dressing room.