The Guardian Chronicles: Chapter Three

Irina stared at Artemis as he came to stand beside me, grasping my hand in his.
"So, you're the boy." Irina beamed with delight at having found him finally.
"I am." His face was stern, and he gripped my hand harder.
"Stupid boy. You will not have that throne as long as I am around." She almost growled at him.
"It's not the throne I want." Artemis seemed calm, but I knew that inside, he was searing with rage. Irina could obviously detect it as well, for she started smirking. Artemis' rage was now my own. There was no longer any doubt. I wanted her dead.
Artemis seemed to sense this. He pulled me behind him, putting himself between me and my aunt. Irina took advantage of the moment, stalking back and forth like a great cat.
"Oh, how cute, hiding behind him like he can protect you." I glared at her, almost blinded by tears of rage that threatened to fall. My fingers traced the edges of the rock that I had absentmindedly picked up on the way here.
Suddenly, the tension broke. The rock flew toward its target before I even knew I had thrown it. Irina whirled around and moved to dodge it, but it sliced through her cheek. She dove at me, dagger in hand, but I was ready. The rock had given me enough time to unsheathe my own dagger, and I parried every attack, though many still wounded me. Irina had a second blade out suddenly, and was battling Artemis as well. Soon, our combined attacks were too much for her, and she fell to the ground. I raised my dagger and moved toward her. Artemis grabbed my arm, stopping me. For a human girl, I was strong, but he was stronger. He pulled me around to face him.
"Leave her." His green eyes stared directly into mine.
"But--" I started to protest, but he interrupted me.
"Leave her. If you kill her now, it will only cause trouble for you." I stopped struggling and glared at the ground. Irina glared at me, and Artemis glared at Irina. Finally, he put his arm around my waist and we turned away from my aunt. He kept glancing back out of the corner of his eye, as if Irina would run up and attack us from behind. She didn't.
We made it back to the castle safely, and Irina was nowhere in sight. I led Artemis to the dumbwaiter in silence, as I didn't want to alert anyone of his presence. When we reached the thirteenth floor and my room, Arya and Solara were still waiting for me. Arya took one look at Artemis and raised an eyebrow. Solara stood up and walked over to us, and Arya followed.
"Good evening, Artemis." Solara smiled sweetly.
"Good evening, Solara." He didn't smile. He rarely smiled at anyone besides his friends, and me.I was sure Arya would ask me about this after Artemis left.
"Artemis, this is my sister, Arya." I tried to hide the emotions that were still burning through my mind from my encounter with my deranged aunt.
"It is a pleasure to meet you." As Arya greeted him, she seemed extremely curious about him.
"The pleasure is all mine." Artemis' voice showed only a small amount of emotion, but Arya was pleased.
"Oh, such a gentleman!" Artemis looked at me as if Arya belonged in an asylum. I shrugged, and Arya ignored the gesture. "I need to go down to my room and unpack. Goodnight, all." She left the room without another word.
I couldn't hide my emotions anymore. I flopped down on my bed and let the tears flow in silence. I didn't sob or whine, only laid there as the tears rolled down my cheeks. Artemis sat on the bed beside me, and Solara sat on the windowsill.
"Why did she do that, Artemis? Why would Irina try to kill me?" My voice was hysterical. Artemis pulled me to him. I laid my head on his chest, and he placed his hand on my head. I heard Solara murmur smething to him and leave the room.
"I don't know, Luna. But I won't let her hurt you. We sat there for several moments, just sitting in silence. After awhile, the silence was broken.
"I have to go, Luna."
"It can't be dawn already." I didn't move. I simply laid there, my head on his chest. Several seconds later, he sat up, causing me to sit up with him. He stood and went to the glass doors, opening them silently.
"Will you be back tonight?" I went to join him on the balcony. He turned to face me, his green eyes staring straight into mine.
"As you wish, Princess." I blushed. That was why I had told him not to call me his princess. "Goodnight, your Highness." He grinned. I smiled back.
"Goodnight, my Knight." He kissed me goodnight and climbed over the edge of the balcony.

The Guardian Chronicles: Chapter Two

I woke the next morning to Solara trying to shake me awake.
"Luna, come on, love. Get up!" She finally pushed me off of my bed, not realizing that I was already awake.
"Ow! Geez, Solara, I'm up already! What do you want?" I used the bed to pull myself off of the floor, rubbing my head in an attempt to ease the pain.
"Sorry. Anyway, you'll never believe it!"
"What is it?" I was bored again.
"Your sister has returned! Arya's back!"
I stood quickly and went to the window. Outside sat a carriage drawn by two white horses. Beside it stood a small girl in a silver gown. Her long, dark curls were braided neatly and hung in the center of her back, complimenting her slightly tanned skin. After several seconds, she looked up and saw me. Even from my window, I could see the smile spread across her face as she waved at me. I waved back and ran out to greet my sister.
"Arya!" I nearly tripped over the hem of my gown as I rushed to meet her.
"Luna!" She met me halfway and threw her arms around me. Then, she grasped my shoulders, which were at her eye level, and examined me from head to toe. I wondered how different I looked to her after all of the years she had been gone. Arya was my younger sister, but I was the rebellious, carefree one. Sometimes, she seemed like more of a mother to me than a younger sister.
"You have grown, love." She chuckled, as she had always loved measuring me to see how much closer she was to my height. "You're almost as tall as mom!" I nodded.
"How long will you be staying, Aya?" Aya was my personal nickname for Arya.
"Hopefully for a few years." Arya would be eighteen in one year, and I only had a month before I could inherit my parents' kingdom.
"Welcome home, Arya." My aunt had come out and was standing at the top of the courtyard steps. Arya smiled at her, but nothing more.
"Well, let's get your belongings to your room." Irina snapped her fingers, and Solara and several other servants appeared. Irina pointed to Arya's trunks and went into the castle. Arya and I exchanged glances, and Arya went inside as well. Solara grabbed two of Arya's trunks, and I walked inside with her. She started toward the steps, but I stopped her.
"Sol, you can come this way. She followed me, and I led her to a wall which had a hole in it. I reached in and pulled a rope. Several seconds passed, and Solara simply stared at me. Finally, the dumbwaiter decended. I helped Solara lift the trunks into the dumbwaiter and crawled inside. Once Solara was safely inside, I pulled the other end of the rope pulley, and the dumbwaiter began its ascent. We were silent as we passed several floors.
When we got to the eleventh floor, I helped Solara get the trunks out of the dumbwaiter and continued up to my own room on the thirteenth floor. When I got to my room, I took out my diary. Before I wrote anything, I flipped through the pages, as I did every day. Several pages were torn, and there were a few pages falling out. I wasn't surprised. I flipped back to the first page and read the entry:
Dear Diary,
I saw a boy my age sitting all alone at the fair the other day. He looked lonely and sad, so I went over to talk to him. He didn't say much, but he told me his name was Artemis. I told him I thought that was a funny name. He smiled, but I don't think he thought it was funny.Then I told him my name and asked him what kind of ice cream he liked. He said he liked strawberry, so I asked Mommy if she would get him a strawberry ice cream cone. When we finished our ice cream, I had to go home, so I invited him to my brithday party. He came, and he gave me this diary! Anyway, Mommy says it's bedtime now, so goodnight, Diary!

I smiled and turned to the inside of the front cover. There, I had taped the piece of paper that was inside the diary when Artemis gave it to me. On it was written a brief note:
Thank you for being my first real friend. Artemis.
I smiled again and closed the book. As soon as the book was back in its drawer, there was a knock on the door. I went to open, and Arya and Solara were waiting in the hallway. They came in and I closed the door behind them. Arya sat on the bed and Solara stood next to her, and I went to sit on the windowsill.
"So, Arya, how was China?" I was genuinely interested, though I still sounded bored.
"Oh, Luna, it was wonderful!" She was suddenly buzzing with excitement. "I wish you could have been there! The mountains, the city, and the pandas! Oh, they were so cute!" She kept talking, but my eyes were drawn to the ground outside. I had lost track of time, and it was dark now. It was after curfew, but a tall, thin, cloaked figure made its way toward the woods. Arya was still talking, but I excused myself and took the dumbwaiter to the second floor. I slipped outside, unseen, and took off after the figure.
I followed the person deep into the woods,and stopped at the edge of a clearing. The figure stepped into the moonlight and removed its hood, and I watched in silence as long, red locks cascaded down the woman's back. I gasped, and instantly regretted the action.
"Isn't it after your curfew, Luna?" Irina's voice was cold as she turned to face me. I stepped from my hiding place, my dark green gown blending in with the ground in the darkness. I said nothing.
"You know, Luna, most people wouldn't like to find out that their ruler doesn't follow the rules set for the village." Irina's eyes burned with mischief and hatred, and I clenched my fists. My eyes drifted down to her hand, and the object she held.
"I'm not their ruler." My voice was hard. She took a step toward me, glaring. The moonlight gleamed off of the knife blade in her hand as Artemis stepped from the shadows behind me...