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...