Six years earlier

I fidgeted, a nervous wreck in front of great oaken doors. I still couldn't believe they chose me. I was only eleven and a half. Of all people, Mystique of Aveatall had chosen me.

"Brooks Waywerve!"

As the announcer said my name, I gulped. Pushing the doors open, I walked into the Great Hall. King Adrien and Queen Selena were seated on their thrones at the far end. When I entered, they stood and smiled warmly.

This surprised me. No one ever smiled at us. Not if they knew who we were. People like me tend to stand out. Just a fact of life for us Mystics. We weren't ordinary and people could tell. Sure we could hide our differences, but Mystics take pride in not being normal.

So I held my head high as I walked across the Hall, reminding myself I had nothing to be ashamed of. There was nothing to be afraid of. Out of everyone, Mystique chose me. I could not disappoint her.

I bowed in respect, rising only when I heard the king say to do so. To my utter astonishment, he bowed back.

"Don't be so surprised, my boy. If I bow to you, I respect you. I respect any of those Mystique would choose to send to me. For I am sure if she sent you, then you will be a great ally to me and my kingdom."

"You give me great honor, Your Highness. You are too kind. Surely, you would be better off with someone older and more experienced than me, but I will do my best to serve you and your kingdom." I bowed again.

"Our kingdom. You are a part of it now, are you not? Now, I am sure Mystique briefed you on this matter?"

"Yes sir."

"Then let us dawdle no longer. I assume you have the package I requested?"

"Yes sir," I answered again, and pulled out a small, wrapped object from the inner pocket of my cloak. Handing it to him, I watched with anticipation as he received it.

He started to unwrap it, but paused. Looking at me amused, he asked, "Did she not tell you what this is?" He indicated the package in his hands.

I shook my head. "No Your Highness, she did not."

King Adrien chuckled. "Would you like me to show you?" His eyes twinkled with slight mischief.

I hesitated. Of course I wanted to see what it was, but should I say yes? After all, if Mystique didn't tell me, then surely I wasn't allowed to know. But curiosity gnawed at me. "Yes sir. If it pleases you."

"Then, if you would." The king handed me the parcel.

Unraveling the string and unwrapping the paper, a little white box waited for me. It bore no markings. I looked at His Highness, who nodded once. Taking off the lid, I was surprised to find a necklace. Phoenix in shape and amber in color, it glinted in the sunlight from a nearby window.

I gazed at His Highness questioningly. "A necklace, sir? What for?"

"Not just any necklace my boy. Its proper name is the Fire Amulet."

"A fire amulet?"

"Not a, my boy. The. The Fire Amulet."

"Oh. What's it for? Who is it for? If you can tell me that, sir."

"Of course! This necklace has a protection charm, an encryption charm, and a boundary charm. The reason I tell you this is for your mission. Your job is to guard the person who will soon wear this necklace."

"And who might that be sir?"

"My daughter, Princess Serefina. She is around the same age as you, I believe. Your job is to guard her, until death do you two part. I trust you can handle that?"

I nodded, though he made it sound like a wedding proposal.

"Good. Now, you are to live in the castle until further notice. I will have a servant bring you to your room. There you will find your luggage and things, along with a detailed description of your mission. You are dismissed, for now."

"Yes, Your Highness." I nodded again, bowed, and left the room. As promised, a servant was waiting for me outside the Great Hall. She didn't say a word, but merely beckoned for me to follow her. She led me down several hallways, past many closed doors.

Many twists and turns later, we arrived at what was apparently to be my room. I thanked her before she left me to my devices. True to the king's word, all my belongings had already been brought up.

The room was, while plain, very cozy and fairly spacious. Sitting down, I noticed a scroll placed on the bed. Figuring it must be the instructions His Highness was talking about, I untied the red ribbon and broke the wax seal that had the king's emblem on it.

It read:

"In this letter, you shall find contents regarding your mission, henceforth to be known as Amulet. Your mission, as I told you earlier, is to guard my daughter Serefina. She holds a great deal of power inside her, but she is nowhere near ready to start training. The Queen and I believe that by her seventeenth birthday, she will be strong enough to handle training. You are to take care of her and keep her out of trouble until then. That includes not letting her know that she has powers. We want her to live as normal a life as possible, and not be burdened with all the weight that comes with training and being a ruler. Also, there is something you must know to protect her properly. It concerns her family, specifically, her aunt. Fortunately, she has not come to know her, as we wished. Her aunt would do anything for the opportunity to snatch the crown from my precious daughter's possession. As terrible as it is, she can never know her aunt. As of now, Serefina believes that she is visiting in a neighboring continent. Until she is older, she must not know any of this. We will tell her when the time is right. When that time comes, I hope for you to help train her.

Please meet us in the dining hall for dinner. You will meet with the head butler, Tom, and Serefina's personal maid, Margarette, at half past noon for a late lunch. Until tonight, please take time to rest and settle in. The servants will leave a formal suit on the bed fitted to your specifications.

~Sincerely, King Adrien Aenens"

I put the scroll down, feeling a heavy burden slowly causing my shoulders to sag. My job was to protect Princess Serefina. The Princess, as in the sole heir to the Aegravean crown.

Until now, my job had been to deliver the package safely to the King's hands and train to become a guard. That is what Mystique told me. But now, I wasn't sure what was going to happen to me. I had to become a protector, but what exactly did that entail? Besides, I am only eleven.

I looked outside. The sun was still high in the sky. It was past midday, so I had little time before lunch. The suit had yet to arrive, so I figured that just going as I am would be acceptable.

With a start, I wondered if I was under-dressed when I met with the king, and that was why he was sending me the suit. If I was, he never said anything. Oh well, there was nothing I could do about it. It was in the past.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," I said. The door opened and a servant stood on the threshold. "I've come to fetch you for lunch with Miss Margarette and Butler Tom. Please follow me." She bowed before turning and leading me down the maze of halls. I accompanied her down to what I guessed was the dining room.

There stood a tall, sturdy man in a tailored suit and a plump woman wearing a housekeeping outfit. They had to be Tom and Margarette.

The man smiled. He couldn't be any older than twenty-three. The woman, on the other hand, was probably in her mid-forties. The man in the butler suit addressed me first. "You must be Brooks, am I correct?"

I nodded. "Yes sir, that would be me. And you are Butler Tom and Miss Margarette?"

The woman smiled in a motherly way. "That's right. But you can call us Margarette and Tom. We don't mind. Please, do sit down. This won't take long, I'm sure." Both servants sat down, while Tom motioned for me to do the same.

When we were all seated, he continued talking. "His Majesty wanted us to show you around the palace. As far as training goes, I will be the one to teach you in your job of protecting the princess. An agenda for your day to day activities will be posted outside your door. Miss Margarette is Miss Serefina's attendant, so she will help you keep tabs on the princess and hand you her schedule. It changes every day. Any questions?"

I shook my head.

"Good. Here is you itinerary. We start at first light tomorrow." He handed me a piece of paper with dates and times on it. Just then, food was brought and placed in front of us. Conversation paused as the lunch was eaten in silence.

At the end, Margarette smiled at me again. "You can change into more comfortable clothes if you wish. No one is too formal around here. You only have to wear fancy clothes when visitors come, or for formal dinners and such. I can tell you, those things are so stuffy. Right, Tom?" He nodded stoically.

I laughed a tiny bit at that. I liked her. She had an amiable personality, I could tell. She would be easy to get along with. Tom did not seem so bad either, just a little strict. After lunch, I went back to my new room. On the bed was a change of castle clothes and the suit. I sighed, already worn out.

After I changed into more comfortable clothes, I explored a bit. It would be good to get a hand on the surroundings. It was probably an hour after meeting with the butler and the maid when I noticed a girl running around.

She looked like she was looking for something, or more appropriately, was trying to find a place to hide. Her gaze alighted on a nearby barn-like structure that I could only assume was a stable.

I followed her, my interest piqued. You know what they say; curiosity killed the Mystic. Besides, it wouldn't do me any harm if I made some friends. Maybe she could help me.

.I watched as she climbed up into the hayloft for some odd reason. It was not but a second later that I could hear Miss Margarette calling for Princess Serefina. Wondering if the girl above me was she, I decided to make my presence known. "Hello."

She looked down, surprised at first, then angry. "Shut it," she ordered. Yes, almost definitely the princess. She sounded like she was used to people obeying her. "They're going to notice me if you look like you're talking to someone who's not there."

"Who's looking for you?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer to that.

"If you really must know, a maid and some others," she replied loftily. "Now shut up already or climb up here if you insist on talking to me."

I chose to climb the ladder. She was being rather rude, but I did not mind. "Does that mean you're Lady Serefina?" As if on cue, Miss Margarette called out for her again, muttering to herself about how much trouble the princess was in.

Then Tom called out. "Miss Serefina, come out this instant. You put Miss Margarette through enough trouble as it is."

The girl whom, at this point, I could only assume to be the princess, frowned, looking defeated. "Shoot."

Looking at her face, it was hard to keep from laughing. Imagining the strict Butler Tom playing hide and seek did nothing to help, so I covered my mouth. My face turned red from the effort.

Princess Serefina pouted. "What's so funny?"

I just could not stop myself, and burst out laughing. With a worried look she shushed me. But it was too late. They had found where we were hiding.

"Miss Serefina!"

"Lady Serefina! I've found you. You come down here right now. It isn't safe up there," Margarette scolded her. That confirmed it. It was definitely the princess.

"Sorry miss. It was just so funny. You don't usually see this sort of thing where I come from. It's like you were playing an unusual game of hide-n-seek."

"Unusual indeed. Thank you, Brooks. You were most helpful today." Tom smiled at me.

I smiled back. "No thank you necessary sir. I'm glad to be of service." I looked back at the princess. "Until we meet again, Princess Serefina."

I bowed respectfully and left the stables. As I walked away, I heard the butler and maid reprimanding her. Chuckling, I had a feeling it was going to be like this permanently. Or at least until she was mature enough to stop herself.