The reluctant bodyguard

chapter 4

Once the bus stopped, Alina and Merek stepped off ready to start the last part of their journey. The hike up the mountain. It didn't take long to reach the foot of the mountain and they began following the trail, it would take some time so Merek wanted to be prepared and know exactly what to expect "Who exactly is to be meeting at this tower?" He asked as he turned his attention to Alina."Well, the other protectors obviously, along with representatives from each coven. There will also be some witches seeking safe haven from the war. Oh, and of course, the counsel of ten." He raises his eyebrow at that last part, and she quickly elaborates."Ten elders, they basically 'rule' the witches." She rolls her eyes "self appointed of course. They control and manage old grimoirs, artifacts, ancient magic, and even dark magic that is now forbidden to use." Merek is quiet for a second."So I'm guessing these elders are the ones that wanted us found?" She nods at that."My father is an elder, I learned early in life that when an elder decides something, there is no changing it." Merek is slightly annoyed by this information."Your elders are going to learn very quickly that I don't take orders from anyone." He says matter of factly while Alina chuckles "Oh I know, it will be quite entertaining to watch." Honestly, she was tired of their control, so knowing they won't be able to control Merek brought her some joy.

Alina abruptly turns off trail gesturing for Merek to follow her, she wasn't a fan of the slightly treacherous path they are now on, but even less a fan of the next part, to walk straight off a cliff. She is always hesitant to do so. "follow me." She gives a nervous chuckle before stepping off the cliff, vanishing into thin air. Merek becomes hesitant himself now, but mostly curious as he cautiously steps forward, his hand extended out in front of himself. He wasn't exactly sure what he was reaching for and before he knew it, he had stepped off the cliff vanishing as well. A mixture of nausea and adrenaline went through his body before feeling that his feet were safely on the ground, Alina waiting with a smile.

There it was, the tower she had been talking about, it's at least ten stories high, made completely out of stone and wood, it looks old to say the least, but it seems to be well hidden, nothing but huge trees and grass in every direction, even behind him, the mountain was nowhere to be seen. "Well, this is it..." Alina is a bit nervous now and takes a breath "let's do this." Merek stay a foot or so behind her as he follows her into the tower.

Once they enter he can see more magic was at play, the inside looks much larger than the outside. Alina was right about witches coming here for safe haven, families mostly, there were plenty of children running around. "Alina, you've finally arrived." An older man with graying hair comes walking over to Alina speaking in a scolding tone."we've been waiting." Alina lowers her head "Sorry father, but I told you on the phone, we ran into trouble, we were attacked on the the road, this demon crashed our truck and then-" She doesn't get a chance to finish as her father raises his hand to silence her "no matter, you're here now. I shall call the meeting, the both of you will join the others in the grand hall momentarily." And with that, he walks off without another word.

Alina lets out a heavy sigh, knowing her father is disappointed while Merek just shrugs "Personally I think we made good time, all things considered." He looks to Alina in a supportive type of way which makes her give a slight smile in return "You may think that, but it isn't good enough for my father." She says with a mumble.

Within an hour, everyone is being called to the grand hall, the other descendants, the other protectors, and the ten elders are all ushered in. This is the first time the protectors have been in the same room together since the first war eight hundred years ago, so it didn't take long before they were greeting each other like long lost friends. Unfortunately they didn't have a chance to even begin any sort of conversation when one of the elders stood from his chair slamming a gavel down to get everyone attention like they are in some sort of court room "there will be time for pleasantries later. You have been summoned for an important purpose, and the sooner we discuss this matter, the sooner we can ensure we're all on the same page." Alina watches as the protectors each seem equally annoyed and a woman steps forward."You should be more grateful considering you pulled us away from our lives to be here. I haven't even heard a good reason for us to fight for you." The elder seems somewhat surprised, or perhaps confused is the more correct word "you will fight because that is what you were made for, your purpose is to fight demons, we made you, we can get rid of you." This is, of course, an empty threat, but the protectors clearly don't know that as the woman seems to slink back and Merek instead puts his foot forward."we all want the same things, right? To get rid of the demon problem so we can go back to our lives, no need for threats." He glares at the elder and then looks to the woman "And no need for hostility. They couldn't force us to be here, but we chose to be here anyway, because we know it's the right thing to do." The other protectors each nod in agreement and the elder seems pleased as he looks to the other elders, each nodding to each other "you will have your own rooms, make yourselves comfortable for the night, tomorrow we will discuss a plan of action." He bangs the gavel again, signaling the end of the meeting, and the elders make their way out. The woman who spoke comes over to Merek giving him a hug "Ardellia, just as outspoken as I remember." He says with a smile and she grins "and you are just as eager to fight as I remember, always ready to jump into battle." He shrugs "It's in my nature." Alina found this exchange somewhat amusing, but also fascinating, she was finally up close to another protector, not just one or two either, but all four of them in the same room. "You must be Arabella's descendant, you could be twins." Ardellia now had her attention on Alina, who nods to her question,"I am, it's very nice to meet you, and thank you for being here and being willing to help us." She says with all sincerity, Ardellia seems pleased now "well at least one of you witches has some proper manners." Alina can't help but chuckle but she quickly stops when she hears her father calling for her "If you'll excuse me." She rushes off and follows her father out of the room "yes father?" He gives her a simple nod of acknowledgement "I don't trust those protectors. We weren't aware they would have this level of....free will." He almost sounds angry about that."I'd like you to keep an eye on them for me and report anything that might seem odd." Alina was a bit uncomfortable with this request, she wasn't a spy, and she didn't see any reason not to trust them, well, at least Merek that is. She, however, couldn't say no to her father. "Of course, I will report anything I hear." He smiles at her and pats her shoulder."That's my girl." Alina felt herself force a smile, but her father seemed genuinely pleased as he walked off.