The Path of the Protector

Earning the Balance

Emily stood in one of the back corners, never realizing how loud a community such as this could be. The voices crashed over each other, and Helen managed to sneak up on her as she sat beside her.

"Apologies, but your lesson will be with me. The voices getting to you yet?" Helen asked her.

Emily nodded as Selene whimpered at the onslaught. "Yes, they are giving me a headache."

Helen chuckled as she knew it would happen. "Now your lesson is to learn to shut out the noise that is not directed at you. Others generally can only hear the the voices of the wolves when there comments are directed towards them. As queen you habe the ability to hear them all, no matter who they are speaking to. If you allow it, it will overwhelm you and drive you mad. You will get better with practice, but I wamt you to try and ignore the conversations not directed at you. You will always know when someone is speaking to you, and what is general chatter." Helen told her kindly before she sat down.

"Close your eyes and focus on my voice. Imagine you are in a room full of people, dozens of loud conversations that do not include you. Just as you do with your hearing, allow what does not concern you to wash over you and flow as a river. Allow the conversations you do not need to focus on fade into background noise, until you can hear your own thoughts again." Helen said to her as zhe did what Helen said.

It took her a few minutes, and Selene audibly sighed when sje had finally achieved success.

'Can you hear me now?' Frost asked her quietly.

"Yes." Emkly replied as she felt the connection with her establish before she heard the words. She could sense the conversations around her, but unless she focused on them she could only get a sense of the emotions involved.

'Excellent, I knew when you did not reply you were ready for this lesson. Working together is one of our biggest strengths, but your lesson for today is delegating. You will be able to hear all who consider themselves your subjects, whether they mean to include you or not. You must decide who you will listen too, and who you will ignore. Being a good ruler is knowing who to trust to execute your will, and delegating the task of listening to those who need your counsel to others.' Frost told her allowing her to feel the difference between a directed thought, and what she would experience from someone just speaking.

Emily nodded, knowing her father had used dozens of envoys and close counselors as he commanded the Kingdom he ruled. "Thank you Helen, it is greatly appreciated." Emily said as her headache began to ease.

"When you are ready let me know, I will have you taken to your quarters so you can relax. You fared far better in your lesson than I ever expected." Helen said beforenshe stood and walked back into the throng of wolves.

An hour later the Elite Warrior of this Pack came and found her, Brian in tow behind him. "We must begin the lesson for the protectors, are you prepared to begin?" he asked simply of her.

"I am." Ashley replied as Emily informed her she was going to go to her room for some rest. Ashley could feel the strain in her voice, but knew her charge would be well protected in her absence.

Ashley and Brian followed the woman to the training fields, and were surprised when she unwrapped two swords, armor, and many weapons that were elegantly forged amd kept.

"One of you is called, the other joins of free will. We will continue with your lesson on working together however. As protectors of the Royal Family, it is your duty to use your own life to protect that of our queen. Do you willingly accept this noble duty, and swear that for so long as you shall draw breath it shall be done in the service of her and the goddess?" the Warrior demanded.

Ashley did not hesitate before stepping forth. "I swear that for so long as I draw breath, I shall use my life to protect that if our Queen and those of the Royal Family." Ashley declared proudly.

Brian only hesitated a moment before he stepped next to his daughter and repeated the oath.

"Than step flrward and claim the gear used by the Royal Protectors. Allow itnto fill you with pride, and inform all those who see it the consequences they shall face should they choose to oppose you." she said as she turned and allowed them tonget their gear.

As soon as Ashley grabbed the hard leather armor, she felt a strange energy pulsing through her hand. She grabbed the full set of armor and gear, and walked into one of the stalls against the wall to change. With each piece she knew she was forever altering her Destiny, tying it to the life of Queen Emily. She would fall before she ever allowed harm to her queen.

'We will be stronger once we can shift again. Only 10 more days before that blessed event.' Midnight said to her. It was her wolf, and as white as the queen was, Midnight was aptly named. Her fur was jet black, and she could easily slip into and hide in the shadows of the dark.

'Why can we not shift, we have once before?' Ashley asked curious.

'Yea, about that.' Midnight said recalling the one fang piercing her neck when she encountered Emily, just before sje was thrown and knocked unconscious. 'Lycan bites are always venemous.' she said quietly to Emily.

'You mean...' Ashley trailed off as she realized the reason she couldn't shift was because her wolf was changing.

'It will complete with the full moon, and than you shall truly know what our strength is.' Midnight purred as she strapped on the last blade to her thigh.

Ashley looked in the mirror, and loved the look and feel of the armor, almost as it it had been made for her specifically. She walked back out to the training grounds, knowing this was far from the beginning of their lesson today.

Brian joined her a short time later, and their trainer for the evening turned and looked at them.

"Now we will begin, I assume you two know eachother?" she asked.

"She is my daughter, of course we know each other." Brian replied as Bane grumbled in his head.

"Than what is her Wolfs name?" he was asked.

"I do not know." Brian replied.

"Than daughter or not, you know nothing about her. The woman before you is but a shell of the people she truly is, two souls, one body. Before we begin, the two of you will spend an hour getting to know one another." she demanded before she stormed off.

'My name is Midnight.' Ashley's wolf began nervously.

An hour later the 4 of them were talking through the link, and it was clear they had had quite the conversation.

"Excellent, now we can begin. I will be your trainer for this evening. My name is Danielle, and my wolf is Grace. Ashley, I understand you are not supposed to change?" Danielle asked her seriously.

"Correct, although I am not entirely sure why." Ashley replied.

'It will hurt, lots.' Midnight said so they could all hear.

"Because if you do you will be stuck in the shift until the full moon rises to its Zenith on the next full moon. As that is 10 days away, it would likely result in your death." Danielle said seriously.

"Wait, what do you mean she is changing?" Brian asked knkwing his daughter should have changed the first time at the full moon.

"Emily bit me that night, and a fang pierced the skin before it healed." Ashley told him.

"Emily and Selene are pure Lycan." Danielle said honestly. "Unlike Werewolves who can control when they transmit the venom that causes the change, Lycans cannot. Fortunately she was already a changed wolf, otherwise it would have likely proved fatal." she finished explaining to both of them.

"If you wish Mr. Brian, it could easily be arranged for you as well." Helen said with a wicked smile on her face.

Brian gulped as he knew her offer was not made in jest. He however did not know if he dared go through that at his age. "Inwill pass for now." he said after he considered it for a few moments.

"Let us begin, for each of you need much training. The weapons you wear are more than flr decoration. They are specially forged weapons, meant only for those who protect the Royal Family. Weapons may have advanced over time, but by the time you are ready, a gun will be as useless as a butter knife against your charge." Danielle said as she began training them.

Emily awoke early in the morning, and walked out on the Balcony to observe the training her Protectors were going through.

Ashley was forced to train agaimst multiple opponents at the same time, and she was moving at a speed that Emily would have thought possible a few days ago. Brian was moving nearly as fast, but she saw he dealt with 2 less opponents as well.

Their weapons moved as if they were nothing more than extensions of the arm that held them, as both had trained with swords before. It was clear theybwere working as a team, and Emily focused on their link as they battled. When she connected to them she could feel the level of information they were sharing, the feeling sending her for a little bit of a loop.

As her head swam so too did her Protectors, and only Danielle's order for her soldiers to halt stopped them from being seriously injured.

'Majesty, as much as I appreciate your control of your own abilities now, your protectors are not yet up to scratch.' Danielle said politely. 'When the time is right they will teach you what you need to know to join them in battle, however that time has not yet arrived.' she said breaking the link as Ashley and Brian stood out of breath.

"Well done, well enough that you have earned 5 hours of rest. We will finish your training with the remaining troops in the morning. Your majesty, as much joy as you could likely find in it, please do not repeat that in the morning." Danielle said before turning and walking away from the training field.

'Thank you, but she is correct. It could have easily ended badly with these weapons.' Brian said linking her before he followed Ashley to their quarters just down the hall from hers. They were seperate for privacy, but close enough they would be able to respond if there were danger detected.

Emily sat there watching as the small sliver of moon ascended into the sky, and she was awash in its light.

She opened her eyes and stood looking at a river, two figures practicing their skills with swords. She recognized the black wolf as Midnight, and knew she trained with an actual god. Ra looked at her, and in a blinding flash of light disappeared.

"You have made it far, but the road has just begun. Value your protectors, but always remember they protect your life with theirs. They do so knowing what it may ultimately cost, honor them by allowing them to fulfill their duties." Midnight said bowing before her before the scene faded away and Helen sat down across from her.

Emily opened her eyes fully, and Hellen chuckled. Artemis had not fully withdrawn from the Lycans, and many of the priests and priestesses had many visions with her.

"I guess you have no need of what I was meant to tell you before that vision?" Helen said firmly as Emily looked at her.

"I will always listen to the wise words of an Elder." Emily replied respectfully.

Helen humphed as she looked at Emily. "Do not patronize me, words are.difficult to come by. As it is, let your protectors protect you. Only join a battle if you must until they have trained you in their lessons as well. Do not worry, that time will be soon, but not before the ceremony." Helen said as she got up. "Now I am returning to my bed, enjoy the remainder of your night majesty."

Emily sat there for a short time, and knew what the next test would be. She did not know exactly what they would face, but she knew what the test would be.