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SHE WAS SOLELY CREATED to guard a legendary relic. But when a rogue thief from Earth disrupts her dreary world, her job won’t be the only thing she loses.
***
“What are you doing here?” He was giving me an odd look. “Are you lost?”
I pursed my lips. I really would have come off more credible if I were up in my tree.
“This place is dangerous.” He waved me away. “You better get out of here.”
I blinked. That was a switch. He was worried about me.
When I still didn’t reply, he shrugged and turned to head in the direction of the Mystic Lake.
“Halt!” I stepped forward, raising my hand. “You mustn’t go any further.”
He stopped and turned back to look at me. “Halt...?”
I bit my tongue. I often forgot that languages evolved and that I had to adjust my manner of speaking. “I mean,” I began again. “You must not go in that direction if you know what’s good for you. If you are seeking the village, it is that way.” I pointed in the other direction.
He looked up where I was pointing then back at me. “I’ve just been to the village and trust me, babe, this direction is good for me.”
My forehead creased. Babe? I was over three thousand years old.
He continued to walk toward the Lake.
“Wait!” I went after him. “Please do not go any further. You must believe me. This is for your own safety.” I tried to keep up with his long strides.
“Look babe, my safety is my business.” His tone seemed firm, resolute.
“As the Guardian of this realm, it actually is my business,” I declared. “And I am not a...babe.” I made a face as I said it.
He paused and turned to me. “Oh, you’re the guardian,” he spoke as if in realization before his expression turned flat. “So?” he quipped and kept walking.
My serene smile faded when I saw that he was not about to cooperate. “Very well.” I shrugged, finally spotting my tree and I drifted up to perch onto one of the lower branches as I watched him walk past below. “If you keep going, you will die,” I called down to him. “No living creature can withstand the magical barrier around the Mystic Lake.”
He stopped walking.
“Are you here for the relic?” I queried with a casual tone, leaning against the tree trunk.
“If that relic is a broken piece of glass, then it looks like I am.”
He’d started to walk but stopped again when I went on. “No one who has ever tried to obtain the relic has survived these woods,” I announced. “Trust me. It will do you no good to try to get it.”
That made him look up at me, way up above him, and I felt my words sink in. I always did feel better up in my tree. The Forest was my territory. I smiled regally down at him.
“What’s your name?”
I blinked again, surprised. “The last person who asked me that died too,” I replied instead of answering. “He tried to reason about how badly he needed the relic. I’m afraid it does no good to explain to me. I can’t help you,” I relayed. “I can only warn you. Please leave while you can.”
He gave me a critical look, studying me from head to toe before his eyes met mine again. “What’s your name?” he repeated, his tone gentler.
“Um...” I was about to explain that I didn’t really have a name but then reconsidered. “I was called—Magenta.”
***
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