“Ch-Charity?”

                Kylie’s mind was reeling. This couldn’t be happening. Charity couldn’t be on a ship full of enchanters. And yet she was, and she was exactly how Kylie remembered her from six months ago. She had the same blond hair, the same large brown eyes, and the same ever-pleasant expression. Even sitting down, Kylie could tell that Charity hadn’t grown much since she had last seen her and would still be small enough so that Kylie could rest her chin on her head.

                Charity stood up and waved to Kylie, smiling broadly.

                “Um… You guys go on ahead,” Kylie told the others, who were standing behind her. She hurried through the line for dinner, barely noticing what it was that she was about to eat, as her mind was still on Charity. Once she had her food, Kylie strode quickly to the table where Charity was sitting, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

                “OK, so, what in the world are you doing here?” she asked.

                Charity didn’t seem the least bit surprised to see Kylie. In fact, she smiled at her presence. Once Kylie had sat down with her, Charity wrapped her arms around Kylie’s neck.

                “Oh, Kylie, I’m so happy to see you!” she said in her accented voice (her family had moved from England to Washington DC four years ago, and most of her family members had retained the British accent).

                “I’m… happy to see you too, but why didn’t you reply when I sent you emails after you moved six months ago? Actually, I never heard why you moved in the first place,” Kylie replied.

                “I didn’t reply to your emails because I couldn’t reveal where I was, or what I was doing. You didn’t know that my family was magical, and I couldn’t let you.”

                “Why?”

                “If word got out that magical people existed, non-magical people would be extremely jealous of their power. Their jealousy might end in war,” Charity replied.

                Kylie sat there for a moment, stunned, as she realized that Charity was right. Humans were power-hungry, dark-hearted people. Word of the existence of enchanters could get out easily, and the knowledge of people with more power than themselves could end with humans waging war on the magical world.

                “So where are you living now?” Kylie asked, changing the subject.

                “My mum recently became a professor at the Guardian Academy, which is the job she had before my brother and I were born. My mum and I were living in rooms at the Guardian Academy, until a week ago, when we went on vacation to England, so that’s why we’re being picked up to be brought back to the Academy.”

                “That’s right, your mom’s the deputy headmistress, isn’t she?”

                Charity nodded.

                “Yeah, she is. How did you know?”

                “It said so in the letter I received from the Academy.”

                “Mm,” Charity said, and nodded again as if she understood.

                “I can’t believe it,” Kylie marveled. “We’ve been best friends for four years, and the entire time, I had no idea you were part of a magical family.”

                “I know… I feel like a terrible friend for not telling you, but I couldn’t. Non-Enchanters would be far too jealous if they knew of our power.

                Our power.

                Could Kylie really learn to have the kinds of powers that Airi and other enchanters had?

                “That reminds me, you don’t seem surprised to see me,” Kylie said. “Why is that?”

                “My mother was there when the Book of Heroes revealed your name,” Charity replied. “And, of course, she decided to tell me, since we’re friends.”

                “Book of Heroes?” Kylie asked.

                “It’s an ancient artifact created by enchanters a long time ago. It’s what’s granted your Guardian power.”

                “Oh. Okay.”

                There was a pause, then Kylie asked,

                “Do you know what the Guardians’ job is?”

                “Why don’t I explain that to the entire group, and not just you?” Charity told her.

                “Um, okay?” Kylie said, confused.

                She wasn’t sure what else to say, so Kylie decided to ask the question that had been on her mind since Charity’s moving.

                “So… I never heard why you moved in the first place.”

                Charity sighed.

                “The truth is… we had to move because… my dad died.”

                Kylie gasped. She had only met Amos Delmare once, when she came over to Charity’s apartment for dinner with Charity and Mrs. Delmare. The reason for this was because Mr. Delmare’s work required him to spend much of his time away from home, though Kylie had never heard what Mr. Delmare’s job was.

                “Can I ask how he died?”

                “My dad worked for a creature-taming company, and part of the taming process was to create strong bonds of trust with the creatures he was working with, which kept him away from home a lot because he would often have to feed and spend the night close to his creatures,” Charity explained. “Six months ago, the people we’re at war with attacked the place he was working. My dad fought back, along with some other workers there, but… he didn’t make it out,” Charity said, her voice breaking. Kylie could tell that she was fighting back tears in her eyes.

                “I’m so sorry,” Kylie said. “Why would the people we’re at war with attack a place like that?”

                “No one knows for sure,” Charity replied. “They could have been trying to get ahold of powerful creatures, like dragons, to add to their army.”

                “How has your mom been since your dad’s passing?” Kylie asked.

                “I’m not sure,” Charity sighed. “She’s been so quiet ever since we heard that he died, and she’s been frowning a lot more too. As you know, she’s not really one to tell her feelings to other people.”

                “No, she’s not,” Kylie agreed, smiling a little. Asla Delmare was a very stern woman, though her love for her children and late husband was obvious.

                “I’ve heard her crying in her room sometimes, though,” admitted Charity. “And it seems like she frowns even more when she sees me.”

                “That’s understandable,” Kylie said, sympathetically. “You’re a lot like your dad, you know.”

                “You really think so?” asked Charity, and Kylie nodded.

                “You look very similar to him, and you laugh like him, too,” she replied.

                Charity laughed softly, proving Kylie’s point.

                And it was true. Charity had the same light blond hair and brown eyes as her father. They shared the same ever-present smile, and the same sweet laugh, like the tinkling of bells. It was only natural that Asla would feel her own loss even harder with someone around who was so alike to her husband.

                “Where is your mom, anyway?” Kylie asked, looking around like she expected to find Asla hiding in a corner somewhere.

                “She’s having dinner in our room, while preparing to teach her classes at the Academy,” answered Charity. “She’s got a bit of work to catch up on, since we’ve been on vacation.”

                “Oh, okay,” Kylie said, and bit into one of the tacos that she had gotten from the buffet (which was still as mediocre as the pancakes for breakfast).

                “You haven’t met the others who were picked up by Airi yet, right?”

                Charity shook her head.

                “No, I haven’t.”

                “Do you want to go join them? They’re sitting over there,” Kylie pointed to a table a few feet away.

                “Sure,” Charity answered, taking her tray in both hands and standing up from her chair.

                The two of them walked over the others’ table and took the two empty chairs nearest the end.

                “Glad you could join us,” said Etha, who was sitting next to Kylie. “And who’s this?” she asked, smiling at Charity.

                Kylie introduced the others to Charity. They were surprised that Kylie knew anyone from the magic world, other than Airi, until Kylie explained that she and her mother had been neighbors to Kylie in their apartment building.

                “That’s so crazy… I can’t believe you already know our deputy headmistress!” Jennifer exclaimed.

                “So you’re Guardian too?” asked Jasper. Charity shook her head.

                “No, just a regular student.”

                “Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait,” Jasper said. “There’s a difference between regular students and Guardians?”

                Charity giggled, nodding.

                “Right. All of you were chosen by the Book of Heroes, an ancient artifact created by wise enchanters hundreds of years ago, to help other enchanters in their time of need by choosing people of non-enchanter descent to be part of an elite fighting force against our enemies.”

                “So that’s what we are?” Jasper said excitedly, gesturing to the others around him. “We’re a… a… superhero team?”

                “I suppose that’s one word for it, yes,” Charity responded, looking amused.

                “Awesome!” Jasper exclaimed.

                “Who exactly are our enemies?” Kylie asked. Charity gave her an “I don’t know” look, saying,

                “I don’t know much, just that they’re called the Black Crystal Alliance, they’re led by a woman named Avalyn Ni’Dumsbar, and they use Corrupted magic.”

                “You don’t know anything more than that? Nothing about what Corrupted magic is, or why we’re at war with this ‘Black Crystal Alliance’?” Kylie demanded. Charity gave her an apologetic look.

                “No, I’m sorry. I do know that they’ve been attacking non-enchanters, but that’s the extent of my knowledge. My mum might have said something about our headmistress telling us about the war during her speech at the welcoming banquet.”

                “Ooo, there’s going to be a banquet?” Terah asked. Charity nodded.

                “Yeah, they hold banquets at the start of term, the end of term, and at Christmas and New Year’s.”

                “Wow, that sounds like so much fun!” Terah exclaimed. “How formal is it? Will we be wearing dresses?”

                Charity shrugged.

                “Your new school uniform will be fine, but I suppose you could wear a dress if you like.”

                Terah smiled, and then there was a pause in the conversation.

                “So you can still go to the Guardian Academy without actually being a Guardian?” asked Jasper, breaking the silence. Charity nodded again.

                “I know it sounds weird, but yes,” Charity said. “The Guardian Academy was established the first time the Book of Heroes began to work its magic, one hundred years ago. It was named for the Guardians that it was made to train, but once the Guardians defeated their enemies and weren’t needed as a fighting force, the Guardian Academy became a school for regular enchanters.”

                “Interesting,” Kylie said, then changed the subject. “So will we still see you in class, since we’re Guardians, and you’re not?”

                “Yeah, there are probably classes that your group will take on your own, being Guardians, but there are also classes in which both Guardians and regular students will interact,” Charity told her. “Aside from Specialty classes, that is,” she added, almost to herself.

                “Specialty classes?” Kylie asked.

                “All students are required to take certain classes,” Charity explained. “But there are also a few classes that the students choose for themselves or take a test to determine which one they would best fit in or enjoy. Those are the Specialty classes.”

                “How many different Specialty classes are there?” Kylie asked.

                “Fifteen,” Charity answered. “One for each type of magic: Ancient, Modern, Elven, Household, Alchemy, Combat, Medical, Herbal, Creature, Marine, Pyro, Air, Stone, Illusion, and Psychic,” she said, counting on her fingers. “Necromancy, as well as Corrupted magic is also regarded as one type of magic—but that isn’t taught at our school.”

                The others nodded understandingly. Even though they had just arrived in the magical world, they all knew that Corrupted magic was the exact opposite of good.

                “So each person at the Guardian Academy has one or two Specialty classes that they take,” Charity continued. “Usually their future job will involve the same type of magic that they studied.”

                “So what type of magic are you wanting to study?” asked Katsumi.

                “I’m hoping to get Herbal magic as my Specialty,” Charity answered, smiling. “I really like plants, and taking care of them.”

                “That’s right, I remember you always had lots of plants in your room, and in the rest of your apartment,” Kylie said. “They were always very healthy, and you seemed to take good care of them.”

                “Thank you,” Charity said, smiling again. It was obvious that she had a passion for plants and nature.

                “So what kind of test do you have to take to find out what your Specialty is?” asked Oralia. “It isn’t, like, a test of courage or anything, is it?”

                Charity shook her head.

                “No, one of the professors just gives you a piece of paper with questions on it to fill out. It’s like taking a personality test,” she responded.

                By then, the group had finished eating, and gradually each bid the rest of the company goodnight, and returned to their rooms. Eventually, Kylie, Charity, and a few others of the ship’s crew were the only ones left in the dining hall. Kylie turned to her best friend.

                “I’m really glad that we’ll be going to the Guardian Academy together,” she told Charity. “I’ll feel a lot better going to a new school with someone I know as well as you being there.”

                Charity smiled.

                “My thoughts exactly,” she said.

                Together, they walked back to their rooms (it turned out that Kylie and Charity’s rooms were right next to each other).

                “Goodnight, Charity,” Kylie said when they were standing outside their rooms’ doors. “And tell your mom I said hello, okay?”

                “Will do,” Charity responded. “Goodnight!”

                Kylie entered her room and got ready for bed in a daze, still unable to believe that her best friend was joining her at the Guardian Academy.