Young Guardian Trilogy by Lady Adellandra Dratianos (read aloud .txt) 📕

that led outside. He walked onto it and took a deep breath of cool, refreshing air. He groaned under his breath as his thoughts made him lost to the Outer Realm.
In moments, he was asleep in one of the chairs.
The Dream Girl returned to his thoughts, smiling. He could feel her love for him so strongly now. He imagined they were together, hand in hand, on a romantic stroll by the ocean side. He was lost in his private Dream Realm, not wanting to let go of this girl for anything.
He imagined they stopped walking and stood facing each other. The Dream Girl’s hair flew in her face by the wind and he tucked it behind her ear. When he looked into her eyes, they were a strange color – silver-blue.
“Will I ever meet you?” He whispered.
The Dream Girl nodded. “Follow your pendant to find me.”
“When? It’s torture not knowing who you are.” He said.
She reached up to kiss him, and a thought rang in his head.
Soon, my Love.

It seemed like hours until he heard Luna's voice waken him.
"Hey." Luna said to him brightly. She had changed to a pale violet jumpsuit, but still looked pretty. "Have you been out here all this time? Shame on you!" She took a seat beside him.
Derrick smiled. "I was just getting some air when I fell asleep. That's all." He shifted his glasses.
"Not to mention thinking about me. How sweet." Luna teased with a giggle.
"How did you know?" Derrick asked her, sitting up.
"I can see it in your eyes." Luna replied truthfully. "You look lovesick."
"I do not!" He cried, looking away as he blushed.
"Don't try to deny it." Luna teased. "I can read your mind, you know."
"Yeah, right. If you really can, read it now." Derrick challenged.
Luna looked into his eyes and smiled. Thoughts of love for her and his Dream Girl passed his thoughts. "I never knew you felt that way about me."
He looked over the rail and saw the moon smiling down at them. She stood beside him, and broke the soft silence. She put an arm around his waist, making him turn to her.
"You know, Shadow and I are just friends." Luna looked into Derrick's eyes.
"Oh?" Derrick asked, smiling shyly.
Luna nodded. "This means, you’re free to do anything, as long as I let you."
Derrick wanted so badly to kiss her then. The mood was right, the air was perfect, and there couldn't have been a better moment.
"Go ahead," Luna whispered, as if reading his thoughts.
Derrick bent down and kissed Luna softly on the lips. He closed his eyes and thought he was in heaven for the moment, but something told him it wasn't right. He ignored the vision of another girl. She looked exactly like Luna, but was more special and real to life.
Who was she? Derrick thought.
He didn't care; he had Luna in his arms now, and didn't want to let her go. The urges of love raced through his body as he pulled her closer for a more passionate kiss. Derrick groaned and their lips parted.
Both of them took a deep breath.
Luna touched her lips. "Wow." She laughed the feeling of wonder away. "Double wow."
"That felt . . ." His voice trailed and he looked deep into Luna's eyes.
"Great." Luna finished, embarrassed.
Suddenly he felt uncomfortable, and released her.
It was late and both of them were tired. They said their goodnights as if nothing had happened and went to their separate beds to welcome sleep.
Somehow, though, he could never get the image of his Dream Girl out of his mind.
Who was she? He thought, and drifted to sleep.

Chapter Four:
The Dream Girl

He tried to forget and ignore it, but Derrick's question plagued him in his sleep.
Two months later, he had a dream that felt so real, it scared him. Any questions he had about his Dream Girl would be answered that night.

Derrick heard a kind male voice in the darkness beckoning him. "Come to me, Derrick, and you will see what the Dream Realm is all about."
Derrick’s dream-self was confused, and he called into the air, "Who are you? Show yourself!"
The voice spoke again. "Come with me to the Dream Realm, where you will learn your destiny in life."
When he heard the sound of hooves touching the ground behind him, Derrick froze, hesitant. He stared at the unicorn before him. The white unicorn’s multi-colored mane was bustling around his head, wrapping strands around his thick golden horn. The white unicorn playfully pranced around Derrick as he nodded his greeting.
Derrick smiled, and relaxed. Whoever they were, they sure looked kind enough. "My destiny?"
The unicorn turned and walked away from Derrick. Slowly, in front of Derrick's amused eyes, the unicorn changed his shape. He now resembled a human male, covered in a multi-colored cape over his shoulders. Derrick gasped.
The unicorn-man laughed. "I knew you would be impressed, Young Earthly Protector." He walked to a cautious Derrick until his eyes met Derrick's. The horn morphed itself into an opalescent jewel that was in the middle of the stranger's crown.
"My name is O'Dell. Call me Lord Guardian." He introduced, gesturing around himself. "I am the Elder Guardian of the Dream Realm, which you see around you. The time has come for you, Earthly Protector, to learn more about your Dream Girl."
Does everybody know about her but me? Derrick thought.
O'Dell smiled, reading into his thoughts. "You will learn."
He changed into a Pegasus and told Derrick to hop on his back.
When Derrick hesitated, O'Dell laughed. "Do not be afraid, for I will not harm you. I merely wish to help you."
Derrick obeyed, jumping on O'Dell's back like a seasoned rider. From thin air came a set of reins and he grasped them. "This is so cool." He whispered. "I was afraid, now I'm not. Why?"
"The answer is clear as day." O'Dell replied, taking flight. "You are in the Provinces of the Dream Realm, which is full of magic, wonder, mystery, and where dreams come true."
The many wonders of this fantastic world awed Derrick.
O'Dell laughed at him. "Overwhelmed, Young Earthly Protector?"
"Yes." Derrick said. "Why do you call me Earthly Protector?"
"That is one secret that will be revealed in time." O'Dell laughed. As he swooped down to an immense building, Derrick was pulled back so he grasped the reins.
When O’Dell’s hooves touched the ground, Derrick bounced off. He stood aside as he watched Lord Guardian shift into an Immortal male.
Derrick stood in awe of this place. It was laden with gold, silver, jewels, rubies, and wealth. Glamour, beauty, and power were felt just by looking at this building. To Derrick, it looked like it came out of a fairytale.
Derrick shook his head, unbelieving. O’Dell simply smiled, pulling at the hanging chime. A moment later, a very beautiful woman with sparkles in her raven hair smiled at them.
"O’Dell! What a pleasure!" The woman breathed, quickly taking O’Dell’s hand and kissing him. "Come in. Who is your friend?"
"Enchantra, meet the young man who is to be Young Guardian's Earthly Protector.” O’Dell announced proudly. “His name is Derrick Reading, and Sister Shannon has brought him to the System to live."
"How fitting," came another woman's voice from behind Enchantra.
Enchantra turned her head and her hair flew around her. The light made her raven-hair shine almost like an endless rainbow.
"Twins!" Derrick breathed, gawking wide-eyed in amazement at the two women.
"Good day, O'Dell." She greeted before facing Derrick. "Mr. . . ."
"Derrick Reading, Ma'am." Derrick replied. "And you are?"
"Challandra. The pleasure's all yours, I am sure." Challandra admonished, holding her hand out for him to kiss. Derrick looked puzzled, but did it anyway.
"To what pleasure do we owe your company?" Enchantra asked, ignoring her prissy twin sister.
"To show Young Derrick the Ancient Mystic Mirror." O’Dell was serious. "Introduce him to Young Guardian. Let him see her image." He looked into space before turning to leave. "I apologize, but I must be going, Sisters."
In a flash, Derrick saw him disappear. He turned to the sisters and nervously looked around their palace.
“Call me when you have need of me, Chantie.” Challandra replied. She looked to Derrick. “It’s been a pleasure.”
Enchantra wrapped a caring arm around his shoulders after her sister left. She led him to the Ancient Mystic Mirror. "May I be the one to welcome you to the Ancient Mystic Palace?" She asked with a sunny smile. Derrick was staring after Challandra, awed. "Never mind my sister, Derrick. She is busy suppressing her feelings for O'Dell." She felt him relax, and explained more about the mirror. "It is nothing like any of the mirrors you have in your world, Derrick. This one is magic."
Derrick was intrigued, but skeptic. "Magic. Yeah, right."
Enchantra nodded to a corner of the room. "I know you think magic is something that lives only in fantasy books, but it is real. Here, magic is everything.
"Look in front of you, Derrick. See the mirror's reflection?"
Derrick nodded. "It's not mine, its Luna's." He turned to look at Enchantra and asked. "Right?"
Enchantra simply shook her head. "Nay. It is Young Guardian's. Luna is her twin, as Challandra is mine. The scene you are witnessing is what's going on at this moment in your world."
Derrick stared into the mirror, mesmerized. This girl looked exactly like his partner, Luna, but more beautiful. There was a certain sad familiarity to Young Guardian.
He watched as she settled herself into bed...

II

That night, Ariana Moon covered herself in blankets, still aching from endless beatings the guards gave her at the Shore Point Juvenile Detention Center.
As soon as the lights were out, she quietly took out a small notebook from underneath the mattress and found a pen in the corner of her pillowcase. Opening it, she began to write.

"Dear J,
The circle of hate goes around one more time in my life...
How do I get myself into such desolate situations?
Only my friend Kat seems to understand me.
I don't even understand me.
She seems to know me more than I know myself, which
I'm still debating whether that's a good thing or not."

Ariana stopped writing and slammed the book closed when she sensed someone over her. She looked to the ceiling and thought with a smile. Closer still my Love.
She smiled when the picture of her Imaginary Romeo came to mind. She saw Enchantra standing beside him. Ariana clutched her Dream Locket, knowing she wasn't in harm this time. She'd be fine.

III

Derrick looked deep into her strange-colored eyes. He noticed they were of a shining blue-silver than Luna's ocean-blue.
She thought to him again. Soon, we’ll meet. Have patience.
Derrick turned to Enchantra. "How am I able to hear her thoughts?"
"She is developing her telepathy." Enchantra summed. "Our Ariana Moon is a gifted young woman. Even she is still learning more about herself by the day."
Derrick stared. "That explains everything." He breathed. "Tell me, Mistress."
"Aye?"
"Will I meet her? She's my Dream Girl, haunting my thoughts and tugging at my heart-strings." Derrick asked. He reached to press his hand against the mirror, but Enchantra stopped him, grabbing his arm.
"Be careful. You might take yourself to her side." Enchantra warned, releasing. "This mirror was given to us by our confidant and sister, Sibylline. It is a very powerful device used only by the Ancient Mystic Circle."
"Why show me, if only the Circle is allowed to use it?" Derrick asked.
"To prepare you for the