The darker side of control - Guardian

"Heey, are you okay?"

Meera looked at Arissa, slapping here face gently.

"Uhhhmmm...", Arissa managed to squeeze out some form of verbal sign before she passed out again.

"Let her rest. She's earned it."

Meera thought Alex was being sarcastic until she realized that Alex looked serious.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you weren't there so... Well I just saw a glimpse of it too, but the moment I saw it I knew what it was."

"What did you see?" Meera asked excitedly with a hint of irritation.

"I saw her mother." said Alex while staring out the window.

"Huh? What do you mean? Her mother's still alive? And she was there?"

Meera was confused. She took a look at Arissa and immediately knew what she had to do.

"Turn around!" Screamed Meera.

The driver slammed the brakes, pulled the handbrake and tugged on the steering wheel. The car spun 180 degrees. The rover behind them almost collided head on with them, just barely dodging.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Alex screamed with Arissa in his arms.

"Well, she told me to turn around, so..." answered the driver as if nothing had happened.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU TELL HIM TO TURN AROUND? WE ALMOST DIED, DAMMIT!"

"Well, you said her mother was there, so..." answered Meera a little frightened by Alex. His look had a little mix of fear and anger, but it was mostly fear.

Alex calmed down after seeing Arissa almost wake up because of his shouting.

"Oh, you were mistaken. I meant that at that exact moment, she looked exactly like her mother."

"Well Sir, you could have explained it better", said the driver as they continued their journey.

Alex's face looked red. He was silent for a moment, then he continued his explanation.

"Arissa's mother was different. There was just something about her. She looked normal, but she had an uncanny ability to bring men to their knees."

"So that monkey must've been male", mumbled Meera.

"What do you mean? She used it on the monkeys before we arrived?"

Meera tried her best to remember what happened earlier.

"I'm not sure, but I think that's why the monkey's stopped attacking before you arrived."

"Are you sure? Her mother could only use the ability once a day, even then she would pass out for the whole day", explained Alexander.

Meera was amazed. She finally understood what happened on Arissa's birthday. She wanted to ask more questions, but she didn't have the heart to interrupt Alex as he was lovingly stroking Arissa's hair.

"When we arrive, you'll find the answers to almost all your questions", said Alex as if he could read Meera's mind.

"The car ahead is slowing down. Something's wrong," said the driver.

"Take care of Arissa. I hate to impose this on you, but you have to be her trusted guardian now. I can't always be there to protect her", said Alex while putting Arissa into Meera's arms and his spare sword into her hands.

"Tell everyone to get ready. We've been followed from the moment we left. Luckily, that 'stunt' you pulled actually cost them some of their people."

Alexander took his sword and opened the door. The others followed.


"Let us grant their wish of an early death, even if they did not wish so."