The Protectors: Book 1 in the Protectors Saga

by Paige Dooling

  Mid-week, Gumptin incorporated the Protectors’ horses into their training. They had to learn to use their weapons while on horseback, an exercise that left more than a few injuries. The worst of the injuries having been inflicted on Avery, who was grazed on the arm by a wayward arrow shot from Sasha’s bow. It happened while Sasha was on her horse, Belle, about to release her arrow aimed at a distant target. Belle was at a fast gallop when she jumped over a log, causing Sasha’s body to jerk forward as she shot. Avery, who had been chatting with Jade and not paying attention at the time, heard the slight whistle of the arrow a split second before it reached her. She leaned to the right, the arrow grazing her arm and sailing into a nearby tree, as opposed to landing in Avery’s upper chest. It was all Avery could do to put aside her own rattled nerves and stop Jade from tearing Sasha down off of her horse and throttling her.

  Gumptin, however, found the bright side of the incident by praising Avery for her speed and defensive maneuver. It was the first time since Avery had been told she was a Protector that she was actually grateful for the abilities that came along with the position.

  Even though Gumptin had been quick to praise Avery and call the whole situation a valuable training exercise, he was also quick to make sure that from now on the girls all stood behind anyone who was shooting sharp objects.

  After the weapons training on horseback, Gumptin had them practicing different maneuvers in the saddle. They had to throw their bodies to the side, holding onto the girth of the horse with their legs while picking up items off of the ground. It didn’t start well when Bunny completely slipped off of her horse, Ajax, and rolled hard onto the ground. Skylar ended up swinging around past the side of the horse, down to its underside. She hung there until Gumptin shouted at her to command her horse, Dancer, to stop, an idea that had completely escaped her. Steel, Jade’s horse, whose personality matched her own, decided to stop mid-run when Jade pulled down on his reins a little too aggressively for his liking. This sent Jade flying over his head and landing hard on her butt, still clutching the reins in her hand. Jade cursed aloud, then immediately got up and gave the reins a quick hard tug to let Steel know he better not dare do that again. For Steel’s part, he just snorted and turned his head away from Jade.

  The rest of the day went on pretty much the same, filled with injury and humiliation, and no one performing up to Gumptin’s standards.

  The day after their first training session involving the horses, Avery was convinced that her legs hurt her more than if she had actually broken them falling off of Phantom. She could barely stand, let alone, run, flip, kick, and heaven forbid, squat. Of course, that didn’t stop Gumptin from having them work just as hard as he had them work the previous days.

  It was the morning of the seventh day since they had arrived on Orcatia, and Avery still wasn’t accustomed to the ridiculously early morning schedule Gumptin had them on. Every morning her father would have to come into her room and make sure that she was up and getting ready. Avery hadn’t once been able to get up in time on her own.

  That was why, on the seventh day, when Avery groggily awoke, snuggled under her thick comforter, she was surprised she hadn’t needed her father’s voice to rise her. Avery stayed hidden under her warm comforter for a few minutes, relishing the coziness of her bed. When she finally did muster up the will power to peek her head out from under her comforter, the burst of blinding sunlight that hit Avery’s eyes sent her scurrying back under the covers. Avery cursed the brightness that had left white bursts floating in front of her closed eyes, until a panicking realization popped into Avery’s mind. She realized that it was the sunlight she had seen, and if she had seen the sunlight that meant that it was past dawn, which meant that she was late for training.

  “Gumptin!” Avery shouted in horror, throwing off her comforter.

  She jumped out of bed so fast that her legs hadn’t had a chance to wake up yet, and she collapsed to the ground. She picked herself up quickly, pulled on a pair of lace-less boots over a pair of knee-high socks, snatched a hair tie off of her dresser, and dashed out of her room, still wearing the black boyshorts and ‘Evil Dead’ t-shirt she had slept in.

  Avery was so panicked as she rushed down the stairs and ran towards the door, that she made it half way across her living room before, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Jade sitting on her couch, munching on piece of toast, and playing a game of ‘Go Fish’ with Cinder.

  Now, Avery was really confused. She stood completely still for a few seconds, staring at her front door, trying to figure out what was going on. She quickly abandoned trying to figure it out for herself and turned to Jade.

  “Morning sunshine,” Jade said, lounging back on the couch and trying to suppress a laugh as she looked Avery over, “nice outfit.”

  Avery dismissed Jade comment with a shake of her head, “Jade, what are you doing here?”

  Jade sighed, “Getting my butt handed to me by a seven year old.” Jade threw her cards down on the table, signifying she had had enough of their game, “I know you’re cheating, kid.”

  Cinder shook her head, “I’m not cheating; you just suck.”

  Jade had known Cinder since Avery’s parents had brought her home from the hospital. She considered Cinder family, which meant she could say things to Jade other people wouldn’t dare.

  “Get lost, tater tot.” Jade told Cinder, giving her an affectionate little kick on the bottom as Cinder ran off to the kitchen to join her mother.

  It had always amused Avery, watching Jade’s softer more playful side come out around Cinder, but right now, she wished Jade would focus on her and her question.

  “Jade,” Avery asked again, “what are you doing here?”

  Avery’s father walked out from his study, holding a copy of the village paper, “Hey, sweetheart.” He said to Avery, “Oh, by the way, Gumptin came by early this morning, a few minutes before I was going to wake you up. He said he had an errand to run and to meet him in the library at eleven. I thought I’d let you get some sleep.”

  Although grateful to her father for letting her catch up on some much needed sleep, another part of her wanted to yell at him for putting her through such anxiety, especially when she first woke up. Avery wasn’t sure her heart rate would ever be back to normal.

  “What time is it?” Avery asked.

  “A whopping nine fifteen.” Jade told Avery, sliding over on the couch as Avery walked over and sat down.

  “So, what are you doing here?” Avery asked for a third time, realizing her question had never been answered.

  Jade grabbed another piece of toast off of a platter sitting on the coffee table, “Well,” she said, taking a bite, “unlike your parents, mine actually woke me up at five a.m. to tell me that Gumptin had stopped by. I couldn’t get back to sleep after that, so what else was I going to do?”

  Avery snatched a piece of toast up for herself. Satisfied with Jade’s answer and happy with the fact that she had been able to sleep in past nine, and the possibility of training being called off, or at least delayed, Avery let herself relax.

  Avery lifted her piece of toast in the air, “Cheers, to tardy Gumptin.” Avery and Jade tapped their pieces of toast together, took a bite, then picked up the cards Jade had thrown down on the table to play a round of Jade’s favorite card game, poker.

  They made it through three hands, Jade winning two of them, before Avery headed upstairs to get dressed properly.

  As they walked to the library together to meet Gumptin, Avery marveled at how lovely Havyn was in the early afternoon. The gigantic trees provided a cool shade, with rays of intermittent sunlight lighting up the village in a gentle glow. All of the shops were open, the blacksmith, the seamstress, the grocer’s. A few children came running out of Mrs. Bott’s shop; all carrying cinnamon rolls the size of their head.

  The village was bustling with life. People were walking in and out of shops. Ladies were standing or strolling together, talking and laughing, some carrying
baskets of laundry, some holding satchels of food. In the distance, behind the tree houses, Avery could see a number of men, and a few women working in the fields.

  It struck Avery that, although, she had been on Orcatia for a week, she had never actually experienced much of it, including her own village. Her days had consisted of training, studying, eating, getting what little sleep she could, and the occasional shower if she had enough energy to force herself.

  After walking a few shops and houses down, Avery began to notice how differently the villagers treated each other as opposed to how they treated Jade and Avery. With each other, they were warm and jovial, walking up to one another with sunny smiles, handshakes, and hugs. Whereas, with Jade and Avery, they were more reserved, giving the girls a polite smile, gentle wave, nod of the head, and a ‘hello’. It seemed as if they were hesitant to be too friendly.

  Avery understood that if their previous life on Orcatia had been anything like the past week, then she knew the Protectors would have almost never seen the villagers. Plus, from what Avery had heard from the few villagers she had talked to, the Protectors seemed to be more revered as saviors than accepted as friends.

  Jade didn’t even seem to notice, but it bothered Avery a little. Especially coming from a small town back on Earth where Avery was use to everyone knowing everyone else. She was use to being a part of the town and thought of as just another neighbor. She was use to receiving the hugs, or at least an amiable pat on the back.

  To make up for the alienation that Avery considered her past self had put her in, Avery waved enthusiastically at every villager she passed and gave each of them a huge smile with a lively, “Hello.”

  Some of the villagers seemed pleasantly taken aback by Avery’s exaggerated friendliness, others seem slightly confused, but all the reactions she received from the villagers were better than the one she received from Jade. Jade looked at Avery like she had just grown another head.

  “What are you doing?” Jade asked her.

  Avery kept smiling and waving, “I’m just being neighborly.”

  “Well, knock it off, Mr. Rogers,” Jade told her, grabbing Avery’s hand and placing it down by her side, “you’re embarrassing me.”

  When Avery and Jade walked inside the library, they saw Bunny sitting at the large round table reading a book on ancient runes. She was the first and only one there. A couple minutes later Sasha and Skylar came walking through the door together.

  “What’s up ladies?” Skylar yelled, did a little turn, then fell into the seat next to where Avery was sitting.

  Avery laughed as Skylar leaned her head onto her shoulder, “You seem in a good mood.” Avery told her.

  “Avery, darling, I got to sleep in till ten.” Skylar said, stretching her arms high up in the air, “I am ecstatic! Nothing could ruin my mood.”

  The door swung open and Gumptin came trotting in, looking more haggard than the girls had ever seen him. He immediately walked up to the front of the room and turned to address the girls. Before he said anything, he rubbed his eyes, which looked blood shot and puffy.

  “Protectors,” He spoke in a professional manner, standing up straight, voice clear and deep, “today is the day you put your training into use.”

  Sasha, who had been standing, now sat down, bracing herself for what Gumptin was going to say next.

  Gumptin continued, “Very early this morning, I received word from a friend of mine, that a small party of trolls was making their way to the village Lilydale. I have confirmed it, and it appears to be true. The village is approximately five miles from here. They are known for their production of Everlily, a flower used in many medicinal balms. It helps keep wounds from becoming infected. Mr. Bott uses it in many of the balms used to treat your wounds. The trolls are most likely being sent by the Emperor to try and destroy the village’s flower crops.” Gumptin sighed and ran his hand through his beard, a maneuver Avery knew he did when he was nervous or upset about something. After a small pause, he said, “The Emperor is becoming bold. This is a test to see how strong you are. It is said that he has sent some of his strongest trolls for this mission. I am afraid this will not be easy for you. I wish we could have had more time for training, but…” Gumptin trailed off.

  The girls sat in silence, not one of them even moving. Avery hadn’t moved since Gumptin had begun talking, her eyes fixed on a small dark imperfection in the wood on the table in front of her, but her mind was far off and lost in Gumptin’s words. She pictured the images of tolls she had seen in the books Gumptin had made them read, big and nasty, with wide slobbering mouths, carrying mallets and axes, anxious to pound her into a pile of broken bones and bloody flesh. Avery knew it was their duty and that they didn’t have a choice but to try and stop them. She knew that if they didn’t do anything now, then the trolls’ next stop would be Havyn and they would end up having to fight them then anyway.

  Sasha was the first one to speak, her voice sounding shaky, “Gumptin, don’t tell me you actually expect the five of us to go out there and face these things on our own.”

  Gumptin shook his head, “I am sorry, but that is your job as a Protector. Lilydale needs your protection.”

  Sasha ran her hand through her perfectly done hair, messing it up slightly, “Do you think we’ll be alright?”

  The look of controlled sadness in Gumptin’s eyes gave the Protectors their answer.

  As Sasha continued to question Gumptin, Avery’s stayed lost in her own head. Gradually, the image of herself being pummeled into an unrecognizable pulp was replaced with an image of the Lilydale. In her head, Avery turned Lilydale into Redemption; she turned all the villagers into the people she had grown up with for her entire life. Then, in a flash, the image of her being beaten turned into an image of Cinder lying under a troll’s club. Avery shook the image free from her mind and stood up in a jolt. All the girls’ eyes turned to her.

  “What’s the plan?” Avery asked Gumptin, “When do we leave?”

  Bunny looked terrified, Skylar kept a blank face, Sasha looked shocked, and Jade stood in a corner, leaning against the wall, swirling her dagger between her fingers, a small smirk on her lips.

  “You can’t be serious?” Sasha said, looking even more shocked than before.

  Avery turned to Sasha, the images of the village being destroyed still tugging at the back of her mind, “We’re Protector’s Sasha, what else are we suppose to do?”

  Sasha opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it, which was rare for Sasha. Avery knew Sasha was well aware that the Protector’s didn’t have a choice. Gumptin had made it quite clear that the Elementals, who had given them a second chance at life, fully intended them to use that life to fight evil.

  Avery looked around the room at the others. All of them, except for Jade, seemed hesitant about the idea of riding off to face a pack of killer trolls. The last think Avery wanted was for any of them to get hurt; she wanted them strong; she wanted them to believe in themselves.

  “Look,” Avery said, trying to give the girls a little perspective and maybe some fire to go into battle with, “I’ve come to the realization that this planet has Protectors because they need them. They need us. It’s simple…if we don’t go then those villagers die. I’m not telling you to do this because it’s our duty, I’m asking you to do this because it’s the right thing to do.”

  So far, what she was saying seemed to be working. The look of terror was off of Bunny’s face and Skylar was nodding in agreement. Even Sasha had stopped arguing and was intently staring at Avery.

  “Come on,” Avery told them, “we can totally kick those trolls’ asses. Let’s send a message to every evil thing out there, that killing us was the worst thing that they could have done.”

  Avery wasn’t sure that they could really kick any ass, but she knew they had to at least try. It was the one and only thing she was sure about since she had come to Orcatia.

  “Alright,” Jade said, sliding her dagger into her belt and pushing
herself off the wall, “since we’re all seeing things clearly now, what’s the plan?”

  Sasha shook her head, she still wasn’t convinced that riding off to possibly get killed was something she wanted to do, but she was done arguing.

  Gumptin nodded at Avery, a wisp of a smile behind his scraggily beard, “Go home, get dressed in your battle gear, and get your weapons ready. I shall draw you a map to Lilydale. Meet at the stable in thirty minutes. I will have Thomas get your horses ready.”

  Skylar stood up, “Well, after Avery’s speech how could I say no.” She laughed, trying to sound light, but failing as the laughter cracked in her dry throat.

  As they were all walking out of the library, Bunny walked up to Avery, “Do you really think we can do this?” She asked Avery, her face a portrait of how nervous she was.

  Avery did her best to make sure she looked confident and calm, the complete opposite of how she felt, as she stared Bunny in the eyes, “Bunny, I’m positive.”

  Bunny nodded, looking very slightly reassured.