“So let me get this straight.”

Iola tapped her index finger on her nose, a habit she has when she was in deep thought.

“Guardians are chosen by the Tree of Life itself. Then they are trained in the Haven Sanctuary in Sagiv since a young age to prepare for their duties, until they reached Maturity and then become the new Guardians. Every group of Guardians will always have two leaders, to prevent any one person lording it over the others. Do I have it correct up till now?"

Joonmyun nodded. “Every few hundred years a new cycle of Guardians are born, and the old ones retire.”

“Ah, I see.” She nodded along, before her mind registered what the other just said and almost choked on her spit. “Wait a minute, did you say a few hundreds of years?” At another nod Joonmyun gave her, her eyes widened even more.  “B-but that means you are…..How old are you guys, anyway?”

Baekhyun smiled as he stepped in besides her, matching his pace to hers. “We’re still considered very young in term of Guardian’s lives; we’ve only become Guardians for a few decades, after all. Next month will be my 42nd birthday.”

“What?!” Iola almost tripped on a tree root but Tao caught her elbow, silently pulling her back up. She smiled at him in thanks before resuming her walk. “Are you serious?”

Jongin smirked smugly from ahead of her. “The perks of being Guardians; it’s because we are closely bonded to the Tree of Life that we feeds off its energy too, giving us a longer lifespan than others. Sehun there,” he pointed at the silent, young man walking a few steps behind them. “Is our youngest at the age of 40.”

Iola could only shook her head in amazement. And to think these men look so young; she even had thought they were around her age, in their early twenties or something. Then, another thought came to her.

“So you mean you guys can’t die, that you’re immortal? Like that vampire Edward from that overrated book series?”

Minseok looked perplexed even as his face broke into a small confused grin. “Um, I don’t get what that last thing you said. But no, we’re not immortal. The Tree only gives us longevity, so we can still die.” He added quickly with a dry chuckle, “Though I hope not too soon.”

Iola nodded slowly, trying to absorb all these new information. “So what do you do, exactly, in your duty as Guardians?”

Kyungsoo shrugged easily from his place up ahead. “We protect the land and the people, but most of all, we protect the Tree of Life.”

“And by extension of that, we protect you too, Iola,” Chanyeol added with a wide grin.

Iola blinked in confusion, pointing a finger at herself. “Me?”

“Of course.” Luhan piped in.  “Like what I’m sure Yixing already told you, the Tree of Life is deterioting, and according to the phrophecy, the Chosen Soul will be the one to save it. You’re the Chosen Soul; hence, we will protect you as we protect the Tree, with all that we are, until the end of our last breaths.”

Iola wanted to roll her eyes at the cheesiness of his words, something straight out of a bad drama. But the intensity of Luhan’s gaze, mirrored in his brothers’ eyes also, made her gulp in anxiety. She realized then that he was serious, all of them were, and it unnerved her.The multitude of what they were implying burdened her, sitting heavy at the pit of her stomach like a piece of lead.

A part of her still couldn’t accept that she was this Chosen Soul they kept talking about. But the other part couldn’t deny that she’d seen and experienced things ever since she came to this world that couldn’t be explained with sheer logic. And the implication that what the Guardians had been telling her was the truth brought a dark cloud over her, shrouding her in gloom and uncertainty, making her stomach rolled in an unpleasing way and dried up from anxiety.

“S-so….” She coughed to clear her suddenly dry throat, pushing down the worry into the farthest corner of her mind. “You become Guardians for a few hundred years. Then what?”

“Well, once a Guardian retired, he then becomes an Elder,” Luhan replied.

“Elder?”

Baekhyun nodded sagely. “Elders are the council of leaders ruling over Zolora, the ones who govern our kingdom.”

Iola tapped her nose again. “I see.”

“Anyway, after Guardians becomes Elders, our bodies began to age naturally,” Luhan continued. “Most of the previous Guardians began to have spouses and families after their duties are done. But even then we still have a much longer life than others.”

Iola was quiet as she processed all the things these men had told her. It was overwhelming, to say the least. All the stories they have told her about this world was a lot of information for her to handle and she can feel the beginning of a migraine.

Suddenly from the corner of her eyes she spotted a tree waving its branches at her, and without thinking she quickly waved back, smiling slightly.

Chanyeol looked at the cluster of trees, before glancing back at her peculiarly. “Who are you waving to, Iola?”         

“Huh? O-oh…n-nothing,” Iola quickly said, moving her hand to make it seemed like she was brushing the hair out of her face, instead.

Chanyeol didn’t look like he believes her, and now some of the men also looked at her strangely. Iola groaned internally and quickly try to think of a way to distract them.

After the men’s disbelief last night, she wasn’t too keen on informing them of the actual exsistence of these spirits, and made up a decision to keep her silence until she could figure everything out first.

“S-so…your powers, how do you find out which power goes to whom?”

To her relief, the men accepted the change of subjects, though Yixing gave her a calculating look before turning away. Iola looked down and swallowed the guilt down. She could easily guess that look, telling her that he knew there is something she didn’t tell them but trust her to speak out when the times comes. She felt grateful for the understanding, but burdened by it.

“When Guardians are born, they will have the mark of the Tree somewhere on their body. It might not be visible at the first few years, but sooner or later the mark will show itself.” Joonmyun’s kind voice broke her thought and she quickly turned her attention to the leader. “Like mine, here.”

He pulled the sleeve of his tunic a bit until it slid down slightly, showing off his right shoulder where a small spot of black was etched on his fair skin. At first glance she thought it was a tattoo, about as long as her ring finger in size. Upon closer scrutiny Iola noted how the small mark depicted a tree, intricately detailed that she could almost see the branches swaying in the wind.

“So all of you have that mark, too?”

Kyungsoo nodded. “Apart from the mark, future Guardians will also show more advanced developments than kids their age. For example, I can already read and write fluently by the time I was four.”

“Usually the family will notify their village’s or city’s council, and they in turn reported it back to Sagiv.” Minseok hold Iola’s hand to help her jump across the fallen log that crossed their path, before resuming his explanation. “Then a representative from the Haven Sanctuary will come and ask them to choose between twelve symbols. The symbols chosen is the ability that the future Guardian will have.”

Iola felt rather overwhelmed by the things these men told her, still trying to process it in her head. “I see….Those symbols; it’s the one like your rings, right?”

“That’s right!” Minseok showed her his ring. “See, mine is shaped like a snowflake because my gift is frost.”

Iola looked around at the rings the other have, when a thought came to her. “Wait a minute, I’ve seen Wufan’s ring and it’s shaped like some kind of animal with wings. What’s that?”

Jongdae chuckled as he came up beside her. “Wufan’s power is flight, you know that, right?” At her nod he grinned, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “Well, Guardian of Flight has always been stronger physically than the rest. They said it’s because the dragon’s blood run through their veins and that’s why its ring is shaped like a dragon-“

“Dragons? There’s no such thing as dragons!” Iola interrupted, before sighing as she saw the judging look Jongdae gave her. “Of course, there are dragons in your world, how silly of me to think otherwise. Alright, then what?”

“Well, no one knows it for sure; there hasn’t been a dragon sighting in centuries. Personally though, I believe its existence, because you could tell from that permanent scowl stuck on Wufan’s face that he’s definitely a sour dragon-“

“I heard that!”

“Good, you were meant to!” Jongdae yelled back, before breaking out in laughter along with Iola as Wufan’s grumbles of ‘insolent brats’ reached their ears.

“Iola.”

She looked up as the soft voice called her, laughter stopped abruptly in as she caught Yixing’s gaze and she fought the will to look away.

Iola wasn’t sure what had changed. Things weren’t exactly awkward between them after yesterday, but somehow she was more conscious of his presence. Her heart started to beat a little bit faster and she fought the blush that she could feel creeping on her cheeks, though she wasn’t sure she succeeded, at least judging by the sly grin on Luhan’s face.

Sparing a glare at Luhan, she walked briskly to where Yixing was beckoning. “Yes, Yixing?”

He gave her that dimpled smile of his and she couldn’t help but smiled back involuntarily. “Come, I thought you might want to see this.”

Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her softly to where Wufan and Joonmyun were standing up ahead, and Iola realized that they’ve reached the edge of the forest. Just behind the last few trees, she can see that they were on top of a small hill. Ahead of them she could see the vast expanse of the land; green and yellow fields, blue rivers here and there like long snakes slithering across the land, a small town not too far away with cottage houses and far ahead just over the horizon, mountains covered in snow.

“Welcome to Zolora."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Iola looked around with curious eyes, excitement bubbling in her chest. It only took them another hour before they reached the nearest town and ever since then she had took note of everything around her. It thrilled her to see the bustle of the small town, filled with more people than she had ever seen since she came into this world.

The houses reminded her of those medieval ones pictured in her history book; thatched houses with sandstone walls, gravel roads that lead into the town center with its public well where the market was located, and a river that ran just besides the small town.

The town people took little notice of her, but immediately changed their demeanor when they saw the twelve companions she was with. They all seemed to recognize the men, bowing their heads respectfully, welcoming them with wide smiles and affable greetings.

“Everyone in Zolora knows the Guardians,” Baekhyun explained as an old man bowed his head as they walked by his shop. “It’s because we travelled all over the country wherever our duties called.”

Suddenly an old woman came walking briskly towards them, bowing reverently when she reached them. She wrung her hands in agitation, eyes flickering in nervousness.

Joonmyun smiled kindly as he stepped forward. “Is there something you need?”

The old woman nodded rapidly, relief evident on her face. “Please Guardian, my grandson is sick. We don’t know what ails him; the town’s healer had already given up on him. Please, please help him; he is the only family I have left.”

Yixing quickly went to her side. “How long has he been sick?”

“Since two days ago, Guardian.”

Yixing nodded, before turning to Wufan. “I will go with this woman and meet up with you later.”

Without waiting for an answer he quickly led the old woman away, asking for symptoms of the sick child. Iola stared at his retreating back, before turning back to see Wufan and Joonmyun in deep conversation.

“It seems like we have to stay here for at least tonight. Which I don’t like, since I’d prefer if we could get to Sagiv as soon as possible,” Wufan muttered lowly, eyes glancing towards Iola who quickly looked away.

Joonmyun nodded. “I understand what you mean, but it can’t be helped. I suggest we look for an inn somewhere.”

It didn’t take long to find an inn and after procuring some rooms the inn provided, Iola insisted that they went back to the town center.

“I don’t like this,” Wufan grumbled even as he kept pace besides Iola. “We should leave for the capital straight away.”

“Oh, lighten up.” Iola rolled her eyes. “What’s the harm in extending our stay for just a day? Besides, what could happen to me here, especially with all of you guarding me?”

“Perhaps so, but still, I won’t feel relieved until we’re back in Sagiv.”

Iola nudged Joonmyun on her left side. “I think I know why they made you the second leader. It’s because you smile so much to make up for this sourpuss over here, right?” She smirked as she pointed a finger at Wufan.

“Hey! I am not a sourpuss!” Wufan yelled angrily, as the others burst out in laughter.

She waved the protest in easy dismissal. “I called it like I see it. Now come on, I want to see the market!”

The market was bustling with vendors and hawkers, and Iola flitted excitedly from one stall to the other. There were animals for sale of all kinds big and small, bolts of cloths of bright colors and fabrics, and food of every imaginable kind. She recognized some fruits from her time at the forest, but there were many others she didn’t know.

Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Luhan dragged her here and there, showing her everything, while Kyungsoo and Minseok taught her its name. Wufan just grumbled as he followed them around, keeping an eye for anything that could go wrong while Joonmyun just smiled indulgently.

They also insisted that she tried every food being sold there and Iola was more than happy to comply. She tried the warm roasted meat that tastes like beef but with a pair of wings on them. And the hearty, warm stew that have something like a rainbow-c