Arden lowered herself into the bathtub, soaking herself in warm water that had been infused with flower petals and aromatic oils. She leaned back and sighed.

It had been another long day for her. It began when she woke up at sunrise and split her morning hours between the many settlements she protected. Six monsters had neared those settlements that day; she slew five of them on her own, while she aided a colleague in killing the sixth one. She had a quick lunch in her car before she returned to carrying out her duties as a guardian. By two o'clock sharp, she returned to her castle to mentor Edin. She then spent her afternoon claiming a few documents from an office, borrowing a book from an archive, and patrolling the towns for one last round. One might find such a schedule to be tiring, but Arden had grown used to it. She had to. There had been a shortage of guardians for the last handful of years, and the more powerful ones like her had to cover several settlements instead of just one. Quick and cleansing showers followed by warm and calming baths were her way of relieving the stress she gained from her work.

Which was why she was relieved to find out Edin was a gifted. The Guild of Gifted Guardians was an essential yet thinning organization, and she mentored him in the hopes of adding him to their ranks. As much as she was shocked to find him covered in blood when she returned home, she was also pleased to find out that he was capable of combat. At last, he was ready. The realm was in desperate need of more people like him.

After a while, Arden drained the water from the bathtub and dried her body. She then donned her underwear and slipped on a satin nightgown. She exited the bathroom, climbed the stairs to the next floor, and entered her bedroom.

While Edin's quarters were luxurious, Arden's was far more extravagant. His personal space was restricted to a tower; her private area filled an entire wing of her castle. Her bedroom boasted a ceiling as tall as two stories and a floor that spanned the entire level it occupied. Wide windows, which were enchanted to prevent outsiders from peeking, showcased a breathtaking view of Irien and the area around it. Everything in her room was made from a precious material, from the soft silk pillows that supported her head to the chandelier that gleamed with diamonds and other gemstones. At the rightmost corner of her bedchamber was a shortcut to her closet, which occupied an entire floor as well. Most people would eagerly invite others to their homes if they held such glamorous rooms. Arden was the opposite. Only a handful of those closest to her had entered her private quarters, and it had been ages since that had last occurred.

Arden strode towards her desk and took a seat at it. She scanned the files that she had picked up earlier that day. They were records of people named Edin, and she hoped that one of them matched the one who was living with her. She looked through the first file. Edin Holendeor was mauled to death by a beast at the age of fifty-six. Obviously, he was not the one. Arden checked the second record. Edin Agangon died of natural causes at the age of eighty-nine. He, too, was not a match. She looked through the third, fourth, and fifth records. They were all records of dead men who had long passed. The sixth and final file was of a living person, but he was only a year old.

Arden returned the files to their folder and sighed. She had been scouring the realm for anything related to Edin and his past, but her efforts had borne no fruit. The elusiveness of his background puzzled her. Either he had entered the universe as an adult, or someone had been trying to erase evidence of his existence. She was leaning towards the latter. Arden reclined in her chair as she relived the moment she discovered him.

***

The sky was bright and clear when Arden mounted her horse to go for a morning canter. She had been given a day off by the Guild; with her not having to carry out her duties, she expected the day to be rather uneventful.

Little did she know that she would soon find a body.

Arden clutched the reins of her pegasus as she leaned sideways to take a look at the ground. A flat grassland lay below her, and in the middle of it was a body. She knew not whether it was dead or alive, but it would not hurt to find out.

"Land here," she commanded her steed.

The pegasus' wings slowed in their beating, spreading out wide as the horse glided toward the ground. Arden dismounted her steed and walked towards the body. She kneeled next to him.

The man was unconscious. Still alive, but barely so. He seemed to be of the same height as her. A bed of flaxen hair rested on his head, and his skin was cold and pallid—whether his pallor was the result of sickness or genetics, she did not know. Though he looked like he was around her age, his face still beheld a childlike innocence. She laid one hand on his forehead.

He was hurt, badly. Arden cast a small spell. His body twitched. His injury was the result of a curse, no doubt about it. She closed her eye and cast some more spells. His body twitched some more, but his eyes remained closed. "This is really bad," she muttered to herself. If she wanted to bring him back to consciousness, she would have to bring him home and look after him there.

Bringing a stranger into her home. The idea lingered in her mind as she looked at the unconscious man's face. He did not look like he was evil at all. Arden glanced at her pegasus. It snorted in reply. Yes, she would take him home. Once he was awake, then she could send him back to wherever he was supposed to be.

Arden slid her arms underneath the man's back and lifted him off the ground. He was surprisingly light—the man must be famished. She carried him towards her horse and cast a spell. His body floated in the air. She retrieved a rope from the saddle compartment, tied one end around the man's ankle, and tethered the other end to the saddle horn. She then mounted her steed.

"Take us home."

It let out a neigh before it galloped toward the sky. Its wings flapped faster than usual as it carried them to her castle—perhaps it sensed that the man was nearing death. They flew for ten minutes before a familiar silhouette loomed up ahead, its five distinct spires sticking out like a sore thumb.

Home.

They had arrived at her house. The pegasus landed at the lobby of her castle. Arden got off, untied the rope, and carried the body into her home. The doors opened without her having to touch the handle. As she walked, she thought of a place where she could let him rest. There was a bedroom inside the tower near the dining hall. She could let him lay there. Arden strode towards the right side, walked down the hallway, and turned left to enter a narrower corridor. She climbed up the stairwell and passed through the first door she came across. She then placed him on the bed inside the room, which was large enough for two people, and then left.

She hurried to the chamber where she stored her potion supply. Once she got there, she picked these in order: healing powder, a mix of herbs, and a bottle of clear solution. She stopped by the kitchen to collect some warm water, then returned to the bedroom. The man was still unconscious, though a bit of color had returned to his body. A good sign.

Arden opened the bottle of solution and poured some powder. Light magic flowed from her left hand and enveloped the bottle while her right hand stirred the solution. Once the liquid turned a pale blue, she added some herbs and cast another enchantment. She closed the bottle and shook it. The potion gradually turned a light, leafy green. She poured in some warm water before she approached the bed, then placed some pillows underneath his head to prop him up before manually opening his mouth. She placed the bottle's mouth on his lips and tilted it. A gulp should suffice.

His body glowed a bright white. It was working. Arden sat on a nearby armchair as she waited for him to wake up. His eyelids began moving mere minutes after he had drunk the potion, and for the first time, she saw his eyes. They were a deep and dark blue.

Upon regaining consciousness, the man looked around the room. It took him a moment before he spotted her. His face contorted in fear once he noticed her presence.

"It's okay," she said, "you are safe here."

Though his body relaxed, his face remained tense. "Who are you?" he asked. "And where am I?"

"My name is Arden, and you're in my home. I found you lying hurt in the middle of nowhere, so I brought you here to take care of you."

He nodded his head slowly without saying another word. His eyes spelled not the suspicion of an adult, but the curiosity of a child. Arden wondered if he was much younger than he appeared to be.

"Anyway, what's your name?" she asked him.

He stared off into space. "I think it's Edin," he replied.

"Edin?"

"I don't know. I remember someone calling me that."

"Do you remember who it was?"

He shook his head.

"Do you remember how you ended up hurt in the first place?"

"I don't remember."

"What about your home? I can take you back there."

He paused. "I don't remember if I have a home."

"What about your family?"

"I don't think I have one."

"Do you remember anything to help me bring you back home?"

"I, I think I forgot everything."

Silence swept between them as Arden wondered what to do next. She knew not how to bring memories back, and she could not send him out of her home when he was in such a confused state.

"Is there anything you do remember?" she asked him.

He tilted his head. "I remember my age," he said. "I think I'm twenty-one?"

He was as old as her. To her surprise.

"Anything else?"

"I remember holding, wait, no, I was creating fire and lightning."

He was a gifted. She knew there were two possibilities: he was either a guardian, one who used his powers for protection; or a sorcerer, one who used them for evil. She looked at him. He seemed too innocent to inflict any actual harm. Even if he was indeed a sorcerer in his past—which she doubted, for it appeared that he lacked any ounce of wickedness—she could turn him into a guardian. He could be an addition to the Guild.

"Well, since you don't remember where you're from, I can't send you back home," she said. "However, I can let you stay here with me until you regain your memories. How does that sound?"

"It sounds great," he said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Edin. Now get some rest."

***

Arden glanced at the wall clock and checked the time. It was an hour before dinner. She rose from her seat, clutching her grumbling stomach as she made her way to the kitchen.

She had enchanted the kitchen, pantry, and other relevant rooms to prepare meals without much assistance. All they needed was a small set of instructions to start the process. Arden used to utter it herself, but ever since Edin had started living with her, she had delegated that task to him. The time she once spent preparing dinner was then used for other things, like working or unwinding.

The task was not complicated. All he needed to do was check what ingredients they had, look for recipes that made use of them, and then recite the magic words. He did not even have to worry about which dish went well with what, for she had even written a booklet with a long list of possible multi-course meals. She had done all the planning. All he needed to do was execute them.

No sound of any sort came from the area where the kitchen was. Arden furrowed her brows. They did not have much time before dinner. She marched towards the kitchen and swung open the doors. At once, she sighed and shook her head.

Dinner would have to wait.