Protector: Book 1 *NEW DRAFT*

Chapter 2

Jade was lost at first, she wandered the academy as the bells tolls, indicating the change of lessons. It took a week before she was finally able to break her habits and sleep through the first bell in the morning. She waited until the evenings to train in the yard when she knew Nemroy and her former classmates would not be present. No one else gave her trouble.

Everywhere Jade turned she was reminded of what she had lost. Training was her only console. She lost herself in the rhythms and emptiness that came with the focus of a sword and bow in her hands. No one trained with Jade or seemed willing to be near her. Most evenings the echoes of her sword and bow were the only ones that could be heard in the training yard.

On the second week Gregor sought Jade out, she was sitting under a tree outside of town enjoying the early warm day and reading a book when he approached. In the daylight his Guardian looked older and even more beat than usual. "Jade." He rose his hand in greeting as he approached so he did not startle her.

She lowered her book. "Good day, Gregor," she greeted surprised.

"Beautiful day," he observed, stopping in front of where Jade sat.

"Yes," Jade agreed.

"May I join you?" Jade nodded wordlessly and he lowered himself down next to her with a few groans. His Guardian laid down next to him and rested his head on his paws. Jade stared at the book in her hands while the silence grew. She was curious why Gregor had come, but she also didn't wish to be the first to speak. If he had something to say, he would say it in his own time.

"So Jade." Gregor finally broke a few minutes later. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"For what?" Even to her own ears she sounded bitter. She tried not to be but she couldn't deny how she felt.

Instead of taking offense at Jade's tone, Gregor laughed. "I like you, Lass," he said. "and you're right, it's ridiculous of me to apologize. It won't make anything better but I still wanted to say it anyway. Nemroy and I tried to sway the other Elders, but they would not budge from their votes. I'm sad to see things turn out this way, truly I am."

Something in Gregor's tone reminded Jade of her father. She glanced up at the blue sky, scattered with wisps of clouds. She tried to recall her father's face; it seemed that each year it was harder to remember. She had more of a general impression of him than anything else. The only time she seemed to catch a glimpse was in her dreams, but by the time she woke she still couldn't recall the details. Jade thumbed the edge of her book to distract her thoughts. "Have you decided what you will do?" Gregor asked when she said nothing.

"No," she answered truthfully.

"Well, I think Nemroy is happy to have you come live with him again, if that is any consolation," he said with.

Jade offered a half smile in return. Now that she was no longer an apprentice she was to move out of the academy dorms. After her parents had died, but before she had officially started her training, Nemroy had taken her under his wing. She always had a room in Nemroy's home, but she had not lived there since she was very young, not since she started training as an official Protector's apprentice.

There had been a moment in the days after their argument at the training yard that she had doubted that Nemroy would offer his home to her again. But he had come to her some time later and made it clear that she belonged in his home. They were family and one argument would not change that.

Jade thought about her old room. It had been a long time since she had been to Nemroy's house. They used to have dinners and attend parties and dances with other highborn families. But, in more recent years Jade's training had become more focused and her attention had been elsewhere. She hadn't been to a party or dinner in many years, because of that Jade had no close friends among the highborn.