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Reflection

Eternally Mine

By: Bree Willis

Chapter One:

Reflection:

He loved it here, high in the clouds along with his thoughts as he rested near the boulder that sat in front of the portal opening. This is where he came to check on his human; and also hoping to catch a small glimpse of “her”. She was not his assigned human and he knew he was forbidden to interfere but he was never one to follow all of the rules. Especially when it came to her. He watched her grow over the years and knew the council would not be happy if they found out he still entertained his thoughts of her.

For centuries the Guardian Spirits watched closely over the galaxies. For Gaylen it was different; He wasn’t just an Orb Spirit. He was born with abilities that far surpassed all of the anointed in the kingdom; A blessing bestowed upon him thanks to the highest power of the council. His father, Yiorgos was highly favored in the eyes of all councils throughout the galaxy thanks to his fierce yet fair and loyal way he ruled his kingdom; and as such he was rewarded with a son and daughter that would have exceptional powers. One of the many abilities, which was his favorite, was the power to shapeshift. He loved shifting into the Orbs because it allowed him to transition through worlds without being noticed and also allowed him to be with her whenever he chose; which was quite often.

“Always sitting here alone, pretending to check on your human '', a slight chuckle came from the sarcastic voice behind him. Gaylen closed the portal opening that floated before him with a slow circular motion of his hand. Snuffling a little as he turned slowly towards the voice of his lifelong best friend Nigier. “I come here to get away from the noise you bestow upon all of us every time you open your mouth!” Gaylen and Nigier had grown up together and, for as long as they both could remember, had always been by each other’s side. They were granted the opportunity to become Orbital Souls which allowed them to shift into Orbs and be assigned a human. A task that was as honorable as they come and were only granted to the most trusted and favored Guardian Spirits.

Nigier laughed and continued his trek up the small hill to come to rest next to his best friend. “And how is our lovely Angelica this day?” He knew his best friend’s secret; that he has always kept up with her regardless of what the council told him many years ago. Orbital souls were the chosen spirits that were assigned a human at birth to watch over, protect and guide throughout their lives. They were not visible to humans, nor were they allowed to interfere, more like they kept the dark side entities from interfering and altering the course of their lives through their witchery. There were rules the Orbs had to abide by, of course, one of which was they were never allowed to seek out a human. They were spiritually attached to the chosen one of whom the council appointed; and Angelica was not Gaylen’s appointed.

“ You know if the council finds out it will be catastrophic! She is a human, a gifted human and is forbidden! Did you learn nothing from the tyrade of your father?” Nigier knew of the dire consequences that his friend faced. Not only was Gaylen breaking the rules of the Orbital Souls by continuing to involve himself with her; he was in love with her. “Yes Nigier I am fully aware of the consequences; I remember well. The council is wrong about the gifted and you know this. For centuries I have waited, praying for her re-birth, yearning to touch her just one more time. To see her smile, smell her skin, touch her lips; I would gladly give all of my powers just to be with her again. Our love cannot be broken. They took her from me once and I cannot allow that to happen again. I can’t lose her again”, Gaylen’s face hardened with the memories that came flashing back; his heart had been shattered when they forced him away from her; stripping him of his Orb status and relinquishing his abilities to transform in any way, especially a human. He was not allowed to merge through the portal for any reason and they ordered her death immediately. She was after all, in their eyes, a witch. A dark entity that they believed was sent by the dark side to manipulate Gaylen and gain access to the Spirit Orbs.

For centuries Orbs were assigned by a special connection to the living, a past relative, spouse or child; someone with a close connection. When souls crossed over after death some were chosen to become Spiritual Orbs while other souls were assigned to certain duties decided upon by the council. All humans had assigned Orbs; except for the “gifted” humans. Although rare, some humans were born with the power to see the souls that had passed on; a power that the council believed stemmed from the dark entities in order to communicate and disrupt the balance.

Gaylen believed differently; he had known Angelica’s soul for centuries and although she indeed had the gift he knew there was nothing dark about it. He knew he could not stay away from her. Once he learned of her re-birth; a fate rarely granted to a gifted, he knew he had to see her. Gaylen had no idea how such a thing had happened; re-birth was just the way things worked but for a gifted it was unheard of. Nevertheless, she was re-born, and as it turned out became Nigier’s appointed.

“Well brother, I have never been one to try to change your mind once it is set. You are as stubborn as you are hideous. I mean, seriously, what Angelica even sees in you is beyond me!” Nigier knew his friend was never going to give up on the idea of being with Angelica; and quite honestly he could see why he loved her so much. She was quite beautiful and in all the years he had been assigned to her; he knew her soul was as pure and good as Gaylen’s. It wasn’t going to stop him from teasing his friend as that was just how they were. Truth be told he absolutely could see what Angelica saw in Gaylen. Born into royalty, the son of Yiorgos and his wife Antoinette, he was by most standards exceptionally handsome; standing at six foot three his sheer presence would intimidate any opponent. He had the eyes of a warrior that softened with golden specs that drew you in yet hardened to a gray steel when angered or challenged. He had a heart of pure gold yet was known for his fierce battle skills that not only came from sheer strength but his powers he was granted at birth. He was unstoppable in most eyes; but to Nigier he was just Gaylen, his best friend. And soon he would be his brother in law; as in just five short days Nigier would marry Gaylen’s sister Christina.

For Nigier, Gaylen’s affection for Angelica was normal yet dangerous. He wanted the best for them both; as Angelica’s Spiritual Orb he had watched her grow, witnessed her gift as well as her love for Gaylen and he approved of their relationship. But the rules were very clear and he remembered as well as Gaylen all that happened the first time.

He watched his friend go through the torment of losing everything and never wanted to witness that again. Gaylen was destroyed when Yiorgos ordered Angelica’s death. Although he knew the consequences he never imagined that his own father would be responsible for carrying them out. Gaylen’s heart and soul had been ripped apart, he lost his powers, his love and entire reason for existence all at the hands of the one person he never thought would bestow so much anguish.

Antoinette, Gaylen's mother knew deep down, amid all the pain and heartache, her son would come out of this much stronger. His destiny was to take his place on the council when his father stepped down; however, the rift in the kingdom was so much she worried that it would never happen. Enemies saw the divide as weakness and had started to question the strength of the council.

Although Yiorgos carried out the sentence according to council rules which provided proof that his fairness and loyalty did not outreach his own son and he would abide by the laws of the kingdom, the dark side used this as leverage in their debate. They questioned how this could even happen in the first place; that the son of the highest council was allowed to be involved with a gifted for as long as he had without repercussions and that the only reason the sentence was carried out was because it was brought to the council table by Centos, the dark side’s highest council. He had stumbled upon the lovers while on a mission of his own and brought the proof by way of the portal.

When Yiorgos heard of the affair he summoned the portal to open in front of the entire council. As they sat around the long hand carved table made of dark oak, he asked Centos to speak on what he witnessed, “I saw your son, Gaylen, entwined with a gifted. I followed them to a house where they became, well, very affectionate,” Centos responded with his half smirk smile as his eyes glazed over with joy at the fact he was about to embarrass and disgrace Yiorgos.

Yiorgos ordered the portal open so they could see if what Centos had just said was true, “Earthly portal, I order you to open and show me my son,” he said as he slowly waved his hand in front of the floating ring that glowed with neon green hues. The portal opened to Yiorgos’ horror and true to Centos’ words, showed his son laying next to a woman. They lay next to each other with nothing but a white sheet that covered only his lower body as well as hers.

She laid on her side with one arm displayed across his body as her fingertips slightly brushed against his chest , her leg bent over his. He was gently gliding his fingertips up and down her arm. Her brown hair with just a hint of red was sprayed almost angel-like across the pillow and her skin was a pale white. He grabbed her hand bringing it to his lips as he softly kissed the base of her wrist. “I want to stay like this forever,” he told her softly. The soft pink of her lips showed when she smiled as she replied, “if only we could my love.”

Anger grew through Yiorgos as he continued to watch the shame his son had brought not only on him but the entire council. How dare he! What was he thinking?? Not wanting to endure anymore of the humiliation he angrily waved his hand in front of the portal; closing it. His head down, he felt his body begin to tremble; his hands gripped tightly into fists at his side, his enemy stood before him with a look of satisfaction on his face. Yiorgos raised his head slowly, meeting Centos’ snarky smile with disgust. He never took his eyes off of Centos as he bellowed, “Bring me Nigier!”.

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