Senshi (Guardians)
Chapter 21: The Cat Comes Out of the Bag

After lunch, Shinto flew away and Thael escorted his lady back to class. When they got there, there were three armed Imperial Guardians standing in the back of the classroom. They were not cloaked. The girls were all up in front looking frightened and staring at the mysterious winged people.

Kyoko walked over to the Guardians. They bowed, “Your Highness.”

“Why are you uncloaked? It’s a bit embarrassing.”

Their leader spoke: “Since the ceremonial wedding is in two weeks, the King insisted.”

“Terrific… Thael?”

He was laughing.

“Nan desu ka?”

“You should have seen your face when they…”

Kyoko’s steely glare stopped him from saying more. He now understood Rocknash’s fear of her.

He bowed to her, “Sumimasen! You know I have no control over my Grandfather. We’re going to have to confess – at least to our friends here.”

“Baka,” Kyoko started laughing.

“Baka ta nanio?”

“You should have seen your face just now. I have never seen you afraid of anything.” She tilted her head sideways, “Come to think of it, where have I seen that frightened look before?”

“Tall guy… About twenty feet... Has a red bushy beard and an axe the size of Okinawa?”

“Oh yeah, well, that tears it. I can’t quit school. I’m three weeks away from graduation. We’ll have to tell them our secret.”

Thael turned to the Imperial Guardians, “Azura…?”

“Yes, my Prince?” She saluted, sword in front of her face. When she put it down to her side it disappeared.

“Why didn’t you tell us while we were having bento on the roof? At least then Kyoko sama would have had some warning.”

“We were afraid to disrupt your lunch and…” She paused, unsure what reaction he would have.

“…and what…?”

“…and that you would be angry with each other, like you are now.”

Thael and Kyoko laughed.

“Are we angry?” He asked.

“No, My Prince, why would we be angry with each other? It’s Grandfather that caused this mess. If anything, I’m not too happy with him right now.”

“Yes. Kyoko had every right to react that way to my attempt at a joke. It was insensitive, because this isn’t what Grandfather originally said was going to happen. Look how everyone is staring at us. Now they think we’re aliens or something.”

The entire class had been listening to them the whole time.

He bowed to his Lady penitently, “I’m really sorry, my Princess.”

Kyoko looked at him and chuckled, “Do itashimashitte. Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

Takeda Sensei entered the classroom, Yamada chan said, “Stand!” They did. “Bow!” They all bowed and said, “Konichiwa, Takeda Sensei.” Then they scrambled for their desks.

“Sit!” They did. When Takeda Sensei looked up at her class she saw some new faces.

“Excuse me. Who are you people?”

Thael was standing in the back next to Kyoko, “Uh…”

“I know you, don’t I?”

“Probably, Sensei. I…”

“You’re Paru, that pop singer.”

“That’s one of my personas, yes.”

“Why are you here and who are… what are those…” She pointed at the three winged people at the back of the room.

“They are Imperial Guardians, Sensei,” Kyoko explained.

“What does that mean?”

Thael continued, “They are the elite of the elite guardians. They guard Taelon royalty. These three have been assigned to guard my wife: the Crown Princess Thael Kyoko, who will one day rule with me; Thael Paru, Crown Prince, Commander of all Guardians, heir to the Taelon throne, and ambassador to Earth.”

“Is this a joke? I know you pop stars like to pull pranks.”

Thael instantly changed into his Princely garb, complete with wings and crown. There were many surprised reactions from the class.

“My Imperial Guardians usually stay cloaked until needed.” He snapped his fingers and they appeared hovering near the ceiling.

“Come down please. You’re scaring everybody.”

They landed gently and stood with the other three.

“Before you all start jumping to conclusions, we are not aliens. I was born in Hokkaido. My Princess was born in Osaka. We are Japanese citizens. It just happens that my mother was a full blood Taelon Princess. Taelon is a planet on the other side of the Milky Way galaxy. So, that only makes me fifty percent alien, however being her only child also makes me the Crown prince and my wife the Crown Princess of Taelon. We will inherit the Taelon throne one day.” He paused a moment.

No one made a sound, so Thael continued, “This announcement was supposed to be aired to the general public just after Kyoko sama’s graduation, but the King, my Grandfather, pushed it up two weeks. There will be an official news announcement tonight on television, so you should listen for it.” He paused again, but they all just sat staring at him.

“The Guardians I have brought to Earth are here to protect its citizens in emergency situations such as, natural disasters. We’ve already put a stop to the abductions and animal mutilations from invaders from outside the Galaxy. Those people won’t be allowed near the Earth ever again. You don’t need to be afraid of us, we’re still the same as we were before – we are just slightly… uh… enhanced. I mean, we’ve been calling each other Prince and Princess all along, right?”

The girls didn’t seem swayed. They were still leery.

He sighed. “The Guardians are an ambassadorial force that tries to replace peaceful answers to planets at war, alien invasions, etc. We are people of peace, but know how to fight if we have to.

“Here, let me show you something.” He took Ariella from his pocket and whispered to her in Taelonese. Ariella’s avatar rose from his hand and hovered in the air. She lit up and projected a full size three dimensional figure near the blackboard. It was Kyoko in full color. It had been taken the day of the dinner. The image was so real, it looked like Kyoko was floating in the air. She was wearing her Lavender dress, jewels and crown.

The girls all made positive remarks.

“Kawaii!”

“How beautiful.”

“Look at that gorgeous dress. She looks so beautiful in it.”

The image faded and Ariella disappeared into his pocket. Some of the girls went over to Kyoko and praised her. The fear was entirely gone.

“Yokata,” he said under his breath. “Be sure to watch the news tonight. Sensei?” He bowed low, “I am very sorry to have disrupted your class. I’m going now. Again I apologize.”

He snapped his fingers and his Imperial Guardians disappeared. He started to leave, but suddenly stopped, “Chotto! Where is Ami chan?” he said to the room.

One of her gang spoke up, “She’s in the hospital. They aren’t sure if she will live out the week.” She was very upset. Her eyes teared up.

Kyoko stood up, “Honto? That can’t be. She was fine yesterday.”

“She’s been having migraines for months. They found out last night that she has an inoperable tumor in her head.”

“Oh, Thael, we must go see her after school today.”

“I agree. I’ll pick you up at four with Ariella.”

“I’m sure she’ll enjoy that. She doesn’t get out much lately.”

“Oh, one last thing: Azura?”

Again she saluted. “Yes, Your Highness?”

“You did get permission to be here, didn’t you?”

“Yes, Your Highness.” She took out two parchments. She held up one of them, “This is from the Japanese government.” She read it, “By order of the Japanese government, her royal Highness Princess Thael Kyoko, has full ambassadorial status. Because of her Royal standing, she is allowed her three Imperial Guardians wherever she may go.

“This other one is from the Department of Education and it pretty much says the same thing.”

“Thank you Azura.” He took the parchments up to the teacher and handed them to her. “Again, I apologize for this disruption.” He bowed, walked over to Kyoko, kissed her hand, and left.

Kyoko sat down. Takeda Sensei stood by her own desk thinking a moment. Finally: “Although this is a Literature class, most literature is based on historical fact and personal experience. So, Instead of Shakespeare today if it’s all right with Watana… Gomenasai… Kyoko sama, I think we’d like to hear how all this came about.

How did you meet that remarkable man? …and your ring… I could have sworn I heard it singing.”

“No. I don’t mind, unless the girls might think it’s boring.”

There was a loud uproar of girls saying they wanted to hear the story.

“It’s quite romantic, actually. One night, after midnight, I was sitting at a cafe sketching a large moth that had landed on the seat in front of me. I looked up and something flashed past my eyes. It hit the building next to the cafe at about eight hundred kilometers an hour.

“It was Thael. He hit it face first…” She continued with the story leaving out Rocknash. She told about the Shnark, without naming them, as if it were an isolated and rare occurrence. She avoided lying because she was now at the stage where she could no longer tell a lie.

She explained the Bonding Ritual and the sacred Singing Stones. She held up the ring. It was glowing gently. “If I concentrate on him and think about how much I love him, the ring will sing. If you stay quiet, you should hear it.” She closed her eyes and thought about Thael. The ring glowed brighter and brighter. It started singing.

The girls were amazed.

“How beautiful!”

“What is that song?” Takeda sensei asked.

“This will be hard to believe, but that is the song our souls sing to each other when we are together.” The song got louder. “He must be thinking of me right now too. You can see how bright it’s gotten.”

Thael came in the doorway. “What’s going on? My ring started singing and I couldn’t help but think of you.”

“Watch this…” She beckoned him to come in and he walked over to her. She took his left hand in her left hand. The rings touched. Now the song was in beautiful harmony - A duet for the Angels. “If it’s all right, Sensei, I’ll hug him – nothing inappropriate, of course.”

Takeda Sensei gave her permission. She came up behind him and hugged him. She took his left hand in hers. They concentrated on their love for each other. The light from the rings filled the room. In seconds they all could see and hear the singing valley. The song now had other parts - even bass from the larger stones. Nobody panicked. They were all enthralled by the sight and sound.

Then they began to feel emotion. It was love, pure and strong. It went on for a few minutes and then the image faded and they could see Kyoko and Thael standing side by side, their rings still singing their duet.

Kyoko let go of his hand. “We don’t usually show people that. That was the Sacred Valley of the Singing Stones. It’s where we bonded, and broke their thousand year silence by getting them to sing again. This all sounds impossible, I know, but it’s true.

“The Saturday after this, we are having a formal wedding ceremony on Taelon. There will be many royal families from all over the thirty-nine united galaxies. Some are pretty scary looking. Some are cute, like the fairies and the fox people. Most of Earth isn’t ready to meet many of the beings out there. We have enough trouble accepting anyone that is different right here on Earth.

“However, if any of you want to come with us, this will be a unique opportunity to see some of the many diverse people of the United Worlds. All the people that will be there, no matter how fierce or strange they look, are friendly species and will not harm you. If a twenty foot tall giant walks up to you, it’s probably our friend, Lord Rocknash. He is a well-respected and revered man on his world. His only drawback is that he has to get down on his knees to talk to us.

“He’s no coward in a battle, but he is a perfect gentleman. Besides, Thael will be there to keep him in line.”

“What do you mean? He’s more frightened of you than he is of me.”

The girls laughed.

“Well, he is,” Thael said to the room.

They laughed again.

Kyoko continued, “There is something else you should know about Taelon royalty: We can’t lie.”

The girls made sounds like they didn’t believe it.

“It’s true, Thael couldn’t even make up a fake name to act and sing under, so he used his real first name: Paru. Before you say acting is lying, that isn’t true. Everyone knows you’re acting so it isn’t a lie to pretend to be someone else. It’s only a lie when you deliberately deceive people by acting.

“If you had asked him if he wasn’t one hundred percent human, he couldn’t lie about it. His mother was a Taelon Princess. His dad was an American from Texas. You see, I can’t lie either. I can choose not to tell you something, but I couldn’t lie about it. Since we joined in the Bonding Ceremony, I am unable to lie.”

“Thael? Could we show them the Vid so they can see it?”

“Okay, Might as well make it the whole truth.”

He took Ariella’s avatar out of his pocket and she floated in the air.

“This Vid is of the bonding ceremony and other things. It was taken by Taelon news people. Ariella? Translate into Japanese please.”

Ariella played the complete ceremony, including the throngs of people and the balcony Vid. They also saw the beautiful palace. There was news commentary and words of praise.

The class watched in awe; especially, when the thousands of Taelon people thronged around the palace chanting, waving their lanterns, clapping, and joyous over their bonding and the awakening of the sleeping stones.

When it was done, Ariella’s avatar went back to his pocket.

“Was that too much, Sensei?” Thael asked.

“I’m at a complete loss for words.” She chuckled, “When have you ever met a speechless literature teacher? It’s the most amazing and beautiful thing I have ever experienced, so, no, it wasn’t too much. When the whole valley began to sing your soul song, tears filled my eyes.”

Thael bowed, “I should really go. I have wasted enough of your class time and I have some things to do at the studio. I’m meeting Ueto Aya to see if she’ll do a special concert tour with Paru. Oh, and Kyoko sama was serious: You’ll be the only people from Earth to be invited to witness our church ceremony. It would be nice if some of you would come so that she doesn’t feel like a stranger on her special day.”

“I thought you were already married,” Yamada chan said.

“We are. The day her eyes turned violet was the day. By Taelon law and custom we were legally married that day. We filed our official Japanese wedding papers the next day. The bonding ritual binds our minds, souls, and hearts together forever. Neither of us will ever think about being with any other person. No affairs, no sexual attractions, no need or craving to go anywhere else but to each other.

“The wedding ceremony in the church is to ask for The Maker’s blessing on our union. It also introduces us as a couple to the rest of the thirty-nine united Galaxies. She also gets to dress up as a Goddess. Our friend Hana from Hana’s Creations is designing her ensemble. In fact she designed Kyoko’s entire wardrobe.”

One of the girls said, “I know her. She’s the most expensive designer around and because her dresses are so gorgeous, people pay it. You must have paid a lot of money for them.”

“Actually,” Kyoko replied, “She hasn’t charged us a cent. She says she loves making them for me. I promised to model some of them, including the wedding ensemble, for a magazine layout for her shop. I’ll be doing that this week after school. The magazine comes out a few days before the wedding. It’s kind of a scoop and an ad for Hana. If you come to the wedding I’ll introduce her to you before we go.”

“What will we wear? We don’t have fancy expensive dresses like that,” one of the girls asked.

“I wanted to surprise you, but to ease your minds: Hana said she would make each of you a dress and do your makeup and hair. You get to keep the dresses as a wedding gift for me.”

The girls were ecstatic.