#protector's ascent

((The RP kinda disappeared, so Mids had me go ahead and write up an ending for the event.))

"Very well then." Asaram straightened up, the rest of the Council doing the same. "With this new information, Guardian, I think it be in best interest for you to take a seat within the Council. It would aid you greatly to have allies."

The bunny frowned, and glanced over at Sage and Inshou, before returning her stare to the Grand Judge. "Thank you sir, but...I want to make my own Council." To say that shocked the Elves was an understatement; they looked positively floored at the idea, while Asaram remained blank-faced as he stroked his beard. "My home is not just Wonderland. It's all the other worlds I protect now too. Everyone in those worlds has the chance of becoming my ally." Aliblu continued, her voice getting stronger. "Therefore, I can only see it fitting for me to create my own Council to assist me, made of whom I choose to ally myself with."

She turned to the side and smiled. "And, if I may...I'd like to start by asking you two." Sage and Inshou looked at each other. "I realize that it's a bit of a stretch for me to ask, but-"

"We'll do it."

Aliblu paused, Inshou having cut her off. "...No big convincing speech? Heh, you're the right choices for sure." They shot back equally confident smirks as her own, and she turned her gaze back to Asaram. "Sage and Inshou are now the Guardian's Council members. I will update you when and if I add new members, why I chose them, and what I think makes them suitable for my council." The Grand Judge regarded her with a solid look, which she returned, and for a painfully long moment it seemed like the entire room was frozen in time. Not a single thing moved, not even the shadows of Giaselle's robe or the fire judge's hair, whose crackles had gone mute.

Then, Asaram nodded. "I will allow this to be. The Guardian's decision of forming a separate Council under her direction is hereby validated and accepted by the Grand High Council. However..." He motioned to Giaselle, who straightened up. "I do request you have Giaselle Murkle act as liaison between our Councils to keep track for you. As he has been our trusted liaison for one hundred plus years, I have full confidence in his abilities." If Giaselle was embarrassed by the praise, it never showed. Only that aloof bland expression and a nod were his response. "/I will serve the Guardian and her Council to keep the bridge between hers and our own strong./" He strolled over to the bunny and bowed down, kneeling on one knee. "/If you ask anything, I will strive to make sure it is seen through to the end./"

Aliblu nodded back, curtsying to him as he stood back up and glanced at Sage and Inshou. "/I look forward to working with you both./" His gaze lingered on Sage's for a moment, before a smile flickered into view. "/Let's do our best to get along./" Sage and Inshou nodded back with smiles of their own. Asaram lifted his staff and smacked the tip back down, the sound giving a much more powerful reaction than it looked like it would. "Then I dismiss this meeting, and extend parting wishes to the future of all gathered here."

Aliblu smilled and bowed one last time before turning and heading to Sage and Inshou with a beaming smile.

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"Are ye sure ye don't wanna stay a bit longer?" The maids asked as they flocked around the trio, readying themselves to return to the Realm. Aliblu rolled her eyes. "We are SURE. As much as you'd like to keep them around, Inshou and Sage need to return home. You can pamper them some other day." Inshou was grinning as Aliblu had to actually pick him up out of the maids reach and set him down away from their grasps.

"Although that does sound nice, we do have things we need to do back home." Sage smiled apologetically as the maids fell into a collective morose state. "When you do come back, we'll be more than happy to show you around the castle!" One of the mole maids squeaked. "And the town! I bet you'd love to see the shops and stalls in Alimer Town!" Another maid joined in.

Aliblu groaned and pressed her hands to the AXR's backs, leading them on out to the castle yard. The maids cheerfully yelled farewells to them as the Card Guards stood aside, obviously not wanting to contend with the bunny's mood. As they walked back through the town, the bowing commenced once again, and Aliblu groaned. "Can today just end already?"

Inshou looked skyward, considering the sun’s position, and chimed cheerfully, “It’ll be over in a little over four hours,” and he let out a soft ‘oof’ as Sage elbowed him for the bad joke.

“Is everyone always like this with you?” and a sick kind of annoyance pooled in Sage’s stomach at the thought. Aliblu, after all, wasn’t all that different than them, wasn’t treated like she was ‘one of the people’. She, like them, was ‘something more’, something untouchable and determined by the people as being owed respect and obeisance.

"It used to be different, truthfully." She sighed, stopping as they reached the outskirts. "Before, they'd outright attack me." Both turned to her with looks of alarm. "What?!" She raised her hands, trying to calm them. "Please, listen! They were scared, they felt they had no choice!" Her look turned morose. "What I am is...a taboo in this world. An illegal being, to say the least. Life created by destroying another's in an experiment deemed sinful. I was a monster in their eyes, something that could only wind up destroying the peace of their still-healing lives, and just like humans, they reacted the only way they knew how." She knew the anger was still in her friends, and she took them both by the hands.

"But I bore through it. I lived through all that they did, and I still chose to protect them when the-the Jabberwocky was released. That beast..." Inshou's eyes were wide. "Isn't that thing-" She cut him off with a sharp look. "...It was death. Ugly and cruel, a monster whose thirst was only slaked by living beings devoured by its madness. It had been sealed inside the Saint Sword to protect Wonderland, but...it broke free." She had a haunted look in her eyes as she rubbed her side gingerly. "I fought it and won, and that day marked my reinstatement as Guardian. Even though I did...run away at first." And the shame that flooded her expression was heavy. "I did resent them. I resented this world for what had been done to me. But I realized that I couldn't hold it against them. It's not in my nature to hold a grudge."

She started to relax a little. "I love this world. Even with the cruelty, ugliness, dirty and dark things within it, this place is something I love. And all beings within it are loved as well. I cannot hold dark feelings within me because my love and hope are more powerful than such emotions and drown out any darkness." She brought her hands up, looking at her palms. "I clawed my way through life, and now these claws will be used to protect those who gave me the burdens I struggled through. My hope will be the healing strength for this world and hopefully others." She turned and straightened her stance, staring at them both. "And I will never regret this decision."

The portal swirled into being nearby, and she took hold of their hands again. "To protect this world, and all worlds...To protect the precious hearts and souls that dwell within all these places...That is why I have accepted my role as Guardian. Even if I have to face difficulty, cruelty, regret, guilt, grief...I will do so." Her expression was fierce and strong as she strode forward with them. "And I know I will not be alone." She squeezed their hands firmly, and they squeezed back in return.