Castle of Sparks

Here I was, fighting in the biggest war known to the world. Honestly.....I didn't think it could get any worse.......then they had to go and open the door.

"Sir!" yelled a guard as he opened the door to the throne room.

"What is it?" asked Oritel.

"Solaria is under attack and they need reinforcements" said the guard.

"Do we have any of our own men to spare?" asked Oritel.

"Yes but the number is few my king, we simply don't have enough resources to provide for our allies as we're still gathering more for ourselves" said the guard.

"If we could.......Radius was once my comrade in arms......as much as I would love to help....." said Oritel.

Queen Mariam just placed a hand on her husband's shoulder while motioning for the guard to give them some space.

"There's nothing you could have done...." said Mariam.

"I could have tried, Radius is one of his kind.....there's no one else like him. I saved him, he saved me. But now, he needs me and I've failed him" said Oritel.

"We have our duties here, I'm sure Radius understands this as well. Speaking of Radius, shouldn't his wife be giving birth right now?" asked Mariam.

"That's right, today is the day and I can only hope nothing bad happens to him or his wife" said Oritel.

Unknown to the king and queen, their children had been eavesdropping and they've heard the whole thing.

"Its hard....being in our father's position" said Daphne.

"I know.......its hard, having a duty to your kingdom when your best friend is in trouble. Its never easy. By the way, I've heard you made a new friend. What was her name? Politea?" asked James.

"That's right, she was also the youngest person to be named a nymph just like me" said Daphne.

"This world is certainly having its share of talented people, I told you that you were one of those people. Graduating out of Alfea early and already the guardian of our world" said James.

"Perhaps but so are you" said Daphne.

"........I'm nothing special, I'm just a guy doing his job because its the right thing to do and because its fun in a way. I'll be just a simple warrior and wizard, nothing special. You on the other hand get to be the first hybrid between a fairy and a nymph. If one of us had to be special, it should be you" said James as he walked down the corridor.

"Why do you think it is?" asked Daphne as she caught up.

"What is?" asked James.

"Why are the guardians and protectors of our worlds all female? Fairies are girls, nymphs are girls....." said Daphne.

"Ha, forgetting who you're talking to already? You're asking the wrong person, I would never know the answer to that question much less become one of them. But you're lucky, at least you have the option of using your abilities to save others. Me.....I'll just be like the other guys, support the fairies and other 'guardian fairies' as you claim in battle. They lead the charge, I'll be there behind them.....behind you all the way" said James.

Daphne stopped as she watched her brother enter his room.

"I don't know James, if anything........it is you who should be leading 'us guardians'....you may not realize it but.....you're just as capable as any one of us. Hopefully others will see it as well" thought Daphne.

Next day

As James got out of bed, he looked at himself in the mirror.

"A year has passed since I began my first moments of war, right now I'm the same height as Daphne but once I hit 16...I'll be taller. I have become well known in the battlefield but naturally I'm not as famous as the fairies and nymphs fighting out there and leading the charge. Honestly all in all, I don't have a problem with it. It is who they are after all....so who am I to say that I am their equal?" thought James as he left the room.

He was soon in the royal dining room, already there were his parents and Daphne.

"Good morning James, slept well?" asked Mariam.

"Yup, I did mother. But seeing you all here with me sure woke me up" said James as he sat down.

"Here's the main course" said a maid.

James had wide eyes when he saw his breakfast, it was an orange fish swimming around in a fish bowl.

"Looks like its your turn" said Oritel as he smirked at his son.

"I don't need to be more 'handsome' dad, this is more of Daphne's thing. My hair and my skin doesn't need to be smooth...." said James.

"Ah ah, it is vital for you too young man. Open wide" said Mariam as she grabbed the fish.

James sighed as he reluctantly grabbed the fish and ate it. He wanted to throw up but he kept chewing until he swallowed it.

"That's horrible....." said James as he had the depressed symbol on his side with additional sound effects.

"He's dead....." thought Daphne with a frightened face.

Soon Oritel and Mariam left for their royal duties while James and Daphne remained behind.

"......................." said James as he remained silent.

"James?" said Daphne.

"Now I know.........what you went through....." whimpered James as he used his finger to circle the table.

1 hour later

After finally shaking off the effects of that 'breakfast', James and Daphne walked towards the throne room to meet up with their parents.

"I think we've found one of your weaknesses" said Daphne smiling.

"We are never speaking about this ever again" said James.

They were soon in the throne room but their parents were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh prince James, princess Daphne, your parents have gone for a meeting with the council and they said that you're both in charge until they return" said Hagen.

"Oh thanks Hagen and.....why are you here?" asked James.

"I'm admiring the craftsmanship of these swords on display, well got to get going so see you" said Hagen.

"That guy, can't stop thinking about weapons can he?" asked Daphne.

"Nope but that's what makes him unique" said James.

Suddenly a guard came in.

"Your majesties, guardian fairies have requested an audience with you" said the guard.

"Show them in" said Daphne.

Soon three enchantix fairies came in and they saw James and Daphne.

"Greetings princess Daphne.....prince James" said the first fairy.

James couldn't help but feel like that greeting wasn't sincere.....when it was directed right at him.

"We're about to lead a charge towards the army that has invaded Solaria, right now we have 30000 men ready and waiting for our orders" said the second fairy.

"We want you to join us for this attack, now is our chance to retake the capital and save many lives" said the third fairy.

"I would love to but....." said Daphne.

"But?" asked the second fairy.

"I would be honored if you would allow my brother to accompany me on this journey" said Daphne.

"You're joking right?" asked the third fairy.

"Daphne, someone has to stay and watch the......" whispered James.

"And why not?" asked Daphne.

"He's......not qualified" said the first fairy.

"He's a guy" said the third fairy.

"Guys are nothing compared to us, you too are aware of this fact Daphne. It is why we are in charge of battles, we lead men to victory and they are nothing to enchantix fairies" said the first fairy.

"You didn't see him in battle yet" said Daphne.

"We have heard word of him but with the kingdom of Romulea and the other kingdoms under tight security, we've yet to see any proof of these claims. I'm afraid that as far as I'm concerned, he's just like the rest of the expendable soldiers out there" said the second fairy.

"Then let him prove it" said Daphne.

"We don't have time for a test run, if we're going to go, we have to go now. Besides, I don't trust anyone other than our own kind" said the third fairy.

"We have magic, they have swords. We are powerful, they are just brute strength. Do I need to empathize it more? Girls are chosen to be powerful which is why we have transformations and guys do not" said the first fairy.

James just sighed tiredly and walked away.

"If anybody needs me, I have a kingdom to protect" said James.

Daphne was soon following him but not before asking her guests to wait in the throne room for a moment and she could only guess what James was thinking of right now.

"James....." said Daphne.

"You and I both know that what they said was true, no matter how much I want to deny it. The facts were there and its true. In this time of war, all fairies and other related girls are the equivalent of the high general rank. In fact, if I didn't know better there are probably thousands of other realities out there that follow the same system, the magical princess system" said James.

"James, you can't let them push you around like that. Why don't you stand up for yourself?!" asked Daphne.

"Its not my place to argue, besides I can argue all I want but as I said the facts were there and its true....which means they can use it against me. That's not all, with our parents gone someone has to watch over our kingdom otherwise it will remain unguided" said James.

"But....." said Daphne.

"Daphne, I know you mean well......but you have to face facts.....I'm the warrior. You are the guardian fairy of our world, you are the symbol of this world, not me. Right now, you represent everything that we worked so hard for and right now....there are others that need your help" said James as he placed his hands on Daphne's shoulders.

"So do I....I need you. They were wrong about one thing, you have magic too" said Daphne.

"Who's the guardian fairy? Yup, its you. Don't worry about me, just go out there and make sure Solaria is free from those monsters" said James.

"But...." said Daphne.

"Daphne......do it for me. Look into my eyes, you have always been ready and now you've just proven it to me. I'm glad you're my sister because your personality suits me" said James.

".....Alright, good luck" said Daphne.

"Same to you" said James.

Soon Daphne left, leaving James with his own thoughts.

"Stand up for myself? Easier said than done, maybe its easier for you Daphne because you're one of them......but not for me. The world has always been broken and this war had just made it worse. Its not because I'm a coward that I run from those girls........its because my people need me and right now....it falls to me to make sure they're safe from harm" whispered James.

Meanwhile, Daphne had reluctantly agreed to take part in this mission but she was thinking about something else.

"You can't hide it James........from the moment I looked into your eyes......there was sadness in them. Maybe you don't show it publicly or even to me......but I can feel it. Also.......I am so sorry....for you.....living with them....mocking men like you" thought Daphne as she transformed and stared at the three fairies next to her.

End of chapter and I've made a mistake. In the previous chapter, James is 14 years old which means that he's 15 right now. I've fixed it so I hope this clears things up :)