Chapter 2. Soulmarks

The sound of the rain woke her up even before dawn.

Perhaps it was her anxiety, Ayla thought, as this was the day the ten Celestial Masters would come to select those who had finished their instruction to become their pupils and official Guardians under their commands.

“I can’t believe it’s been ten years already.”

Ten years since Nash had found her in Dusty Town and taken her to start her preparation as a Celestial Guardian.

Before that day, Ayla had ignored everything about what she really was.

In this world, there were souls specially chosen by Heaven and gifted with a strong spiritual power in order to protect and keep the balance in the realms of the living and the dead.

She was one of those souls, and her fate was to train her spiritual power to be able to cross the dimensions of the living and fight the evil spirits in the world.

So against all the expectations of her first eight years of life, Ayla bloomed into the beautiful and strong person she was supposed to be, like a flower growing in the middle of the snow covered ground.

A miracle followed another, and three years ago, the mark appeared on her skin, burning on her back. Since then she lived filled with hope with the two goals in her life: becoming a strong Celestial Guardian who could serve this world, and find the person she belonged with and love him.

At least one of those goals was one step closer to her already.

She’d finished her instruction, and now if she got to be chosen by one of the Ten Masters, she’d be able to learn from the best and serve as an official Guardian. It was only natural to be nervous.

Sighing, she stretched her body and got out of the bed. It was time to get ready for the long day ahead.

After a shower and changing to her uniform (white shirt and white pants) she went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for her and Estée, who would probably arrive at any moment.

All of the students under training lived in the same facility in the Cloud City, hidden from ordinary humans and the temptations of that kind of life. Although there were very few who missed their lives before starting their journey as Celestial Guardians.

“Mmm… I’m smelling pancakes.”

Oh, Estée had appeared.

“Yes, with honey.”

Estée yawned and then walked towards Ayla to give her a hug.

“You are the best sister in the world, you know? In exchange, I’ll make coffee.”

“No coffee, tea.”

Estée rolled her eyes.

“Okay.”

“Don’t let the water boil like the last time.”

While they waited for the water to be ready, Estée noted Ayla seemed to be totally ready to go to the Blue Castle. How impatient.

“With whom are you going after today?”

“With whoever picks me.”

Estée laughed. That was for people like her, not for souls of a different category like Ayla, who had so much spiritual power that even their instructors seemed to be a bit intimidated by her. The training that most people took 20 years to finish (herself included) Ayla had finished in half the time.

In some cases where the student performance was exceptionally good during the demonstration, more than one Master would make an offer and the new ‘recruit’ could choose who she or he wanted to follow.

“I’m sure you will receive more than one offer. If you could choose… who would you follow?”

“The water,” Ayla warned, and then sat on the table, thinking about that possibility. If more than one master actually wanted her? She knew little about the great Ten Masters.

Among them, the ones who caused the biggest impression from the stories were 1st Master Brenna Calix, 4th Master Nox Chevalier, and 10th Master Ler Aldrich. The 1st Master was so powerful she had been around for more than 500 years keeping her youth, but Ayla thought it wouldn’t be a good option for her, since Master Brenna had fire destructive power, more suited to fight demons, while Ayla’s spiritual power leaned towards the healing arts.

Then there was Master Nox, his whole family was confirmed by Celestial Guardians since the beginning of the times, if there was something like royalty among Guardians then only the Chevalier House could fit that position. There were stories about how proud and demanding he was, and although Ayla didn’t have problems with the second part, she much feared the first. Someone who had such a high rank and good family would tolerate someone like her, a street rat?

Finally, the other figure she greatly admired was Master Ler. Just like Ayla or Estée, he rose from the bottom being born as a nobody. He was fifty years old and the youngest Celestial Master since Creation. His power was that great. Ayla thought that being able to learn from such a prodigy would be her luck in this lifetime.

“If I can choose, I’d go with Master Aldrich.”

Estée served the tea, then added some milk as she knew Ayla liked during breakfast.

“Good choice. I saw him once, he’s particularly handsome.”

“...”

Ayla stared at her friend in disbelief.

***

If it wasn't for Estée, her best friend, perhaps she wouldn't endure after her first days in the academy. It was true that Nash had explained a lot of things, but after he had to go back to work, and Ayla was left alone to adapt to her new life in the Cloud City and the Blue Castle.

Although Estée was older than her, there they were trying to become Celestial Guardians at the same time that they still played like little kids.

"You! The one who gets to the gates last will make dinner!"

Estée yelled.

“In your dreams!”

Ayla speeded up, turned around a corner, and then… ran into a very big, big person. A Master, judging by the silver cloak over his shoulders.

“Ayla…”

Ignoring Estée’'s worried voice, she looked up and the surprise in her eyes was reflected into that man's eyes.

Light blue eyes like a cloudy sky, pale skin, a long face, and dark long hair tied up. What were the words of Estée earlier in the kitchen? Particularly handsome.

She couldn't see it, but she felt the soulmark in her skin burning like never before, making her heart beat faster, only to finally fade away. Even colors seemed to become brighter, and Ayla thought she had never seen real color at all before that moment.

Nox also felt that burning sensation, but stood frozen in place because of the shock.

The girl who was in front of him looked exactly the same as his wife.

Exactly the same as his soulmate was supposed to look.

"It 's you." She said, a smile forming on her face, and Nox was horrified.

He couldn't have been wrong all these years, it was just impossible.

He replied with the cold expression he'd mastered since becoming Lord Chevalier.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Step aside."

"But..."

"As students from the Blue Castle, shouldn't you be practicing your fighting skills instead of playing like kids?"

"I'm sorry, Master" Estée decided to intervene and save his friend who seemed to have lost her mind. He grabbed her hand. "Ayla, let's go."

" But..."

" Let's go."

Something broke inside her. Had she just been rejected by her soulmate?

And as he walked away, Nox felt he couldn't breathe at all.

***

"Who's that?"

"How can you not know? Did you look at his cloak and the brooch? That's the 4th Master Chevalier."

That day she had a name for the face that she'd been waiting to meet for years. Unexpectedly, it was also the face of someone she had considered as a possible master more than once.

Ayla was dumbfounded. Soulmates were supposed to feel an instant connection, it was said to be so strong that they couldn’t really stand to be separated for long, and that their spiritual power grew connected in deeper levels. Yet this person, her soulmate, had rejected her coldly.

Why?

“The 4th Celestial Master… what do you know about him?”

She could only ask her friend for some piece of information she might have missed.

“Hmm? You’re suddenly interested in that?” Estée smiled. “ But there isn’t really much about Master Chevalier besides what we know about his important family… they like to keep things private, but… I think there was a bit of a scandal when he got married sixteen years ago or so, because his wife isn’t...apt to become a Celestial Guardian.”

“He is married… to a human?”

Ayla managed to ask, masking her trembling voice.

“So romantic, isn’t it? The Chevalier House accepted it because they are soulmates.”

It all seemed to be a bad joke.

Ayla didn't understand. He surely was her soulmate. He had recognized her too, she saw it in his eyes during one flickering instant. So what had happened? Why had he married someone else and told the world that person was his soulmate, when that was obviously not true?

The possibility that this could happen never crossed her mind. She could only come to the conclusion that he didn't really believe in soulmates, and the connection she had felt didn't amount to anything in the end.

In a few minutes perhaps, she was about to go under examination, and he’d be there to watch her performance. Thinking about that Ayla found it hard to breathe…

‘Calm down. I need to calm down. I cannot lose it now.’

“Ayla, are you okay?” Their instructor, Gael, asked.

She nodded.

“It’s normal to be a bit nervous, but there’s no need to, when you are the best Blue Castle has seen in decades.”

“Yes. Thank you, Guardian.”

She was feeling a bit sick, it was a heavy sensation settling in her stomach.

The first part of the examination was a hand-to-hand combat match, she was good at it but it wasn’t her forte, would it be enough when she felt the ground beneath her feet crumbling into pieces?