I looked up from my book in response to my name, called obnoxiously from across the room by my friend Wen Kinoc.

"Hey, Auron!" he called. "There's a girl here asking for you. She's hot."

"Kinoc!" I scolded. "We're monks now. Officially. We should be rejecting impure thoughts, not spouting them freely!"

"Hey, it's not against the teachings to be attracted to someone," Kinoc shrugged.

I sighed and shoved the book aside next to my katana and red robe. I wondered if Kinoc would ever achieve that goal of maester of Yevon. Twenty two and sworn to Yevon, the prime of his life consumed by teachings, textbooks, and rules. What a life.

Then again, who was I to judge? I was nineteen.

I pushed the thoughts from my mind as I began my journey from the garden in the back to the main part of the Besaid temple. I didn't know who could be asking for me, but I hoped whoever she was would make it quick; I had some reading to do.

I stepped into the spacious room, the familiar hymn reverberating off its walls, and immediately deduced who this girl must be.

She was clothed simply, modestly: a long, dark purple dress covered by a cloak of the purest white. Her long, wavy, dark brown hair flowed down to her waist, and her dark chocolate eyes were alight with life. She seemed… familiar somehow.

"Ah, Auron!" the temple's high priest, Kappo, exclaimed. Had I been staring? How long? "Come here, this young lady would like to meet you."

I smiled and crossed the room.

"Auron, this is Lady Alexandra, Spira's newest summoner," he said. I brought my hands up over my head and then lowered them in front of me, giving her the prayer as a welcome.

"Hello, Lady Alexandra," I greeted. "I hear you… asked for me?"

"Yes," she replied, returning the prayer to me. "I am in need of a guardian. You see… I have none."

I looked at her in disbelief. "Not one?"

She lowered her head. "Sin… Sin took my mother and father from me when I was four. I moved all around Spira after that, from relative to relative; I went wherever anyone could take me. Kind of hard to make friends in that situation."

"And your family?"

"I've been living on my own here since I turned seventeen," she explained. "So, for a few months now. I wouldn't want to put any of my family through the hard journey I'm sure to have."

"And you'd be willing to put me through that?"

A slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Well, sir monk, word is your familial situation nearly mirrors mine."

I had to admit, she was right: I had no brothers or sisters, no family I knew of. All I'd really ever known was the temple, the teachings of Yevon.

Her eyes seemed to read my thoughts. "Aha," she said, her smile becoming more defined. "So, sir, I would like to ask you to be my guardian. I'd understand if you were to say no, but from what High Priest Kappo tells me, I feel that you'd be best suited for it. Please, sir, consider it."

"No need for formalities," I informed her. "Please, call me Auron."

"Auron, then," she nodded. "Shall I call again tomorrow for your answer?"

"No need," I repeated. "Lady Alexandra, I'd be honored to accompany you."

"Thank you… Auron," she said. "Well then, I'll come tomorrow?"

"I'll meet you in front of the temple," I nodded. "We'll leave at dawn."

"I look forward to it. Farewell, Sir Auron."

"Farewell, Lady Alexandra." I turned to walk away.

"Oh, and Auron?"

"I threw a glance over my shoulder. "Yes?"

"Call me Alex."

"Will do, Alex," I said. She shot me a smile before leaving the temple, and I headed back out into the garden, where the deepening dusk bathed everything in a warm orange light. It was moments like this that I could almost barely believe there was a Sin, something so destructive and horrid. Everything was so serene…

But we must never forget. I learned that that day.

Panicked shrieks of terror arose from the village, and I grabbed my katana and ran to its center. Sin was looming, great and hideous, over the little town, citizens fleeing every which way before it.

My first thought was to find Alex. I was her guardian now, after all, so it was my duty to protect her. I searched the crowd for her white robe, finally locating her by a hut, helping a child up and holding him close to her. He held tightly to her, and I guessed that he couldn't find his parents… and that was why she was crying. She sympathized with him.

I was so absorbed in watching them, in imagining what Alex had been through, that I failed to notice what was going on with Sin—until Kinoc again called for my attention.

"Auron, look out!"

Sin had left, but it had dropped one of its spawn and left it behind—and this spawn was about to shoot a huge blast of energy directly at me.

I knew I couldn't run from it. There was no way I could possibly dodge it, much less survive it. I prayed to Yevon to end it quickly and braced myself for the pain…

Which surprisingly never came.

I chanced a look and found a great bird in front of me, its wings outstretched. Had it taken the blow for me?

"Valefor!" I heard Alex's voice call. "You know what to do. Destroy that thing!"

Valefor unleashed a battle cry, did a kind of midair twirl, and a light began glowing inside her beak and grew larger. She unleashed it just at the moment it looked as if it would overcome her, shot it in a line across the sinspawn's feet. For a second it appeared to have failed, but then, as if there had been mines planted beneath the ground, multiple explosions shot down the line.

The sinspawn wailed in pain before its body separated into pyreflies, which flew off into the dimming sky.

I watched, awestruck, as Alex walked over to Valefor, the boy at her side.

"Thank you," she said, patting the bird's beak. Valefor cawed happily, then flew off into the clouds. Alex then guided the boy over to me.

"Alex…" I gasped. "Was that—?"

"The aeon I received yesterday from this very temple," she nodded. "Are you okay?"

I smiled, feeling a hint of an out-of-character blush creep across my cheeks. "I'm your guardian," I said. "I should be… I should be the one protecting you."

She laughed and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Doesn't mean I can't help you out every so often." She slid her hand off my shoulder and turned back to the boy. "Now, let's find your parents, okay?"

They walked off into the throng of villagers, Alex drying the boy's tears and even making him smile. I had this feeling that maybe she could bring us a new Calm.

And the only reason I had to add in the "maybe" was because I did not know if I was strong enough to make it.

I turned around and headed back into the temple to check on everyone inside. There were a few more people praying, but aside from that, it seemed to be business as usual. I crossed the main chamber and was about to go back into the garden to fetch my books and cloak when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned in the direction of the contact.

"Hi Auron," giggled Staravia, Kappo's daughter, aged about eleven or twelve.

"Hello Staravia," I replied flatly, continuing my walk. "All right?" I wondered if she could tell I was only asking to avoid being rude.

"I was so scared!" she gasped, following me out to the fountain at the garden's center. "I wish I'd had a big, strong warrior monk to protect me!" She batted her eyelashes at me.

Nope, I thought. Definitely didn't pick up on it.

"A big strong warrior monk, huh?" I asked, tossing my sword in the air and catching it with ease. "Hm. Wish we had one of those." I sheathed the blade. "But you seem unharmed to me."

"Thankfully," she sighed as she began to follow me back inside. "Auron?"

"Yes?"

"Is it true? Are you really leaving here with some girl on a pilgrimage?"

"Wow, news travels quickly around here, doesn't it?"

"Dad just told me. Why do you want to leave?"

"Because she needs the guardian and I need the training. Besides, it might be nice to get away from here for a while."

"When will you be back?"

I began organizing the books in my bookcase. Not that they needed it—I just wanted to look busy, like I didn't have the time to talk. "Who knows."

Behind me, she began to sob. I continued to reorder my books until suddenly she tackled me, wrapping her arms around my torso.

"I'm gonna miss you!"

"I know, I know," I said. Silently, I prayed to Yevon for something to get her out of my room. I knew we weren't supposed to be so frivolous with our prayers, but I had to give it a go.

Just then, I heard a knock on my open door.

"Auron? Am I interrupting something?" Kinoc asked.

"No, not at all!" I insisted, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Sorry Staravia, but I need him alone."

"Oh fine," she sighed. "See you later, Sir Auron." She left the room, slamming the door quite loudly behind her.

"Well, you can tell she's pleased," Kinoc snorted.

"Is it that obvious?"

"What's her deal?"

I shrugged. "No idea. So, what's on your mind?"

"You mean aside from the fact that the gorgeous summoner just saved you from that sinspawn?"

Exactly what I meant."

"Kappo says you're gonna be her guardian. So she's new?"

I nodded, putting my books back in their proper places. "She's seventeen."

"Seventeen? Really?" Kinoc mused. "She looks—she sounds—far older."

"Maybe," I said, filling up my canteen and hooking it on my belt.

"I wish I'd been a little handier with the sword," Kinoc sighed. "Then I would've been able to be the pretty summoner's guardian."

"And what ratio of seduction attempts to guarding would you have done?"

He pondered the question a little longer than I expected him to. "Three to one?"

"Yeah right," I snorted. "You'd be doing that much guarding? Don't make me laugh."

"Seriously though," Kinoc said. "I envy you, Auron. You get to travel Spira, hone your skills as a warrior, and do it all with a really cute girl!"

"Will you lay off that part already?" I snapped, turning to face him. "I'm her guardian. It'd be wrong of me to think of her that way!"

"So you admit it! You are attracted to her, aren't you?"

I hesitated. "I suppose."

"Ha! I knew it!"

"But I won't let anything—anything—distract me from my duty. For the moment, I only have one goal in life, and that is to get Lady Alexandra safely to Zanarkand."

Kinoc leaned against the wall. "You're really taking this seriously."

"Of course I am!" I exclaimed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need some rest. Lady Alexandra and I leave at dawn."

"Suit yourself," Kinoc shrugged, opening the door. "Tell Lady A hi for me."

"Sure thing," I murmured. I readied all my possessions as he left, laying them out on the largest table in the room.

"Damn you, Kinoc," I cursed under my breath. He was right, Alex was beautiful. There was a certain grace about her that just made me feel… made me feel…

"Like I don't know what I'm feeling," I finished aloud. I flopped backwards onto my bed, thinking about her and smiling. "Good night, Alex. I vow to you, I'll keep you safe."

:::

I was sitting on the steps of the temple when she walked up to me.

"It's a few minutes 'til dawn." I observed, shooting her a grin. "You're early."

"You were earlier," she chuckled. "Come on, Sir Auron, let's get to the beach. We're catching the first ferry to Kilika."

"All right," I nodded, getting up and walking beside her. "Oh, and another monk from the temple, Kinoc, says hi."

She shot a glance at the temple. "Hey, Kinoc."