The mysterious creature was still smiling at him when he opened his eyes. She seemed little more than a beautiful statue until she blinked.

"Who are you?" Zan asked as he rubbed his head. Perhaps he was actually dead and all of this was a hallucination.

As if reading his thoughts, the creature before him chuckled. "Forgive me. I am Hanna the Fate. And I have saved you with this." She held up a glowing vial of blinding liquid. "It is yours now. It has great healing properties. But use it on external wounds only. Taking it internally can have...unintended consequences."

Zan's eyes went wide. "I just drank that! What kind of consequences?!" The man held his neck, wondering if he should try to vomit. Most likely it was too late.

"Ah yes, the consequences," the Fate said cheerfully. "For one, you are now a Guardian, and for another..." Hanna pointed to the river nearby. Zan rushed over to look in the water. His eyes, which were normally the color of pitch, now shone silver.

"You have turned me into a monster!" Zan cried.

"No, you are a Guardian," Hanna corrected him.

Zan ignored her. "I must get to Lanassa. She will think I abandoned her." The man stood rapidly and moved away from the Fate, ignoring her outstretched hand containing the vial.

"You have not even seen my second gift, Guardian." Hanna smiled wide as a black cloak appeared from thin air. "You can use the cloak to store the vial if you wish. It is a very handy accessory. I can promise this magical cloak will quickly become your favorite possession."

Zan wondered if the Fate was dumb or simply ignoring his words. "I need no possessions, magical or otherwise. I only need Lanassa."

"Human love is very admirable. I know you would lay down your life for that elf. Indeed, you did." Hanna's smile was becoming unnerving. She obviously knew something he did not.

"Thank you for saving my life," Zan began his trek toward the palace. His body felt better than it ever had. The man could move much swifter than ever before. But the Fate easily kept pace with her legs hardly moving.

"I do not recommend you take this path, Zan," Hanna said as any trace of a smile was gone from her lips.

"Then it is very good that I have the free will to ignore you," Zan scoffed, running faster. In no time, he reached the elven barrier, which only elves and those deemed friends could freely pass through. The man hoped that he had not yet been excluded as a friend.

He passed through the invisible wall easily and released the breath he had been holding. Glancing to his right, he noticed the Fate was still there. "You do not need to accompany me all the way to the palace," he tried to dismiss her.

Hannah sighed and shook her head. "I will not do any such thing. I will be patient. When you are ready, your gifts will be waiting. Simply call out my name." The Fate vanished.

Nothing in the land of magic surprised Zan anymore, so he simply shrugged and pushed further into his newfound speed and agility. What should have taken him a few hours in a full-out run was accomplished in a fraction of that time. But by the time he reached the outskirts of the city, Zan was exhausted. Once he entered the streets, there was a celebration already occurring.

"Hail Crown Prince Zoltan and his bride!" Someone shouted from the window. Zan could not help but be confused by those words. Zoltan was not even engaged, unless he had finally proposed to Bukuri like everyone thought he would. Maybe that is why Bukuri had not come to help him. Maybe she was stalling by marrying Zoltan so that Zan's absence would not be noticed. The man tried to make sense of everything in his head, but it made no sense.

Borrowing a cloak from a vendor's stand, Zan covered his face to get a closer look. The closer he got to the palace, the more celebration was occurring. At last, he reached the gates. He would try to find someone who could help him get to Lanassa. But who could he trust?

A herald came through the gate. "The ceremony is complete. I present to you Crown Prince Zoltan and the new Crown Princess."

'Excellent!' Zan thought, 'If I can get close to Bukuri, then I can find out what has happened.' But Bukuri was nowhere to be found. Instead, the Crown Princess emerged on Zoltan's arm and crushed Zan's heart. Lanassa was the new crown princess! He wanted to ask her why? Why hadn't she told him that she wanted to marry another. But he could not bring himself to find the answer. Elves were not capable of love, and he realized now that this was the flaw in their relationship all along.

Zoltan leaned in and stole a kiss from his blushing bride in front of the crowd. The citizens cheered, speaking blessings in the ancient tongue. Zan, who had been so proud of his accomplishment of learning the language, now wished he did not know what they were saying. At least then he could pretend that what he was seeing was not true. Yet the man could not deny the truth. The woman he loved had married another.

Zan left the elven land, swearing never to return. As quickly as he had reached the palace, much quicker did he flee. Nearing the ice barrier, Zan remembered the fox that had helped him cross before. It was nowhere in sight. Without it, the explorer would surely die crossing through the ice and snow.

The man sat down and wept bitterly. Perhaps death should have taken him when it had the chance. Surely this was not a life worth living. The thing he had cherished so dearly was now in the arms of another. All Zan could do was pity himself.

"You did not call me..." Hanna appeared with an arched brow, and her ever-present smile. One of her feet gently tapped the ground in mock anger. "I am patient, but I do not want to wait forever."

"Leave me alone." Zan did not lift his head from his knees.

"That is the last thing you need right now," the Fate teased. "There has been far too much of that today."

The man's head snapped up as he looked at her. "Did you come here just to pour salt in my wounds? You should have let me die!" His silver eyes flashed in sadness and anger.

"Time will tell if that is true, but I believe I made the right decision. I have something that will cheer you up!" Hanna held out the cloak and vial again. "Here are your gifts! It is almost like your birthday in a sense."

"This is nothing like my birthday..." Zan argued. But her chipper attitude had at least pulled him from his self-loathing.

"Agree to disagree," Hanna laughed. Somehow, despite her insolence, the man could not be mad at her.

Zan took the vial and cloak, wrapping the latter over his shoulders where he sat. The garment formed to him as if it were perfectly tailored to his body. The silver-eyed man could not help but stand and marvel at the black cloth. "You said this could store things?" he asked, thankful for the distraction.

"Try it yourself!" The Fate sounded like a mother coaxing a child.

Seeing no pockets, Zan was unsure what to do. He blindly thrust the vial at the inside of the cloak and watched as the vial disappeared. "Amazing! How do I get it back?"

"Just reach for what you want. Usually you will get it..." there was a hint of mischief in the Fate's tone.

Zan was relieved when the vial returned to his hand when he reached into the void. "You were right. I like this very much."

"My Guardians need to have the proper equipment. But I do not recommend you leave the vial in your cloak as a general rule. That container can be very fragile and you will not get another one." Hanna warned.

Zan tucked away the vial in a safe place and crossed his arms. "I never agreed to be your Guardian."

Hanna's smile grew wider. "Oh? Do you have something better to do? Your world just crashed around you."

Zan simultaneously felt like punching the Fate and laughing at how right she was. He contemplated if maybe he was going insane. "I loved Lanassa," he confessed. "I will always love her."

"I know," Hanna acknowledged. There was a moment of silent understanding between them.

The man cleared his throat, "What would I have to do to be a Guardian?"

Hanna's smile returned. "Have you ever been to Valiant? I have a job for you there."

"How long will this 'job' take?" Zan wondered.

Hanna shrugged. "If everything goes well, it could be a very long time indeed."