Guardian

Summary—To her mother, he's nothing more than a figment of Garnet's imagination, a mere hallucination that could ruin her forever. And so, she shamefully hides her daughter away in an asylum, unaware that it holds many people like Garnet—Holy people.

Rated T for yet unknown reasons.

Romance/Drama

Disclaimer—Belongs to Square whatsits (I'm never sure of their name…). This AU version is the product of my mind, but the characters, names, locations, etc. belong to Square.

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Prologue: Smoke and Mirrors

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"…So that was my day," a young Garnet concluded to her empty room, as her mother entered. "Yes. Such a fascinating life." She laughed heartily to herself.

Mother coughed in irritation, before putting on a cheery, fake smile.

"Whom were you talking to, dear?" she asked of her only daughter.

"My angel. Oh, it's lovely, mother! I actually have a friend to talk to!" Garnet said happily, grinning madly at her mother. "I've never had a friend before…"

Mother shifted uncomfortably. Garnet wasn't supposed to have friends—especially not imaginary ones… "That's wonderful, dear. Now please, come downstairs. I have someone who wants to meet you."

"Another friend?" Garnet asked hopefully, getting up obediently and brushing off her long black skirt before holding her hand out into the empty space next to her.

"…Yes. Another friend. He's here to take you to a special school where you can meet more friends," she said in a patronizing tone that Garnet didn't notice. She was lying, obviously. She was sending her daughter to a solitary, padded cell where her hallucinations couldn't hurt her mother's hard-earned reputation.

Brahne looked at her daughter sadly as the girl politely introduced herself to the stranger. She'd really wanted for Garnet to take her place when she retired…but she really couldn't hand over the family business to a girl whose sanity was in question. She sighed to herself in irritation—what was she supposed to do now? Garnet had been adopted just after she'd been born, and raised to take over the business since then. Brahne couldn't just start over! Well, she could, but she really didn't want to go through all of the intense parenting again—she was getting too old for it. What a waste, she sighed again, watching as their family maid, Beatrix, brought down a trunk full of Garnet's belongings and helped the man load it into his carriage. The maid then gave Garnet a hug goodbye and Brahne dutifully followed suit. I suppose I'll just have to sell the business when I get too old. What a waste…

"I'll miss you, mother," Garnet whispered into Brahne's ear. The woman almost began to regret her decision, until she remembered why she made it. She set her jaw forcefully and proceeded to give some pleasantry to her daughter in reply. As soon as the girl, barely sixteen years of age, climbed into the carriage next to the strange man Brahne had called to collect her, they rode away. Beatrix frowned at her mistress, but nevertheless returned to work without a word.

It was going to be different without the child around, but Brahne decided it was better this than the alternative. It was just good business, and better publicity.

Nothing personal, darling. Nothing personal.

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Short, yeah, but then prologues usually are.

So. Tell me if you agree with my author's note. Haha. I need to know if I'm just imagining things or not. 

Oh, and of course just a regular review would be wonderful, but I'll take what I can get.

kt