Welcome, my lovely reader!
This is Guarded, the very first serial I ever wrote! I've edited and tried to bring it up to my current standards of writing, so if this is your first time here, rejoice, it's not such a fustercluck!
So what is this? It's a drama/romance between an older jaded wolf-girl and a younger ram-boy pop star! This one is all heterosexual unlike most of my other work, but the main couple IS pansexual and this will be a factor in the sequel.
As a cursory note, the story is not a tragedy, but the prologue is a gut-punch to the feels, so try to be prepared for that and just know it will get happier as it goes.
Let's jump right in!
—♥—
Prologue:
Gone Away
"And it feels, yeah, it feels like, The world has grown cold, Now that you've gone away."
"The witness has been sworn in, your Honor," The bailiff snorted the words out before stomping back over to the side of the stand. He was a short stocky male that was heavy with muscle, slightly elongated tusks showing in his mouth with a wiry tail whipping about behind him.
"Thank you," The judge spoke towards the bailiff, he then peered at the young wolf at the stand through his large rimmed spectacles before continuing. "State your name for the court please."
Snow white ears flicked in agitation as she sat there on the stand looking straight ahead a small pea-sized chunk missing from the inner rim of her left ear that had moved. Her azure eyes focused maliciously on a male sitting at the table in front of the court, a grey-haired middle-aged goat in an orange prisoner uniform with curled horns protruding from his forehead.
A Leopard stood next to the obvious prisoner, dressed in a crisp fancy suit that looked like it cost more than a month of her salary. The wolf found a growl bubbling up in her throat as she glared at the two of them.
The judge paused at the scene for a few heartbeats before calling out to the wolf a second time. "Miss! Your name for the court if you please." The elderly fennec fox spoke the words out sharply in commandment as he looked down at the young dog next to him.
Those sharp blue eyes cut over to the judge to her right, then shot over to the bailiff next to her. The warthog snorted at the wolf, his hands resting on his hips in a posture like he was just waiting for her to try something stupid. She made a third glance over to the group of sixteen jurors of various ages and species.
"Tracey Wellford," She spoke the words with a sharp tone, all the contempt in her voice plain and evident, practically dripping with malice.
A lithe doe moved to the witness stand before Tracey, she wore a neat trim suit but it looked more reasonable in price compared to the leopards. It was the district attorney she had spoken to on multiple occasions leading up to the trial and now this sentencing hearing. "Ms. Wellford, could you please state your profession for the jury and the judge?"
She shifted her gaze to the doe while moving a hand through her own short jagged locks of hair, crimson red except for a shock of white that highlighted down the right side. "Personal security agent," She replied in a concise tone.
"A bodyguard?" The doe prodded, hoping to give the jurors a more relatable job title.
She snorted and looked over towards the jury. "Bodyguard."
"You were under the employee of Mrs. Sherry, were you not?" The DA flicked her small brown tail as she saw the wolf flinch and a furious look cross her face. The doe gave her a look as if pleading with her to keep cool.
"Yes," Tracey growled the word through clenched teeth, her nails digging into the wood at the front of the stand she was at. Her posture had changed and she had shifted to sit up more stiffly, her tail rigid, the fur bristled out at the tip.
The bailiff had also noted the posture and taken a step into Tracey's line of sight, resting a hand on the holster at his hip that was holding the gun he was wearing. The pig said nothing and didn't even make eye contact with the dog, just looking off in the distance like he wasn't even paying mind to her, but the message was clear.
The doe hesitated, looking at the judge then the jury before returning her gaze to the wolf. "You were present the night of the twenty-second of July, were you not?"
"Yes ma'am," Tracey spoke the words sharply, giving the bailiff a defiant glare before settling back in her seat.
The district attorney took a long pause before her next question. "In your own words, can you describe the events of that night to the jury?"
—♥—
"I still don't like it! Such a dangerous job, why not just work a normal job, Honey?" The wolf flicked her ear while listening to her mother droll on and on over the phone, a grin on her face.
"Relax, Mom! The job is super easy and with the pay I'm getting, I will have college paid off before I even finish it! I even get to study on the downtime between rallies." The young wolf spoke the words cheerfully into the flip-open phone, leaning against the side of the venue building watching the stagehands set up for tonight's speech.
