King's Daughter's Kitchen

If you want to know how to spend even a minute of extra time, ask a Guardian from Everwoke. These immortals make the best use of time of any creature in existance. On the island of Everwoke, there are Guardians, all women, all hypervigilant watchers. They are born of the immortal Queen Mother and her mate, the man, Kind. Kind is the only man allowed to live and speak in the nation except for the wisemen, Id, Ego, and Superego. (I’ll bet you always wondered where they lived).

Guardians of Everwoke never sleep. Until they come of age, they train in the sacred art of  childeguarde. This training is arduous and difficult, as each Guardian watches over one child, then gives it up. She must release her child to the world of no Watcher Guardians when the child reaches adulthood. If successful, the Guardian then begins the watch of a new child. 

A Guardian receives her new child at the first beat of it’s heart. If the child becomes Unborn, that Guardian dies by the sword. She has failed in training and defied the supreme laws of Everwoke. Unfair you say? No, there are only three laws, easy peasy.

#1. Children are a sacred gift.

#2. It is our duty to protect children at all costs.

#3. Failure to protect children will result in certain death.

If a child dies on a Guardian’s watch, the Guardian becomes immediately mortal and is beheaded. It is a great honor to begin a new watch, a new child, to celebrate life. With each Newlife celebration, guards receive new uniform colors. The color represents the number of childhoods she has successfully overwatched. If the childhood she leaves was happy, she earns a gold arm bracelet. All Everwoke Guardians see status in empty arms or shining. They know rank by rainbow colors high and low.

No matter their status, there are things Guardians never forget. Guardians never forget how to play. All are well versed in childeworde. Each speaks fluent childetalke. Every one must be able to hold secrets to infinity. Guardians learn the art of interacting to become their assigned child’s imaginary friend. A child may often speak aloud to his or her Guardian.

It is the highest honor if a child laughs with a Guardian and learns from them how to make friends with other children. Adult humans could learn a lot from Guardians. If I were a Guardian of Everwoke, I would never forget how to play. I wouldn’t want to be one because I could never, ever feel what it’s like to hold a child in my arms.