That night would haunt him forever.
Yun Zeru would pay.
He had no doubt that he would do everything in his power to destroy him.
Yun Zeru would pay for hurting his family.
Elara felt stiff. She groaned, moving her neck to the side to release a small crick, and stretched. She moved her hand over a thick, fuzzy blanket that covered her body, and slowly pushed it to the side. She could feel the sunlight slowly filling the room, and her consciousness slowly returned. She squinted one eye open, surveying the room, and slowly propped herself up onto her elbows.
She was in Noiro’s sitting room. She looked out the window, and saw it was sunrise.
Or was is sunset?
Elara looked around her, disoriented. How long had she slept for?
Argon sat in the armchair closest to her, his eyes closed and his chest rising softly as he slept. She felt touched. She wondered how long he had stayed by her side. Never had she needed to lean on someone so heavily, and he hadn’t left her.
She looked around.
It was quiet. Where was everyone?
She moved to sit up, grimacing as she felt pain shoot through her shoulder. She put a hand instinctively to where she felt the pain, and her hand met a thick, soft bandage wrapped around her side.
Oh.
The horrible events suddenly came flooding back to her, and she groaned. It felt like a horrid dream. But it was real.
“You’re awake.”
Elara turned towards the relieved voice. Argon was leaning forward, alert as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He immediately came closer, kneeling on the ground beside her as she sat on the couch, holding her hand tightly to his chest, his eyes searching hers. Was she all right?
Elara smiled, and he smiled back.
“Where is everyone?”
“Out. It’s been about a day and a half,” he said, anticipating her next question.
She looked down at her lap, nodding. She felt sore, but much better than she had when she first come to Noiro’s door that night. “And Helia?” she asked, her voice dropping with concern.
“With Miela and Noiro,” he assured. “They should be back soon, actually.”
“Where is everyone?” Elara asked again.
Argon sighed. “They’re gathering support,” he said. “Rounding up people we’ve fought alongside with in the future. We need help.”
Elara nodded. It was a good idea.
They couldn’t simply wait around for Yun Zeru to grow his power and strength, and for him to attack again. She shuddered as she remembered his cold, icy smile.
She never wanted to see such a wretched human being ever again.
“Helia is an Elemental,” Elara uttered quietly.
Argon nodded. “We’ve told Estelle. We needed her insight.” He held her hand, as if he were afraid she would disappear if he let go. “It makes sense. Helia’s a descendant from Princess Water, after all.”
“I don’t understand,” Elara murmured, looking at their clasped hands and squeezing back. “We tried to test her. Nothing happened. How…?”
“It must have been triggered,” said Argon. “Fear. Anger. Helplessness. It must have brought it out in her.”
“How?”
“Estelle’s trying to get us some more information,” Argon replied. “But from what she’s found, accounts of Elementals from our line often emerged during some stressful event. An example is my grandmother’s mother. She was horribly abused by her husband. Guess how he died.”
Elara shrugged, clueless, eyes locked on Argon.
Argon pursed his lips. “He drowned. In water that was ankle-deep. The water kept pushing him down, almost as if it were holding him under the surface. Another example is my mother’s cousin. She was hiking up one of Mizar’s cliffs, and the ground had given away beneath her feet. She fell into the sea below, but… the sea rose up to meet her. It literally rose high into the sky as she fell towards it, as if it were catching her. She drifted to shore without so much as a scratch on her. There are several more accounts…”
“Like Helia being choked,” said Elara quietly, guilt wrapping itself around her organs and tightening roughly inside her.
Argon nodded.
“He knows,” Elara continued wistfully. “Yun Zeru knows.”
“What?”
“When he saw Helia’s abilities. He called her the ‘Elemental.’ He knows. He’ll be after us. He’ll be after her.”
“We need to move.” Argon’s eyes blazed furiously. “We need to protect Helia. We’ll have you go into hiding, and—”
“Going into hiding won’t solve anything.” Elara shook her head. “We need to stop him. We need to end this.”
“How?”
“We need to go to the beginning. We need the Diadem.”
THE BEGINNING
“Why are we here?”
Elara’s shoulders shook as a strong breeze blew through her coat. She winced as she felt the wind pierce through her injured shoulder.
Ahead of her walked Estelle and Noiro, followed by Miela. Noiro trod carefully over the stony rubble pathway, his hair blowing back in the harsh wind howling through the cliffs as he led the way. Argon walked closely behind Elara, carrying Helia tightly in his arms. She clung to him, burying her face in the crook of his neck to warm her icy cold cheeks.
They climbed down the steep pathway, the cold, icy winds gusting across the roaring grey sea.
The group walked over to the base of one of the cliffs, quickly huddling inside one of the caves. Elara stepped over the small symbol of Polaris etched into the ground at the cave’s mouth.
The Old Archives.
“Noiro. Why are we here?” Elara asked again.
“To see Princess Laelia.”
Estelle walked deeper into the cavern, slowly coming to a stop in front of the old, weathered statue cloaked in the darkness of the cave. Argon set Helia down onto the ground, taking her hand. He walked towards the statue, Noiro, Elara, and Miela in tow.
Helia stared at the stone woman in awe. Her long hair flowed from her head and merged into the rocky wall, and her long, stone dress was swept behind her. Elara peered at the woman’s outstretched hands, the palms cupped together in a protective clasp.
For a moment, Elara expected to see something appear in the statue’s hands. But alas, it was empty, save for a small pool of water collecting in the statue’s tight grasp from droplets dripping from the cave’s ceiling.
“I don’t understand,” muttered Miela. “I thought we needed the Diadem.”
“We do,” said Estelle. “But it would be difficult to get the Queen’s Diadem from the castle, wouldn’t it? The only way you got it in the future was when the castle was destroyed.”
“You’re right.” Argon nodded. “But that doesn’t explain why we’re here in the caves.”
“This statue was built at the same time Polaris was founded,” explained Estelle. “If my theory proves correct, then Princess Laelia had this statue erected herself. Which means it’s the most accurate depiction that we have to date.
“Do you think that the statue is hiding something?”
“Maybe,” pondered Estelle. “Maybe the Ancient Princess has something here that can help us.”
Elara shook her head, confused. “I don’t know what we’re looking for. This statue stood here for centuries. If there were anything to find, don’t you think someone would have found it by now? What if it’s gone?”
“It’s not,” Estelle replied with a smile, pointing to the statue’s head. “The Diadem.”
Elara looked at the statue curiously. There was no Diadem on the woman’s head.
“I don’t see anything,” said Miela, echoing Elara’s observation.
“Of course not,” agreed Estelle. “But it’s there. The most accurate depiction of the Diadem.”
Elara gave her a long, perplexed look.
“If you think about it, we’ve only ever seen images of the Diadem,” def
ended Estelle. “The only people who have ever seen the Diadem up close is the royal family themselves. We don’t have the luxury of time to go to the castle and demand to see the Diadem. Especially not without having to share everything we know about the future. The war. Yun Zeru. Helia. And even then, how would we guarantee we’d be granted permission to see the Diadem? To see the Queen herself?
“I also started thinking… We’ve only ever seen the Diadem from the front. Every painting that’s ever captured the Diadem has only shown the face of the Diadem. The crowning jewels. The jewels used in the Diadem are well-documented, as well: diamond, emerald, sapphire, and ruby. There is no mention of any other stone embedded into the Diadem.
“We also know that, in the future, we took the Diadem, and we found the Aether Stone. So, we know for a fact that the Aether Stone is in the Diadem,” Estelle finished.
“But if there’s only diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and rubies in the Diadem, then where is the Aether Stone?” asked Argon.
“Exactly my question,” agreed Estelle. “Like I said, there are hundreds of paintings and depictions of the Diadem, but they only ever capture the face of the Diadem. But what if there was something behind the Diadem?”
Estelle turned away from the statue and looked back at her friends. “Noiro, give me a boost.” She clambered up onto the statue, supported by Noiro from beneath, and pulled herself closer to the statue’s head.
Sure enough, hidden away from prying eyes, a diagram was carved onto the woman’s head, etched deep into the stone crevices. It was impossible for anyone to have seen the etching unless they climbed up onto the statue.
Estelle let out a small whoop of excitement. “It’s here,” she cried. Noiro wobbled as he tried to maintain his balance beneath Estelle’s feet while she stretched up higher to take a closer look.
The carving was simple, almost rudimentary. Estelle traced her fingers against the etching. There was a large ring that encircled the statue’s head, with four smaller rings looped together at the front. “Diamond, emerald, sapphire, and ruby,” Estelle murmured as she touched the four rings. She gently dragged her finger along the large ring, coming to a stop at the very back of the statue’s head. There, a small, jagged notch of a ring lay etched inconspicuously, carved in such a manner that it almost looked like a mere imperfection of the statue, as if a piece of stone had simply cracked away.
But it was there, carved deliberately at the back of the ring.
The Aether Stone.
Estelle clambered back down excitedly, quickly explaining to the group what she had seen.
“You’re brilliant, Estelle,” Noiro rubbed the back of his neck in admiration. “All this time…”
“It’s just like the Ballad said,” Estelle squealed. “She hid the other amongst diamond, emerald, sapphire, and ruby. It was in the Diadem all along!”
“So, then, that means—”
“Noiro?”
A deep voice interrupted the group’s excited chatter, and they hastily fell silent as they turned around in surprise.
“Professor Neptune.” Noiro smiled queasily. Elara felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise, her heart dropping into the pit of her belly in dread. How much had he heard?
“How nice to see you!” Professor Neptune smiled cheerily. “I was just out on my usual walk. Are you here to see me?”
“Er, no,” Noiro uttered nervously. The Professor’s eyebrow quirked curiously. “I mean, yes,” lied Noiro hastily. He could see the gears in the old man’s head turning, and his eyes twinkled inquisitively. “We were just taking a walk ourselves, and I wanted to drop by and say hello.”
“Of course.” Professor Neptune smiled. “Come, please. I believe I have some snacks in my office.”
The group looked at each other uneasily. The last thing they wanted to do was to waste more time while Yun Zeru was on the loose.
But they also needed to avoid suspicion.
As much as Elara disliked him, there was no denying that the Professor was an intelligent man. She wondered if he could sense the tension in the air, or the unease that the group felt as they followed him deeper into the cave and down long, stony flight of stairs.
Professor Neptune unlocked the heavy door to the Old Archives and walked through, not paying attention to his guests.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable,” Professor Neptune mumbled as he gestured absentmindedly at the seats in his office. He walked towards his desk. A messy pile of paper was strewn about, and he casually began to put them in order. “I just need to tidy up some things.”
The group hesitantly walked in, filling the small room. Elara was suddenly very aware of the fact that Helia was exposed, and she exchanged worried glances with Argon. His brow furrowed, echoing back her worry, and they both glanced at their daughter between them. Argon instinctively moved forward, partially shielding Helia from view.
The Professor, finally done with putting away his papers, sat down comfortably in his chair, leaning back and putting his legs up on the desk. “So, Noiro,” he began, his beady eyes glimmering in the dim light. “To what do I owe this pleasure? I see you’ve brought a few more friends this time.” The Professor looked inquisitively at Estelle, and then at Helia. He lingered for a moment at the toddler, perplexed.
“She’s part of a case I’m working on,” Miela volunteered.
“Oh? And what case is that, Captain?”
“I’m not at liberty to say,” Miela replied firmly, her tone sharp.
The Professor nodded.
“We just wanted to show my sister around,” said Noiro, gesturing at Estelle. “She’s visiting from the Ursa Isles.”
“I’ve heard so much about you,” Estelle offered politely. “My brother’s mentioned you quite often, growing up.”
The Professor beamed, his chest puffing slightly with the stroke to his ego. “Ursa Isles, eh?” He leaned back in his chair. “I’ve always wanted to visit there. Tell me…” The Professor began engaging in conversation with Estelle, who keenly kept up with him.
Elara sat rigidly in her set, her eyes drifting around the office. It was a little messier than the last time they had visited, with some loose sheets of paper lying around the floor, and some tools lying on one of the desks nearby. She looked at the scrappily stacked papers the Professor had put away on his desk, squinting as she tried to peer at what was scrawled on the top sheet of paper.
“Oops,” Miela uttered gingerly. Elara tilted her head towards her friend, who had accidentally bumped a folder of papers off of one of the desks with her hip. It was rather cramped with seven people piled up into the Professor’s small, cozy office; someone was bound to knock something over.
The Professor, however, hadn’t taken notice of Miela’s little mishap, still enthralled in his conversation with Estelle about the wonders of the Ursa Isles.
Miela knelt down gingerly, and began gathering the scattered sheets of paper back into the file.
Elara turned her attention to Helia. The toddler was leaning against her body, and she held an arm protectively around her as she balanced the little girl on her lap. Argon had shifted his seat in front of the two, as if to shield them both from view. She smiled fondly at the back of his head, and then back down at Helia, who was quietly observing the ticking dials on display in the office.
Miela drew in a low, sharp gasp. Elara looked at her friend, who was still kneeling on the ground. Her eyes were trained on a piece of paper clutched tightly in her hands, the edges of the paper crinkling in her tight grasp. Miela slowly turned her eyes to Elara, and then to Professor Neptune.
Elara peered over her shoulder, looking curiously at the paper.
A vast diagram of a family tree was mapped out across the sheet. She raked over the names and boxes, narrowing her eyes as she tried to grasp its contents.
Her eyes trailed up to the root of the family tree. She blinked at the familiar name.
Princess Laelia.
What was Professor Neptune
doing with the family tree of the Ancient Princess?
She looked at the branches of the family tree, each of them stemming from Princess Laelia’s four offspring: Prince Air, Princess Water, Princess Earth, and Prince Fire. She followed the line for Princess Water, stopping at the bottom as she spied Argon’s name, with Estelle’s listed right beside him. Beneath Argon’s name was a small box and a question mark.
Elara felt the blood drain from her face.
Her eyes darted to Helia, and then back to the paper.
Another familiar name caught her eye: Inana Erif.
Elara frowned. What was Inana doing on the family tree?
Elara followed her line back to Princess Laelia, and paused as she reached Prince Fire’s line.
Elara’s knuckles turned stark white as she gripped the edge of her seat. She glanced at Professor Neptune, and then back at Helia.
They needed to get out of here.
“What are you doing?” asked the Professor suddenly. Elara and Miela snapped their necks up. He stood up slowly, glowering at the two women, and reached his hand out for the paper.
“Why do you have this?” challenged Miela, clutching the family tree tightly in her hand.
“What is that?” Noiro inquired, craning his neck to look at the document.
“It’s nothing.” Professor Neptune smiled coldly. Argon rose to his feet, his hand at his weapon.
“We need to leave.” Miela stood up, her nostrils flared. She glared fiercely at the Professor. “And you’re coming with us.
“I don’t think so,” he replied coolly, still seated. He looked utterly relaxed; pleased, even, like a cat having just caught its prey. “Nobody’s going anywhere.”
The door flung open behind them, and heavy, leather-clad boots clomped their way into the office.
“Did you find it?” the Professor asked the newcomer, a content smile dancing on his lips.
A deep chuckle rose from behind them. Elara’s heart stopped at the sound.
That voice.
Elara gulped, fear trickling down her spine as she turned around.
A tall, broad, silver-haired man strode into the office, clad in a lightweight jacket and thick leather boots. His scarred face stretched into a sinister sneer as he eyed Elara and Helia. His eyes flashed. “The Elemental.”
The Elemental Page 25