by K. L. Morton
"What Garus is trying to say is that it is forbidden to mix races, Fairons are with Fairons, Fairies with Fairies and so on. It can unbalance everything. If a Fairon royal didn't marry a Fairon, his bloodline could be tainted and his children may never receive the Ora's power, and then who would be its guardian? No matter what Aarion’s feelings may be, and knowing Aarion there are most likely none, he would choose his people over love." Morthos stated.
"Wow, that's sad, and hopefully you're right Morthos, that there's no interest, for both their sakes." Emma lay her head down on her arm and thought about Trinny, she prayed that she was safe. She couldn't remember a time that she was unable to contact her, at that moment she was wishing the Fae realm would get with the times and erect a few cell phone towers.
CHAPTER TEN
'There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil — a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome.'- Jane Austin (Pride and Prejudice)
The floor was cold and wet, and every muscle in Nina’s body ached. Everything seemed blurry as she opened her eyes, there was only a small amount of light coming from above her head and she was finding it hard to focus on where she was. As her memory stirred she leaped up in fright and started to reach out around her.
"Morthos? Garus? Emma? Are you there?" Nina called out hoping to hear her friend’s voices. She was unsure if they had been caught as well, and even though she hoped that was not the case she longed to not be alone in this dark, damp place. Her eyes were slowly becoming accustomed to the dim room now and she could see there was a pile of dry straw in one corner and a bucket of dirty water in another. The light was coming from a small rectangular window that was high above her head; it had jagged shard type bars that looked deadly. There was a small wooden door covered with silver spikes but no handle.
"Morthos? Anyone?" Nina threw a fireball at the door in frustration but it disintegrated on impact. "What the?"
"It's no use. There's a magical barrier in these cells that prevents us from using our power." The muffled dry voice startled Nina.
"Who is that? Morthos?"
"No. It's Micah, Micah Govad."
"Micah! I'm so happy to hear your voice, and that you're still alive, what happened? Where are we?" Relief flooded Nina, she was not alone and Micah was alive. She moved closer to the sound of his words. There was a tiny hole in-between the large bricks that made up the wall.
"I only remember the park and the Werewolves, then waking up here. I tried to blow the door from its hinges, but my powers deflect every time. Then I met her, the Dark Empress. We are in her Liar. She has some type of spell that prevents me from using my powers effectively here and I have tried everything to get out of this cell, but to no avail. What about the others? Is Trinny alright?" Micah was anxious to hear news.
"They got away as far as I know, if they are not here, then that can only be a good sign. What does the Empress want from us?"
"I can only imagine she wants to make sure we cannot combine our Elemental powers to bind her for another 500 years. But I get the feeling there is something more she wants, I can't understand why she has not just killed us." Micah sounded weary.
"The old witch, I'd like to get my hands on her and wring her ugly little neck."
"That is hardly any way to speak about your host?"
Nina jumped at the softly spoken voice that came from above her head. She was shocked to see the pale face of a beautiful woman with long pure white hair and piercing blue eyes looking down at her.
"Who are you?" Nina asked abruptly.
"The one with the 'ugly little neck.'" The Dark Empress let out a quiet cold laugh. "If I were you I would be a little more grateful as my guest my dear."
"What do you want from me you cold hearted witch?" Hatred was bubbling up from within Nina; the stories of her ancestor’s destruction stirred her being.
"Don't take my hospitality for granted child of Cassis. I have been kind enough to allow you to live, for now. In time you will help me in the call of my destiny." The Empress tone was slightly colder now and she leaned in closer taking hold of the jagged bars.
"Help you? You are as crazy as I thought you would be. I will never help you. And the only destiny in your cards is a painful death, hopefully inflicted by fire." Nina was fuming as she heard the Empress laugh loudly at her.
"Just like your ancestors. They were so easy to deceive, once I convinced them that the other Elementals were plotting against them, the fiery side of them could not see clearly enough to stop a fatal war against each other. You Fire Elementals always leap before you look. Once Cassis was in ruins because of your races pride, my Stealth moved in and finished off what was left of the realm and the mighty Cassis Empire. You see my dear, I could hardly be afraid of one little Fire Elemental."
The Dark Empress was gone as quickly as she came, and Nina was left in silence. She had never heard much of the story of her ancestor’s demise, just that the Empress had been the one to instigate it. She had never understood that it was really pride that brought down an empire, the same pride she had just displayed.
"She is pure evil." Micah had been listening from through the wall; he could sense that the Empress had hit a nerve in Nina. "She will say anything to get to you Nina, you need to stay strong, don't let her weaken your belief in your heritage. She was ultimately the downfall of our Nations."
"Micah, she was wearing the Fire ring of Cassis that belonged to the Queen of the Fire Elementals, it's been missing for five centuries. She was the one who took it. No wonder she was not destroyed by the original Elementals when they combined their power. As well as enhancing the gifts of the user, the Fire ring protects those wearing it from the power of other Fire Elementals. So when they combined their power, it was not effective enough to destroy her as only the power of two Elementals was working. Micah, the only way we are going to destroy her for good is if we get that ring."
"We need to work out a way to get out of here first, then we find a way to get the ring that's protecting her." Micah replied.
"What if she finds Trinny and gets hold of her Earth pendant, she will also get protection from her powers?"
"She would have to kill Trinny to be able to wear her pendant. When there is a royal bloodline still alive, only they can wear the gemstones of Cassis, that is why she is able to wear the Fire ring, there is no royal Fire Elemental line left. I pray Trinny is safe, she is our only hope left." Micah was sounding worried.
"She hardly knows how to use her powers, how is she our only hope?" Nina didn't understand how this teenage girl could make a difference on her own.
"Nina, she is more powerful than anyone of us can imagine!"
CHAPTER ELEVEN
'At the first kiss I felt something melt inside me that hurt in an exquisite way. All my longings, all my dreams and sweet anguish, all the secrets that slept deep within me came awake.
Everything was transformed and enchanted, everything made sense.'- Hermann Hesse
"Have you noticed we're being followed?" Trinny spoke softly toward Aarion and motioned at a tree a few feet back. Aarion turned to see a small blue bird with bright red feathers sticking up on its head.
"You had me worried there. It's a Milty bird, they're very friendly, unusual to see it on it's own though." Trinny looked back and smiled at the bird.
"Cute. I haven't noticed many animals here, why is that?"
"The animals here can feel the Ora is losing power, and the Dark Empress is not really an animal lover. They will be fleeing for safer realms, it's a natural instinct, but a bad sign." Aarion looked uneasy.
"We will save the Ora, Aarion." Trinny gave Aarion a reassuring smile.
"It's just.... I can feel the Ora's power getting weaker, I wasn't around in the battle of Taeith, so I didn't see what the Elementals could do, only my father was, he knows what needs to happen, I just hope we can get back in time." Aarion kept moving ahead, but Trinny stopped, looking a little confused.
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br /> "Hang on, didn't you say that the battle of Taeith was 500 years ago?" Aarion stepped back toward Trinny.
"Yes."
"And you just said that your father was there.... how can that be?" Trinny asked.
"He is 1200 years old." Aarion answered matter-of-factly.
"Wow!" Trinny looked up at Aarion. "Aarion, how old are you?" Aarion smiled, she really loved it when he smiled like that.
"I'm 320 years old."
"Oh.... is that all, you don't look a day over 200, you must use a fabulous anti-aging cream." Aarion laughed.
"It doesn't feel like that long, I'm only giving you the years it would be in your world, in our world it doesn't really matter, we don't worry about time here, and even though it is an immortal world, there is a time when we die like anyone else, immortal here just means a very, very long time. If I was in your world, I wouldn't be that much older than you."
Trinny had leaned up against a tree.
"It must be great to not worry about time, where I come from everyone is rushing everywhere and living like tomorrow could be their last, it gets scary sometimes."
"There is some good in that too, it makes people want to get out and live their lives to the fullest, here, everyone puts things off, thinking they have forever to do it in, but sometimes they don't!" Aarion was looking thoughtful.
"Did you feel that?" Trinny asked with a surprised look on her face.
"What?" Aarion asked concerned. Trinny had her hand on the tree trunk; she turned around and placed both hands on it.
"The tree, it's like it has a heart beat." She took Aarion’s hand and placed it on the bark, then placed her hand on his.
"How are you doing that?" He asked in amazement.
"I don't know. I was just leaning on the tree and felt it, what is it?" Her face was close to his now, and she could feel a tingling sensation in her hand that was on top of his. He looked at her.
"It's the trees life force, it is a living thing like us, and I think we're feeling it's connection to the earth, you must be getting stronger."
At that moment Trinny felt strong, confident, she leaned in and kissed Aarion on the lips, she wasn't sure if she was doing it right, but his lips were warm and soft, and then they became forceful as she felt him kiss her back. His arm slid around her waist and his hand rested on the small of her back, his other hand ran up her neck and through her hair. She had never felt so alive, she could feel every nerve in her body tingling, and she felt goose bumps ripple up her back and neck. Then just as suddenly as it had started, it finished. Aarion had pulled away. "I can't do this."
Trinny looked devastated.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that...was I terrible?" Aarion’s expression softened.
"No, you were wonderful." She smiled back and went to take his hand but he pulled away for a second time. "We can't do this Trinny, we need to go, we have to get to Taeith, and there are more important things than this." His look was firm; he had gone back into his leadership mode he used when they were with the others. He walked ahead a little, turning back once motioning for her to follow. Trinny's moment of pure bliss was over, why did you do that Trinny? Why did you ruin your chances? She took a deep breath and followed after Aarion. She always thought her first kiss would be with someone that wanted to be with her. She could feel how passionate he was in those few moments, but she couldn't understand how someone could turn that off in a second. I will never make the first move again she decided, I wish Emma were here, she would know what was with him. Trinny was not going to let him see that she was hurt, she put her chin up and fell in behind him, there was no way she wanted to walk beside him now. Aarion kept his head forward, it had taken all his strength to pull away from Trinny when she had kissed him, now he was wrestling with the overwhelming urge to turn and take her in his arms and be the one to kiss her. He was annoyed at himself for allowing a girl to make the first move, and the fact that he relented fully to her for those few moments. The morning breeze was blowing from behind them and Aarion caught Trinny's scent, he inhaled the sweet smell of dewberry, he could also taste it, it must of been on her lips, he shook his head to get the thought out of his mind, determined to keep his focus on the mission.
It was early afternoon and the breeze had picked up to quite a strong wind. Aarion had stopped at the edge of a huge wheat field. Trinny could see in the distance there were farmers harvesting the wheat using old-fashioned tools that she had seen in pictures of school history books. Trinny and Aarion were standing where the wheat was tall and not yet harvested.
"I didn't expect to see farmers here." Trinny said.
"Do you think we conjure up our food?" Aarion didn't mean for his tone to be so severe, but he didn't correct himself either, maybe it was better to make her think he wasn't interested. Trinny didn't answer, she didn't look his way; she remained silent as Aarion lead the way through the field. The tall wheat grass was scratching against Trinny's arms and neck, the wind gust was whipping her hair around her face. She was getting very agitated by the situation, but she was not going to complain, she didn't want to give Aarion an excuse to preach to her that there were more important things than worrying about her hair being blown about.
"Just stop it!" She yelled in frustration at the wind. She didn't mean for the thought to become words. Aarion turned and looked at her.
"What?" He said in a short tone. But Trinny didn't look at him, she was looking around her, she held up her finger, nothing, there was complete stillness in the area stretching out a few feet around Trinny and Aarion, everywhere beyond was still blowing wildly.
"What's happening?" She asked Aarion.
"Did you just ask me to stop, or the wind?" He questioned back.
"The wind, it was getting so infuriating, I couldn't see a thing and the wheat has scratched all up my arms, my hair was getting in my eyes..." she realized she was going on a bit as he was looking slightly impatient with her.
"You just commanded the wind to stop and it did. That is not an Earth Elemental power." Aarion was talking abruptly with Trinny. She was not appreciating it.
"You know, your cutting tone is not making for an enjoyable trip. And I personally have no idea what an Earth Elemental can do, it's new to me, so lets just move on shall we? As I can see you are finding our time together uncomfortable, so the sooner it's over, the better for both of us." She brushed past Aarion and stormed ahead, the wind stayed still the rest of the way through the field, but only in the areas that Trinny walked, Aarion was left out in the flurry behind her, feeling very small. He longed to catch up to her and make everything right again, but he was feeling bewildered by her new skill, and her strength. He knew he deserved what she said.
CHAPTER TWELVE
'O welcome, pure-eyed Faith, white-handed Hope,
Thou hovering angel, girt with golden wings!'
- John Milton
"How far now?" Emma asked Morthos.
It's just over the next rise." Morthos was leading the small group of three, taking large strides with his long muscular legs; Emma had to take two steps for his every one. Emma looked back toward Garus.
"Hurry up fairy boy." She yelled.
"I did explain to you that I'm not really a Fairy didn't I?" He said trying to look annoyed, but to Emma it looked more like he was constipated.
"Fairy, Fairon, sounds all the same to me." She teased.
"You'll have to..." Garus tripped and fell flat on his face. His head popped up quickly. "I'm alright." He got up and took another step, just to find he was in the same position on the ground. Looking down at his feet, he saw there was string around his ankles; muffled laughter came from behind his head.
"Greetings Garus." A small voice said close to his ear, but he couldn't see who it was. Then Emma’s voice was suddenly above him.
"What's with the clown feet?" She asked offering him a hand.
"Tricky Pixies!" He sat up and began unraveling the tiny ropes from his legs. More laughter came from behind
him. Emma knelt down to see three tiny child like creatures about five inches tall. They had golden lucid wings that were another inch taller than themselves and dark short wild hair. They wore short fitted dresses that looked like they were made of a tea stained muslin. Bright violet eyes and the cheekiest smiles Emma had ever seen looked up at her, she loved them already.
"It's a pleasure to meet such charming ladies, anyone who can put Garus in his place is a friend of mine." Emma held out her hand to the Pixies, they looked at each other for a moment, and then one of them flittered up onto her palm.
"Like wise mortal girl. We haven't met your kind before, but we like you." Her little voice was just audible to Emma.
"Well thank you, I like you too, you have the best hair, very Goth.” The Pixies giggled.
"Away Pixies, we don't need your nonsense right now." Morthos voice boomed at the tiny creatures, they jumped in fright and took shelter behind Emma.
"Leave them alone Morthos, they were just having a little fun." They smiled at Emma as she looked down at them.
"Fine. Go now pixies, we are on an important mission and we don't have time for fun right now." He spoke like he was talking to a three year old. Emma rolled her eyes. The Pixies blew Morthos a raspberry, waved at Emma and flew toward a nearby Willow tree. Garus got up and took a deep breath; Emma put her arm through Garus's and led him along.
"So you do have a way with the girls Garus, you just have to learn to get the big girls to like you now." Emma smirked at him.
"They don't like me, they hate me, they're always playing some kind of trick on me, they never touch Morthos." Garus was agitated.
"They like you, girls always hurt the ones they like, one day you'll understand my friend." Garus shook his head in disbelief at Emma’s last comment.
"There it is!" Morthos called out.