True North

by S.M. Winter

being read.”

  “That would make sense, I left you the first time for almost two hours and when I came back you were standing in exactly the same spot,” Alexandar stated. “How much did you get through?”

  “Several pages,” I said. “Which normally takes me five minutes or so. That does not match up with the amount of pain and hunger my body was expressing.”

  “So five minutes in your time was three days outside the bubble,” Alexandar concluded.

  “It appears so,” I sighed. “Looks like I won’t be able to get through the journals as quickly as I was hoping then.”

  “No,” Alexandar frowned.

  “I’m starved,” I yawned.

  “You’re probably exhausted as well,” Alexandar ran his hand from my shoulder to elbow before letting go.

  Fire shot through my veins at his casual touch. I’d never even had a friendship where someone was comfortable enough to touch me casually. It was disarming and had a blush creeping up my neck. At times it was hard to remember that I hadn’t experienced as much as most girls my age. My sister had lost her virginity before graduating high school and had a family within a few years after that. For many women it was normal to forgo education and begin a family early in life. I wondered what life would have been like if Alexandar and I had been normal. Would he have even spoken to me? Or would he have treated me just like everyone else I knew?

  Doubts plagued me and I pulled away from his touch. There was no way such a boy as handsome as him would have liked me if I hadn’t been thrust into his life.

  “Did you know that most latexes are made with a milk protein?” I asked him. I continued at the look of confusion on his face. “Yes, in fact that makes most condoms produced unusable by vegans.”

  Alexandar cocked his head and smirked at me. My face flamed as he chuckled and shook his head. When he turned into the dining room I kept going down the hall.

  “I’m not hungry anymore,” I waved and kept moving.

  “Ok,” he said. “Are you sure?”

  I nodded and waved behind me.

  “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

  I could hear the frown in his voice but I was unconcerned. Did he even like me? Perhaps I had imagined the smoldering looks and tempestuous feelings I read in his eyes. Disgusted with myself, I pushed all thoughts of Alexandar from my mind and entered my room. I was still hungry but I couldn’t eat in the dining room after that beautiful display of my awkwardness.

  As I walked through the door I found a plate filled with food and a cup of water in front of the fireplace. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, smiling. The food smelled wonderful and my mouth watered. I sat at the table and ate hungrily. When I was finished, I sighed and pushed back from the table.

  “Thank you,” I said to the room at large. I felt dumb talking to an empty room but I had a feeling that I was being watched again. Now that my hunger was sated I was very tired. I crawled into bed and kicked off my shoes, falling into a deep, dreamless slumber.

  Knocking on my door is what woke me. I yawned and stretched. Feeling refreshed, I stood and noticed that the small table, chair and platter of food remnants was gone.

  “Thank you again,” I said before opening the door. Even if I was just talking to myself I felt it necessary to be polite.

  “Thank you for what?” Alexandar asked.

  “Never mind,” I waved my hand to dismiss it, slightly embarrassed.

  “Ready for training today?” Alexandar’s smile seemed to glint.

  “As I’ll ever be,” I gave him a tentative smile as the doubts that I had shut out with my bedroom door crept back in.

  Over the next few weeks I jammed my head so full of information it was close to bursting. We took breaks only to visit the boys and eat. I could compare it to cramming for an exam, but because I had never procrastinated enough to warrant actual cramming I wasn’t quite sure. Learning and knowledge retention always came easy to me. I was repeatedly surprised by the facts I was finding. This really was a whole new world and I had so many questions. Alexandar was there to answer all of them.

  “Ok,” Alexandar said in the middle of one of our session. “I think it’s time to learn something new.”

  Abruptly he stood from where he was leaning against the chalkboard.

  “New?” I shook my head. He spoke as if what I’d been learning was old news.

  “You need to learn how to fight,” he told me.

  “I thought that was what we were doing,” I stood and followed as he walked away from our little schooling area.

  “You of all people should know practicum is not the same as practice,” he shot over his shoulder. “Let’s see what you’ve learned.”

  “Practicum is actually a supervised practical application of what you’ve learned,” I mumbled to myself, then picked up the volume as he got further ahead. “They are in essence the same.”

  I heard his chuckle and picked up the pace.

  The horror of middle school dodgeball flashed through my mind. I had always been the smallest and easiest to get out. The last to be picked to be on a team. The one ostracized for my lack of practical skills. I hurried after him. I’ve never had to protect myself before. The two times I had really used my Element I’d been in a haze. I had been able to control the air without thinking but now I needed to actually work on it. Before this life, I was a pacifist. I’m not sure that was an option anymore. Even with everything I’ve lost I still didn’t want to fight. Not really.

  Alexandar lead me to a large workout room with a big matted floor. Chauncy was at one of the machines, pumping iron. I’d never really considered that a way to describe lifting weights, but with how quickly and efficiently he pumped the bar up and down it definitely fit the brand. I dragged my feet as Alexandar walked to what looked like a wrestling area on the mat, complete with circles painted on it.

  “Ok,” he turned to face me. “Come at me.”

  “I don’t understand,” I frowned at him.

  “I mean hit me,” he chuckled.

  “With my element?” I was having a hard time comprehending what he was implying.

  “No,” he laughed. “With your fists.”

  “Why?” I took a step back. “I thought we were going to practice fighting with our elements.”

  “You can’t really understand how to fight with your element until you understand how to defend yourself physically,” Alexandar dipped into some sort of fighting stance.

  “I can’t hit you,” I took another step back.

  “Sure you can,” he took a few steps forward. “You just need to try.”

  I heard a metal clank and saw that Chauncy had taken a break. He watched the exchange with amusement lightning his eyes while he toweled the sweat from his face. I wracked my brain for anything I knew about fighting.

  “Did you know that llamas are born with an extra set of teeth for fighting?” I asked him. “They are for castrating the competing males in the group so they can remain the only fertile one.”

  Chauncy and Alexandar seemed to share a look that was part amusement and part confusion. Alexandar rubbed his hands on his thighs.

  “What if...,” I cleared my throat. “What if I don’t know how?”

  “I guess you’re about to find out,” Alexandar lunged.

  I squealed and jumped out of the way. Alexandar laughed and stalked me like a cat playing with his dinner. It was a series of bait and dodge while he followed my retreat around the room. Chauncy could no longer contain his amusement and guffawed loudly. The noise brought Valerie into the room where she leaned against the doorjamb, watching the scene unfold.

  Soon I was out of breath from running and the giggles took over, which was when he grabbed me and squeezed. The light sparkled in his eyes and I noticed red flecks embedded in his irises. When his smile reached my own the looked changed and then his gaze flicked down to my lips. I held my breath. We hadn’t kissed since before we took the boys to their new home. I cl
osed my eyes and leaned in.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Valerie coughed.

  “Ah,” Chauncy laughed. “They were just starting to get to the good part.”

  “Well I’m sure they weren’t planning on a floor show,” Valerie chastised.

  “I guess we’ll never know now,” Alexandar grumbled and stepped back.

  “I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough,” Valerie walked toward us, tongue in cheek.

  “Did you find something?” Alexandar wanted to know.

  “You could say that,” Valerie chuckled. “While you two have been playing school, Chauncy and I have been working tirelessly to find something on the sword. And we finally came across something last night. We were just waiting for you guys to finish your studies. No wonder it took so long.”

  “I beg your pardon?” I reddened at the idea that I would focus on Alexandar rather than my studies. “I will have you know that I value knowledge above all, including pleasures of the flesh.”

  “It was a joke,” Valerie laughed.

  “Yeah Doc,” Chauncy smiled and stood up from the machine. “We figured the whole island would shake when you guys got together and so far no quakes. Obviously that hasn’t happened yet.”

  Alexandar just chuckled, but my face flamed even redder.

  “While muscle spasms are common after an orgasm, I find it highly unlikely we would shake the island,” I spoke into the silence. It didn’t seem to help.

  “What did you find?” I asked trying desperately to change the subject.

  “Well, the sword is definitely made from the Elements,” Valerie said.

  “So you