by Talia Jager
“Several generations at least.”
“Could you try to show us?” Albus inquired.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure it’ll work.”
“I think you can do it,” Caroun coaxed.
With everyone looking at me, how could I not at least try? “Okay.”
“I’ll spar with you,” Sorin offered.
“Does it hurt?” I asked the others.
“They don’t call it a fire so cold it burns for nothing,” Cormac said with a wry tone.
“I don’t want to hurt him.” I put my hand down.
“You won’t. We won’t let you,” Caroun said.
Nervously, I stood facing Sorin. We started with fireballs and basic moves. My mind was still reeling from everything being thrown at me. Albus came up behind me and spoke softly in my ear. “Find the anger.”
I thought of Eira, but every time I saw Sorin standing there, I couldn’t muster enough anger to do anything.
“It’s there, Your Majesty. You just have to release it.”
Blowing out a long breath, I closed my eyes and pictured Eira. Pictured what she was doing while I was gone… to our parents, Lumi, Raina, anyone I loved who had been subjected to her wrath. I felt my body tense, and something in me changed.
I thrust out my hand, and fire shot out from it. I almost didn’t want to look, but I did, and my eyes widened as I saw the blue flames coming from me. They were beautiful.
“Think of air now,” Albus whispered. “Constantly moving, just like water and fire. Air is lighter. We breathe it in and out.”
I took a deep breath. Changing the position of my hands just slightly, I moved the air. The long grass of the meadow swayed. I concentrated harder and the trees waved next.
“Add the anger again,” Albus said.
Eira.
Within seconds a windstorm had picked up. I punched my other hand forward, and a fireball hit the storm, causing the whole thing to turn to fire. It was enormous and downright scary. I let it fizzle out.
Albus held my attention. “Without control, you could set the entire realm on fire—”
“I don’t want to do that!”
“With control, you could chase an evil creature far away with a small firestorm,” Caroun said, stepping up and guiding me through all sorts of air bending. By the end of the day, my arm tingled, and when I looked at it, the air marking had turned white.
“Two in one day. Want to try for three?” Sorin asked.
Rubbing my temples, I answered, “I don’t know. What do you think?”
“I think you’re on a roll.”
Cormac took the spot behind me and started talking me through moving the earth. This was hard and sturdy, not graceful or fluid, and totally did not happen for me. I made it rumble just a little bit, but couldn’t do more than that. “It’s okay, Your Majesty. Earth is different from the other three. I expect it to take you longer. If you’d like, I will work with you until you get it.”
“Thank you, Cormac. I would like that very much.”
It was nightfall by the time we got back to the castle. Lumi, Raina, and Kailani were sitting on the stairs. Lumi stood and ran up to me. Throwing her arms around me, she said, “I’m so glad you’re okay. I mean we knew you were okay because the guards were surrounding the meadow, but I still worried.”
I hadn’t even noticed the guards. I wondered if they saw everything. “I didn’t mean to be gone so long. Where are your guards though?”
“Tannon is right over there.” She pointed to a figure under a tree. “And there are a few scattered around. We wanted a little girl time, so they gave us some space.”
Sorin and I walked back with her to the stairs while Lumi talked. “Kailani got the kids to bed. She’s really good with them. They wanted to wait for you, but we told them you guys would check on them when you got in.”
“Awesome. Thanks.” I smiled at Kailani. I had never seen her around children, so I had no idea she was so good with them.
“So?” Lumi asked.
“So what?”
“Did you pass?”
“Oh! Yeah,” I said with a smile and turned my arm.
“Wait! There are two more.” Lumi’s jaw dropped. “You mastered two elements today?”
Sorin laughed. “Wait until you hear what exactly your sister is.”
Lumi sent him a confused look and then looked back at me. “What is he talking about?”
I filled the three of them in on being a Blender and what that meant. I watched as their expressions changed from surprise to awe.
“I’ve never heard of a Blender,” Raina said.
“Me either,” I replied.
Kailani laughed. “Well, you’re certainly a faerie freak now.”
I elbowed her and laughed too. “Ya know, at first I thought I’d mind being different, but after losing my identity for so long, I’m ready to embrace everything about me.”
“You will definitely be a different kind of queen than what they’re used to, but I think you’ll be awesome,” Kailani said.
“Thanks. I’m glad you’re here to see it. And you all have to keep me grounded along the way to make sure I don’t get too full of myself.”
“Not in a million years will I let you become like that,” Kailani promised.
“None of us will,” Raina said.
After sitting in the great hall for the morning listening to the knights and guards come up with battle plans, I snuck out for lunch, letting Rufus and Artin handle the rest of it. I practiced earth bending until I got frustrated and decided to calm myself ice-skating.
I noticed a few Summer teens watching and skated over to them. “Want to try?”
Eyes wide, one answered, “No, but we’d love dance lessons. Could you teach us?”
Another girl elbowed her. “She’s the queen. She doesn’t want to teach us. You shouldn’t even ask her.”
“It’s fine. I’d love to teach you.” It would help keep my mind of Eira. “I’ll meet you in the room next to the Summer ballroom, okay?”
Excited, they nodded and hurried toward the castle. First I went to Kailani. “Can I use your iPod?”
“Sure! What are you going to do?”
“Dance.”
“I’m not sure how long the battery will last.”
“Hmmm. We’ll have to look into that later on. Maybe someone can figure out how to get power to it.”
I left her and went to find Sorin, but he was busy, so I recruited Alaron, a childhood friend who had always been a good dancer and picked things up easily. Before we went in the room, I showed him a few of the moves, and he nodded. “No problem.”
Walking into the room, I was thrilled to find both Summer and Winter faeries waiting. “Ready to get started—”
“Hey! We hear you’re teaching dance. We want in,” Iris said, standing in the doorway with Jora.
Smiling, I hugged them. “I’m so glad you two are here. Come on in.”
We went through the routine a few times in front of the others. They started picking up the easier moves, so I demonstrated a lift with Alaron.
Alaron came up behind me and scooped me up so I was slightly on his shoulder then I leaned back. “Okay, guys, when you’re holding your partner, I want you to hold on to their hips like this. Girls, when you are leaning back, you need to help support your weight and keep your balance.”
I slid down a little and grabbed the back of Alaron’s thigh. “Guys, slowly let go of her hip, sliding your hands down her leg to keep a good grip on her.” Alaron let go of my legs, and I flipped over until I was standing on my feet. “Then continue like that.”
I stood next to Alaron and watched them run through the lift a few times. Alaron turned the music on then said, “We’re going to start at the beginning.” Alaron’s head bobbed with the beat of the music. “Great time, everyone. Keep it up.”
I kept my eye on one of the students who was showing a lot of promise. “Great extensions, Janelle. Remember, everyon
e, don’t just focus on the dance. They are more than just steps. You need to be telling a story with your dance.” As they finished, I clapped. “Well done, everyone! If you want to get better, you need to be working on your routine outside of class.”
Most everyone filed out of the room, leaving Iris, Jora, and Alaron. I chatted with the girls for a few minutes before they left.
Alaron was finishing up his stretches. “You’re an awesome dancer, Rory. When you dance, it’s captivating. You can see how much you love it.”
“I wish I had more time. I’m so busy, I don’t have time for anything I enjoy.”
“You will as soon as things calm down. Talent like yours doesn’t just go away. You’ll always be great.”
“Thanks, Alaron.”
“You’re welcome, Rory.”
“See you in a few days?”
He made his way toward the door. “Yes, Your Majesty.” Then he slightly bowed.
“Knock it off. There’s no one else here.”
He bowed again. “Of course, Your Majesty.”
“Alaron, stop it. We’ve known each other since we were children.”
He laughed. “Bye, Rory.”
“Bye, Alaron.”
Another song came on that I loved to dance to in the human realm. Instead of leaving, I began dancing again. When the song was over, I turned and saw Sorin leaning against the doorframe.
“What are you doing here?” A smile formed on my lips.
“Enjoying the performance.”
“Do you do that often?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“I love watching you dance. You get so much joy and happiness from it, who wouldn’t want to see you like that?”
Feeling the heat in my cheeks, I said, “You’re sweet.”
“Would you honor me with a dance?”
“You want to dance with me?”
“Of course I do.”
“Since when do you dance?” I asked, taking a drink of water.
“I have danced with you before, Aurora,” he said with a light smile.
“Sure. Traditional dances that all faeries learn, but we have never danced a contemporary routine before with—”
“Will you just dance with me, love?” he interrupted.
“Are you sure? I am officially a Blender freak now.”
“Let me see. A chance to dance with you and have a moment where it’s just us. A moment where there are no worries. Just a moment of peace with you. Yes, I’m sure. I’ll take that any time.”
“Okay,” I said with a smile.
Sorin knelt to the ground on his knees. I walked over and started the music on Kailani’s iPod again. Slowly I walked up behind him, scooping my arms under his and helping him stand. He quickly tossed each arm out to the side.
I couldn’t believe it. He knew the dance routine. This dance meant something to me, but being able to dance it with Sorin made it mean even more. I was pulled from my thoughts when Sorin pulled away then reached out for me. I put my hand in his, and he pulled me swiftly back to him. My hands went to the sides of his face, and I held him as if I could never get enough of his touch.
He put his right arm around my waist while I leapt twice. Then he used both arms to swing me around over his body. Dancing was like ice-skating without skates. Anytime I moved like this, I felt more like myself than ever, but dancing with Sorin took that to another level.
I felt whole. At peace. In love. And completely free. We were dancing in unison, side-by-side. Sorin stopped and squatted so his thigh was flat, but I kept going, stepping up on his thigh and grabbing his hand to keep my balance. I sat straddling his right shoulder, and while he still held onto my hand, I held the other one out wide as he stood up straight and spun us around. I twisted off his shoulder and into his arms.
Never had I felt anything as I did while dancing this way with Sorin. It was like seeing color for the first time. Sorin stood behind me and picked me up. I leaned back so my back was half on his back and on his shoulder with my arms hanging down.
He leaned on his left leg, stretching his right one back. I grabbed his right leg, and Sorin let go of me so I could roll backward off his shoulder. We both spun away from each other, then came back slowly, dancing with one another. We spun away once more and again came back, and this time my hands went to the sides of his face as our foreheads touched. His hands gently rested on my arms right above my elbows, and we stared into each other’s eyes as the song ended.
That’s when I knew he felt it too—that indescribable feeling of losing yourself in a moment with someone you love.
We were both breathing hard, and I smiled when I saw that brilliant smile grace his handsome face.
I looked quickly around the room and noticed the water in my bottle had a slight frost to it—and then it clicked. I knew how to get Sorin past his block in water bending.
“I still can’t believe you can dance like that,” I complimented.
“My mother thought I needed to learn more than just the basics and traditional dances that everyone learns.”
“Your mother didn’t seem as if she’d care about that.”
“She said every girl loves to dance, whether it’s she, Skye, or the love of my life. She said it didn’t matter if the dance was simple or complicated; a dance can make a bad day turn good or make a good day feel even better. Dance has the power to say I love you even if you don’t say a word.”
“She was right.”
“Mothers usually are.”
I faced Sorin and placed a hand on the back of his neck, gently rubbing. “They are right about a lot of things, but not everything.”
“That’s true. She wasn’t right about everything. She did love me, in her own way.”
I smiled. “Come on. I have an idea. You go get changed into something warmer.”
“Where are we going?”
“Outside to the training area.”
“Are we going to train?”
“Nope. We’re going to dance.”
“Outside?”
“Yes, now go, and meet me out there.”
I grabbed Kailani’s iPod and walked out of the room. Before going outside, I put on a pair of leggings that matched the outfit I was wearing.
When I got outside, I set up the iPod. I turned when I felt him coming. He was wearing a loose-fitting, long-sleeved white cotton shirt and tan pants.
“Are you ready?”
Sorin nodded. So I pressed play, and this time we both got lost in the dance and music, focusing on nothing but each other. When we reached the end of the routine, our foreheads were touching, and we were still in each other’s arms.
Breathing deep, I looked into Sorin’s eyes. “Sorin, look around.”
As he did, I saw the surprise in his face when he saw that piles of snow had changed or moved around, that water spots were on the ground that hadn’t been there before.
He looked at me confused. “How?”
“As I taught you, water bending is about letting go, letting your emotions and everything else in you to just flow. When you dance with me, you let go unlike anyone I’ve ever seen.”
Someone cleared his throat. I pulled away from Sorin, but interlaced my fingers with his. There stood the kings and queens of the Autumn and Spring Lands, all bundled in warm clothing.
“Queen Aurora. King Sorin,” the Spring king spoke.
We slightly bowed our heads in respect. Looking at the Autumn queen, I saw several tears run down her face.
My attention was pulled away from her when the Spring queen spoke. “I’m sorry.”
“What?”
She lowered the hand that had been over her mouth. “That dance was beautiful. You said so much without saying a word. I’m sorry for how we voted. We didn’t understand the depth of your love. Watching you dance, I can see that what we did was wrong. Taking you from each other was cruel.”
Then the Autumn queen spoke. “I’m sorry for that too. Sorry we didn�
�t try harder for you two, because two faeries who love each other as you do deserve to be with one another no matter where you come from. We understand that now.”
A few tears escaped my eyes. A “thank you” was all I was able to get past the lump of emotion I was barely holding on to.
Sorin squeezed my hand, and I looked at him and smiled. He shifted his gaze to the royals. “What brings you here?”
King Newland answered, “We thought it would be good to check to see how your water-bending process was coming along. It looks as if you’re almost finished with your Elemental training.”
“His training is coming along nicely,” I said. “He’s got all of the skills. He just has the issue of letting go, and he’s very close to getting over that. We were just about to do some training. Would you like to watch?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I nodded and turned to look at Sorin. “Okay. I’m going to play the song we just danced to, but this time, instead of the dance, we’ll do bending moves. Mimic me at first, and then just do what feels right.”
“All right, love.”
I walked away from him to start the music, then stood across from him. Lifting some water from the ground, I started to water bend in time with the music. Sorin followed along. Water bending had never seemed to come easy to him, but today was different. We started sending water toward each other. It wasn’t a battle. It was almost as if we were dancing, and it was so amazing. I made my way closer to him. With only a sliver of space between us, the water was still and unmoving in the air around us.
I looked up at Sorin and could see all of the emotion he was feeling. “It’s an amazing feeling, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“When you let go like that, it gives you peace. Everything washes away and you’re left with nothing but the good. Sometimes you have to let the pain and anger flow, but when you do, it flows and goes away.”
“Thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome.” I smiled widely when I saw his arm start to glow.
“What?”
“Look at your arm.”
He glanced down, and a smile spread across his face. He picked me up and spun me in a circle. The water we were controlling fell to the ground, making a big splash. Sorin set me back down on my feet. The royals stood and began clapping.