"...ou get this?" He asks, shooting me a sideways glance.
"Wh-What?" I say, snapping back to attention the moment I realize he had said something.
"I said, where did you get this? Did you steal it?!" He says, tightening his grip on the crown.
"What?! No! It's mine!"
""Mine" as in, you own it? Or "Mine" as in, it's yours because you took it?!"
"Mine, as in it belongs to me!"
He stares at me for a moment, blinking a few times before looking back at the crown in his hands. "But... if it's yours then doesn't that mean...?" He turns away from me and starts shaking his head, mumbling something to himself that's barely audible to me. I slowly get up from my position and make my way towards him, putting a hand in front of me in case he tries anything funny.'What is he talking about??? Whatever, right now I just need to get the crown back from him.' The closer I get to him, the clearer his mumbling gets. I hold my breath in and try to eavesdrop from behind as quietly as I can.
"...this is hers... Then doesn't that mean that she's...?"
'Wait a minute... Does he know about it too?' Just as I'm about to ask him, he suddenly turns around.
"Are you the he-EAAH!"
"AH!"
We scream at the same time. Both of our hands reflexively reach out in defense, but when we realize what had just happened, we lower our arms down.
"Sorry..."
"Sorry..."
"A-Anyways!" He says, continuing. "I was about to ask, are you the... hero? From the... you know!" He asks sheepishly.
"Do you mean from the prophecy... thing?"
"Yes!"
"Then yeah, that's me..."
"Woah..." He slaps his hand on his forehead, staggering a few steps back. "I... I can't believe it...! Wow!"
I let out a yelp when he suddenly rushes over to me and takes my hands in his, shaking it vigorously. He lets out a happy squeal before telling me: "It's really you, huh?! Oh my- It's great to meet you! The owls have told me so many good things about you! This is unbelievable, I feel like I'm meeting a celebrity! Oh no, I attacked you! I'm so sorry about that! Please forgive me, I promise I wasn't trying to hurt you! Just you know... Just trying to do my job! You understand... right? Haha..."
"Wha?" His sudden high burst of energy overwhelms me for a moment, making me feel a bit more exhausted than I was a few seconds ago. I let out a long sigh, taking a moment to process his words before saying the one thing on my mind. "Owls?"
He snaps out of his panic and turns to me, saying: "Oh yeah! The Owls!" He pauses, taking a look around the area before grasping my wrist and dragging me to the exit doorway. "...You know what? Maybe we should take this conversation somewhere else. Follow me!"
"Wait! Where are we going?" I say, stumbling behind him.
"To the locker room! We'll be more comfortable talking there than standing out here." We cross the threshold of the hole in the rock wall, careful not to trip over any loose pieces of debris. When we make it on the other side, he stops abruptly and turns to me. "Hey, what's your name?"
"What?" I say, caught off guard by the sudden question.
"I just realized I never got your name! So? What is it?"
'I mean, he seems friendly... I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen?' I hesitate for a moment, before answering his question. "...Sera, my name is Sera. What about you?"
YOU ARE READING
The Gems of Element
FantasyI lived a simple life. I'd wake up every morning and eat breakfast with my Dad before heading to school. I'd arrive there, do my work, walk back with my best friend, then come back and sleep all of my worries for tomorrow away. It was my routine, it...
