The Elementalist: Sky City (Book One)

Chapter Four: The Silent Forest

Wade felt tension in his temples as he gripped the reins and guided the cart down the final street leading to the outer gates of Capital City. It had not escaped his mind that there was a strong possibility that Emperor Krane had the city locked down in search of the boy who could fly, but there was no other way out.

The walls of Capital City were built much like a fortress, back in the days when battles were common between the warring kingdoms. In those days, Capital City had been built as the city to unite them all. The kings and queens of the elemental kingdoms began to meet within its walls on a yearly basis going as far back as one thousand years even, with peace in one form or another often being the topic of discussion. It was in these days that the Elementalist first appeared to help further bridge the gap of the elements. A city built on hope with the promise of peace was an ironic place for the current Elementalist to now be fleeing.

The gates then loomed above as the cart pulled past the merchants' carts and stands, empty then as the sun began to rise in the distance. In an hour's time, merchants and buyers alike would flood the square and travelers would be let in and out the magnificent, iron gate of the city to buy and sell wares. As their horse pulled them closer, Wade sighed with relief upon seeing the gate up.

"Even a city lock-down couldn't stop people from selling what they need to" he murmured under his breath. His eyes flicked back and forth down the dark streets, slowly being lit by the rising sun. The only sounds heard were the steps of the occasional guard switching his shift for a morning one.

"Are you alright back there?" Wade yelled softly to the cart full of fish behind him.

"Just make this quick," Ben's voice said faintly through the fish he had been buried in.

There was a disgusted tone to his words, and Wade could certainly understand. Just being in the driver's seat was making him queasy from the overpowering smell of fish, let alone being buried in it. Wade could barely stand it, and his family even fished for a living...

Approaching the guards stationed at the gate, Wade tried his best to put on a convincing face. He quickly grabbed his father's straw hat sitting in the seat next to him and put it on. Hopefully, it would hide his age somewhat.

"Afternoon," he said politely to the guard as he pulled the reins, making the horse come to a stop.

Giving him a strange look, the guard bent his neck to peer over the side of the cart at the fish. The other guard shot him a curious look as well.

"What do we have here?" they asked Wade.

"Just taking today's catch south of here, down to Oldstown."

"At this time?"

"Well, you know what they say, the early bird gets the worm..." Wade chuckled awkwardly.

"Sure..." the guard replied with uncertainty.

"Listen," Wade leaned off his seat to whisper to them. "Between you and me... this is actually the day before yesterday's catch. I realized late tonight that I needed to get it out of here before it's even more inedible than it is now. Those people in Oldstown, though, they won't know the difference. Have you seen the food they're willing to eat sometimes?"

The guard hesitated. "We're not supposed to let anyone out..." he said to the guard he was stationed with. "Emperor Krane is looking for some kid around this kid's age."

"Any excuse to keep us past our shift..."

"Who even knows if there's anything to that. I heard the kid could fly--as if that's even possible."

"Yeah, and isn't the kid supposed to have longish-blonde hair?"

"Sounds like a bunch of rumors to me." Wade cut into their conversation.