THE ELEMENTAL CHRONICLE

Seven |

Seven |

He brought us to a large training hall. It was a beautiful room with elegantly crafted wooden walls, stained glass windows from floor to ceiling and a few hanging crystals that glowed beautifully. The floor was made of stone, and in different places there were training dummies made of wood set up. The scent of cedar and spice tickling my nose. There was evidence of use in the room, the dummies were flawed and some even damaged.

However, to my surprise, the room was completely empty.

"This hall is reserved—"

"For royals only?" I muttered.

"Yes," he replied, "Today we'll work on emotional control."

My brow rose, "I've been told strong emotions are important."

"Perhaps for triggering the onset of your abilities but not after. Tell me, have you seen any royal guard exhibit strong emotions when using their abilities?"

I paused, considering his words. He was right. Emmett appeared aggressive when we'd fought and perhaps angry but overall, he was calculated and focused. His mocking was a strategy against me and not much more. Fionn was the same. In fact, he was completely emotionless. Perhaps he'd always been as such. So was the truth for almost all other royals I'd seen. Clearly, there was a deeper form of control beyond emotion and if this was the case, I had a chance of shaping my abilities far beyond my current form.

"I don't understand," I whispered quietly, "How?"

He held out his hand and flexed his fingers. As if to demonstrate his point, in the palm of his hand a small flower bloomed. A daisy, with perfect petals and a healthy stem. My eyes widened as I watched it bloom to it's full potential and stand tall.

"Can you make it wither?" I then asked.

He shook his head, "No elemental has the ability to take life. We can only give."

I opened my mouth to tell him of the time I watched Benjamin do as such but I shut my jaw tightly. Perhaps he was wrong, or perhaps I'd remembered the situation incorrectly. In any case, I wanted to learn more about these abilities and how we'd gotten them.

"Why is that?" I asked.

The daisy dropped from his palm, and onto the stone, "In theory, our abilities are energy. We give energy and certain elements react accordingly. While such energy can fade or move, it cannot be destroyed."

I nodded my head, that made perfect sense and yet, I'd seen different.

"I'd like you to grow a daisy without the emotional boost."

Grow a daisy without the use of emotions? It seemed impossible and yet he'd done it in front of me and without the use of dirt. I hummed, feeling a wave of determination fill me. If he could do such a thing then so could I. I nodded my head, looking to him.

"How to I begin?"

"Focus your abilities, focus on the feeling of magic within your blood not the emotion. Then cling to that and imagine what you wish for it to do. When you use emotion what do you think of?" he asked.

My shoulder's shrugged, "I think of protection. The need to protect myself or others."

"Good. When you do it this time, focus on the want of magic."

"Want?"

He showed me his hand again, "I want to grow a daisy. So, I do."

Yet again, the small flower grew up from his skin, blooming into the pretty white and yellow flower. He let it drop yet again, the flower's form crumbling against the first one. For a brief moment I was mournful for the flowers that were grown just for this training session.

Pushing the thought out of my mind, I held out my hand and copied his form.

"I want to grow a daisy," I murmured.

So, I did not.

A frown stretched across my face. I felt no buzz of magic, nor the itch of Ebby's company. There was simply nothing. The air as if stifling my form. I could feel the watchful eyes of Orris Thistle on me which only made my attempts worse. I dropped my hand and looked down at the two flowers. I wondered how the magic made them. I always thought dirt was needed or at least some sort of earth to hyphen.

"You're overthinking," he mused.

I looked at him, "You don't need dirt?"

"No."

"How?"

His eyes rolled, "Our abilities do not hyphen the element we're bonded with. The element we're bonded with are in our very being. Their energy is our energy."

I suppose that made sense.

"Good. Now grow a daisy."

I frowned, as if his words were so easy. By the time the sun began to make his peak, there was a pile of Daisies all grown by Orris and I'd grown nothing. It was as if I had been poisoned yet again. I let out a groan, falling helplessly to the stone floor. I do not know how he'd been standing for hours but I certainly would have no part in it.

"That's rather unladylike," he hummed.

I looked up at him, crossing my legs, "Am I training to be a fighter or a lady?"

"It seems you are neither."

A heavy sigh left my lips. Perhaps he was my problem. I waved my hand at him, dismissing him firmly. However, he seemed not to notice nor care for the gesture.

"Go away," I grunted.

"Your learning is slow. I have a designated schedule to follow in our training and you cannot get passed the first stage. We only have three weeks for you to learn how to command the crystals at will."

"Why? What happens in three weeks?" I demanded.

His face darkened, "In three weeks the King will inform Ipuina that you are under Neorian protection. Furthermore, the truth of your blood will come out before then. The King can only lie so long before the people begin to connect the dots. Up until now, Jerrik has been missing not dead. Your existence here and now confirms that not only is our Black Rose dead, but he had a daughter whom was in Ipuina."

"It will be war," I gasped.

He nodded, "Our land will be outraged and out for blood, and Ipuina will react the same. The son and daughter of the Black Rose infiltrated their royal castle and killed their King."

"But Fionn said—"

"It does not matter his words are true," he told me, "Nor false."

People believe what they wish to believe. I had seen such firsthand. The truth will only further hurt both sides. It would be a bloodbath, that frightened me deeply. I didn't want anyone to die because of me. A small sniffle tickled my nose and I slowly rose. This new knowledge made my head heavy and my determination faded.

"I'm done for the day," I whispered.

"It is only early," he frowned.

I shook my head, "Good day."

"Raggy Princess," he warned, "You will never learn at this speed."

"I wish to refresh myself," I snapped, "It has been a long day."

"Very well."

I was already slipping from the room before he'd agreed.