The Shadows of the Fair Maiden

Chapter 24

A/N: Music for the chapter starts at 25:00. Enjoy!

"You got it Gunnhild!" Kim shouted as she dodged and attack I threw at her. "Attack!"

It had been nearly a month since I came here to seek refuge, and I felt like I was progressing much more than before. I had been able to control my emotions better as the week went on. The plants of the Enchanted Forest had given me a technique used to calm the mind and soul, and they've also given me tips on how to stop keeping in my sadness and anger (I had also met some other Trolls and Fairies here, too). I... honestly felt better than I ever have before. It was like I was in a new body or something.

Anyhow, I was training with Kim at the moment, and she was helping me with my elemental magic. She said that sadness had been with me the most (not surprisingly). It was my most powerful skill in magic, and she was constantly reminding me to keep it under control or else my energy would deteriorate faster.

But at the moment, we were just training to see how powerful I truly am.

I looked to my right and saw the waterfall gracefully casting over the cliff and into the large lake and flowing down the river. I thought about the freedom I felt when I was finally away from my father and lifted my hand to control the water. It came up in a large cone shape, and it spun rapidly.

I looked to Kim, who was at the edges of the rocks, and aimed my arm towards her. The water dove towards her with great speed and power, and she barely dodged the attack before slipping into the lake. When she bobbed her head up, I quickly brought spheres of water to my hands and began shooting them at her. Kim's eyes widened as she went back under to stay away.

She was testing me for my ability to be one with the elements.

This was one of the things she taught me: when using elemental magic, you were able to be one with it. Everything has life within it, and if you could channel into that life, you could see what the element saw. It's how the plants can see and hear other species without eyes or ears. All I had to do was focus.

I closed my eyes...

A few seconds passed by.

Then a few more...

...Found it!

I opened my eyes to see not only the area above me but also below the water's surface. There was this slow and graceful feeling within me, as if I was just in the air and letting my limbs go in whatever direction they wanted. It felt... relaxing and incredible!

I could see the schools of many colorful fish, the small plants, and even bear the rumbles of the lake's muddy floor. It was like a different world. It was beautiful.

Out of all the graceful creatures within the water, I found a familiar stone hiding behind some long plants. Kim was looking around, little bubbles coming out of her nose as she was losing air slowly. She then came to a point where she couldn't hold her breath any longer, and she started to swim to the surface. Outside the water, I had to get myself out of the relaxed state to carefully creep over to where she was about to rise towards, and as soon as her head popped out, I sent water towards her with a large wave, carrying her towards the rocks near the waterfall.

Kim hit them with a loud thud before collapsing into the water with a splash. Worried about her condition, I slashed my hands to make an opening in the water so she could breathe. I saw her lying on her back, panting, but she laughed as soon as she realized her state.

"You did it!" She yelled, sitting up. "Gunnhild, you did it! You connected with element!"

I did...