Elements

Chapter 6 - The Cave

Zanna's POV

Jumping is a lot faster way to travel. But I suppose Zora's foot does make it even slower. I feel sorry for her, a sore ankle makes it so much harder when walking. Especially because she will play it off as though it doesn't hurt as much as it really does. It's strange that even with her fellow triplets, she still hides the truth, as though we don't know she is in pain.

"Took you guys long enough," Eli says as Zora and Zarco make their way closer. We are sitting on the edge of the platform which was in silence until now.

"Well, we wanted to let you two sit and relax." Zarco stares straight at me with his cheeky, evil smile. I know if I ignore him, he will keep talking, but if I respond it will still not stop him. To make matters worse, I don't know if I can rely on Zora to stop him as she is most likely on his side with this one. However, Zarco knows that he can't go too far and that fear is what hopefully keeps him silent.

"Thanks, coz it's not that short of a walk to my home." Eli's response is good. Zarco cannot change the subject back.

"So which way is it then?" Zora asks while Zarco lets her go.

"You see how there is a town on the other side of the castle?" We all look towards the castle which stands in the centre of Mehco. On the other side, you can see many houses like a village. It is very far away. All three of us turn back to Eli waiting for him to point out his house.

"Well, my house is... nowhere near there. It's over there." With a big smile on his face, he turns to the left and points to an area of fields and hills. Zora sighs loudly with an eye roll and Zarco laughs. Eli turns to me to see my reaction. At first, I was laughing softly but now I'm frozen with his eyes on me. My smile faded and Eli seems confused. Zarco's laugh vanishes and there is silence. The silence is long. I am looking at the ground not making eye contact with anyone. Out of nowhere, Zarco pitches up.

"I'm hungry. Got any food at your place?" I look up at him and Zora. He has a smile on his face and like most of the time, Zora is concerned.

"Yeah, I think we could all use something to eat." She ignores Zarco and turns to Eli in anticipation.

"Uh, we could grab some fruit on the way home. I live by the farmers and they usually give me some of their produce. It's not too far away, come, follow me." He starts walking and Zarco is right on his side. Zora links her arm with mine and pulls me to walk with them. She puts some of her weight on me to keep it off her ankle.

"I think it's cute." She has an innocent smile on her face but all I can do is roll my eyes and sigh. "What, you don't agree with me?" She is being silly.

"Well I don't what you are hinting at but there is nothing going on there, okay?" The smile stays but is joined with a frown.

"You don't think Eli will be friends with Zarco?" What is she going on about now? She thinks way too far into the future. "I mean, I really hope he will. Zarco needs more guy friends. We should encourage it. Like, force them to walk with each other."

"Wait, What?" I stop walking and untangle our arms. She patiently waits for me to speak. "What are you talking about?" All she can do is smile. Her hand grabs my arm again and we start walking.

"Zee, I'm talking about Eli and Zarco. I think it's cute that he has a friend. He seems pretty excited about it." She stops and the innocence vanishes from her face. A cheeky grin has replaced it. "What were you thinking about Zan-na." Her voice is filled with tease. I won't admit anything to her, but secretly to myself, she is right. I look away into the distance. Zora just giggles.

Eli said the walk isn't too long. Hopefully, just enough time for us to take in some of the beauties that Mehco has to offer. On this side of the castle are the farmer's fields and they are beautiful. It is almost harvest time so the crop shines with many different colours. I love seeing the crop flourish. I feel at peace here, looking out to the farm. Mehco has the most fertile land to grow. The soil that is there is rich and the moisture from the clouds is perfect for growth. People come to Hanzid to sell their produce to us. We have our own fields but Mehco is more plentiful.