elemental • n. m.

0. the beginning

*YEAR 1811*

I breathed in the fresh air as my eyes took in the beauty I got to wake up to every day. I fixed down the skirts of my pastel green dress and sighed contentedly.

I walked down the path, along the trees, brushing my fingertips against the bark as it seemed to whisper soothingly at me. The birds chirped a melodious tune, and the vibrant flowers seemed to bloom before me.

I saw a deer and it's fowl a ways away and they stopped in their tracks as they noticed me, before visibly relaxing and continuing on their path.

I made it to the clearing, where our family garden sat, and approached my sister, who was reading a book on poetry.

Seraphine sat, her back against the grey column, her fiery strands adorning her soft features in a halo fashion.

"Hello, Sera. Lost in the Gaelic poetry once more?"

"Hah," she giggled in a way that would be frowned upon by elders of our current times. "Look who speaks. You are oft the one with her brows furrowed over pale pages with stories of times before us."

"Let me see," I concede, longing for the beautiful verses' calming effects.

All too soon, my older sister shut the book, setting it down and batting her eyes at me.

"Let us not forget what we are here for, yes Aella?"

I stood abruptly, my loose obsidian curls bouncing and reflecting my excitement. We both walked to the middle of the clearing, and held our arms out at our sides loosely.

"Now," Sera sighed, "I want you to do as we have been doing in recent times and feel the soul of the creatures surrounding us."

At first I simply observed her, the sun seemed to shine brighter on her, and the atmosphere around us warmed considerably. The leaves around us picked up, as I too let myself feel the energy that our exhilarating home held.

"Now, concentrate on what ever you feel a pull towards, and we'll see what occurs from then."

I see her point her petite hands towards a tree, and slowly but surely, one of its roots sprang forth from the soil and towards the both of us, enclosing is in a circle. My eyes then focused on a small rock that stood against the rest, it was white and smooth looking, with grey and black specks adorning it all over, a small crack along its side. My arms raised and slowly a green stem sprang forth, it's light bud becoming a rose, which bloomed to an exceptional size.

I let a laugh of joy escape me as I twirled around on my spot. I opened my light azure eyes to meet my sister's hazel orbs as she softly placed her arms around my shoulders and halted further dizzying myself.

"Ae." Sera breathed, "look around us."

My eyes and body moved as one as I gazed about our surrounding. My mouth fell open in surprise. "By nature itself," I giggled as I looked again to see if I was deceiving myself, "This is so astounding Seraphine!" I root of the tree had spread all about our garden, and thousands of stems had pulled through and blossomed all with buds in whites and pale pinks. I began noticing the fragrance released by the flowers, my grin widening.

The soft smile on my sister's face warmed my heart and made it feel a rose itself, blooming and opening into adulthood. "I think these lessons have proved helpful," Sera teased, pulling a flower off the ground. "Why roses? Although, I must admit that I am quite taken with the power of beauty and danger." She cautiously poked at one of the sharp pricks adorning the stem.

I too bent, and picked up the first rose, which successfully broke through the rock.

"Well, dear sister of mine. It is my promise to be as any flower,"

My sister teased again, "Pale and pretty?"

"Nay. Flowers give their fragrance, even to the hands that crush them."