Argent Eye III

7

"Pick an element." Ronan said. We were in our usual spot in Greenwich park, and Irina had decided to join again. She was sat on the floor, watching for now, although I had no doubt she'd want to get involved later. In the meantime, it seemed she'd brought some papers to mark. "Except ice, fire or lightning." He added.

"Uh..." I thought about it for a second. "Water?"

Ronan clapped his hands together once. "Okay, then. That'll be the focus for tonight."

We hadn't done much training with the water, which is why I picked it. I still couldn't create water out of nothing, which was what I was aiming to achieve eventually, but my wielding was still sometimes a little shaky.

"Gather some water." He said.

I nodded. Last year, I'd learned to draw water up and out of the earth as well as the air around me. It took a moment for me to make the connection to it and ignore the other elements, but eventually, I managed to find it. I focused on the water droplets, and drew them together in front of me.

Then, voila. An orb of water. Even if it did take a little while to create.

"Nice." He said. I held it with both hands, not wanting to drop it, although it seemed that in the current situation, that didn't help at all. A strong but narrow breeze seemed to shoot right through my ball of water, splashing it everywhere.

Mostly in my face.

I turned to look at Irina, my mouth wide open in shock. The water dripped from my hair and chin and eyelashes.

Ronan and Irina burst out laughing. I did laugh, but I was also still shocked.

I looked at the papers in her hand.

Should I?

Absolutely.

I used her own element against her, catching her off guard whilst she laughed with Ronan, and released a short burst of air energy.

The papers flew upwards in all directions, scattering over the grass. Irina then mirrored my look of shock.

"Millie!" She exclaimed, standing up to gather the papers.

I, on the other hand, couldn't stop laughing, and neither could Ronan.

"You asked for it!" I exclaimed, still clutching my belly. "You're lucky I didn't set them on fire."

She just laughed, having retrieved all the papers, before shoving them back into her bag to keep them safe.

"Okay, let's try this again." Ronan said, after he'd calmed down.

I looked at Irina, giving her a questioning glare.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again." She chuckled, putting her hands up.

I repeated what I'd done before, and created the orb of water.

"Tonight, we focus on control." Ronan began. "I don't want to see a single drop of water hit the floor."

I nodded.

"Split it into two." Ronan continued. I pried my hands apart, allowing the blob to split into two so that one floated above each hand.

"Now three." He said. I paused for a moment- I didn't have three hands, so would somehow have to control the third between my other two. Still, all it took was a little more focus, and there were three blobs hanging in the air in front of me, in triangular formation.

"Good." Ronan said. "Put them back together again."

I did as he said, bringing my hands round so that one larger blob of water floated between them.

"Remember, I don't want to see a single drop hit the floor." He said, and I saw him nod at Irina. I didn't have time to ask what they were doing, because something sharp, thin and invisible sliced through my blob like a knife through butter. It stayed as one ball, although a couple of drops started to fall to the ground. Holding the blob in one hand, I quickly reached out with the other and caught the droplets before they could hit the floor. Then, I brought them back to join the big blob.

"Now, put your hands behind your back." Ronan said.

I had to look at him, to check that I'd heard him right.

He just nodded, not elaborating on his instructions.

"Okay." I said, although was sceptical as to whether this would work. Still focusing on the water in front of me, I slowly started to move my hands down, not daring to tear my eyes away, until they were down by my side. It took every ounce of restraint not to bring them up again, but I managed it, clasping them behind my back.

"Good." Ronan said. "Now close your eyes."

I frowned, not looking away from the water. "Seriously?" I asked.

"Yup." He said. "You are now going to control the water with nothing but your connection to it. You do not need your hands, nor do you need your sight."

I nodded, although once again, I didn't know if it was going to work. Before I closed my eyes, I tried to feel the water with my mind and body. I knew what Ronan meant by my connection to it- it was like a magnet, but with water instead of metal. It allowed me to feel the presence of the element, so much so, that I was able to close my eyes and still control it. Even though I couldn't see it, I could almost visualise the water floating before me in my mind's eye. I could sense its positioning. I knew it was there.

When I was sure my hold on the water was now solid, I nodded, assuming that Ronan was waiting for some sort of confirmation that I was ready for his next instruction.

"Now turn around, and take three steps away." He said.

I did as he said, still sensing the water there, keeping the connection strong.

I didn't see Irina slice through the water this time, but definitely felt the sudden displacement of my orb, the water molecules scattering everywhere. But, somehow I managed to keep hold of every drop. I knew the water was currently floating in a splashed mess behind me, but it was still floating all the more. Then, I focused my thoughts and gathered all the water molecules back together to form one again.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that to work first time." Ronan said. I opened my eyes and turned back to face him, arching an eyebrow with the water still floating before me.

Ronan's face lost all amusement as the ball of water went hurtling towards him. He put an arm up in defence, but it did little to stop the water splashing around him and onto his face.

Once again, we all commenced into a fit of laughter.

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