༄ؘ 𝑨𝑹𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦

༄ؘ ✧ 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑭𝑶𝑼𝑹

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ༄ؘ 𝑭𝑶𝑼𝑹 ༄ؘ ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

𝑾𝑯𝑬𝑵 𝑴𝑨𝑹𝑰𝑵 𝑾𝑶𝑲𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑵𝑬𝑿𝑻 𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑨𝑻 𝑺𝑼𝑵𝑹𝑰𝑺𝑬, 𝑺𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑫 𝑾𝑨𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹𝑬𝑫 𝑶𝑭𝑭 in search of the river she knew was nearby. She always felt calmer near water, and she definitely needed some time alone after the previous night. So much had happened that she had yet to take in with all the rush of things. Being chased by an assassin, finding the egg of the Dragon Prince in the cellars under the castle, making somewhat friends with the elf assassin who had tried to kill them, and her dad had been killed. All in one night.

And Soren... Soren could have gotten seriously hurt for her. And he did it without hesitation. Just pushed her out of the way of that arrow and taken it for her. Not to mention the look he'd given her right before he joined the fight with the other guards. They'd looked at each other many times before, obviously since they'd known each other since they were small, but he'd never looked at her like that before. It was guilt and determinedness and apologetic and something else she didn't recognize.

But he hadn't been hurt. Runaan's arrow had gotten caught between the plates of his armor. As selfish as it sounded, Marin knew that if Soren had really been hit by that arrow, she wouldn't have gone with Callum to the courtyard to run away with Ezran and Rayla. She wouldn't have been able to. They'd known each other practically their whole lives, they were a part of each other. He would have done the same for her if the roles were switched.

Marin felt a little splash on her cheek and realized that during her inner pity party she had started controlling the river water without thinking. There was a little rope of water swirling around and around her head, little water droplets hitting her face every few seconds. Marin chuckled and raised her hand up, making the water conform into some of the simple shapes that she'd worked on during her previous lake visits. A heart, a star, a spiral. Just general shapes like a toddler could draw with a pencil. But it was progress.

Back home she had a secret hidden journal filled with all kinds of ideas and theories of what she'd one day be able to do, but none of them had been tested yet besides healing, which she was semi-good at. Mediocre at best.

Callum had once asked her years ago if she could just make water appear out of thin air. At the time she'd thought it was hilarious; a half-breed who could barely make a few drops of water float out of a bowl, but now? It was something to consider trying out.

It was also crazy to think about, though. Making water from thin air? The idea sounded ridiculous, impossible even. But to humor her curiosity, Marin held her palm out face-up toward the sky and concentrated as hard as she could. She felt strange, just sitting there by the riverbank staring at her hand.

But the longer she sat there, looking at her palm and hoping for water to appear, she could hear the distant sounds of her mom's voice echoing in her head. She closed her eyes and listened, the familiar voice she hadn't heard in so many years making her heart feel warm for the first time that morning. Something she had said to Marin when she first learned she could control water.

"Focus, Marin. You are special, and you can do anything that you put your mind to if you just concentrate. I know you can."

And when Marin opened her eyes, there was a small sphere of water floating above her palm. Marin laughed gleefully in surprise and wiggled her fingers, watching the water move with her fingers. The water followed any movement she made; circling around her head when she would twirl her finger, moving up and down when she nodded her head, back and forth when she would swipe her hand through the air.