Reminiscent
Chapter 4
AUGUST, YEAR 129
The valley was finally starting to cool from the heat of summer, as temperate as it normally was. There were a few small grooves of trees in the valley clumped at the foothills of the surrounding mountains, a good distance away from the fields of grass and the lake in the middle of the valley, near the House. All around were the mountains, hiding the rest of the world to those who lived in the valley. The sky that was visible was a faded blue, almost grey with scattered clouds without color. Here and there the trees were starting to show light tints of yellow and brown, the first signs of fall, though the air was already beginning to turn cold. Evening was approaching, but the sky did not turn shades of gold and violet, but only became darker grey slowly.
In the mid afternoon through the fields of grass walked two barefoot children only arm length apart. One was a boy with brown hair that was cut uneven and clearly unkempt. His eyes were a dull green and he wore tattered and torn clothes for lack of anything else. Demon was twelve. The girl had medium length hair that was taken care of and wore a faded red dress with shorts. Her eyes were a bright aqua green, though as she walked her expression was one of fatigue and vague sadness. Roxanne was only nine.
In short intervals Demon occasionally glanced over his shoulders. A short distance away, slightly around the lake, the Razada House stood silent. A white wall was built around the premises with two gates leading on, from the north and south, and over the short wall the roofs of the House could be seen, made up entirely of red tiling. The rest of the House was wood painted white with some red, gold, and browns mixed in as well. Three stories high, with no other buildings in sight, the House was unmistakable in the secluded valley.
Demon glared back at the House as he and Roxanne walked calmly away with green eyes burning with contempt. He waited for someone to come out from behind the wall with vulture eyes searching for them, or a voice to call out their names, demanding they return immediately. Steel’s voice…
“Listen,” Roxanne said, stopping. Demon paused for a minute, listening. There were no sounds except for the wind breezing past the nearby trees, but then he heard it. Gentle chirpings, spaced evenly apart.
Curious, Demon wandered away from Roxanne, staring around at the ground. He walked until the chirps became louder, then he finally saw one of them. A small grayish green cricket, perched delicately on a blade of tall grass. The cricket was rather small and remained completely motionless, save for the quick moments when it chirped, but even then he hardly moved.
Demon crouched down until he was laying on his stomach and watched the single cricket for several minutes. The cricket, not seeming to mind, stayed in place, chirping. After a time, Demon crawled closer slowly. Once he was near, Demon reached out one hand to grab the cricket.
“Don’t bother him!” Roxanne scolded Demon, making him jump in place.
“I wasn’t going to hurt him,” Demon muttered, mostly to himself. The cricket seemed too mystic to harm for some reason.
Roxanne settled in the grass next to Demon, her eyes also trained on the small creature perched on the blade of grass before them. As if elated beyond her reality, Roxanne crossed her arms and rested her head on them. Despite having Roxanne as his only friend for over four years, Demon felt slightly awkward next to her, but didn’t have the conviction to move away from her either. Leaving the tall grass and the chirping cricket meant returning to the hellish reality of the Razada House. He cast away the thought and rested his elbows in the grass, propping himself up.
Demon’s attention was brought back by a second cricket leaping through the blades, landing directly in front of the first cricket Demon and Roxanne had been watching. Roxanne gasped slightly, but immediately smiled. The second cricket chirped, hanging upside down on the same blade of grass. Slowly, she clambered upright, facing the first cricket that never moved. Once settled, the two crickets chirped in place, staring at each other without movement.
“What are they doing?” Demon naively asked. The crickets took turns chirping, as if waiting for the other to go before making noise again.
“They’re just chirping together,” Roxanne said thoughtfully. “I can hear other crickets elsewhere, but right here is fine for them. Maybe they both just need a place to sit still for awhile…”
Different thoughts drifted through Demon’s mind. Like Roxanne, he folded his arms and rested his head on them, only turning his head and staring off in another direction. From there, all he could see was tall grass and nothing beyond it. The sun was dying and everything became shadows of varying shades of blues and dull greens. The towering mountains around surrounding became dark, casting the valley into further darkness than the actual world was in. Night always came an hour early in this secluded place, as Demon stared into the darkness only inches from his face.
His back ached from earlier, and Demon wished he could sleep. But it was nightfall, and he feared sleeping, even when outside of the House. The fear of having his wretched name called. The fear of not waking up at all. The fear of feeling stomach pains again. The fear of waking to having his head pulled up violently by his hair.
Demon thought about the day before. Roxanne had found unknown mushrooms in the field just outside of the House, unsure if they were edible. In order to test if they were safe for Roxanne, Demon had ate some, throwing him into a violent fit of vomiting shortly afterwards. When the mushrooms in questioned were shown to Demon’s twin brother, Lion, he had told them how poisonous they were. Lion had said they normally killed anyone who ate a single one of them. Demon, still retching, thought about what a relief dying would have been.
At the time, it hadn’t seemed so bad. Not many people knew of him, and less even cared for him. What a relief it would have been…
“Oh…” Roxanne sighed with a sad tone. At the same time, both crickets had jumped away in the same direction. No more chirping was heard.
“We should sneak back into the House, the other servants will be calling for us soon,” Demon sullenly said, pushing himself up. He helped Roxanne up, wishing she hadn’t been given to him, if only so she wouldn’t have to suffer the same fate.
“Okay…” Roxanne said as Demon took her hand on instinct and started moving quickly back towards the house.
Demon started thinking about the maids and how much trouble they would get him in if he was found creeping around outside the Razada House and with Roxanne. Although Roxanne was treated with some malice by Steel, she was under Kain’s personal protection. Demon, on the other hand, was not and he knew he would suffer double the punishment if caught with Roxanne. Even though the double punishment wasn’t what Demon was most worried about, albeit the punishment was still a major concern of his; he did not want to cause Roxanne any trouble and give Steel a reason to dislike her anymore than how he already hated people regularly.
“Hey, why do you think those crickets were chirping at each other?” Roxanne asked Demon as they walked.
“I don’t know, I guess they were talking to each other.” Demon said quickly, trying to coax her by answering her question in order to get her to stay silent without saying so.
“I think they like each other…” Roxanne murmured.
Demon paused for a moment, looking around for anybody not that they were back against the gates of the Razada House. He pressed his back against the wall and peeked within the courtyard of the house and saw no one. “All clear.” Demon said to Roxanne as they dashed quietly over to the large porches of the Razada House. From there, Demon kept his body positioned against the walls of the porch while keeping himself down and out of sight to those walking above them. Demon knew that Roxanne was doing her best to do the same just behind him.
Demon led Roxanne carefully to their small section of the House, which was a small shack in comparison to the rest of the Razada House. It was also separated, had a slightly raised porch, and was darker colored in comparison to the Razada House to distinguish it further. Once they got close, Demon searched the area one last time before taking Roxanne and crawling to the porch of the shack. Once they arrived, he took a careful look down the hallway and saw a tall, dark, menacing figure leaning just to the side of the door to their room. It was Steel…
“Is it safe?” Roxanne poked Demon to get his attention. Demon let out a long sigh.
“No…Steel is waiting right outside the room.”
“Oh…” Roxanne let out with a sorrowful tone in her voice, “What are we going to do?”
“I know what is going to happen, no matter what we do…” Demon looked down with his fists clinched so tightly from hatred and anger that his fingernails were digging into his skin a bit. “Look, I have to go with him…I want you to go around the corner over there and wait for us to leave, then you can go back into the room.”
“But I don’t want you to get in trouble…” Roxanne spoke quietly.
“I was in trouble since I was born…” Demon started, bluntly. “I’ll be in even more trouble if I get caught with you right now and I don’t want to get you in trouble too!” He said the last part under his breath. Demon then pointed to the corner he wanted Roxanne to creep to. “Get going…I want to get this over with, okay?”
Roxanne started to tear up a little bit, before nodding and quietly sneaking to the place where she was supposed to go. Once she got there, she gave the alert Demon a nod to show that she was ready.
Demon nodded and walked up the porch steps defeated.
“Demon.” Steel growled out, shrouded in darkness. “Where were you?”
“Nowhere…” Demon said, averting his gaze from Steel. Demon knew what was going to happen, even if he prayed for it not to. He kept his head lowered, as practiced.
Steel stood upright and began walking slowly towards Demon. Steel’s heavy footsteps bellowed from the small hallway.
“If you were nowhere, you damned Demon, then that would solve all my problems because you wouldn’t be here!” Steel yelled as he backhanded Demon across the face, sending Demon flying face first plummeting down the porch stairs that was behind him and onto the hard ground.
Roxanne stifled a horrified gasp and tears were starting to flow down her cheeks. She covered her mouth with both hands, too afraid to say anything.
“I won’t ask you again, Demon. Where were you?” Steel demanded. Demon slowly tried to push his head up so he could speak again.
“I was trying to see Lion…” Demon lied, and he heard heavy footsteps approaching him again, cringing at every step that echoed. The echoes stopped and Demon let out a small sigh of relief.
Suddenly, a crushing force crashed into the center of his back. Steel stomped on him and began to apply the weight of his body. All the air left Demon’s body and Steel was standing over him, glaring at the forsaken child beneath his boot.
“You know the punishment for disturbing Lion…and for sneaking out of your room without being summoned.” Steel stated cruelly as he pivoted his heavy boot deeper into Demon’s back, before stomping on him a second time.
The force of both stomps were too much, and caused Demon to throw up, though his stomach was empty. Roxanne, as horrified as she was, had no better opportunity to retreat back into their room. She slowly moved to the inside of the building, crying silently as she went inside behind Steel‘s back. Steel then stooped down and grabbed Ryo’s head and slammed his face into his vomit.
“You want to know something, Demon?” Steel’s voice was heartless, stricken with truth. “If it wasn’t for your mother and Kain, I would have killed you the moment you were born. I would have crushed your skull the same way that I was crushing your spine. I may not be allowed to kill you, Demon, but I will break you until you are on the brink of death and then I will wait for you to heal so I can break you some more. But don’t hate me for this, Demon. Hate yourself for being born, hate your mother for begging that fool for you to stay alive, and blame that fool for stopping me from killing you. I bet death would be a relief for you now, Demon, and it is a damned shame because I would have given it to you. But guess what, Demon…this mercy angel just had his wings clipped!” Steel laughed maliciously as he picked Demon up by the skull and threw him at the railing of the porch. With a heavy, painful grunt, Demon hit the railing across the gut and choked in place. In his head rung the word “Demon”, in Steel’s voice, over and over again.
Demon’s limp body remained slouched over the railing he was tossed on, the bile and dirt mixture dripping off of his forlorn face. Demon, humiliated and beaten, forced himself to fall face first off the railing onto the porch, hoping to end his suffering and give Steel the satisfaction he needed to walk away from him. After hearing a loud thud, Steel’s laughter continued as he walked away from the building, guilt free.
“I will see you in the morning for your lashings, Demon.” Steel said loud enough for Demon to hear as he walked away.
Demon, although not unconscious, was weak and near death. Occasionally he spat out blood as he crawled to get inside. Demon used what little strength he had to sit himself up and did something he had to keep secret from nearly everyone in the House. Demon held out both hands, summoning a small sphere of Water before his face. Being a descendant of Fire Users made Demon naturally a Fire user, but years of torment by Steel had taught Ryo to manipulate Water, along with the other Elements, though he knew to keep it secret. Holding the sphere of Water before him, Demon used it to clean the grime and dirt from his face. Demon fell after mustering the ability to even use his unexplained power.
After a couple of minutes, Demon managed to crawl back into the room. The House was quiet now, but it was no longer serene. It was the devastating quiet after a great fight, even all life was afraid of even breathing and the air itself was like a poison. Demon felt used to it, though it pained him. Upon entering the room, he heard crying coming from the corner. Demon sighed, knowing it was Roxanne, who shared the room with him.
“Why are you crying?” Demon asked weakly, forcing himself to look at her through his gross appearance. He felt a little embarrassed, but that was normal for him after years of abuse, and hardly bothered him anymore.
“I’m crying because no one else will cry for you,” Roxanne said depressingly. She had moved both hands away from her face, but still held them near her small chin.
“Don’t cry for me, I’m nothing but a Demon…” Demon said softly with spite, coughing up a small amount of blood and wiping it on his sleeve.
“Don’t say that!” Roxanne cried as she rushed to Demon’s side. She gave Demon a small kiss on his lips and held him close. “You got hurt so I wouldn’t have to! That means
a lot to me!” Roxanne scolded him as she hugged him, sobbing on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry…”
It’s such a meaningless memory, Ryo thought with personal criticism. Why would I want to think of that now…? Why am I thinking of it now…?
Ryo awakened at the first light of the rising sun, even though he was resting under the shade of the canopy trees in his room; the sun burned brightly and forced him awake. The crickets were chirping occasionally, leaving Ryo half within the memory of his vivid dream. Ryo felt as if his back was broken, even though he rested on an exceptionally comfortable bed. Ryo could still recall the force of Steel’s stomps and the thought alone of the crushing power that nearly broke his back as a child made him feel nauseated. Just for mental comfort, Ryo rubbed his back as if to assure himself he was fine. Staring at the green room, he realized how serene nature was even though this was only a containment of some of it.
Ryo slowly brought a finger to his lips, “Why in the world am I thinking of her now…? The last time I really thought of her was eleven years ago…” Ryo groaned at the thought of her, he had no reason to think of her and no understanding why he was even remembering of her. She’s probably just reaching her early twenties… Ryo thought. “I hope she hasn’t suffered since Leo and I left the Razada House…”
Finally, Ryo stood up and walked out of the shady room. Once outside, a dry voice greeted him.
“Good morning, Mr. Pregnant Fish Killer.” There was a man a head smaller than Ryo leaning against the wall near his room. He was a man with dull marine eyes and wore a black suit with a golden crest over his heart with the initials N.B. Instead of an obvious indicator, he wore a small silver necklace in the shape of a water droplet. His long and kempt hair was a light brownish red color that rested just above the collar of his suit. In appearance he seemed to be several years younger than Ryo.
“Hey…” Ryo said dully, “Who are you again?”
“The name is Emile, I bludgeoned and cooked that fish you ate last night.”
“Ah damn, that was you?!” Ryo exclaimed.
“You’re damn right it was, it took a hell of a beating too! I had to grab the Morning Star to kill it. You did know that fish wasn‘t even an adult yet, right?” Emile went on dryly.
“Is there a reason that you are standing outside my room? Or were you just that lonely and the only conversation starter you have is how you kill fish for a living?” Ryo asked bluntly, “I have to say, you make really bad company.”
“Alright,” Emile nodded. “My senile senior citizen employer awaits you in the white room. That’s the one with all the white couches in it and Do you remember how to get there? Or do I have to hold your hand?” Emile held out his hand with a smirk. Ryo slapped Emile upside his head and walked off towards the stairs.
“For the record, you do make terrible company…” Ryo called back to him. Emile was holding the side of his head with one hand and with his other hand, he was extending his middle finger at Ryo behind his back.
“I hope you choke on a fish bone!”
Ryo ignored him, laughing at how small he was and how big little Emile tried to talk. Ryo figured that Emile was probably in his early teenage years, then began wondering how he came to be Nathaniel Bryan’s butler.
When Ryo arrived in front of the white room, he saw Nathaniel Bryan sitting at the desk writing with an ink quill. Ryo also saw someone he had not seen before. There was a small child, who seemed to be about two or three years of age lying down on one of the white couches, napping silently. He had well kempt blond hair for a child his age and wore an expensive white suit with the initials N.B. embroidered upon the right side of his chest. Ryo took a few steps within the room and Nathaniel Bryan took a peak over his shoulder to see that Ryo had entered.
“Ah, Ryo, come here!” Nathaniel called out to him in a hushed voice, so he would not disturb the small child. Ryo moved closer to Nathaniel Bryan.
“You wanted to talk to me?”
“Yes, I sent Emile to get you so I could give you this letter I’m working on. I’m not quite finished yet, but I’m nearly finished. Did you sleep well?”
“Sort of, the bed was very comfortable, but I had some trouble sleeping…”
“A bad dream, perhaps?” Nathaniel asked, still staring at his letter.
“More like a bad memory, but it wasn’t all bad, I guess. The most memorable part was painful…”
“Ah, I see…” Nathaniel said, as he pondered how to end his letter. Ryo looked to the child again and then finally had to ask.
“So, who’s the kid? Is he your great grandson or something?”
Nathaniel went into a fit of laughter before turning around to Ryo and shaking his head,
“No, Ryo, he is not my grandson, he is my son-son.”
Ryo’s jaw dropped, “Aren’t you too old to just start having kids?”
“As long as one has the vigor to do the act, you can never be too old. Although, I bet the Old Ruin would probably say that I decided to have kids a bit too late. I was too afraid to be a father back in those days, Ryo. I no longer fear fatherhood now, so I embraced a woman that I was ready to settle down with and had a child of my own.”
“So, where’s the lucky lady? She’s not as wrinkly as you are, right?”
“Well, that’s just it, lad. She was about 20 years of age when Nathaniel Bryan Jr. was born, but I didn’t know that she suffered from an early contagious disease known as consumption. She died shortly after he was born and we had a burial at sea. I was heartbroken, Ryo. I was ready to love, but not so quickly to lose it as I have found it. So, I’m doing whatever I can to give the child an education. He was able to read and recognize words in his first year of life and now he is tuckered out from reading a few small books that I planned for him to read today.”
“I’m sorry, I had no idea…” Ryo suddenly felt guilty.
“Relax, lad, mistakes happen. I am just saddened that death claimed her first, rather than a carefree old man like myself. I may act young, but I cannot deny that death could be lurking around the corridors of my house, perhaps waiting to greet me when I least expect him or maybe ready to take me when I expect him most. Regardless, Ryo, I have learned many things from Eliazar. However, I had learned this one lesson for myself. Death is a harsh mistress, but ironically enough death is the ultimate fairness. Whether you are rich or poor, young or old, strong or weak, intelligent or ignorant…we all undergo death and we are all reunited in the grave as equals.”
“Yeah…” Ryo said. He did not want to think of death, it was a depressing subject and feared it too much.
“Eliazar has told you the story about the Gods?” Nathaniel asked casually as he wrote his letter carefully. His tone was obviously changing the subject, though it seemed he did it more for Ryo than himself.
“The one about the apocalypse?”
“That is the one. He told me that story years ago. And I always thought…” Nathaniel paused, finishing his letter and sitting back to stare at it. “…I always wondered if us Elementalists were truly blessed by the Gods, or if we were just forgotten, and Users were the Gods’ way of apologizing to us. Does not make much sense, though…”
“You believe there are Gods too?” Ryo asked, slightly surprised.
“The same as Eliazar. I believe they, at least, did exist, but they may be gone now…here, take this.” Nathaniel handed his folded and sealed letter to Ryo with one hand. “I changed my mind about our secret. This goes to Eliazar, informing him about my eminent journey to Hollow for your wedding. When you leave, take it with you and deliver it to the Old Ruin for me. You won’t be leaving until tomorrow morning, am I right?”
“Yes.”
“Then just make sure to keep it with you.” Nathaniel wiped his hands off on his lap while Ryo hid the letter inside his jacket. He turned enough to see his son, still sleeping peacefully on the couch. “Today I will be making my preparations for Hollow. I am thinking of taking my son as well. I assume you have business of your own to attend to today, before departing tomorrow?”
“I guess,” Ryo said, a little aimlessly.
“Very well, please don’t let me keep you. I noticed you consumed a great deal of food and wine last night, Emile kept me well informed about how you ate and drank even though you may not have been aware of his presence until this morning. You can say he may be a bit of a prodigy with his element, though he is full of himself and proud. Perhaps, you should consider taking a few rations with you? Even something as simple as bread and cheese would be sufficient, though I would send you with some good red meat which I‘m sure you‘ll be able to preserve well even though you would be traveling through the desert again.”
“Maybe I will consider taking something…” Ryo said to assure him, but he did not realize that his voice betrayed him.
“You’ve brought nothing with you, not even money.” Nathaniel stated without looking at him, he reached inside his robe and pulled out a small white silk bag. He turned to Ryo, opening Ryo’s hand and placing the bag in his palm and closing it. “In this bag is a number of gold coins, buy what you can and don’t return until you have spent everything. Being someone who is of great importance to Eliazar, I would be doing him great insult if I do not take utmost care of you. Since you may not have an idea of value, once they see this bag, they will give you its contents worth if you ask for it. The Ocean Community‘s people are very honest, even though the are businessmen.”
“Thanks…” Ryo said as he place it in the pocket of his pants, “About Emile, how did he become your servant anyway?”
“Ah…that goes back to when he was around seven years of age. He was a damned good Water User back then too, using a technique that most Water Users would not have ever conceived.”
“And that is?”
“He uses water to see.”
“Is he blind?” Ryo asked carefully.
“No, but the uppity bastard could see even if you blindfolded him.” Nathaniel said with a small laugh. “He uses the water from the sea, the aquarium, puddles, rain, even the water vapor around us to see everything that he desires. I figured that out one day because he was able to pickpocket me. It was raining and very cold that day, and I stuck a couple of gold coins in a pocket within a pocket. Three streets later, he bumped into me and I felt something wet where I had my money hidden. I checked the pocket immediately and found my pockets empty. Following the young Emile, was a small rope of water with the coins wrapped within it. Believe it or not, I am actually a skilled Ice User, so I froze the puddle at his feet and the rope with my coins. I proceeded to demand some answers from him, and since he was afraid that I would turn him into the local authorities or worse, began to answer me quickly and honestly.”
“Go on…”
“I asked him, ‘how did you know where I stashed my coins, when not only I had my back to you, but was also three streets away from you?’ and he responded, ‘I saw where you hid your money through the eyes of the rain.’ I admit I was confused, so I tested him. I held up seven fingers behind my back and asked him to tell me how many of fingers I was holding out and if he answered correctly, I would not turn him into the authorities and that I would give him a job that paid well. After a moment of concentration, he gave the correct answer. I quickly changed the position of one of my fingers behind my back and he demanded that I re-extend the finger I had just clinched. I was dumbstruck and took him in as we agreed.”
“That’s amazing…” Ryo commented.
“After a bit of coaxing and a little more pay, he told me everything about the unheard of power he gained. I had asked many of the Water Users of the Ocean Community if they had ever heard of such a power and they all responded with no. None of them knew how to do it, all of them tried to accomplish Emile‘s feat, but none of them were successful…when they accused him of lying, he asked that they blindfold him and leave a puddle of water beneath them, then asked all of the Water Users to hold out a random number of fingers. While blindfolded, he pointed from one side of the line to the other, telling each of them the number of fingers they held behind their back and scolded at the ones who tried to change it.”
“I see…so is he more than just a butler to you then?”
“I suppose you could also say he is my cook and bodyguard…and perhaps, even a stepchild. I admit, I almost feel as if he is my son in some way…” Nathaniel let out a sigh and rose from his seat. “I believe I wasted enough of your time with stories, I’ll leave you to attend to your preparations. I’ll see you at dinner, lad.” He spoke as he walked past Ryo to Nathaniel Bryan Jr. and carried the young child on his shoulder, out of the room.
At least he takes care of his children… Ryo thought, seeing Nathaniel leave with his son. Why did Steel ever bother having children if all he wanted to do with us was hurt us?
The Ocean Community was vastly different from Hollow. The average street width was nearly twice the size of the roads in Hollow with more business shops, restaurants and food venders. The busiest district was along the coast with the housing districts being slightly more inland. Ryo only saw a small portion of the whole, but wandering around for just the one afternoon was enough for him to see the sheer size of the Ocean Community.
For a short time, Ryo wondered why anyone even lived in Hollow, located directly in the center of the desert when a society flourished so successfully just along the coast. Then thinking back, Ryo thought it had to do with the Hollow palace. The Ocean Community was new, built from the ground up over the past hundred years after the apocalypse, while the Hollow palace had been one of the few structures from the previous world still intact. The people simply couldn’t abandon such a place, regardless of the initial cost.
With the money given to him by Nathaniel, Ryo bought provisions for himself. He limited himself to just bread and cheese, unwilling to spend all of Nathaniel’s money. Only when Ryo passed a small jewelry stand did he see a necklace of lavender pearls. He bought this with Melody in mind, still with gold to spare.
Once finished it was already late afternoon and Ryo returned to Nathaniel’s estate already tired. Emile was standing by the front door, leaning casually against the wall with his arms folded. When he caught sight of Ryo, Emile gave a cheek frown.
“I see you haven’t choked on a bone yet,” Emile commented.
“Shut up, I gotta ask you something,” Ryo quickly cut Emile off. “The Old Relic said something about you being able to see through Water. Is that right?”
Emile’s face fell a little with disappointment. “So the old man told you about that. What about it?”
“I want you to teach me how to do it.”
“If I remember right, you said you were a Fire User,” Emile spoke with a snide tongue. Ryo paused for a second, thinking.
“Well I’d still like to learn,” Ryo tried forcing his way past Emile’s remark.
“It’s not easy. He already had me explain it to the other Water Users around here. None of them were able to do it no matter how hard they tried. How are you going to do it if you use Fire?”
“I’ll learn.”
“You won’t learn it before you leave tomorrow.”
“Not now. But when I come back in the future I’d like you to show me how to do it.” Ryo waited while Emile sighed, thinking it over.
“I’ll try,” Emile finally said.
“Thanks. Oh, and this if for the Old Relic.” Ryo dug into his pocket and pulled out the remaining money. Emile just shook his head at the sight.
“He’s not going to take it back,” Emile said.
“Then keep it for yourself.” Ryo held out the small pouch to Emile, whose eyes grew in surprise.
“Me?” he asked, blunt and shocked.
“You don’t have to tell Nathaniel if you don’t want to. I don’t need this for myself. You can buy whatever it is you want.”
Awkwardly, Emile took the remaining gold and nodded a small thank you. “I’ll be sure to put it to good use,” he promised.
Ryo nodded in return and quickly stole away into the mansion before Emile could start another argument with him. He found his way directly back to his guest room, shutting the door behind him. Once alone, Ryo sighed to himself and sat down at the foot of his bed. He brought out the pearl necklace he bought for Mel and played with it, examining each lavender pearl carefully for faults but found none.
“Not much longer…” he murmured to himself and put the necklace away.
Kain was kneeling, facing a woman near his age, seated directly across the table from him. The woman had medium length dirty blonde hair tied back into a loose bun and worn aqua green eyes. Though her appearance suggested she may had been beautiful in her younger years, she now sat serious with a small frown she was vaguely trying to hide. Across from her, Kain sat motionless, reading a document placed before him. Two glasses of tea were placed on the table, but neither had tasted it yet.
“How old is she?” Kain asked solemnly.
“Four…” the woman answered hesitantly. “She will turn five on the first day of June.”
“Four…” Kain repeated to himself thoughtfully. Eventually he rolled he document up and placed it back on the table. “I will tell you this, Lavinia. From what I have observed your daughter will become an acceptable addition and therefore worthy of consideration.”
Lavinia’s eyes fell, but she immediately forced a smile of relief and folded her hands on her lap.
“That is such good news,” she said weakly. “Although, Lord Kain, I must make mention of my other daughter…”
“What of her?” said Kain, absent of interest.
“Our oldest daughter, Talia…she has run away from home, and we have heard no news of her since, and it is suspected that she has fled on her own accord.”
“So Roxanne has become your only heir?” Kain finished with a question. Lavinia made no reply, but her saddened eyes revealed everything. With a soft, cold laugh Kain sat forward. “You see, Lavinia, I found myself in the same predicament eight years ago, when my son’s wife bore twins. I currently have four grandchildren, but alas, only one is suitable to be my heir. Consider yourself fortunate, Lavinia, that I have even contemplated accepting your line into my House.”
“Yes, my Lord…” Lavinia spoke submissively out of fear. Kain smirked and stood.
“Then your young Roxanne will marry into the Razada House, upon the eighteenth birthday of my grandson.”
“But, sir.” Lavinia bravely leaned forward, cutting Kain off. Her eyes showed fear, but she knew she could not withhold her tongue now. “…Sir, I must ask…you said my Roxanne will marry your grandson, but you failed to mention which one of the twins she will be betrothed to. I must ask…is it, the green-eyed one…?”
Kain’s gaze darkened. He had purposely avoided that specific detail, but now that Lavinia insisted on an answer his mood turned sour.
“She will wed the Demon on his eighteenth birthday. Be happy that the Lightning line will prevail as a part of the Fire line,” Kain spoke coldly. Lavinia’s eyes watered, but she could protest no anymore.
Several hallways and corners away, outside of the house, the night was cold and it was snowing. Demon huddled as close as he could to the base of the porch, hidden away from the sight of anyone who might be walking over them. Just inside, he could smell the food that was being served, along with muffled conversation.
Demon grumbled quietly to himself. He was eight, but already his frame was noticeably thin and his clothes worn from chore work. His dull green eyes scanned the ground, until he looked over the porch to see if the door had opened at all. Once he witnessed no difference he went back to huddling against the walkway. His stomach grumbled from hunger as he waited for Lion to sneak him food.
Sitting outside made Demon impatient. To warm himself Demon focused on Fire, creating a small amount of heat, but only enough to warm himself against the snow for he was barefoot.
Demon took to staring at his hand, watching it carefully as snowflakes landed on it, melting instantly. He waited still for a long time until his hand was wet with melted snowflakes. Then he summoned a strong wisp of Fire, evaporating the melted snow away. To entertain himself, Demon clenched his fist, focusing harder. A very small sphere of Water appeared, perfect before him.
“…I wonder…” Demon mumbled to himself. Lion had told him Ice was one of the other Elements. Demon and Lion were both born of Fire, yet only Demon had the ability to manipulate Water in addition to Fire. He wondered…
Demon focused his attention, straining himself on the small sphere of Water the size of a marble. For nearly a minute Demon put all of his attention on the Water, willing it to do something he had never done before.
Finally, it cracked. Demon’s eyes grew in surprise as a very thin layer of frost covered the surface of the sphere, encasing the Water marble in Ice. It had worked.
Why… Demon wondered in awe and fear. Why am I able to do this…?
Demon buried his hands in his stomach, hiding them from the cold and from anyone’s sight.
