Preface
“The children are gone Cisne,” Verdo said, bowing to a woman in silver. Cisne fiddled with her blond braid and sighed. She walked around the green clearing, humming a tune. Her lips slowly began to move and the words flowed from her mouth.
Tredecim annus,
They ero subpono
Incendia , Unda , Sero , quod Glacies,
Ero recidivus
Thirteen Years
They will be forgot
Fire, Water, Plant, and Ice,
Will return
Verdo slowly began singing along, tears runninng down her cheeks. She felt warm arms wrap around her and saw her sister, Ozean, tears filling her eyes as well. Ozean stroked Verdo’s auburn hair in a comforting matter, but it did little to stop Verdo’s tears.
Two other women slowly appeared. Silver hair perched on one’s shoulders, and her eyes were so blue they were almost like ice. The second had firey red hair licking her neck like flames. Her bright blue eyes were like flames in the darkness.
Ozean and Verdo slowly walked over to the other two, who were embracing. They threw their arms around them and they all fell to their knees, tears overwhelming them. Ozean’s hasty blond bun quickly undid itself, drooping down her back as the women cried. Cisne fiddled with her braid, tears rolling down her own cheeks. A gentle whisper rang through the air, coming from her slightly parted lips, “Ero recidivus…”
Chapter 1
“Ah! Finally, summer vacation starts on Friday!” Ember said, plopping down on the still brown grass of their school’s football field.
“I know!” Lilly replied, laying on the grass next to her best friend. “I’m so happy that we will be going to summer camp together again.”
“Yeah, and it should be way better than last year’s soccer camp.” Lilly’s twin sister Rosalie laid down next to them. Them all aligning in a row. Memories of soccer camp the summer before flooded back to their minds. Mainly it was images of Ember getting hit by the soccer balls and running into the goal’s poles.
“Mmm,” Ember sighed, turning to lay on her back and closing her eyes. The sun was bright and the scent of summer was in the air. Bzz, Bzz, Ember’s eyes peeked open and she saw before her a furry body perched on a dandilion. “Look, its Mr. Bumblebee,” Ember laughed.
“Hey look! It’s Mr. Right!” Lilly smirked and she gestured towards her left. Ember looked and rolled her eyes, her cheeks flaming red.
“Oh shut up,” Ember said. “You’re just jealous because he called me adorable, unlike my cousin…”
“Oh whatever. I told you, I am over him…for now.” Lilly smirked, winking her left eye.
“Mm-hm, sure,” Rosalie replied. She picked up a few strands of grass and quickly began tying them together in knots.
“Heads up!” a voice called and Ember quickly looked to the sky in time to see a Gatorade bottle soar over their heads, blue raindrops barely missing them. Ember turned and saw him, Mr. Right.
“Sorry ‘bout that!” he said, walking over to them.
“Oh, no problem.” Ember smiled, feeling that she was still intact. She was surprised that she hadn’t melted like the Wicked Witch of the West.
“Are you sure you didn’t get anything on your polo?” he asked, looking quite concerned.
Ember nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Okay. I’ll…talk to you next period then?”
“Yeah! English…fun fun…” Ember grinned as wide as the Cheshire Cat when she said that. English was her favorite subject, and today was Creative Writing Day, her favorite day of the week.
“Yeah, see ya!” her crush said, sprinting off to join his best friend Caleb and Jake near the basketball court.
“Oh, you dog!” Lilly said, slapping Ember on the back. But Ember could barely feel the slap. She was still under Ashton’s spell.
“Hello? Ember…Ember!” Lilly’s voice knocked her out of her trance.
“Hmm what?”
“You were staring at Ashton again,” Rosalie said. She quickly stood up. “Hmm, maybe I should work some of my magic.”
“Don’t. You. Dare.” Ember’s eyes narrowed as she looked from her friend to her crush. She knew that if her friend even attempted to ask Ashton out for her she would never be able to talk to him again without his friends teasing her.
Rosalie’s green eyes danced with laughter and she slowly began sauntering towards Ashton. “La, la, la,” she sang sweetly and innocently.
Ember pulled herself to her knees, receiving a grass stain on her khaki uniform pants. She rolled her eyes, saying, “great…Hopefully mom can get this out.” She slowly stood up and with Lilly behind, began stalking Rosalie ever so carefully. As she ran silently on tiptoe she caught Ashton staring at the friends’ odd formation.
“Rawr!” Ember cried, pouncing on Rosalie. The two girls rolled on the grass letting out yowls of protest. Cheers of victory and laughter escaped their lips as they rolled along, gaining smears of green across their uniforms.
“Ouch!” Ember shouted as she rolled onto blacktop, rocks sticking to the back of her neck. She quickly brushed them off, leaving small dents into the fair skin.
Ember looked up and saw Ashton, Caleb, and Jake were cracking up, their eyebrows raised. Ember rolled her eyes and quickly stood up, that was when she realized the big green spot on her butt. “Shoot,” she said and slowly walked to the wall of the school.
Her friends laughed and stood by her, slowly sinking to the cement. “That’s embarassing,” Ember said, her eyes wide. “Hopefully he won’t see it next period.
“Yeah, good luck.” Rosalie laughed, rolling her eyes.
“Oh you better not say anything.”
“Ember, you sit right behind him, you know that right? Or are you too busy thinking about him that you totally forgot about him being in the room?”
“Whatever,” Ember replied.
* * * *
Ember shuffled into the English classroom, taking her seat in the back by the window overlooking the front lawn and field full of purple flowers beyond.
“I’m here guys! Don’t worry, I didn’t abandon you!” Ashton said, sauntering into the room. Ember could feel the heat in her cheeks rising as he took his place behind her. She self-conciously leaned forward, careful not to let her strawberry blond hair lay on his desk, not that it was long enough, but maybe it just looked…bad.
“Don’t you get tired sitting like that?” he asked.
“Sitting like what?” Ember replied, stiffening.
“Hunched over?” Ashton said, his lips curving up into a smile.
“Oh, yeah, I mean. But its not that bad!” Ember said, biting her lip.
“Why don’t you lean back?” Ember felt him put his hands on her shoulders, pulling her back into the chair. Her blue fire eyes widened, she quickly blinked, but it didn’t rid her of the happiness dancing in her eyes.
Suddenly, the loud, obnoxious bell rang and Ashton quickly removed his hands as Ms. Hamilton walked in, swishing her black hair over her shoulder. The class was still erupting with chatter as she sat down at her computer.
Ember looked behind her to have her gaze locked with Ashton’s. He winked his left eye and she turned around, trying not to let out a sigh that was too loud.
“Today is the last creative writing day of the year, sad, right?” Ms. Hamilton asked, her eyebrows frowning along with her lips.
“Yeah, totally devastating,” Ashton said, along with a few other goofballs in the classroom. The whole class suddenly bubbled with laughter, along with many eyeballs rolling in the back of their heads, including Ms. Hamilton. It was really great when she was in a good mood, which could, but didn’t happen very often.
“Since today is the last Creative Writing Day, you’ll be writing a story,” Ms. Hamilton pulled up the projector screen, revealing the whiteboard that was filled with beginnings, climaxes, and endings in faded red marker.
Ms. Hamilton began drawing squiggles connecting the beginnings to the rest, and Ember was quickly yawning. Her English teacher’s voice was becoming a slur as she started to rest her eyes…
“Now get to writing!” Ember’s neck snapped up and she looked around, seeing a few of her classmates snickering, along with the one who sat directly behind her. She quickly pulled out a piece of lined paper and her pencil that had recently been chewed on by her own pearly whites.
Once upon a time, in a kingdom far far away, there lived a princess. But this wasn’t any ordinary princess, she was Lilian, Princess of the Elves.
“Goodness, I’ve been watching too much Lord of the Rings,” Ember said.
“At least you can think of something aside from Hobbits,” Allie, the girl sitting next to Ember said.
Ember laughed, “I’m on the verge of writing about a hobbit who lived in a hobbit hole.”
“So original Ember,” Ashton replied, laughing.
“Oh my crap! You have super good handwriting!” Ember exclaimed, gazing at Ashton’s firm hand moving the pencil across the blue and white sheet.
“What?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “My handwriting sucks, I don’t know what you’re seeing.”
“Psh, whatever. My handwriting is so bad, it is small, then big, then small again,” Ember giggled. Ashton smiled, raising an eyebrow.
Ms. Hamilton cleared her throat and Ember snapped back around, her thoughts pouring onto the paper, and now, not even Ashton could distract her.
* * * *
The woman’s lips pressed against the soft head of the baby girl. A smile appeared on the woman’s face as she saw her daughter’s strawberry blond hair already sprouting from her pale scalp.
She looked down at the baby, a tear splatting on the child’s face. The child’s eyes opened, revealing a bright blue iris that was like a fire burning brightly. The girl cocked her head, looking up at her mom. But she didn’t cry, instead, she reached out her stubby hand, and took her mom’s finger in her own.
“Mama?” the little baby gooed.
“Yes baby, mama’s here.” Tears began to stream down the young mother’s face. The blue fire eyes locked, and stayed that way for a matter of minuets. “I love you,” the mom whispered. “I love you so much, my darling Ember.”
“Vulkun, we need to go,” a voice in the darkness said. A gentle hand grabbed Vulkun’s wrist and slowly lead her away from the doorstep.
“Goodbye baby,” Vulkun murmered. “Goodbye, my Ember.”
“Okay! We have a few minuets to share what we’ve written,” Ms. Hamilton swished her ebony hair over her shoulder again, looking at Ember, who was still writing furiously. “Who would like to share?”
A sea of hands went into the air, but Ms. Hamilton still looked at Ember’s hand, which was still clasped around her pencil. “Miss Ember! Would you like to share what you’ve written?”
Ember jolted up, her blue eyes wide. “Umm, its not finished…”
“That’s okay, why don’t you just read what you have?”
Ember slowly stood up shakily and walked to the front of the classroom, her paper in her hand. She looked at her audience, her eyes locking on Ashton, but she quickly looked down at her paper, blushing.
Her lips slowly began moving, then they went faster. Her story poured from her mouth. She looked up every seconds only to see everyone staring at her, she had her audience hypnotized.
When she finished, she looked into the audience, to find they were applauding. As she walked to her seat, her head bowed slightly and her cheeks flaming red she felt Ashton pat her back. “Good job, how’d you come up with that?”
“Well I…” she began, but then her mind suddenly went blank. She blinked, staring at the paper where her writing stated the story. “I, don’t know…” she looked into Ashton’s eyes. “I really don’t know.”
