Magic of the Four Elements~Chapter 8

Chapter 8

As the man looked up into her face, her eyes widened in recognition. “Wait a minute…I’ve seen you somewhere before….”

The man gulped, his breathing audible. “Yes, you have. At the herb shop. I’m a friend. Remember, I helped you last night?”

Alexandra relaxed her grip. “Yes, you did,” she acknowledged. In an instant, her eyes became hard and cold, fury filling them; she pressed the dagger harder against his neck, causing it to break skin and bleed a little. She put her face close to his. “What the heck did you do to me?” she hissed.

“I assure you, it was completely necessary—”

“What. Did. You. Do. To. Me?” she hissed again. Her teeth were beginning to ache from clenching them so hard.

A man behind them bellowed a laugh. Leaning down, he put his arm around Alexandra’s waist, lifting her off of Marcus and grabbed her wrist that held the dagger. Glaring, she looked up at him. Gaping, she saw that he was not human, but an elf! He had long white hair tied back into a tight braid, high cheekbones and bright blue eyes with pointed ears.

Still smiling, he grabbed both of her wrists and put them in one large, delicate hand. He reached around in front of her and put two fingers above her left breast, where her heart was. As she tried to break free from his grasp, he pulled her closer so his lips were by her ear. “Elanguesco, my deliciae,” he whispered soothingly. “Elanguesco, consido addico, enim eccere cautus.” Then he muttered something in her ear. Alexandra’s muscles relaxed so that she could barely move on her own, and the elf sat down and repositioned her onto his lap. He turned her head and examined her face. “So, you’re Alexandra, hmm? Nice clothes. Aren’t they a bit big for you, though?”

“Thanks,” said Marcus as he got up off of the dirt. “They’re mine, by the way. No reason to thank me for it; I have plenty.” He dusted off his clothes and put a finger to his cut, checking to see how much it was bleeding.

Oh, not again! I’m getting sick and tired of this. “What in the world did you do?” Alexandra asked the elf frantically. “And how do you know my name?”

“Just a little spell; it’ll wear off in a couple of seconds. Everyone knows about you. News travels fast around here, even though the camp is so big. You’re kind of feisty, aren’t you? A real proeliator. I was afraid you were going to cut him up. I don’t blame you, though, considering you were kidnapped in the middle of the woods and taken to a rebel camp.”

“What?!”

“I think I should be the one to tell her why she’s here,” said Marcus. He pulled Alexandra off of the elf’s lap. “Thank you, Essedarius, for calming her down.”

“No problem, Marcus. It was fun. We’ll practice our fighting skills later, okay, deliciae?” Essedarius said to Alexandra as he got up. He walked away, waving goodbye behind him.

Alexandra turned to Marcus and took a deep breath, clearing her head. “Okay, start explaining. You know who I am, so who are you? And what did you do to me last night?”

Marcus sighed. “How many of the other Elements have you seen?”

Alexandra was taken aback. “Element?” she laughed. “What makes you think I’m an Element? Besides, you still haven’t answered my question. So tell me.”

Marcus ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s go somewhere where we’ll have some privacy.” Marcus grabbed her by the wrist and led her towards the edge of camp. Just as they passed a large tent, a woman exited it. “We’re going to the swimming hole. We’ll be back soon,” Marcus said to the woman as they passed by.

“Wait, Marcus.” She said. Her orange-red eyes were full of concern and curiosity. He turned to look at her. “What happened to your neck?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’ll see you later.”

Marcus led Alexandra deeper into the woods, taking twists and turns. “Will you tell me what’s going on, please?” Alexandra asked.

“Let’s wait until we get to the water hole, okay?” said Marcus. Once they finally got there, Marcus let go of Alexandras’ arm and sat down on a rock near the edge of the water, while Alexandra stood with her hands on her hips. “So, in answer to your questions, my name is Marcus. I already know the Elements by name, but not by face. When I heard who you were and who Sara was at the shop a couple of weeks ago, well….” Marcus scratched the back of his head. “I was just glad I wouldn’t have to search for the other Elements anymore. Also, I made you black out last night by taking part of your soul and putting it into me. I didn’t quite recognize you last night; it was too dark, and there was little light to see by. I thought a civilian had discovered my—our—secret. However, when I saw that your soul was blue, I knew it was you, but it was too late to put it back because it had already gone into me. It’s too dangerous to put a soul back in right after it’s taken out. Regular people’s souls are white, and ours are the colors of our elements. The water I gave you had a muscle relaxer in it—it was to make sure neither of us got injured in the process of removing part of your soul. Oh, and hey; I’m sorry I got so close to you last night,” Marcus apologized. His face turned beet red. “I couldn’t exactly see; it was a complete mistake.”

“Oh, uh, that’s okay,” Alexandra replied, blushing. “I completely understand.”

“Okay, so, now it’s my turn.” He hastily went on. “How many of the other Elements have you been acquainted with?”

“Both of them—Sara is my roommate, along with Cadmus and Suoh, and Makani is the Prince of Ganston.”

“Ah, good. I didn’t quite know how to get close to the Prince without intruding, and Kaida has her orders; we weren’t supposed to be introduced yet until the time came that we had to fight. And well, here we are.”

“So, what’s up with this rebel camp of yours? Does anybody know about it?” Alexandra asked while sitting down on the grass, more relaxed.

“Other than the King, no. The rebel camp is a force that wants to fight Lord Hecates and his men. The King doesn’t want any of his knights or Guards to fight him, because if word gets out that King Robert is sending a strong and trained militia containing humans, centaurs, elves, and the four Elements, Lord Hecates will be sure to have his guard up and will be waiting for us, or worse—attack us when we’re unprepared. And if that does happen, we’ll need the knights and the Guards to defend the towns and the castle as best as they can. We already know that the camp is ready and willing to fight—the only question is, will you be willing?”