For the forth year, I awake hoping that I’d be in the warm log cabin. I hoped to smell my mother’s cooking. To see my window open and hearing the birds singing their songs. But every morning , I wake in the presence of the orphanage which I dread. My bed is not comfortable and I most certainly do not hear birds cherping. They’ve probably flown away by now, in horror of the city.

There are no trees in sight for miles. This makes me realize how spoiled I was when I lived out in the forest. I always had everything that I needed. It always makes me cry to think that once long ago, I thought I lived a horrible life. But look at me now.

I see both of my roommates still curled up in their beds. The small window that we do have is not full of light. It must be early. But I have already done so much thinking. There is no way I could go back to sleep now. I turn my body to face the ceiling, but there is nothing to look at. The room I stay in is white. Everything is white. The drawers that I put my clothes in, the desk that I do my school work on and even my bed frame.

I dive under my blanket and take out my most prized position. My necklace. Mother gave it to me before she passed away five years ago. I always wondered why she never said to show it to anyone. I obeyed her anyway. I feel it’s rough surface again. It reminds me of everything about that day. The dimly lit room and my floral dress. My mother’s lifeless body flashes across my mind.

The other girls create a rustling sound. They must be awaking. I touch my necklace one last time and come up from under my blanket. By the time I look up, everyone is leaving the room. I wondered what time it must be.

It was then I realized that I had to get downstairs for breakfast. I take off my white nightgown and put on my orphanage uniform. When I enter the hallway, I glace into some of the other rooms and realize that I am the only one not at breakfast. This confuses me, because when I awoke everyone else was asleep. Something was seriously wrong.

When I enter the dining room, I glance around for Ms. Robinson. She is nowhere to be found. I look down the two incredibly long tables for an open seat. There is one spot left at the very end of the second table. It is nicely set with silver where and a glass filled with milk. The bread and jam lay on the plate as if they are waiting for me to come and eat it. I quietly sneak over, trying not to be seen. When I approach my spot, I sit down cautiously. I had not been seen or at least, that’s what I thought.

I hear footsteps behind me. My fingers started to shake. I could feel her breath along my neck. She was going to jump out and attack me at any second.

“Liesl!” Ms. Robinson screams, “Why are you late for breakfast?”

I turn around to see her smiling evilly at me, as if she had planned this all along. Her black hair made a shadow cast upon her eyes. I looked at all of the girls who had stopped in mid bite. I knew this was not going to end well.

“I was just sleeping mam. I swear that I’ll never be late for breakfast again!” I cried.

“Oh Liesl.” Ms. Robinson said. “That’s what you say every time you get into trouble and every time you do the same thing once more. You are going down to the cellar.”

I couldn’t believe my ears! The cellar was said to be the worst place on the face of the earth! There was a rumor around saying that if you went into there, you never came out. My heart was pounding hard inside my chest. I had only been late for breakfast once before. That’s on a long line of things I’ve done on accident of which she’s blamed me for. It was as if she was framing me, like she had magical powers or something. That would be impossible.

“ No!” I screamed “ Please! Don’t take me there! You can do anything but that! Please.”

But of course, they took me down anyway. Down to the basement of the orphanage, were all of the bad kids go. I could just hear the whip they used crack, even though the air was silent. I was thrown into the cell where three other girls lay there, soundless. The doors came to a shattering close and then the click of the lock. I was trapped forever.

The cellar was only lit by a single window that hung high above our heads. The walls were made of stone. There were piles of hay scattered inside the room. It was like I was in jail. I put my head in my hands and wept. What else was there to do? My life felt like it was ending. There was no more use of me being here. I would much rather die. But then, I looked at my necklace and dried these tears. My mother would have wanted me to be strong.

All I did for what seemed like forever was look at my necklace, hoping it was some magical key. But there was no hope. Magic wasn’t real. I had learned that a long time ago when my mother was trying to get me out of a tree. I jumped, thinking that something would catch me. But I fell and broke my arm. Lesson learned.

I heard some of the hay on the ground rustle and looked up. The two girls sleeping in the corner arose rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. The first girl awoke and looked straight at me. I smiled and waved, hoping that the dark would conceal my tear filled eyes. She waved back at me.

“Hi!” said the girl, “ I’m Kiona and the is Idalia”

Kiona gestured toward the blonde girl to her right. They both looked worn and tired. Their clothes were filthy with the dirt from the ground. Idalia’s bare feet were scarred and full of blisters.

“I‘m Liesl,“ I say, trying to be social. We might as well learn to like each other.

We all talked about how I ended up in this orphanage and if I had ever been considered for adoption. After we wore those subjects out, we talked about the stupidest things. I learned that these girls were desperate for entertainment by the way they asked me questions. It must be very boring down here. There was nothing, of what I could see, to do.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a third girl emerge from the darkest part of the room. She didn’t look very much like a girl. More like a ghastly being. She had unruly black hair which came down to her waist. Once she looked up at me, I saw her eyes. It looked as if they were on fire. They look almost fake. Her skin was pale and she had a deep gash in her right cheek that looked as dark as the night.

The girl spoke, “I know you.”

My heart went into instant panic. She glared at me.

“From where?” I asked, my voice shaky.

Kiona and Idalia rolled their eyes and shook their heads.

“Don’t be afraid of her. That’s Charlette. Though be careful: she gets angry very easily,” Kiona says.

“Shut up,” Charlette said back at her in disgust.

I glare at Charlette trying to stare her down. But it’s no use; her eyes bother me.

“What do you want?” I ask her.

Charlette grabbed me with her lukewarm hand and dragged me into the dark corner she had emerged from. It was almost concealed from the rest of the room. A warm fire was burning here, which I had not seen before now. The flames make me feel warm in such a cold environment. I look into Charlette’s eyes again. The flames within them seemed to have died down now that she is near the fire. Her hair seemed to be charred at the ends as if she was always close to the fire.

“Have you ever wondered if there were other worlds that are unseen?” Charlette says in a voice so soft that I can hardly believe it’s the same person.

I shudder at the thought of it. My mother always said that if someone tried to convince me of such things I should tell her. I remember the day she drove us into town and showed me the mad house. She told me that this was where people go if they have hallucinations and talk about funny things. This house scared me out of my mind.

“That’s silly. There can’t be such a thing,” I say quietly, a bit nervous of how Charlette will react.

“But it’s true,” she says, “There are people living among you that belong to these worlds and you don’t even know it.”

“That’s impossible,”

“You’re necklace,” she says eerily tilting her head slightly sideways, “where did you get that?”

“No where.”

Charlette rises from her sitting position. I rise with her, thinking we’re leaving. But she then walks toward me slowly. I back away from her, but hit the wall. She has me cornered. She reaches out and runs her fingers though my hair.

“Tell me where you got the necklace,” she repeats softly.

“My mother. She gave it to me after she died,” I say, too frightened to keep my mother’s promise.

Charlette backs away slowly.

“I thought it was you,” she says, “You’re the one.”

I make a run for it. I’ll admit it; Charlette frightens me. She’s been in the cellar way too long. I think that the lack of sunlight is finally getting to her. Then, I find myself curious. I turn around to face Charlette.

“What is the one?” I ask.

“You are an immortal being with magical powers,” Charlette says, “Your mother was one too.”



“ That’s impossible. My mother wasn’t immortal! She died right before my very eyes!” I cry, finally drawing the line saying that this was the end of our conversation.

Just thinking about my mother made tears rush down my face. She never did tell me anything. We hardly knew each other’s full names! Some hunch told me that Charlette might have been right. What if I did really belong somewhere? What if I had magical powers and could live forever? But I shook the feeling off.

“You’re telling a lie.” I screamed .”It is impossible.”

My heart was pounding. The nerves in my body were jumping inside my skin. I run away quickly, in fear that she would corner me again.
*





*





*

I had been in the basement of the orphanage for so long, I didn’t know how much time had passed. Most of the time, I seemed to be sleeping, or staring blankly at the wall. Charlette has not bothered me in a while. To be quite honest, I wasn’t sure if she was even in existence anymore, for I never saw her.

I seemed to be getting older. My shoes were now too small for me, so I wored none. My orphanage uniform skirt that was once to my knees was too small for me, so I had to wear a new skirt that one of the other girls had provided to me. I was covered in dirt and bits of hay from the night before. My life couldn’t possibly get any worse.

Now, my roommates and I almost never spoke to each other. No one new had come down to join us. It seemed it was just the three of us. We were all quite bored with each other, for there was nothing to talk about. This made us fight over the littlest things like whether this was her sleeping spot or mine.

Idalia had gotten a terrible sickness and was taken up to the hospital wing. She hadn’t returned, so we assumed that she was gone. Kiona kept to herself most of the time. We never disturb each other. I had lots of time to think. Especially about what Charlette had told me.

One day, the door leading to the cellar creaked open. I feel as if I haven’t heard that sound in a thousand years. As I peer at the door, I see Ms. Robinson holding a small suitcase. She tramples down the stairs and looks me straight in the eye.

“Liesl,” Ms. Robinson said, “Go upstairs and bathe. You are being adopted tomorrow.”

I couldn’t believe my ears! I was finally taking a shower! As I ran up the stairs, I imagined the warm water running down my back. When I reached the doorway, I look around. I find myself in the hallway that leads to the powder rooms. As I rush in this direction, other girls stare at me as if I’m a circus attraction.
*





*





*

The next day, I was put on an orphan train that would take me where I would live. Finally my life would be better. I could imagine coming home from school and being greeted at the door with warm smiles and loving arms. My new school would be beautiful and I would make lots of friends. Everyone would like me.

I stare out the window at the beautiful city. Maybe my new family lived in one of these buildings. I hoped they would be rich and could provide for me without worry of money. They could even buy me things that I wanted for Christmas and my birthday.

Soon, the bright smile on my face fell when I saw the cornfields passing by my window. It seemed that the family that was adopting me lived on a farm. They probably just needed someone else to help with the chores. I slouched in my seat and exhaled deeply. My eyes fell to the floor.

Soon, the train came to a quick stop. The person over the intercom announced the names of the people leaving.

“Julia Bransford, Liesl Brown…”

I let out a deep sigh and climb off of the train. My eyes scan across the horizon of the farmers desert. I know that I should be thankful, but somehow I’m not. Something inside me didn’t feel right. It was like I was walking into a human death trap. A boy a bit younger then me approached. He looked up at me closely.

“Are you Liesl?” he asks curiously.

“Yes, I am,” I say, unsure.

He turns around and beckons his parents who come up behind him. A black bearded man and an elegant, auburn haired lady. They both looked like farm people. The man was in a plad shirt and the woman in dusty jeans and a big tee shirt.

“ Hi,” says the boy, “ I’m Jon. Follow us to the car.”

“ I’m Liesl.” I said quietly, staring at my battered shoes.

Jon’s mother leads use to a fire engine red pick-up truck. He hops into the back and I do the same. Before we know it, the engine is running and we’ve taken off. The summer breeze embraces my face. I close my eyes and enjoy the beautiful weather. It was then that I realized that I am very lucky to have new parents. At least I won’t ever have to see Ms. Robinson again.

Jon opens the door to a red barn. The clucking of the chickens is almost unbearable. I feel a look of doubt cross my face. There was no way I was sleeping in a barn. I grip the suitcase even tighter in my hands. The rough, leathery handle is just enough to remind me that I should be happy about this.

“You’ll be sleeping in the loft” Jon said “ There isn’t any room in the house.”

“ Oh!” I cried trying to sound excited “I get my own room!”

I entered the barn and scanned the room. There wasn’t a bed or anything to sleep on. I knew I was going to be sleeping on hay again. But then, I saw a small latter over to my right which led to an upstairs floor. I bounded up the latter of which lead to a little room with a bed with a brown quilt on top. The floor was wooden and there was a little chest with drawers to put my things in. It was a nice little place and though it was above a barn, it was very quiet. A window was placed on the wall next to my bed. It let in lots of light and a beautiful view.

I opened the window a gazed outside. My eyes felt like they could see past the rolling hills into another world far away. Birds perch in the trees and I longed to join them. But I knew I could tear my tights, so a sadly back away from the window. I needed to stop imagining thing.

I threw my suitcase on the bed and unpacked my things. Ms. Robinson had provided me with some more clothes. I fingered through them. Most of them were jeans and tee shirts. It was as if she knew I was living on a farm. Then, I finally reached the things that I was familiar with. My feed sack nightgown and my necklace. I felt the rough wood again and remembered Charlette. The poor girl was probably off to a mental asylum by now.

At the bottom of my suitcase, I noticed a small piece of paper. I don’t remember having a piece of paper in my bag before. The parchment was yellowing as if it were one hundred years old. I unfolded it. The manuscript was lovely. It was a letter; to me.

“Dear Liesl,

I am writing to you because you are in grave danger. It is too much to tell you everything there is to know, but you will find out soon, I promise. You are turning thirteen in two days. That is when all elementalists unleash their powers. You must run away from the farm at midnight on October 31. The people you are staying with are bloodthirsty killers. Run north. Someone will meet you halfway between this world and the next. Whatever you do, always remember who you are. You are a true elementalist.









YOU WILL BE SAFE SOON!






Your Mentor

I stare blankly at the paper, quite puzzled at this note. I am not sure if this is some kind of gag or if this “trainer” was actually a real person. My eyes wander to my necklace laying on my bed. What is this whole “magical being” thing was actually true? I shake my head. It was silly of me to be thinking of such things. There was no such thing as magic. I toss the note onto my bed and go to join my new family.

I rush outside of the barn and cross the patch of dirt to get into the house. My feet are cramping inside my shoes which are way too small for me. I reach down and unbuckle the right shoe. Then, I do the same to the other. Before I know it, all I’m wearing is my dress and my smile. As I run towards the house, I feel the rocky earth beneath my bare feet. I have never felt so free in my life.

Once I reached the house, I peered in the window. The family was talking in hushed voices. I walked towards the door and listened closely.

“I can destroy her by morning master! Just give me time,” I hear Jon say.

“I want her gone now. Every minute we wait, there is more of a chance of her discovering who she truly is. I order you to go and kill her,” the father says.

Here we go with who I truly am again. I walked back over to the window and peered in. But what I saw scared me. It scared me enough to the point that I believed that I really was an “elementalist”.

I saw Jon, but he looked much older. His hair had become black and his skin paler then the moonlight. Jon’s arms were no longer those of a little boy, but those of a man. They were strong and muscular. I had no doubt that he could snap me in half. His mother and father had changed drastically too. They all looked like terrible, bloodthirsty monsters. All of their eyes were red. I resisted the urge to give in to the whole elementalist thing, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t know what to believe anymore.

If the people who adopted me wanted to kill me, then my only hope was to follow my mentor’s advice and run north. I don’t know where I’ll go, but suddenly, I have a feeling of hope. The only place I know I’ll be safe is with my mentor.

I walk barefoot back to my room at the top of the barn and sit at my window. Thoughts run through my mind that frighten me. But for once since my mother died, I feel brave.



The next morning was the morning of October 30. I had a big night ahead of me. I am not sure if I would risk anything by eating breakfast with my family. But I decide to eat anyway. I didn’t have anything for dinner last night, and I couldn’t be strong on a n empty stomach. I wandered out of the barn and made it to the kitchen table before collapsing of tiredness. It was then that I realized I wasn’t wearing any shoes. I hoped that I wouldn’t get scolded for it. But what can I say. I’m living on a farm now.

The smells of breakfast made its way to my nose from the stove. The scent was unfamiliar to me. It was unlike anything I had ever had for breakfast before. I turned to see the mother with Jon. Just looking at them made me get chills up my spine.

“ You got lucky! The pigs grew fast this year, they’ll make good bacon!” Jon said.


I felt color come to my face. Though I never have had bacon before, I had heard wonderful things about it. I took a seat at the table cautiously, unsure of how they were going to kill me. The platter was placed in front of me. I could smell the sizzled, warm bacon. It was hard to think about running away. But I now need to assume that everyone is my enemy.

I picked up a strip of red, greasy bacon and popped it into my mouth. As I bit down, juice burst from it, making my taste buds dance like there’s no tomorrow. I felt as if I had just been exposed to something more amazing then heaven. Except instead of golden streets and angels, this heaven had everlasting bacon.

Jon looked up from his platter and smiled at me. I looked down at my plate trying to avoid eye contact with any of them. I would never forget the bloodthirsty beast I once saw. The image was forever engraved in my mind.

After breakfast, Mrs. Shamons came with a pair of overalls for me. I had never seen uglier clothes in my life! Why would they ever make me wear something like that? I went back out to the barn and to my room to change into the overalls. After I slipped them on, I looked into the window to see my reflection staring back at me. I didn’t look like myself anymore. I looked like a girl who had never lived in civilization. A girl who had only seen the woods.
*





*





*

Who knew that a simple chore like getting a bucket of water could go so wrong. The bucket was just too heavy and I slipped. All of the water spilled on Jon, who looked at me furiously. I sat on my bed and cried until there were no tears left. I am left to wonder why these bloodthirsty monsters didn’t just kill me right then.

The sun had fallen down in the sky. I glanced out my window to see the sun setting just behind the trees. Purples, oranges and pinks were painted on natures palette. I never knew that I could miss a sunset so much. Especially from being in the cellar of that orphanage for so long.

Six more hours until I could leave this terrible place. A yawn escaped my mouth and I laid my head down on my bed.

The dream I had was unlike any dream I’ve ever seen. I was standing in the middle of the woods, alone. The frigid wind went right through the nightgown I was wearing. My feet were bare. The woods seemed to be sheltering me as if it was my home. I heard the croaking of the frogs and the sweet song of the crickets.

Suddenly, a rush of water came in and swept me away. My lungs felt as if they were burning. I was going to drown. My eyes set upon a light above me. I swam up to the surface. What I saw took my breath away.

I saw a boy about 12 years old. He had sandy blonde hair and a freckled face. I looked into his eyes and saw the angry ocean. It reminded me how Charlette’s eyes had looked like fire. He looked short for his age.

He spoke: “ Liesl! Wake up! You have to run now! Owen will wait for you and take you home.”

I arose with a start. The word “home” still rang in my ears. Still dazed by the dream, I looked out the window. The moon was high. It was time to run for my life. I quietly climbed down the latter from my loft one bar at a time. I prayed that my foot steps would not wake the animals. The second I stepped outside the barn I ran.

The trees from the nearby forest quickly passed me as I ran. As I got farther away from the farm, I ran faster until I couldn’t feel my legs. The earth pounds beneath my feet. All of the trees whiz by me faster then ever. This couldn’t be a possible human speed. I felt myself tiring just as I saw a boy. He was flying through the air. He wasn’t Andrew. I wondered who he must be. He had fiery red hair, and icy blue eyes, just like me.

He went out of sight right before I could cry out to him. I came to a stop and peered up into the trees to try and find him. He was perched up in an old oak tree, smiling down at me. His eyes were not as dark of a blue as Andrew. His were a sky blue. When I looked into them, I saw the sky on a cloudless day.

“Hello,” he said, “I’m Owen.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Liesl,” I say quietly, “are you going to take me to my trainer?”

Owen paused for a second and played with the zipper on his jacket.

“Well, that depends…”

“On what?” I say, eager to get some sleep.

“Are you alright with flying there?” he said, raising an eyebrow.

He jumped off of the branch he was sitting on and took off into the air. I groaned in frustration. I was alone again.

Then, my feet left the ground. I let out a starling scream. My stomach swooshed back and forth as we got higher. I shut my eyes.

“ Stop screaming jeez!” Owen yelled through the wind, “I might drop you!”

He laughed hysterically and then let go of me. I screamed in terror as I fell to the ground. It was all over now. I was falling from so high up in the air that the houses looked like ants. My body came to a halt. I opened my eyes slowly, and saw Owen holding me right above the ground.

“Never do that ever again,” I said, my voice shaky from the fall.

“Did you think that I would really let you fall?” he said reassuringly.

“I’m not sure of anything anymore,” I said.

He nodded and said, “We’re almost there. We’ll walk the rest of the way.”

I nodded, secretly thankful for this. Owen looked at me with his soft blue eyes.

“What exactly am I?” I said, “I’ve had mixed answers.”

Owen laughed at this statement and said, “I understand. So, where should we start?”

“Let’s start with you. Where do you come from and what are you? I must be the same.”

“You aren’t the exact same as me. It’s complicated, but I’ll try my best. I am an elementalist. This means that I have the power of one of the main six elements. My mother was one of the two original elementalists. She was elementalist of light,”

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“My older brother ran away when I was very young. I also had a younger sister who was kidnapped by the enemy. We haven’t seen either of them in over 12 years.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be.”

We walked along in silence. He seemed uncomfortable talking about his family. I felt bad for him. He’s lived a life full of sadness. I hoped that one day I would help him find his lost siblings. It’s the least I can do for him after he helped save me from my death.

Voices awoke me. My body felt stiff as if I were in a full body cast. I opened my eyes slowly. As I blinked to clear my vision, I noticed three people standing on the other side of the room. Something was being fussed about. I heard arguing and yelling, that sounded like a barn of chickens. I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, because my ears didn’t feel like listening. Suddenly, I heard a voice strong enough to make me sit up. What I saw was like a nightmare. The walls and everything in the room were totally white! It was like I was back in the orphanage.

“She is now awake. We must start explaining” a voice said over the silence.

The arguing started up again.

“Come on! Why do I have to go first?”

“Because I said so!”

“I call last!”

“No! That’s not fair!”

All of the voices were unfamiliar to be besides Owen’s. He ended up going first.

“Hello Liesl.” Owen said smiling “ As you already know, I’m Owen Destiny, elementalist of air. You are the elementalist of earth.”

I liked the sound of that. Earth. It made me feel strong and brave. Most of my life I had felt as if nature was my only friend. Now I know why. My mind goes back to when I used to wander off in the forest alone right before my mother died. I used to take a book with me and climb up into a tree and sit there for hours reading. I had always been good at climbing. Except for the time I broke my arm.

I noticed the necklace around Owen’s neck. It had the same butterfly shape as mine did. I turned my gaze towards my necklace, assuming that all the elementalists had one. I thought of my mother. Why didn’t she tell me? Did she not trust me? A slight breeze went through the room that blew my hair back.


He continued: “ Liesl, do you know what an elementalist is?” I shook my head no. “An elementalist is a combination of a human and an element like, duh!” he said as he rolled his eyes. “ Anyway, you are turning 13 tomorrow and that’s when all elemenatalists unleash their powers. This means that you look more like us.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, all of our eyes are more, full of life. They are animated. And Charlette’s hair catches on fire when she gets angry.” Owen says.

“Did you just say Charlette?” I asked, very frightened as to what was coming next.

“Okay, I’m sick of talking about this. Andrew, you continue.”

As Owen walked to the side of the room and another boy stepped up to the platform. He looked very much like the boy in my dream. I could see the water in his eyes.

“I’m Andrew Rose, elementalist of water,” he said, “When your powers are unleashed, you are put into a power proof room so no one gets hurt. Okay I have to say this.” he made a dramatic pause “Unicorns are awesome”

Charlette then stormed into the room. Her head was cocked to the side a bit as it always seemed to be. Her eyes were full of flames.

“Andrew! Shut up and stop making a fool of yourself!” she said harshly.

Andrew continued: “You will get a prophecy of your lifetime from Mrs. Destiny, who just so happens to be Owens mom!”

He stumbled off the platform cracking himself up. Charlette was chuckling a bit too. Owen on the other hand went up to Andrew and socked him in the arm. Andrew laughed even harder after that. When I looked back to the platform, Charlette was there. She then walked closer to me.

“Well don’t you look familiar!” she said sarcastically, “Who’s right, now? I told you so!”

“Charlette, lay off a little bit. She’s just getting used to this new super power idea,” Andrew said stiffly.

“ The reason you are here is to stop the power suckers,” Charlette said with a straight face.

I couldn’t help myself. I started laughing. Who would be stupid enough to name their group the power suckers? It sounded like it was made up of a bunch of kids. But no one else was laughing. Not even Andrew.

“Liesl,” Charlette says, staring at me creepily, “this is no laughing matter.”

I slapped my hand over my mouth and tried with all my might to stop giggling.

Charlette continued: “ It is our job to stop the group which is lead by our worst enemy, Heather Rose. We are trying to stop them from taking over the whole human race and we also need to save Veronica, elementalist of ice.”

There was a dead silence. It seemed to be a sore topic between Owen and Andrew.

“We really need to save her. My mother just couldn’t help but keep one of her children. I really miss Veronica. I wish I had done something as her older brother,” Andrew said quietly, “It’s all my fault.”

“No, it’s mine. I loved her too much,” Owen said, staring at his toes.

Brother and boyfriend. Those two boys had to have some tension between them. Then a girl about five years old stepped up to the podium. She had little Asian eyes and a face brighter then the sun. Though she was five, she seemed to have everything under control.

“I am Blisno, keeper of all the elements. I am your trainer,” she said

“Honey, I’m sorry but aren’t you a little young to be training me?” I ask, a bit confused.

Blisno walks straight up to me and says, “For your information Liesl, I am 374 and a half years old. Now you’d better get rid of that attitude or I will smash you into little pieces.”

I was completely taken back by this comment. I almost wanted to laugh, but I knew I couldn’t She must have some aging powers.

“Now Andrew, I would like you to give Liesl a tour of this place,” Blisno said as she inspected me.

“Yes Blisno,” Andrew said obediently.

Andrew grabbed my hand and led me out of the room. He first showed me the living room. I gasped in surprise when I saw the beautifully made chairs. There was one chair for each of the elements. I had a feeling that I would be spending a lot of time in this room. I admired the paintings on the walls also. Most of them were pictures of the same three girls.

The first girl was smaller then the others. She had beautiful red hair and pretty blue eyes, like Owen. The second, a lot taller. She had long black hair that came down to her waist. The last girl in the middle was Blisno. Her hair was pulled back in a pretty bun.

“Who are the other two girls? I asked.

“The shorter one is the elementalist of light. She’s Owen’s mother Mrs. Destiny. The other is my mother…Heather Rose,” he said darkly.

“Do they still have their powers?” I asked

“Heather does. But Mrs. Destiny gave hers up to save Blisno’s life about 100 years back,”

I walked away from the paintings slowly. Andrew then led me to the dining room, which was just down the hall. As soon as he opened the double doors leading to it, I almost fell on my face. It was the most beautiful room I had ever seen. The table was wooden with just enough seats to fit all of us plus two others. The chairs we sat in were made of a bright golden fabric. I felt as if I was a princess. It couldn’t possibly get any better.

Lastly, he took my to my room. I gasped in delight. The whole room was filled with a bunch of trees and bushes. The biggest tree that was growing right in the middle had a little tree house in it. I smiled and rushed over to the latter at the bottom so that I could climb up. Once I reached the top, I took a good look around. On the far end of the room was my bed with a floral blanket. There was a giant wardrobe to my side and lots of pictures of nature throughout the room. Andrew arrived moments later. We both sat on the bed next to each other.

“I didn’t know Charlette was an elementalist,” I said uncomfortably.

“Don’t mind Charlette,” Andrew replies, “After awhile, you grow to like her.”

“Why is she like that?” I asked, “I mean why is she so…creepy?”

“None of us really know, but the bits and pieces that we’ve heard is that she didn’t really grow up in that great of a place. Her father abused her. I think that’s why she’s…not always in the right state of mind.”

“Oh…” I said quietly, regretting my thoughts of her, “I didn’t know.”

“Liesl, there is something very important I must tell you. Each elementalist has a true name,” Andrew said

“What is that?”

“Well, a long time ago there was a prophecy about us. It gave the name of us, but they were different then what our parents named us. We call these names our true names. This is why it is engraved on the back of our necklaces.”

I looked at the back of my necklace and saw the name Annika. That makes a whole lot of sense.

“What’s yours?” I asked.

Andrew looked down at the glass necklace that he had and then looked up at me.

“Stephen,” he said solemnly.

I glance into the mirror at the dress that I had found in my wardrobe. The dress is a beautiful woodsy green that comes down to my ankles. It is sparkly from head to toe. When I look into the mirror, I don’t see myself. I see a princess from a fairytale. It made me feel different and unlike myself.

There is a knock at the door. It then opened and I turned around to see Blisno. She wore a puffy little rainbow dress with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

“You look beautiful,” she says, “Can I fix something?”

“Sure,” I say.

She comes up to me and opens her hand. Inside is a sphere of light. The sphere is green with butterflies and trees. It is the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen.

“What is that?” I ask.

Blisno that flings the sphere at my face and then smiles.

“Look for yourself,” she says smiling.

I look back into the mirror and gasp at what I see. My eyes sparkle with green and brown. This had to be too good to be true. Blisno looked at me though the mirror smiling.

“Why do we have to dress up when we unleash our powers?” I ask her, not that I was against it.

“Well, I really don’t know. It’s been a tradition ever since Charlette came. I always make your dress and then you wear it!” she says, “Come on now, we must get going.”

I followed her out of the room. We both walked down the hall outside of all our bedrooms. My hands were trembling at my sides. My whole life flashed before my eyes. I didn’t know what to expect. I was nervous that it would be painful.

All of the other elementalists waited outside the room at the very end of the hall. They were dressed nicely like I was. Once I came closer, I noticed Owen and Andrew’s mouths gaping open. Charlette stood there in her little black dress and stared at me like I had grown a second head.

“Don’t be nervous,” Andrew says, touching my arm, “It’s not all that bad.”

I give him a firm nod and then enter the double doors. In the room, the walls were completely white. There was no furniture or pictures on the walls. There was nothing. I walked to the middle of the room and stood there for what seemed like hours. Finally, it began.

I felt a sudden tug in my right arm. Then my left. I glanced down at my hands and cried out in horror. My fingers at become like tree branches. I moved my hands around to get a feel for them. Butterflies flew from my hair and landed upon the ground.

The floor began to grow a lush green grass. Animals began to appear out of nowhere. I had created my own wonderland. Trees popped up faster then squirrels ran to nuts.

Then, my vision blacked out and I felt a pulling sensation all over my body. I felt as if I was being tugged by my hands and feet in opposite directions. Once my vision returned to me, I was laying on the floor in the middle of the white room with nothing whatsoever in it.

But I felt different. I felt stronger and faster then before. My eyes were sharper. I was a different person. I was an elementalist. Blisno opened the door leading out into the hall. I stood perfectly still, admiring my surroundings.

I walked out of the white room and back into the hall where my other friends stood. They all looked over me. Charlette beckoned me to the restroom just down the hall. I followed her, wanting to see my reflection in the mirror. To see the new body I was trapped inside. She held the door open for me and flipped on the lights. I glanced over to the mirror.

At first, I could hardly recognize myself. My eyes had gone from a dull green to the brightest shade that you could possibly imagine. I ran my fingers though my hair, which had gone from a brownish red to a lively, fiery red. My eyes glanced down at my hands and bare arms and I gasped in horror. It looked as if I had been tattooed all over my body. The tattoos looked like butterflies and small flower buds popping out from the ground.

“Strange isn’t it?” Charlette says looking at me though the mirror, “But we all are marked for the horrible monsters that we are.”

Charlette’s body shimmers a bit, to reveal her set of tattoos. Hers are of flames and forest fires.

“We’re not monsters. We’re just different then humans,” I say.

“Anything that’s different then them is automatically defined as a monster,” Charlette replies firmly.

“Why do you have to be like that?” I cry.

“Be like what?” she asks leaning in closer to me.

“Like…creepy,” I respond backing away.

“And of course you are little miss perfect! You know, not everyone can be like you princess,” Charlette screams at me, “You didn’t experience what I did. You don’t know what it’s like to have a whole family that hates you!”

She kicked over the garbage can and stormed out of the room, tears dripping down her face. I put my head in my hands. What had I done? It was true: I didn’t understand what she was going though. But I wasn’t perfect either. No one is.

I followed after her down the hall, to the living room. In the corner sat a little fireplace that always seemed to be burning. Charlette sat down by the fire and stared into it.

“Charlette, I really don’t understand what you went though, but you could explain it to me, and I’ll do my best,” I say timidly.

The tears sliding down her face looked like small sparks that would burn my hand if I touched them.

“I don’t know why I feel like I need to tell you this, but here it goes,” she says, “ When I was about six years old, my parents noticed that something was different about me. They noticed the way fire burned from the tips of my hair when I got angry, or how the tears that I cried were sparks. My parents didn’t want anybody to see me, so they locked me up in my room upstairs. They never let me out. I couldn’t go to school or do just about anything. I would just sit there, feeling lonely.

“My parents would push meals under the door for me so that I could eat. To be quite honest, I don’t know why they even bothered keeping me. I didn’t understand why they had to torture me like this. That was the day I realized that they kept me because they were afraid of me. I was a monster.

“I smashed all of the windows. I was driven mad because I could not get outside or communicate with anyone. One day I just, burst. I couldn’t stand it anymore and I burnt the house down.

“After that, I took off into the woods. Blisno found me a couple months later on the side of the road and took me in. She tried to teach me how to communicate with people, but to this day I…I still have trouble,”

“Charlette, I’m sorry…”

“Yeah, whatever,”

Blisno burst through the door smiling.

“Dinner time!” Blisno cried. “We’re having a special dinner tonight for you Liesl!”

I got up from the position I sat in by the fire and walked back down the hall to the dining room. When I entered, I saw all of the elementalists sitting in their chairs. There was another girl standing up by my chair at the head of the table. She was about 14 with blonde hair wrapped in ringlets and sparkling purple eyes.

“Hi” she said “I’m Alex. This is Sam.” she gestured towards a girl looking similar to her with glasses. “ We’re witches. We are excited to be cooking for you!”

Sam threw the plates and folks magically into their places. Then cups came flying out of the kitchen with some drink I’ve never seen before in them. Alex and Sam left to the kitchen. I stood there in awe as my eyes followed them. My mother was wrong about magic.

For some reason, I got stuck at the weirdest spot at the table. It was right between Owen and Andrew. I shuffled uncomfortably in my chair.

Blisno looked down and smoothed her dress. She then told us the plans for the next day.

“Owen, you are to take Liesl to your mother’s house tomorrow so that she can read the prophecy. Charlette, afterwards you will train her for battle,” Blisno said

It seemed that tomorrow would be very busy. I looked around the table at all of the other elementalists. Owen had some very light tattoos on his face that seemed to glitter under the chandelier. I had never really noticed the tattoos before now. It must be my new eyesight. Andrew looked up at me smiling.

“You look lovely tonight,” he says, “Your Maletta really match your outfit.”

“What’s Maletta?” I ask.

He traces his index finger down my bare arm, curving as the tattoos curved.

“They’re like markings,” he says, “it just shows the world how special you are.”

He gives me a warm smile and then turns away. I liked the sound of that word.

Special.

Owen and I walked through a thick damp forest of trees. He’d told me earlier that it would be a bit of a longer walk. For the first fifteen minutes, we walked in silence. The trees in the forest seemed to surround us. Though I was completely lost, Owen seemed to know where he was going. He kept walking through the thick, damp wood.

As we wandered deeper into the woods, it seemed like the songs the birds were singing grew louder. I had a fear that something would jump out at me any moment now. But I also felt quite at home. Most of my stressful thoughts had pushed themselves to the back of my mind.

A little clearing finally appeared. We had made it to Mrs. Destiny’s cabin. The home was an odd little place. It almost looked abandoned. The wood was sagging as if it had been drenched in water. But at the same time, it looked like a home. All the way from the little flower garden to the little rabbit statue that stood outside the door.

Owen and I were in the middle of nowhere. Why would Mrs. Destiny choose to live in such an isolated place? Suddenly, the figure of a woman came out of the cottage. She looked up at me. No, I’m serious, she looked up at me. I mean, this lady was four foot six! And I always thought I was short for my age.

She had silver hair which was pulled back in a messy ponytail. Little spectacles sat on her nose which made it look like she was glaring at me. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not hide that twinkle in her eyes.

“So your Liesl” Mrs. Destiny said with a twinkle in her eye. “Owen has told me so much about you!”

Owen started making this strange gesture. He swiped his finger across his nose. His cheeks blushed a bright pink. Mrs. Destiny gave him a strange look and then invited us into the cottage for some milk and cookies. As she lead us inside, I noticed a small patch of red right below her ponytail. So that’s where Owen gets the red hair from! But what had happened to the rest of her hair?

The cottage was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Every corner and edge was filled with warmth and loving kindness. Family pictures were scattered along the walls. They must be a very strong family. The walls reminded me of my log cabin from home. But the inside of the house seemed larger then the outside. Mrs. Destiny had us sit down at a table sitting in the middle of the room.

The milk and cookies on the table sat there as if they were waiting for us. I lifted my glass and inspected the milk.

“So Liesl,” Mrs. Destiny said, “How much do you know about your mother?”

“ Not much mam. I almost never saw her.” I replied

“I knew your mother very well. We worked together on many different projects. She was a very kind lady. She loved you. She always said that when it was time for you to become and elementalist she wanted you to be safe when you came here,” Mrs. Destiny said.

My heart skipped a beat. Mother loved me? It had never seemed that way at home. She always seemed to be busy.

“How well did you know my mother?” I asked quietly.

“Let’s just say that I could’ve written a whole book about her. We were so close,” Mrs. Destiny says.

“Mother!” Owen started making the nose gesture again “Can we get to the prophecy please!”

“Boys!” Mrs. Destiny said. “They’re always embarrassed in front of girls!”

I giggled. Mrs. Destiny had a way to make people feel good. To feel at home. Most adults were the troubles of my life. Mrs. Destiny was a blessing. We sat there munching on milk and cookies.

It came time to see the prophecy. Mrs. Destiny lead us down a short hall and through a pair of double doors to a library bigger then you can ever imagine! Each and every shelf was filled with scrolls. Some seemed older then others. Some glowed beautifully in the dark room. Some were hidden in the shadows.

Mrs. Destiny pointed at the scroll which was in a glass container. She explained them: “This is the great prophecy. It has been in existence for over 1,000 years predicting the events of your battle with the power suckers,”

She opened the glass container slowly and lifted the scroll out. The paper made a strange noise as it unraveled in her palm. Mrs. Destiny handed it off to me cautiously. I lay my eyes upon the old piece of paper and read.
You will be sent to war to win
All of those with Maletta must battle
One life must be lost
and
One will stand among them all
As a hero
Blisno will be a leader
Maya Renee will be brave
Jacob will be tricky
Annika will be strong
Stephen will be powerful
Caroline will be intelligent

“Are you Jacob?” I ask, turning to Owen.

“Yes,” he replies, “I am.”

He looks down at the glass necklace around his neck. It reads the name “Jacob” in beautiful calligraphy. Mrs. Destiny plucks the prophecy out of my hand and puts it back into the glass container. I stood there, silently thinking to myself.

One of us has to die? I glanced nervously at Owen. What if it was me? I didn’t want anyone to die. It kills me inside to think about it.

“We really should be leaving. I’ll be home in a few hours,” Owen says quickly.

With that, Owen grabbed my arm and walked me straight out of the cottage. When we got outside, I snatched my hand out of his grasp.

“What WAS that back there?” I asked, “That thing you did with your NOSE?”

“I was just…embarrassed. That’s all,” he says quietly.

“Well there’s no need to be embarrassed. Your mother is very nice,”

We stand there in silence. You could’ve cut through the tension with a knife. Part of it was the dark prophecy hanging over our heads.

“It always makes me nervous when I hear about the death part of the prophecy, ” Owen says solemnly, “What if it’s me?”

“I’m sure it won’t be you,” I respond.

“One of us has to die, Liesl. You have to keep that in mind,” he says, “I couldn’t bare to loose you.”

We both stand there looking awkwardly at each other for moment. Then, he leaned in and kissed me. I pulled away quickly, full of shock. It was too fast. His kiss didn’t feel right to me.

“Don’t ever do that again. Do you hear me?” I scream, “Never!”

I look in the window to see Mrs. Destiny looking out at us. My cheeks burn with embarrassment. Mrs. Destiny gives me a firm nod, then walks away from the window. She was somehow pleased with my decision to deny Owen.
*





*






*

I followed Charlette through the dining hall, not quite sure where we were going. We stopped in the corner of the room where the china cabinet stood. Charlette turned the little brass knob to open the cabinet. She then took a plate with silver markings and turned it a certain way. Immediately, the china cabinet fell through the floor revealing a large metal door.

“This room is top secret. It contains all our battle plans and courses of combat” Charlette said.

We entered the room through the metal door. The impact of the room almost knocked me over. The room was high tech and equipped with every gadget and doohickey in the book. I didn’t even know some of the items existed! The walls were painted a navy blue and the floor was wooden.

“We first must scan you with a machine which will tell us your strength, weakness, and what level of combat you‘re on,” Charlette explained.

The machine they used to do this was basically a big metal box with no windows and one door. Fear rushed through me. What if I got stuck and couldn’t get out? Just then Blisno came into the room smiling at me. As soon as she saw my facial expression, her face fell. It was as if she could sense my fear. She walked up to me and touched my shoulder lightly.

“Don’t worry Liesl. It’s not as scary once you get in there,” Blisno says soothingly.

I nod my head and then walk into the metal box with my head high. My hands shook by my sides nervously. Suddenly, the machine started up with a thundering roar. It did a lot of scannings with a red beam running up and down my body. I inhaled deeply trying not to think about it. But with all of the events of the day, it was hard to relax myself.

Before I knew it, the door opened as Blisno stood smiling. She then beckoned for Andrew and told him to train me. He nodded in response. Andrew grasped my hand. It was surprisingly cold. But even though his hand was cold, I felt warm inside. It was like I had just come inside on a snowy day. It was strange, but amazing. I smiled as he dragged me along. Then, suddenly we stopped in front of a giant track course. I stood there dumbfounded, completely unaware of what else was going on.

“Earth to Liesl,” Andrew says as he waves his hand in front of my face.

I blink my eyes rapidly trying to erase the feelings I had for Andrew from my head. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t Maybe it was…meant to be. I stared at the track course. The hurtles seemed normal at first glance, but I took a closer look. Most of the hurtles looked as if they were on fire. My whole body shook.

“Don’t be nervous,” Andrew says, “It’s really not all that bad.”

I had to train or else I would be the one to die. I felt like this was just a big competition between all of the elementalists of who would make it to the end of the battle. It just couldn’t be me. I didn’t want to die.

“Alright,” I said, “I’ll do it.”

With that, I sped off down the course

Charlette and I sat at the dining room table. The room was so quiet that I felt as if our breathing echoed off the back wall. My thoughts turned to Andrew. His face…how it just looked so perfect every way that you looked at it. But what if he were to be the one to die? I couldn’t bare to loose him. I suddenly missed that feeling of warmth when Andrew was with me.

“Something’s wrong with you,” Charlette say while picking at some dirt at the bottom of her boot, “What is it?”

“What do you mean?” I reply.

“Oh come ON!,” she cries, “You haven’t said a single word to anyone since you got out of training.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,”

“NOTHING?” she screams, “Oh shut up. I know exactly what it is.”

“Alright. What is it then?”

Charlette steps up onto the dining room table and uses her soda can to make a heroic pose.

“You’re in LOVE!” she says suddenly moving right in front of my face.

“No I’m not…”

“Uh…yes you are. So tell me, WHO IS IT?”

I pause for a second. It was only fair that I told Charlette. She had told me about her tragic past. I pause and then say: “It’s Andrew.”

“I knew it! I knew it!” Charlette screams lifting her soda can into the air, “This calls for a party!”

“Charlette…that’s nonsense…” I say trailing off.

“No it’s not! Here: I’ll make tea,”

“That doesn’t even make sense! Now would you please just sit down! You’re tracking mud on the table!”



“Someone’s in love!” Charlette teases, “Though just between you and me, I’ve always had a secret crush on Owen”

“You’re kidding!”

“Nope! I’ve always had a secret craving for touching peoples hair. He’s the only guy who doesn’t care.”

I smiled. Though Charlette is crazy, she is a very nice person. The clock in the hall strikes eleven. I said goodbye to Charlette and went up into my room house. I put my clothes away and put on my nightgown. I took my necklace out from the inside of my nightgown. I glance at the necklace. If my mother had seen me in the past couple months, she would be proud of me. Proud of my training.

I got into my warm bed, but I couldn’t sleep. I kept wondering about the prophecy and why I was so in love with Andrew. Even though it wasn’t in the prophecy, did Blisno have a real name? Before I knew it, sleep overcame me.

I first had a dream about Blisno. She was sitting on a little picket fence with a farm in the background. It felt as if it was sometime in the past even though she looked about the same age. The dirt below her had the letters A-N-I-T written in it. What could that possibly mean? My mind went blank and Blisno was gone.

Then, two people who were about 15 appeared in my mind. The boy had icy blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. The girl had brown hair and bright green eyes. You could tell they were very fond of each other, the way they’d look in each other’s eyes. Their heads moving closer and closer. One more centimeter and their lips would touch.

I shot up with daylight pouring through my windows. That was me and Andrew, wasn’t it? I immediately got up and paced across the room. Did either of these dreams mean something? I realized I had a lot of questions to ask Blisno. I changed into my brown tee shirt and shorts and rushed to breakfast
*





*





*

“You can see the future. Kind of like Mrs. Destiny,” Blisno said

“That was the future?” Andrew and I said together

“EW!” I said

“Disgusting!” Andrew agreed

We stared at each other. Then I glanced away and down at the plate of food in front of me. I felt Andrew’s hand slip into mine. I didn’t even bother to let go. Blisno came with bad news. Heather Rose and her armies are approaching. Blisno was going on and on about arming our forces and getting ready for battle. She also said that they had found Veronica.

“Liesl I want you to go and find Veronica. She’s captured in the basement of the orphanage you were once in,” Blisno says.

“My orphanage?”

“Yes. It turns out your orphanage was the headquarters for the power suckers and Mrs. Robinson was Heather Rose,”

The whole time I was in the orphanage, Heather Rose could have killed me. But that didn’t matter anymore. I silently told myself that I would not be the one to die. I would be the one to kill Heather Rose.

‘I’m trapped forever’ I thought.

I had tried freezing the rope that held me so tightly around my waist. That just made it’s grip tighter. It was no use. There was no hope. The evil Heather Rose had trapped me so that she could steal my powers. No one would ever come to save me now. Now I was no longer was Veronica Rose, Heather‘s daughter. I was a prisoner.

My surroundings weren’t very pretty. I was trapped in a prison like room full of dead bodies and rats. All of the bodies were children. This worried me. What if I was next? But no one could stop Heather Rose. I can’t believe that I once called her my mother. She is just a witch! Pretty soon, she would have the whole world doing only her command.

Then I heard footsteps. Quiet footsteps. I looked around the room. My hands shook, knowing that this was the end of it. This was the day I would die. I saw green eyes appear from a deep dark corner. When I looked into them, I saw a deep forest of trees. This could not be my enemy. It had to be another elementalist. Then a girl emerged from the corner. She was about the age of 13 with red hair and green eyes.

“You’re Veronica.” she said shivering from the cold.

“That’s me!” I said, attempting to pull out all of the optimism I could muster.

She went behind me and untied the rope. I felt the coil loosen. I was finally free. The first thing I did was stretch out my hands. As soon as I did this, my Maletta appeared again. This made me feel a rush of joy inside me.

“Let’s get out of this place. I can’t stand it!” I said.

We ran up to the main level. It felt so good to be cold again. Winter was just beginning. I felt as if I was going to melt in that basement. I saw my skin turn white as it always did at night. It made me look like a ghost. I was excited to see my brother, Andrew and Owen. Though I had not seen Owen in so long, I still loved him as if I had only left just yesterday. I hoped he had done the same.

As the girl and I stepped outside the orphanage, I saw Owen. I assumed he was there to fly me back to Blisno. He and the other girl exchanged a look of tension.

“It’s been awhile” I sighed as he cast me into the air.

As he lifted me up higher and higher, I watched my feet dangle below me. I saw the girl as well. She looked up at us and watched us until we were over the trees.

I saw the last of Veronica as she flew away with Owen. I almost wanted to yell after them. To tell Veronica what had happened between us. But I held back, knowing that Owen would never forgive me.

Then I heard a noise. Footsteps. I glanced back and saw Blisno standing between the trees. She gave me a light smile and then turned away from me to face the forest. She seemed sad and depressed. Her bright eyes seemed to have flattened. A sword was in her right hand.

“What’s wrong Blisno?” I ask quietly.

“Heather Rose’s armies are approaching. I fear that you all are not ready,” she replies weakly, as if she has already been defeated.

“Blisno, don’t worry. The prophecy says that only one of us will die,”

“That is why I am afraid. I don’t want to loose any of you,”

The sun is beginning to sun along the horizon as if it can feel Blisno’s pain. She turned to face me again and put her hand on my shoulder.

“If I die out there, I want you to be strong alright?” she says to me.

“You aren’t going to die Blisno. You’re immortal,” I say.

“Not completely,”

Blisno begins to walk through the woods. I walk next to her, looking at my feet. She was right; I wasn’t ready for this battle. Nobody was.

“If I die, I want you to take my position as leader,” she says to me.

“Me? But why me? I am terrible at leading things!” I respond.

“Because you are different then the others. You are stronger here,” Blisno says putting her hand on my heart, “Besides, could you imagine what it would be like if Charlette ran the whole thing? Complete chaos!”

“Alright,” I say, not willing to argue.

We approach the outskirts of the forest. I hear the power suckers yelling out their battle cries.

“Now get out there and be strong,” Blisno says sincerely.

We walked over to the other elementalists together. They all looked up when they saw us. Veronica and Owen had already made it to the battle field.

“What took you so long?” Andrew asked

“ We were just talking,” I simply said.

I looked across the big open field and saw the power suckers approaching. They all wore the same black battle suit with a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. We were six against at least 100. My hands shook, followed by my whole body. I kept telling myself that I have to be strong. I have to survive.

As the power suckers grew closer, I spotted Jon in the crowd. He looked more bloodthirsty then I had ever seen him before. In the center of the crowd I spotted Heather Rose. She wasn’t hard to spot. She looked exactly like the evil orphanage lady I had once known.

“All right” Blisno called “We have Veronica. She is in safe hands now”

I looked over at Andrew who stood next to me. He reached out for my hand and squeezed it. Warmth spread throughout me. I felt stronger.

“You think you’re so strong!” Heather Rose taunted “Well I contain two elements!”

Heather Rose’s army charged at us. Before I knew it, the swards clashed and blood was splattered everywhere. One person after the other came to fight me. Most of them were killed with one slice of my sword. But one person was able to leave there mark. My upper right arm had a gaping wound which throbbed, blood dripping from it. I was lucky I hadn’t died yet.

I glanced over at Charlette. All she had to do was burn her enemies to death. Every time she blasted fire out of her hands, she laughed like a maniac. No matter how hard Charlette could try, she could not hide that she was somewhat mad. This made me smile.

Suddenly, Jon approached me.

“So, we meet again,“ he says wickedly.

“Yes, I guess so,“ I respond tensely.

He lunged his sword at me. I met his sword with mine. We continued to battle on like this. After awhile he screamed out: “Idiot!”

At first I was confused, but then I realized what he meant. I felt a sharp pain in my back. As I whirled around, I saw another person laughing wickedly at me. I reached for my back to feel the sword. I fell to the ground and my eyes slowly closed…

Maybe it was just me, but it looked like Liesl was dead. I rushed over to her and felt her forehead and pulse. Yup, she was dead. Unlike any of the other elementalists, I can bring the dead back to life. That’s why I’m not crying. Also, I’m a tough cookie.

But before I could rise Liesl from the dead, I had some business to finish with Jon first. I approached him and snatched his sword out of his hand. I pushed him slowly back so that his back was leaning on a tree.

“Let’s play a game,” I said.

“No honestly I’d rather not,” he responded.

“But I want to play a game and I ‘m the one holding two swords. So let’s see where should we start…”

I slashed of his right ear. He cried out in pain as he clutched it, blood covering his hands. I let a smile escape my lips. No one messes with Liesl. I slashed him deep in the gut, quite satisfied with myself. Lastly, I burnt him until there was nothing left but ashes. There would be no trace of him left on this earth. I ran back to Liesl with Jon’s blood dripping from my sword.

I only had enough fire juice to save one life, so I removed it from my pocket. I held the veil up to the moonlight. It began to glow. I removed the cap and dumped all of the liquid into Liesl’s mouth.

I woke having the taste of pickle mixed with ketchup and hallopino pepper.

“Yuck!” I cried.. “What is this stuff?”

Charlette smiled. She asked: “ So…what does being dead feel like?”

Wait. I had been dead? Oh yes, that’s right. It was all coming back to me. Jon. I looked every which way trying to find him.

“Don’t worry, I took care of him.” Charlette said.

She helped me up and we walked over to Blisno. We stand around a big field of dead bodies. Only Heather Rose was left.

“ Now you killed off my worthless armies. Blisno, it is time for me to kill you.” Heather Rose cackled.

A shiver rushed through me. No one had died yet. Would Blisno be the one to die? She is like a mother to me. She can’t die. Blisno stepped up to Heather Rose. She was no longer a cute little five year old. Her arms and legs we covered in open wounds spewing out blood. Their swords clashed. I could tell Blisno couldn’t stand a chance. But Heather Rose pushed Blisno aside like she was the dead limbs of a tree.

“Blisno!” I cried.

I ran to her body and saw her little face smiling up at me.

“Liesl…”she said wirily.

I stroked her hair. Tears rushed down my face. I couldn’t believe this was happening. She really was the one to die. She must have known all along.

“Blisno! I need to save you!” I say, desperate fro anything.

“Don’t save me Liesl. I have lived a long time. I didn’t want any of you to die. You all are much younger then me,”

“No Blisno, please don’t go!” I screamed.

Her eyes slowly closed. My hands trembled furiously. I rose up from the ground and glared at Heather Rose. I saw Heather Rose glance over at Andrew and Veronica. Both their eyes narrowed. Veronica run towards the forest. Andrew stayed planted. I had no idea what was going on.

Heather Rose approached Andrew.

“Come with me,” she said, running her fingers along his arm, “We’ll be strong together.

“I’ll never come with you. These are my friends and my family. I’m not going to let them be taken away by you,” he screams back.

“Fine then. You’ll just have to see what happens to children who don’t behave.”
Heather Rose lifted Andrew into the air with blue light surrounding him. I turned to see the other elementalists gasping in horror. Veronica was now back and holding Owen close to her. I turned my gaze back to Andrew. The blue light around him was slowly disappearing.

“No!” I screamed

I dove in front of Heather Rose and used all my strength to push the earth down, creating a hole in the earth.

“This is what you get for killing my only family and the one person I’ve ever truly loved in my life!” I screamed at her.

My arms felt weak and tired. Sure enough, Heather Rose dropped into the earth. There was not a trace of her left. Andrew dropped to the ground right as I was feeling light headed. I felt my back touch the ground. I took this time on the ground to collect my thoughts. Wait! What happened to Andrew? I bolted upright and rushed over to him. He lay on the ground, lifeless. My tears fell upon his blue shirt. More tears fell from the sky. A crack of thunder sounded.

I thought that the prophecy said only one would die. I look over to Blisno who had been left alone. The rain made my clothes heavy. I didn’t know what to do anymore. I was broken. Everything I had ever known had now disappeared. Just like a dream.

The other elementalists rushed towards home to get out of the rain. But I stayed by Andrew’s side until morning. In my drenched clothes, I stood up, putting all my strength into Andrew and trying to carry him. He wasn’t hard to carry. I ran into the woods with him in my arms. I had always imagined him carrying me like this one day. I put him down underneath a tree, which magically transformed into a house for me, so that the rain wouldn’t get in.

My life was crumbling right before my eyes. I cried hard until I didn’t have any tears left. But his face just grew paler and paler. I heard a twig crack. I thought back to my young childhood. I thought back to the stories that my mother would read to me. They were fairytales of how the prince would kiss the princess and they would magically come back to life. It was stupid, but it was worth a try.

If true loves kiss was going to make him come alive, then should I do it? This was impossible. What am I getting myself into? I leaned over Andrew. I couldn’t stop myself. My head moved closer to his. Our lips touched. I quickly pulled my head away. I stared at him for a long time. His eyes fluttered open.

“What happened?” he said.

“Let’s not talk about it. It’s behind us now.” I said as I hugged him. To my surprise, he hugged back.

Then, we stepped outside the little house. It had stopped raining, as if the weather changed based on my emotions. We walked home as the sun rose on the horizon.

I walked through the doors to the dining hall to see Veronica greet me.

“Andrew’s my brother!” Caroline said.

She ran over to him and hugged him tightly. I then got everyone’s attention.

“As we all know, Blisno is no longer with us. We must still go on and not give up. Now, though she is gone, let us celebrate out victory!” I say.

I turn around to see Owen standing behind me, along with Mrs. Destiny.

“Look, I’m sorry about what happened when we were at my house. I just didn’t know that…” he began.

“Didn’t know what?” I asked

“It’s just…You’re my sister Liesl!” He said grinning.

My eyes flew back to Mrs. Destiny. This would mean she was my… mom? I was the child who had been kidnapped! I felt as if I had known it all along. My fake mother must have been one of the power suckers.

“Did you know this WHOLE time?” I asked Mrs. Destiny.

“Yes, I knew as soon as I saw you. You even look like one of my children,” Mrs. Destiny said.

We hugged for the first time as mother and daughter. I saw Charlette standing in the corner alone. I walked over to her and smiled.

“Now I have no one to love” she said quietly. “My parents are dead and the guy I once loved is taken.”

I felt bad for her. Suddenly the creek of the door sounded throughout the room. Everyone fell silent. There was no one else expected at the party. It was a boy, about 15.

“Hey,” he said, “I’m Aaron. I got some kind of note telling me to come here?”

We all walked up to him curious of our new member. We all introduced ourselves and told him to celebrate with us.

“That’s quite an ear you have there,” Charlette says.

“Oh,” Aaron replies reaching for his ear, “Thanks?”

Now, Charlette had finally met her match. If only Blisno were here. Then everything would be perfect. I felt as if there was a hole inside my stomach. I reached my hand there, only to find a few scars.

Andrew and I sat on a bench in the middle of the forest. Across from us was Veronica and Owen. Next to us were Aaron and Charlette. I was very fond of Andrew and he was very fond of me. I felt his hand slip into mine. Our heads moved closer and closer. One more centimeter and our lips would touch. Our lips locked. The perfect end to our story.