The Best Intentions

Mateo de Alva was getting ready for the day. He had his robe and some magic books he brought home packed in his bag. He kissed Rafa goodbye and headed to the palace. As Royal Wizard, he had the option to stay in the palace; he had a room there. And the royal family slept better at night if he was there to help defend Elena against any nighttime magical attacks. But he went home as frequently as possible. Rafa was alone most of the time. His sister was a singer and would often go on tours. So Mateo always made sure that he came home as often as possible.

As Royal Wizard, one of his jobs was to help prepare Elena for when she faced Shuriki again. No one knew when that would be but it was good to be prepared. And it was a good thing that things were quiet for a while now. That was not to say that they should ease up on the training. This lull was making everyone a bit on edge. Gabe was still directing his soldiers to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. They were also still hunting down the Delgados and Fiero. Chief Zephyr and his jaquins were still scouting for possible sightings of their enemies. And he had to ramp up the training.

Mateo was very aware that every time Elena uses the Scepter of Light, she loses her own energy. He had been searching for a solution to that obstacle for years. But he still found none. The mystery of the scepter still eluded him. How he wished his grandfather were still here. Alacazar could make light of all the problems they were facing. He could help Mateo guide Elena. But seeing that it was not possible, the most he could do in the meantime was to create a potion to strengthen Elena so that the scepter did not drain her too soon or too easily. It was like a sort of an energy drink which she had to take every morning. Mateo made sure that the potion didn't have any side effects though. It was perfectly safe. And he and Elena had been training on a weekly basis. Training at least twice was already part of her schedule. If Elena's schedule didn't permit it, they still train at least once a week.

Elena, however, was a little distracted since coming back from Albion. It was as if her mind was somewhere else. She had cancelled all of their trainings for almost a month now and Mateo knew that they were really behind. He was a little concerned about her lack of enthusiasm lately. As her close friend, he wanted to know what was going on. She was like a sister to her and if something was bothering her, Mateo wanted to help her in any way he could. He thought he might have an idea though. News of her meeting the prince from Albion was going around town. He heard how he was the perfect prince she was waiting for. She was probably missing Prince Richard. That was why he didn't complain when she cancelled one training after the other. And he could only imagine the workload of a queen. There were a lot of meetings and trade agreements and governing to do to make sure Avalor was in tiptop shape.

So Mateo was mildly surprised when Armando informed him that the queen was pushing through with their training. He was already preparing to do some more reading and had also set aside time to perfect some of the spells he wrote. There was also the matter of training his apprentice. Olivia was turning out to be a very good student. She had at last gotten over her initial over enthusiasm and followed directions to the letter. The sheer number of mishaps which happened in the past probably drilled that lesson into her.

Knowing that they were behind in training, Mateo was determined set the training a notch higher. Elena needed to create a more powerful blast using the scepter. He knew it would drain her and she would probably need to be in bed for the rest of the day after that but there was no other way to find out what else the scepter could do. He was currently mixing a stronger potion for her to prepare her. Mateo felt bad about pushing Elena but he had to hold his ground. He had to be firm.

Elena was waiting for her at the courtyard where she usually did fencing with Gabe.

"Hi Mateo," Elena greeted the wizard with her usual bright smile and warm hug. She then proceeded to drink the elixir that Mateo had given her.

"Ready?" he asked the queen to which Elena just nodded her head.

They did some warm up first with the glow and reveal powers of the scepter. Mateo could see that the stronger potion was working. Glow and reveal drained Elena before but not today.

"Wow, that is some strong potion Mateo," Elena commented. "I still feel good."

They then proceeded to blaze. Mateo had Elena start with just blasting some small objects, rocks mostly and the occasional flower pots who had the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Mateo also wanted to test her aim so he had asked Armando to set up targets the night before.

"Elena, now try to hit the targets," he told her.

As soon as Elena set off the first blast, he knew that Elena was starting to get tired. She missed around four of the easy targets and she was starting to breathe heavily. Sweat was also already forming on her forehead. You have to be firm. This is for Elena's good, Mateo told himself. However, when Elena asked for a time out, he allowed her a few minutes of rest.

They moved on to moving targets. That was harder and he could see Elena was losing energy fast. She couldn't focus and she was getting uneasy. Oh no, not now, Mateo thought. He knew all too well that when Elena started getting like this, on the verge of panicking, there was only one person who could calm her and he had no idea where Gabe is. He held firm and continued the training. He gave Elena a few moments to catch her breath and rest first.

They were still doing blaze. But now Mateo instructed Elena to create a bigger explosion. He had sent targets in the air and she needed to blast them with a bigger fire.

"Blaze!" Elena said, pointing the scepter at the clay duck Mateo threw in the air. She hit it but it was not the big explosion Mateo was looking for.

"Again," Mateo said, throwing another clay duck in the air. He did it again and again, trying to push Elena to her limits. Elena was fast losing her energy and she was perspiring heavily. She needed to be prepared. Shuriki would not be merciful.

"Mateo, please…" Elena pleaded.

"Again," throwing another target in the air.

"I can't anymore. I'm too tired," Elena said.

Elena let out one last blaze before she felt herself collapsing.

Strong, powerful arms caught her though. And she knew who he was. She could tell by his familiar scent. Calm immediately enveloped her when she felt Gabe catching her.

The captain was just coming back from his meeting with his lieutenants about the security for the night and after giving them final instructions and dismissed them, he was walking back to his office. He heard blast after blast and he knew immediately that Elena was training. And he also knew that due to the successive explosions, Elena would be drained. He found himself following the sounds and was fortunate to be in time to catch her.

"Mateo, enough!" Gabe said with as much authority as he could muster. "What do you think you're doing? Can't you see she cannot go on?"

"Sorry, Elena. I was just trying to prepare you for battle," Mateo apologized to them. Elena just nodded, still holding on to Gabe, her head against his chest.

After Mateo left, Gabe searched her over to see if she was hurt.

"Elena, are you alright?" Gabe asked her, worry evident in his voice. Elena could read the worry all over his face. She shook her head and Gabe embraced her tightly, silently cursing the wizard for his excessive methods. Gabe didn't want to let her go; wishing he could somehow transfer some of his energy to her. He knew Mateo had the best intentions. But it took a toll on Elena every time. Who knew what could have happened to her if he didn't arrive on time? Who knew what lasting effects they have on the queen?

Elena felt like crying. Here with Gabe, she felt she was free to be vulnerable. She was so tired and spent and she didn't want to go anywhere else but in his arms. Gabe probably sensed that she couldn't walk by herself and since no one was around, she felt Gabe carry her. She knew where he was taking her. He was taking her to their spot. There was a certain bench in the garden where they could watch the sunset.

Gabe set her down and sat beside her. Elena snuggled up to him and felt his arms around her. Yes, this was what she needed. Rest, sunset and Gabe. The world could just go away. She smiled contentedly as she felt Gabe kiss her temple.