Usual disclaimer.
Alright guys, listen. I know I was really, really, REALLY late on updating this. There's really no one to blame but me. Over the past four months, a whole lot has happened: I applied and got accepted to my dream college, I finished two marking periods of school, I got a girlfriend (who is the most supportive and loving girlfriend in the whole world, and supports my writing and is ok with the fact I ship Elsanna), and just a whole shenanigan more.
But something has been really eating away at me.
I've gotten almost 10,000 views on this story. And while that does elate me, it also raises a question as to why I only have 57 reviews. I am an author that likes to see that people enjoy my work, and to have such a low review to view ratio makes me a bit sad. I actually went into a bit of a writer's block because I thought nobody liked my story enough to comment it. To those who have reviewed, you mean so much to me. Thank you for doing what you did- I couldn't have mustered up the will to write this chapter without you guys. To the rest of you, please, please, please start commenting your thoughts on my story a bit more often. It helps me scrounge up the will to write a new chapter.
Now that I've spoken my peace, please enjoy this chapter!
Warning: NSFW content in this chapter.
Gita had a great many things to worry about in her life—praying, training, keeping the Order safe—but one thing she never fully was able to manage was evil. As the leader of an organization that was propelled by good, she frequently was opposed with bad people.
But to be evil? That was an entirely different concept.
She found it difficult to understand something she was not and had never been. So when Noa had come to her, with an unsettling amount of bruises and lacerations marring the smooth surface of his skin, she was disturbed. He was Vishal's cousin, a cook, and a young man with a good moral compass.
When he had stumbled up the steps of the Temple, she had been walking by, and thankfully was able to catch him. She descended down the steps with a sense of urgency, sensing his physical state was not peak. When he collapsed against her, he had nearly fainted then and there. She lowered them both slowly and carefully to the ground, counting the various bruises that decorated his body.
"Noa? What has happened to you?" she asked. His breathing was slowing, the rise and fall of his chest settling down as he began to lose consciousness. Seeing that Latin was not working, she decided to speak to him in his native tongue, hoping to garner some form of response out of him.
"Noa. Na cava sa yaco oti vei iko?" she asked again in Fijian. His eyes fluttered opened, the warm brown now dulled from exhaustion. He looked briefly in her black eyes, trying to say something without verbalising it. When her brows furrowed together, he managed to rasp out four words.
"Ca, Gita. Tamata ca." His eyelids slid closed, finally slipping into unconscious. Gita disregarded the dropped formality for the time being and scoured her mind for the translation of what he had told her, setting to work on healing some of the minor injuries. She summoned some water out of the air and wrapped her hand within it, the water glowing a faint green as she applied it to his skin. The superficial lacerations began to heal slowly, closing and causing minute scars upon his skin.
Evil, Gita. Evil Man.
The translation came upon her suddenly and powerfully, the wave of shock that hit her causing her to stop her movements.
"Milady!" the voice of a Temple servant came from behind her, knocking her out of her trance. She whipped her head to him as he came running down the stairs to her position. His eyes widened at the sight of Vishal's cousin in such disarray.
"Menal, nevermind Noa. What is it that has gotten you in such a state of emergency?" she asked. His eyes refocused on her and his lips pointed downward. His hands started to shake slightly as he gulped.
"The prisoners… They are all dead!" Gita's jaw nearly scraped the floor.
"Suicides?" She asked. Menal shook his head.
"Unlikely, milady. They have no access to anything of danger to them, and their Magic was taken away."
"Has there been any autopsies?"
"I'm afraid not, milady. Dr. Faucheux should be getting the news within the minute; Adonis was sent to fetch him."
"Thank you, Menal. I shall be there soon. First, I must get—"
"Noa!" Both Menal and Gita whipped their heads over to where the voice had erupted from. Jipalo Meran, Noa's best friend, came bounding over, his stomach jiggling and sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"Milady, pray tell what has happened to him?!" Jipalo asked frantically.
"Later, Jipalo; for now, take Noa to the medical ward, and quickly; I have managed to close some of his superficial wounds, but they will be able to do much more than I can, given my current position," she commanded. He obeyed immediately, scooping his best friend into his arms. He stomped his foot on the ground and was catapulted through the air, heading east.
Evil Man…
Evil. This was going to be a problem, a thorn in Gita's side until she could finally find out what exactly had happened to the poor cook. Evil had many definitions, but until she knew Noa's, there would be no leads to whom this man was.
Vita, what could you possibly be doing up there…?
Elsa's foot bounced up and down as she waited for the nurse to call her in. The hand which she was holding Anna's with, she at least tried to keep a temperature above freezing. Her other hand, however… That hand was well into the sub zero ranges. Though she was contemplating up and leaving, she knew this was something she needed to do.
Her father deserved to come home. Even though it would kill her to see him in such a state of poor health, she knew that it was time. If only she could bide her time just a little bit longer, think of other ways to possibly fix him, to heal him—
"Elsa Isånd?" the nurse called, snapping the blonde out of her reverie. Her grip on Anna's hand grew ever tighter, the cold contrasting harshly with the warmth of her girlfriend's hand.
"It's okay, Elsa. I'm here with you," Anna said, gently squeezing Elsa's hand. The blonde took a breath, nodded, and stood up. Her feet grew heavier and heavier with each passing step, slabs of concrete pinned to the bottoms of her legs. When she met the door, she glared a hole in it as if it had threatened her family. Which, in a way, it did.
"Ready?" Elsa gulped, and opened the door.
Her father looked worse than last time. He was a shade paler, and his cheeks were just the smallest fraction more gaunt. He was dying right in front of her eyes, and she could do nothing to help the ailing man. She gritted her teeth and blinked a few tears out of her eyes before moving to sit beside her father.
"Hello, Papa."
When Agðar saw his daughter and Anna holding hands, he couldn't say that he was surprised. He moreso felt a great happiness bloom within his chest. Beyond him, his daughter would have someone to lean on. And in his ailing, dying days, this brought him a great comfort.
"Hello, my snowflake," he said, "How are you?" Elsa blinked back tears, and Agðar's heart wept for his pained daughter. Words could not explain the way that the helplessness of the situation affected him, but he could give his daughter some words to help her feel better.
"I should be asking you that question, Papa," she replied, voice catching in her throat.
"No worse for wear, as you can see," he joked, earning the smallest of smiles from Elsa. It was still something, and he considered it an accomplishment that she was even able to show a hint of happiness in the predicament they were in.
"I've not the slightest idea how you could possibly jest in a situation like this, but it's appreciated, Papa," she said, "it's good to see that you are still yourself."
"Fret not, my dear. I am still myself in mind, though perhaps not body," he responded.
"When did the two of you get together?" he asked. Anna smiled, this time speaking in place of Elsa.
"Two days ago," she replied. A smile broke out on his face, the first one he had cracked in a week. This was good. More than good—this was more than he could have hoped for. Elsa smiled herself. She looked to him, and the question on her face was plain.
He let out a great sigh, the air in his body leaving with haste.
"I'm ready to go home, Elsa." She looked surprised, but not entirely taken off guard. He was going to spend his last months with his daughter; his life being prolonged in the hospital or not. It was time.
"I'll go get the car ready. Anna, if you would, stay here till I return?" the redhead nodded.
"Of course," she replied. Elsa left the room, the door shutting softly behind her.
Agðar regarded Anna curiously. She had managed to get closer to her daughter than anyone had been able to in years. And yet, she still regarded Elsa with an air of fragility, one that neither of them may have noticed but he certainly did.
"Anna." She looked up to him, her teal eyes meeting his grey ones.
"Elsa may seem as though she is easy to shatter, but I promise you this: she is a much stronger woman than she seems. She has made it through trials and tribulations that many would not wish to see, including homelessness at a very young age. Give her more credit than you currently are," he said. Her were downcast, and he mentally facepalmed.
"What I mean is, be good to her, Anna. I may not have many more months, or even weeks left on this earth. But once I cross the Horizon with Horatius, you may be all she has left. Don't be mistaken, Anna—as her father, I'm always going to be the slightest bit protective of her. But I'm no longer concerned for her after my passing, and I have you to thank for that." Anna smiled, the apples of her cheeks rising at his words.
"I will take care of her, Mr. Isånd. You have nothing to fear," she said.
He smiled right back at her.
Anna had been about to say something back to him, but a sudden vision overpowered her senses. The world around her changed rapidly, and she was in the fog again, like she had been all those weeks ago. She saw the light, as she did before, and walked toward it.
"Vita?" she called out, "is that you again?" She stopped suddenly, the light dimming and then racing toward her. She almost stumbled back in surprise by the speed and the brightness the ball displayed.
"I am not Vita, little one," said the orb, "I am Chara, Goddess of Water. You are nearing the end of learning Ice; you must make strides in greater places, as must Elsa. And please, know this: eels live in Water. Be careful of those who seek to bite you."
"What do you mea—!"
Anna was catapulted back to the hospital room, with which she received an odd look from Agðar.
"I… I apologize, Agðar. I don't know what just happened."
"That's quite alright, Anna. If you wouldn't mind—" he was cut off abruptly by Elsa opening the door and suddenly pulling Anna out into the hallway.
"Anna," she said, her skin paler than its natural shade, "Tonna just called. There's been a breakthrough in the investigation with the X-Rebels. But there's one problem—all of our sources have been killed under mysterious circumstances." Anna's head spun. The X-Rebels, the group that was the next rendition of the Usurpers… And all of the help they could possibly hope to get was now gone.
And she would find the bastards that killed them.
Rí rode Laoch with wild abandon, the sweat dripping down his back and his hair plastered to his forehead. His hands were spread on his brother's chest, his brother tied down beneath him. He leaned down and bit his neck, hard enough to leave a bruise. His commander moaned below him.
Laoch was getting close, and Rí knew it. He rode him harder and faster, and if he angled himself properly, he hit a spot deep inside him that only his brother could hit, and it made him shudder. Finally, he felt Laoch's cock swell as he released his cum deep within him. A low, ragged moan came from the bottom of his brother's throat as his tight stomach muscles constricted, the ropes of semen starting to leak out of Rí's bottom. He slid off Laoch, his entrance still sensitive. He untied all of the ropes chaining down his commander and collapsed beside him.
"Fantastic as always, my King," Laoch said, rubbing his raw wrists. Rí nodded, lightly trailing his nails up and down the impressive abdominal muscles his brother possessed. He slipped underneath the covers, inviting Laoch with him. The exhausted commander gladly accepted his proposal. As Rí sidled up to his side, a question from an earlier meeting within the Council needed to be answered.
"Laoch," he said, his voice soft but not betraying the topic to be discussed.
"Yes, Rí?"
"I believe I agree with the council, and I think that the Mist would agree with me: it's time to accept Agent C into our Ranks."
A/N: So... yeah.
And now, for the reviews! (thanks to everyone who favorited, reviewed, PM'd, and followed. Y'all kick ass!)
Strasza: Fucking great chapter. I am guessing Frollo is allies with the King's Army, and if so, that would be amazing! I can't wait for next week, keep up the great work.
Burns: Thank you! I apologize for the hiatus, but I hope that this chapter fulfills what you wanted to see.
Danget the Critic: Please tell me Noa does the obvious thing and tells someone that there is a shapeshifter. I get that it will take time to figure out but as soon as no one asks where he has been for at least a day, it will probably warrant some investigations.
Also, people keep track of poisons, just because something leaves no trace doesn't mean people won't figure it out, especially when there are no marks on seven dead bodies.
Still a really good story. Very good pacing and no chapter has felt unneeded or like filler.
Burns: Indeed it will. You will see what happens eventually, fear not. Thank you for the compliment! I try to make every chapter important to the plot.
Lance58: -This is getting interesting! I can't wait to read more.. I'm sure there's some politics involve in this elemental world (ch.2)
-Wait so Anna can control all elements!? Omg that's so cool.. can Elsa also do that? (ch.6)
-Oh wow so Elsa can also control all of the elements?! That's amazing.. they're going to be the most powerful couple ever (ch.8)
-Despite the impending angst with her father having a cancer.. I'm so happy with this cute couple having their sweet moments (ch.11)
-Oh god! That's amazing! I hope Elsa learns the different elements as well (ch.14)
-Wait.. did they just practically got married?! Spiritually I mean.. but does that mean if the other one dies they die also? Hmmm.. anyway I'm guessing the one who gave the scar to Anna is the same person that gives out x scars (ch.18)
-Yesss! Finally! Woooh! Sad for the dad.. but happy for the elsanna moment! (ch.19)
-Ugh such a cute couple! If only they stay that way blissful but alas storm is brewing and they're going to get hit by it (ch.20)
Burns: -Thank you so much! It is wholeheartedly appreciated. As far as the politics go… Well, keep reading!
-Yes! An astute observation from that early on, I must say.
-Mm, not quite… You'll see more later.
-Gotta have sugar to make the tea taste good, right?
-Thank you! And to clarify, Elsa can only control water.
-No. Heart Writing transcends any human idea of bonding. It literally binds your souls together as one. In the world of the Elementals, the soul and the heart work as one. To answer your question, no. If one dies, it does not necessarily mean that the other dies-immediately, at least. The soul will die, and the person's quality of life essentially becomes non-existent. The lack of happiness and of spirit eventually wears down the body, and the heart stops from (basically) heartbreak. And perhaps. There are many people that are in the position of Brander in the King's Ranks. It's not a special thing to be.
-Woo!
-Thank you! But to what severity?
Alright guys, that's all for this week. See you next time! ~ Burns