"Who's she?" Elora asked Harry, giving a short nudge of her head in Tsutsami's direction.
"Oh," Harry said, "Elora, this is Tsutsami. She's the Water Guardian."
Elora looked at Tsutsami again and nodded, "Uh huh. Well, we have to gather together all the Elemental Guardians - Fire, Ice, Water, Forest, Air and Lightning - but we only have five of the six so far. Cecil, where's the Air guardian?"
Cecil stood still as everyone turned to him, "What? You think I know where every guardian is?" They all nodded, and then Cecil sighed and took out the map of the Maze. "Now let's see. Here we are, and Iceabelle's in her room, and where would the Air guardian be?"
Suddenly the map rippled and moved. The letters symbolizing themselves on the map disappeared and soon an uncharted area of the map appeared, with a dot in a room and a letter 'V' near it. Harry craned his neck over to see what was happening. When he saw the 'V' he gasped, "That isn't who I think it is, is it?"
Cecil shrugged his shoulders, "Harry. It can by far be anyone whose name starts with a 'V'. I asked the map where the Air guardian was and this is my answer. The 'V' must be the Air guardian. Now let's get a move on people. Our destination is on the other side of the Maze."
"We have to bring Iceabelle with us, whether or not we're all on her death list." Elora said.
Harry looked at Elora. Seeing that Elora's expression was serious, he nodded and looked to Cecil and Tsutsami, who both disagreed with bring Iceabelle. "If we must," Cecil said, "I'll fetch her."
Cecil gave Harry the map and whispered, "Hold this." Then he set off to get Iceabelle.
When Cecil vanished from sight down the Maze hall, Elora could feel Tsutsami staring at her. "What is it?" Elora shouted to Tsutsami.
Tsutsami shook her head, "Nothing, nothing at all. It's just; you ARE the fire guardian, right?"
Elora nodded and raised her right hand to show Tsutsami the Fire Guard, "Yes indeed, Tsutsami. I am the fire guardian. Got a problem with that?
Tsutsami backed away a little, hearing the serious tone in Elora's voice, "None at all, Elora. It's just -"
Elora rolled her eyes, "It's just what? Speak up!"
"Well," Tsutsami started, "There's never been a female Fire Guardian before. The rest were all, well.. male. It's just a real surprise."
Elora stared at Tsutsami, "What do you mean 'never been a female Fire Guardian before'? I'm female, I'm the Fire Guardian, now live with it!"
Tsutsami laughed, "Well, I dear say Elora. Whether or not you're female, you do have the attitude that a Fire Guardian should have."
Harry laughed as well. Elora gave them both an evil look, but then joined in and they all laughed together. Their laughter soon broke short when they heard a scream... it was Cecil!
"Cecil!" Elora shouted, rushing down the hall with Tsutsami and Harry close behind. When they got to the Ice Room they stopped to see the floor covered in ice and Cecil pinned to the adjacent wall with his body covered in ice. "Cecil!" Elora shouted again, rushing up to Cecil who was still conscience, "Are you okay? Where's Iceabelle?"
Cecil caught his breath and looked at Elora, "I-I'm fine. Iceabelle... Iceabelle escaped. I told her we were going to find the Air Guardian. She broke from my vines and incased me in this ice, then she ran off. I'm betting she went to get the Air guardian before us, that way she can trap us."
Harry stepped up the Cecil, "Then we have to get there first!"
Elora wiped a few tears from her face then looked up, with her usual serious face, "Right! I'll melt the ice then we can all go."
"Elora," Cecil whispered, "I'm weak from fighting with Iceabelle. I won't be much help if I were to fight her again. After you free me, I'd like to stay here and rest."
Elora nodded. She melted the ice into water, then Tsutsami cleared the water from the floor as Elora and Harry helped Cecil to sit on the floor. Elora knelt by Cecil, "Cecil. You're gonna be all right. We'll come to get you when we catch Iceabelle, and find the Air guardian."
Cecil looked up at Elora and smiled, "You're a born leader Elora, just like Harry. I'll be waiting for all five of you here. Now go, before Iceabelle wins."
Elora stood up and nodded, "Right! Let's go. Harry, Tsutsami... you two ready?"
Tsutsami nodded, "I've always been ready for something like this."
Harry walked up to Elora, "Elora, are you gonna be okay."
Elora smiled at Harry; "I'll be fine. Now, let's go. We've got some Iceabelle butt to beat!"
Continued: Chapter 17 - Ice Demise