Chapter 5
Crishan
"Anzu? Little Anzu?" the bartender said, rubbing his coal black eyes with meaty arms.
"Yes, It's me!" Anzu said, smiling.
The last time she had been at the Sapphire Knife was three weeks before her mother had left her. This was at the very end of Evankay where travelers rested for the night. Her mother had been friends with Old Jack. Her mother went monthly after Anzu's father left (when Anzu was 6) for reason's unknown.
"Look at you! All grown up! I heard you're…mother abandoned you," Old Jack said solemnly.
"Oh…yes…she did. It was a few weeks after my last visit. Do you…know why?" Anzu inquired.
"No, you're mother stopped visiting after another visit. She told be she abandon you and left. She died s year after," Old Jack replied, head bowed.
"How?" Anzu said. Surprisingly, she wasn't crying after hearing about her mother's death.
"Hung herself in the well down the road. But," Old Jack lifted his head, "Are these your friends, lass?"
Remembering that royalty was behind her she turned to the three behind her who had been listening. They had changed into simple clothing, the men brown tunics and patched breeches; Serenity wore a simple dress of light pink cotton. "These are my friends," she looked up and saw Serenity and Joey smiling at her, "Joey," Joey shook hands with Jack, "Serenity," Serenity nodded her head, "and Seto."
Jack nodded his head and said, "They look like a nice group, Anzu. Now, what do ye what at the ol' Sapphire Knife?"
"Two rooms and food. Where's all your drinkers?" Anzu asked. The bar was almost empty.
"It's only 7, dearie, they won't be hear for another few minutes. Now, Ella here," Jack pointed to a blonde girl washing a glass, "Will bring you to your rooms."
The four of them followed the girl into the hallway and turned left. The rooms were across the hall from one another. The boys had the room to the right (Joey almost screamed in annoyance. Why did it have to be him?) and the girls had the left.
"Whatever you got," Seto said to the red headed girl who waited on him.
When she left he rubbed his temple. Only half a day back from the south and already he was on another trip. He wished he could bring Mokuba with him but he knew it was a stupid idea. He knew from the legend that there was a battle ahead for the elements. He also knew he was probably one of them.
He just really didn't want to admit it. What were the six elements again? Oh yes. Dark, Water, Earth, Wind, Fire and Light. Remembering what Gozaburo had said about him 'finding' two already, he wondered how he knew.
When Seto had lived in his run down room with Mokuba he had learned from fellow street rats like Leech and Snake (most street gangs were named after an animal that represented themselves) that Noa, Gozaburo's son, had been a novice in magic. Gozaburo didn't have a drop of magic in him, Noa had gotten magic from his mother.
He had known rats that had magic. Lemur could disappear when he snapped his fingers. His friend, Tiger, knew how to heal. She had been sent to the castle after she told the boss (the leader of their gang) she could. When Seto had moved to the castle he was trained to be a knight and got cut several times. He met Tiger again when she healed him. Her name now was Amber Firstflame.
Seto knew no magic. He was jealous of people who could. He always wanted t learn how but people told him you needed at least a drop of magic to learn how to use it.
So why did Gozaburo think he could be an element when he had no knowledge of magic? He had read that they had unmatchable magical spells. They could make their weapons appear instantly with a single call.
Seto turned to see Anzu talking with that bartender, Old Jack. He had asked her if she could do any magic after she was assigned to help his brother. She had laughed and said no. She had always wanted to but her family didn't have any magic. Was she really the water element? She couldn't be if she didn't have any magic.
So Gozaburo was wrong. That was fine with him. Then, he thought, why am I on this weird 'quest' with those three? Maybe he was right.
Serenity sat at the bar, asking Ella if they had any tea. Serenity didn't want any alcohol; she thought it was disgusting. As she sat on the wooden stool she felt someone poke her back. Thinking it was Joey she turned and smiled, then gulped. That wasn't Joey.
A tall man with long black hair and storm cloud gray eyes smiled down at her. Serenity did not like that smirk. "Hey there, lass. What is your name?" he said. Serenity thought he looked…hungry.
Being naïve, she ignored the look of 'hunger' and said, "Serenity, sir. Who might you be?"
"Gary of Belinkar. Do you want me to get you a drink?" the man said, smile growing.
"No sir. I already have one." Thinking the conversation over, she turned back to watch Ella finish making her tea. Someone grabbed her shoulder and she felt a body behind her.
"Don't turn from me wench! You're coming with ol' Gary," Gary whispered into her ear. Serenity shivered.
Gary turned and came face to face (well, not really) with Prince Seto. Not knowing that the heir to the countries throne was right in front of him he tried to shove past the taller man. "Move, you bastard! This has nothing to do with you!" Gary said, angrily.
"I think it does," was the cool reply.
The next moment was a blur to Serenity. There was a whoosh and then a crash. She found herself in the prince's arms, her face in his chest. Turning to see what had become of the man, she saw his black head underneath two tables and six glasses of ale, plus a few game chips and cards.
She turned again and looked up at the prince. She realized he had already let go. "Thank you," she said breathlessly.
The man simply shrugged and returned to his table where Anzu know sat. When Serenity came over Anzu got up and said, "Lady, are you alright? I think it's time to turn in."
Serenity nodded and said to Anzu, "Please Anzu, call me Serenity!"
"Serenity how much longer?" Joey whined.
"Ask Anzu," Serenity croaked. She was really tired; they had been riding all day.
"Anzu," Joey whined, "How much longer?"
Anzu sighed. "Two more hours."
"WHAT!"
"Mutt. I told you before we left that it was a day and a half away to Crishan. That's just getting to the border. We have half a day's ride to the capital Oraic, where the King Sef and Queen Kamilah live in the famed 'white' castle," said Seto, staring straight ahead.
Prince Yami stared at his instructor who was trying to show him how to make a blinding flash of light illuminate or perhaps blind a foe in darkness. Not that Yami didn't already know how to perform such a spell. He just wanted to humor his instructor.
His instructor, Li Koori, had been (trying) teaching the boy ever since he was 6 years old. Now, at 18, Yami knew most of the spells that was taught to him. When he was younger, he used to sneak into the mage library on the first floor, left of the entrance hall. He practiced spells in the dead of night, cloaked in invisible charms that Li told him not to use since they were too complex.
They weren't really. All you had to do was pretend your putting something skin tight all over your body then say, ELBISIVNI. Complex. Right.
Yami tried to hold back a yawn. Being a mage was nice and everything, though sometimes (okay, most of the time) he wished he could be a knight like his friends. Yami was the only mage he knew in Oraic that was his age (18).
Every night Yami went down to the practice courts and practiced different weaponry. He had tried bow staff (knocked himself silly), sword (almost cut his finger off), broad sword (almost cut his head off, bow and arrows (accidentally shoot his mother's eye in a tapestry) and others. He finally decided that he liked holding two short swords in each hand.
He learned to twirl and twist with them in the middle of the night. He could fight with both hands. He even learned how to spell the weapons with magic. He could make them invisible (which was quite handy), create light (that was complicated), and could create a blinding flash.
"Are you listening, prince?" Li asked sharply.
""Yes."
"Then perform the spell."
Yami sighed and pushed back the sleeves of his red robe. Red was the second highest level a mage could get. On the hem of the robe was orange, meaning Yami only had two more stripes to get before becoming a white with black stripe robe. Yami knew he should have been a white robe months ago but he didn't want to. He liked the practice.
Yami lifted his hands in the air and looked up, violet/magenta eyes staring at the ceiling. Twirling his hands in slow circles, he watched as his violet magic followed his fingers, fading quickly. Standing straight again, he drew a circle with four points. It disappeared and Yami said, "Thgil!"
Light engulfed the room. Yami watched Li shield his eyes. Yami's blonde bangs fell into his face. Like most spells, it just was a word people used normally said backwards. Simplicity.
"Well done. You may become a full red robe tomorrow," Koori said quickly, eyes smarting.
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"Joey, be quiet," said Serenity.
"Are we there yet?"
"Shut up, Mutt," Growled Seto, temper on the rise.
"Are we there yet?"
"Yes!" Anzu cried happily.
Yes, they had finally made it to Crishan and to its capitol, Oraic. As they rode to the silver palace gates two guards approached them, holding spears. "Who are ye?" the left one asked, gruffly.
Seto nudged his horse so he was I front of the guards. "This is Prince Joseph of Sekina," their eyes widened, Seto continued, "Princess Serenity of Sekina," the guards bowed quickly, "and Lady Anzu."
When they finished bowing the right guard asked, "Who are you? Their clerk?"
Seto simply chuckled darkly, sending the guards into cold shivers. "Me?" he asked, "I am the Prince of Arilea, Seto."
The guards shivered again. The Prince they called frozen, glacier, ice cold. They had called him a clerk. They bowed hastily. "Will you please let us see your king and queen? We have urgent business," Serenity said.
"Yes Princess," the right guards said and yelled for the man on a wooden tower to open the doors.
The four rode into the capitol, leaving the guards in the dust. A few seconds passed, then the left clerk punched the other (it didn't do much), and said, "I can't believe ye called 'im a clerk. The ice prince!"
Hope you liked it! Chapter 6 coming soon.
Em