"Wh...What?" the Snow Queen backed up a step, the ice from the air melting instantly.
"Now, girls. If you're going to fight, do it outside." Queen Ella said, not paying attention as she gazed out the window.
"How...how did you know?" Queen Anna asked, glancing at her sister protectively.
"The day you accepted your destiny, the air changed throughout the world. I felt it as if a wall was crashing into me. And I thought finally. Do you know why I was so eager to meet you? Because it meant that I could finally teach another person what being a Fifth Spirit really meant." I was grasping at the air now, holding its fine strands in my fingers, "And when I found out one of my matches was royalty like me? I dug myself out of my humanless life in order to find you, in order to connect with you. And to truly teach you how to use your power completely."
I tugged on the filaments of air and launched myself up to sit on the top of the bookcase. I smiled back down, and it took them a moment to find me.
"How did you get up there so fast?" Princess Rapunzel shouted, swiping her hair from her eyes. I stretched out my fingers before slowly bringing myself back down. I went into a deep bow.
"A new introduction is in order, I believe. I am the Fifth Spirit of the Oasis, known by her people from many names including The Floating One, Princess Aria the Whirlwind, or by my family, Aria the Immortal." I stood straight, going through the motions in my head. The countless introductions I have made this way, before shutting myself out of the world.
"Immortal?" Princess Rapunzel asked, a shadow of fear crossing her face.
"Yes, that is what happens to us once we become Fifth Spirits, we become immortal. You received your calling at maturity and the, what I'd call, the perfect age. I was not so lucky." I gestured to my permanently 17 year old body, still scrawny as ever.
"You mean…" Queen Anna said quietly.
"Yup," I nodded, "The first princess of Glory-Haven, a week before being crowned, And I heard the call from across the desert."
"A week before?"
"Yes, our people get crowned as early as needed so the former rulers can turn to other business, like religion or maintaining tradition, or raising young children throughout the kingdom."
"You also said first princess, but Glory-Haven has been a kingdom for… centuries." Duchess Kay said. I had forgotten the twins were there, so silent and observant.
"Wait, what?" Queen Anna blurted, scratching at her ears for a moment.
"Yes, over three hundred years, although I think it would have to be closer to four hundred now." I rubbed the back of my neck in thought. How long was I away from my home? It was long enough for the rulers I had left to be long dead. My name had nearly been dissolved into legend.
"So… does that mean…" The Lost Princess started.
"I am over that amount, yes. But I didn't stay home very long, only a single day to retrieve the invitation and get a boat. It's not hard when you can do the things I can do." I shrugged, flexing my mind to test the air around us.
The room suddenly got too small.
"Can we move outside? Now that my power is… awake… I need to… stretch? Sorry, I guess it makes more sense if you don't use it for so long." I blubbered.
"No need to explain, I get it completely." the Snow Queen assured me, leading us out behind the castle to a private courtyard.
The courtyard was just big enough for a boat to fit through. But that's the perk of having so much room, as royalty. The grass nearly glowed green in the sun, the trees lively and the pond full of fish.
Here, the threads of air became a blanket swallowing everything around. I could feel my groupmates breathing, I could hear the distant breeze and echoes of Arendelle. I could even, with a bit of concentration, see the air moving in big, sweeping shapes. With a few twitches, I made a breeze swell and wane in my ears. I marveled at the waves I had made in the water, and was engrossed in the sound the leaves made as the breeze scuttled them.
"Arendelle is so very wonderful. A much better pace than that old island I had quartered myself in." I smiled and flung my hands into the air, warming in the sunshine.
"Island?" Queen Ella questioned. The rest of the group was still a ways away from me, watching my every move.
Like how I was treated in the castle, growing up and later when I returned.
"What? Oh, yeah. It became too painful watching my relatives die and being subjected to meaningless tasks. So, I have been living in a bleak island system." I explained, turning around.
"Tasks?" Princess Rapunzel asked, flopping onto the ground.
"Yes. They were afraid of me, you see. So they thought that if they gave me little jobs, then I wouldn't do anything. Your parents had other means of controlling you, I take it?" I asked the Snow Queen. She nodded. I cleared my throat before speaking again.
"Then we have both been tortured."
I wrote everything except the last 6 paragraphs the same day as last chapter, so yay. Maybe there will be another today, keep an eye out!
Otherwise, please review! I want to hear from you!
Wow that rhymed. Coolio.