Dawn of the Elements - Book 2: The Hand of Threngar

Chapter Two: The Silverlance Twins

Loran entered his home, deep within the royal city. Removing The Hand of Threngar, he moved to his living space. "Your playing with fire, Little Brother." A female voice came from his couch. Sitting there, sat a tall woman, glaring at him.

"I'm avenging our family, which is more then I can say about you, Silana." Loran said, collapsing into his chair. "I found our birthright. And soon, I'll face The Master of Fire, and all will be right with the world again."

"I doubt it, since there's two of them." Silana said, hoping to deter her brother. "Plus he has the rest of the Elemental Masters to call on, should he need to." Loran smirked.

"The Hand of Threngar has defeated five Elemental Masters." He said, chuckling. Clearly he didn't believe his sister, when she mentioned there being two Masters of Fire. "And besides, I have a plan." Silana have her brother the stink eye.

"What about the guards?" She asked. "Silver locked down the castle, and doubled, no tripled security. Besides, what kind of plan could you have, that can stop Silver."

"I sneak into the castle, and strike him where I know it hurts." Loran stood, and approached The Hand of Threngar. "I begin isolating the Elemental Masters, starting with the lovely Princess Lyna."

Silana's jaw dropped. "You're a madman!" She hollered. "You can't seriously intend on attacking a little girl, just to hurt her fiancé!?" When she saw the psychotic look on her brother's face, she stood up. "You are! Aren't you!? What kind of idiot are you!?"

"The kind that's willing to do whatever it takes for his family." Loran put The Hand of Threngar on his right hand. "No matter the cost. You should be fighting for the same."

Silana ran from the house. "You'll regret this act of betrayal, Silana." Loran said, watching her run. "Mark my words." He approached the door. "No number of Elemental Masters can save you."

Meanwhile, at the castle, Silver was reading over some test results. "You're sure?" He asked Toxis, who brought the results to him. "It's really him?"

When Toxis nodded, Silver slumped into his chair. "Loran Silverlance was willing to kill, for revenge. It's ridiculous. Why go through all this, just for one piece of petty revenge?"

"I'm not entirely sure, Your Grace." Toxis said, mentally hitting himself, for calling him that. When Silver didn't respond how he normally did, he readied himself. "The Elemental Council is your Sword, and Shield, Your Majesty. Just say the word."

"Hopefully it won't come to that, Master Toxis." Silver said, standing. "But just to be safe, make sure our brethren are ready." Toxis left the office, and Queen Serenity entered.

"You act more like a King every day." She said, walking towards him. "Your parents would be proud, of what you've accomplished so far." Silver rose, as she addressed him.

"I'm no King, Your Grace." He said, bowing his head. Raising it, he waited for her to sit. When she did, he sat back down again. "I'm doing what must be done. What my Ancestor would've wanted."

"What will you do with The Hand, once you have it?" She asked, in slight anticipation. "Hide it again, as he did? Or is there something else?"

"He was able to heat The Hand, burning Threngar." Silver explained. "If He was able to do that, then I should be able to melt it, and completely remove it from existence." The teen's plan seemed sound in The Queen's head, but then she found a complication.

"One slight issue." She responded. "You need to get The Hand from Loran in order to do that. How exactly do you plan to achieve this?" Silver racked his brain. That was one thing he hadn't thought of.

"I'll burn it off him." He said, with misguided confidence. "It worked once, it'll work again." However, he began thinking that Loran may be expecting that.

"Loran will be expecting that." Queen Serenity said, as if she was reading his mind. "How did he even know where to look for it?" Silver pondered this.

"Did Caius have any meetings with him?" He asked, seriousness in his voice. "Any that you can recall? Because he funded Loran's expedition."

"He did, yeah." Queen Serenity had worry in her voice. "You think they've been conspiring against you, even before Caius met you, don't you?" When Silver nodded, she stood.

"I'll double the guards, patrolling the dungeon." She said, authority returning to her voice. As she said this, Silver stood. As she looked at him, she didn't see a Doctor, nor did she see a teenager. She saw a figure of authority.  "Unless you have a better idea?"

"Focusing on Caius is a waste of time." He said, walking the Queen to the door. "I'm not in control of you, you being Queen and all. But I request that you take my advice. If Loran gets in this castle, I will stop him."

"You had better." Queen Serenity said, exiting the room. "If anything happens to my daughter, I hold you responsible." Silver nodded, then said something, he would later regret saying.

"You have my word, Your Grace."