Dawn of the Elements - Book 4: Future Rewritten

Chapter Eight: One Sided Negotiations

"Melody's condition shouldn't be your concern." Caius said, watching Silver fawn over his daughter, checking her over. "We have negotiations to complete." He took a sip from his glass.

"Now, you're going to lure your Elemental Masters to the Field of Baladun." Caius stated, explaining his terms. "Where you will allow my men to slaughter them. After I've killed you, the Elemental Mistresses will die in child birth, after hearing of your demise. And I'll let Sweet Melody go home, to a future where she failed her mission."

"Those sound like extremely one sided terms, Caius." Silver said, looking over the cuffs on Melody's wrists. "Aren't negotiations meant to benefit both sides?" Caius laughed at this, his wide grin widening further.

"Not when you're involved, Silver." He said, laughing. "When you're involved, I must do whatever it takes to succeed, and surpass you." He then noticed that Silver was no longer paying attention to him.

"Take this, and hold it tight." Silver whispered, placing an object in his daughter's hand. Melody was confused for a bit, then looked in her hand. Inside was a jet black shard of metal. "When I give the signal, picture a room in the castle, and run for that dark corner." She watched him gesture to a corner of the room.

Silver then heard Caius complaining in his chair. "Are you still talking!?" He shouted, clearly annoyed now. "I stopped listening ages ago, after you said something about me being involved."

"Then I should just kill you now, and save myself the trouble." Caius said, standing. "And with no powers, you're completely defenceless." He then heard something that scared him. The sound of crackling flames.

Then he looked Silver in the eye, and his face went from a smug look, to a look of horror. Staring back at him were a pair of blood red reptilian eyes, flames pouring from them. "That's impossible!" Caius shouted, noticing the cuffs still on Silver's wrist. "You still have the Element Dampening Cuffs on!"

"Both sets of cuffs are visually identical." Silver hissed, snapping the cuffs off his wrists. "It would take a trained eye to distinguish one from the other." He grabbed the chain binding his daughter. As it melted, the tube weaved into it sealed up, cutting Caius off from his favourite drink.

Silver then draped his coat over Melody's naked frame, and started moving her towards one corner of the room. "Caius, next time you ask me to leave my weapons at the door, make sure you check for spares!" He shouted, then turned to Melody. "Go! I'll be right behind you!"

Melody, without hesitation, ran into the dark corner, and disappeared. As she did, Caius began screaming. "HOW'D SHE DO THAT!? SHE DOESN'T HAVE MY POWERS!" Silver then held up a jet black metal shard, which Caius immediately recognized.

"When we faced off on the stage, in the Hall of Elements four years ago, I had shards of unadulterated Thrik Alloy on my person." Silver explained. "When you blasted me, you charged them with your powers. Unfortunately they only have a limited number of uses. But their uses are enough for this."

Silver waved at Caius, who began screaming bloody murder. As he waved, he backed into the dark corner, and out of sight. All he could hear, was Caius' screaming.

He walked out of the shadows in his office. As he did, a guard walked by. "Guard!" He shouted. "Rally the Guards! Search the castle! The Princess is here somewhere, and she needs serious medical attention! Find her!"

Silver then rushed from his office, and ran down the hall. As he ran, he met Silana in the hallway. "Silana!" He shouted. "Find Dr. Mallard! Tell him I want him in the MedLab, with a blood transfusion kit ready to go before I get there!" The alchemist nodded, and ran off to find the Doctor.

"Where would you go?" Silver asked himself. "I said to picture a room in the castle. Which room would be the safest for you to travel to?" And then it hit him. There was one room in the castle, one that had been kept safe for almost a thousand years. One directly beneath him.

The Master of Fire ran to the Archives. Setting the book "The Last Will and Testament of King Harold Lancaster" into it's spot in the shelf, he watched, as the shelf swung open. Running down the twisted tunnel, he came to the doorway, the entrance to the tomb of Harold Lancaster.

Opening the door, Silver shouted. "Melody!" To his relief, he heard a very faint voice respond. Jumping into the water, he swam across the underground lake, until he reached the sarcophagus of Harold Lancaster.

Leaning against it, shivering, stood Melody. "It was the safest room in the castle, Father." She said, weakly. "I wasn't sure where else to go." The Horned King got his eldest daughter onto his back, and made the painstaking trip back across the lake.

Running into the MedLab, soaking wet, he set Melody onto the bed Dr. Mallard had prepared. "Ready the transfusion, Dr. Mallard!" The Doctor nodded at his superior, then fitted both Masters of Fire into the machine. Silver watched, as his blood flowed into the worn out teen next to him. Then everything faded to black.

Hours later, Silver's eyes opened. Looking next to him, he saw bright purple eyes staring lovingly at him. Melody smiled at her father, reaching out her left hand. Silver took it in his gloved right hand, smiling at her.

"How do you feel, Melody?" He asked, squeezing her left hand a bit. As he watched the white parts of her hands go pink again, he knew that her circulation was back to normal, which gave him some relief.

"I feel weak." The girl stated, smiling at her father. "I feel like I have no strength left." The man smiled at his daughter, who squeezed her hand. "But I also feel safe. I feel safer in your arms then I ever have."

The Master of Fire gently laid Melody back down in the bed. "Rest now, Little Flame." He said, standing up. "You've been through a lot." Kissing her forehead, he left the room, leaving Melody to rest, and regain her strength.

The teen reached over to the nightstand, and grabbed the shard of Shadow Thrik Alloy, which had been placed there after she'd been brought in. Taking some medical twine, she began crafting, building the shard into a necklace, which she promptly put around her neck.

Hearing the metal connect with her coupler's chest plate, the fiery teen thought out loud, for the first time in quite a while. "I'll never feel that vulnerable again." She then closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.