Order of the Elementalists

Chapter One

This story takes place with Jesse #2

Jesse woke shivering in the dungeon of the Shadow Kingdom, his little sister curled up to him for warmth. Jess was shaking, even in her sleep. The dungeons had always been a dark and miserable place. Jesse had been able to tell from the few weeks he and his sister had been here, after the raid on their village in the Earth Kingdom. But now, they seemed colder and lonelier than ever.

Suddenly, uproar.
"Intruder!"
"After him!"
The sound of pounding feet and shouting awoke Jess. The ten year old stared at the twelve year old with wide, scared eyes,
"What's going on?!"
Jesse sighed and pulled her closer, "I don't know, but it's nothing to do with us."
Guards, dressed in the black suits of armour of the Shadow Kingdom, sprinted past their cell. Once their footsteps had faded away, a tall, well muscled figure stepped out of the shadows.
A black cloak slid away to reveal white furs, a turquoise jacket and darker trousers with black, furred boots. An Ice Elementalist. He (for it was now evident that it was a man) had dark brown hair that fell in a ponytail halfway down his back, copper skin, and kind, brown and grey-blue eyes.
Jesse stood in front of his younger sister, brown eyes ablaze with protection, "Leave us alone!"
The man raised his hands in a 'I surrender' gesture, "Easy, lad, I don't mean you any harm," His voice was deep, comfortingly so.
Jesse began to wonder if, maybe, he really didn't want to hurt them.
"Are there any more of you in here?" The man asked.
Jess tentatively stepped forward and shook her head.
"N-No," she stuttered, "They were all carted off for execution yesterday." A shiver ran through her, "We're due tomorrow..."
Jesse heard a sharp intake of breath come from the man. He saw his brow furrow sympathetically then return his gaze to the children,
"I'm going to get you out of here, alright?"
The children nodded.
"Stand back."
The kids did so. The man's eyes began glow a bright, icey blue; ice began to appear on their cell bars, squeezing them. The ice pressed harder and harder and then - CRACK - the bars shattered.

The guards must have heard for there was uproar once again nearby.
"He's gotten to prisoners 58462 and 58463!"
"To the Execution Tower!"
"Hurry! They mustn't escape!"
The man's eyes widened, still glowing slightly, "Shit." He cursed before holding out a hand to the startled children, "Let's go before they get here."

The children held the man's hands and ran like they never had before.
The man led them through twisting corridors and hallways, which Jesse thought he surely must have memorised, before leading them to a window. He performed the same trick he'd used on their cell bars. Still holding the children's hands, he stepped onto the window ledge. He faced Jesse,
"Will you be alright balancing for a moment? You can keep hold of my furs if you need to."
Jesse nodded but clutched the white furs for dear life.
The man outstretched the hand that had been holding Jesse's and a floating platform of ice appeared, eyes glowing once more.
Gently, the man lifted the children onto the platform with bear-like strength. Then he stepped onto the platform with almost no thought at all. He raised his hand and thick ice formed where the window once was. His eyes, still glowing, narrowed in concentration as he slowly, silently, guided the platform over the Shadow Kingdom walls and into the forest beyond.

Once they were over the forest, the man gently guided the platform lower and lower until it hovered centimeters above the grass. Jess grinned and stepped off,
"Thank you, Mister...?"
"Gabriel is fine, lass," Gabriel smiled warmly.
Jesse stepped off, still unsure of what to make of him,
"Why did you free us? None of the other Kingdoms do anything without a reason," Jesse glared at the man.
Jess winced, "Jesse! Maybe he just did it because he's a good person; the Ice Kingdom never attacked ours, remember?"
Gabriel chuckled a warm, hearty chuckle, "Your brother is right to be suspicious of my motives. I did it because one, it was the right thing to do, especially if you were to be executed-" Jesse heard his voice tremble a little and began to wonder- "And two, because.... Well, I've friends who can explain it better to you." His eyes stopped glowing and the ice began to melt, "Follow me," He walked off. Jesse and Jess, partially because they had no choice but to and partially because they were curious, followed.

After a few minutes of silent travel, Gabriel asked, "Where abouts are you two from?"
"A village in the Earth Kingdom, Atayla." Jess said
"'Of good harvest and wealth'." Gabriel murmured, to no one in particular. Jesse cocked his head,
"What?"
"Hm? Oh, my apologies. The name of your village means 'Of good harvest and wealth' in the Old Language. I've been studying it for admittedly no good reason-"
"You mean you've been studying it for a bad reason?!" Jess shrieked, eyes wide and worried again.
Gabriel smiled, "No. It just means I did it out nothing but curiosity rather than an actual reason to."
"Oh."
Jesse smiled slightly, "You sound like our mom."
Gabriel looked round at them with gentle eyes, "She sounds like a good woman."
Jess nodded, "She was. But then the raid happened and she was taken to be executed and we didn't get to spend time with her for a final time!" She burst out sobbing, hugging Gabriel's leg. Gabriel looked at her with surprise for a moment before pity took over. He knelt down and pulled the sobbing girl into his strong arms,
"I know," his voice broke, "I know." He said again, voice strong and steady once more.
Jesse joined in on the hug, only because he was feeling left out. Gabriel shifted to put an arm around the boy.
They were like that for a few minutes before Jess calmed down enough to say they could get moving again.

They walked on for another few minutes before they reached a wall of thistles. Gabriel purposely pricked his finger on a thorn and the wall untwisted and untangled itself to let them through. The Ice Elementalist strode forwards, stemming the flow of blood with a small piece of blue fabric which he had wrapped round the cut.
Jesse and Jess shrugged and followed him through. They gasped at the sight that stood in front of them.
There were five other kids. One from the Ice Kingdom, one from the Fire Kingdom, one from the Sun Kingdom, one from the Wind Kingdom and another from the Earth Kingdom. They were all playing with each other. Scattered around the clearing were four other adults, all from the same Kingdoms the kids were from. They were talking, laughing and watching the kids. Huts were spred around the edge of the clearing, each reflecting the style of an afore mentioned Kingdom. All apart from one, that was. This one had a design from all the Kingdoms except the Shadow Kingdom, presumably this was where the kids slept.
One of the adults, another Ice Elementalist, raised her head upon their arrival. She walked over. Up close, Jesse could see wavy brown hair, bright grey-blue eyes and pale skin. She too wore furs, however hers were grey and had a hood which was up. She had a darker teal jacket, white shirt and greyer trousers with brown boots. Black glasses sat on her nose. She gave them a quick but warm glance,
"So everything went according to plan?" She asked Gabriel. Gabriel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose,
"Almost, but they've got that place better protected on the inside since last time. If we do need to go back there, we can't bet on it being the same as this time."
The woman nodded. She looked at the kids again and Gabriel did the same with an expression of him remembering that they were there.
"I'm sorry, you two. This is Bethany, our lead strategist and my little sister."
Bethany sighed and gave her brother a look, "You know I prefer Beth."
"Yes, but why would I pass up the opportunity to annoy you?
Beth hmphed, then scanned the younger pair of siblings. Her brow creased in sympathy,
"They look as if they haven't eaten." She muttered, hand coming to rest on her heart, "Take them to Ivor and Britney, they need for and more than likely a medical check."
Gabriel nodded and muttered something beneath his breath.

Before long, they were inside the largest hut. This one had a blue theme to it, with flowing fabrics and curtains. Inside, two people were there. One had the dark blue, monolid eyes and ivory skin of the Water Kingdom. Long, black hair trailed down his back and his blue and indigo clothes flowed about his skinny figure, robe-like.
The other was a woman with honey coloured skin, golden locks and rounded, olive green eyes. She wore a pretty, canary yellow dress that clung gently to her hourglass figure. The dress itself had a silvery waistband and shoulder straps. There was no doubt about it. She was stunningly beautiful, especially by the already extremely high Light Elementalist standards.
Gabriel cleared his throat, "Sorry, Ivor. It's Jesse and Jess," he gestured to the children, "They need a check up and-"
"Oh, the poor things!" Britney said, eyes widening, "They look as if they haven't eaten a decent meal!"
As if to confirm this, Jess's stomach rumbled.
"They'll have to eat later, I'm afraid," Ivor said, not sounding at all gentle and kind like Gabriel had, "I need to get their weight and height without the added weight of food."
Gabriel sighed, but it was clear he understood.
Jesse growled, "No! I'm never having another 'check up'!" He put the last two words in air quotes, as if he didn't believe the adults.
Gabriel turned to him, eyes narrow with concern, "The doctors in the Shadow Kingdom, did they do something to you?" He asked in not quite a whisper.
Jesse glared harder but Jess nodded.
Gabriel knelt to their height, "I promise Ivor won't do anything to you. I won't let him."
Jesse thought for a moment. He looked at Jess, studying her, realising how pale her normally caramel coloured skin was and thin and frail she was. Slowly, the lad nodded,
"Fine."