Aquamarine

Dedicated to @Rosemary_21 for the beautiful cover she made!

The smell of burning flesh, wood, metal, and leather hit my nose, almost making me stumble. I turned and ran towards my smoldering village, trying to save the ones that I love. As I drew closer, I saw men, soldiers in black and gold clothing, slaughtering villagers and setting our huts ablaze. Black and gold- a royal soldier’s uniform. Why were soldiers attacking my home?  I stood in shock in the town square, unable to move. The screams of horror and pain from the other villagers jerked me into action as I grasped my sheathed sword and started towards the source of the screams, and I almost puked at the sight in the square. Dead, lifeless faces stared back at me. My parents lay, cold, in a heap near my feet.

“No,” I whispered, tears filling the back of my eyes, “You can’t leave me.” Some silly, desperate part of me wanted them to respond. “Please, don’t leave me,” I sobbed, cradling my mother’s head in my lap. “Stay, Momma, please stay with me Papa!” I was screaming now. They couldn’t be gone, they couldn’t, and this was all just a dream.

“She’s over there.” I heard a harsh voice, “Guards kill the Elemental!” Me? Why do they want me? Soldiers began closing in on me, circling me.

“You killed my parents!” I shouted at them, “You will never take me; I am my parents’ legacy!” I called upon the little water energy in the nearly dried air. I remembered a place in the forest, a meadow, surrounded by earth. I willed the water to translate me there. I could feel it swirl around me and do my bidding.

“Momma, Papa!” I jerked awake calling for my parents, then I remembered where I was and why I was there. My dream wasn’t a simple nightmare; it was a memory of two weeks ago. I had nothing except the clothes on my back, an old blue tunic, pants (also blue) and my sword. My father, the best smith in the village, had crafted it for me and inlaid an aquamarine gem into the otherwise plain hilt. My father always taught me self-defense, while my mother trained me in using my Gift. In our world, Gifteds were individuals with magical powers. The powers varied, some were useful talents like cooking or cleaning, while more powerful Gifts involved sorcery and the elements. My mother had been one of the most powerful sorceresses and healers in Aratin, so when it became clear to her that I was Gifted, she thought that I would be another sorceress. Imagine her surprise when she discovered that I was actually an Elemental, one Gifted in one of the elements, mine being water. I smiled at the memories of training with my parents before I shook them out of my head and focused on staying alive. Our kingdom had once been beautiful, but now the land was all dust and ashes. All of the land, that is, except this forest. In the heart of the forest was a river, free and flowing. I had discovered that I didn’t need bodily nourishment, all I that I needed was offered to me through the river. Clothes and all, I waded in the crystal clear water, relishing how cleansed I felt. I relaxed into the water when I heard a rustling behind me. I froze; my heart beating in my ears.