The Master of Nature

Complications

Hope still couldn't get used to the fact that her parents were on the ship. They insisted on tucking her in bed although she insisted that she was a teenager.

The girls' room was getting crowded as Alyssa had temporarily moved in as well.  Hope felt relieved at that as she always felt safer with Alyssa around.

"Mom, Dad, are you going to explain to me about how you know about my powers?" asked Hope.

"It started when we were kids," said Jeffrey. "We both lost our parents early on and lived in the same orphanage. It wasn't all bad. But as there were so many kids, it was difficult to get any attention."

"There was another kid with us," said Olivia. "His name was Logan. He was very secretive. He never socialized with others and was always hiding. Well, one day I was out in Jamanakai Village when I almost had my food stolen by some Serpentine when Logan stepped in. He did something quite extraordinary.

He made rosebushes appear and pricked the Serpentine. He then told me that he was an elemental master, but had kept his powers a secret in fear of being shunned."

"Your mother became friends with Logan," said Jeffrey. "Soon I learned of his secret as well. He was my best man at our wedding."

"Wait, I'm confused," said Hope. "You're saying that I got his powers? But how is that possible?"

"Usually, elemental powers are inherited from your ancestors," said Olivia. "But Jeffrey never wanted to get married or have kids. That never concerned us until one day, when I found out that I was pregnant with you."

"Logan fell ill," said Jeffrey. "It was a wasting disease. We took care of him, but it wasn't much use. You were born a week before his death."

"He said that since he didn't have an heir, he would be choosing you as his successor," said Olivia. "We checked if you had signs of elemental powers."

"There were small signs," said Jeffrey. "The flowers in our garden stayed alive even if we forget to water them. However, they all died after we gave you away. But we didn't dare say anything about it."

"Why didn't you tell me that I had powers?" asked Hope.

"We're sorry. We wanted to protect you," said Olivia. "We have always regretted giving you away. I had a wild dream about you crying for our help and started looking for you. But we ended up getting captured by those Skulkin warriors when we walked into one of their attacks."

"Samukai locked us in the lighthouse with Dr Julien," said Jeffrey. "We thought that we would never see you again until you came."

Hope smiled at her parents. "You won't ever have to worry about losing me again. That's a promise."

~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~

The next day, the group resumed their journey to the Dark Island. Hope couldn't help noticing that Lloyd seemed withdrawn.

Hope's parents were talking to Alyssa and Zane was catching up with his father and brother, so Hope went to Lloyd.

"You okay?" she asked.

Lloyd didn't answer. Hope was concerned. Was Lloyd already turning into an angsty teenager?

"What's the matter, Greenbean? Are you worried about the Final..."

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" yelled Lloyd as he covered his ears. Everyone turned and stared at him.

Kai immediately switched to what Hope called his older sibling mode. "Lloyd, is everything okay? Do you need anything?"

"Nothing's wrong," said Lloyd. "Just leave me alone."

"Seriously, something's wrong," said Cole. "And I have a feeling that it's more than just you-know-what."

Lloyd sighed. "Can we talk alone?"

So Hope and Nya followed the boys into their room so that they could discuss privately.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," said Lloyd. "Zane, you had such a nice reunion with your Dad. Hope too. Why can't my reunions be like that? It's not fair! I think everything is against me."

"Lloyd, your anger is perfectly valid and..." started Nya.

"Am I a bad person for not forgiving my Mom?" asked Lloyd. "I mean... I still love her, but I..."

"Lloyd, just take deep breaths," said Hope.

Lloyd did as told, and seemed to get calmer. "I think I know what's wrong. I am not expressing my frustration in a healthy way."

"Don't worry Lloyd, sometimes I do that too," said Kai.

"Maybe... I should talk to my Mom about how I feel," said Lloyd. "I have been sort of avoiding her since the museum. But that isn't going to make things better."

"You're right," said Hope. "After all, healthy communication is a good idea."

"Yeah," said Jay. "My parents always told me to be open about my emotions."

Lloyd smiled a little. "Thanks. I'll try to be a bit more open. But it won't be easy."