||THE WAY OF THE WIND||

CHAPTER 4 - THE PROPHECY

Breeze suddenly paused, her body jerking. Eruption had long left her alone to let her make her own way to the Sky Palace.
"Four sides, one war,

The fifth will settle it with claw,

The truth will be revealed,

Your position will be sealed,

But the Great War will continue,

More violent than you knew,

Spirit of the Sky,

You. Have to fly,

Spencer is counting on you."

Breeze lay down on the soft grass of the lush hills under the Sky Palace, panting. She swore that she was the one who chanted the prophecy, but a million questions still burned in the air. What did the prophecy mean? Who did this? Why? How? When? Breeze decided to keep the prophecy to herself. She didn't need a million other questions to overload her, and Breeze wasn't sure if it was even real. She leapt into the air, on her way to her home.

"Where have you been?" Lady Moon roared. "Spencer has already betrayed me! I don't need my top general to disappear off into the unknown and coming back with no prey!"

Breeze bowed. "I am sorry, my Lady. I..." Breeze glanced around; every Sky Element was watching her with giant, unblinking eyes.

"I'd, er, like to talk to you in private."

Lady Moon thought about the request for a second. "Fine," she said. "Study. Now." Lady Moon pivoted, not caring if Breeze followed or not.

Inside the study, it was small, warm and cosy. Instead of walls, bookshelves took its place with titles like, How to Manage your Sky Kingdom, and Greatest Rulers of all of Spencer.

The musty scent of books wafted around. In the middle, there was a small table with a very detailed map of Spencer. There were four, flat round pillows, one on each side of the table. Lady Moon chose a spot and Breeze took the one opposite her.

"What news have you bought? I hope you weren't trouble, gone for that long."

Breeze took a deep breath, and started explaining from after she left the Water Palace, to when she returned home, careful to skip the prophecy.

"I see." Lady Moon murmured finally after Breeze had finished.

"You know, I'm getting old. One day, I won't rule the Sky Kingdom anymore. I think you should take my place. As the ruler of the Sky Kingdom, Lady Breeze." Lady Moon said. "I'll retire to the elders. I don't have any energy left, unlike you, and I can see that you'd do pretty much anything to keep the Sky Kingdom safe. That's what I call a good leader. Tomorrow I will announce that you are the true heir, as I don't have any children."

Lady Moon left the study, and suddenly Breeze could see how old she was, with wrinkles under her eyes and droopy wings. Breeze stared into space, still shocked about how she was supposed to be the 'true heir'. She could only think of one dragoncat who might help her. Ember.

"Knock, knock." Breeze said. Ember answered the door. "I'm surprised to see you here," he exclaimed.

"Come, take a seat."

Inside Room 1 of the Sky Hotel was a luxurious living room, with sunlight enveloping everything. Half the curtains of the giant window, which had a view to the entire Sky Kingdom, were closed, the rest open. A huge sofa draped with soft white rabbit fur faced the colossal TV. A show was playing, which Ember quickly turned off. There was a hallway, split into three rooms, one a bathroom, one a bedroom and one a kitchen.

"Living your life here, eh?" Breeze joked.

"Yeah." Ember agreed. There were some extinguished parts of the velvety carpet, but otherwise everything was fine, unburnt.

"Why have you come here?" Ember asked. "I seek for advice."

Then, starting from when Lady Moon paid her sister a visit, Breeze started to explain everything.