Element 6: A Secret World (#WattyAwards2015)

Prologue

"Run!" Everyone was yelling, screaming as the protective dome over our island slowly diminished, revealing a gray sky that seemed to be growing darker each passing second.

I heard the wailing of my babies call to me from below. I run to the ladder a few feet to my left and I climbed as quickly as I could. All the emotions of fear, anxiety, and anticipation of what was going to happen surrounded me and I felt the adrenaline go through my veins. I noticed the lake beside me had begun to crash around as the ground began to shake rather harshly. Taking in deep breaths, I tried to calm my nerves; I tried to stop controlling everything.

"Jade?" I heard Lucas call my name. I ran to the railing of our tree house, looking down to see my husband rushing up the ladder as quickly as I had.

Sweat covered his face and he seemed exhausted as he covered his hip. Blood dripped down his hand as he showed me his wound. I was to shocked to even gasp, what I was seeing was remarkable and basically... impossible. I slowly took back steps towards the door, but he held up his hand, reaching for mine.

"Everyone has their secrets," he mumbled.

"What is happening Lucas?" I asked as I firmly wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tight.

I could feel his wound stitch itself back together, the electric lines acted as thread as it pulled his skin back so it could be one once again. Fire benders always have secrets but I thought I had known all of Lucas' secrets, but even that was a lie.

"We have to get the children out of here," Lucas began as he dragged me into the house, "Can you work on a dome?"

The tips of my fingers prickled like fire as I concentrated on everything around me. The tree began to creek and groan as I felt my will overpower the living creatures. In my head I asked the tree for a favor, I asked the creature to protect my family and I.

As you wish my lady, the tree had replied softly, and I bended the wood to expand into a thick covering as it engulfed over the house.

Lucas handed me our baby girl, her pink blanket wrapped over her body tightly. Her little hands were covered with gloves as she swung them around. I smiled at the creature I had brought to the earth to be a living and breathing human. Grabbing her little hand, I put my nose against hers.

"Jade, I know you want to find the right names, but we must name our children now, we must protect them, keep them alive." Lucas whispered beside me as he cradled our little boy who was fast asleep in his arms.

"I don't want to let them go." Tears began to stream from my eyes, falling onto my baby's face and she swatted her hands around furiously.

"Neither do I, but I rather let them go than watch them die." Right after Lucas told me that, there was a series of sharp pelting against the dome over our house.

The tree groaned again, creeking as she thicked her wood for me, then she spoke.

My lady, they won't stop and they are bringing in much large machinery. I apologize my lady, but I feel my power draining, I'm afraid I won't hold. You must run to safety somewhere else.

"Lucas, we have to go." I said in a rushed tone.

I held my little girl tight as I gave a swift nod to the floor. The flooring removed itself, revealing a small slide down the tree's wide trunk and down into a secret tunnel that was buried hundreds of feet below the forests surface floor.

Lucas hung tightly to our other child while also gripping tightly onto a golden encrusted box. I jumped and slid to the ground safely, yelling for Lucas to hurry. The ground shook as a large explosive was directed towards the dome.

I'm sorry my lady...

The tree gave in to the next explosive and I watched as Lucas jumped into the slide, but he wasn't fast enough. Splinters flew through the air and I felt myself let go for a while. Lucas slid down to safety, his warm body crashing into mine as he hugged me tight. I stared in fear at what I was doing. All the splinters had stopped midair and were slowly turning, I could feel myself controlling them, but my mind was to filled to concentrate. All the fear, worry, anxiety, death , and anticipation crowded over my true emotions that I had tried so hard to keep in place and I felt my barrier shatter.

I'm not a killer... I'm not a killer...

I kept repeating that phrase in my head before I reached out my hand as if to stop the splinters from flying back to the men that were shooting at us. I could feel the bodies of the dead men fall to the earth's floor; I felt their pain as the splintered wood pierced through their skins and straight through their hearts. I felt the earth's agony for its dying children and I couldn't help but scream.

Lucas held me tight, our children crying together with me. I knew in my heart that they had felt everything I had. They felt the pressure, the death and the grieving of the earth and people.

"Jade, calm down..." Lucas whispered reassuringly as he hugged me tight while I cried my life away. "Deep breaths, just like we practiced."

I did as he instructed, taking in shaky breaths and I felt the flooring to our home close over us and the tunnel. The trunk was once again filled in with the wood that had come over as a protective dome over the house.

We were now in darkness, heading up through the tunnel and I stayed perfectly in the middle as he ran through the barren space. Lucas kept looking back at me but I kept my focus ahead of us, my only worry was to get our babies to safety.

Soon we were in a dark temple, the only light was from a purple hue that covered over the ceiling. No one knew about this place because dark bending was not only forbidden, but it was also a lost talent. I quickly followed behind Lucas as he walked towards a stand that held a glass shield over it. Inside was a legend, a rumor, and above the worn brown scroll were two necklaces that formed the moon of darkness when the they were together.

I watched Lucas as he put our son over the glass shield. I held my little girl close to my chest before I removed her blanket and holding her above the glass, next her brother. They both squirmed in our hands, their tiny fingers reaching for a purple hue that they couldn't reach. The glass shattered and the necklaces sparkled as we put them around the babies necks, each half moon seeming to look rather odd.

"I'll leave our boy among benders, and you leave our girl amongst the world, somewhere where it's difficult to find her." Lucas spoke as we wrapped the children back into their blankets.

"Why don't we leave them together?"

"Jade, twin benders that hold a bending skill far greater than the others doesn't seem safe. They shattered the glass, don't you know what that means?"

I felt myself go back into memories, back to the day of my traditional bending coronation. I remembered that as the day I met Lucas, but also as the day my life had changed forever.

By my teachers, I was decreed to be a earth bender, my harmony with earth was perfect and flawless. I was very happy as they placed a flowered crown over my head, but when it came to placing my hand over the glass shield that protected a wooden tree necklace, I felt nervous. Everyone watched as I placed my hand over the glass, but instead of it opening up enough for me to slip my hand in and grab the necklace, it shattered. Days later I learned that shattering glass meant more than an avatar, it meant royal bending blood. I had the power to bend not only anything I wanted, but I also had the power to take and give bending skills.

"Okay..." I whispered. Twin benders were always bad news, but powerful twin benders... we need another word to describe extremely, horribly, bad.