Ice and Air (The Four Elements: Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Surprise Invitation

"It's medium rare!" Chelsea exclaimed. "Liar!"

"For real, I have the urge to freeze you..." I muttered.

"Do you need a cookbook?" Carter asked.

"I admit, I really need a cookbook," Elias said.

A few minutes after Elias announced that he was done cooking the steak, we were practically arguing about how medium 'rare' it is, when it is supposed to be medium 'well'. This is so crazy...

"Just, let me cook everything from now on..." Brandon sighed.

"Thank you," Carter said sarcastically.

Pop!

"What was that?" Chelsea asked. "Better not be a werewolf in disguise..."

"I am certain that I am not a werewolf in disguise. It's only the phoenix." a voice said.

"Oh, then I predicted wrong," Chelsea muttered.

"And I think I sense werewolf presence here..." the phoenix continued.

"You actually sensed me... we were attacked by werewolves a few days ago and I was bitten. I purposely got myself bitten, to keep Kayla from transforming." Elias chimed in.

The phoenix made a face that looked like a gasp, then it calmed down. "Blame the werewolves for this, they still won't follow the rules, even if you guys already rebuilt the whole realm. I also heard you were going to preserve it too, starting tomorrow."

"That's also true." Brandon nodded.

"That's an amazing idea you have. Anyway, my real purpose for this visit is that all the fairies are holding a ball at the Grotto and the five of you are invited as special guests. There will be food, contests, as well as dancing! Isn't it fun?" it said.

"Sounds fun, I'll have to make sure to drink the wolfsbane before I go," Elias said.

"Just so you know Elias, the wolfsbane may taste bad when you drink it. I'm telling you this so you wouldn't be surprised." the phoenix explained.

"It's alright." he said.

"Alright, that's all I need to say. I hope all of you have a wonderful day!" then the phoenix disappeared.

All of us sat in silence, then we automatically continued eating and arguing like some person pressed the play button. It felt like we argued for half an hour until Brandon finally changed the subject.

"So, about the ball... who is the odd one out?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I said, confused.

"You know, dates. Chelsea and Carter are going together, you and Elias are going together, what about me?" he said.

"I'm sure there will also be other people there, not just us," Elias smiled.

"Are you sure?" Brandon raised an eyebrow.

"Trust me, I know the phoenix did not invite us to be the only humans with kinetic abilities there." he said.

"Okay, that's good. I thought I had to invite my own mother over here just to go with me." he sighed in relief.

"That'll be so weird unless if it's a mother-son gathering," I said.

"And what should we wear to the ball? We can't just wear jeans and parkas!" Chelsea added.

"Well..." Elias started, then he started chanting. "Ballgown!"

He stood up and waved his hand, and a ball gown appeared. "For you Kayla."

I gasped as I studied the details of the gown. It is purely made out of water, but it looks like it is made from silk. I love how there is a thin layer of frills that drape over the bottom of the dress and that there are pure jewels on the bodice. Elias, this is so nice!

"I was going to make it for your birthday but, I'll save another dress for that. I'm glad you like it," he smiled.

"Haha!" I giggled for a little bit before calming down. "Anyways, is there some kind of written invitation about the ball?"

"I don't think I see an invitation some--" then Carter was interrupted with another pop!

"Hey, there's something up there!" Chelsea cried out and pointed up to the ceiling.

We all looked up at the ceiling and we saw a square-shaped glow above us.

"Thy hither," Brandon commanded the glow to float over to us.

"It is an invitation! It felt like when we say something, it's going to appear." I said, with wide eyes.

The glow was indeed an invitation. It was a flat white card decorated with tiny gemstones and it said:

* * *

You are invited to the Ice Fairies' Snowflake Ball!

When: December 6th, evening

Where: The Fairies' Grotto

Dress Code: Something blue, white, or winter related. Everyone should wear formal!

* * *

"My dress is taken care of, thanks to you Elias!" I smiled.

"My pleasure, anything for you, Kayla." he replied.

"Which leaves the rest of us to go shopping..." Carter added.

"Yay! I love shopping!" Chelsea cheered.

"Trip to the Snowflake Mall after tomorrow's preservation got it," Brandon said.

"Pray that there are no werewolves there at the ball..." I added.

We all nodded, and then Brandon suddenly spoke.

"Bedtime everyone! I need everyone to be well-rested tomorrow for the preservation. We have a long day after that..." he said.

Immediately, all of us settled into our rooms. Now that Elias is like a werewolf-type of person, he's definitely going to sleep beside me on my bed, shirtless.

"What's wrong with being shirtless?" he asked.

Ohmygosh, really? I thought. "Erm... nothing. Just get in here."

He nodded and laid down beside me on my bed.