The Forgotten (Elements I)

Chapter 5

I opened my eyes when the door opened, and glared at the mage. He just stood there for a long time, and I eventually just closed my eyes again, ignoring him. I heard him come closer, and the door close softly behind him. I was tense, wary of what he was going to do, and sighed, opening my eyes again to watch him. He dropped into the chair opposite me with a sigh, and leant back, relaxing.

I gave a silent sigh of my own, and swung my legs around, off the arm of the chair. Instead, I tucked them underneath me, curling up on the chair.

“How many of you are there?” he finally asked, not taking his eyes off me. I shrugged.

“Why do you want to know? You have other elementals you can ask.”

His eyes darkened slightly, but he kept his temper in check. “I want to ask you.”

“Well, you have.” I settled myself more firmly in the chair, absently tracing the swirls of my tattoos.

“Give me an answer, Isla.” His voice was hard, an edge of warning to it. I ignored it.

“No. There is no need for you to know.”

At my response, his eyes darkened further with fury, but he didn’t move, still managing to keep his temper under control. “There may be no need, but I want to know. It interests me.”

I dismissed it. “Then continue looking in your books. They will tell you more than I will.”

He glared at me, and stood up, stalking forward to tower over me. I looked up at him, hating the way he’d manipulated me, but I couldn’t move now. He had me cornered.

“They tell me nothing,” he hissed. He grabbed my wrists and pinned them to the arms of the chair. I fought him, trying to break free, but his grip was too strong.

“You need to learn, my dear,” he told me. “You will not get away with this for much longer.”

I tossed my head, and pulled the heat from the hot water in the kitchens into my wrists, hoping to shock him into letting me go. He only flinched as the heat reached him, but he refused to release me. I increased the heat, and he finally let go, cursing as the temperature burnt his palms. I pulled my arms inwards, hugging myself.

“You forget who I am, leanbh,” I said bitterly. He caught my chin and held it firmly, stopping my attempts to break free.

“I don’t,” he replied. “I want to know more. Who was the first?”

I glared at him, and stopped fighting for a moment. “You ask what you cannot know, dynol. I have warned you once. Do not ask again.” My voice had gone low and harsh, and he let me go, his face going pale as he stepped back.

“I want to understand, Isla,” he said quietly. “I want to understand your world. No one knows anything of it.”

“For good reason,” I retorted. “It is impossible for you humans to understand us. We stay apart for that reason.”

He stared at me, and sat down again. “Why are you so scared?”

I glared at him, and refused to answer. I couldn’t trust him to understand me, and what I was.

“Isla, nothing’s going to happen to you. You’re safe here.”

That got to me. “I was safe, twyllo!” I snapped, uncurling myself from the chair. “It’s worse for me here!”

He kept his eyes trained on me, and I crossed my arms, hugging myself. “What can I do, then?” he murmured.

I shook my head over him, and stalked to the window. His magic beat me to it, and it opened, allowing me to look out.  “Free me,” I replied. “If you want me happy, you will free me.”