Elements

Prologue

I've been sent here now, this is where the worst go, the only real reason to cross the Hlathi Ukuthi Uklukanasa. Oh well, it least some of the people here can still be removed and placed under a good temples care, or become some rich family's slave girl or boy. I start moving my clothes I had in my suitcase, when the girl I'll be sharing my room with walks in. "Hi." she said with a smile too happy to be living here, and she was a tiny thing, probably only weighed about a hundred pounds, and I probably weighed double her, but it's all muscle, since I train all day and have gone weeks without food. I halfheartedly smiled back "My name is Kiku, what is your name?" she asked me "My name is Romni." I said "That name is different." she said. "I know." I say. "My spirit animal is the dog. What's yours?" she said showing me the dog shaped necklace around her neck. "I don't know. They have me this and told new to figure it or myself." I said showing her the black and silver stone I had revived from the water temple when I was 6 years old. "I've never heard of them saying figure it out yourself before..." she said. "What is your Element?" she added. "Tell me yours first." I said. She smiled and said,"Air." "Well, I don't exactly have an Element, but I can control lightning." I said. She just looked shocked and didn't say anything. I begin taking off my overcoat and her eyes got huge as I exposed some of my tattoos. "These tattoos are beautiful, I've only ever seen pictures of tattoos like this" Kiku said "Well most of the ones on the left side are from the fire temple, while most on the right are from the water temple." I said "Wait water and fire? No way you traveled the Hlathi Ukuthi Uklukanasa?"she asked. "My mother was Huminata, of the eastern water villages. She was the first woman ever to travel across the Hlathi Ukuthi Uklukanasa. Then she found my dad, Sadik, of the fire village. Once she became pregnant he kicked her out and banashed her from the fire village, no one was to know that he impregnated this foreigner that everyone looked down on. And he was a married man, and from what I've heard I have two sisters and a brother, but I'll never meet them. In the mean time mom left and actually lived back in the water tribe, but she would always tell me that, that life wasnt for her any more, so we actually lived n the Hlathi Ukuthi Uhlukanisa. Which I know is unheard of, but the forest was good to us, and we lived there in peace with another woman and girl who became like my sister." My voice starts to crack from sadness, so I stopped and took a deep breathe. "So what happened?" Kiku said. "Well one day I went gathering and came back and, all four of them were... dead... someone had killed them." I continued. "Wait, four? You said it was your mom, sister, and another woman, who was the forth?" She said curiously. "My mother carried a picture of my father around with her and from what was left of the forth person, so I could tell it was him." I said. "Did he...kill them?" she said with shock "No. I could tell it was not someone of the fire village that did it, so I'm sure it wasnt him. Someone else did it, brought them all together, then killed them all. Either they thought my sister was me, or they didnt want any witnesses." I told her. "That's so sad." she said. "What I just told you, you cant tell anyone, and I've actually never told this story to anyone not holding a knife, or my future. I'm not sure why, but I trust you, and I dont trust people." I said. "You mean usually dont trust people?" she said. "No, I dont trust people, at all." I said. She looked down as though thinking for a minute and then said. "If you didnt kill them, then why are you here of all places. You should have been put in a nice temple." she said "That wasn't recently." I said. "The reason I'm here is because I couldnt let their murder go. I was determined to find and destroy the person that killed my parents. I couldnt concentrate on schooling and kept running away, looking for clues, or anything to point me in the right direction." I said. "Did you ever find the person that did it?" she asked me. "I did... I challenged him, but he came out victorious, almost killed me in the battle too, that was three weeks ago. The western water temple took me in while I healed, but I got tranferred here right after my recovery. Basically, so I wouldn't try and challenge him again, they sent me here" I said "Three weeks ago?'' she said. "Yep.'' I said and showed her the large scar on my side where I had been wounded. "Wow..." was all she could say. ''What about you? What did you do to get sent here? Continuously steal flowers?'' I said. She looked down and said. "They told me to stop telling people why I'm here but, since you told me your story, I don't see why I shouldnt tell you mine. My mother was a temple maid for the western air temple, so naturally when i was born I grew up there too. But my main problem is that, I, I have a beast inside of me. I constantly loose control of myself to it, and usually the results are disastrous. That's why they tell me not to tell the person I'm going to be rooming with, but I think its better to warn you than I wake up with another person mortally wounded or worst...So they sent me here, hoping maybe someone would be strong enough to deal with me. And from what you told me, you seem tough so i think even if i were to attack you, you would probably be ok. But please, I don't want to be alone any more. If I can deal with rooming with you, then maybe people will stop being fearful of me." she said. I was surprised, I knew i felt a lot of power in her small body, but I never would have expected anything like that. "I'm not going to leave just because of the failure to control your powers, plus I would feel the same way if that were to happen to me." I said. She had tears in her eyes when she hugged me awkwardly and I gently, but awkwardly patted her back. "Thank you so much, I swear I'll tie myself down at night and I'll try as hard as I can to control myself." she said while still holding me and crying. "Ok you're welcome, now let me go." I said and she released me from her grasp "Sorry, I got a little besides myself, but, thank you." she said "You're welcome." I said, realizing that was the first time anyone had hugged me since my mothers death. Then I began holding back tears. I finished putting my clothes away in silence, and Kiku ran off out of the room.