The Remembered (Elements II)

Chapter 4

After a while, Nahara caught sight of lightning blue. Curious, she followed it, and caught her breath. She had never expected to see the elusive water elemental, let alone be this close to her. The earth elemental was with her, appearing to be pleading with her. Nahara crept closer, wanting to listen. What she heard made her hold her breath in shock.

“Mam!” he pleaded softly. “Please.”

It was silent for a moment, and then Nahara heard a sigh. “You have a lesson to learn, Dvalin. I cannot teach it to you, and you’re not learning it at home. Perhaps being here will.”

Nahara watched, feeling sorry for the earth elemental. He was staring at his mother in obvious shock.

“But…”

The water elemental shook her head, but Nahara thought she could detect sadness in the motion. “I can’t, blentyn,” she said softly. “It’s not something that’s up to me. It’s up to you now.”

Dvalin’s shoulders slumped, and he let his head drop. “Why?” he asked softly. “I don’t understand.”

“You need to learn, blentyn. You refuse to learn from me, and from those at home.”

“But Mam…”

“You have no choice, Dvalin. You know as well as I do that you cannot be freed yet, even if the mage wanted to. You must wait.”

He sighed. “Yes, Mam,” he muttered.

Nahara couldn’t look away. She had known that the enslavement would be hard for the elemental. She hadn’t realised that it would be this bad.

The water elemental tenderly lifted his head. “You will be fine, fy mab,” she said gently. “You won’t be harmed. I’ve made sure of that.”

Nahara held her breath, hoping that her father wasn’t hurt.

“Mam, I can’t do anything!” he protested, jerking away from her touch. “Nothing!”

That was when her eyes changed. The dark green depths went even darker, and Nahara felt a chill go down her spine.

“Can’t you?” Even her voice was dark and cold, and Dvalin took a careful step back, clearly wary. “That will be fixed.”

Nahara drew in her breath sharply. Now, she feared for her father. However, she didn’t know how she could help.

Dvalin nodded slowly. “Thank you, Mam,” he murmured. She gave him a sharp nod.

“Go, Dvalin. And for once, behave yourself.”

He flinched, and turned abruptly, vanishing into the overgrown plants opposite Nahara, who breathed a silent sigh of relief, looking down for a moment. When she looked up again, she yelped in shock, reeling backwards.

“Listening, were you, fy annwyl?” the elemental asked, keeping her gaze trained on her. Nahara flushed, and dropped her gaze, unsure what to say.

“Well? I asked you a question, feinir.”

Nahara shivered, and then gathered her courage, looking up. “Yes,” she replied, although softly. “I heard some of it.”

The elemental nodded slightly, studying her. Nahara met the piercing gaze squarely, trying to stop her slight trembling.

“You’re brave, plentyn,” the elemental murmured, and suddenly her features softened. She held out a hand. “Come with me. You should understand what is happening with him.”