Guardians of Elemental Magic (G.E.M.)

Chapter 5 : The Fire kingdom

A/N: Welcome back everyone! Thanks so much for taking the time to read my story :) Please please rate and review my story if you liked it! Or even if you didn't like it because all suggestions will help me make this story better! Enjoy!!!!

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Third person POV

A sharp contrast can be noticed once Ruby, Mia and Austen stepped through the portal. Or so they expected. The distant screams and the clashing of swords that should have replaced the quiet and peaceful environment of Ruby and Mia's house never came. It was dead quiet... Austen looked at his surroundings. They were probably below the Fire kingdom he guessed as lava was surrounding them and dripping from the rocks around them.

"Come on," Ruby said to Austen as she ran down the tunnel as if she could run through it in her sleep, with Mia close behind. "We have to hurry to the castle, something's wrong."

Austen brought up the rear. "But why are we underground?" he asked curiously.

"It's safest to be underground right now. These tunnels are secret passageways that go straight from our house to the castle. Only very few people know about these tunnels," Mia explained as she quickly turned a corner. "Anyways, we need to move quickly, if war is waging, it shouldn't be so quiet here."

"Do you think the war is over already?" Austen asked.

"I guess we'll find out once we get to the castle. You should head to the Earth Kingdom quickly as well. I can get you some provisions for your journey," said Ruby.

"I can even get to the Earth kingdom through these passageways?"

"Yes, these passageways branch out under all of Neraida," Ruby said as she stops in front of a door. "This door leads to the castle," she says. "The castle shouldn't have been infiltrated by the enemy yet, but be on your guard." She opens the door and stealthily sprints through the castle, pausing at every corner to make sure the hallways are clear. They arrived at the kitchen when Ruby spoke. "Stay here. I'll get you some food for your trip." Then she disappeared through the kitchen doors. Austen peeks into the kitchen to see why Ruby is acting so sneaky. The second she was through the doors, all the kitchen staff bowed and greeted her as 'your highness'. Ruby stopped; shocked that anyone was still in the kitchen during the war.

Wait.... was Ruby the princess of the Fire kingdom? Austen was completely taken aback. Mia couldn't help but giggle when she saw the look of surprise on Austen's face.

"I need some food for a journey. Do you have anything that you could give me?" she asked.

"Of course your highness," answered one of the cooks and quickly whipped out a basket and loaded it with food.

"Thank you," Ruby said as she came back out from the kitchen. She handed Austen the basket but he was too busy staring at her.

"You're a princess?" Austen asked.

"No, she's the queen of the Fire kingdom now that her parents are gone," Mia replied, while Ruby was shaking the basket impatiently. Austen took the basket, still staring at Ruby.

'Why didn't you guys tell me earlier? Now, I look like a fool," he said almost as if he was ashamed. "Should I call you 'your highness' from now on?"

"No, and you never asked," Ruby replied in her usual, emotionless and blunt manner.

"Your highness, I see that you are finally back," said a voice behind them. They turned around to see a teenager walking towards them. He looks to be around their age. "And who is this young man? A friend of yours?" he asked, completely ignoring the fact that Mia was there as well.

"Marcus," Ruby said as she walked towards him, a gentle smile on her face. Austen was shocked to see her smile when she didn't put on her 'school mode'. Did she have special feelings for him? "I got your message and came back as soon as I could," Ruby replied with a once again emotionless expression. This made Austen wonder if the smile he saw was just an illusion. Ruby pointed at Austen. "He's the emerald that you told me I could find. His name is Austen. Austen, this is Marcus, my personal advisor, and Mia's brother."

Marcus looked at Austen and nodded his head at him, an action which Austen assumed was an acknowledgement. "Nice to meet you," Austen said awkwardly. "I heard you're the amethyst?" Marcus simply nodded. Austen then turned to Ruby, "Then, I'll get going now. I'll see you back on Earth once this is all over right?"

Ruby nodded. "Follow the tree markings in the passageways and you'll be able to get to the Earth Kingdom. Hopefully things will go smoothly for the both of us," she said as Austen headed back down into the tunnels.

"So what's going on here? Why's it so quiet?" Mia asked.

A solemn expression clouded Marcus' face. "About that, Um-The..." He took a deep breath and continued, "There was a war but it's ended for now."

"So, who won?" Ruby asked anxiously.

"They did. The Water kingdom did. They took over our southern cities about an hour ago," Marcus replied, a hint of guilt in his voice. "I'm so sorry Ruby."

Ruby clenched her jaw and looked away. "No, it's not your fault, it's mine. I should have been here instead of being on Earth. I should have been here for my people."

"Come on Ruby, it's not your fault. Right now, it's more important for you to find the gems. Even more important now more than ever. It's the only way for this war to end," Mia said as she put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Marcus nodded at this, a rare occasion that the siblings actually agreed on anything. Ruby shrugged off Mia's hands and walked away, her expression unreadable.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Sorry again for a short chapter, but I'll be uploading chapter 6 right after I upload this since they're both on the shorter side! Please rate and review, I would really appreciate it <3 Until the next chapter!