The Elements

Chapter Seven

  "Well, Frost, that relieving," Skipper said, patting him on the back.

"Relieving?" I asked. I could barely see Skipper as he nodded, the sun completely gone and the moon at its highest peak.

"Skipper, chill." Brin turned to me. "It's nothing. We just really want everyone to be together, as soon as possible, and we were afraid that you didn't have red blood. I nodded, turning back to the lantern.

It was time for me to cut my finger to see my blood. Frost and I switched places, and finally, I was in front of the lantern. Frost handed me his knife, a bit of his red blood still on it.

I made the cut quick but carefully. It stung, and I also winced. The blood bubbled out thick. I brought my face close, wanting to be one hundred percent sure what color it was.

"It's red," I called to the others, turning to show them. Frost smiled in the dark, and I knew what he was thinking. He was nervous my blood wasn't going to be red like his. Honestly, so was I.

We went to bed soon after Frost and I washed the cuts and hung up our hammocks. Brin and the others had found a small area that was hidden, and had enough trees and bushes to sleep in and camp for a bit.

Canlord was silent that night, only the small hoot of an owl in the distance and the hum of the crickets. It took me awhile to fall asleep, but I could hear everyone else's slow breathing.

When I finally did fall asleep, I dreamed a very odd dream.

There was a girl in my dream with black hair cut in a pixie bob and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She was in a small market, a brown bag slung over her left shoulder. The ground was made of complete sand, and I could see the sweat rolling down the girl's face. She was acting innocent, but I could see her swipe an apple, and then a loaf of bread. She quickly threw them in her bag, and I noticed the skill she had at doing it. If you blinked, you would've missed it. I could tell that she had done that many times, especially as she never got caught.

In the dream, I couldn't talk, but I could follow the girl as she made her way through the market, out of the market, and to the section of about five houses. The houses were on the other side of a few large sand dunes, and the market was on the opposite side. I assumed the rest of the houses were on other sides of the market, making the market the middle, almost like a palace. Only completely different.

The girl had no wings, but she was swift on her feet up the dunes. Being in the dream, I was right beside her, but she didn't notice me. Obviously.

I followed the girl to the second house, which she opened the door forcefully and closed it with a slam. The house was small, only one story and one room, everything connected. I could tell why the girl was stealing things; her house had nothing in it. No food, no running water, no tables, no bathroom. Only a bed. Well, I think it was a bed. It was wooden planks that were messily put together to create a somewhat stable platform. Scrunched up in a ball on top of it was what looked like the cheapest type of blanket you could find, made from a very unkempt sheep and lazily sewed together.

The girl, probably about seventeen moons, fished her apple and bread out of her bag and threw the bag on the floor. She leaned against the wall, chewing loudly, a scowl taking over her face. When she finished her apple, she threw the core outside, tripping over her bed in the process.

"Ow! Oh my-WHAT THE." The elf gasped as she saw the cut that was now on her shin.

The blood wasn't blue.

It was red.

"THE WISHING FAIRIES CAME! THE WISHING FAIRIES CAME!" The dream ended abruptly as I shot out of bed. Cold sweat was running down my back and my face, making me shiver. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Frost fall out of his hammock, landing on his side and with a face full of dirt.