SERENA

PART I: Chapter 7 - Rakon's Power

Serena looks at her father, not sure of what to do. She knows he's probably not happy that Nolyn is in the palace.

"Is that your friend from the Earth Training Ground?" King Soky asks and Serena just nods. "What's your name, boy?" He turns his attention to Nolyn.

"Nolyn."

"And how old are you?"

"Seven."

"Hmm... And what can you do at seven years old?"

The King is trying to see if, although Nolyn belongs to a low class, he is powerful. If he is, he might allow him to continue being friends with his daughter. If not, he will never let Serena see him again. He's not expecting much coming from a seven-year-old boy from the low classes because he doesn't really have anyone to teach him how to be good.

Nolyn steps closer to the King and makes a flower grow in his hands. It's a purple flower, as purple as the King's hair.

The King doesn't seem impressed. He's seen much better.

Nolyn realizes he's not impressing the King so he decides to do something else. He lays his flower on the floor and kneels beside it. He places his hands over the flower and it starts growing and multiplying. In a few seconds there are dozens of flowers in the room, surrounded by green leaves.

"Not bad." The King says. He's impressed now. "You should go back home now though, kid."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Nolyn waves goodbye to Serena and leaves the room.

"What was the idea?" King Soky asks Serena.

"What idea?"

"Bringing that boy here. He doesn't belong here."

"He was Kiana's guest."

"Yes, of course he was. Do you think I don't know you? You always make Kiana do everything you want." He looks at Serena waiting for a response but she doesn't say anything. She never knows what the right thing to say to her father is, so most of the times she decides not to say anything. "I should tell you not to be around that low class boy anymore but he might have some potential."

Queen Nami enters the room, bringing Rakon with her.

"Good, you're both here." She says when she sees the rest of her family.

"Serena was practicing." The King says and doesn't mention that Nolyn was there. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you." She tells them. "I was playing with Rakon using water and I think he might have done something. So I came looking for you to show you."

"What did he do?"

"The water moved in a different direction when he moved his hand. And I wasn't the one who did it." Queen Nami looks at the little bonfire in the center of the room and then at Serena, standing next to it. "Did you do that?"

"Yes." Serena says and smiles proudly.

"Well done." She walks with Rakon towards the bonfire. "Why don't you try to shoot some water at it?" She asks Rakon.

"What? But it's my fire!" Serena exclaims.

"Come on, Serena. You can make another one. Let your brother do this."

"No!"

Serena tries to push Rakon away from the bonfire but he shoots water in her face. Rakon's hair starts turning orange and the King and the Queen look at each other and smile.

"Well done, Rakon!" King Soky says in an excited tone. "This is how it should be, getting your powers at three years old."

Rakon smiles and then shoots water directly into the bonfire. Serena storms out of the room.

A few months later, Serena and Rakon are playing together in the garden with Kiana's supervision. Serena is barely aloud to play inside the castle because she can't control fire very well yet.

Rakon is creating water bubbles, which sounds fun, but he looks bored.

"What's wrong?" Serena asks her brother.

"I didn't want water." Rakon answers.

"Why not? It looks cool."

"I wanted air like dad. I wanted to fly."

"Dad doesn't fly."

"Yes, he does!"

"No, he doesn't."

"Yes, he does. You don't know anything!" Rakon yells.

"Hey, don't fight." Kiana says. "The King doesn't exactly fly."

"See, I told you." Serena tells Rakon.

"But it looks like he does." Kiana continues. "He can manipulate the air around him. And he can create enough air pressure to elevate himself. It's the same process he uses to move things, but he moves himself. Your father is very powerful, almost no one can do that."

Rakon doesn't seem happy with Kiana's explanation, but he decides not to argue with her. There's no point in arguing with grownups.

Two more years go by. Serena is now eight years old and Rakon is five.

Serena is in her room, playing. She has more control over the fires she creates now, which means she spends much more time inside the palace. She's now learning how to absorb fire, so she likes to set fire to things so that she can absorb it afterwards. It usually works, but sometimes she can't put the fires out and needs to call someone else who controls fire or someone who controls water. Usually Rakon is the one closest to her, so he's the one who extinguishes her fires.

She looks at her table, the first thing she ever set fire too. Well, this isn't the same one but it looks just like it. She wonders if she can set fire to it and then absorb it fast enough.

She gets closer to the table and lets her hands set on fire. Then, she places them on the table, letting the fire spread. She takes her hands away from the table and stops them from burning.

Rakon enters her room and, before she can absorb the fire, he shoots water into it and it gets extinguished.

"What the hell?" Serena exclaims.

"What? I helped you. Just like I always do." Rakon says.

"I didn't need help. I was going to try to absorb it."

"You were going to try and you were going to fail. Just like you always do."

"That's not true." She hits him in the head with her hand, but it doesn't really hurt him. "What are you even doing here?"

"I was coming to tell you about something really cool, but with this attitude I don't think you deserve to know about it."

"Stop being an idiot. What is it?"

"Mom and Dad don't know that I know about this, so don't say anything. But in a couple days there's going to be an execution!" The way Rakon smiles when he says that scares Serena.