Elements : Book One

Chapter Twenty - Four

The classroom is quiet. No one is talking, but their eyes are focused on the three of us. Jacob is standing on my left with stick in his hand to lean on, when he walks. His blonde hair is messy, his usual sparkling blue eyes dull. His lips are sealed together in a thin line. On my right is Luke with raging aura around him. His brown eyes are glazing with anger. He has large bruise on his jaw.

"Come on, come on, take a seat." A man in his forties says with cheery tone. His face is round and chubby with sparkling blue orbs, We obey him as we start walking towards the spare seats. I sit in the back, near the corner. Luke sits in the middle row, next to Marlee, while Jacob sits directly in front of the teacher. "My name is Mr. Harrison and I hope we can become great friends." Unlike Mr. Sanders he seems friendlier.

The low murmurs of greeting goes over the class. But none of them seem to be truly paying attention to the teacher. Mr. Harrison smiles, shaking his head and standing up. He starts walking around with stoic face with book in his hands.

"Today, we are going to talk about the meanings behind each element." I perk up at his voice. The subject that has always astonished me. "It is believed that Elements are choosing their wielder." Mr. Harrison starts talking, gaining everyone's attention. "According to some personal attributes the person has." He smiles gently. "Long ago, during Sisters' Era, first element appeared and it was Spirit, that disappeared soon after The Great Elemental War." Mr. Harrison coughs. "Spirit was one of the strongest and rarest elements in History. Today we only have two users that can manage to use certain aspects of Spirits." Sisters Destiny and Sanity. Two women, who manage to use two aspects of Spirits. And one of them is meditation. "Aside from Spirits, there are seven elements that have disappeared." His voice is low, ominous. "Poison, Moon, Animal Manipulation, Weather, Gravity, Space Manipulation and Shape - Shifting." Mr. Harrison smiles sadly at all of us. "Yet, there were also two elements... Aether and Nether, holiest and unholiest powers in the world." He states firmly.

No one says anything. But I can feel that something is wrong. No one says a word, but I can feel their emotions moving inside of them.

"As you all know, there are five Elementa Pelagus." I cringe at Latin words. But unlike before, now I know that it stands for Main Elements. "Air, Earth, Water, Fire and Electricity." Mr. Harrison smiles gently. I can detect pride of having main element inside of him. "Air stands for Harmony. Earth stands for Intellect. Water Stands for Serenity. Fire stands for Strength and Electricity stands for Life." We all nod, writing down the notes. "Also, there is Darkness And Light. One stands for evil, while another for Kindness." He states firmly.

Not every Darkness Elementalist is evil, Cassie.

I know that Sapphire. I have witness people from other Elements that were evil enough to be banished. Why are they fixated on Darkness and Fear so much?

Because they are scared. They don't understand how these powers work. They are scared how much both of them can hurt.

"There are also Secondary Elements." Mr. Harrison continues talking, his eyes fixed on everyone. "They are referred like that due to the fact, that they emerged from the Main Elements. Yet, they are equally strong." He adds hurriedly. But I know that he does not believe it. "Ice stands for Morals. Plants stand for Beauty. Energy stands for Life Force. Metal stands for Standards. Fear stands for Destruction. " He elaborates calmly and smiles gently.

The class falls silent once again, everyone's attention on the man in front of us. None of us dare to say a single syllable. Mr. Harrison is standing in front of the board, large smile plastered on his face, ignoring the tension in the classroom. He coughs once again, before looking down at the book.

"Thus, all the Elementalists have similar traits." He starts calmly. "For example, it is widely known and believed that all Fire Elementalists are reckless and don't care who is harmed in the process." My eyes shift to Chloe, who is uncomfortable. I know her, if anything she is scared to harm anyone. "Water Elementalists are considerate and collected." I raise my eyebrows as I look at confused Oliver. He is stating everything incorrectly.

"Is something wrong, dear?" I look up blinking confused at Mr. Harrison. "You have distaste written all over your face." He smirks. I raise my eyebrows once again. "Don't be shy, state what you think." I sigh, tilting my head slightly.

"I don't think that Elements declare who we are." I start calmly with serene voice. "And I don't think that Elements should dictate us how we should be." I add without hesitation.

"What you suggest is breaking all the laws we have in the Elemental world." Mr. Harrison smiles gently at me, as if I am some stupid child that does not know what she is talking about.

"Just my existence is breaking all the rules, Mr. Harrison." I chuckle humorlessly, shaking my head slightly. "What I say is that you dictate to people who they should be based on their Elements." I click my tongue annoyed. "You take away their freedom by putting them into tight boxes. "

"Your existence, Miss Stewart..." Mr. Harrison starts in low, ominous tone. "Is a mystery we are trying to solve. But I am sure that we will manage it sooner than you might think." He coughs once again. "Elements show us who are the people. Otherwise, why would they choose them?"

Because they like them. Elements don't choose person according to their characteristics. They just are compactable with them. They just click well together.

"What about people with two elements?" I look at my right, raising my eyebrows as Andrew asks in low voice. "If elements choose the person, then why there are people with two elements?"

"Well, people with two elements mean that they are extremely talented." Mr. Harrison starts in tired tone. "They have characteristics of both elements. They are strong, yet at the same time weaker than one element holder."

"What do you mean?" Rea asks confused, distaste written all over her face.

"When you have two elements, you either get better at only one element and manage to use only certain aspects of second one, or you learn them at the same level and you are not strong at any of them." Mr. Harrison sighs. "Of course, there are exceptions like Michael, who manage to control both of the elements excellently."

"What about Absolute Elementalist?" Andrew asks once again and looks apologetically at me. I shrug my shoulders and look back at Mr. Harrison who is glaring at all of us at this point.

"Well, for a long time, it was believed that Absolute Elementalist did not exist and was a legend." Mr. Harrison starts in low voice. "It is biologically impossible for a single person to deal with every power. It will just tear her apart." I shiver at his words. I still remember the pain that tore me apart. "But as the legend turned out to be real..." He looks pointedly at me. "We are researching about it." He sighs. "But we have hypothesis that she, well Cassie, is not like us." I raise my eyebrows. "As you all know, we are borrowing powers from elements, while Cassie is herself a power." I blink.

"If she is a power..." Rea starts confused, looking at me carefully. "Then why does she have a human form?"

"Because at the same time, she is human." Mr. Harrison explains patiently. "She is a human, with human body and emotions, while at the same time she is pure power. The second, her powers awake, it will be impossible to put them down." I wet my lips. "But yet, she is still a mystery, we are trying to research."

Am I some kind of experiment, that they don't know what to do with?

Kind of. I don't mean that you are though, you are not what he tells you. You are a Chosen. And you have your own powers and understanding of them. You are the key.

A key? Of what?

Future.