Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ The Elementalists ❯ Eight - The Prophecy ( Chapter 8 )

Kai and Candis were both waken up by a loud thump on the wall. They jumped up and ran to their doors, even though they were still in their night clothes. Looking out into the hall, they saw that Eryk was slumped against the wall, rubbing his head. He had left a large indent from where his head had come into contact with the wall. “What in the hell happened here?” asked Kai, noticing that the rest of the group was already up, though Chi was still in her night clothes.

 

She looked slightly frightened, but moreso guilty. “Oops,” she said sheepishly, forcing a small smile onto her face. “I was getting dressed and he barged in—but I think he was just going to wake me up…” She laughed a little, nervously.

Eryk staggered as he tried to get up, cursing to himself. “What the hell was that for?!” he demanded, holding his head. “I was just going to wake you up! I didn't know you were already awake!”

 

“You didn't knock!!” she retorted, defending herself.

 

“Well, Eryk, you really should have knocked first,” Candis pointed out, sighing to herself. “We might as well get dressed and get ready to hit the road again.”

 

 

A few moments later, Candis, Kai, and Chi emerged from their rooms in their clothes from the previous day. “Hey, these smell clean,” remarked Chi, sniffing at her shirt sleeve.

 

“We took the liberty of having our laundry service clean your clothes for you early this morning,” said Captain Skyler, walking up to the group with Guren at his heels. “Guren will escort you to the kitchen while I set things up for your journey.” He nodded his head to Guren and turned around, hastily walking down the hall.

 

“He never seems to show up for long,” observed Kai. Guren appeared beside her and let out a quiet chuckle.

 

“Captain Skyler often does that,” he replied. “You'll get used to it.” He smiled rather strangely for a brief moment before he took them all to the kitchen on the first floor of the palace.

 

When they reached the kitchen, it was packed with chefs making meals that belonged to royalty. Chi exclaimed, “Wow! Look at all the food!” She drooled a tad as she looked on at all of the meals being prepared.

 

“Isn't there anywhere to sit and eat?” asked Candis, rather surprised that the Ministry had so many chefs. `Then again, this place is huge,' she reminded herself.

 

“Yes, you will eat in the Dining Hall. Just let Rayne here,” said Guren, pointing to a chef, “Know what you want for breakfast. He'll get right on it.”

 

The group told the chef what they wanted, then followed Guren once again out into the halls. He opened two very tall double doors to reveal a dining hall of magnificence. There were four long tables, polished to shine and hide its few flaws. Many a people, mainly warriors, sat at the tables. The first three tables were divided by what area of the army a person served in, and the last one was for the Generals, guests, and what they called “important people.”

 

“Wow…” they all said, amazed at the greatness. “All of this in one palace, eh?” Florian mused quietly. It was even bigger than his uncle's mansion.

 

Guren took them to the last table and sat with them at the edge. “One of our spies has been caught,” he said immediately after he sat down. “He was trying to listen in on one of Lady Rika's plans, and the guard caught him. He claimed he was lost, but… it was to no avail.” He closed his eyes, as if to offer his deceased comrade a brief moment of silence.

 

“That means she's going to tighten her security even more,” Florian concluded grimly. “Which makes it even harder for us to approach the hideout without getting ourselves caught.”

 

“Yes,” he confirmed. “But we will fight to the end. You see… There is a prophecy,” he explained, lowering his breath to barely a whisper. “Skyler didn't tell you because he felt you needn't know about it. Anyway, it is said that The Four will conquer an evil force that will suddenly come upon the World of Magic. It is said…” He paused, waiting for a reaction. He only sensed tension, but eagerness to hear more. “…that all of the power of The Four combined will defeat the evil sorceress. Combining all of your power will—” he stopped, suddently aware that the waiters were bringing their food.

 

“Go on,” insisted Eryk, once the waiters had disappeared through the large double doors, wanting to hear more about this prophecy.

 

Guren cleared his throat before continuing. “Combining your powers will combine yourselves as well. You will become the One, the all-magical being that will save this world from destruction.”

 

No one dared to start eating their food yet, as they all felt intrigued but also alarmed. “`Become the One?'” Kai repeated curiously. “But, does that mean that after we defeat her, if we do, we can't… separate ourselves again?”

 

Guren looked through her eyes, causing her to shiver a little at the cold look within his own. “It is unsure. The Gods cannot predict what will happen after that, so we should hope that all goes well,” he said, albeit there was some uncertainty detectable in his voice. He sighed. “In any case, that is the reason Lady Rika seeks to destroy you, before the prophecy can come true.” He stood up from the table, having not ordered any food. “Excuse me. I will be back shortly to escort you to the conference room in thirty minutes.”

 

The group nodded and ate in silence, though occasionally Chi would cheer up and comment about how wonderful the food was. “Simply magnificent!” she said cheerfully, trying to break the anxiety.

 

“That's wonderful,” Kai grumbled sarcastically, changing the subject to what was on everyone's minds. “If this Rika chick kills us, we're dead. If we fight her, we become some mysterious thing and don't even know if we'll survive it, let alone be able to go back to being four people instead of one.” She sighed, frustrated. `So either way we die or can't get back to our original forms,' she said to herself dryly.

 

“Relax, Kai,” Florian said, worried about Kai's reaction. He knew she would not take this recent information well, but he knew she was just overthinking it as usual. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

 

Guren returned shortly after and had once again escorted them to the conference room, where Captain Skyler briefed them on where they thought Rika's hideout was located. It went by quick, as to save more time of the day for traveling, though it was only almost 9:00 A.M.

 

“Now,” continued the Captain, “If you are to leave at this moment, you will reach the city of Pyre by nightfall. When you arrive there, go to the Inn nearest to the Central Plaza. Ask for Ilias, and he will assist you with further direction West.”

 

After closing the meeting, Captain Skyler hurriedly handed the four girls a strange bracelet of some sort. “These,” he said, handing them out to each girl, “Are the finest restraints in the entire World of Magic. I've had them for quite some time… I had been saving them for you four. Kai, you weild the element Water; this one restraint is much stronger than the two cuffs on your wrists. It is made of pure ice and will never melt, even if you were standing by lava in a volcano.

 

“Candis, you weild the element Fire; this restraint is also stronger than the many earrings you have in your right ear. It is made purely of lava, but it will never go out if water were to fall upon it, and don't worry—it won't burn you.

 

“Chi, you weild the element Earth; this will keep your inner form inside, and you needn't worry about the collar on your neck. This is made of the finest granite and bark, and will never turn to ash if burned.

 

“And lastly, Feng: you weild the element Air. This restraint is made from the cleanest, most pure air and winds that you could find in this world and the next.” As the girls put on their new, solid yet elemental restraints and discarded their old ones, he advised, “Take great care of these. The spell upon these restraints is strong, but if you should make one mistake in using them, it can backfire. It enhances your ability to use your element to your advantage as well. Now, go.”