ELEMENT

Chapter Eleven: Rotten Eggs

Elix Stonewing was peacefully cooking at the counter, distracting herself from worrying about Sage, who'd just left moments ago.

Daniel sat at the table. Since they were Sage's friend, they were family. So, Elix always fed them.

"It smells great." Daniel smiled from the table.

"Thank you, Daniel. It's eggs!" Not because she liked it, but it was documented once as Daniel's favorite.

"Ooh, my favorite!" And Elix was right again.

She walked over to the table, setting two plates in front of two chairs. "Here we are. Glad you could stay for dinner."

"Thank you." Daniel grinned, before their smile melted a bit. "You're also worried about Sage, I can tell."

Elix stayed silent for a moment. "...I've raised her for fifteen years, at my sister's request. She's not just my niece, she's my own child."

"You're a brave woman. It couldn't have been easy being the queen's sister."

"It made it easier that nobody knew," Elix laughed to herself. "I was so... scared. Of letting her go. We knew she was the first Chosen Child. After doing the math, and the fact that the Emblem glowed around them since the moment they were born."

"It's still so amazing to me." Daniel stated, twirling their hair between their fingers. "She was destined for this."

Elix smiled. "That's what makes it easier for me to cope with it. But I remain worried that I shall never see her again."

A few minutes went by peacefully, and then, suddenly,

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Oh." Daniel stood up. "I can get that."

They went down the hall, to the other room, and Elix could hear the door swing open.

And then, a sickening squelch. Elix flinched hearing it, and then the thud.

"What the fuck? That's not her."

"Well, at least this way we have no witnesses."

"Elix Stonewing! Come out with your hands up!"

They were fucking stupid if they thought she was doing that.

Harry Daughtler rounded the corner, readying a blast of water, and he was suddenly met with a blinding burst. Pure Light.

As Harry fell to the floor, Elix noticed the body of Daniel Frances on the ground in front of two other people.

"Oh, God—!" She put a hand over her mouth, but froze in fear otherwise.

"Shit!" Harry stood up quickly, blood cautiously dripping from his forehead. It was a sight. He almost felt sorry. But a job is a job.

"I know what you're here for!" Elix hissed. "You couldn't even begin to break me."

"Enough talking!" Harry snapped. He tossed a watery attack, but Elix simply summoned a shield. "Wh-"

"I told you, you can't break me! You think you made the right choice coming here?!"

"I didn't come alone."

Another guard behind Elix brought up a sword, stabbing Elix directly through the body. The blade was covered in blood, but she was using her magic in a futile, strained attempt to survive it. She exhaled, shakily holding her hands out to survive the attack a bit longer. "You will never reach Sage, and if you do, she will kill you."

"You have faith in her. But your faith is misplaced."

"The Light Elements will always return!" She yelled, losing her grip. "You can't keep the rightful rulers away—"

She was interrupted by the guard tearing the blade away from her body. And she collapsed, caught off guard, and unable to keep surviving.

-

The house was quiet for the first time in a long time. Only sunlight shone through the windows, and a strange smell wafted the area.

The back door loudly creaked open, despite how it was already slightly cracked.

Sage walked in, ending up in the laundry room and going to the kitchen. "Aunt Elix?"

Ethan trotted in behind her, already catching it and stopping. "What the shit is that smell?"

"Oh. Ugh. I don't know." Sage continued to walk into the house.

But Ethan recognized it. "Sage, we shouldn't be here."

"Why not? It's my aunt's house. I live here."

"But-"

"She's probably out at the store or something. And whatever that weird smell is..."

They noticed the eggs on the counter. Gray, and catching flies.

"Oh." Sage's face scrunched. "The hell? She doesn't normally waste food."

"Sage, we should go!"

"What the fuck are you on about?" Sage sighed. "We're just going to wait here for my aunt. She can help us find Meadow, surely."

Oddly, Ethan felt close to tears. Panicked tears. "But I really think we should get out of here!"

"Then you leave and wait outside."

"No, Sage, you—"

But she had already rounded the hallway, disappearing around the corner.

"Dammit, Sage! Wait!" He ran around the hallway, ending up standing directly behind them.

Two corpses, gray and deteriorating, lay in front of the front door. Though they were quite old, Sage could tell who they were. Elix and Daniel. This was the very day she left.

Ethan felt the urge to close his eyes, but he couldn't.

Sage stepped back, shaking. It felt like they couldn't breathe.

"Sage."

"Shut the fuck up, please." Sage held her hand up.

"Let's go now, okay? You're upset, I know, but—"

Her hands crackled yellow. "I'm not upset. Shut up." And just like that, Sage ran back through the house, through the back door, into the yard.

"Fucking hell!" Ethan walked through the door, seeing Sage just stand there. "Are you...?"

"I'm not okay, Ethan, no." Sage clenched her fists, not turning around. "The only family I ever had is gone, and I know exactly who did it."

"Anger won't fix anything." He cautiously stepped closer to them.

"You'd be surprised at how much anger can actually fix."

"We have to get Meadow back, so please, swallow your anger until we get to the palace!"

"Oh, we're going to the palace. And we're killing those bastards." Sage flipped around, her eyes a yellowish tint, and her eyebrows furled.

Ethan had seen this before. Her magic is surfacing. Just like how his happened when he lost his family.

"Let's go. I'm not waiting any longer."

"Sage."

"Are you with me or not?!"

Her scream echoed through the land surrounding the house, up into the mountains and past the forest. It shocked Ethan to his very core.

But all he saw was this princess, a friend, in need of his help. In some absolutely horrible pain he'd felt before.

When describing Sage, the word "friend" felt strange in his mind. Like it didn't exactly fit.

"Yeah. I am."

To Be Continued in Chapter Twelve