ELEMENT

Chapter Twenty-Two: A New Era

Children's laughter filled the area, as they rolled in the grass and ran with sprinklers.
Every child here was a Dark Element. But they weren't evil, or with a strange drive to rule the world. They were just here, in a world they'd inherit, where they were always meant to be.
It made him happy to see them this way.
The ginger-headed boy whistled sharply, as the children all turned.

"Attention, everyone!" He called. "Your parents want you home soon, so time to head out."

"Aww!" An eruption of disdain filled the area.

Until a girl rushed up to him. "Tell us a story before we do!"

"A story?" Cole brought a hand to his chin. "Hm. Mayyyybeeee!"

"Oh, please!" Every child started begging for a story.

"Okay, fine." The boy laughed as he sat on the grass. "Gather around, everyone!"

As the children piled in, the boy hushed the crowd as the curious ears leaned in.

"So." He cleared his throat. "It's almost been a year to the day since the Dark Elements came home, right?"

"Yeah!" The children cheered.

"Do you know how it happened?"

"Tell us, Cole!" They all urged. "Tell us, tell us!"

He chuckled. "Okay. Now you guys are little kids, so you probably don't remember the amazing legend that happened just a year ago, right here in this kingdom."

"A legend?!"

"Yep! It all started with a magical princess that found out she was a Light Element. The princess went on a journey to save the Dark Elements, and the kingdom she was meant to rule. She met another Light Element, a boy who was super powerful. Then they met a third, the most powerful of them all. I'll tell you a secret—she was really a Celestial!"

"Woah!" Various gasps from the crowd of children.

"Then one day, they met the last Light Element. A super smart kid with blue hair, who could turn into a bird! After this, a big bad villain showed up. He wanted to destroy the whole world—but the heroes weren't having that, were they?"

"They're gonna win, I know it!"

"Be quiet, dude, I'm trying to listen—"

"They teamed up with a super cool and handsome guy with red hair and the greatest fashion sense ever, and all five of them used the power of the amazing Light Emblem to destroy the villain, and save the world!"

"Everyone sounds so cool!"

"Yep! The royals are the coolest people out there. Especially my sister."

"You're talking about the royals?!"

"And now, your parents are probably gonna kill me. Go ahead and go on back home—"

"AWWWWWWW."

"I know, I know!" He laughed, as the group of children began to disperse.

A purple-haired kid stayed behind. "...Cole? Was that really true?"

"Yeah!" Cole nodded. "I was there to witness the whole thing."

"Were you the super cool guy with red hair?"

"Agh, you figured me out!" Cole laughed jokingly. "I'm sure your dad's waiting for you out there, Quincy."

"Eh. He can wait a little longer."

Cole Daley, the leader of the Dark Elements and brother to one of the queens of the Element Kingdom, was commonly the ringleader for the unruly children. He was the subject of the games they played, and he was friends with all of them.
But a kid named Quincy, who stuck to his side like he was the greatest person on earth, became like his best friend in the matter of a week.
In fact, it was a week before now, when Quincy started to hang around him.

"Where's your sister?" Quincy asked.

"Probably at the castle working," Cole replied. "Being a queen's no easy gig."

"I've been training my worm army."

"Ah. Yeah." Cole tried to remember sometimes that kids had very vivid imaginations.

"The general's gotten pretty big." Quincy pulled out a worm from his pocket. "Shitface is a warrior of the highest degree."

"...You know what?" Cole said, standing up. "I just realized something. You haven't exactly met everyone yet."

"You mean...?"

"Come on, Quincy."

"Yeaaaah!!"

To Be Continued in Chapter 23