Elemental | KTH | ✔️

| FOUR |

Olive stayed with the Keepers, as I quietly followed the Commander. We went into the building closest to us, and into a large office, that had so many bookshelves covering the walls.

He gestured me to sit, which I done so. Then he passed me water bottle from the little fridge he had, which I took with a nod of my head as a thanks.

"Twenty years ago, creatures started attacking Earth. We call them Haunters, as there is no soul in them, and they seem almost possessed," he paused to judge my reaction, and I took a deep breath, "they are drawn to power, magical power. But they also will kill humans relentlessly, and for fun. It's the job of the Keepers of the Realms, to hunt them, and kill them. To keep Earth safe"

I creased my eyebrows together, "Haunters" I said, testing the word on my tongue.

The Commander nodded, "our only knowledge is that they are drawn so much more to Fairies, but they are incredibly fast, and can be as silent as a mouse at times. That's why the Vampires help us kill them, because they are naturally better fighters than us. Fairies can kill them, but only in time before they get close enough to drain the magic from you, by just touching you"

"So the Vampires in a way are protecting us? So we work in doubles?" I wondered, piecing together the puzzles.

Commander Asher nodded, looking slightly impressed.

"While Fairies can do a lot of damage at a distance, Vampires can easily tear them apart within seconds, if they get to close to you. A lot of Fairies died needlessly in the beginning, until the Vampire Queen added her best fighters to the mix, and since then we've been scouting the best Fairies and Vampires to be Keepers" he said, taking a drink from the water on his desk.

"What's the bonding mean?" I asked.

"Olive told me about your reaction when you first saw her, that was your natural instincts to a predator, because that's what Vampires are. You need to bond with your partner, to trust them. They are your protectors, and when it comes down to it, you need to be able to trust them with your life for when you see a Haunter" the Commander said, watching me take in what he was saying.

My mind felt very full, with all this new information. I didn't know how to react.

"But Fairy magic, is tricky. It's very selective, and it can reject your partner. That's why bonding is so important, it may have looked unusual, to see the Keepers just sitting there, but what the Fairies were doing was pushing out their barriers to the Vampires, to encourage their magic to accept them, and not see them as a threat" he breathed out, and nodded at me at the end.

"What happens if my magic rejects my partner?" I asked.

The Commander pursed his lips, "then we wait for a new Keeper"

"And I gather they don't come around much" I breathed out.

Commander Asher tilted his head side to side, "it can vary. Our last Keeper came a few weeks ago, which was Elle, and the one before that was three months"

"No pressure" I breathed out.

Commander Asher did give me a smile, "Verity, you are a very powerful Fairy. You may have my officers thinking you are Multi Fairy, but I know different"

My jaw tensed, as I glanced down at the floor, before looking back up at him.

"Your barrier might be strong, but I've been a master with my mind for well over a hundred years. I could sense you were feeling guilt as soon as I saw you. You were also drawing on your magic for strength, and I could feel it in the earth around you" he said gently.

I didn't know what to say, I knew he had just caught me lying about being an Elemental.

"I understand why you lied, and I hope the time you spend here, you can learn to trust us. It's not a negative thing, being an Elemental. For now, we will continue calling you a Multi Fairy, until you are confident enough to have the title as an Elemental. I would like for you to have lessons with our master Earth Fairy, he's incredibly gifted and I hope you will learn in leaps and bounds" he said slowly, letting me take it in.

I was glad, that he wasn't scolding me about lying, but rather understood why I did it. I had to protect myself first.

"It's going to be mentally exhausting, so please look after yourself. If you ever have any questions, speak to Olive, or myself. You aren't alone. It may seem isolating, but you are to valuable to not be here, Verity" he added.

I took a deep breath, this was so much to deal with. I was hungry and tired, both mentally and physically, and I felt like I needed a time out.

"This is the last thing, Verity. The only rule we have, that you as well as I know, is punishable by death, is the Truce. Vampires are not allowed to feed on you, nor anything other than a work relationship is to be formed. This was both agreed by the King and Queen, when Vampires joined us eighteen years ago" Commander Asher said, I noticed a sterner tone of voice was used.

I nodded, that thought hadn't even crossed my mind that the Truce still was applicable here.

"Lunch is soon," he said, glancing at his watch on his wrist, "would you prefer to eat in your room? You've got to be mentally and physically ready, for the next step. The young Keepers do all communally eat together, but I'm sure you want a few hours to understand what I've just said"

"Are we allowed to go around the grounds alone?" I asked.

He nodded slowly, "you'll feel the Headquarters barrier, to where I will know if anyone leaves it"

I knew what he was saying and I cleared my throat, "I only saw the small forest you have at the edge. Nature... calms me down" I breathed out.

Commander Asher gave a small smile and a nod of his head.

"We've kept this from being public knowledge for a long time, giving reassurance to all the Fairies and Vampires in Earth that lead somewhat normal lives, that the Haunters are always being kept under control, and kept away from the populated areas, since we know they hunt magical power, a lot of Keepers keep their barriers open to being sensed, when they are out hunting the Haunted" the Commander muttered to me, and that comforted me in a strange way.

"So there are a lot of places like this in Earth?" I asked.

The Commander put his mouth into a tight line, "there are only three, placed equally across the Earth, and we are in the European zone. We are all quite close to each portal, which there are only three of also, which you know"

I nodded, while we knew about the portals which were taught at the Institution, we never learnt their whereabouts.

He picked up a piece of paper on his desk, and offered it to me. I had to get up and take it from him. I could have used the air to brush it over to me gently from his hands, but I didn't want to seem like I was showing off in front of the Commander.

It was a schedule, of times. When breakfast, lunch and dinner was served, and the practise times. It seemed we had shorter day on Saturday, and then a free day on Sunday.

"It's for the moral. We understand that it can get very intense, so we encourage the self care. All of us have worked hard over the past eighteen years to keep Earth under control, to be able to take one day off a week. There are more Keepers that spend their whole lives on Earth, living in populated areas with their barriers strong, to track any stray Haunters that might have gotten through the active Keepers" Commander Asher said to me.

I was quite surprised at that, and it honestly warmed my heart a small bit.

He excused me, asking if I needed help getting back to the canteen area, to where I would be able to find my bedroom from that point because of the stairs in each of the corridors to the left and right of the room.

I shook my head with a small smile, and shut the door behind me.

What I needed to do, was eat, have a shower, and then take some time in the forest, exploring around the grounds at the same time on my way there.

For some reason, I was nervous to meet the other young Keepers.

-♕-