Elemental Kingdom Chronicles: Living

Chapter Eight

I walked out onto the front step, taking in the sight of everything around me. Darkness was the only thing you could really see outside, besides the stars, and red moonlight in the horizon.
"Come on," He placed a key into the door, turning it to the left. "Where we need to be, is just a few miles away from here." I nodded, and walked down the steps.
I took a few steps back away from the place we were at, and saw a small cottage, with lots of trees surrounding it and the area we were in. So this is where Kierian lived, and this was his home. He clicked a button, allowing lights to flash from a car and the sound of a car locking. I jumped, looked at the lights.
"Calm yourself, it's just my car. A lot of car's blend into the area because of the lack of light, and there's really only a few color cars you can choose from here. Those colors being, black, dark gray, and a regular shade of gray."
"Oh," was all I could say, not really knowing what to say. I watched as Kierian opened the passenger side of the car. He gestured for me to get inside the car. I walked over, and got into the car. I sat down, and looked around the car, and saw that it had black interior, much like the outside of the car. I looked up, and out through the windshield. "Things are quite different here, then from where I'm from."
"Yeah," Keirian spoke, closing my door, and walking to the driver's side and getting in. "You get used to the two places once you travel between the two."
"Well, from what I've seen so far, your world is quite pretty. I'm used to areas of earth with lots of plants." He started the car, and backed out of the driveway, and began driving. "Not so much darkness, and calmness. So this place is quite nice."
"Thank you," He smiled a bit, turning on his high beams. "Tell me, what's your world like, besides cars and lots of people."
"My world is full of lots of scenery. There's people, plants, animals, and many more things you can imagine throughout our world. Everyone lives in some sort of harmony whether that's good or bad. I guess it just determines what part you play in the world. Now I cannot tell you what the kingdom was like, that my mom ruled. For after her death my father took me out of the kingdom, and I haven't been back ever since. So my memories of the kingdom are nonexistent."
"So, you've never been there." Kierian said. 
"Nope," I responded, thinking for a second. "Do you know how to get there?"
"Nope," He bluntly responded, driving. "Even if I did I wouldn't be able to get us there." I nodded.
"Does anyone know how to get there?" I asked, trying to think of a way to get there.
"Only the people who live there do, and assuming the group your with ever takes you, they'll no. Otherwise I'm afraid that's it."
"Oh," I sighed.
"Besides, the only day you will probably see the kingdom, is the day of the coronation. Otherwise, I was told as a child, that unless you grew up in the kingdom, and traveling between their and the human world, you couldn't go in at free will. That was the tale I was told anyways."
"I was never told this." I tell him, turning towards him. "My parents, well more of my father, never really liked telling me things. My mom would tell me things, my dad not so much. My family situation is weird."
"Some kids just never get told the tale, and some do. It's a tale that's been told for years, too most children. However a good chunk of children just don't know a whole lot about it, as most schools don't tell the tale, and modern day school don't even know we exist, let alone who we are." 
"You're right about that." I smiled a bit.
"Most elements don't know much about your mother's crowning because it was recorded in the books, that only the elders know about. Otherwise no one knows about her crowning. I also don't know why they don't teach about her crowning."
"I don't have answer to that one I'm afraid." I tell him, looking at my hands. The atmosphere became quiet.
"We're almost there." He says, gently breaking at a red light. I looked out the window, and felt the car start accelerating. Soon more buildings and cars came into view. Not city buildings, but more like a homey town. I saw bakeries, home owned clothing stores, and many other buildings. "Pretty isn't it?"
"It's beautiful."
"Yeah, but this is not the place I wanted to take you."
"What is this a first date?" I asked.
"You could say it is, if you wanted to." He turned his turn signal on and changed lanes. "It's just not the place I wanted to take you too. Don't get me wrong, the town is nice and all, but it's not a place where I would take you. You don't seem like that type of person, to want to go to town on a first date."
"Is this a date?" I asked.
"It is what you make of it." Kierian spoke. I nodded.
"Then where is it you want to take me?" I asked, turning towards him, and raising my eyebrow. He snuck a quick glance at me, before getting in a turn lane, and turning.
"You'll see, just have some patience please." I nodded. We drove for a few more minutes before coming to a stop.
"Where are we?" I asked, looking around for something, spotting a house a few feet in front of me. It was a beautiful small house. It had large windows in the front, and a beautiful foyer by the door. 
"My childhood home." He smiled sadly, getting out of the car. He came over to my side of the car, and opened the door for me.
I unbuckled my seatbelt, and got out, looking around the area. The only sound was the rustling of the trees from the breeze, the sound of owls cooing, and the water running from the creek could be heard.
"Come on," He says softly. I nodded, watching Kierian walk up to the door of the home that stood in front of a navy blue sky, with a small bit of light escaping from the Horizon.
"Has there been any light in your world ever?" I asked, looking at the light on the horizon line.
"Yes, but not a whole lot of it, as some of us are very sensitive to light, my parents and I aren't so we can choose where to live. Our life is just easier to maintain where it's dark, and our powers are also just stronger. But that's the most light you'll see ever here, well besides when the weather changes from winter to spring. The line raises just a bit off the horizon." He puts his hand where the horizon lies, and then raises his hand ever so slightly, showing where the light would lay in the spring and summer.
"That's pretty interesting. My powers don't really need anything, besides concentration and an open mind to ideas to work." I placed my hands near the bushes, growing leaves onto them.
"That's pretty amazing." Kierian walked up to the door, and unlocked it. Opening the door, and holding it for me. "Ladies first."
"Thank you." I smiled, stepping inside the house. Large windows filled the back of the house revealing a lake of water, with dogtails, and trees around it. The light from the horizon filled the house, revealing lots of decorations of photos, dead flowers on a table, with plates set on the table.
From the looks of it, people haven't lived here for years. I walked over to the flower, gently touching the petal, watching it fall into a million different pieces.
"Mira," Kierian called out.
"Hmm?" I asked, turning around, and facing him.
"I want to show you my old room." He says, walking over to the steps, and going upstairs. I followed him up the steps to an open hallway full of windows, and three sets of doors. "This way,"
"Coming." I followed him down the hall to the door at the very end of the hallway. He opened the door revealing a black room with several paintings. I looked throughout the entire room. He had bookshelves of books, and lots of random trinkets on the shelves. The windows were draped open with gray ties. I continued to take in the view of his room.
"Are you going to come in or are you going to just stand there?" Kierian asked.
'Right," I chuckled out, walking inside the room. Kierian took a seat on the bed.
"I promise I won't try anything," Kierian spoke, smirking a bit. "At least not tonight." I felt my cheeks heat up. I walked over and sat next to Kierian on the bed. "This is where I grew up," He said, looking out the window.
"It's a beautiful home," I tell him, taking in the beautiful room, seeing all types of decorations, toys, and a bookshelf full of photos of him as a kid and family photos.
"I wouldn't say it's beautiful, if anything I find this play a nightmare."
"Why?" I asked, laying on the bed, placing my hands behind my head.
"Well," He started, laying down next to me, and laying on his side. I did the same, propping my head on my arm. "My mother and father fought a lot when I was a child, and even growing up."
"All parents fight-" I was cut off.
"I wasn't finished, would you let me tell you my damn story, or are you going to talk the entire time." He snapped.
"Sorry," I muttered. He sighed.
"It's fine, it's just something I don't like talking about. I'm sorry for snapping."
"It's alright," I tell him, looking at his blank facial expressions. "You may go ahead and continue." He sighed.
"As I was saying, my parents fought a lot, and the fighting didn't lessen when I grew up, if anything it only worsened. Mom was always fighting with my father about him being away for long periods of time because he was a knight with your father."
"I didn't know that," I tell him quietly.
"No one knew, besides your mother, the king, your father, my mother, and me of course."
"Makes sense. I wonder why my father never told me." I answered. He just shrugged.
"Anyways. Your mother and the king needed him on the frontline for a while because of something that was happening, and my father always fought with my mother about it. At one point the fighting became so bad, that my mother kicked him out of the house, and my father was never seen again. I know I was never abused. The house was just a loud, and very unsafe for me to grow up in. After my mother told my father to leave and never come back, we found out that he was killed in the fight for the kingdom, and your mother died that exact same day. That's when the world broke for my mom. That evening my mother sold her bakery, and took a bunch of pills and killed herself."
"Whoa,'' was all I could say to him. What was I to say to a man whose parents were dead. "I'm sorry for your loss." I mentally face palmed myself. Seriously Mira, all you could say was I'm sorry for your loss?
"It's alright, I despised that witch of a mother anyways. When my father was gone she ignored me, claiming that I was too much like my father, and that I was old enough to take care of myself."
"That's no way to talk to a child." I tell him.
"Eh, we cannot control how adults talk to us, we can only control how we respond to their words, or anyone's words for that matter."
"I guess you're right." I sighed, laying my head down on the pillow, and moving my arms to my sides.
"I know I can seem mean, but it's just because I need to be."
"It's alright, people just respond to social situations in their own way." I tell him, running my hands through his soft hair. His eyes widened, relaxing as I continued to play with his hair.
"No one has done this since my father died."
"Well let me be the first to do that then." I smiled. We laid like this for a while, before I heard him clear his throat.
"We may want to finish up with this tour, because I need to take you home soon, especially before Malina, and the two boys from earlier wonder why you're missing."
"Right," I didn't question the issue any further, so I decided it's time to change the subject. "So where else do you want to take me?"
"Just to one specific local area." He got up off the bed, and left the room. I followed him as we went outside, and he locked the door to the house. "You've seen the nice part of this place. But you haven't seen the whole thing." He opened the car door for me. I got in, buckling my seatbelt, as he closed the door, and went over to his side, and got in. He buckled himself, starting the car, and backing out of the driveway. "You haven't seen the issues we've dealt with here, that you probably do not deal with at home."
"You'd be surprised." I told him. We left the house, driving back out into town, and driving out of town, to an old abandoned area. No real pretty houses, with gardens, or nice driveways. Just darkness, and a few street lights every now again. All you could really see was home owned places, or small businesses. Not a lot of homes, just lots of homeless people, and homeless children. Dark streets, run down homes, and broken things all over the place.
"What happened here?" I asked him, looking at the unbelievable scenery that laid in front of my very eyes.
"The effects Ember has had on us." Kierian tells me, turning his high beams on. You could see all the homeless people's beds, signs, and what they used to keep themselves alive. I saw old women, men, young children, parents, and babies all throughout this area.
"How did this become so bad?" I asked.
"The stupid book that Ember has, that no one knows how she got a hold of." Kierian spoke. 
"The same book she uses to control you?" I asked, continuing to watch the area we were going through.
"Yes,"  Kierian took one more turn, and parked the car in a parking lot. I looked out the windshield, to see an old playground. A rusted swing set, a green slide with rust, and a broken jungle gym. This doesn't look to be safe exactly.
"A playground?"
"Yup," Was all he said, before he got out of the car, and got out. I stood there confused trying to think of why we could be here. He walked over to my door, opening it up for me. I got out of the car, and followed Kierian over to the playground. Four little kids were playing around on the jungle gym. Three little boys and one little girl.
"Kierian!" The little kids shrieked, running over to Kierian and hugging his legs. I covered my ears at the loud noises.
"Hey there, squirts." Kierian spoke, hugging the little kids.
"Who's that girl?" The little girl with long black hair tied into a ponytail with a  purple bow asked. She had beautiful gray eyes, and a skinny frame.
"Oh that's just a friend of mine," Kierian responded to her.
"Is she your girlfriend?" A little boy asked with freckles, and two front teeth missing.
"No she's just a friend." Kierian answered.
"So she is your girlfriend." The little girl squealed. Kierian was about to open his mouth and say something, when I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
"Just let the kids have their fun." I whispered into his ear.
"But-" He tried speaking.
"No buts, they're just kids, what's the worst they can do?" I whispered, looking at him. He just shrugged. He looked at the four kids in front of him.
"So whatcha squirts wanna play?" He asked them. They thought for a moment before the little girl smiled.
"Let's play...imaginary wedding!" The little girl yelled. Kierian and I's faces went red.
"Yeah!" The three boys responded. My face deadpanned, and Kierian smirked.
"You were saying?" He chuckled.
"Don't." I groaned, rubbing my temples.
"The girl is gonna be the bride!" The little girl yelled, the boys squealed in delight.
"But what's the girl's name?" The tallest of the three boys asked.
"My name is..." I looked at Kierian, who mouthed to use a fake name. "Azalea, my name is Azalea." Kierian face palmed. I looked at him, with what I was supposed to say face.
"Your name is pretty." Her eyes lit up with sparkles. I smiled.
"What's your name?" I asked her.
"We don't have names." The tall little boy said.
"Why is that?" I asked, looking at them.
"Because we're ghost kids." The smallest of the three boys spoke.
"Ghost kids?" I asked, looking at Kierian with confusion.
"They're kids who were abandoned by their parents when they were just babies, most people who take them in are just people who show pity on them or old couples, who just really don't know what to do with their lives, or they were screw ups to their kids, so they take in kids like this to try and do right."
"Oh," I said softly.
"Don't worry! We have letters that we're given so people can remember us!" The little girl exclaimed.
"So what are your guys' letters?" I asked them.
"I'm E." The little girl spoke, she pointed to the taller boy. "That's H, the boy slightly shorter than him is R, and then the smallest boy is Y."
"Wow," I spoke, looking at the four of them. "Those are mighty fine letters."
"Thank you," They all spoke.
"You're welcome." I smiled, I saw Kierian smile at me. "Now how about we play a different game besides wedding." I tell them.
"Really?" E asked, looking at Kierian and I with confusion. "What other games are their besides wedding?" All they think about is love. Well, that doesn't surprise me, as they've never felt maternal or paternal love in their lives. So to them the game wedding is a way for them to feel genuine love.
"Well..." I thought for a second, thinking of an age appropriate game for all of us. "There's tag, hide and go seek, Simon says."
"Hide and go seek! Hide and go seek! Hide and go seek!" They all chanted.
"Hide and go seek it is," Kierian smiled, picking up Y and placing him on his shoulders.
"Do you know how to play?" I asked them.
"No," H and R spoke.
"That's okay." I said. I watched them tense up. They're scared. "It's okay that you don't know the rules. I'll tell them to you." I smiled.
"Really?" Y asked.
"You bet I will." I giggled. I watched as all of their figures relaxed. I breathed out a sigh of relief. "So the rules of the game are, one person counts to ten, and the others hide." I tell them. They all giggled with excitement. "I'll count first, and you guys can go hide."
"Okay!" They all yelled. I smiled, turning towards the parking lot and began counting to ten. "Seven...eight...nine...ten. Ready or not, here I come!" I called out, and turned around. I checked every area of the playground first before I heard soft giggling. "Hmm...who could that be?" I looked around playfully, before checking the tunnel that connected the higher area with the smaller area. "Gotcha!" I picked up H, and he giggled.
"That was fun." He said.
"Well, now that I found you, you can help me look for the others." I told him, setting him down, and holding my hand out. He grabbed my hand, and smiled widely. 
"Awesome!" He smiled, and we toddled off to the trees, to look for the others. Within the next few minutes we found everyone. E was the last one to be found. She smirked.
"I cannot believe I lost to a little girl." Kierian sighed out.
"You were hidden in open sight." I tell him, holding E in my right arm, while holding Y's hand. While we all walked back to the playground.
"So was she." Kierian groaned out.
"No I wasn't." E spoke.
"I agree with E." I smiled. E smiled at me.
"Yeah, I'm just better then you." E said, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Sure you are." Kierian chuckled. I smiled at the two of them. I placed E on the ground, as she ran off towards the playground. We followed her.
"My turn guys! Go and hide." E tells us, shooing us away with her one hand. I shook my head and chuckled.
"We're going, we're going." Kierian chuckled, turning around.
"And no funny business either." E smiled, innocently.
"We promise." We all spoke, running off in different directions to hide. It was hard for me to find a hiding place as it was dark, and well the only light there was around was the parking lot lights, but even those lights were rather dim.
"Psst...up here." Kierian whispered out. I looked up and saw Kierian sitting on a branch. "Grab my hand." I reached out my hand, feeling him pull me up. I sat next to him on the branch.
"Thank you." I whispered back, looking at E who was looking around for all of us.
"You're welcome." He hummed, watching the little girl, find all of her friends.
"What happened to their parents?" I asked, watching them play around in the playground.
"Not to sure. Many things could've happened to their parents," Kierian sighed, setting his back against the trunk of the tree.
"Like?" I asked, turning my head towards his.
"A good chunk of their parents were most likely poor. Here it's hard to find jobs that work well for families, unless you live in a healthy and wealthy town. Rather than a rural area like this. Another one could probably be that they're parents are dead, and they were put into a type of fostercare system, that wasn't exactly the most friendliest. Ember also has slaves for herself meaning their parents could be there. But majority of the time it's either they're dead or poor so they get rid of the kids, or leave them to die."
"So they're like you in a way."
"Yes people like me," He sighed, looking at the kids. "Finally their parents didn't want them, so they did what wasn't considered illegal, and just threw them into some type of garbage can, dumpster, or just placed them on a family's steps. Most of the time it's the first or second one, usually trashman or just old people find them, and then take them in. I know what group takes care of those four down their, but I'm not allowed to say as that could put their lives at stake, and mine as well. Personally I do not feel comfortable having to deal with that situation, and I don't think you would either."
"You're probably right, about the situation part. That's just terrible and plain awful to hear about what happened to these beautiful children. I mean where I'm from it's not uncommon too see kids in fostercare system, but this is uncommon to see kids uncared for."
"I bet,"
"I feel bad for them." I sighed.
"I do too." Kierian sighed.
"Where's Kierian and Azalea?" E asked, looking around.
"I'm not sure?" H answered, looking around as well. Kierian smirked at me, and teleported down the tree, sneaking up behind the kids. I slid down the tree slowly, and followed over to where Kierian was standing.
"Look behind you..." Kierian spoke to them. All the kids turned around and screamed. Kierian grabbed them, and began tickling them. I did the same, grabbing E and Y tickling both.
"Hey stop it!" They all laughed, trying to squirm away from us.
"Not gonna happen squirts." Kierian smirked, tickling them harder. I chuckled and continued tickling the other two. I took a seat on the ground next to E and Y. We played with the kids for a little while longer, before Kierian's watch lit up. His face became serious, before returning back to the normal relaxed face I have seen today. I raised my eyebrow at him.
"Don't worry about it." He tells me.
"Okay." I answered, looking at the kids who were laying down with us now as they calmed down from all the fun.
"Well," Kierian spoke, sitting up. "It's time for me to get Miss Azalea home."
"What?!" The kids and I said. Kierian shot me a glare. I looked away sheepishly not knowing what was going on.
"It's time for us to be going, and it's late you guys should head back before you know who comes out."
"But we don't wanna." The kids whined.
"Do you want me to tell her that you guys are out by yourselves without telling her where you were at."
"No Kierian," They all pouted.
"Look, I'll bring her by again. I promise."
"You promise." The kids asked, giving him puppy eyes.
"I promise." He crossed his heart. I'm not going to lie to myself, and say it isn't cute that he gets along well with kids. Maybe he and I will have kids together some day. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Stop thinking about that Mira, that isn't very hero like of you or anything like you at all. 
"Excuse me Azalea," Kierian smirked, looking at me. "The kids wanted to say goodbye."
"Oh right," I smiled, standing up and opening my arms for them. "Goodbye little ones."
"Goodbye Azalea," They all sighed, hugging me.
"I'll come back, I promise. I always keep my promises with a pinky promise." I held out my pinky.
"A pinky promise?" They all asked.
"Yes a pinky promise,"
"What's that?" They all asked.
"It's where you seal your promises by wrapping your pinkies together, like so." I demonstrated a pink promise using my two pinkies.
"I wanna do one!" E yelled.
"So do I!" Y yelled too.
"You all can." I spoke calmly, smiling at them. I turned towards Kierian who just rolled his eyes. I smirked, looking at the kids again. "Line up in tallest to shortest, and will seal the promise with our pinkies." I went over to H first, since he was the tallest. "I promise to return." We hooked pinkies together. His face lit up with a big smile. I smiled back, and went to E. I hooked our pinkies together. "I promise to return." She squealed softly, and looked at me. I smiled, and did the same with the other two boys.
"But what if you don't come back?" E asked.
"I will come back, and that is a promise I will keep." I tell all of them.
"I hate to interrupt whatever this is, but," Kierian looked at the time. "We must be going. Come on Azalea." I nodded, walking over to Kierian. We walked back to the car, and he opened the door. I got in the car, buckling up. He walked over to his side and did the same. The kids waved at us, and we waved back. Kierian backed us out of the parking lot, and we left the park. "When I say use a fake name, not your mother's."
"But it was a fake name." I pouted.
"It's a fake name that Ember knows." Kierian sighed.
"Look I'm sorry for using my mother's name for whatever reason." I sighed.
"It's alright, I should have just been a bit more specific with my wording." We began our drive back. I yawned, laying my hand on the window, and placing my head on my hand. "Rest, I will wake you when we arrive."
"Okay," I answered softly, my eyelids closing, as the world became dark.