Of Fire, of Water, of Wind, and of Earth: Holders-In-Training

Chapter Nine

JAMES' POV

I have battle training first thing this morning, with the other Green Apprentices as usual. Emerald and I haven't been called up once yet, and class is almost over. Maybe Professor Jones just doesn't want us to beat the stuffings out of the rest of the kids... Anyways, that's fine with me, because Emerald and I usually have a fight anyways and now we have time to talk about Murky. Emerald says we should stay low and wait, but she sees everything in black and white. I see everything in shades of gray, like some stuff is partly right and partly wrong, or partly good and partly glad. Everything is just so easy for Emerald, but it's really hard for me to make the right decision. She just doesn't know how hard it is, and doesn't fully get sacrifices either, unless it's chess. She's a frighteningly good chess player.

"Honestly, James, it's simple," Emerald says in a hushed whisper for about the hundredth time.

"No, it's not. You just don't get it," I reply for about the hundredth time.

"No, you don't get it James. It's simple. If we tattle now, we can't say what Murky is really going to do, but if we wait and then tattle, we'll know what he's doing!"

"Have you even weighed the pros and cons?"

"Of course, dummy!"

"Everything's just so easy for you. You're not the leader," I say, referring to our incredibly annoying classes before breakfast Fridays-Sundays and giving up on Emerald as a bad case.

"You aren't either, Mr. King of the World in His Brain because if you were, you'd ACT like it!" Emerald shoots back angrily. "So grow up!"

I don't let it show, but it hurts a little. I'll ask Droplet; she's the smart one. "You grow up, Ms. Know it All!"

"You're just jealous because you don't actually have a brain to speak of!"

"Obviously I DO have a brain, because I'm talking, breathing, and I function properly, and YOU'RE the one who's jealous!" I say.

"Jealous of what?" Emerald asks, smirking.

"The fact that I'm the leader!" I say, rolling my eyes.

"We've already discussed this," Emerald says, rolling her eyes. "You aren't the leader. If you were, I'd be able to tell you were. You'd act like it. You'd have grown up and gotten a life! You've gotten out of your mothers basement and done something for once besides sit their like the idiot you are and complain that everything's hard for you! Not everything is hard for you, and other people have things that are hard for them, too! Act like you're almost seventeen for once!"

I don't let this show either, but it hurts too. I'll have to ask Droplet about that, also.

"Green, Emerald! Screech, Benjamin!" the teacher calls, and Emerald stands up and stalks to the fighting area. Benjamin Screech is a beefy-looking Fire and I know he couldn't beat Emerald up if he tries, but I can't help hoping he will. I scootch over to Droplet and Veronica and ignore Emerald pounding Benny to a pulp.

"Do I act like a leader to you? Or do I act like I'm a bitching child who can't grow up?" I ask Droplet in a hushed voice. "And do I act like I think I'm the king of the world?"

Droplet studies me with her head cocked to one side. Eventually she says, "Sometimes you can act like a child, and you do complain sometimes. And sometimes you act like a leader, but sometimes you act like you think you're the king of the world and can't grow up."

It's not the answer I was looking for, but it'll do. "It's just I see everything in shades of gray. Emerald doesn't understand!"

Droplet nods and smiles at me. "Me too. Some things are obviously right or wrong, but most things are half right and half wrong, or mostly right but a little wrong, or a little right but mostly wrong. People just don't understand. We have to deal with it."

I grin at her. It's nice to have someone who understands.

EMERALD'S POV

I beat up Benny Screech with more strength than I usually do, due to fury. It's fun. It's relaxing, too, pounding another person. It sort of empties my mind until all I think about is the fight and I punch, kick, scratch, and wrestle with a sort of soothing rhythm.

Eventually Professor Jones tells me to stop hurting the poor guy and class is over. I head to my room to grab my things for my next class; Basic Magic or Practical Magic as the students call it. I call it Boring as Heaven. Hell's quite interesting in my opinion, in which case it can't be boring, so I use Heaven instead.

***

I fell asleep in class and the boring, droning teacher whose name I don't know but who I call Mr. Binns (read Harry Potter) didn't even notice. It's a free time for me. I decide to go to the room I stay in and take a nap. I'm dead tired, even though I fell asleep in Mr. Binns' class.

When I drag myself into my alcove bed and pull my curtain shut, I don't even have the chance to close my eyes. James comes bursting in, out of breath, which I don't understand because he can run a mile in two minutes or less and not be out of breath.

"Oh go away. I'm trying to sleep and you've got Pet Training now, I know it. I'm not going to argue right now." I snap.

"Oh its not that," James says, panting. "Come ON, Emerald! Now! Just do it! Trust someone for once and come! I don't have time to explain!" He grabs me by the wrist of my right hand, which I was dangling on the floor. Then he yanks, which makes me fall out of bed, but I land on my feet. Then he drags me to the door. I push him off me with a stronger burst of magic than I meant to use, which makes James fall down the stairs. I don't apologize. First, it isn't in my nature, and second, I honestly don't care. I saw him use magic to stop him at the step above the last step on the bottom, anyway. I step over him while he's still clearing his head from dizziness.

When James is done he jumps up, but I'm already at the Common Room door, hand on the knob. I turn to look at him. "Coming?" He hurries to my side and I open the door, letting him out, then close it behind me. The halls are almost empty, save a few late students. James turns right and past the door next to the Earth Common Room door, heading for a green door labeled, in clear, brown handwriting, "Gardens & Orchards."

They don't strictly belong to the Earths, but the Rock Garden does. I spend a lot of time there, almost as much as I do in the library (and in class), believe it or not. Earths aren't even allowed to invite someone in there. The other gardens, and the apple orchard, orange orchard, vineyard, lemon orchard, lime orchard, pomegranate orchard, grapefruit orchard, berry field (blueberries, strawberries, etc), and more orchards and such. Rows and rows of vegetables are at the end of one path on the other side of the door, and all the gardens and orchards and those things take other paths, which split into other paths, which split into other paths. Only the Earths have them memorized, but James knows which one goes to the Rock Garden. He turns down that path.

The Rock Garden is at the end of a path that splits from a path which splits from the path James has just taken. I jog a few steps to catch up then fall into step with him. We have a way of being in sync with each other when we run or walk or do anything else, really. We even say the same things at the same time half of the time.

When James turns down the path that has the path to the Rock Garden splitting off. I wonder if he's going to the Rock Garden. When he turns down that path, I know he is. "James!" I hiss. "You're forbidden to go into the Rock Garden!"

"Tell that to Murky," he whispers calmly, which of course shuts me up nicely. Instead I stomp into the Rock garden. I can dimly see heads over two big boulders a couple feet in front of me, only one of which belongs to an Earth. Over that, I can see a giant green head with large black eyes and a big, opal shell behind it staring at the heads. One head says, "Does anyone else have the feeling of being watched?" and they all turn around to stare up at the head. It smiles, a smile like mine, strewn crookedly across its face with a gloomy sort of frown mixed in.

"Suma?!" James and I exclaim in unison. In a whisper, of course.