The Forgotten (Elements I)

Chapter 27

Flynn arrived the next night. Accepting Korith’s hospitality gratefully, the older mage shed his coat, dropping into a chair with a sigh of relief.

“How are you, Flynn?” Korith sat with him, watching him a little worriedly, although half his mind was still on Isla.

“Oh, alright, young mage. How are you faring? The lack of rain affecting you very much?”

Sadly, Korith nodded. “It is. Isla’s faring very badly. I don’t know how much longer she’s going to last. Do you have any idea?”

Flynn shrugged, and Korith felt his shoulders droop with disappointment. He froze at the next sentence.

“I hear you found some of my old notes.”

He stared at Flynn, stammering a little. “H-how did you find that out?”

“I have my ways. How much did you read?”

“Not much,” Korith admitted. “Why didn’t you tell me she was the one you befriended?”

“She didn’t want me to. You were only young, and still had no way to control what you said. It was safer for you.”

“Oh. How long have you known her?”

Flynn smiled slightly. “A while. How old are you now?”

“Twenty-eight.”

“Hmm. A fair while then. I knew her before you were born.”

Korith felt his eyes go wide. “What? But…she looks younger than me!”

The older mage laughed heartily, and Korith went red with embarrassment. “That’s what she’d have you believe, young mage. But I’ll not be telling you a lady’s age. That is always a well-kept secret. How is her pregnancy coming along, by the way?”

Korith smiled, for some reason proud of the elemental. “She gave birth yesterday – last night. A healthy boy.”

“Oh good. She deserves that. She is fine?”

Puzzled, Korith nodded. “Yes. Why do you say that?”

“Because she does. She’d been through a lot in the past years. It’s about time something good happened to her.”

Korith nodded slowly. “Flynn, I have a question.”

“What a surprise,” his mentor said dryly, and he ducked his head, feeling himself go red again. “Go on. Ask it.”

“How do pregnancies work with elementals? Are they the same as humans?”

“Hmm.” Flynn settled back in his chair, clearly thinking about the best way to answer. “I’m not sure I am the best person to ask.”

“But you know the most about them!”

“Most – of the humans. I know next to nothing, Korith. Besides, I am neither female, nor elemental. Why not ask her?”

He looked away sheepishly. “She’s scary,” he admitted. “And she has a baby. I don’t want to disturb her.”

“Finding affection for her, are we?” Flynn leaned forward, his grey eyes worried. “Be careful, Korith. She’s not who you think she is.”

“Then tell me who she is!” Korith snapped back, frustrated. “Both of you just hint! Can’t you just tell me?”

“No.”

Korith blinked. “What?”

“No,” Flynn repeated. “I can’t tell you. It is not my place. If she wants you to know, she will tell you. No one else will.”

“Fine,” Korith muttered darkly. Flynn only laughed.

“Is it alright if I talk to her? Where is she?”

“It should be fine. She’ll either be in her room or in the library.”

“Not the garden?”

Korith shook his head. “No. She’s been saying it’s too hot.”

“I don’t blame her, the poor thing. You must keep the heat down for her as much as you can. She’ll disappear otherwise,” Flynn warned, making to rise. “Which is her room?”

“Second on the right after the library.” Korith rose with his mentor, frowning slightly. “What do you mean, ‘disappear’?”

Flynn explained as they walked. “She can explain much better than me, but it’s the way their bodies are adapted to their element. As a water elemental, she is much more suited to wetter environments, and not so much the heat, whereas fire elementals, for example, are very much the opposite. You’ll have noticed that they seem much more full of energy?”

Korith nodded, fascinated.

“It’s because of the heat. With Isla, it will get to the point where it is simply too hot for her – there is no water left in the air. Usually, she would seek a stream, or another body of water, but since she can’t, here, she will simply begin to fade away, disappear.”

The young mage didn’t know what to say to that. Flynn stoped, and knocked on the door in front of them. They had struck lucky. Her irritated voice filtered through the door.

“What?”

Flynn grinned, and opened the door. “You haven’t changed, my dear.”

Isla looked up, and a smile lit up her face. Gently, she placed her baby son down, and made to come over, but Flynn prevented her.

“No, no. You stay right there.” He walked over to her, and she smiled at him as she gave him a hug.

“You came.”

“Of course I did. Remember?”

Korith hovered in the doorway for a few moments, but it was clear that he was no longer needed. After one last look, he left, frowning as he tried to understand her. He couldn’t figure out what made her so open to Flynn, and so happy to see him.