ELEMENTS Book Two

Chapter One: Kiss Me Slowly

Chapter One Author's Note: Aiden is the narrator, and Katie is his girlfriend for the first small part of the book; Kings Egan and Ilmatar are the Kings of the Fire and Earth Realms, respectively; in the same way, Amethyst and Brook are the Queens of the Air and Water Realms, and the respective wives of both Kings. This makes Egan the King of the Air Realm, Ilmatar the King of the Water Realm; Amethyst the Queen of the Fire Realm, and Brook the Queen of the Earth Realm. Enjoy the story! Also, If I can add anything, let me know, please!

Now that the journey is over, I can finally settle down with my beloved Katie. But I must also brave asking her the most important question there is: I must ask her if she will marry me. Before you freak out, know that it is perfectly normal for an eleven-and-six-year-old boy to want to marry this girlfriend at this age.

Besides, even if she does say yes right away, we would still have to make save-the-date cards. The format is something like this:

[Name of groom] and [name of bride] are getting married on [Date of wedding] at [location]. Formal invitation to follow

It goes something like this, anyway. I have already given her my heart, so I may as well give her everything else I have. When you find the one you love, the one you truly love, they become the center of your world; nothing else means anything to you anymore, nothing else matters, except for the sole happiness of that one person.

That, in a few short sentences, is how I feel about my Katie, how she feels about me. As I enter the house I share with her (we moved away and nearly dragged Melissa with us) I know what is going to happen. Just as I suspected, the moment I enter our small cottage Katie wraps me up in her arms and kisses me, her plump, ruby-red pout caressing my own lips in a sort of rhythm. I run my fingers through her cocoa hair, and she leans forward into the kiss, deepening it.

This catches me off guard, but I do not back away. When she finally pulls away, I hold her to my chest and murmur in her perfect ear “Miss me much, sweetheart?” She looks up at me again, and says, her eyes shining like luminescent liquid topaz, “Yes; I missed you more than you will ever know, Aiden...” It isn’t until I embrace her again that I notice a sheet of parchment paper on the table.

Upon closer inspection, I also notice the seal of King Egan, our Royal and Katie’s father, at the bottom of the letter, directly under his scratchy writing. Curiosity takes hold, and I read the letter, highlighting key ideas as I go. What I read was this:

Dearest Katie,

I write this letter with sadness in my heart and my crown at my feet. I hate to inform you that your mother is not faring well. I fear she is on her last legs. She has been retching more often than when you had visited last, and her complexion has whitened considerably. As is customary, I must get another Queen before the imminent death of the current one, but I honestly couldn’t bear to see another woman sitting in the throne your mother used to enjoy lounging in, her dress outspread on the floor, her beautiful pink lips always smiling, never downturned. Don’t hate me if I choose to do so.

On to lighter things: Ilmatar and Brook have decided that they need another baby. I can see why; without River here, it gets lonely, especially for Brook. As of today, Brook is three months pregnant with a daughter, Jubilee Rose. Please come to see me; I long to see the face of my little girl, if it shall indeed bring comfort to the situation.

Signing this letter with a depressed hand,

King Egan

Here are some of the reasons why I highlighted certain things: for one, if a Royal’s husband or wife, therefore their King or Queen, is dead or dying, the healthy Royal will place their crown at their feet as a sign of grievance; another reason is that Egan is normally not this depressed. We all knew this day would come; we just hoped it would not come so soon.