Elementals II: Prophecies (DISCONTINUED)

~ Chapter 26 ~

Year: 3205
Military Academy

Rain:
"Em-...Ember..." I let out as our heads separate and she looks at me for a moment. "What was that? Why did you do that?" I ask. I am confused. I know what a kiss is, I think, but I never expected Ember to kiss me like this. This was more than just a friend giving a friend a kiss on the cheek, this was on the lips...and it felt nice I suppose, but it also scares me. "You are getting yourself in a lot of trouble. You need to go." I eventually tell her. "Boys, boys, boys, always so protective. You should know that I don't care what he will do to me as long as you live." She answers.

She finds some of the balm from her small medical-kit and smears it on my burns. As she applies them, it physically hurts, but I also notice that it makes it a little better too. "You may not care about what he'll do to you, but I do. He is ruthless, and he won't care who sees what, or who lives and who dies. As long as he gets what he wants, he'll do whatever." I go on. "And what does he want, Rain? Control Blaze? Kill your brother?" She challenges. "Blaze is a means to an end that we do not know, and your brother was in his way, so the Grand Master killed him." She goes on.

"My brother isn't dead. The Grand Master has been trying to feed that into my head to break me, but it won't work. My brother isn't dead." I answer, partly offended about the fact that she would think Breeze to be dead just like that. "My brother Breeze is alive and out of the Grand Master's reach. I don't know where he is right now, but I bet he's planning a push-back against the Grand Master." I go on as she continues to apply balm to my burned skin. She doesn't say much for a while, but when she stops, she sighs deeply.

"If you need to believe that in order to survive this pain, I won't question your faith, I never would, but I am not going to sit around and wait for something to happen. We're trapped in this place and our so-called circle is shrinking by the second. There has to be a way out of here for us too." She answers. I want to protest against some of her words, but the balm working on my burned skin makes me grit my teeth a little bit. Ember places her hand on my cheek gently, as if she's trying to ease some of the pain.

As her hand touches my cheek it feels like time slows down a little bit. It brings a gentle warmth, not related to her element at all. This room neutralizes the element of Elementals, so it wouldn't be because of her element, but rather something else that I find hard to explain. I enjoy it for a split-second before reality comes back to me. "I hear you, Ember, I do, but for us to get out of here at some point, we both have to be alive. You will not stand a chance if the Grand Master shows up. You won't have your element to use in here." I tell her before she removes her hand from my cheek. I immediately sense that I miss it.

"You want me to just leave you here and take more torture? No way, Rain. I am not going to leave you behind just to keep myself safe." She answers. There's a tone in her voice that I don't think I have ever heard. She's worried, beyond that of a partner, beyond that of a friend. I even take notice to small features in her face, like her small nose, the tiny and almost invisible freckles on her face, the raging red fire in her eyes. "What is going on with you, Ember? Why are you being like this all of a sudden?" I ask as a part of me is struggling to piece some of these things together.

"We are supposed to keep each other safe, Rain. We have been doing it for years..." She starts, but I stop her. "That's not the whole picture, Ember. Your concern goes far deeper than it has for years, like you are really scared for me just as I am for you." I say, realizing that I am about admit to the same thing that she tried to tell me days ago. "You said you had been keeping a poker-face around me for years and years without me noticing what it was all about. I think I am realizing that now." I add. I want to put my hand on her cheek, but my arm is too weak. She grabs my hand however, and places it on her cheek. I see her eyes close for a moment.