Elementals

Chapter 7

Now, she immediately went into the Storm and stood with such a presence of power and control when she said, "Get out," everyone ran.

 Orion, however, before leaving the room looked over his shoulder at me as if to ask, "Are you alright?"

I nodded slightly and he left.  Rhi then looked at me and bent over so she was squatting in front of me and said, "You know this will hurt but it's the only option."

She placed her hands on my stomach; they were very cold.  It didn't take long, though, before the pain in my intestines subsided.  I knew there was nothing she could do about the weakened state of my powers and she did as well, so once my body was healed enough, she hoisted me up and I used her as a crutch.  We went out into the hall only to find Orion standing there waiting.

Rhiannon gave him a questioning look.  His response was, "The princesses were quite shaken by what happened.  Alex is showing them to their room."

She replied with, "Great.  Do we have to wait for him to show us ours, or can the great king himself do it?”

He looked at her in disbelief over her rudeness before she continued by saying, "Look, she needs to rest and I will not let her rest on the floor, so are u going to show us our room or not?"

She has such an attitude.  I have no idea how she can be so rude to someone so polite, but he showed us the way and wished us well, saying he would send someone with dinner once it was ready.

“Rhiannon, you can’t be so rude to him.  He’s very kind…” I told her as soon as I was on my bed. 

“I know…it’s in my nature,” she muttered.

I giggled.  “But it’s not.”

“Ha ha, very funny.”

“I just think-“I stopped due to a cough which brought blood to my hands.  I sighed. “I hate side-effects.” It wasn’t long before Orion came back into our room with a servant carrying a tray of food. 

“Dinner is ready,” he said.  The servant left after setting the tray down on the table in the middle of the room but Orion stayed.

“Is that…blood?” He asked, staring at my hands, which I hadn’t had a chance to clean yet. 

“Uh…yeah?” I didn’t really want to answer him but before he could reply, Rhiannon spoke.

“It’s just a side-effect,” she said coldly.

“A side-effect?  A lot of your magic seems to cause “side-effects”.  Are you sure you aren’t just trying to kill us all?” The kind man from just an hour before was gone.  He had snapped.

“Excuse me?” Rhi said, standing up.

“Rhiannon.” My friend looked at me before sitting down.  “Now, Orion, my Sister would never do such a thing.  At least…not so subtly.”

He didn’t reply.  I opened my mouth to say something but started coughing violently again, more blood coming up.  This time, when I opened my eyes, Orion was next to me.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” He was worried.

I smiled.  “I’m fine.  It’s just-“ Another coughing fit hit me before I continued, “it’s just leftover.”

Rhi spoke on the verge of entering the Storm. Until she’s had rest, it’s so easy to tick her off once she’s gone into it once.  Anyway, she said, "You know how I said she was bleeding internally, it’s the same as when you’re sick and you cough that green crap up.  The blood she lost doesn’t just go away-- it has to go somewhere, meaning she has to get it out. This is only the second time she has actually been this deteriorated by magic, however.  What she needs is solitude and rest." When she said ‘solitude’ she gave him a pointed look, but then, to my surprise, she continued.

"She will be able to heal faster if she is left alone to meditate.  So, if you don’t mind, can I join you or Alex, or whoever for dinner?"

He looked uncertain so she added, “I would even eat with the servants, and as long as she is able to get the solitude she needs.  You see, Orion, Mercedes is my only true priority.  I will follow the duties of my Covenant and fight against the evil in this war. However, if it came down too it, I would sacrifice everything to save her.  She cannot express it in the words I do, but I know that is how she feels for me as well.  However, she is more open, more willing to let someone in and be a person she wants to protect. Back to me, I am not that simple.  If you want to be a priority to me, you would have to earn it.  You can believe me when I say if anything is done that harms her in any way I will go after who is responsible."

        With that last line, she walked out of the room.  Orion looked at me completely dumbfounded.  I smiled at him and nodded, meaning she was correct.  He smiled at me and laughed a little while putting his hand on the back of his neck sheepishly.  He looked at me so tenderly and so caring I didn’t want him to leave even though I knew he needed to.  After he left, I heard Rhi’s distinctive, "So...where am I going to be eating tonight?"