The Kingfisher

VII : Ela

"Give me a break." They entered a small sitting room with a few comfortable couches, void of any life. The girl plopped on one, freeing her raven hair from the painful ponytail that had occupied them before. "He's sending me away. He just wants to get rid of me!"

"Darling," Karj murmured, sitting next to Ela. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now, do not take this personally, but... Are you sure you are ready for this?"

"No!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. "Of course I'm not ready. I'm not strong enough!"

With a cautious smile, the mentor shook his head. "That is not the problem here. If anything..." He cleared his throat. "You are too strong. More than you can handle. Not to offend you, your Excellence, but you are not the ideal person to have the ability to bend dual elements. With some training, I'm sure you'll be great, but right now--"

"I've been training for years! I don't want to waste my power making cute snowballs and farting fire for the rest of my life, Karj. I want to fight because when I do, I feel what it means to be alive." She huffed, looking at the floor. "Not chase my brother's toys for an eternity."

"Be considerate. The Ascended Council has already lost one of its members."

Ela laughed, throwing her head back and shrugging Karj's hand off her. "Oh, gods! Who is going to light their lamps now? A tragedy, truly!" She stood up, dusting off her uniform. "It's getting late. I'll head to the dining hall."

The girl roamed the corridors for some time. Her mind kept going back to her mentor's words. She shook her head, banishing all negative thoughts from her brain. I have to become stronger. I have to prove myself. Yet the more she repeated those words, the more she felt like a fool for thinking anybody cared. She was a second child, almost eight years younger than her grand brother. By the time she was born, Kage had already been deemed 'talented' destined to become the fourth member of the Seyali Ascended Council. Tried as she might, she couldn't possibly escape his shadow. Yet she knew, and she knew he knew too, that she was the strongest one, the truly gifted one.

Dual elements were rare. Nobody could deny that, really. Most people who had been born with the ability to manipulate two opposites at once were always shielded from the world. For a long time, that's what Ela thought Kage was doing; protecting her, concealing her for her own safety. She had been taught that exposure in her case was bad and that it was best to abandon one element and focus on the other. Ela soon realized that all of these statements were bullcrap; her brother wasn't protecting her at all. He was hiding her in fear that people would see he wasn't, in fact, the most powerful in his bloodline, saving her to be used later. Exposure had been nothing but great, earning her status in her small paper world.

And finally, she had realized that a life suppressing her true nature was not a life worth living.

The dining hall was already packed, despite the fact that it had only opened half an hour ago. Different Ascended littered the place, some sitting on the large tables and eating away like their life depended on it, others standing in crowds and gossiping about trivial matters. For the most part, the saying 'like calls to like' seemed to apply, as similar colors could be seen on each table; the natural elements stuck together, a rainbow of colorful embroidery on each black uniform, while the alternative elements like darkness and light sat in isolated groups, whispering discreetly to each other.

Ela chose to sit by herself, in need of some time alone. She didn't want to think anymore or fret over things she couldn't change. If she needed to find the bird, she would find the damn bird. Hopefully, she would be allowed in the military later, despite her young age. She sat on the uncomfortable wooden bench and grabbed the sturdy metal plate that had already been placed in front of her, like on every table.