Battle of Elements

Chapter 9- Azara

Azara hastily grabbed the boy's wrist and dragged him out of the tavern and, at least a little, out of danger.
Why was I helping him?

Azara could just have sat there and ignored the feud, but it was impossible for her not to help him. It wasn't her business but... why was an Aero wielder in a Tierra tavern?
Her curiosity awoke.

Azara reached the street outside of the tavern, still shifting the boy with her. The alley was filled with people selling vegetables and fruits, that had eye-catching bright colors.
The boy next to her begged, "I have to talk to you."
Without losing a beat, Azara answered rashly, "Not here." She started to walk more quickly again.
"We have to leave this tribe first. You just showed your Aero wield abilities to every Tierra member in that tavern; it won't take long until we have members of the guard behind us", she explained and he nodded. Azara turned around and realized that he had a hard time keeping up with her; she automatically slowed down her pace a bit.

Azara was about to turn left on a junction when her company put his hands on both of her shoulders and directed her into a narrow, dark alley on the right side.
At that moment, only a distance of a step was between them. Although he was taller than her, so she had to look up to him, Azara looked into eyes that were clearly intimidated by her.
Azara couldn't move and felt her heartbeat race up; she couldn't tell why. The only thing she could do was look into those eyes... that green-gray eyes with a spark of gold-
"There were... guards", he explained himself, but at that moment, Azara didn't need an explanation.
Like Azara had awakened from a dream, she remembered they weren't safe yet. She felt herself blushing (why would she blush? She never blushes..) and turned her head around before her counterpart could see it.
Azara looked into the main street they stood moments before and saw three men passing, who indeed looked like they're from the Terria guard. While pulling her hood more down her face (it meanwhile didn't cover her face at all), she turned her head around to him again.
He shyly grinned at her and said, "I think we're even now." He put his hand on the back of his head and continued, "I'm Alek by the way."
"I'm Azara." When she said her name, she saw something flicker across his face.
Why did she tell him? Why couldn't she stop getting herself in trouble because of this boy... because of Alek?
"I really need to talk to you", Alek repeated and Azara slowly turned curious, but she insisted," For the time being, we have to leave this village. My dragon waits in a field nearby. We should go there", Azara pointed down to the market street.
"Your... Dragon?", Alek mumbled with a perplex face, that made Azara burst out in laughter.
Still smiling mischievously, she said, "You will like Pyroc!"

Alek and Azara made sure they had enough distance to the Tierra guards, so they could enter the turbulent street again, filled with dozens of busy people earning or spending money at the stands.
Besides the food and beverages that were sold there, Azara even saw soothsayers. They basically scam superstitious people with flattering their eyelashes dramatically. Azara would never seriously spent money there, although she couldn't deny how persuasive some of them acted.

Azara was sunk into her own thoughts, so they walked towards the field silently. Normally she would feel awkward, but it wasn't an awkward silence; it almost felt normal.
Azara was about to pull her hood down her face again when a cold hand grabbed Azara's wrist. She automatically prepared herself to wield. Her feet adopted a wider stance with her knees slightly bent. She turned her head to the left and looked into an elderly-looking face. Although Azara overcame wonder, most of the tension left her body.
The women's brown, impetuous curls contained silver strains, which mysteriously reflected the sunlight. The cold hand, which slowly lost the grip to Azara's wrist, had bright-red painted nails and countless shimmering bracelets, that jingled shrilly with every movement.
Azara looked out for Alek and saw him on her right, looking at the Tierra women with a puzzled face.
Azara quickly said," We're not interested. We will leave now-"
With an oddly soothing voice, she said hastily, "Please, hear me out! It's for your sake... the sake of Yuvis!" Azara rolled her eyes.
"No matter what you wanna tell us, we won't pay you. It can't be that important.." Azara turned around and was about to leave, when the women's voice raised again and created goosebumps on Azara's skin, "I know about the incident in the tavern!"
Azara looked to Alek, who also couldn't hide his bafflement.
"How...", he mumbled.
The soothsayer women replied, her curls still bouncing," You two are chosen! I can feel it....", until then, Azara didn't even notice her thick, weird accent.
"What do you mean, 'chosen'?"
"You need to find the third one!", the women said, "Search for the one that is torn between dark and light. Together you are able to lead the secret soldiers of the mountainside!"
"What do you mean? Who is the third one? What-", she was interrupted by her again.
"I don't have much time. They gonna come for me. They gonna come for you!" the women pointed to them.
Azara didn't think much about the fateful sounding words. She had enough of this- fate, fortune teller, Terria guards...
Azara just wanted to be safe. She rushed out. With long, quick steps she walked down the alley again. Elbowing her way through the crowd, she felt the urge to punch someone with her bare hands.

Eventually, she reached the field and Pygo, who stood there waiting with hopeful anticipation. She ran towards him. As soon as she hugged her huge dragon, she began to breathe more evenly. While putting her forehead against Pyro's and caressing him, Azara forgot time. While standing there, her concerns returned.
What did the strange soothsayer mean with chosen? Why is she always running away from her problems? How could she just leave? And where is...
She heard someone approaching behind her and turned around.
"Alek!"

Alek explained that he searched for her and rushed through the crowd after her.
After introducing Alek to Pyroc (Alek tried to be as brave as he could), they sat down on an elevation of the field and watched the sunset. Azara thought about the sunset days ago, and she was right- the moment was way more beautiful with someone next to her.

"So... You're an Aero wielder, right? Why are here?", she asked, pointing to the village. Azara could tell that Alek was doubtful about telling her.
Eventually, he took a deep breath and said, "I'm a Tierra wielder, but I can also wield air. I don't know why... I don't know how..- "
Azara couldn't cover up her excitement.
He was like her. Alek also wielded his opposite element.
"Don't try to explain it, I tried to find an explanation for it my whole life. Because... Although I'm a part of the Pyro Empire, I can Aqua wield." She certainly didn't want him to know what position she had in the Pyro kingdom, at least for the time being.
In contrast to her excited facial expression, Alek looked rather concerned and said, "Azara... I know that you can Aqua bend. I also know that... you're the princess of the Pyro Empire."
Azara's slight smile on her face disappeared. Thousand possible explanations popped up in her mind- one worse than the other one.
"How do you know that?"
"Your father publicly announced that you are searched in every empire. You're accused of water wielding."
That wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Her view blurred away, probably because of her eyes tearing up. Tears dripped down her face and neck, her chest tightened up.
She won't ever find a home. She will never be safe.
Her hope and everything she allowed herself to dream about, collapsed like a house of cards.

But before another wave of panic could overcome her, the storm inside her somehow calmed down. Azara felt a hand on her shoulder that rather lifted the weight from her shoulders than adding it.
She turned around and saw him. He was still the biggest mystery circling around her mind- Alek.
The boy with the eyes that already felt like an anchor to her.