The Innerring Temple

To the Fire

"Felix!" Felix's mother called him down for breakfast from his open window.With a sigh, he put a book mark in his book, and just in case,  read the page number. 72. "Coming"

He headed down the palace steps, and walked out to the garden to see his parents and his sisters waiting for him. He sat down and began eating the eggs on his plate.

"Fanny, Felix, there is something we need to discuss with you both" the Queen said. "Yes Mom?" Felix asked. "The fire kingdoms king has recently died, which we were all saddened by," there was a brief moment of silence before the Queen continued. "But now the eldest son is taking the throne, and is to be coranated this weekend." She said. "You two need to pack today and get to sleep early. We leave on the boat tomorrow morning." Felix groaned and immediately felt sick, just thinking about the rocking of the boat. "Don't worry we've already received the sleep medicine."

The two mumbled words of agreement. "Oh Fanny," said the king. "Any updates on your gift?" With a sigh Fanny looked at her father. "No. Not yet. I wish I knew what's stopping it." She said, sounding a little sad. Felix chewed his food a little slower and clenched he's his fist a little tighter. He felt sorry that his sister hadn't gotten the gift. He knew it wasn't actually his fault, but he felt sorry anyways. Because he had had it for years, and no one knew.

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"Jack?" A groggy voice called out. With a yelp, Jack was thrown against the wall again by the giant rock monster. He looked at the entrance of the arena to see a tired Allison standing in a nightgown and robe. "Hey Allie, what are you doing up?" He picked up his axe and ran toward the monster again. But just like last time he was flung into the arena wall, this time next to Allie.

"I could ask you the same thing" she said helping him up. "It's still dark out! We're supposed to be asleep. You woke me up with you're catchphrase." She said picking up a bow and arrow. "Hey! It's not a catchphrase! It's a battle cry!" He said defensively grabbing the bow from Allie. "Sorry bro but battlecries are mostly incomprehensible screaming, not yelling 'like a boss' to who or whatever you're attacking." She said. She dipped the arrow in poison and handed it to Jack. "Yeah, yeah whatever" he said. He pulled the arrow back and shot it at the monster's eye. The two watched as the arrow hit it's target, and green ooz began dripping out of the wound and the socket. It slowly faded, leaving nothing but the tipped arrow. Jack went to go retrieve it.

"I'm just trying to get some extra training in is all." He said. "Oh come on Jack. You can't still be mad about losing to Simon. He has many more years of experience. You really shouldn't be down about it." She said. Jack placed the arrow back on the table. "Except I should. Even with the gift I couldn't beat him. I just want to be good at fighting. I want to be good at something." He said. "Oh Jack." Allie pushed herself off the wall and put a hand on her brothers shoulder. "You're going to be good at something, even if you haven't found it yet. Also, it's not your fault you don't know how to use your powers without showing them off." Jack scoffed. "Yeah I guess you're right." He said.

"Good. Now get to bed Jackie" she said teasing him. "Hey! Don't call me that!" He said. Allie stuck her tongue out at him. Jack chases her through the castle, until they tripped in the hallway and began laughing. Then they noticed their father. "Oh, hi dad." Jack said. "You two pack a bag. We leave this afternoon." He said. "What for?" Allie asked. The two stood up and composed themselves. "The king of the fire kingdom has passed. There is a coronation this weekend and we are leaving today." The king turned and walked away, leaving the two siblings confused.

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Ethan still had no idea what was going on. He looked over the side of the boat at the ocean. The water was always nice to watch. He looked down at the water below him, and with it he shaped a small boat to ride along side. "Your highness" a voice came. Ethan jumped and the smaller boat disappeared with a splash. "Ah! Oh. Hey Arin." He said nervously. "You okay? You seem a little jumpy." Arin asked. "No I'm fine." Ethan answered. "What's up?"

"Okay, well the Queen wants to speak to you. It's about this trip" Arin said. "She's below deck." Ethan stood up straight and began walking. "Thank you Arin. You're dismissed. Have a good day" Ethan smiled as the guard bowed and went back over to his guard buddy.

Ethan walked down the stairs of the boat and found the cabin his mother was in. He entered to see the rest of his family. "Ethan! There you are. Have a seat." She gestured to a wooden chair next to Andrew. "Yes please. What's with the surprises?" Andrew said. He was clearly more pissed about the sudden trip then Ethan was, but even he was curious. "The king of the fire kingdom has died." She said quickly. "Oh no, What from?" Ethan asked. "It was cancer. I don't recall what cancer from the letter, but it's sad nonetheless." She said with a sigh. The king continued. "We are going to the fire kingdom to show our support for the family, and to be there for the coronation of King Prince Thomas."
"Oh. I hope Mark is okay." Ethan mumbles to himself. The room was silent. They all seemed to be waiting for something that never came. A guard came in. "Your majesties, your lunch is ready."

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Mark opened the door to his brothers room. Thomas was sitting in a chair, looking out the window at the royal garden. Mark walked up to his brother. "Hey Tom, the boats are almost here, we need to go to the harbour." Mark said. "Yeah okay. I'll be there. Just give me a moment," he said. Mark was about to leave. "Tom are you okay?" He asked. "I just... I just need to be left alone for a moment is all. I'll be out there" he said. With a nod and a quiet sigh, Mark left the room and walked down to the entrance. He spotted Shane and Ryan, who looked at him hopefully, but Mark shook his head. "Man, losing his dad and having to worry about running a kingdom. Seems a little harsh, you know?" Ryan said. "I don't blame him."

They began walking toward the harbour. "My mom is still coming, right?" Mark asked. "I haven't heard otherwise" Shane answered. They walked the rest of the way in silence.