Feli looked back over her shoulder as soon as the Canyon came into view and could barely keep the smile off of her face. They had taken the bait. Nyek was stretched out in lines of white as they marched after her. If she had to guess, they would arrive about a half hour behind her and she was still twenty minutes away from the wooden rails she could see in the distance. Looking down at her steed, she could see the sweat and foam building on his black fur. Bomani had been stretched to his limits over the last few days yet he made no move to slow, quite the opposite actually. As the Canyon and its people entered his field of vision, the great stallion stepped up his speed another notch, adding to the distance already between the oncoming army and him. With astounding, ground eating strides, he destroyed the miles and swept past the wooden barriers as Feli raised her hand in signal. “Prepare for battle! Ready the troops!” her shouts were met with battle cries and she wrestled Bomani into a walk. The panting stallion shook his head, still on an adrenaline spike but settled soon enough as Renso rushed to her side. “Give him a good rest, Renso.” She spoke quickly and dismounted before he even had time to nod. Time was of the essence and she had little to spare for pleasantries. Nathanial walked up to her with the swift; sure steps of a man prepared for whatever would come. “Feli, the men are ready and all able bodies from Reicks are willing to assist. We have around three thousand troops, half of those being my horsemen.” His tones were clipped but the excitement created by adrenaline stood out in his deep baritone.
Feli could barely contain her happiness. “Good, they took the bait so they should be here in about twenty minutes. Move the men forward but don’t leave the barriers. Make them come to us.” She looked around as men milled about and nodded to no one in particular. “Are the Reickian Generals safe?” Nathanial’s face turned sour and he scowled at the ground. “Grayson is fine, we have yet to locate Triani but it is possible he is one of the injured as we haven’t gotten around to cataloging them. Haydn went further in but we haven’t heard anything…” Before Feli could respond, the ground under their feet rumbled and shook causing the horses to panic and the men to stop in their tracks. Feli turned and looked towards the back of the Canyon where the rumbling had originated, stumbling a bit before Nathanial raised steadying hands to her shoulders. In the distant, against the soft greyness of distant clouds, two glowing figures could be made out and Feli felt a strong resonance hum through and fill her being. “So that is where he went…” whether she was speaking about the green figure, Haydn, or the silver creature she recognized as Alexei, Feli wasn’t sure but the words left her lips with little thought. Turning back to Nathanial, she pushed his hands away and pointed to the field on which the coming battle would occur. “Gather the men and move everyone to the outer edge of our territory to await Nyek. Tell them to ignore the back wall, I will handle them.” Nathanial looked beyond her, to the clashing figures and back to her; studying her face. He had little knowledge of what was happening on the ridge but, at the insistence in her voice, Nathanial jumped at her bidding. “Yes, Princess Feli, I will ensure victory for your army.” He smirked and dropped into a kneeling bow before standing once more and turning on his heel.
Feli watched him for a few paces before turning back to the canyon wall. There was no time to waste and, if the tremors were anything to go by, the situation would just get worse for the regular humans if the two elementals were allowed to continue their pointless battle. She set off at a brisk jog across valley knowing that there was little more she could do to make it there any faster. Momentarily, she thought about going back and fetching Bomani but the wondrous stallion deserved a rest and she refused to disturb it. Her body ached and her lungs heaved as she ran towards the cliff, her energy having already been drained by the long, rushed trip and the previous battle. She was tired but she could not rest until her men had won and if that meant pushing her body past breaking point, it is what she would do. Another, stronger tremor shook the land and caused her to stumble and fall. Pebbles dug into her palms, drawing blood and the cloth of her pants tore but she pushed up again as soon as the tremor stopped. It was all she could do. Feli watched the glowing figures bounce away from each other before clashing again causing loud, shattering noises to coat the air and fresh quakes to disturb the very foundations of the earth. She stopped for a moment, panting with exhaustion and sweating from the strain to watch the furious elements. Each hit sent a wave of tingling energy through the air that resonated with her body…it both excited and drained her. Setting off again, pain laced through her eye at her weakening state and she could dimly hear Feliks taunting her failure. Self-loathing filled her veins and, as she tripped once more, she closed her eyes against the images before her. The urge to hide and just allow Feliks to take over was strong, especially when she laid eyes on the fallen guards of Haydn but she stood again and dashed forward.
So hard was she running that the black haired princess nearly collided with the wall only to collapse against it. The realization that now she had to climb to their height and stop them was daunting but she pushed back the sleeves of her top and grasped the loose rocks. The tremors were stronger now and made the climb harder and more dangerous but she had to do it. She slipped and slid, scrapes and cuts littered her arms as she forced her body to respond but quickly, a bone deep weariness started to fill her and Feliks’ voice became louder than ever within her head. “Why struggle? Give up, go to sleep and let me handle this. You won’t have to suffer anymore, little Feli.” His voice was sickly sweet and she could almost feel him draped around her in a mock, soothing gesture. As she was forced down the cliff once more by a particularly hard tremor, Feli allowed tears of frustration to leak down her cheeks and beat her fist against the wall. She was tired…she ached…she wanted to give in…
Just as her mouth opened to speak the words Feliks so desperately wished to hear, the world around her became cold and silent with grey and black tones. It was as though all color and life had been leached from the surrounding area. Feli could not even sense Feliks. Despite the cold of the stone and the numbness within her body, she felt an all-consuming inferno behind her and when she looked over her shoulder, a distorted, red being floated in midair. Its arms, should they be called that, rose to wrap gently around her waist and, despite the heat, they did not burn her. “Do you wish for power, my sweet host? Do you hate to be so powerless; to watch those you love die? Do you wish to save them, despite all they have done in past or will do in present?” Feli looked up to the top of the cliff, away from the flaming, distorted image and watched as Haydn and Alexei clashed silently, slowly in front of her. Haydn looked exhausted and enraged but Alexei was covered in injuries and wore an expression of sadness and anger. Studying his visage, she knew that, despite all she knew he had done, she had no hate for the icy male. She was, of course, angry and sad over what Alexei had done but more than that, she regretted the fact that she had not been alive previously to save him from all she also knew he had been forced to do. Looking back to Haydn, all she could feel for him was tiredness and annoyance for he would never see her just as she would never trust him. He, who had turned his back on everything including his friend, was no friend or ally of hers. Turning her eyes away from the Spirits, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Give me power…help me protect him…help me protect this land.” She slammed her fist against the wall again. “I am weak…I can’t even fight against Feliks let alone an army.” She heard the being behind her laugh in a muffled and twisted way. “Then make my power yours, warp the element till it bends to your will!” Fire swirled around Feli and suddenly, she realized what this was. This was the very power that sustained her life and her land. As it touched her skin, the voices of the people, and the wishes of the warriors…it was all there within those flames. Letting go of the rock wall, she allowed her body to fall back into open space with her arms thrown up to the flames. She welcomed the power and, as the flames rushed into her skin like the burn of alcohol on a wound, she screamed up to the men who rushed towards each other once more.
“Stop!”
The single cry; that innocent scream; that sound filled with all the purity, love and sadness she possessed shattered the air and with it, color flooded the world once more as those flames she had embraced burst from her spine, singed her clothing and gave her the power to overcome that cliff. Her weapons, sheathed at her side mere seconds before, appeared her in her hands with the blades now gleaming black and cloaked in swirling flame. Feli was between the two males in a flash as her order still rung in their ears. The roaring wings of fire faced Alexei as she caught his axe with her right blade, stopping it before it had the chance to reach its target. Her left blade swung down in a flaming arc to push Haydn’s spear deep into the dirt. With the sudden burst of elemental power, her wings rose up and crashed against each other with a sound so loud in shook the very ledge they stood upon before swinging down and crashing into the ground like a waterfall of fire. The ground on either side of the wall was burned but the flame itself disappeared from sight. “Stop this madness…your fight will come to naught no matter the length at which you battle.” Her voice was laced with power and, if she had been able to see her own reflection, she would have noted that her left iris that had been tainted by Feliks, returned to its beautiful yet cruel violet. She spoke to Haydn who ground his teeth at her words. Alexei did not even have the will to move; to astounded was he by the previous display of power. “How dare you speak such, you weak insignificant…” Haydn’s insults were cut off by the purple eyed girl. “Silence, this is no place for such redundant insults. Have you forgotten your reason for being here? If I recall, you are to be at war, not settling scores with immortal foes.” Haydn snarled under his breath. “And what of you?! Are you honestly saying you will protect him despite the fact that he killed your beloved friend?”
At Haydn’s hateful words, Alexei finally drew back and Feli allowed her arm to drop though she kept a tight grip on her sword. She was loath to admit that, despite the new strength that filled her from the flames of her people’s souls; her earlier weakness still existed and made holding back their heavy blows difficult. “Yes, he did kill Bren. Alexei murdered my friend in cold blood…but I cannot hate him. After everything you left him to, how can I possibly condemn him? Isn’t it you who cannot let go of your grudge? At that, why hold a grudge against him at all? He is not the one who killed Feliks; you murdered your loved one with your own two hands, did you not?” Haydn’s eyes narrowed in anger and he pushed away her blade to aim his spear at her. She raised her left blade and caught it before her could injure her but she was nowhere near strong enough to push it back. Her arm trembled under the weight of the blow and Haydn leaned into it to break down her defense but, just as she was sure he would earn a direct hit, Alexei’s icy hand wrapped around her own while his other clutched her hip. “Lean into it…slide the blade up slightly.” His whispers tickled her ear with cold breath but she did as told. She could easily imagine the smile on his face as he lent his own weight to hers as she pushed up against Haydn’s spear. “Now…slide your blade to an angle…and push to the side!” With and urgency and fluidity she didn’t know she possessed, Feli pressed to the left with her sword and watched in awe as it slide around Haydn’s spear and pushed it once more towards the ground.
Alexei’s hand left her own to grasp the shaft of the spear as it came towards him and he yanked, hard. Haydn stumbled from the force and, while Alexei kept Feli in place, the white haired Spirit pushed the spear back towards Haydn only to force him to the left over the edge of the canyon. Haydn tumbled down into valley and stayed flat on his back for a few moments which gave Feli enough time to compose herself. “Haydn!” she waited until he sat up and glared up at her to continue. “If you are so angry and hateful, go join into the battle and kill as many of the enemy as you can! Work off your anger so that you can lead your troops per King Harold’s orders or I will be forced to overrule you. Do not forget yourself, you are in my land now and I have say over everything that happens within these borders. Feli watched as Haydn struggled with these orders before standing and turning his back on them. He didn’t even bother to respond though his rage was palpable.
As soon as Feli was sure he would not return to the battle, she lowered her blades and allowed her shoulders to slump. Alexei brought her tired form against his larger, stronger one so that she would not fall but she struggled against him. “No…I must fight…I can’t let my men fight for me while I hide.” Despite her words, black spots were starting to overcome her vision and it slowly became harder and harder to breath. Alexei’s grip tightened on her shoulders. “No, you must rest. You were exposed to our elements as well as the sudden explosion of your own. Your body cannot handle any more stress.” Feli continued to struggle but her knees gave out and, as her fingers finally left the hilts of her swords, the black weapons vanished in a flurry of sparks. “Where…” she barely had the energy to form a coherent question but still she tried. “Do not worry, they will return. Sleep now, Feli…you have not rested properly in days, I can tell…” She collapsed against his frame as he lowered to the ground so she didn’t have to struggle to stand. “Why do you care? Haven’t I served my purpose? Haydn is free isn’t he…?” She was so tired and pain laced through her chest as though her heart was being squeezed tighter with every beat. “I don’t know…probably for the same reasons you are not condemning me for the acts I have committed.” She wished she could see his expression as he raised one hand to card through her now short black hair. “Sleep…I won’t leave before you awaken… I will answer all you wish to know once you are healthy again.” With those gently whispered words that reminded her of his time at Reicks and the painful thudding of her heart, Feli allowed herself to fall into the dark oblivion of sleep.
As Alexei watched her finally drift into unconsciousness, he lifted his cold eyes to watch the battle in the canyon. The wounds Haydn had left on his body ached and blood dripped from the deeper cuts but he made no move to leave Feli’s side. More scars would be added to the lines that already crisscrossed his body and yet it didn’t even faze him. Instead, turning silver orbs away from the destruction, Alexei found himself mesmerized by the gentle visage of Feli. On her arms, where the sleeves of her shirt were still pushed up, he could see long trails of black flame slowly wrap their way up her lower arms from wrist to elbow. On a whim, he rolled her sleeves down and returned to carding through the silky tresses. This moment of peace wouldn’t last, he knew but it was a moment none the less and he would make sure she was rested. It was the least he could do for this being he had forced into a world of blood and death…