The next few days we hiked through the woods. We didn't run into anymore cutpurses, and it felt like the animals in the area grew slimmer and slimmer, as if they were starving themselves.
The water around me felt bad. It didn't feel pure or free, but caged and poisoned. I didn't trust it enough to drink out of one of the ponds on the way. Something felt off. The birds weren't singing as much, the animals lost weight and seemed to shrink in numbers, the water felt contaminated, and it felt like the whole forest had sucked in a breath, and was waiting for the big storm to blow.
"Something isn't right." I said as we reached a small clearing. The grass was dry and brown, dying. The surrounding trees had lost most of their leaves and stood crookedly, leaning on each other for support.
"It's like this all over the South." Nix said, kicking a stone. "And it keeps expanding all around, mostly North now."
"What's causing it all?"
"We're not sure, but I do know it's got to do with Gadreel." The scowl on his face deepened as he walked on.
I wanted to ask so many more questions, but I didn't want to bug him even more. Ever since the cutpurses back in the forest they've all been walking on eggshells around me. Lydia restrained herself from back talking, Axel's been next to me the whole time, and Nix won't look at me.
I wasn't okay with it.
I didn't want them to think I was a broken little girl. I didn't want them to think I'd break at any second and go on a ballistic rampage. But I kept my mouth shut. It'd be better for them to fear me if I were to go my separate way.
I looked up at the greenish sky. Even the air was contaminated with whatever it was. The clouds were nearing a light, rotten green. The sky itself, a lime green. I cringed looking at it. Good thing the Airs weren't alive anymore to see the air so filthy.
The Airs, air benders, had gone extinct a long time ago. They had a civil war and ended up killing all of themselves. One side wanted peace, believing the air was the tranquility needed to balance the world. The other believed in their inevitable extinction, if they weren't prepared to fight the other Elementalists. Neither side won and ended up sending their own people into extinction, but not without marrying off their last female bender to King Michael, though in the end, she died with him during the raid, leaving their last attempt of repopulation completely futile.
The Terras, earthbenders, took over their temples to maintain the culture. The Terras were known to be neutral, usually staying out of the fights. Their connection to nature's earth gave them that sense of peacefulness and they would feel as if they were betraying mother nature herself if they were to go to war.
The Aquas, were a mixture of the Airs and Embers. Though they had better tempers than the Embers, they still had their frighteningly powerful abilities to go offensive. They never had that sense of peace that the Airs had, yet were wise enough to know how to pick their fights, and used defensive moves more often.
The Embers, were known to be short tempered, easily provoked. The element of destruction made them the most feared Elementalists. When Gadreel, an Ember, killed his brother King Michael, he had all the Elementalists hunted and killed. He wanted to be the only one, an unstoppable force.
In my old village, there used to be so many different Elementalists. Aquas, Embers, and Terras all lived in peace until Gadreel's men came wearing iron armor, making them immune to our attacks. They destroyed my home, my people, all because of King Gadreel's gluttony and need.
The maroon colored smoke rising above the trees caught my eye. I opened my mouth to tell Nix, but he was already looking at it with a small smile on his face. He turned and started walking in the direction. We pushed through the forest and came to a small fire, a man sitting in front of it poking it with a stick, flipping the wood over and over, keeping it alive.
The man heard us and looked up, smiling as Nix approached him. He stood up and gave Nix a hug, as if he hadn't seen him for the longest time. They hugged for a while before Nix stepped back.
"It's been awhile Trin." He said with a smile.
"Awhile my behind! It's been 3 years you stupid jack!" Trin shouted with a chuckle.
"You remember Lydia and Axel, right?" Trin looked at them and his smile widened before he engrossed them both in a hug. Lydia let out an oomph from his force but smiled and hugged him nonetheless.
"Good to see ya old man." She patted his back.
"Who you callin' old man? I'm only 52!" He ruffled her hair. He finally turned to me and his smile faltered slightly as he tipped his head. "You I don't remember..."
"We picked her up a few days ago. Iris." Nix told him. Trin's eyes narrowed slightly as he took my hand in his. I felt a slight shock on my skin but didn't pull back. Suddenly his smile widened and his eyes started shifting between me and Nix.
"What did you see?" Nix asked, grasping Trin's shoulder and turning him.
"Oh, nothing." He chuckled and patted Nix on the back. "Good luck, son. You're going to need it."
"Trin." Nix's voice held a warning tone, but Trin only rolled his eyes.
"Let's just say, this little lady is very special." His eyes shone with mischief as he looked at me, making me feel slightly uncomfortable.
"What do you mean what did he see?" I asked cautiously, afraid to know the answer.
"If you touch him, he knows everything about you. Past, present, and future." My eyes widened and I turned to him. His eyes softened slightly.
"You're strong. Stronger than most. Your past has the most pain I've seen in awhile, but it will give you strength to guide you through your future." I nodded slightly, still wary.
"Are you coming into the city with us or are you staying here?" Nix asked moving towards a bush.
"I'm staying. I might have angered one of the guards with daddy issues." He chuckled and went back to the colorful fire.
"Are we close? To the city, I mean." I asked joining Lydia, Axel and Nix as they stood in front of the bush. Nix sent me a grin before moving the bush out of the way.
"You tell me." A small gasp left my lips as I realized where we were.
The Capital expanded as far as the eyes could see. Houses and buildings of all sizes surrounded a large castle. A large glass dome surrounded by towers waving our nation's flag, red, orange and yellow in the shape of a fire on a gray, blue and green background. The thick, traditional moat surrounding it with a cobblestone bridge, sculpted and crafted to perfection.
The roads filled with people. Men, women and children set out to do their work. They shouted and cheered, attracting the attention of the people walking about. Tents and shacks were set up for the merchants. Their cloth roofs shredded and worn from all the use.
But what really caught my eye was the sky. Instead of being those hideous shades of green, it was a clear blue, cloudless. It was as if the city borders themselves warded off the poison in the air, creating a ring surrounding the city. I looked to Nix in question, but noticed he was staring up at the ring as well, in concern instead of curiosity.
"Come on." His voice was gruff and deep as he started making his way down the cliff. The dirt slid beneath my feet with each step. Roots from the trees stuck out of the sides, as if the hill itself had been ripped apart. "Pull your hood up. We don't want to be noticed." Axel, Lydia and I nodded and covered our faces.
We walked through the crowd for hours, looking down all the way, hiding our faces. We walked separately instead of a group, a couple steps behind each other so we wouldn't stand out too much. It felt like the amount of people on the streets minimized as we neared the castle. The streets started becoming emptier, and the stalls started to grow scarce.
We kept to the shadows and walked against the walls.The once small shacks and houses were now large mansion type homes. The Noble area I was guessing. Honestly, walking around in the city left me in a sort of awe-struck state.
The most civilized place I'd ever been to was Belleview, but that was only for a few hours at most and it was nothing compared to this city. The town could have filled up at most one square of The Capital.
I hadn't said a word since we've begun walking through the crowd, afraid of drawing attention. The crowds had dimmed so much that we had to walk behind shacks and shadows, avoiding the few people in the streets instead of blending in. With the hoods up, we'd draw too much attention but without it we'd catch all the attention.
We reached a small shop a few blocks away from the palace. It's door was somewhat hidden behind tents and curtains. The roads were near empty now, as if everyone were too afraid to go near the palace. The silence was strong in the air, keeping me on my toes as I glanced around, searching for signs of life, finding none.
The curtains fell over the door once again as we stepped through. It was a small little bar. A tall man stood behind the long wooden counter, wiping it clean. Behind him were bottles and bottles of alcohol, wine, and beer. There were a few people sitting and talking to themselves in hushed tones, watching the four of us curiously.
"Nix." The man behind the bar said. Nix nodded and walked to the back, taking a staircase into the basement. The three of us followed him, then the man from the bar. "There's talk man."
I looked around the basement; crates filled with bottles were set up in rows. The torches on the walls lit the room, giving it a dim quality. The pillars holding the bar up were old and molded. I looked at the man, assessing him. He was tall, around Axel's heigh. His arms were large and muscular, probably to be able to throw out drunkards. He had black, greying hair and old eyes. He'd seen so much in his time, that I could tell.
"Rem you know there's nothing I can do about that." Nix crossed his arms.
"There are too many rumors about a revolution. If the King finds out he'll have the whole city searched for sympathizers." Rem insisted.
"I can't keep them from talking!" Nix shouted. "The revolution will finally begin soon. All we've done is gather up forces and right when we're about to start you want me to shut us down!?" He belted. I stepped back into the shadows of the corner, watching them.
"That's not what I meant." Rem bowed his head in respect and shame.
"Come on." Nix said turning away from Rem and pulling out a table from the wall. On a shelf next to it were blueprints and lists and labels. Maps. "We need to figure this out."
I remained in the shadows, though everyone else gathered around the map. I could see it from where I hid. "We're going to poison one of the maids that work in the castle so they'll have an available job for her. She'll be sick for a few days but that's enough for us to move." He said putting aside what I guess was the poison.
"Once she's out of the way, we're going to put Iris in their line of sight so that they'll pick her."
"How do you know they'll pick her?" Lydia asked.
"The King likes his maids pretty. Since we had Iris look nearly irresistible, they'll be practically forced to pick her for the job, even if she has no experience." She nodded. "Iris will use her authority as a maid to go in and out of private rooms. Once you find the King you have to make sure he sees you. We want him interested." I stepped out of the shadows.
"What do you mean 'interested'?" I demanded with narrowed eyes.
"We want you to get close to him. If we get him to trust you and you have enough power over him, we can lead him into an area where I can kill him."
"First why you?"
"The person who kills the King becomes the next King. That's been how the hierarchies have worked for centuries. The King would have one of his heirs fight him to the death. The winner would be crowned. We're just dueling him without his knowledge."
"Okay and what makes you think you're qualified to be king?" I crossed my arms. He looked at Rem, who imperceptibly shook his head. I barely caught it. He didn't answer. "Exactly. And what the hell do you mean get close to him? I have to seduce him?" He nodded. "Hell no." I turned around and closed my eyes.
"I'll be there with you the whole time." I turned to Nix.
"Oh, cause that warms my heart!" I shouted. "You're not the one who has to seduce the man who killed everything you've ever loved!" I bellowed. My chest heaved up and down, I was out of breath. The sweat gathered at my palms, my nerves and memories coming back. I closed my eyes and looked away. "I need to think."
I ran out.