Arielle sat beneath a purple and black tree, head throbbing, heart racing, the scent of magic in the air. Germaine rested a few feet away, legs dangling from a low-hanging branch. “Germy, I can’t--” she started, then looked up to see Germaine’s stern gaze. She silenced herself, and let the dirt in her hands slid between her fingers.
“You can do it, Ari. You failed with fire, as I suspected you would, and air was a wash. Water was tempting, but it seems it’s more a part of you than the element you can control. Understandable. Didn’t you say your people have the ocean running through their veins?”
She nodded. “It’s always been in us, the keepers of the Guardian Sea. We can tempt water to our will, even if we are of another element.” She sighed. “This isn’t working.”
He leapt from his tree and moved to crouch next to her. He laid a firm hand on her shoulder, and her heart stuttered. “Arielle, look at me.” She did. “You are strong. You have to be earth. There’s nothing else, unless there’s some mystical element we aren’t aware of. Your Spirit element may be Knowledge, but you have to have one of the four too.” He hugged her tight for a moment, kissing her forehead. “Concentrate, princess.”
She nearly fainted. This was the friendliest he’d ever been with her. She couldn’t quite hide her blush from his grinning gaze, but she smiled back and picked up the dirt again. It was barren of all seeds, but a fertile, dark color with little insects crawling around in it. She closed her eyes, her mind and soul stretching out to the earth she held, prodding for life, feeling the soil like it was a beating heart.
She was about to give up again when she heard Germaine give a whoop. She opened her eyes to see what it was about, only to see the remarkable flower she now held in the soil. It was blue, with lily-like petals, a yellow center, and a long stalk.
Arielle gasped. Germaine danced around her, laughing and hollering that he knew it. She dropped the flower and joined him. “Germaine, I did it!”
They hugged hard, and they danced hand in hand around the little flower.
Then, suddenly, Germaine kissed her. The merest peck on the lips, but her heart felt so much more. She flushed, and her eyes widened with shock. Germaine gasped at himself. “Oh, princess, I’m sorry!” His young face was red as she felt. He turned then, stuttering, and fled.
She touched a hand to her lips. She had read about first kisses in her faerytales. But she never thought hers would be so brief. And that her best friend would be her kisser. She shook her head. They were just friends, her and Germaine. And she was ten! She had plenty of time to find a suitor.
Arielle Penthoseren shook her head, picked up her flower, and threw the thing as far as her strong little arms would carry it. She couldn’t tell her parents about this. She didn’t want to be the Light Guardian. It would take her away from her family and the ocean and the trees and Germaine. And it wasn’t guaranteed it would be her. Just because she could control earth didn’t mean she had the power of Light.
She tossed those fantasies away, hoping Germaine would do the same. Then, she trotted off to the palace to get some much needed rest before the ceremony tomorrow.