Xrins P.O.V.
"Is she dead or not?" My father asked pulling me into the library.
I looked at him with intensity, knowing he already was upset with me, I wouldn't let him make me feel like I failed.
"She went across the ocean, to the Fire Empire, I figured from there she was as good as dead," I explained.
My father began to pace back and forth in the library of the Water Colony palace.
He had grown comfortable, power suited him, it suited us.
"If she returns we will be put to death," My father warned, "I won't have you undoing all that we did!"
I stepped up to my father and looked him in the eyes, "Father, you've trained me well, if I knew she was going to make it back I would've crossed the sea myself to end her"
A grin appeared on my father's face, "I'll announce the news later today, it won't be too long before you and I are the new royal family."
The sound of being in power, true power, was fitting. My father was right in the sense that our family should've taken over eighteen years, apparently timed agreed with us.
"What about the rest of your Nephews? What happened to them?"
My mind flashed back to the nephews who were probably dead by this point, those villagers captured them and I'm sure they killed them as well.
I looked at my father, "There were some causalities along the way".
His grin disappeared slowly and an emotionless expression replaced it, "Your sister will be very upset, but I'm sure her status being raised will make up for it."
I nodded my head in agreement with my father.
"Go, Reward your Nephew, Keyon, for the good work he has done."
I thanked my father and walked out of the library.
I walked up the stairs and into the room that was once Ëthia's, I looked around and was extremely pleased to know that in a very short time all of it would belong to me.
Ëthia's P.O.V.
The streets of the Empire were quiet, maybe too quiet, but whatever was out there I knew that we needed to get back to the captain.
He was the only person I trusted who could get us back to the main land and he was the only person who could get us out of harms way.
Without the emperor, or his elite assassins, we were safer, but it wouldn't be long until people started asking questions and figuring things out, and the next time we wouldn't be prisoners, we'd be dead.
Arriving to the outside of his cottage we all got off our animals and rushed to the front door.
"Do we knock?" Seviah asked being confused.
"No," I quickly replied and opened the door.
Once inside Dax and Ivan made their way back to the captain's room and knocked on the door.
The baby they had started crying loudly and the mother began to scream.
I rushed back there and opened the door and saw the mother in bed with her baby.
I looked around the room frantically and couldn't find the Captain anywhere.
"Where is he?" I asked her as patiently as possible, "Where did your husband go?"
The mothers face instantly turned to rage and she spit on me, "I'll never tell you! You ruined my whole life!"
I looked at her like she was crazy, she was crazy, "What are you talking about?!"
She once again spit at me but this time I avoided it and slapped her across the face, "WHERE IS YOUR HUSBAND!" I yelled at her once more.
Felicity and Seviah were still in the main room keeping a watch while Dax and Ivan stood by the bedroom door.
"HE IS GONE! PROBABLY LEAVING RIGHT NOW ON HIS SHIP!"
Tears started pouring down her face and an ugly sob consumed her. She held her baby as if it was the only thing she had in her life, and something told me it was.
"What happened?" I asked with true sincerity.
Her crying slowed and she raised her head to look at me, "You happened. You escaped and they thought my husband did something! And now the emperor is missing! The real question is what did you do!"
The palace probably thought that the Captain helped me with every little thing, the escape, getting our bending, and getting here safely.
A thought entered into my head and instantly I knew that fate was working with us.
"Lets go!" I yelled at my friends and we rushed out the door and back outside.
"What's going on?" Dax questioned as he hopped on Jaroms bear.
A quick sharp pain shot in me and it only reminded me that Jarom wasn't here, he would've known what to do from the start.
I switched my focus from Dax and informed everyone of my new plan, "It's simple, the captain has been chased out of town, or will be shortly, and is leaving on his ship, we need to get to the shipyard quick, it's truly our last chance."
Felicity smiled, "Well, what are we waiting for?"
Felicity took off on her bird and the rest of us followed closely behind.
The air was a good temperature, not too cold and not too hot, the streets were empty and the only thing that accompanied us were the cottages the lined the road.
Eventually we reached the shipyard and frantically looked for the captain.
"Which one is his boat?" I asked, hoping that one of them would've spotted it.
"I don't see it!" Seviah yelled.
"It should be here," Ivan added in.
We rode our animals up and down the piers desperately trying to find the captain, or his ship, but it was clear that he wasn't here, he had left already.
"What are we going to do?" Dax asked getting off the bear.
"I'm not sure" I replied, "We need to get back to the main land, without the –"
"Out there!" Ivan yelled pointing towards the ocean.
Squinting my eyes I looked towards the ocean and tried to make out what Ivan was seeing.
"I see it too!" Felicity shouted with joy.
It was much to dark to see anything and I was confused, "I don't see anything!"
"There!" Seviah pointed out.
Once more I cast my eyes out towards the ocean and just barely in the distance I could see a very dim light.
"What could possibly possess you to think that's the captain, that could be anyone!" I reasoned with them.
The expression that Felicity shared on her face was very disappointed in me, "Because something just screams that it's him, don't you feel it?"
Feel it? The only thing I could feel was pain, pain and stress. Pain for the loss of the only person I've ever been in love with, and stress that I knew I had to get my friends to safety.
"Trust us" Ivan said gently.
I looked at my group of friends and knew they were right, although it did irritate me that my current emotions couldn't focus like they used to.
I nodded my head, "Of course I trust you".
I looked at Dax, "Let's form an iceberg"
Dax and I put our hands out towards the ocean and slowly clenched our fingers together.
A little piece of ice formed and quickly it began to expand until we had an iceberg big enough for the animals and us to fit on.
"Quickly" I directed.
Everyone piled on and the iceberg, which tilted back and forth until we were able to stabilize it.
Dax was at the back of the iceberg and I was at the front.
"You ready, Dax?" I asked.
"Ready!"
Dax faced towards the piers and stuck his hands out, his arms began to make a pushing motion while I was facing the direction of the captain's boat making a pulling motion with my arms.
At first it seemed nothing was happening but soon the piece of ice started to move forward.
"How amazing!" Felicity commented as she took in the scene, "I've never done this!"
Dax and I were able to pick up speed and within a short amount of time we found ourselves pulling up next to the ship.
Surely enough the ship was the captains, he must've left not too long before we got to his cottage and was on his way somewhere.
"How do we get up?" Seviah asked.
"Balance yourself" I told Seviah.
Seviah looked at me oddly but made sure she was balanced.
I looked at Dax and he came over to me.
"We are going to lift the piece of ice she is on and put it on the ship"
Dax nodded his head in agreement and moved to the other side of Seviah.
"Lift" I instructed to him.
Dax and I both raised our arms and the area of ice that Seviah was on began to lift up.
Seviah wobbled a little but controlled her balance, once at the top we moved the piece of ice over the railing and she jumped off to the deck.
Dax and I then flung the chunk of ice in the ocean and looked to see who was next.
Felicity went next followed by Ivan, Dax helped me up on the ship and then I was able to lean over the rail and help get his piece of ice to float as well.
Once all on board we took in the night scene, there wasn't anyone on deck and not a voice to be heard.
The half moon lit up everything and helped us see, there just wasn't anything to actually take in.
"Where is everyone?" Felicity asked the rest of us.
"I'm not sure" I said very cautiously, "Let's check down below"
All of us made our way to the stairs and quietly descended them.
Once at the bottom we became extremely careful of each step we took, afraid that an unexpected sound might trigger someone, or something, to appear.
The moonlight lit the entire hallway and insured us that no one was waiting at the end for us.
We approached the first door and immediately pushed our way through it and took a defensive position.
Quickly we scanned the room and saw a man tied to a chair with a sac over his head.
Ivan rushed over to remove the sac while the rest of us continued our defensive positions.
Ivan looked at me for the okay and I nodded my head.
Ivan lifted the sac off the mans head and the captains face was revealed.
I walked over and water whipped the ropes off of him and attended to the burns that were on his hands.
Felicity removed the cloth that was stuck in his mouth and went to the table to retrieve some water that was in the pitcher to help with the cough he had.
"What happened to you?" Seviah asked as the water started glowing blue on his wrists.
"They ambushed my home," The Captain painfully replied, "They threatened to kill my whole family if I didn't come with them"
"So they brought you to your own ship?" Ivan questioned.
"Only so they could set it on fire with me trapped inside it,"
Our attention was focused on the words of the Captain, we knew that the pain in his heart was probably eating at him.
He lost his family, something he valued more than anything else, and to know that he would die on his own ship, the symbol of his success, was all to make a point.
Don't mess with people of power.
"Why haven't they set it on fire yet?" Felicity inquired.
The captain never looked at any of us as he spoke, rather he gazed off in the distance, "They were awaiting directions from the Emperor, they said when he shows up that they'll get the 'ok' from him".
I let out a light laugh, "Don't worry about the Emperor, I took care of him".
The Captains eyes shot to me and instantly he stood up stepping right in front of me.
"What did you do!?" He yelled
My heart rate picked up, shocked that he reacted the way he did, I took a step back and sized him up, "What is your problem!" I yelled right back at him.
"You KILLED my ruler!" The captain yelled, stepping closer to me.
I took a step closer to him lifting my head to look him in the eyes, "If it wasn't for me the emperor would've already given the command to burn this ship with you in it!" I explained to him in a most heated voice.
The captain held nothing back, he shoved be back and sent me flying to the ground.
Seviah and Felicity rushed to my side while Dax lunged to hit the Captain.
The Captain easily deflected Dax's attempt and punched him across the face instantly knocking him out.
The captain turned his attention back to me only to have Ivan step in between us.
"Calm down!" Ivan yelled, "All of you need to calm down!"
I wasn't going to sit on the ground and let other people protect me anymore, I was tired of people protecting me, trying to fight for, people who were dying for me.
I stood up and pushed by Ivan and stood in front of the Captain again.
I didn't yell, but I spoke with intensity, "Please help me understand why it is that you are angry with us! With me!? We haven't done anything-"
"You cost me everything!" The captain yelled with emotion, "You took my wife, my son, my station in the army, and everything I've ever known! Because of you I was about to be erased from history!"
His breathing picked up and tears were beginning to fall down his face, "So don't tell me that you didn't do anything! Because you've taken everything from me! EVERYTHING!"
I didn't put up shield to block the feelings that were radiating from the captain, rather I let them all sink in, I let each and every one of his emotions transfer to me.
And yet I didn't feel different.
Not because I didn't feel anything back, but because the captain and I both had the same pain, the same emotion.
He lost his love and his child, and I lost Jarom.
I took a deep breath and changed my poster so it wasn't as confrontational, "I lost Jarom. One second he was breathing and standing right by me and the next moment he was gone, lifeless, dead"
The captain's stance softened.
"I don't know how I did it, I guess my emotions took over, but the emperor and his assassins were standing there and I killed them all. I wasn't even looking at them when I did it, I was holding Jarom, I was only thinking of Jarom."
I knew my words didn't soften the feeling of loss that the captain was going through, but I didn't want him to think that absolutely nothing was happening to me throughout all this.
The captain's stance changed a little and he walked to the window that looked towards the mainland, "Why did you come here?"
"Because we need to get to the Earthern Territory" Ivan quickly replied.
The captain continued looking out the window but I could tell the thought struck him, "What's there?"
Felicity instantly took the opportunity to start a list, "What's there?" She spoke with unbelief, "Safety! What more do you need?"
I looked at Felicity and then back to the captain, "There are more answers that we need, some very important answers at that."
"For example?" The captain probed.
I hesitated to answer but knew I was truly in no danger for doing so, "Before the emperor died he told us that he wasn't the one who was giving commands to attack my colony, rather he was getting commands from someone else"
The emperor looked intrigued, "That would make sense"
Ivan and I looked at each other and then back at the captain
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Some orders the emperor had given didn't quite make sense to me, delaying shipments, speeding them up, placing assassins in certain areas, they rarely seemed to benefit us." The captain smirked a little, "He wasn't trying to benefit us, he was benefiting them"
"Them?" Felicity repeated.
The Captain shrugged, "Whoever you're talking about, which you haven't told me who you think it is"
Ivan sighed, "There is a very low possibility that my parents could be behind this"
With all of the emotion that was still going throughout me, I hadn't considered exactly how I truly felt about the assumption that Ivan's parents could behind this all. Part of me wanted something to distract me, and maybe this was it, but another part of me truly felt like this was correct.
I looked at Ivan, knowing that we were starting to see a little differently on this issue, and proceeded to inform the captain.
"The Fire Emperor told us that the Earthern Territory was threatening to attack and destroy them if they didn't do as they were told," I took a deep breath and continued, "It's true though that we aren't sure if they really were doing these things, but we have to look into it."
The captain turned around from the window and looked at me, "The Earthern Territory has the strongest armies, soldiers, protection, and anything else you could think of, what makes you think that you'll win this?"
"We aren't going there to attack anyone," Felicity explained, "Right?"
I nodded my head in agreement, "And we have their son, if he explains that he came with us and we were no harm, we will be fine".
The captain took in the whole scene, observing each of us, almost as if he could see who we truly were.
His face had sadness written all over it, yet his eyes had hope in them, not much, but just a glimmer.
"They anchored the ship down so it wouldn't move, as soon as we get the anchor up we can head towards the mainland"
We all looked at the captain with astonishment, "You mean, you're going to take us?" Felicity squeaked out.
The captain nodded his head.
Felicity jumped up for joy while the rest of had a smile appear on our faces.
"Let's get that anchor up" Ivan said towards Dax, who was still knocked out, "Or not"
The captain began to lead Ivan out of the room but turned around, he looked at Felicty, Seviah, and I, "Make yourselves comfortable, you've all been through a lot".
With that The captain and Ivan left the room with the door closed.
I focused my attention on Felicity and Seviah and took a quick breath, "We can do this".
We gathered together for a hug, and for that split moment in time it seemed as if all the heartache, suffering, and pain, melted away.
Somehow, everything would be okay.