It was a disaster.
Her car broke down again and time is not on her side because she is behind schedule. She is always catching up to the last minute to make an attempt at stopping whatever shenanigans the evil hirelings are up to.
To top it all off, it was pouring heavy rain. She didn't bring an umbrella, or a set of rain coat for that matter, because she expected this trip to be done within the day and she'll be back in the safe house before dinner time.
But no.
Her car decided to mock her and the weather spit on her.
Great... This is just great...
Lena sprinted to the nearest bus stop and then made the necessary calls on her phone. Call a tow truck, a hotel reservation and an update to the safe house where the commander was visiting, checking if she made progress.
If you call being stuck in the rain a progress, yeah sure...
Lena finished making her calls and the rain is still pouring. But she hates to stay idle in this downpour in one open space. She needs to move.
With a deep exasperated sigh, she dashed out of the bus stop, not wasting any more time waiting on the next bus. She ran after tucking her phone deep inside her bra that's under her shirt that she wore under her black leather jacket.
She ran until she ran out of breath, stopping at another bus stop. But this time she is closer to her destination. She leaned her hands on her aching knees and tried to fill her lungs with much needed oxygen. The rain still hasn't stopped.
Man... I'm out of shape. I really am old... And I swear if this rain won't stop anytime soon, I'm gonna shoot blazing fireballs at those damn clouds...
Lena thought to herself. She was born a long time ago but the natural course of aging stopped for her the moment they failed their mission. She has failed her mission. And she won't be able to rest until the next elementals are ready to carry on the duty that has been resting on her shoulders. A duty that's been haunting her all these years.
She won't continue to grow old until the new generation of elementals are bound together by the one.
Taking a few moments to catch her breath, Lena sat on the bench and stretched out her legs. She contemplated how is she going to approach the girl without much ruse. She can see the gates of the prep school the girl is attending, and from where she sat, she can also see the shiny black Rolls Royce phantom waiting for the girl.
And knowing who the girl is, there is at least one armed, highly trained bodyguard inside that car. She will bet her top hat with sparkly green shamrock that she wore last year at Saint Patrick's Day that the driver is also a trained bodyguard.
The rain finally slowed into a gentle drizzle. She stood back up to her feet and briskly strolled towards the coffee shop right next to where the shiny expensive car was parked. She went inside and sat by the glass window. Right there at the stool where she sat, she had the perfect view of the prep school's gate, the school's open yard just behind it, and the Rolls Royce phantom limo.
Lena watched and waited.
Hoping that maybe for the first time that day, everything will eventually go as planned...
• • •
"Please don't tell Dad,"
Stunned in silence, Camila stared at her younger sister with her mouth open. It shouldn't be a surprise anymore but she was trying to process everything her little sister was telling her as if this was the first time it happened.
"You punched him in the nose, Sofi"
"He was being creepy! Please I beg you, don't tell Dad..." Her younger sister pleaded.
She sighed.
Her younger sister Sofi is one little troublemaker. The third grader was already feared by her classmates, and some slightly older kids and most definitely the younger ones too, for being notoriously snarky, sassy and really quick in throwing her fist towards someone's nose who pisses her off. But the girl feared only one person.
Their father.
"You know I won't do such a thing, Sofi. But you do realize that if Ethan reported you, the school headmaster will call dad, right?"
Camila won't say their dad was a terrifying man because he is, by all means and as far as she can remember, endearing and sweet. He is very thoughtful of the both of them and their mother.
But somehow her younger sister has this fear towards their father, so much that when he is around the younger girl turns into a completely different person. The notoriously sassy, snarky, temperamental and mischievous brat is being replaced by a demure, well-mannered, prim and proper little princess.
She just doesn't get it why her little sister is like that. Could it be the stoic look he has or the baritone of his voice, she can't tell why Sofi fear their dad in such a way that the younger girl changes her demeanor. Senator Alejandro Cabello may be fierce and a force to reckon with in the Senate, but within their household, he is a sweetheart, a doting father and a loving husband.
"I know that, but Ethan won't say a word, or anybody else for that matter. Trust me," Sofi smirked.
Camila shook her head and said nothing anymore. She just carried on walking her sister towards the school's exit. Word travels fast around them since the prep school she was attending is just next to the private grade school Sofi was going to. When the younger girl punched a boy in her class, the word about it reached Camila's ears in record time. She went right away to see her sister and hear from her what exactly she has done this time, or more like what the boy has done to be in the receiving end of a straight jab from her sister. And as per usual, she found out it was just another typical childish antics.
Despite being a little bit of a troublemaker, Camila still adores her sister. The younger girl means so much to her and she will do anything to keep her away from harm.
"Okay, Sofi, you go ahead now. Mom already knows I'm gonna stay late because of swim practice and I'm riding with Octavia on the way home. But as far as I know neither her or Dad knows what you just did, and I promise I won't tell..." the sisters hugged each other and Sofi mumbled her thanks and I love yous before she ran off.
"Don't put Bruno and Mark into any more trouble, okay! " Camila called after and heard her sister's boisterous chuckle.
"No promises big sis!" The younger girl called back and waved.
Camila laughed as she watched Sofi skip and jump her way towards Bruno, their bodyguard. She watched the younger girl bounce her way inside the waiting car. Bruno curtly nodded to her, understanding that she doesn't need him or the car, before riding to the passenger side.
She watched until the car was out of sight and when she turned her gaze she was met by a pair of light green eyes looking straight at her.
For a moment she thought it was the same green eyes she saw a few days ago. But she quickly realized it's not. The pair of eyes staring at her was a lighter shade of green, but still piercing nonetheless. It was as if the person was trying to reach the depths of her soul.
Camila stared back. One eyebrow arched. Unperturbed.
If anything, she feels irritated. How the girl sitting in the coffee shop was looking at her was sort of in a way like challenging. It seems to her like the girl wants to square up with her.
How she feels about those light green eyes was completely different from another pair of peridot irises that she still vividly remembers from a few days ago.
Scoffing, Camila turned on her heel, eyes rolling. She made her way towards the natatorium. She is pretty sure her best friend Octavia is already there making an impression to their new swim coach fresh from Stanford University with her butterfly strokes.
I need to make an impression too...
Competitive as always, Camila thought that if she wanted to be number one, she has to do better than Octavia. The two of them have been best friends since preschool, and since preschool they are each other's biggest competition. From academics to swimming to mundane things like high score in the games at the arcade, Camila and Octavia bested each other. There were times they fight because of their competitiveness but at the end of the day, they settle whatever issue they have.
She reached the natatorium and quickly changed into her swimming gear in the locker room. Octavia may be slightly have an edge when it comes to decathlon and debate, among other things, but in the pool, Camila rules.
Nobody knows, as in no one else but Camila herself alone, that she is one with the water. Literally. She has been swimming since she was three but by the time she was around twelve, her speed in the water grew exponentially faster. She had to tone it down a bit just so she won't look abnormally fast in the water. But mostly, she does so to not raise suspicion from people around her, her best friend Octavia included.
And it's not the only thing she can do with water.
Camila doesn't just swim in it. She can breath underwater for an inconsequential amount of time and not drown in it. She can also walk in it and not sink as though she was strolling a solid pavement. And the most interesting she ever done with water was to freeze it like ice. Although she's been practicing on her own, that last ability is the only thing she can't seem to control.
There had been instances where she froze her tea, solid as a brick, just by touching the cup with her finger. There were also the few occasions when she was glaring at Octavia and frost will begin to grow out of the girl's dark hair. Her best friend would then start complaining about feeling the freezing cold in the middle of summer and start a rant about climate change.
It was out of her control. And she hates it.
She's been trying to keep her freezing abilities under wraps but each time she's nervous or agitated, anything she touches or glares at will grow frost in it until a good part will turn a solid block of ice. She hasn't figured out how to deal with it just yet and hearing about the new coach gives her a fit of anxiety. Camila is a confident young woman, well on her way to an ivy league university, but she's still a human being capable of feeling nervous.
Impressing the new coach, and potentially the scouts for the national swim team, was at least giving her a little tug of nervousness. And freezing the pool with her in it as the coach is observing is a big no no.
Camila, clad in her one piece swimwear and her hair tucked neatly under her swimcap, briskly walked towards the pool with her towel in her hand. But before she was even able to push the double doors, a dark-haired pale-skinned girl blocked her way.
Light green eyes met her glaring brown ones.
And one of the things she hated most, people literally blocking her way.
Feeling the familiar surge of cold energy crawl beneath her skin all the way to her fingertips, she was about to turn this strange girl into a human block of ice. But as they stared each other down, a cloud of thick white humid steam surrounded the two of them. Then in a hushed tone, the girl spoke with a husky voice.
"Karla Camila Cabello, my name is Lena... And I know your secret. I know how to help you have a better understanding of it,"
Ironic as it seems, in that instant, Camila was the one who froze right where she stood...
• • •
A/N
okay yay! first two chapters here you go.
This is gonna be fun because I'm just excited about this. Thanks to Emma and her input.
NEXT CHAPTER SOONER THAN YOU THOUGHT!
- A