A Dream's Reality

My training continued, today I would be working with Naida once again. But this time she will teach me about water control. I felt excited at this point, it was pretty cool learning about these powers I have. Like I did with Elion, I was to meet with Naida in the Palace Gardens. I made my way there to find Naida leaning over the fountain that was placed in the center.

“Naida! I’m here!” I shouted cheerfully as she turned around and smiled.

“Welcome, Queen Celeste. Are you ready?” I nodded vigorously and she chuckled. “Alright. Come on over here.” I did as she said and walked up next to her at the fountain.

“First, sit on the edge of the fountain and hold out your hand over the water without touching it. That energy, or chi as we call it here in Ishior, the Princes have told you to use, find it. Send it out from your abdomen, into your hands, then out in the water. Make sure the flow is consistent and that you start to feel a connection with the water. Once you get that connection, move your hand around in a flowy motion.” I nodded at Naida’s words, taking it all in.

It was a lot, but she spoke slowly and clearly. I was getting the hang of feeling this sense of energy, er chi, in my body. That made it easy to get that feeling back. I smiled to myself at my quick improvement. I still have a long way to go, but I’ve done well so far. I followed Naida’s directions and started moving my hand around slowly.

“Good. Now you can try mixing your chi with the water, which will let you move it around. Close your eyes and clear your mind. Once you achieve that, release your chi into the water and envision the movement you want to create. Watch closely.”

Naida got into the same position as me and took deep breathes before closing her eyes. She placed her hand above the water and moved it about. Slowly, the water swirled around beneath her hand. With a quick movement, Naida flipped her hand upwards and the water floated above her hand. Woah!

“Naida!” I gasped in surprise. I know it was probably one of the simplest moves, but I was still amazed at what she could do.

“Don’t break your concentration, Queen Celeste. Now it is your turn, but of course, I will only ask for you to make the water swirl around beneath your hand. What I have done will have to wait for another day.” I groaned in disappointment, wanting to get as far as I could with my training now. But I shook it off and nodded, closing my eyes.

Okay, Celeste. Let’s do this.  After I made my resolve, I took deep breathes just as Naida did and started to clear my mind aside from the thought of moving the water. I let my chi flow through my hand and imagined the water swirling beneath my fingertips. I probably sat there for at least ten minutes with no sense of movement. I tried to not get frustrated, knowing that would disrupt the energy flow.

“Don’t overthink it. You must go with the flow, literally. Be graceful.” I nodded and took in a deep breath, trying not to force my chi. That was when I heard a tiny splash. My eyes shot open and I looked at the water to see tiny ripples. It worked! I looked at Naida with a bright smile.

“Naida! I did it!” She gave me a warm smile.

“Yes! A great start indeed, Queen Celeste.”My face flushed and I beamed at Naida.

“Thank you,” I said earnestly. Naida just smiled at me and nodded.

“You’re welcome, Queen Celeste. Now let’s head back.”

After eating lunch with the guys, I asked Naida if we could hang out so I could get to know her better. She seemed awkward about it at first but quickly warmed up to the idea. We decided to go to the lake behind the castle and sit on the benches there.

The scenery was beautiful and I took a deep breath to take it all in. It still feels like a dream… Shaking out of my trance, I turned to Naida and she smiled.

“So Queen Celeste, what is it you wanted to do today?”

“Naida. Please just call me Celeste. I want us to be good friends and I think we should just call each other by first names!” I smiled and she blushed.

“A-alright Que- I mean, Celeste.” I nodded in approval and we just laughed.

“Naida, tell me more about Ishior and my family and your family!” I looked at her with wide, curious eyes.

“Alright, Celeste. Although you are only the second Divine Elemental, your family line has been ruling Ishior since the beginning of time.” My eyes widened in shock. But Esme wasn’t from my family, so I guess the Divine Elemental was randomized.

“You mean...Really? But then why do my grandmother and parents live on Earth?” I questioned, feeling confused.

“Well, when Esme the First Divine Elemental came, she opened the portal gates to Earth. She wanted us to not only learn about normal humans in books but interact with them. Your father eventually left Ishior to travel Earth and that is where he found your mother and fell in love. He didn’t want to leave her so he stayed on Earth where you were born.”

“But doesn’t that mean he was supposed to be king? He left that?” Naida nodded.

“Yes well, he was very good friends with my father. Our family has served yours for centuries and we aided in the first battle with the Evil Lord. Your grandmother pleaded for him to stay, she knew you would be special and wanted you to learn everything she had. But he wouldn’t budge and so your grandmother entrusted Ishior to my parents and left to Earth so she could still watch over you.” Naida spoke with a serious tone but did not seem upset. She knows everything…

“How do you know so much Naida?!” I wasn’t expecting her to have this much knowledge of my family. She certainly knows a lot more than me. Naida shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“W-well. My parents told me everything they know.” Naida spoke nervously and I gave her a suspicious look.

“That must be why my grandmother always told me those stories about supernatural beings. It’s kind of ironic that I’m actually half-elemental and I was studying folklore.” I laughed to myself. Talking about my grandmother, makes me miss her.

“So Naida, what interests you?” I inquired, wanting to get to know her more.

“What interests me? Well guiding you, of course.” I shook my head at her answer.

“No Naida! Not about me. I want to know about you!”

“Oh...Well, Que- Celeste. I like to go into town and interact with the people, train, and take care of the gardens. Better?” I smiled at Naida and nodded, satisfied with her answer.

“Will you take me to the town one day? I’d like to see people too.” Naida looked surprised at first but then she smiled warmly.

“Of course Celeste. It’ll be a great lesson for you.” I smiled but then started to think about home again.

“Naida. Will I ever be able to go back home?” Naida gave me a sympathetic look. “I know I’m supposed to be all these amazing things and do fulfill this crazy prophecy. But I...I just don’t think I’m the right person. I don’t know anything about Efroria or being a queen or having powers… I don’t want to disappoint anyone.” I looked down and Naida gently placed her hand on my shoulder.

“I’m so sorry Celeste. You will be able to visit Earth soon, just not yet.” I nodded. “I wish I could say it was all dream like you originally thought. I wish you could’ve been raised here so you would be more comfortable. But unfortunately, neither is the case. But I know you will not disappoint anyone, Celeste. You were born for this and everything will come with time and practice. Believe in yourself. You have the princes and me here to guide you.”

“Thank you, Naida.” I smiled sadly and Naida returned it.

“Now let’s cheer up Celeste! You asked me about my interests, and what are yours?” Naida was trying to change the subject and my mood. I felt kind of grateful but couldn’t shake the nagging feeling of not being home.

“Well, nothing extravagant. I enjoy reading, singing alone, and studying folklore.” I smiled sheepishly. Nothing grand enough for a Queen…

“Celeste, would you like to see the library?” My eyes widened and ears perked up. A library?!  Naida laughed at my reaction and stood up. “Come on, Celeste. I’ll show you.” I nodded eagerly and followed Naida with excitement. excited to read these books! Probably things I’ve never even heard of in there.

After what felt like forever, Naida finally led me to the side of the castle where the library stood. Walking through the large blue door, I took a sharp intake of breath at the sight before me. This library was huge and beautiful. Contrasting to the rest of the castle that was mostly blue and white, the library was all beautifully wooden. There were two floors and multiple rooms to this library with desks laid out all around. I stood there in awe before Naida shook me out of my stupor.

“Come on Celeste! You can’t fully enjoy the library if you just stare.” Naida giggled and I finally came back to reality. Some reality this is!

“Wow, Naida. This is amazing!” I smiled widely, looking around the room.

“You can come here anytime, it’ll always be open to you.” Naida let me walk around the library, getting a feel for what kind of books were here. Most of them were old books that worn out from usage. So cool!

We talked for a while, as Naida told me about the different authors and genres that I should read. There is even a section about Earth. I gotta see how they write about us! We probably spent two hours just walking around the library and talking before hearing our stomachs growl.

“Let’s go eat dinner, Celeste.” We both laughed hysterically and I almost forgot about the crazy scenario I’m in. Almost. Spending time with Naida was great.

The rest of the day with Naida went rather smoothly. I felt so close to her and it’s only been two weeks since I got to this strange place. I was getting ready for bed as I thought about all the events that have happened since I got here. Something really crazy has happened to my dull, normal life and somehow I’ve coming to accept it. Some may think it’s really fast to accept a new world, being queen, and being the subject of a prophecy. But there is something in my gut that’s telling me it’s real.

“What better way to relax than to read a book.” I whispered to myself as I grabbed ‘The First Divine Elemental’ to continue my reading. I was even more interested now that I’ve talked a little more to Naida about things. Opening the book to chapter two, I began reading silently.

Chapter 2

Esme followed Leon for a while, trudging through the forest before coming up to a beautiful castle. It looked much different from the castle in Ishior, which was white and blue. The castle of Styria looked dark brown in the evening light. Esme didn’t have much time to admire the castle as Leon impatiently pulled her along to his ‘Seer’. He was surprisingly gentle in the way he held her arm and kept up with her pace.

They came up to a small black door on the far side of the castle that led to a small room. It was dimly lit with candles and very messy. Books, quills, plants, and other strange things laying about.

“Prince Leon. What is it you seek?” An eerie voice spoke as a woman came into their view. She had long white hair, white eyes, and tanned skin. A dark red cloak covered her body and head, making her even more mysterious. “Esme, is it?”

“H-how do you know my name?” Esme gasped in shock, chills running through her body. She has never met a Seer before.

“I know many things, my dear. Come. Come closer.” Esme just shook her head but Leon ushered her gently. “Layout your hand.” Esme complied, her hand slightly shaking. “Don’t worry, I will not harm you.”

“Relax Esme.” Leon put his hand on Esme’s back in reassurance and she was able to calm down a bit. The Seer started to speak in some strange language, waving her hands over Esme’s. Her head shot back and eyes seemed to glow as everything stilled for a moment. The Seer breathed with her whole body as if she had just come back to life and stared at Esme.

“You, my dear, are very special. I have foreseen it. You will be the first to fulfill the prophecy of the Divine Elemental.” The Seers words were strange and eerie. Esme pulled her hand away in shock and gave Leon an estranged look.

“What do you mean Seer? What does she do?” Leon inquired, stepping closer to the Seer.

“My dear. You will have to rise against an Evil Lord and defeat him. If you do not, our world as you know it will perish.” Both Leon and Esme gasped in horror. “But do not worry. You will have the guidance of the 6 kingdoms and will be able to control all the elements, unlike any other elemental before you.”

“W-what?! There’s no way. You have got it wrong! I’m just a girl that works at her mother’s flower shop. I don’t even have earth powers like my mother!” Esme was freaked out and couldn’t grasp the information the Seer has given them.

“Hush child. You do have earth powers, you just needed to awaken as the Divine Elemental. Prince Leon will be of great importance to you. So stick with him and let him guide you. He may not have elemental power, but he has connections to those who do and a great will to fight.” Esme looked at Leon stiffly, still unable to comprehend.

“I don’t think I can do this…” Esme spoke softly, looking down at her feet.

“Esme. The Seer knows all. If she says you will win, then you will win. I’ll be by your side.” Leon tried to reassure Esme, but they had only just met. How could she just put her complete trust in a strange prince from another kingdom and a crazy blind witch?

I yawned, realizing it’s getting late. It’s crazy how Esme was brought into this. It was nice to feel I wasn’t the only one who went through this crazy dream-like reality. Even though the only other person who could understand was born over 100 years ago. Marking my place before closing the book and placing it on the nightstand next to me, I sighed. I guess I should get some sleep. Poor Celeste! I know exactly how she felt.

~~~~ Fast Forward to Next Day ~~~~

I stretched my arms out as I got out of bed. I train with Karayan today… Today was my last beginning session and it was learning about how to use a sword with Karayan. I was feeling nervous, knowing he probably would have no mercy on me. But then I thought about how he was when he was teaching me dance. Teasing but surprisingly patient. I sighed a bit, feeling somewhat better about to today. I made my way towards the training grounds once more.

Walking through the doors I saw Karayan swinging a sword around in practice. He looked incredibly graceful with swift movements, almost like a dance. I stared for a bit in interest before he stopped what he was doing and smirked at me.

“Hello, Celeste. Are you ready for lesson number two?” I just nodded, starting to feel a bit nervous under his harsh stare. He’s always so intimidating… I saw Karayan’s lips curl up into a grin on his pale face as if he read my mind and my eyes widened. “Come on. I don’t have all day.” I just rolled my eyes as I walked towards him.

“Alright, Prince Karayan. Where do we start?” His face hardened a bit a being called prince and I realized I had forgotten he hates it for some reason. “Karayan, why do you hate-”

“Let’s go.” Karayan interrupted me quickly and place a wooden sword in my hands roughly. A question for another day then… “Let’s start with how to hold the sword. What’s your dominant hand?”

“Right.” He nodded at my response and came around to stand behind me. He grabbed the sword and my right hand, placing the hilt of the sword there. I shivered at his cold touch.

“Keep your dominant hand just below the guard. Now place your left hand, your less dominant, and grip the pommel. That’s the bottom of the sword. Make sure you grip it tightly with your left but keep your thumb and pointer finger slightly loose.” I tried gripping the ‘pommel’ but it felt really uncomfortable and I couldn’t figure out how to place my fingers. Thinking Karayan would be annoyed, I was surprised once again by his patient attitude towards teaching.

“Like this, Queen Celeste.” My mouth opened in shock. It’s the first time Karayan has ever called me queen. Karayan thought nothing of it as he continued to place my fingers in the right place. “Better?”

“Yes, thank you, Princ- I mean, Karayan.” He simply nodded in response.

“Now hold the sword out in front of you, right above your belly button. Like this.” He picked up his sword and gripping it with both hands holding it out in front of him. “Face me.” I did as told and we both had our wooden swords pointed towards each other. “Hold the sword a bit away from your stomach and point the tip towards my throat.” He did the same and I couldn’t help the chill that ran down my spine at the sword so close to my throat. Even though it’s just a wooden sword, I’ve never done anything like this before. “Not to worry. I won’t hurt you...now.” My eyes widened and face reddened. What the hell does that mean?!

“What? You wouldn’t!” I challenged, surprising both of us. He just smirked and put his sword back on the ground.

“Let’s move on.”

“It’s not wise to threaten a Queen.” I glowered at him, trying to be threatening. He obviously wasn’t threatened at all as he just smiled with an evil grin.

“Now your foot placement. Place your left foot behind your right and put most of your weight into the balls of your left foot.” I listened quietly, concentrating on my feet. Karayan came over with a serious face and started shifting my legs and feet. “Shoulders square, slightly bend at the knee, don’t keep your arms too straight. Your arms will get broken easily if you just hold them straight out like that.” His words weren’t harsh as he instructed me on the correct form.

“Is that good?” I asked, hoping I finally got the right position. He just nodded in response.

“Now to practice your strike. First, stab towards the sky by bringing your left hand past your eye. Then swing downwards. Your right hand is only to guide the blade, you use your left hand to issue the force.” I tried swinging once and fell over, dropping my sword. Karayan surprised me by laughing hysterically.

“W-wha! Don’t laugh at me! How rude!” I glared at him but he just continued to laugh and eventually I started laughing as well. I’ve never heard him like this… He quickly regained composure as if nothing happened and held out his hand to me.

“Get up, Celeste. Again.” I huffed as I grabbed his cold, pale hand and he hoisted me back up. He’s surprisingly very strong with his slim build.

“Thanks,” I muttered as I quickly grabbed my sword and tried standing in place again. Karayan once again fixed my posture before nodding at me to swing again.

“Use your left foot to push forward and slide with your right when raising the sword. That might help keep your balance.” I nodded with determination and tried again. I huffed in frustration when the sword dropped. Wow, I suck! “Again. Don’t get frustrated or you will never get it.” I sighed and picked up the sword to try again. This time Karayan didn’t correct my posture. At least I can get something right… I regained my composure and tried swinging again.

“Harder. Weak thrusts like that wouldn’t hurt a bug.” I felt agitated at his taunting me and tried swinging harder. “Harder, Celeste,” I grunted at the cocky smirk on his face. Maybe I’ll just pretend I’m hitting him! “Now, now Celeste. Let’s not try to hurt me, you’ll certainly lose.” My eyes widened at first. How did he…? But then I felt even more determined to show him off. I started swinging again and again.

It felt like hours of swinging and my body was starting to get tired. It seemed like nothing was good enough for Karayan but he didn’t seem angry. He was just patiently instructing me with some mild taunting of course. Sweat covered my body and my posture was starting to slack. Karayan must’ve noticed and he rested his hand on my shoulder. The cold touch felt strangely nice on my heated body.

“Alright, Celeste. I think we’ve done enough for today.” I nodded and slumped in relief. Karayan took my sword and his, setting them back up in the racks against the training grounds walls. “You might get somewhere if you practice more.” Was that a compliment? “Don’t get cocky though, you’ll never beat me.” Karayan just smirked and swiftly left the room.

“Man, he can be so frustrating!” I huffed but was actually very thankful for his teaching. He’s surprisingly a very good teacher in both dance and swordplay.

I started to head back to my room, desperately wanting to shower. Now I just have to continue to practice all these different things… I hoped there will be a rest day soon but I know that this Evil Lord thing can happen at any time and I need to be ready. All this training is tiring, but it’s only the beginning…

~~~~~~~~~~

Elion's POV:
I spent the day in the gardens, playing around with the earth and plants. It was a nice day off, but I was starting to get a little homesick. Celeste being here is certainly helping but I didn’t even get to see her today except for breakfast… My mind drifted to Celeste, and I wondered if she was doing okay with Karayan’s swordplay training. He’s lucky he gets to teach her double anyone else…

Braeden's POV:
Today I explored the castle with Cade, both of us have been good friends for quite some time. I know Cade and I are having a difficult time teaching Queen Celeste for different reasons. I’ve been trying to talk to Cade about teaching her. Although he has no ill-intentions towards her I know Queen Celeste may misunderstand him and get hurt. I hope she’s doing okay with Prince Karayan, I’m not a big fan of him…

Karayan's POV:
I left Celeste in the training grounds with a taunt but I felt surprised. Surprised that I randomly called her Queen, which I haven’t done at all since she showed up and that I laughed like that in front of her. I haven’t laughed like that in a long time… Celeste didn’t seem like anything special when I first met her, even with that strange feeling in the pit of my stomach letting me know the Queen had arrived. But she somehow piqued my interest and even got a genuine laugh out of me. What an interesting girl.

Lyall' POV:
I saw Naida and Celeste talking amongst each other happily and couldn’t help but smile. I’m glad Celeste has a good friend and can start to feel comfortable. Having read so much about my ancestor Prince Leon and Queen Celeste, I was extremely excited to meet Celeste. I can’t wait for my sisters to meet her, they’ll love her and she will love them. I smiled at the thought. I wandered into the castle library and not too long after Celeste and Naida joined. Neither seemed to notice me as I watched Celeste’s excitement at the books she could read. Cute!

Cade's POV:
Braeden has been dragging me around the castle all day, but I guess it was nice. I’m not great with people but I trust Braeden with my life. He’s trying to get me to lighten up around Queen Celeste, but I just don’t think I’m a good enough teacher. She could get a better one… I sighed. Braeden was always so cheerful but I know training her with fire was difficult. So I decided that I will try to teach Queen Celeste the best I can and not scare her off. I definitely don’t want to scare her.