Chapter 20: Responsibility

"Whenever," Tiadora still explained of the powers, "you use your elemental powers, you will use up your body energy. The usage of the left hand's strength will reduce your body energy more than the usage of the right hand. That is why whenever you use your powers, use it wisely. For example, if an enemy strikes, and you attack with your powers, you will feel weaker and weaker until up to a point where you can't conjure up anymore spells. However, as a guardian progresses, the weak point time will gradually prolong but it will still weaken you. This goes the same way for Xana and his minions. They use magic. A source that is weaker than the power we have but if we do not become stronger, they will be able to pull you down. Plus, like them, they will also be weakening if they use too much magic. Any questions?"

Jason raised his hand, "That day you mention about extra abilities. What are ours?"

"Right now, your extra abilities are not a concern. It is your element. Master that first and when the time comes, then I'll tell you your extra abilities," Tiadora told as she placed her hand onto the bandage on Cornelia's leg. A soft yellow glow around her hand for a few seconds crept Cornelia out a bit but her suspicion died as the wound on her leg didn't seem to hurt anymore. Immediately after Tiadora removed her hand, Cornelia unwrapped the bandage to see back her skin perfectly normal, like as if she didn't trip over that root. "However," Tiadora mentioned as everyone's awed face turned from Cornelia's leg to Tiadora, "if anyone of you has been encountered with an accident or an injury, please feel free to come to me so that I can heal your wounds. This is my special ability."

"Looks like we have a doctor in the group," Kiara squealed.

"Yeah right. Soon, I'll charge everyone for every injury treated," Tiadora joked but became serious again, "Alright. Let's train but since none of you are able to train by yourself. I'll call you out one by one to train you and familiarise with your element. In the mean time while I train one of you, the rest can sit aside at the end of the bridge. Just in case. Cornelia, would you like to be first?"

"Er... Okay," Cornelia stepped out to a position as everyone sat at the bridge wall to see the spectacular. Tiadora stood quite a distance from Cornelia and smiled, "Don't worry. I'll just tell you what you must do and you are to concentrate and conjure up whatever I tell you to. Is that alright?" With an unwilling nod, Tiadora held up her right hand towards the bright sky and chanted loud enough for everyone to hear, "The one thing on Earth that everyone depends greatly on, change to something that would make the grass and people wither!" True enough, suddenly a thick dark purple mist clouded the bridge. Cornelia couldn't see Tiadora anymore as she tried to figure out what had she done. She took a breath, felt a horrible smoke in her windpipe and coughed.

"Cornelia! I want you to change the purple mist back to its original form," Cornelia heard Tiadora from afar.

"What form?" on every word she had to cough out the smoke.

"Oxygen. Think, Cornelia, which hand must you use? Hurry before everyone runs out of air including yourself," Tiadora's reply sounded even further than before, Cornelia thought. She knew she had to give it a try before she runs out and collapse but would Tiadora really let me just faint here, Cornelia wondered to herself. Another cough was heard from her right. Kiara, David and Jason could feel the smoke in their lungs too. Mokona was patting David on the back as he kneeled down in pain, coughing again. Without a moment to lose, Cornelia brought her right hand into the purple mist, closed her eyes and concentrated deep in her mind, "Oxygen. Oxygen. Oxygen. Give me oxygen." Soon, a fresh breeze skimmed through her nose and when she opened her eyes, the surroundings were clear of the horrible smoke. Leaning against the walls were Kiara, Jason and David who didn't look like they were coughing or injured from the mist.

"Good," Tiadora who was also okay commented on Cornelia performance, "Though you were a bit slow on reaction. Okay. On to level two."

"What?! A level two?" Cornelia panicked.

"Of course. That was only a simple exercise. I need you to ace in combat as well," Tiadora explained again as Cornelia calmed down, "Next, I'm going t o attack you and I want you to dodge it and fire back at me with anything; left or right hand." Tiadora eyed Cornelia, positioned herself and closed her eyes. The energy flow went to full strength. It was time to attack, but which hand should she test on Cornelia. "Ready?" Tiadora positioned herself in a funny manner, thrust her right hand out and shouted, “Evaista!”

The ground around Cornelia shakes with great tension like as if it was an earthquake, and in a split second cracks appeared followed by strong white blinding lights that zapped out of the openings. Sands and debris flew past Cornelia’s face as she tried resisting the forceful air that was trying to blow her away. Before Cornelia could react, she managed to catch a glimpse of a purple beam that pushed her back to the ground. The beam, she realized, had passed through her body, leaving pain in her tummy like something worse than constipation. "Ow," Cornelia managed to say it out, "I didn't know we have to say something when we use our elements."

"Oh that wasn't my element power," Tiadora smiled as she held her hand forward for Cornelia to grab hold, "element power doesn't need chanting cause it comes from your mind. You don't have to breathe a word. But we need to chant if we want to use magic.
"If you had recalled your practice, I had cast a spell to blind and distract you and when that happens I fired a beam from my elements," Tiadora patted on Cornelia's broad shoulders, "We guardians have the advantage. We can use both magic and our elements in combat but Xana and his comrades are only able to use magic. However, don't be too complacent as Xana's small army has already had years of practice with magic. So don't assume that they will fall to their knees that easily.

"Furthermore, I think you're done. We can continue your AIR practice tomorrow," Tiadora continued.

"There's a tomorrow?" Cornelia gasped.

"Your brother said that all of you don't mind practicing for the whole weekend."
Cornelia groaned, "Once I've mastered this, I'll kill him."

Tiadora chuckled as Cornelia joined beside Kiara who had headphones plugged to her ears. Kiara had turned up the volume so loud even Tiadora hear it from her position. 4 Minutes by Madonna and Justin Timberlake. "You're up next, David. Remove Mokona from your head and come here," Tiadora laughed as Mokona still continue to jump repeatedly on David's head. He rose to his feet as Mokona hopped off and landed on Kiara's head. Smiling, David patted softly on its white head, "Why don't you entertain Jason for a change?"

Mokona furiously shake its head right and left, "I don't like Jasons, Davy."

Mokona loves calling him that just like how Jason’d nicknamed him but he was confused of its rejection towards Jason. Something didn’t felt right, David thought as he stepped at the same position as Cornelia was just now. He remembered the times that he unknowingly used his right hand for imagination purposes such as the time he'd phased the magazine to the top of Cornelia's books in the library. Shaniqua, he recalled. David was supposed to meet her at noon today after her cheerleading practice.

Maybe I could ask Kiara about Shaniqua's reaction when I didn't come? He chuckled to himself at the thought of jealously that will surface on Kiara's face if he asked that. Tiadora stood at the very same position as she did a moment ago. It had a weird aura between them which triggered an uneasy feeling for David. Her different-coloured eyes were mesmerising. David noticed it yesterday night of her eyes. He hadn't realised before till he was close to Tiadora last night. "Take it easy. I'm only a beginner," David cooed.

"Dream on. For a 'beginner' who had known how to summon ground giants in the sea for more than at least five minutes, I won't call that beginner. The Earth element is much difficult to control when in water because Earth is suspended when in contact with water but you were able to form those creatures and break the metal cages into bits of pieces,” Tiadora did some more explanation, “A challenge like Cornelia would be a snap for you, David. Now I will attack you and you must retaliate. Alright?"

And with a brief and unsure nod, Tiadora wasted no time. She twisted her body and threw an electric sphere from her left hand. As the bolt got nearer, it grew bigger than its actual size. David thought quickly and soon the sphere had hit at its targeted position. Tiadora was expecting David to have fainted but a wall had suddenly emerged from the ground in front of David and took t

Quickly after the explosion, David ran to his left and powered his left hand. He was thankful that the smoke in the air had not been blown away yet as it covered his tracks of signs of attack. When it was ready, he swung forward his arm and the yellow beam stretched long towards Tiadora. Fortunately for Tiadora, she clashed her fists together and a shield reflected the beam back to its rightful owner. Dodge it, David urged himself when the yellow beam was firing back at him. He motioned his right hand to the walls of the bridge and concentrated for it to obey its commands.

Too late. The beam had slammed through him like it did to Cornelia, only this time with more impact. David cringed on the ground, trying to stand but it was useless. The pain of his own element was agonizing. So this is how an enemy would feel if he had gotten it, David muttered softly in his mind as he saw Kiara coming for him. Her worried face is so cute sometimes; David thought when she stroked his black hair with care. "You fool," Kiara whispered in his ear, "I love you so don't get hurt!"

David knew she said that as friends, nothing more. Jason kneeled beside him and helped David up to his feet though there was an unsteady and dizzy feeling. Tiadora skipped towards him and touched his forehead. Instantly, a sway of energy flowed back into his muscles. He let go of Jason's grip and flexed his muscles till everyone could hear a crack. "A splendid counter-attack, David. You did very well in level two,” Tiadora patted him on the back as Mokona ran to hug him tight. The white puff-ball, Jason joked to himself, can't believe that thing hates me. He scoffed softly as he faced Tiadora again but she wasn't looking at him. "Kiara," Tiadora called out to her, "you're next."

“Okay. Remember to heal me once I’m on the verge of death,” Kiara joked and adjusted her red hair, “Though don’t damage my hair too much. I need it for my dad’s modeling.” Tiadora nodded, pretending to understand. She repeated the same instructions again to Kiara and closed her eyes. Tiadora listened to the wind for a while. It reminded her of the day Sir Lancelot had proposed to her. A monster, Tiadora recalled of his attitude as she opened her eyes back and noticed something out of the ordinary.

Kiara’s eyes were wide open, looking towards a small stream of water in between her legs which were filled with fear. And before anyone could react, Kiara suddenly screamed. And fell to the ground.

★

"Kiry? Oh Kiry. Kiry Riry Miry?"

"Hey Jason! The fire's dying and my marshmallow’s getting cold. Get your butt back here," Kiara recognised Cornelia's voice, calling out to her brother.

"Again? Cornelia, why don't you stop the carbon dioxide from surrounding the flames. This is the fourth time I'm doing this."

"Well it’s your freaking idea to camp out here for the whole weekend," Cornelia yells could be heard. Kiara flinched. She could tell that they were in some sort of cave as Cornelia's loud voice had echoes. The ground beneath her was still the same sandy floor as the one at the bridge, they couldn't have carried her that far. Though maybe David must have lifted her. Kiara laughed inside. Waking up was hard. Her head knocked against a rock when she tried to stand up.

And true enough behind the rock; Kiara saw Jason's hand in the fire as he squatted beside the pebbles surrounding the flame. Tiadora was leaning against the 'cave' walls, napping or sleeping and Cornelia was heating four sticks of marshmallows. "Kiry!" Jason cheered as she sat beside Cornelia. The heats so strong, she thought, I wonder where David is.

"Where's the dark and mysterious?" Kiara asked to no one.

"Went to buy more 'Heart' biscuits for Mokona. Hey, you alright? Scared the hell out of me back there," Jason patted her shoulder with his other hand.

"I saw something," Kiara began. "I remembered agreeing to Tiadora's challenge and stared at the small flowing water beneath me. All of a sudden, a white light flew from the water into my eyes and next, there was a man charging towards me who was about to stab me with this long sword. It was so real that I was so scared I screamed, afraid that the sword may pierce through me. That's all I could remember."

"Tiadora was frightened when you just fainted there. Then she told us that you've discovered your special ability," Cornelia recalled. "Though she didn't go into detail."

"Au Contraire," Jason finally pulled out his right hand from the flames. "Before David went out, Tiadora talked to him about it."

"About?"

"I'm not sure if I remembered everything but," Jason lay down on the hard ground. "She said that you had a vision. She said that the water element has the ability to see the future or something like that. Looks like you saw something nasty."

"So what?! Was the vision telling me of my death?!"

"Calm down, gal. We aren't sure of the full picture yet," Cornelia tried comforting. "Tomorrow, we'll get the answers."

Kiara scoffed with twinge of anger, "Tomorrow!? I want the answers now, Cornelia! We're putting our life in danger for HER sake!! Among all the other descendants, why us?! Don't you think that it's already difficult living our normal lives?! I don't want to end up dying just because some ancient grandma is using all of us as back-up plans and nobody'll know about it! It's like saving the world without being rewarded!! Hello? It's our lives that are at stake here!!"

Cornelia looked down and Kiara wasn't sure if Jason was listening or asleep, but she didn't care.

"So what?" Jason said firmly as he back up. "It's our destiny. Our ancestors chose to risk their lives for their kingdom. So what if those knights were well-known? Don't you know, Kiara, good deeds aren't meant to be told."

"Aw. Shut up, Jason. Of course you won't mind," Kiara seethed. "You're already the most popular guy in school anyway." Jason just stared into the fire, across him Cornelia made the wind around her cooler to calm herself down. Kiara looked out from the cave. Midnight already? She thought again before yelling again, "I'm quitting right now."

Kiara quickly stood and hurridly ran to the cave’s exits to avoid Jason’s instinct speed, but just as she was about to leave David returned. Mokona was sitting on his ruffled black hair nibbling on a big half-bitten ‘Heart’ biscuit. David came close to her face and poked her nose.

“Ouch! What was that for?!” Kiara confused voice shake.

“You always…” David spoke, “flare your nostrils when you’re determined. Well, ever since sixth grade.”

Flushed with embarrassment, Kiara covered her nose and blushed. Do I really do that? Kiara wondered. She couldn’t say anything to him and tried to rush beside him on his right, but again David caught her wrist in time. Kiara didn’t notice his sad expression on his face until David spoke once more, “Then, would you rather sit there and do nothing when the time comes? Would you rather be the one who were to scream and wail when the monster comes up to you and you’re absolutely defenseless?”

With every question, David took a step closer to Kiara, frightening her even more. “Huh?! You wanna be the cowardly one?! That’s very low even for you,” he finally got to about an inch away from her. Mokona then slide down over David’s face and dropped to his hands, pouting at her,”Don’t you wanna meet Saber? Sir Arthur really loves him too.”

The Saber Toothed Tiger, Kiara realized. Everyone has a sacred animal and hers wasn’t here yet. She looked away from his patronizing gaze and let her brown eyes be covered by her red hair. That’s what I am, she mumbled so softly that David couldn’t hear, a coward.

“So what’s your decision then, guardian of Water,” everyone, including Kiara turned by to the entrance of the cave. Tiadora leaned against Jason as his arm was slung over her shoulders. She combed her extremely long brown hair with her hand and held onto Jason’s hand. Her face solemn with full of thought as she asked once more, “Do you or do you not want to be a guardian, following the footsteps of your ancestor?”

“I don’t know.”

Chapter 19: Contemporary

“I see that not only are your new comrades vulnerable and worthless but I have also noticed that none of the sacred animals have bothered to step forward,” Xana made conversation. It was difficult to see if he was smirking behind his hood, though it must have been really dark, what more at night, David thought. Vulnerable, he said? Well that’s one misconception that David won’t mind changing for the dark maniac in front of him. He felt an urge to correct him about the fact that at least one sacred animal is busy snoring its head off like a wild boar but since Tiadora had kept quiet, maybe she felt it was better off not talking about it. Giving them the disadvantage.

David scanned Xana’s friends. About nineteen people, mostly teenagers, stood at attention concentrating on the tension between both Tiadora and Xana. One of them, David saw, looked as if she would shred Tiadora to pieces as her eyes seethed with burning fury. Though, her extremely long blue hair made her beauty almost flawless. He stared at her for quite some time and in an eerie second when her eyes had been on Xana, it shifted into David’s direction. Her glare was uncomfortable to look at and David quickly turned away from the agony but he swore he’d seen her smile wickedly before he moved away.

Xana walked nearer to Tiadora, but instead, breeze passed her towards David. This time, Xana was nearer to David than he was to Tiadora. David was nervous, in case he would slip some important information. So despite the discomforting atmosphere, David raised his hand and said, “Err…Hi?”

“Hi?” Xana surprisingly answered back, “Is that the term you use if you meet someone?”

“Usually,” now David was really afraid. The guy was being too nice and formal for a bad guy.

“Hmm…I can see that you’re the guardian of Earth. A rather small thing, aren’t you?” Xana teased, making David frown. Although he’d been teased all his life, he never likes the idea of being small. Is it me, David wondered, or is this guy blind to see that I’m a fresh imitation of a body builder? But then if his schoolmates can’t see it, what more Xana? He thought of a comeback but Xana was too fast to catch up, “If you would be so kind, your name?”

Was this something that Tiadora would want me not to say? David thought quickly and shot a glance at Tiadora who wasn’t at all facing them. He inhaled the sea air and tried to form the words that were stuck in his throat, “It won’t be fair because you can match my name with my face whereas I can’t see yours one bit.”

“Does it matter? Will it change on what you think of me if I were to show you my true identity?” Xana prompted, “You don’t even know half of the population of Anastasia and you still insist on seeing how I look like. Ironic. Anyhow, I’ve already known your name. David Vincent Fields, am I right? What a mouthful, and a simple confirmation was what I needed to get my facts not incorrect.”

Shocked David felt pathetic and wanted to ask on how he knew but Xana turned his back to David and strolled in front of Tiadora again, only unlike last time, much closer. It became quiet again but was unexpectedly interrupted by a gush of wind which had flown through the trees behind them and Xana’s hood fell off his head. At first, David had expected him to frantically try to keep it hidden but in the end he didn’t had to. Cause what had been hidden was a face that held firmly to a mask which covered his eyes. A white mask that looked like it was made just for Xana as it fitted perfectly. The eye sockets were covered and no one could see his eyes. Xana’s pink lips were curved into a smile and his white skin was very pale.

David could see Xana’s hair had a shade of dark crimson, the colour of blood, and his voice was much clearer and deep, “Strange how it’s the guardian of Earth that you’re with, Tiadora. You and Galahad were as close as siblings since you knew that your rightful place would have been with your beloved spouse, Lancelot. And I’m also disappointed. Lancelot had always been my powerful competition and I have been meaning to meet the new guardian of Fire. It’s a pity I could only meet the plant-loving boy.”

“Man, you’ve got it all wrong. David has never been close to a plant and that includes his vegetables. It’s not nice to accuse people, you know,” Tiadora heard someone else’s voice from behind. She knew it wasn’t David’s voice so Tiadora stared into the thick forest that consumes the end of the shore and there was the mysterious intruder. Jason stepped out of the jungle and walked past both David and Tiadora as he slide in between Tiadora and Xana with an award-winning smile. Confidence and show no fear, Jason repeated to himself and dug his hands into his pocket jeans. He brushed his spiky blond hair like as if he was some model and spoke boldly, “You called me? Um not that I’ll come everytime you call, but I just couldn’t help overhearing the conversation on which was obviously about me.”

And it all happened in an instant. The blue-haired beauty had leaped from her position to the front of Xana and thrust her hand towards Jason’s neck. Her fingertips pressed against Jason’s neck, sending a stream of blood out from the wound as both stood still waiting for the next move. The pressure on Jason’s neck was forceful and he couldn’t bear it any longer, so he gripped her arm with his left hand and scalded her fair skin. Her scream of anger was painful as she pulled out a sword from no where and aimed for him but Xana pulled her back and soothed her, “My dear. Next time would be appropriate. It would not be fair to battle against amateurs.”

The lady calmed down and rubbed her burnt arm as the rest of the other teenagers started to walk towards the shore. Together with Xana leading the troop, they headed towards the city away from Tiadora, Jason and David. “Till we meet again,” Xana’s last words echoed through the forest as the villains finally cleared the beach.

"Why did you let them leave?" Jason blurted out at once.

"For the very same reason that he chose not to fight, you are not trained enough to be worth fighting," Tiadora made a point as Xana's footprints were swiftly covered by the other sands. Everything then became quiet. Nobody wanted to say anything until someone else came into view. "Kingston! Fields! Sanders! What are you doing here out in the middle of the night?” Mdm Marinda came to sight with a stern look as she howled again, "Even though it’s a school holiday, that doesn't mean that, both genders can wonder off playing goo-goo-gaa-gaa over the sea. Back to your rooms. All of you except..."

Tiadora and the rest had already started walking when they paused at her last word. All three of them turned to face the new principal who wore the same blazer as what David had seen just now. "I would like to..." she hissed, "have a little word with David. Both Tiadora and Jason can return."

Jason quickly grabbed Tiadora's hand and headed towards the dorms after he winked a good-luck gesture to David. As fast as possible, they managed to walk back to the clock tower. Tiadora looked back to where they had left David and worried, "Do you think it's wise to leave David out there?"

"No. The question is that do you think it's wise to linger around at night?" Jason eyed her.

"I couldn't sleep and neither could David."

"Still? You could have always knocked on Kiara's door which is directly in front of yours."

"Look. I didn't have any intention to wake anyone up just for company. I just happen to find David in this clock tower."

"Even if you didn't meet up with David, you'd still see those goons, right? It's twenty-one against one. Didn't you spare a thought for your well-being?"

"In case you had forgotten, Mr. Kingston, I am more capable of protecting myself from Xana than having you against them all. Unlike me, you, Jason Kingston, have absolutely no experience or whatsoever with your element,” Tiadora explained, “you think what? Just because you are able to fire up a sword and pull out the black spirit from Oberon that does not mean that you are strong! The world is full of obstacles for all of us and we should not feel so proud for ourselves yet, Jason.”

♥

"Hotdog?! Get your hotdog while it's still fresh from the oven!"

"I'll take, one, Mr. Lucas. How much is it?"

"Cornelia! How are you today? Going out for another round in the park?" the round man named Lucas greeted.

"As always," Cornelia smiled as she pulled out a five from her pouch, "Here. Keep the change." And before Mr. Lucas could decline the extra money, Cornelia had already bid him goodbye, took the hotdog and zoomed off following the smooth path.

Kids around the park, Cornelia saw, playing catching and hide-and-seek with their parents, almost every five seconds, wipe off the stains from their child's face. The trees were strangely refreshing this afternoon as Cornelia rollerbladed across the occupied benches. Rollerblading, her outdoor activity away from anything relating to volleyball. She loves just feeling the breeze run through her short hair. Her white sleeveless jersey with her pink shorts, her volleyball attire which she always feel comfortable in, too swayed with the wind. She took a bite from the hotdog and felt the usual sizzling sensation again whenever she ate Mr. Lucas' hand-made food. The afternoon Sun scorched her fair skin as she examined the darker colour on her arm.

Without realising it, Cornelia had gone off the path into the grassy patch. Losing control, she tried to grip onto the next used branch but instead tripped over one of its roots. Her landing pressure was reducing due to her landing with both hands on the ground. Feeling that she had made a complete fool of herself, Cornelia tried to stand up from her position but an awful pain zapped through her entire body. "Great. Just what I need. A sprain ankle three days before the damn tournament. Awesome work, Cornelia!" she mumbled furiously at herself as she tried to pull her legs closer to her body when she realised that she wasn't alone.

"Are you alright?" a boy came forward and kneeled beside Cornelia.

"Do I look like I'm alright to you? Help me," Cornelia was always a straight forward kind of girl and she didn't like people who are blind to see that she is already injured enough. Slowly and carefully, the stranger lifted her up and carried her like as if she was a damsel or a princess. Normally she would have kicked anyone who tried to make her look like a weakling but in this case, she didn't care. Once she was seated beside the tree, she saw his face clearly. A beautiful face with bronze hair and dazzling eyes stunned her. A competition that Jason would have to deal with if this stranger happens to enroll in the school. "Your ankle isn't sprained. It's wounded."

True enough, on her left leg, right above her ankle was a cut which oozed out blood profusely. The boy pulled out a white cloth from his jeans and wrapped the cut gently. He smiled at his work and praised himself, "Your injury has been sealed by the best sealer in the world!" Cornelia didn't care what he said but was mesmerised by his eyes. They were both of different colour. "Hey," Cornelia spoke, not caring for the pain in her leg, "your left eye is purple," she place her palm onto his soft face, "and your right eye is blue. Kind of reminds me of a friend of mine."

"Really? What's her name? Maybe we're separated from birth."

"Highly doubt it. She's Tiadora, a new friend of mine. Her right eye is blue but left eye is green. By the way," Cornelia held out her hand, "I'm Cornelia. Cornelia Kingston."

"Well that's a surprise, because my name is Ulrich Princeton. U. L. R. I. C. H. And don't pronoun it as ool-rich. It's more of ool-rick. The 'h' is silent. Please to meet you, Cornelia.," Ulrich grinned at her and took her hand as he continued, "though I must say that you interrupted an interesting part from the story that I was reading." Hearing that, Cornelia jerked her head to see an opened book facing down. He must have lost his page, she thought, whatever. Ulrich finished the last few touches on the bandage and looked back into her eyes, "So. Want me to carry you back home?" Cornelia looked to her watch. It was exactly 2.30pm, a time that she was supposed to remember. Cornelia sighed and stared back at him, "its okay. I'm meeting my friends at our secret hideout but thanks for the offer."

Cornelia stood up with Ulrich supporting her. "You're sure that you won't topple over another root again?" he chuckled as Cornelia nodded innocently as she answered his joke, "Of course not. I'm not that blind." He released her and patted her shoulder. His warm eyes distracted her again. Concentrate Cornelia, she talked in her mind, you're in love with your volleyball and you got to meet up at the bridge now! Cornelia got the message and started to skate pass Ulrich. She hesitated and turned her head back to Ulrich, "See ya."

And off she went as fast as she could. Cornelia remembered the discussion this morning about training the elements. Though she couldn't understand why Tiadora and Jason weren't talking to each other, but Jason decided to come along too. It was said to be very important to be there, at the bridge, for the special training. Ever since what had happened last night with Tiadora's encounter with Xana, she wanted them prepared and Cornelia was prepared and she felt it was time to kick butt.

♥

"Ten minutes is a long time to wait," David leaned near the bridge wall. They were all under it as the Yuna Bridge is known to be the oldest, biggest and most seldom-used bridge in the city. The ground that was perfectly clean, long and winding, though it was the best place Tiadora could think of. Yuna Bridge was the first place Tiadora had stepped on when she came. Who knew it'll come in handy? Mokona kept hopping around David, singing some lullaby that was making Kiara, who was seated down beside David, fall asleep. Jason was playing with his soccer ball, kicking it softly thro and fro but paused when he saw his sister drop by, "What's with the bandage?"

"Fell down o n a root and found some cloth lying near a tree to use as bandage," Cornelia said with ease as she removed her helmet and spotted Kiara dozing off. She rollerbladed pass Jason, knelt to Kiara and snapped her fingers in front of Kiara's face, "Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any pom-poms?”

"Say anything relating to cheerleading," Kiara opened her eyes, "I'll strangle you. Sally gave me a bad time in front of the team."

"Okay, people," Tiadora walked slowly towards the group, wondering how to get it started, "Everyone gathered around in a circle." Everyone diligently did as they were told. Jason had almost gotten a seat next to Tiadora but decided to sit next to David and Cornelia. Kiara silenced her phone and crossed her legs. "This is going to be long and slightly complicated to understand so I'll need your fullest attention," Tiadora took a deep breath, "Now. Take a look at your two hands. You have the right and left hand. The elemental band is on the right arm. You see, both hands are able to send out your beams or rays or whatever you call it in your time.

“However, each hand has a different capability. David, remember that time when we were falling towards the beach shore, there was a moment when I happen to switch hands from where I was gripping your wrist. I changed from my right hand that was holding onto your wrist to my left hand instead and with my right hand, I casted a spell. Okay, at that time, everyone, I could have used my left hand and prevent any risks from releasing David's wrist but like I just said, both have different abilities.

“The left hand is for strength. This means that if you were to fire a beam of your element from your left hand, it'll be very forceful and power-consuming as it will blast off with full strength. On the other hand, its capability is imaginary. It is more difficult to understand but unlike strength, imagination has many varieties. For example, let’s say for Cornelia's element, Air, being used for imagination, I would want to build up a hurricane. So Cornelia will have to use her right hand and concentrate hard for a hurricane and it will appear. But for most battles, Sir Arthur would rather use both hands to make a hurricane as imagination for its creation and strength for its power so that the hurricane would have a strong power to attack enemies. Still, sometimes in some situations, it would be a better solution to use imagination than to strength aid you. One example would be the falling moment yesterday night."

"Imagination was the thing that made that purple swirls pattern thing yesterday night?? It would have looked like strength to me," David surprised to know that it was the power of imagination that saved his life.

"Do not underestimate imagination. It may be more powerful than strength sometimes," Tiadora corrected as she continued, "Another example would be maybe with Kiara's element, Water. Let's say you want to make a wave, you'll need imagination to make it. Strength is mainly there to boost the imagination or to do a quick counter-attack back to your opponent. If you finally got the enemy cornered and you would want to do a full-blast final attack, you can use your left hand or even both. It difficult to explain but once you try it out, you'll you get the hang of it."

“Wow. That’s a lot to digest in for information,” Jason tossed his soccer ball aside.

“Don’t worry,” Tiadora looked to everyone, “There’s more.”

Chapter 18: Forlorn

The surrounding air around Tiadora felt humid. Although her window was wide open, Tiadora tossed and turned in her bed. Flashbacks of her encounter with her mother kept on repeating itself in her dreams. The same words played back like son broken recorder. She grabbed a fistful of her blanket and threw it over her bed, gasping for air. "My daughter," the dream repeated for the fifth time, "a guardian is still alive and looking for you. He's here in the 21st Century. The sacred animals are close by. Be on the lookout."

Be on the lookout. On the lookout! Tiadora jolted out of bed, clutching her pillow. Her room was still in tact. Nothing out of the ordinary yet. She hugged her soft purple pillow and leaned on the wall beside her bed. Mother, she thought. Where are you? You told me so minimal. Did you teleport? If you did, where are you and are you okay? The white nightgown that Kiara gave fitted her body perfectly. Though it disturbed her that it was so exposed and figure-showing.

Her room felt too hot, as Tiadora got out of her bed and headed towards the window and gripped the grills tight. She didn't need to close her eyes to concentrate but room the window grills melted in her hands into a strange silver liquid. The fluid instantly disappear when she was done, leaving the window bare as she pushed the glass further away. She pulled a wheeled chair close to the window and without hesitation; she jumped out of the window which was three-storey above ground.

Her landing was as silent as could be. She dropped to the ground and landed safely without injuring the roles of her bare feet. In front of her was a wife empty space and in the middle of the void, a block tower rose higher than the girls' dormitory. The analog clock showed one-fifteen a.m. Friday. Without hesitation, she strolled casually to the block tower and found an old door. She sighed and turned the doorknob. Inside was dark and dusty. A small say of light lighted the place by the moonlight from above. Tiadora managed to find a circular staircase leading to the top in the dim light.

Curiosity pushed her forward as she gracefully danced her way all the way to the top. There weren't any cracks or sound that the stairs made and the wood of the steps didn't scratch her toes. The higher she climbed, the more light shone bright, and when she finally came up, she saw the translucent they of the girls' dormitory through the big clock. Tiadora walked towards the translucent clock and tried to reach for the minute hand. Too bad it was on the other side of the clock. That's when she noticed that someone was standing still behind her. She was still facing the clock but she could feel the presence of that person who stood right behind her, with only an inch apart.

"Tiadora?" the voice sounded familiar in her ears as she turned around to who it was.
"David?" Tiadora gasped, "How long were you here?"

"Ever since eleven. Mokona was rolling all over the bed and I couldn't sleep with it snoring. I didn't know animals could snore," David wondered. His black sleeveless showed off his jean muscular body which Tiadora never notice whenever he word his usual blue shirt. A pair of black pants matched his outfit with another pair of slippers. That's when Tiadora noticed that her feet were not covered but it didn't matter. She was here already. He ruffled his jet black hair as his green eyes reflected a luminous colour and continued, "This is my favourite usual spot. Unlike the usual tending machine, this has a spectacular view. Ta-Daa!"

David ushered her towards the opposite end from the clock. It was not covered with the dark walls like the ones on her right and left. There, in the opened edge she could see the sparkles of the clear blue sea. It was like seeing an ocean-sized diamond. A small platform was stretched out into the open space as David walked towards the furthest edge and sat down, swinging his legs to and fro. Tiadora didn't dare move forward. She was afraid that the platform was unsteady since David was sitting at the edge.

”Erm...does the bottom of this platform touch the ground?" Tiadora wanted to make sure its safe.

"Nope," David turned to face her, "...don't worry. The platform is about a history book thick. Plus, I've been here like a million times and it doesn't fall. Trust me." David held out his hand towards her. Reluctantly, she took the outstretched hand and was ushered to the platform where she sat uncomfortably. The cool breeze swept her hair off her shoulders as it swayed to the wind. She closed her eyes and inhaled a mouthful amount of oxygen into her lungs. It felt fresh. None of them uttered a word for the next ten minutes, appreciating the crystals of the sea, until David broke the silence, "When I heard the voices in my head saying 'someone's coming', I initially thought it was Kiara."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Tiadora still faced the beautiful scenery, "but I had trouble sleeping."

"Was it because the nightgown that Kiara gave you was itchy?" David eyed her outfit.

Tiadora's cheeks glowed pink with embarrassment as she looked at herself. She knew the gown was a bad idea, and she wasn't even wearing any footwear. Stammering to answer back, she replied, "No! Surprisingly, this gown was comfortable. Actually, I'm worried for my mother. I mean she just came and told me that a guardian and some animals were here but there was no 'how are you?' or 'where are you?' or 'if you need me, contact me at etc.’ Nothing! And it's driving me crazy."

"At least you still have yours," David's face grew dark and hurt, "Mine left me when I was only ten."

"I...I'm so sorry, " Tiadora apologised. She didn't want to hurt him like this but something struck her thoughts as she asked him, "A person will turn ten years old once he or she is fourth grade, right?"

"Yup. Wow. You're catching up quite quickly."

"Then was the reason for you to have that mental breakdown and turning into someone so secretive, lonely and Goth, was for the loss of your mother and not because of the cheerleaders, is it?" Tiadora finally realised the reality.

David didn't make eye contact but he soon nodded at her explanation. He turned and looked into Tiadora's eyes. It was the first time he had realised how close they were, side by side. "So far," David started again, "you're the second person who has figured that out. Everyone including Kiara thought it was because some girls made some bad comments about me."

"If was second," Tiadora wondered, "who was first?"

"Jason," David smiled, "You know, both Jason and Cornelia are twins."

"Really? Wow! Twins of different gender is quite a rare find," Tiadora finally realised.

David chuckled and continued, "Well, they just came to the academy last year. I think they were from United Kingdom, and you know Jason's out looking to find attention or anything. Then he found nibbling on my sandwich one day, and he asked me, 'you're that David guy, aren't ya?’ And for a moment, I thought he was gonna beat me up just like the other jocks but he just sat beside me and patted on my shoulder. Then he said to me in a soft voice, ‘You’re that kid that everyone thinks is grieving over split lemon juice when he’s actually lost someone dear’. Man! My jaw almost dropped. Some guy.”

Tiadora smiled. Jason was a really sweet guy. He’s been a great help all this while, on how he had helped to carry her to his room even though she was a total stranger to him, on getting rid of her hiccups, helping to defeat Oberon and to get to know the 21st Century better. He was the first person to believe and trust her, the first to be a real friend. She looked at her wrist. Once it rested a special friendship band which Jason had bothered to make, but it was gone now. Tiadora recalled the time when he had chased after her when she gave back the friendship band and ran away. “Tia! Tiadora! Please come back!” Jason huffed and puffed along the corridor with Tiadora running further away, “Princess Tiadora!”

She remembered covering her ears, ignoring his words. That’s when she turned to a dark corner which Jason had missed, going straight to another direction. The damp floor soaked her heels and stained her toes as the dark alley was long and winding. There was light in front of her and her surroundings grew narrow. The blinding light pained her eyes as she finally got out of the damp humid area. She couldn’t see a thing. Everything was so bright, that’s when she heard a scream, and when her vision came back, a crane was right above her, collapsing. Her eyes widened with fear though her legs were rooted to the ground.

“Tia!!” Jason shouts were far away but in an instant, she felt someone pushing her back into the dark alley. Her eyes flickered as she jolted out from her unplanned landing. Jason had fallen on her but when he quickly realized it, he got off Tiadora and helped her sit upright. Blood oozed from a cut of her right shoulder when Jason put her brown hair behind her ears. He was about to tear his light green singlet from under his darker green jacket but Tiadora stopped him instead and looked at her wound. Her skin around her wound, covered the cut in a mere five seconds. Jason’s jaw dropped as he was dumbfounded with the speedy recovery.

“It’s my special ability,” Tiadora smiled at his awed expression, ”Every guardian has one and mine is the ability to heal any injury. A very useful technique indeed.”

Jason snapped out from the sensation and held both of Tiadora’s hands. He took a deep breath and sighed,”Why must you run away? Isn’t it already difficult enough to find somewhere to rest and take shelter? Look, in the 21st Century, most of the people will not believe all of this magic stuff because it doesn’t exist. Tia, no matter how much the world has to go against you; you can believe me when I say that I’ll always be by your side.”

“Tiadora? Snap out of it!” David snapped her mind back into the real world, “Look over there.”

David pointed towards the shore of the beautiful sea. It didn’t look different at all, but that thought changed when visible bubbles formed around the shallow waters. Then the strangest thing happened. The water glowed a bright shade of pink which lasted for a time of a blink of an eye. And instantly, a black shape had emerged from the waters. It was a man who wore a black coat with a hood covering its face. Once he was out, standing on the surface of the sea, he walked slowly towards the white sand and on queue, more people started to emerge out from the water. This time they weren’t wearing any coats. Tiadora could see some boys and girls with some women and men.

Tiadora stood up, looking frightened. Her eyes glued to the scene as her spine shivered. She squatted down and shake David, “Up. Stand up, David.” He obeyed and almost fell off the edge. Tiadora turned his face towards her own and spoke very seriously, “Do you give me your fullest trust?”

“Well, yeah but…” David didn’t get to finish his answer as Tiadora jumped off the platform and pulled him along. Tiadora adjusted her body to fall head-first and aimed at the shore. She could feel David struggling as she gripped his right wrist which held his green element. David grew scared and tried to do a spread-eagle position to lessen the speed they were going but Tiadora was going too fast for him to do anything. The distance between them and the shore shorten and David could feel all the pressure pounding on every inch of his body. All of a sudden, Tiadora switched hands. The right hand which had gripped on his wrist was replaced with her left hand instead.

And the magic unfolded in front of his eyes. Soon with her right hand, Tiadora sent a blaze of energy to the sand. The purple beam made a spiral pattern on the shore and soon, David felt lighter. Gone with the beam, instead of landing flat hard on the ground, David managed to land on his feet. Dizzy and confused was what he thought of the stunt. It took him a few seconds to be able to walk steadily again. He felt like as if he was in a dessert with the sand dunes playing see-saw. That’s when he realized that Tiadora wasn’t holding onto his hand anymore.

David tried to see through the fallen sand where Tiadora was and when he finally did, the small army of twenty who were standing on the water’s surface, stood stationary. Tiadora stood in front of David, staring into the dark hood of the leader of intruders, who was about five feet away. No one uttered a word for quite some time like as if they were waiting form the other party to strike. The person in the dark hood came forward and kneeled down towards Tiadora with his head bowed down. But David’s senses went frantic when the man began to speak, “Tiadora, the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting. Villain am I none. Therefore, farewell. I see thou know’st me not.”