The Elemental Read online

  “Mama!” Helia lifted her arms up, indicating she wanted to be picked up. Elara knelt down, swooping her up in her arms and resting her head onto hers, closing her eyes.

  She couldn’t leave Helia alone.

  “Elara! Elara, we need you!” a voice called from outside of the room. She ducked her head out to see future Tami scurrying about, poking her head in each room and searching frantically for something.

  “I’m here.” Elara ran out, Helia still in her arms.

  “We need you,” Tami repeated. She ducked into a room and emerged quickly, holding a bag of supplies.

  “Medical assistance. We need to be out there,” she said firmly. She glanced at Helia, wrapped up in her mother’s arms, and then back at Elara. She looked torn; she didn’t want to ask her to go to the battlefield while Helia was left in her care. She knew the rules: one parent with each child at all times.

  But they were desperate.

  Elara looked down helplessly at the child in her arms.

  “Elara, please,” begged Tami. “We need you.”

  “But Helia…”

  The world changed around them again.

  Horror met their eyes.

  They were in front of the castle grounds, the outer walls completely desecrated and reduced to rubble. In the distance, they could see the castle engulfed in flames. Blood trickled down the cracks in the ground between the cobbled path. The smell of burning flesh filled their nostrils, and the thick smoke swirled into their eyes, hot and heavy. Elara began to cough, feeling the ashy heat burn the back of her throat.

  “Where’s Helia?” the visiting Noiro demanded.

  “Mama,” a tiny voice bleated. The visiting Noiro glanced down to see a small hooded figure beside future Elara, clutching her hand.

  “How could she—how could I have brought a child to a battlefield?” the visiting Elara demanded, infuriated. “What was I thinking?”

  “It looks like you didn’t have much of a choice,” said the visiting Miela sadly.

  She was right. There weren’t many choices when fighting a war.

  The visiting group stared at the once magnificent castle, a symbol of peace and prosperity, now reduced to rubble. Screams pierced the cold night sky as the flames licked at the structure, and they could see the shadows of soldiers diving into the castle. They couldn’t tell who was a friend who a foe. The screams from those being swallowed by fierce flames melted into the screams of those being slaughtered.

  Utter chaos.

  Blasts of white, hot fire were blazed across the fields, and they caught a glimpse of bodies battling each other.

  Future Elara led future Tami and Helia down a path, away from the castle, and under the ruins of a small house. “We can set up over here,” she said firmly, dropping her bag and unraveling its contents. Tami and Elara worked quickly, setting up their supplies into a makeshift medical center. A loud blast rattled the ground beneath them, and Helia let out a loud whimper as she felt the ground shake under the blast’s force.

  “Helia, baby.” Elara knelt down to her child. Her heart broke as she saw fear flashing in the toddler’s eyes, and she brought her hands up to her ears to block out the sounds of the blasts. “Mama needs you to be brave. We’re okay over here. Okay?” She tried to keep her voice steady but despite her efforts, it was high and strained as she lied through her teeth.

  The toddler looked hesitantly at her mother, nodding. She brought up her thumb to her mouth, and Elara gently pushed her hand away. “You’re a big girl, right, Helia? Big girls don’t suck their thumb.”

  The toddler nodded once again, silently bringing her hand down to her side.

  Elara’s heart broke.

  “I’m heading out to find any casualties,” Tami called out, getting ready to dart out.

  Elara nodded. “I’m ready.”

  Suddenly, the world around them went dark.

  “What happened?” the visiting Elara cried, startled. She felt Miela and Argon beside her, turning their heads around in alarm as the vision before them disappeared. Their eyes adjusted to Noiro, standing by the sundial, his hand wrapped around the Aether stone.

  “The sun’s going down,” Noiro murmured softly as he gently picked the stone up. “We need sunlight to make the Aether Stone reveal the time’s shadows. Without it, I’m afraid we might actually be pulled through time itself.”

  Elara opened her mouth, then closed it again.

  “We can’t risk it. We don’t know enough about the Aether Stone and how it works to risk anything yet,” he said.

  “We’ve seen enough for now,” Miela agreed.

  The four stood in the middle of the cottage, looking back and forth at each other, and then down and away, their own thoughts flooding their heads as they each digested what they saw.

  “We won’t let any of this happen. We’re gonna stop this. We’re gonna fix this,” Miela declared fiercely.

  “We will,” Elara said determinedly.

  She lowered her head as she stared at the ground. She would do everything in her power to stop this.

  FAMILY TIES

  “Star! Come back here!”

  Elara smiled as she saw a fluffy little fur ball bounce happily towards her, and she knelt down to pet the dog, scratching fondly behind its ears. The dog greeted her with a very wet lick against her cheek, and she crinkled her nose as she felt the tongue swipe over her face.

  “I see Star hasn’t completely covered you in his slobber, yet,” a woman called out from the front door of her house, leaning against the doorway and smiling back at Elara. She brushed her long, chestnut brown hair behind her ear, her locks falling in soft waves down her back. She waved happily at Elara as she drew nearer.

  “Not quite.” Elara grinned at her old friend. Star padded alongside her, wagging her tail hard at the prospect of a new friend.

  “I hope your business matter went all right,” said Tami as she led Elara into her house. She could smell a wonderfully delicious scent wafting in from the kitchen, and realized that she hadn’t eaten in a while.

  Elara winced internally as her belly let out a loud rumble.

  “You’re welcome to stay for dinner,” Tami offered, grinning warmly at her friend. She giggled as she heard Elara’s stomach growl once more. “Food’s just about done.”

  Elara smiled sheepishly as she rested a hand on her belly. “I was hoping you wouldn’t hear that,” she said, giggling. She looked at Tami, feeling rather unsettled as the things she had seen and heard while using the Aether stone mulled over in her head. It was strange to stand and chat with her friend who, not so long ago, she had seen terrified and scared while setting up a makeshift medical tent by a battlefield. “It’s okay, though. It’s late, and I’m sure Helia is almost ready for bed.”

  Tami nodded in understanding, unconsciously bending down to pet Star as she sniffed around at her feet. “Of course! But I’ll pack you some to go—you can’t say no,” Tami said sternly, wagging her finger at her old friend. “I’ve made far too much, and it’ll all go to waste, anyhow.”

  Elara smiled gratefully. She was exhausted from the day’s events, and the thought of having to prepare dinner at the end of the day was weighing on her. Elara glanced around. “Where’s Helia? I hope she wasn’t too much trouble.”

  Tami waved and said, “Nonsense, it was a pleasure having her.” She walked into her kitchen and reached for a ladle. Tami lifted the lid off of a bright red pot on the burner and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes in delight and satisfaction as the aroma of her cooking drifted through the kitchen. “She was an immense help in making sure the puppies had enough exercise and playtime today.”

  Elara laughed as Tami scooped a generous portion of the pot’s contents into a container.

  “She’s an intelligent child, that one. I hope you find her parents soon…”

  Elara felt a knot in her stomach at her words. Miela and Elara agreed on sticking to their original story: Helia was a witness in a case they were trying
to solve, and her parents were missing. Elara was taking her in for the time being.

  They couldn’t tell Tami the truth, bizarre as it was. There was still so much for them to figure out. And for the sake of maintaining everyone’s safety, at least for the time being, they had to keep everything under wraps. It was for the best.

  But still, she couldn’t help but feel like a fraud.

  “Helia’s wonderful,” Elara agreed.

  “How does it feel, being a guardian for the time being?” asked Tami.

  Elara shrugged, unsure of how to answer. She was still digesting the fact that she was now a guardian. A parent. She bit her lip, wondering how she would do in raising a child that fell unexpectedly into her lap. “It’s great,” said Elara, not untruthfully. “She’s a sweet kid. I’m still adjusting to having someone around the house, but she definitely livens up my day.”

  “She’s brilliant,” remarked Tami. “A bit shy, though.”

  Elara herself hadn’t really had a hand in raising Helia. It was her future self.

  It was jarring to watch herself in the future; the future Elara was someone she didn’t really know, who shared a life with Helia and Argon, two people that she didn’t really know either.

  She shuddered internally, recalling the tiny Helia standing by her mother at the mouth of a raging battlefield. She certainly wasn’t proud of her future self for that decision, even though she had no other choice.

  As painful as it was to watch the future events unfold, she was grateful for her glimpses at the future. She felt like she could understand Helia a little better. Watching the world around them that shaped her life gave her so much more insight, not just on her child, but on herself as well.

  Elara glanced at Tami, wondering how she would react seeing herself play out her roles in the war she saw in the future.

  “Would you mind going out to the backyard and calling in the other puppy and Helia?” Tami asked, pulling Elara out of her thoughts. “I just need to find a lid for this container.”

  “Sure,” said Elara. She walked out to the back of the house, poking her head out through a large window.

  Helia was running wildly, giggling hard as a small shaggy puppy ran at her heels.

  “Helia,” Elara called.

  The toddler snapped her head up excitedly at her mother’s voice, and turned her course to run straight towards the window. “Mama!” she cried happily, bounding towards her.

  Elara couldn’t help but giggle as the puppy behind the toddler stumbled over its feet and knocked its head softly into Helia’s legs.

  “Atlas,” Helia chided, giggling at the puppy. “Watch out, silly!”

  “It’s time to go, love,” she told her.

  Helia let out a long groan. “But Mama,” she protested, “we just started playing!”

  “It’s late,” Elara said firmly. “And we want the puppies to get their rest too and grow up to be big, strong dogs. Right?”

  Helia nodded dejectedly. “Okay, Mama,” she said, walking back into the house.

  “We’d love to have her over again to play,” said Tami as she handed Elara a bag. It was warm, and the scent of its contents made Elara’s mouth water.

  “Thank you for watching her,” Elara said again.

  Tami put up her hand. “It’s no trouble at all, really,” she chirped. “Since I’ve moved my practice back to my own house, I’m basically around all day.”

  Elara hugged her old friend, grateful for her support. She knew she was a busy medic in Polaris, and yet she was ready to support her in a heartbeat.

  Tami squeezed back tightly.

  “All right.” Elara looked at Helia, who was standing in between the two women. Atlas licked her feet, and she chuckled at the puppy, patting its head with her small hand. “Ready to go?”

  Helia nodded. Elara scooped the toddler up in her arms, the bag of food hanging from the crook of her arm as she made her way out the door.

  Tami ruffled Helia’s hair from behind, smiling affectionately at the child.

  “Bye, Auntie Tami!” Helia waved from her mother’s arms.

  The walk home was a short one, and the two were home in no time. Elara placed Helia on the floor, silently missing the growing familiarity of having her in her arms. She stretched out her arms in front of her; her muscles were still getting used to carrying the toddler around.

  “Time for explorin’!” Helia cried happily.

  “Time for your bath,” Elara corrected, chuckling at Helia’s nightly ritual of wanting to explore her house. “But you can go explore for a few minutes.”

  Helia walked around the small living room, as was her nightly tradition. She walked along the perimeter of the walls, knocking on the paneling every few paces and pressing her ear against the wall, concentrating hard. She told Elara that she was sure that every house had some treasure hidden behind walls, and made it her own mission to locate every bit of treasure she could find.

  Elara giggled at the toddler and walked over to the kitchen, placing the container of food from Tami on the counter.

  Helia peered underneath one of the couches, grinning as she fished out a silver coin, wiping it clean and pocketing it. She then wandered over to Elara in the kitchen, poking around until she found a cabinet filled with snacks. After receiving permission to take a piece of candy, she made her way down one of the hallways leading deeper into the house and poked her head into the bathroom.

  “Ready for your bath? Then we can have some yummy dinner that Auntie Tami made,” Elara said softly, following Helia into the bathroom and rolling up her sleeves. After a small debate around which scent her soap was, a lot of splashing and suds, and a few tears after some soap splashed into the toddler’s eye, a thoroughly scrubbed and clean Helia strolled out of the bathroom, clad in a large, soft, cotton shirt. Elara wiped her forehead, looking down at her own soaked self in the bath’s aftermath.

  Getting Helia to take a bath certainly took a high level of effort.

  “Hungry?” she asked Helia, leading the toddler into the kitchen.

  Helia nodded, rubbing her belly exaggeratedly. “Mama, where are my pajamas?” she asked, looking down at her large shirt.

  Elara bit her lip guiltily: with not many options, Elara put Helia in one of her own shirts for the night. “We’ll go shopping soon,” she promised. “Uncle Noiro packed you some clothes too, but we definitely have to go get some more.”

  “I like the clothes from Uncle Noiro,” said Helia.

  Elara chuckled. “I’m glad you do.”

  “They’re little, like me!”

  “Well,” Elara paused, unsure how to respond. She began to set the kitchen table for their dinner. Helia hopped up onto a seat, settling in front of her plate as she watched Elara intently, waiting for an answer. “They were mine. A long time ago.”

  “Yours?” Helia gaped.

  Elara nodded.

  “But you’re so big!”

  “There was a time when I was little, like you,” said Elara with a chuckle. “Uncle Noiro took care of me when I was little.”

  “Really?” Helia asked excitedly. “Is Uncle Noiro your Dad?”

  “In a way,” Elara replied, biting a forkful of food. “I don’t know who my Mom or Dad is. So Uncle Noiro took care of me.”

  “Oh.” Helia looked down at her plate.

  Elara smiled. “Eat your dinner, baby, it’s getting cold.”

  Helia nodded, taking a big bite from her plate. She clumsily dropped a few morsels around her. “How did Dad get back?” she asked suddenly. “I thought you can’t come back from the sky.”

  “Er… Dad found a way.”

  “He must’ve missed me,” said Helia as a matter of fact, taking another bite of her food.

  Elara smiled again. “Yes. He did. Very much.”

  The two continued their dinner, Elara listening to Helia telling her about her day with the puppies. She hoped that the toddler couldn’t tell she was only half-listening as she watched Helia chatt
er away excitedly. The toddler was certainly talkative. She studied Helia’s eyes, noting how they were remarkably like her own. She had short, black hair, a trait she seemingly inherited from Argon, although it wasn’t quite as curly, falling in soft, messy waves around her face. The way Helia’s mouth turned when she spoke was in the same way hers did.

  Helia yawned halfway through her speech, drawing Elara’s attention to the time. “Oh! It’s past your bedtime!”

  “But ‘m not tired,” Helia insisted, pouting.

  “You look tired,” Elara said pointedly as Helia let out another big yawn, reaching her hand out to hold hers. “I know I need to rest, too.”

  Elara led Helia to her bedroom.

  “I like the big bed,” Helia said, throwing herself onto Elara’s large mattress and sinking into the covers.

  “Me too.” Elara chuckled, walking closer to the bed and arranging the covers around Helia’s little body. “We’ll get you a good Helia-sized bed, soon. But in the meantime, you’ll have to snuggle up with me.”

  “Yay,” Helia murmured sleepily, her head slowly sinking into the pillow, curls splayed out across the soft linens.

  “Sleep well, kid,” Elara said softly, running her fingers through her soft hair.

  Helia sighed, half asleep, and leaned into her palm. “Mama sleep with me now?”

  “In a bit,” said Elara. Her clothes were still wet from Helia’s bath, and she still needed to clear the kitchen table. Helia sighed sleepily, turning as she fell asleep, and Elara left the room quietly.

  She returned to the living room and sat down for a moment on the couch, dropping her head into her hands. It was the first time that day that she finally got to sit down. She sighed, the weight of everything she saw that day settling onto her shoulders.

  There was so much to do, and her head was filled with so many thoughts that were all jumbled up together. She also needed to sort out Helia’s affairs; getting clothes, toys, food…

  Her mind turned back to the Aether Stone. She wondered how much potential damage she and her friends were doing by peeking into the future.