The Elementals (Chapter Two)

Here's the next part! Read and review please! Don't just read! I want constructive criticism here!

Chapter Two: A New Journey

The four of them landed on their feet and the light faded away. Their eyes took a minute to adjust and the four of them gasped in amazement when they gazed at their surroundings. There they were, standing in a brightly lit clearing.  Dappled green light filtered down from the trees above them and the sound of running water could be heard from beyond the trees.  They were all quiet for a few minutes while they drank in the beauty of the forest and the wonder of what just happened.  Taylor was the first to break the silence.

“So…what happens now?”

As if in answer to her question, the purple stone began to glow again and a girl’s face appeared inside.

“Hello.  What are your names?”

Taylor curtsied and smiled.

“I am Taylor.”

Seth waved, still a little dazed.

“Hey.  I’m Seth.”

Sabrina poked the orb and jumped back when the girl looked at her.

“Um…I-I am Sabrina…”

Casey giggled and waved happily.

“I’m Casey!”

The girl smiled with satisfaction.

“I am Bailey, twin sister to Alice.  She asked me to contact you because she is currently in the bathroom.”

Another voice could be heard from inside the orb.  It had a light, musical tone to it.

“Hey!  Why’d you tell them that, Bailey?!”

Bailey laughed and turned away from the other four.

“Because it’s the truth.”

Alice’s face came into view and she muttered.

“You could have just told them I was busy…”

Alice smiled at the four of them and waved.

“Hello!  I am Alice and I am the one who brought you here.  I have sent someone for you.  She should be there in a couple of minutes…”

As she finished her sentence a voice spoke from behind them.

“Hello…”

They all turned to look.  A teenage girl stood there, her violet eyes quiet, examining.  She wore the elegant outfit of a priestess and she had a soft, musical voice.  She bowed and turned around to go back the way she had come.

“I will take you to Alice.  Follow me.  Bring the orb.”

Taylor took the orb from midair as it stopped glowing and the four of them walked behind the girl.

“Um. . . What is your name?” asked Casey, walking beside her.

She glanced at him and then returned her eyes to the path in front of her.

“Annalisse.  I am the Princess’s bodyguard.”

The rest of the walk was silent as the newcomers were each lost in his or her own thoughts.  They reached the castle in very little time and gaped at the sight with amazement.  It was huge!  The castle was a shining white with very tall turrets.  White flags hung from the turrets and waved gently in the breeze.

It was a thing of beauty and true craftsmanship.  Annalisse kept walking and eventually turned around to look at them.

“Are you coming?”

The four teenagers hurried forward and Annalisse led them inside.

“Stay here.” she said and walked off, leaving them in the entrance hall.

“Hello!”

They looked up and couldn’t help laughing as Alice slid down the banister.

“Catch me!” she yelled to Taylor who was standing nearest.

“What?” said Taylor in surprise, but she managed to catch her anyway.  Alice’s momentum caused them both to fall on the ground, laughing.

Alice stood up and offered her hand to Taylor.  Alice was the shortest of the bunch, her long, wavy hair a light brown.  Her eyes were hazel and at the moment sparkling with laughter.  She dusted her dress off and curtsied.  She wore a dark green gown with a skirt that came down to her knees.  On her head was a white headdress that was threaded through with green ribbon.  She wore brown shoes with brown ribbon that laced up her leg halfway to her knee.  She looked about ten years old.

“I am Alice, one of the princesses of this country.  I have called you here for an important duty.  But we can talk about that over dinner.  I am sure you are all hungry.  What would you all like to eat?”

They all stared at her until Casey broke the unending silence.

“If I might ask…how old are you, Alice?”

“I am sixteen years old!  Why does everyone seem to assume that I am a little girl?!  I’m not that short!”

Another voice spoke from their right.

“Yes, sissy, you really are that short.”

They all turned to see a girl with long, straight brown hair that was darker than Alice’s.  She was taller and seemed to hold an air of authority.  She ruined that by running forward and picking Alice up and swinging her around.

“My cute little sister!”

Alice glared and struggled out of her arms.

“Let me go, Bailey!”

Bailey let go and Alice fell on her face, causing the others to burst out in laughter.

“Fine!  I see how it is!  I hate you all!”

She got up and began to storm off when Sabrina ran over.

“Are you okay?  My name is Sabrina.”

Alice smiled happily at her and took one of her hands in both of hers.

“Nice to meet you, Sabrina!  You are Wind, right?”

Sabrina looked at her in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

Alice looked at her for a long moment and then turned to the others.

“I guess I can tell you part of the story now.  You four are the Elementals.  Each one of you has a different colored gem that holds the power of your element.  Who has my purple orb?”

Taylor stepped forward and took the ball out of her bag, where she had put it for safekeeping.

“Here you go!”

Alice thanked her and took it, holding it gently.

“Take out your stones, please.”

They all obeyed, each taking out his or her stone where they had stored it.

“Hold them above your head, please.”

Again, they obeyed her and each person’s stone grew pleasantly warm.  All of them flashed at once, enveloping all of them in a different colored light.  Taylor’s was blue and she felt the wings spreading from her back, the water swirling around her, changing her body and clothes.  Seth’s body burned with fire and at first he tried to fight this feeling, but after a couple minutes of the fire not going away, he just allowed it to pull him in.  Bright wings spread from his back and he felt new strength come into his muscles.  Casey was pulled into the peacefulness of a tree springing forth from a seedling.  His clothes disappeared and were replaced with more traditional clothing.  Sabrina felt the wind swirl around her and didn’t fight at all.  She simply closed her eyes and allowed herself to change.  After each one had changed, their gems flew from them into four spaces on a pink staff that was spinning in midair.  It was beautifully made, about four feet tall, the staff pink.  The top had a pink crescent moon with wings of the same color spreading underneath it.  The purple orb floated in the middle of the moon and in the wings were the four gems.  The light disappeared and the four teenagers looked around and at themselves with amazement. 

Taylor’s hair was a now a light silver, her eyes sea blue.  She wore a white strapless shirt and blue ribbons wound around her arms.  Around her waist was a tied a sash that was white with a blue trim.  Her midriff was exposed and from her bellybutton hung a sapphire teardrop.  She smiled with satisfaction.

“I look totally cute!”

Sabrina’s hair hadn’t changed color, but her eyes had.  They were now a rose red and she wore a silver headband that had wings on each side of her head.  She wore a white bathing suit top and a blue miniskirt.  Around her neck was a blue choker and around her wrists she wore white, fuzzy wrist bands.

“Wow…”

Casey had gotten taller, his face more serious.  His hair was now a darker brown and his eyes were a deep green, almost black.  He wore a white long sleeved shirt and pants.  Over these was a dark blue tunic with a gold trim.

“How cool!”

Seth’s outfit was simple, yet it suited him.  He wore dark blue pants and a white shirt with no sleeves.  His hair was now a mahogany brown and his eyes were a dark grey.  He smiled, examining himself.

“I like it…”

Alice went through the biggest change.  Her hair was now a golden blonde.  One of her eyes was an emerald green, the other a sapphire blue.  She wore a strapless dress that was dark blue on one side and a pure white on the other, tied with a huge red ribbon.  Her wings were also different colors, one black and the other white.  On her head she wore a silver tiara.  From her forehead hung a simple silver chain that had an emerald with a pink sapphire on either side.  Around her right arm she wore a silver bracelet.  Her left arm was adorned with an armlet that had intricate designs traced through it.  On her left ankle there were two silver bangles.  On her right ankle was an anklet that matched the one on her left arm.  She walked forward and took the pink staff that hung in midair.

“These are your elemental forms.  You look the God’s and Goddess’s of the Elements did when they too took up the journey of regenerating Heaven.”

She smiled and turned to Taylor.

“You are the element of water, the Goddess Sessha.  You have the power of water binding and any animal that swims beneath the waves is yours to command.  They will follow you willingly.  This is for you.”

She snapped her fingers and a beautifully crafted axe appeared in her hand.  It was short in length, blue all the way up, but different shades of it.  On the top was a light blue ball that sat in a silver lining.  On either side was a curved blade that was blue crystal on the flat side.  The sharp side was bright, gleaming silver.

“This is Sessha’s own axe that she used on her journey.  You can also cast spells with it.”

She then turned to Casey, giving him a warm smile.

“You are the God of Earth, Cleon.  With your element you can heal and make things grow.  Any creature that crawls on the earth, any plant that grows is at your command.  This is for you.”

She again snapped her fingers and a polished, wooden staff appeared in her hand.  On the top was set a large green emerald.  It was simple, but very beautiful.

“That is Cleon’s magic staff.  It will perform any spell that helps, but will not use harming spells.”

She turned her gaze to Sabrina, a pink tinge coming to her cheeks.

“You are the Goddess of Wind, Zelfie.  With your element you can use wind-binding and you may control the animals that fly.”

She clapped her hands together and in them appeared a bow and a quiver of arrows.  Both were white, the arrows tipped with razor sharp heads.  They were fledged with pure white feathers that didn’t look to come from any bird.  The quiver was white with Stars and swirls carved into it.  The bow was limber and bent easily as Alice put a string to it.

“This is Zelfie’s bow and arrow.  Whatever you aim for, with this bow, you will hit your mark every time.”

She handed them to her and then turned to face Seth.

“And you, Seth, my God of Fire.  Your true name is Hakim and you rule over the fires of the earth.  Take great care with your new power for with great power comes great responsibility.”

       She smiled at all of them and bowed. 

“I thank you all for coming and I am so happy that you will join me in this journey to save Heaven.”

Seth stepped forward, his eyes a bit angry.

“Hold on a sec!  We never agreed to this.  You can’t just assume we’ll go along with whatever you want us to do!”

Everyone stared at him in confusion and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Well, what I meant was…maybe you could ask us first…”, his voice trailed off and he lowered his eyes from Alice’s searching ones.

She smiled at him and then turned to the others.

“Well, what do you all think?”

The teenagers looked at each other and then smiled at her.

“We’ll do it!” said Taylor.

“Yeah!  This will be fun!” Sabrina said, her voice enthusiastic.

“Will there be cake?” asked Casey.

“…I guess I have no choice…” Seth muttered.

Alice giggled and then hugged each one of them.

“You’re right.  There will be some fun parts.  However, this journey is full of danger.  Tell no one your true names.  Use the names of your guises.  You can’t trust anyone…”

Her voice turned dark as she said this, then she cheered right up.

“Let’s go eat!”

Just as they were about to enter the dining hall, there was a soft knock on the door.

Alice sighed and waved them ahead.

“I will be right there!”

The four entered the dining hall and the door shut behind them.

Alice walked to the door and threw it open with a flourish.

An elf girl stood there, her long brown hair in loose waves down her back, her dark brown eyes wary, but slightly amused as she looked Alice over.  She was dressed for a journey in a light brown, sturdy-looking dress and worn boots.  Around her shoulders was a black cloak that had the hood down.

Alice could hardly contain herself, but curtsied as society demanded.

“Welcome, Valia.”

Valia smiled and curtsied back.

“Hello, Alice.”

“Won’t you come in?”

“Thank you.”

The second Valia stepped inside Alice threw herself into her arms, hugging her fiercely.

“Oh my goodness!  I have missed you so much!”

Valia stroked her back, holding her tight.

“As I have missed you.”

They stood like that for a long moment and then stepped away from each other.

“Are they here?”

Alice nodded.

“Then let’s go greet them.”

Alice nodded and led the way into the dining room, nearly skipping with joy.

Author's Note

I know this is way longer then the first one, but I had to explain a lot so that's why! Read and review! Love ya lots!^^
Btw, the picture is of Valia!^^

Reviews

[Crazy J]

Amazing, great detail and had me leaning forward reading faster and faster, you're concocting a brilliant story, imaginative and as you said in chapter one, the world will move on, but we'll stay right here with you all the way, a very well made setting and fluffy (that's probably not the best word to use) characters really give the sense of a peaceful environment, it's almost like you have some secret spoiler or foreshadowing hiding cleverly right there in the paragraphs and I just can't find it!

[♡Moon Child♡..]

To Crazy J
Well you're right! I do have a spoiler...quite a few actually, but even if you were to guess it I wouldn't tell you!^^ You'll just have to keep reading!

To Brittany
Thanks so much! This story will evolve into something with a lot more drama...so...keep reading!

[Brittany DeFranco]

Pretty cool, lots of anime in it if you have a great imagination, I love it!
This story is getting better and better, making me sit on the edge of my seat just reading it. lol, it reminds me of a story but completely different, o well, it's still great!
~ Brittany ~