Chapter Five

Elijah looked out his window and felt completely empty. Since returning home he had felt nothing but loneliness. In a world full of riches all he wanted was a friend. A bright red blaze catches his eye as he sees Nya running across the grounds. He can't help but wonder what on earth he ever did to hurt her or what her story is.

For him coming home was bittersweet. He loved seeing his Dad but he was always caught up with planning the next move in the War. Elijah's mother abandoned himself and his father when he was young for a King in a neighbouring province. His father never remarried and dedicated his life to serving his people and making sure Elijah had everything he could possibly want. What his Dad couldn't give him was something he yearned for more than anything money could buy. He wanted love and someone to come home to after being away.

Elijah walks to his desk and looks at the piles of letters many in code he has to interpret from the battlegrounds, neighbouring towns and if he was lucky he may have a letter from his longest friend Leo who was currently undertaking mage training on the other side of the continent. Elijah flicked through the letters and methodically placed Leo's in the middle so that he had something to look forward to when he got that far in the pile. He made a start on the letters but his mind kept wandering to the girl with red hair like fire and eyes like the ocean and how would he ever break through her barriers.

After Elijah left the library, Nya tried to concentrate on her reading but felt so embarrassed and ashamed. She ran outside to get some fresh air and ended up at the watchtower looking at the waves breathing deeply until she felt calm. The wind blew her face in front of her eyes and she went to move it away but felt the tears that had been silently rolling down her cheeks. She felt horrible, she never spoke to anyone how she had to Elijah. "I have to work for him, what an idiot am I" she says out loud. Nya had no idea why Elijah caused her so much angst and anger. He seems like a decent man and maybe in a whole different universe where there was no level of hierarchy they could be friends. She shakes her head "as if he would even look at me now after how I just spoke to him. Work is going to be incredibly painful now." She looked outside again and saw the sun was setting. She decided to head down from the watchtower and head back to get some rest before the big day tomorrow. Before she leaves she looked out at the ocean just like her Dad taught her and whispered three wishes to King Triton and the mermaids in the hope they will grant them. Her first two wishes never changed "For everything to work out and to happen with the least amount of work as possible" and "For her to get the chance to become a healer and help keep families from losing their loved ones like she has". She always let her mind tell her what her third wish should be. The first thought her mind came on was Elijah. She decided that her third wish should be that she has enough sense to not cause anymore friction between herself and Elijah and for the mermaids to help her stop speaking before she thinks. With Elijah and her first day of work on her mind Nya headed back to her room hoping that they could start fresh in the morning.