Fire and Water

Altan sits up and every candle in the room bursts to life.

With everything suddenly illuminated, I see Cai standing in the middle of the bedroom with his long samurai-looking-sword drawn. He's grinning, but I see apprehension when his eyes flicker to me.

~He still doesn't want to kill me... even though he will.~

"Guards!" Altan yells, and I expect the doors to our bed-chamber to fly open, and for Altan's guards to file in ready to kill every Water Mage in sight (except me, of course). But nothing happens. Silence follows Altan's call, and my stomach feels hollow.

"Awe," Cai scrapes the tip of his sword along the floor, "Did you think they were going to come and help you?"

Altan grimaces and stands from the bed. "It doesn't matter." He grits, "I'll fend you off myself." He raises his hands and every candle bursts with life, their flames raging up and flickering through the room. And I realize, here, in Kiziljer where there is barely any water, Altan may have an advantage.

"Do what you want." Cai speaks, he doesn't lung forward like I expect him to, "But I'm not here to fight with you."

~What?~

I find myself slipping off the bed too. Feeling safer on my feet where I can flee, than sitting on my butt.

"I'm here," Cai begins again when no one asks him why he's actually here, "To make a deal."

"I'll be making no deal with you," Altan says.

"But don't you at least want to hear what it is?" Cai asks, and I see his eyes flickering toward me again. "I want Azul." He says, before we can answer his question, "I want to her alive, and then maybe we can discuss ending the War of Old."

My mouth drops.

~What the hell did I just hear? Cai will discuss ending the war if he can have me alive?~

Altan scoffs, "You're just like your father, all talk but no follow-through."

I see a dark shadow overtake Cai's features, I don't know Cai's family dynamic, but I can guess by his expression, that comparing him to his dad was a bad idea. "You think I'm manipulating you?" he asks.

I see Altan's hands fist and the fire around us flickers higher. "I'm tired of making useless deals with Pani Rastra." He says, "I will end this war with my marriage, and I will keep Azul here with me."

I swallow. When I was a kid I always imagined the idea of hot guys fighting over me would be romantic.... I'm realizing now, that it's not romantic AT ALL.

Cai makes an exasperated sound and runs his fingers through his hair, "I am not my father, and the only thing I want for Azul is safety. If she stays here, she will not have it." His eyes narrow.

Altan bares his teeth like an angry animal, "You will take Azul over my dead body!" and again Altan is the first one to rage forward. The fire in the room erupts around us, and for a brief second, I'm afraid I'll be caught in the crossfire of it. But the fire swoops around me, missing even my dress that flutters in the wind, and rushes to Cai.

I gasp.

~There is no way Cai can survive that.~

But then... Water, I have no idea where it comes from, erupts around Cai and staunches the flames. I see Cai's sword cutting through the flames like a whip through air, and I see Altan's fist and feet moving like some kind of martial art, the flames following his movements as if he is made from fire.

I don't stand and watch. Instead, I zero in on the doors of the bedroom.

~I need to go get help.~

I really have no clue who has the upper hand, but I know Cai has a sword and Altan doesn't.

My feet dance across the floor, hot steam filling the room as fire collides with water. I hear grunts and screams from the men, but I ignore the sounds, I need to focus on getting help. best case scenario: I can get guards and they can capture Cai, then no one will have to die.

I throw the double doors open and suck in a deep breath, "Help!" I yell, "We need-"

My words halt when I see soldiers lying on the floor outside the doors. my stomach sinks.

~Are they dead?~

I don't see any blood... Maybe they're all unconscious. I bite my lip as I decide what to do next, I could go further, see if there are other guards nearby, or-

I hear a sound of anguish and look back into the bedroom.

~Oh shit~

I don't have time to look for help.

Altan is laying on the ground. He's still fighting, but he's obviously losing. If Cai gets any closer to him, he could be dead.

Altan could be dead... because of me.

"Stop!" I yell, but my plea goes unheard this time.

They both ignore me because they both have bigger priorities.

"HELP!!!" I yell again into the antichambers where the guards lay lifeless before me.

~Hopefully someone hears me and comes to help.~

That's all I can hope for as I decide to take matters into my own hands and dash back across the bedroom.

"Azul!" I hear Altan call my names through the sound of sizzling water and metal clanging on wood. I glance at him and I see a bloody slash across his forearm that makes my head dizzy for a second.

~Shit Cai's really gonna kill him...~

"Run!" Altan yells, "Get out of here! Find help!"

It's good advice, but I've already decided my next course of action and I'm not going to toss it now.

~It's all in the eyes.~ the words repeat themselves in my head over and over, and I run to the bed and grab the nearest pillow. ~The magic is in the eyes.~ I yank a pillowcase off and turn back to the fighting men.

~Shit.~

Altan is trapped. Cai's sword is at his neck, and there are cuts all over his usually tan, clean chest.

~This is my fault.~

I see Cai pull his arm back ready to deal the final blow, ready to cut Altan's throat right out of him. And I know... I know he won't hesitate like how he did with me.

I release a scream, half in fear, half in aggravation of this whole freaking world as I barrel forward toward Cai. And before He can bring his sword down, I throw the pillowcase over his head. I cling myself to his back like a spider monkey and I hold the pillowcase down over his neck. his balance is thrown off immediately by the sudden weight on his back and his momentum that was meant to be aimed at Altan's neck is thrown in a different direction. He drops his sword in an attempt to get the pillowcase off, but currently, my adrenaline is stronger than his confused wobbling.

I see the water on the ground tossing frantically to and fro as if it's trying to listen to Cai's will, but it won't work... It won't work, because the magic is in his eyes, and he can't see right now.

Cai falls to his butt and I feel his hands clinging to my forearms, trying to pull me off of him, so I wrap my elbow around his neck, I may be cutting off air supply but I don't care. I see Altan pull himself to his feet, he picks up Cai's sword and steps toward us.

Nearly at the same time, a group of guards show up at our door. They look like they've come running from far away and when they see me clinging to Cai's thrashing body like a baby monkey to its mom, they come running toward me.

"Take him to the dungeon." Altan spits, and when the guards are grabbing hold of Cai, I relax. Every muscle goes limp and I just lay on the ground. "He will stay there until after our wedding."

"But Your Grace." a man speaks and I realize it's Altan's advisor, he's wearing his pajamas. "This man just committed treason, he tried to kill you."

Altan raises a hand and silences his advisor, "I'm getting married to end a war, not to start a new one." he says, "The Prince will be released the day after our wedding, and no sooner."

I watch from where I lay on the floor, luckily I'm not in a puddle of water, but I do smell burnt hair, and I wonder if that's from my hair, Altan's, or Cai's. The Guards lead Cai out of the room, keeping the pillowcase tightly around his head. And when the doors close behind them, Altan is suddenly before me. His hands lightly trace over my face, and his eyes search over my body.

"Are you alright?" He breathes, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

I shake my head. "I'm fine," I sit up slowly, "but you're not." I look at the cuts and nicks that are all over his body, and the especially large slash that is on his forearm, still leaking blood.

Altan shakes his head, "I'm alive because of you." A weak smile tugs on his lips, and he takes my face in his hands and tucks my hair behind my ears. "Thank you." He exhales, "Thank you for choosing me." he leans forward and places a kiss on my forehead.