Elements

The next day, my family decided to have a picnic. It was of those days when my brothers were home from school and my parents were not as busy.

"What do you think?" Mother asks cheerfully as she finishes putting ribbons on my hair. Il'wara looks a bit uncomfortable but answers the question. "She looks nice, Lady Astrid." Being used to Il'wara's seriousness, mother laughs. "Indeed. She is my precious daughter."

She finishes the rest of the preparations with Il'wara's help. Then we went out where father and my two brothers were standing next to a carriage.

"Freya!" Kaon greets me excitedly. I laugh and greet him with a "bruh-wer." I turn to my other brother and smile brightly. Aerik gently pats my head. "Hello Freya. How are you today?"

"Goo. Mama and Iwa make mwee pur-ty." Ugh. When can I stop this baby-ish talk. Aerik looks happy though.

Mother and Father chuckles to themselves. I remember the first time I said my first word and it surprised everyone who was in the room at the time. They called me a genius but only I knew the truth. I'm still not used to the language but I pick up some commonly used words and practiced extensively. So imagine the surprise when I actually said a full simple sentence.

"Yeah yeah. Freya is the most pretty girl," Kaon compliments. He beams brightly. It amazes me how much energy this boy has.

"The carriage is prepared," Il'wara announces. Father picks me up as my family members go into the carriage one by one. The driver commands the horses to go and we were off.

"So since you have now made your connections, Kaon. We can now talk about activating your elements. Elements are rare, so don't be disappointed if the tests conclude without one," Father says as he combs my hair with the brush mother provided.

"However, as part of the nobility that has access to purer energy and inherited the potential for elements, I am sure you have a 80% chance of having one element."

"Papa how do I know if I have one?" Kaon asks curiously. I also want to know.

Aerik unexpectedly answers. "It's a process of trial and error. You visualize the element you are trying to manifest and you will know if you are able to resonate with it."

Father nods his head. "Aerik is correct. However, there were some cases where the person already knew what element they strongly resonate with. Do you feel the sensation of heat when you cultivated or feel a breeze gently passing by when the room is closed?"

Kaon ponders on Father and Aerik's words. I also think back when I cultivated the ley lines. I remember the ocean smell briefly while being bathed in flames. I thought it was the process of cultivating, but I must have been awakening my elements. It's strange that these elements contradict each other. While my thoughts stray, Father answers my unspoken questions.

"The extremely rare cases are when the cultivator has dual elements. The ones who do have unlimited potential and tend to make more connections. Although having one element has its own advantages, you can train your affinity to the max and you might be capable of getting a unique constitution."

Kaon's eyes glimmer with excitement. He seems to have thought about something when he faces Aerik.

"Brother what element do you have?" Aerik smiles. "You should be asking what elements I have." Kaon and I look at him in shock. I can tell Kaon is amazed with Aerik's potential and wishing he, too, would have dual elements. I think happily that I am not alone and could ask my brother more questions when I am old enough.

"What elements do you have?" Kaon asks. Aerik makes us wait in suspense before finally saying, "I have wind and earth actually."

Father ruffles Aerik's head proudly. "Your brother has the most rarest case. His elements contradict each other so he has to be careful while training. Fortunately, your brother is quite formidable." I don't know how I look to my family, but I was beaming in joy and proud to be Aerik's younger sister.

Kaon has the same sentiments as me. The carriage finally comes to a stop and Father takes me outside.

The landscape took my breath away. There were rows of trees with leaves gently swaying in the breeze and a shining, flowing river. It feels so nice to be outside instead of being cooped up inside the manor.

My mother takes me to the large blanket the servants brought out. They were setting up the food and chairs for us. Father and Aerik are demonstrating their elements. Father has an earth element so he grew vines that wrapped around his wrists while Aerik produces both his earth and wind element. He looks like he is concentrating hard to maintain both elements.

"Like Aerik explained, you visualize the element. You might feel out whatever your element is, whether that's a breeze or smell of dirt. Then you can make it appear as we have demonstrated."

Kaon closes his eyes and concentrate. Nothing seems to be happening until I see the red color surrounding Kaon. Fireballs start to appear and circle around Kaon.

Mother and I were a distance away but can feel the heat radiating from Kaon's element. One fireball, in particular, came really close. I reach out to it because it was calling out to me. Mother prevents me from touching the fireball and immediately douse the fireball with water. Mother is a water elemental yet she also has another element which I can't figure out.

Light particles formed a barrier around the rest of the fireballs. Mother calls out to her water element. The water in midair poured down on top of my brother's head.

Mother did not notice that the water element called out to me when she manifested it. The water droplets wrapped loosely around my hand before dripping down to the ground. I marvel at the cooling sensation and the water's playful nature.

"Kaon! You could have hurt your sister!" Mother is upset yet I can tell she is more concerned about the potential danger. I wish I can tell her that nothing bad would happen considering that I have both fire and water elements.

Kaon looks like he was going to cry despite knowing his element. I pull on mother's sleeve. "Bruh-wer did not hur me," I say simply. I tried to convince her with a smile. Mother seems to want to say something but I was already crawling toward Kaon. "I okay." Kaon did not whether to laugh or cry at the situation.

Father clears his throat. "Well since no one got hurt. Let's call it a day." Mother then sighs. "Alright. Since nothing happened, I'll let it go." She turns her attention to Kaon and me. "You have a very strong fire element, Kaon. With great power, there is a great responsibility. When we go back home, we will make sure you can practice and control your ability."

Kaon nods but he still looks like a kicked puppy. I pull on his sleeve and smile at him reassuringly. He eventually smiles back and hugs me. "Sorry sis," he whispers near my ear. I pat him on the back.

Aerik places his hand on Kaon's shoulder. "Let's go eat. I'm starving." My family moves to the picnic area and start eating the food the staff prepared for us. Soon, we were all laughing and having a good time.

That night, I laid in bed thinking about my life after being reborn. I feel blessed to have these abilities and having a loving family. I will grow stronger and protect them, I think. My last thought is that I hope I can continue this peaceful life forever.