Deep Waters

4 days after we left the Felintal Kingdom,we appeared in the Klovian Grasslands. The most beautiful place in all of Voldathea, probably. The green grasses,the bright white flowers,and the tall trees that majestically overlooked the valley. We headed into a forest,which had a small river that flowed through it. It was glistening, and seemed like a godsend, since we haven't had anything to drink for the whole day. We stopped at the river,where Flynn asked me a question.

"So how'd you find out?" He asked me,filling up his flask with the water from the river.

"Huh?"

"That you could control lightning. What did you do to find out?"

"Actually,to be honest with you,I can't use lightning."I said,with a slightly embarrassed tone in my voice.

"..What?"

"Yeah."

"So you lied to me,then? You're not an elemental?"

"No,I am,but-"

"You're the lightning elemental that can't use lightning? Don't bullshit me!"

"I have the marking."

"Anyone can have any marking they want. Maybe it was a bad idea to trust you."

"Listen,If I had an ulterior motive I would've made up a story of how I discovered my lightning. I'm being honest."

"..Fine. But if you're trying to trick me,I'm going to make sure your death is a painful one."

"Yeah,I get it,chief."

After our exchange that has made Flynn trust me even less now, we continued on our travels,and not long after,we saw the gates of The Rudian Kingdom,more specifically, Rudian Castle Town. It was bustling with people,with many stalls,homes,buildings,and towers. It was a completely different story from The Grythelean Kingdom or The Felintal Kingdom. As we entered the town, we had the usual security check from the guards,before we could enter the town. It was exactly how we had imagined it to be. Absolutely full of people,making it almost hard to try and walk through to the palace. Eventually,we made it through to the fountain sitting in front of the castle. It was a huge building constructed out of smooth stone bricks,and it looked incredibly beautiful. We approached the entrance,where the guards crossed spears and stopped us from entering. They looked different from guards that we had seen before. They were wearing white armor,and it didn't look like it was made from regular steel. Their spears seemed to be made of the same material,as well.

"Halt! What is your business with the royalty?!" One of the guards shouted to us.

"Let us through,old man. This is serious business." Flynn quickly said to the guard,about to raise his hand and cast a fireball at him,which I quickly disrupted.

"No- Sir,we need to talk to Lady Norial. This is important." I said to the guard,swinging my cloak back. However,I didn't have high hopes that he would let us in.

"What is this serious business? We will not let anyone enter and speak to her highness!" The guard said in a loud voice,hitting his spear onto the ground.

"Well,it's about this." I said to the guard,showing him my marking,and Flynn opened his jacket,revealing a large flame marking on his chest. Even with showing our markings, I had doubts that the guard was going to let us enter. He seemed like he didn't want anyone in the castle,and was guarding it with his life. But then,to my surprise,the two guards retreated their spears.

"You two are...elementals?" The guard asked us.

"Yeah. Can we go talk to the lady?" I asked him,covering up my marking once again.

"What do you need to talk to her for? For your information,she's not an elemental." The guard asked us, with a confused look in his place.

"But there were reports of a random flood in here,right? That means we're in the right place!" Flynn yelled at the guard. This guy...really liked yelling at people he's meeting for the first time.

"I mean,if you believe that,go ahead. Try asking her. You'll be disappointed." The guard said to us,standing aside,letting us in. That went smoother than I expected. I expected to have to sneak in spy style. But hey,being let in easily works too. We moved into the castle,making our way over to the throne room,where King Zarath was sitting on his tall,golden and red throne. He had a scruffy white beard,with a golden crown fitted with different jewels resting on his head. I kneeled before him,pulling Flynn down to do the same. The king rose from his seat,and cleared his throat.

"What business do you have with our family?!" He said to us in an incredibly loud voice,with a demanding tone. He was definitely intimidating,in both figure and voice. I gulped,before breathing and looking up to the king.

"We wish to speak with Lady Norial,your highness!" I said loudly,looking over to the young miss. She had beautiful long golden hair,and was wearing a red and gold dress. She seemed confused as to why two random teenagers wanted to speak to her,but based on her looks,she seemed to be the same age as Flynn and I.

"What business do you have with me?" Princess Norial asked us,resting her head on her hand. She looked at us with a condescending look on her face,as if she saw us as peasants,which kinda pissed me off. Flynn also noticed her look,and he was absolutely furious.

"We've received news that the Devillins from the south have broken free,and are working towards unsealing the demon king Krueger." I told the princess,still bowing my head. By that point,I was sweating bullets. I doubt she would believe me.

"Really now? Where have you heard that?"

"I didn't hear that they were going to unseal Krueger,but one of the devillins invaded my home,your highness. They attacked The Grythelean Kingdom."

"Hmm...even then,what does it have to do with me?"

"We're uniting all the 5 elementals from all the nations."

"And?"

"And we would like your help."

"Wait-did you think I was one of you?" The princess said,laughing. As for me,I was incredibly confused. She's not..an elemental…? Then what was the explanation of the flood in here? Isn't the Horian the water clan,if the elemental was here?

"You're pissing me off,you wench! I'll kill you and take your power right here!" Flynn yelled out,standing up and lighting up his palms. It seems like the guy has already lost it. Can't blame him,though. The way that Lady Norial speaks really pisses me off. Plus,I've caught on that Flynn has a short temper,so he's a guy you probably shouldn't anger. However, I knew that we would definitely get nothing out of threatening the young lady,either.

"Hey,calm down,man. I think she's telling the truth." I said to Flynn,standing up to him. I think she isn't lying about not having powers. Judging by someone like her,if she had powers, she would've probably already tried to use them against us.

"We understand. We'll be taking our leave now." I said,dragging Flynn out with me. It seems like we won't be getting anything to go back home with. As we walked out into the hallway, I kept thinking about what could've caused that mysterious flood. I then concluded that a mage may have accidentally used a spell or something like that,and the elemental was surely somewhere else.

Well,that was a lie.

As we walked through,a water ball was shot at our backs. I quickly reacted and blocked it with my sword,whereas Flynn swiped the air and created a heatwave,evaporating the water.

"You guys really thought the princess was your elemental,huh?"

I smiled.

Looks like we found our target.