My heart, My love, My dragon

Chapter 40

They arrived right on time to the dining hall. King Vulcan, Libelle, and the rest of their group were already happily chattering. The room instantly quieted as the Royal Guard entered and stared at everyone with their menacing scrutinizing deadly eyes. A few went pale while others trembled in fear. Anya noticed Luthor trying to make eye contact with her but she refused.

Another thing Anya took notice of was Libelle's growing bump. She would be about two months pregnant. Only three months left until the heir of the Kingdom is born.

"A bit late, aren't we?" King Vulcan said calmly. "Any explanation, Anastasia?"

Anya blinked at him. As the leader of the Royal Guard, it was her duty to offer explanations in their defense. "You told us to be down here by seven a.m. and if were to look at the clock...The time is 6:57. So I am not sure what you are trying to say, my King."

He ground his teeth together and motioned for them to take their place on the other side of the dining table to eat. The notion reminded Anya of Oliver and her stomach took a turn for worse. When they sat down they couldn't help but smirk at everyone's shaky voices.

When the food finally came Anya latched onto her fork harshly. Oliver was among those giving out the plates filled with food. She knew he purposely volunteered for this job just to see her or possibly speak to her. Anya cringed when he came and placed a plate directly in front of her. 

She felt him slip something into the hood of her uniform. Suddenly, her appetite disappeared and she poked the scrambled eggs in front of her. It was more than certain that Darrold cooked these. Discreetly, she pulled the note out. It read, "I'm sorry. Meet in the woods in an hour."

Anya hummed in annoyance, stuffing the note back into her pocket. She'd rather lose to Aria than go meet up with Oliver. She refused to suffer once more. Besides, why did he want to meet up? He had Freya and made himself more than clear the last time they saw each other. Anya felt embarrassed just thinking about the incident but couldn't help but feel her heart twinge.

Cairn tapped her shoulder twice to knock Anya back to her senses. He grabbed his piece of toast, slathered a bit of butter and piled the eggs on top. "Try it. You'll need to eat something if you want energy to stand guard."

Anya took a disinterested bite and the corner of her lips lifted slightly, "Bearable."

"There ya' go," he grinned and ruffled Anya's hair. 

"Hey!" Anya protested and fixed her hair. "This takes time to perfect."

Once the King and future Queen finished eating the Royal Guard had to drop everything because King Vulcan ordered them to train. 

"I still don't trust your work ethic in protecting us so I need at least a week's worth of training," he ordered. "Enough training for us to trust you in protecting us during Libelle's coronation."

Anya clacked her teeth together, "You need something to prove our strength and capability? Or have you forgotten that we were practically trained to be warriors."

"Maybe-"

"If you dare say tournament or fight to the death you'll be burying your own grave," Anya growled.

"How deadly can you be?" he sighed and tilted her head up by placing his fingers on her chin. 

"What do you think you're doing," Anya hissed and tried to tilt her head away but instead, the King pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened but there was a limit when he nipped her bottom lip. His lips were cold and unwelcoming. 

With a harsh shove, she pushed him away with ferocity. She wiped her lips with her sleeve repeatedly and felt like she was ready to kill the King at any second. "Perhaps, you've misunderstood me when I called you by your first name. It was meant to be a mockery."

His eyes narrowed and he quickly cleared his throat, "I have a proposal. If the Royal Guard can manage to summon the wind spirit then that'll be proof of your strength."

"The wind spirit?" Aria snorted. "Are you mad?"

"Bite your tongue Aria Slasher," King Vulcan cautioned. Aria bit her lip to prevent herself from shouting profanities at the King.

Anya rubbed her temple in deep concentration. The wind spirit was one not to be meddled with. He or she was as deadly as he was dangerous. No one knew what form the spirit took because no one has been able to successfully summon him or her. Anya declared, "Hears my proposal whether you like it or not. Each of us will summon the spirit pertaining to our house."

"Not a bad thought," he pondered. "But have you forgotten that the water and ice spirit that belongs to House Hydra is similar to the wind spirit."

Anya was stupid so she knew that the water spirit was vicious and horrifyingly cold and consuming. No one has successfully summoned the spirit without dying. "Do you agree or do you not agree?"

"I agree," he announced but a sly smile crept on his lips. "You have one day and one night"

***

"Are you mad?" Reed snapped. "The viper spirit is going to inject its venom in me before I open my lips to speak."

"We're going to try," Anya explained. "I believe that we can summon our spirits if we focus but we have to gain their favor."

They grumbled as they headed off to their quiet spots a few meters away from each other. Anya had chosen the perfect place to summon the spirits. There was a crystal blue lake in the clearing she chose. The elements could come in harmony here. 

Anya slowly wadded into the lake, her fingertips gently brushing the water. Carefully, she submerged herself. Her feet no longer touch the ground but paddled to keep her afloat. She opened her eyes and stared at the dark abyss below her compared to the baby blue in front of her.

The water flowing past her rung in her ears as fish swam happily around her. In her mind, she summoned, 'Water spirit, come to me in peace because I come in peace. Make yourself known to me."

She could feel the spirit struggling with her as she tried to morph the water. It came to the point where Anya felt like she was forcing the spirit out. A sudden wave of coldness struck Anya. She felt it sneak up in her body and heart. Her face scrunched up in agony as she clutched onto her chest. The water was icy cold. Her feet stopped paddling as she quickly swam to the surface. 

But there was no surface. No air or oxygen but an icy cap that covered the entire lake. The lake was frozen. Anya tried to bend the ice to her will so that a hole could open up for her but it was to no avail. The spirit was much more powerful than Anya and it was fighting against her. Finally, Anya screamed in the water. But it was a silent scream that only created vibrations.

From outside, she could hear Reed's shouts but no because of the frozen lake and Anya but because of an enormous tornado that was swirling around and swept them in its eye. The ice cap was clear, allowing Anya to see perfectly as Aria covered her ears and screamed. It was clear that the wind spirit was going against her as the water spirit was to Anya. 

"ARIA," Reed shouted from within the tornado. "Bend the wind to your will so that it can disperse!"

"It's not working!" Aria frantically cried. "It's fighting me!"

"I'll try something," Chris yelled. Anya couldn't see their bodies but only their shadows that were going around in circles from within the tornado. 

"NO," Alder shouted back. "You'll make this a burning inferno."

"Cairn, turn the wind into metal," Sierra ordered and she flung herself out of the tornado. It didn't work so much because the tornado quickly sucked her back in. "You can control it once it's metal!"

Cairn's forceful shouts were heard as he struggled to convert wind into heavy metal. Anya soon realized she was choking on water. The spirit was sucking the oxygen out of the water intentionally. Anya quickly swam to the edge of the water where she first entered the lake and felt for the ice cap. She soon began to pound on it repeatedly, even when the water around turned red from the blood coming from her fist. 

She heard that the turmoil outside had dissipated. Cairn had managed to turn the wind into metal. Everyone fell to the ground panting heavily.

"Where's Anya?"

At last, Anya broke a hole through the ice and her hand came up shivering. Her eyelids kept fluttering as she felt the water invade her lungs but she was determined to live. Coughing uncontrollably, she hauled herself out of the water. 

"ANYA," Levinia screamed as she caught sight of her body emerging from the water. Weakly, Anya trembled as she was sprawled on the ice. Her cheek felt frozen as it was pressed against the ice. Anya felt like she was coughing up gallons of water. She could see her foggy breaths in these low temperatures. 

She could feel Levinia and Cairn approaching but held her hand out, "Don't. The ice will break."

Anya stood up when she felt the ice cracking a bit. The dirt was only a few meters away so Anya jumped. She successfully made it as the dirt invaded her nails. Anya's vision was a bit blurry but she could see Reed running up to them with Aria in his arms. She had a gash in her cheek but was knocked unconscious. 

"There's ice all over you," Aeson murmured as he reached to touch her arm. He immediately flinched and jumped back. The tip of his finger was iced. "Ice burns too."

There was a light coating of ice on Anya's arms and cheeks. Cairn held up two fingers in front of her, "How many fingers do you see?"

"I think.." Anya gasped. "I think we need help."

***