Fate, My Elementals & I (Breaking Borders)

Familial Bonds

*** Fero's Pov ***

"Way to go everyone! I am proud of your overall progress. I know that we never expected to be fighting here, in the mortal realm. I believe it is time for another history lesson. Sit down. For you to understand why this is such an important decision and why it can also be a heavy burden.

Over the years, what we have accomplished here, seemed like a dream to those who have been by my side in the beginning. I didn't believe in much when you all first met me. I was only ever driven by my father's last orders to me. The growth in myself and the hope I gained when I saw the queen for the first time, you all shared in it with me.

To the ones who came to us through her call. I know that it was confusing at first, but you stepped up. You have accepted our history and customs, become a part of our community, and now view it as yours as well. Never in the history of Fatum have we had this many of us preparing for a battle. A battle against those who carry cores.

My father had to fight once, with his soliders. Mortals believed it was a natural disaster in the midst of their war near our forest. This did not deter them. They had ventured to our territory to gather wood for their boats in that era. Our trees have been there since the beginning of time. They were a part of us. Taking an axe to one of them was like cutting down our ancestors. My father believed that they would never change their course unless they knew our kingdom was properly protected.

There have always been soliders amongst our ranks. It did not matter what type of Fatum you were. Had you shown proficiency during training, you were allowed to choose. The day my father saw that the mortals would not stand down, he took his thousand strong and met them head on.

He told me that they were not allowed to use their cores. Their specialties. It would have only intrigued mortals more. Encourage tales about our forests, creating curious thoughts and making things harder for our people to continue living in peace. He never felt good about what happened that day. His soldiers had training prior to maturity and afterwards, most of the mortals that day were barely above twenty years old.

I saw how it affected him. As any threat to our kind surfaced, he attempted to use his element first. His queen saw the strain it had on him and her people. The blood that stained our borders. It solidified her choice to take us to our own realm. Somewhere we can be ourselves without the stress of a mortal stumbling upon us or hurting our home. So, in turn, I believe we owe her to protect that legacy.

Please know, I have lived among mortals for five generations. I do not hold them as a collective. I believe that many of them are worthy of happy lives. I know that some of them were chosen by Fate for some of us. It is said once your gene is active, you are Fatum. It does not mean, I do not respect the part of you that came from your mortal breeder or sire. I just know we do not belong here.

We, like many others, have been exiled from the realm Fate gave us through our past ruler. Do you believe it fair or just that, because we are here, together and free, that we should be the only ones to get home safely? If so, then you are free to leave. No one would think less of you. Your Queen has asked for volunteers from all who believe we should, as a unit, go home together.

Our purpose here today, yesterday and tomorrow is to liberate our brother and sisters from traitors. Those who have shut us out from our promised home. Desecrated the memory of the royal who cared about preserving our right to live as ourselves. We have called upon you to fight others that not only accept darkness into their cores, but also oppress those that do not wish it. Fed on them. If any of you were held captive, I, for one, would lead the charge to find you.

Eden may be where our trees are. Eden is the end goal. But! Eden is only a place without us to fill it. Home is where the heart is. Our Queen's heart is with us. All of us. Not just who she has met, but of every single Fatum who chooses light. We are not cowards. We will not abandon them to hopelessness. We are going to fight for them! Whose with me?!" I asked.

The cheers of every Fatum in front of me could be heard. They all hollered, clapped and screamed about how devoted they were to the cause. Before Petrova, I would have advised against putting our people in danger. Even consider those who were in captivity as lost causes. Now I know for sure, this is a battle worth fighting.

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"Wait! Fero, hold up! Please!" the annoying blazer chased after me, screaming to get my attention. I entered the gym, as I knew it would be empty at this point, especially as we had all been training on fighting techniques all morning. Almost everyone should be headed towards the dining building.

"What do you want?" I grumbled, once we were inside. Being seen with her wasn't exactly an issue for me, but she was naturally loud and said upsetting stupid things in general. After spending an hour under water, with a bamboo straw to breathe through, Red accepted to allow me to access her feelings for her. It was completed and she understood whatever unhealthy attachment she had to that i***t Elemental, was misplaced, due to her having a lack of romantic connection for so long. Now, here she is in my face and I was unsure as to why.

"The thing is, I want to be on your team in the rescue," I believe she was requesting. Sigh... Girl needs to learn that tone matters....

"Red, no offense to your skills, but no," I answered, folding my arms in front of my broad chest.

"Fero, please.... Jazz is with you. We have never not been each other's back up before. I am not trying to undermine your choices or anything. It's just.... Jazz wants to be a part of this so badly in hopes of saving our missing friends. I know Jazz, he would deviate from the plan if it meant doing a prolonged search for one of them, without any proof that they might be there," Red explained.

"Thank you for the heads up. My answer is still no. You cannot be on my team. I have blazers I can trust and have fought with before. All this that you see protected around you was hard won. I will not place that in danger for anyone. Anything else?" I asked.

"You helped me. You could trust me," Red tried to convince me, "I want to help my friends too. Please Fero, let me help. I have more experience than most here, fighting the darklings. I shouldn't sit on the sidelines, comfy here, when I should be out there helping bring them to safety. You know?"

"Understanding your words is one thing. Believing your words not so much. I know they were your comrades, but I sense the hopeless feelings you have towards them. You need something to occupy you, so I am putting you on the next boat, headed towards the little island where you have to help set up our make-shift medical area. There will be a lot of victims who will need medical assistance. You can cauterize wounds on the day," I instructed.

"But...." she stopped her protest when I showed her my palm and spoke above her, "I will have Jazz placed on the same exercise as you. Like you said, you all do have experience with them. The reason for them being sent to a separate island is to make sure none of the turned enters the Plaine. There is no clear way to recognise them, but, you can be our extra pair of eyes. Are you sure of your ability to keep our healers protected from any darkling?"

"Okay, sure thank you....." Red said with her head bowed, then asked, "Is there a possibility that I could chat with the Queen?"

"Why?" I inquired curiously.

"I wanted to apologize for my behaviour...." she responded, attempting to sound contrite. How she thought she could pull one over on me. I found it hilarious.

"You want to ask for permission to join the rescue....... Evony would never go against my decision. Do not waste your time," I gruffly replied. Almost laughing at the surprised look on her face. Silly child, I thought as I walked away.

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Sounds of chatter could be heard as I approached the harbor. Cannon had taken over the supply duties since he could no longer go back to his life. I know he just wants to stay busy, but he has spoiled the seedlings by getting them threats and delights. Also, sneaking the contraband to them before I could check the inventory.

"How is it? Did we get a full order?" I asked, coming up from behind him.

"Yeah. So far everything is accounted for. All orders were fulfilled. You don't need to check on me, you know?" he replied, still looking at the list.

"I need to speak to you about something, actually," I said. I had been putting this talk off for quite sometime. I kept convincing myself things would get quiet and we wouldn't be busy. However, this was me stalling. Feeling others' emotions is a blessing and a curse. I could feel, every time he got news of his father's company, the despair. I even overheard him speaking to Bren, of how he's so powerful and was doomed to watch all his parents leave this earth. My information could be a source of comfort for him.

"Sure, what's up?" he looked at me with the eyes of the Water Elemental. His biological father's eyes are blue, but not like that. His had noticeable ice particles, like a cracked frozen lake surface. Slightly eerie for someone to look directly at, especially when that person is unaware of the meaning and the power behind them.

"When you're finished go to Evy's office, we'll meet you there. Just have her call me, alright?" I chickened out at the last moment. His mouth formed a stern line, but he did not question me, just looked at me oddly and nodded.

Walking away, I looked back at him. I hope the can of worms I am about to open isn't messy.

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*** Setting Evony's Office Third Party Pov ***

Five minutes earlier, Fero, along with Lyon and Terre, walked into Evony's office and was greeted by Evony on Cannon's lap, making out, on her chair behind the desk.

Thanks to that awkward moment, they all found seats on the sofa and stayed quite silent, wishing the memory of the scene away. Evony blushed slightly at the thought of her escapades on the same piece of furniture, causing Fero to raise his head and look at her appalled.

The Queen, saw that her guardian registered where her thoughts had taken her to and blushed further. Clearing her throat, hoping to move the chat along, as she was just as clueless as well, "You called this meeting, Fero. Please proceed."

Fero seemed to have forgotten the particulars of his speech then. He had hoped he was wrong, but there was undeniable proof. Plus, he had raised her himself. He asked the twins how they'd felt, and they confirmed the familial bond as well. Knowing this could be a blow to Cannon, he hoped Evony would be able to help him see reason.

Sighing, Fero began his tale, "When I first made it to the mortal realm, it took me years to visit each gate. To find trails, evidence of any of the girls I had saved. There was chatter of a French farmer, who struck luck with his crops. Most people describe it as a miracle or magic. When I wanted to go visit, I had to hide from darklings. I didn't know what they were then. I did know I felt malice and hunger, and that I was their target. By the time I was able to visit there, the farmer's land had a rot and no one knew where the original family was. He left behind a daughter, with his wife. The child was definitely mortal. I was going to walk away, however, I knew there was a gate nearby.

The caves were hidden just like any other place that held entry to our realm. Except there were three children. Lyon and Terre and their sister. The mortal man that was their sire, wreaked fear when he was telling me about the seedling he had found and had the children with. I knew he was lying and his perverted obsession with her was not love. So I made him relieve the pain he had caused her and kept the children.

I grew them up. They were the first seedlings I was responsible for prior to Evony. Lyon stayed by my side. However, Terre and his sister branched off into the mortal realm, integrated into the law enforcement and the government for any information on infants found, or special phenomenons. To keep our secret. She was a spy. Brilliant and fierce. We had communication every week, until around fifty years ago."

At this time, Cannon knew where this was going, he knew his family's history. His face was a mask as usual, but what scared Fero was that he shut his emotions off as well, asking calmly, "Was Eau your sister's name?" to the twins. They nodded, looking at him, with clear hope that he would accept them as family. They missed their sister. They hated being called twins, because it reminded them that without her, they would never be a triplet again. It was as though a limb had been cut off.

"So Thing 1 and Thing 2, who I might have a crush on my Queen, are my great grand uncles?" he asked, unnervingly.

"In our defense, everyone who met Evony has a crush on her," Terre drawled, still enjoying the idea of riling an Elemental.

"Stop it," warned Lyon, noting the room became distinctly frosty, "We consider Evony as a sister, that is the truth. It was only for training we wished to incite anger. You lot were quite closed off. Able to take hits. However, our abilities are ruled by emotions. If you were so good at controlling them, to the point that they were non-existent, we had to push you. No?"

Eyes slit, fog still slightly being released from his pores, Cannon leaned his face into Evony's bosom, as she ran her fingers through his hair to calm him and tried to reign in the frantic anxiety he felt. He wasn't exactly unhappy at knowing that he had actual blood relatives. The other's never had a real family, but he. He had to say goodbye to his in the most permanent way. It was nice to know that, despite them being the obnoxious duo, they were kin.

Overcoming the thoughts that their sister had been r***d and forced to produce Carter and was mostly likely dead after giving birth to a shade, information they received after Can's last visit, had taken Lyon and Terre time. Then, when Fero approached them asking them if they sensed their sister's core in him, after having heard of his origins, they confirmed with him. Fero was their father, the one that cared for them all their lives. When he told them that Cannon was a family-oriented person and was struggling at the thought of his father's impending death, their nephew, they agreed to reveal their identities to him. In kind hopes that it would ease all their hearts.

Once Cannon had control over himself once more, he teased half-heartedly, "Am I supposed to change my address to you? Uncles?"

"No. We just wanted to tell you that you and your father have her mouth. Her strength and light. You may not know this, but the core in you, has the same essence as our sister," Lyon started to tease, but ended seriously.

"How can you tell?" Cannon seemed interested.

"She shared a womb with us," Terre replied shrugging, then continued,"We weren't too positive at first. You seemed so familiar and it made us curious. It was uncanny. Then we questioned ourselves constantly about the similar markers and ways. You and your sire resemble her a great deal. Our sister had barely matured when she could stop a typhoon. Power like that, according to Fero, only existed in ancient ones or Elementals. She was neither. However, I believe her core carried the potential. She passed this down to you. We believe."

Cannon shuddered at the thought of how many generations suffered at the hand of the Dark King to create him. Asking something that puzzled him, "If she was so powerful, how was she captured?"

"That we are unsure of. When she missed our weekly contact, I turned into a bird and flew to her last known location. She wasn't there, no signs of struggle. I assumed she was on a job. I waited, but she never returned. We searched high and low for her. Nymphs were deployed and searched the deepest depths for her. Nothing. Fero recalled Terre's home and kept us close ever since," Lyon interjected.

Evony realized that, though Cannon may not know it, he was shaking. So she dismissed them, "This is enough for today. You may chat some more tomorrow. I need my Lake now."

Fero and the Cannon's uncles bowed, leaving without questioning her.

"My Lake, what is it?" she asked as she held him tightly to her, once the door was closed.

"I promised Bren the ancient one, but if he is Zaef, he'll have to share. I want blood, Evony," he menacingly gritted out.

Evony was unsure of what to say to that, and only held him closer, in hopes to protect him from the his ominous thoughts.