Daughter of the Sky, Son of the Earth

II.

Fire

I woke up a couple of hours after falling asleep. Andrew's arm was wrapped securely around my waist as he slept with a look on his face that was like that of a child. I couldn't help but smile as I saw his face under the light of the moon and I felt something tug at my heart. It was like a hope of some sort. A vision of what the future could be.

In it, I saw myself wrapped in Andrew's embrace just like this while we slept peacefully. Our pet would be at the end of our bed as well and in the other room of our house would be our small son or daughter sleeping at ease.

Realizing what I was thinking, I quickly stopped and a blush covered my cheeks. Aileen, it's way too soon to think about things like that, I thought to myself.

Andrew's soft snore brought me back to reality and I chuckled but quickly covered my mouth so that my laugh wouldn't wake him. Once I was sure he was still asleep, I took his arm and ignored the sparks between us as I gently pulled myself out of his embrace. 

It was much colder now and I shivered as I headed towards the kitchen since I knew sleep wasn't going to come back any time soon. My bare feet felt cold against the ground and I hurried my way towards the stove to turn it on and make myself some hot cocoa. Everything was better with hot cocoa, like Barbara used to say.

Thinking about her still made my heart clench and I couldn't help but feel guilty. Barbara was the closest thing I had to a family, more than Alex in some ways. Different ways. She was like the mother figure I never had and I always wanted to see her fulfilling her dream of marrying someone, of having a family of her own that would see me like their aunt or maybe even a cousin-aunt. But all that seemed so far away now. She was gone and so had her dreams.

I shook the negative thoughts out of my mind and focused on pouring the warm milk into the mug. A moment later, I headed over to the couch and I looked out the window. With the wave of my hand, I conjured up a small flame and lit up the candles on the coffee table. 

Then I looked out the window and my eyes were fixed on the moving lake that reflected the perfect image of the full moon over us. It was beautiful. I wished I knew how to draw or paint so that I could capture the moment. 

At the corner of the window, something caught my attention and I squinted my eyes to see a shimmering golden small bulb of light. I thought it was a firefly until the light didn't blink. Scrunching my eyebrows together, I realized it wasn't coming from outside, but from inside. 

Slowly, I turned around and my eyes widened as I saw Andrew's compass on the table glowing brightly. I had never seen it do that before and I didn't know what it meant. 

Getting to my feet, I headed towards the table and gently picked up the compass. It was heavier than I remembered. The glow seemed to intensify as soon as my fingers touched the metal object. Hesitantly, I opened the compass and I saw the arrow swirling from one side to the other as if finding the right direction.

As the arrow went back and forth, the picture on the top lid of the compass started to illuminate and create a picture of what it was trying to tell me. 

When the arrows stopped, the image became clearer until I was staring into a small building in a field. The image changed again and I saw the image of a young boy standing outside of the house, planting a plant on the ground. Then, it was as if he could feel my presence and his bright green eyes looked forward and it was like he could see me. 

A shudder ran down my spine and I rushed towards Andrew's room. This was the sign we had been waiting for. It was time for us to find the next Elemental. A boy. 

"Andrew, wake up," I said as I barged into the room and started nudging Andrew's still figure. 

He quickly opened his eyes and bolted from his bed until his eyes landed on me. "What's wrong?" He asked before his eyes traveled to the still glowing compass in my hand.

"Why is it like that?" He asked slowly and I shook my head. 

Andrew sat up and I got into bed with him. "I don't know. I found it like this and something inside of me pulled me to open it. The next thing I knew, I was pointed in a specific direction and I saw a boy. I think it's the next Elemental," I explained quickly as I handed him his compass.

His eyebrows furred together as he looked into the compass and then back at me. "But, it's not a boy. It's a girl," he said in confusion and I tilted my head sideways in confusion.

"What? No, I saw him. He was planting a plant outside of a small house," I said as I looked into the compass and saw that same image. 

Andrew shook his head and turned the compass towards me. "No, it's a girl with blue eyes. Don't you see her?"

My eyes widened and I shook my head as the boy's green eyes stared back at me. Was it possible for us to be seeing two things in the same place at the same time? I thought the compass was supposed to help us find the other Elementals, not confuse us. 

"But, we can't be both seeing two different things at the same time. Is that possible?" I asked as I turned to him. 

Andrew shrugged and sighed. "I don't know. And I think it's too early to find out. We're not going anywhere and the compass isn't going to disappear from now till the morning. Let's get some sleep. We'll fill in Alex during breakfast and we'll ask her what she sees."

I sighed and nodded my head as he set the compass down and placed his arms around me. "What were you doing awake at this hour? Did I wake you?" He asked softly in the darkness. 

I chuckled and shook my head. "No, I just felt... restless. I needed to clear my mind."

Andrew nodded his head and let out a deep breath. "Yeah, I have felt that feeling before. But surprisingly, I'm feeling very calm right now, all things considered," he said with a chuckle.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I couldn't get the image of the compass out of my head. Andrew was right, there was no use thinking about that right now. 

...

I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until Alex came barging in with an annoyed look on her face. "Did you guys leave candles lit on at night?" She asked and my eyes bolted open.

I looked at Alex with a sheepish look on my face and nodded my head. "Sorry, I forgot to turn the off a couple of hours ago," I said and I noticed light streaming from outside.

I had slept more than I intended.

Andrew groaned next to me and I rolled my eyes as I got out of bed and followed Alex towards the kitchenette. 

"I'm sorry I forgot," I said as I placed my fingers over the flame and turned them off. 

Alex didn't say anything as she worked on making breakfast. "You and Andrew seem to be getting closer," she commented with a smile.

I blushed and nodded my head. "I like being with him. He makes me feel... at peace. It just feels right. And we got to know each other better last night," I said with a wide smile and Alex raised an eyebrow. "Not in that way!" I quickly corrected and she chuckled and nodded her head. 

"Alright, I didn't say anything. I just think you should go on a date first. I think you're moving too fast," she said more seriously now. 

I chuckled and shook my head. "I think considering the kind of life we have, a date isn't possible. It's too dangerous."

Alex pursed her lips and didn't respond. Andrew came in a moment later, his compass was in his hand and he was eyeing it thoroughly. 

"Alex, can you tell me what you see here?" He asked as he walked towards Alex.

Our friend looked at him with confusion as she looked into the compass with a skeptical look on her face. "I'm supposed to be seeing something in particular?" She asked slowly.

Andrew shook his head, "no. Just, what do you see?"

Alex sighed and looked at the compass. "I see a boy standing by a barn. He's just sitting there. Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

Andrew's body stiffened and he turned to me. I shrugged and shook my head, "I don't know why you're seeing something different."

Alex raised an eyebrow and looked at us, "hold on. What do you see?"

"A girl, a blonde girl walking into a building. A school maybe because it looked like she was wearing a uniform," he said thoughtfully. 

Alex looked at me and grabbed the compass from Andrew before heading my way. She handed me the compass and looked at it once it was in my hands. "Oh my, it changed. I can see what Andrew sees. What do you see?" She asked me and I opened my mouth to respond but I could still see the boy from the night before. 

"It hasn't changed. I still see the boy," I said with a shrug.

Alex pursed her lips and muttered, "interesting." Before getting to her feet and returning to finishing breakfast.

No one said anything until we were all at the table eating and that's when Alex broke the silence. "I think this is some sort of sign."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "A sign for what?"

"I think you two are meant to go different ways. If you two are seeing different things in the compass then that means something. Both of these Elementals are about to go through their transition and they'll need you," Alex suggested.

Andrew and I looked at each other in confusion and I shook my head. "No, but Barbara said that we needed to stick together."

Alex sighed, "I don't think Barbara knew everything that was going to happen in the future."

"Let's just hold on. We can't be actually considering that. We can go help one of the first and then the other, there's no rush," Andrew said slowly.

"There is a rush. As soon as they transform, they will be on the monsters' radar from kilometers away. We need to prevent that. I think Alex is right. There is a reason why we're both seeing different things," I said as I turned to look at him.

Andrew pursed his lips together and shook his head. "But there's only one compass. How would the other know where to go if one of us doesn't have the other."

And it a blink of an eye, it was as if the compass answered Andrew's question. On the table where there had been only one compass were now two shining brightly. "I think that answers your question," Alex said slowly as she looked at the objects with wide eyes. 

My eyes met Andrew's as we both realized what this meant. Not only did we have to leave as soon as possible, but we also had to go on separate paths. We wouldn't be able to protect the other and who knew when or where we were going to see each other again. 

All of this was happening too fast.