Episode 5 + 1 - Lost Course
1091 Words
Proof I was Elemento.
Proof the land claimed me.
Gone.
Now only bare skin.
My heart hammered against my ribs. Too loud. Too fast. Like it was trying to break out and run.
I stared at the mirror, at the absence where my storm sigil used to burn. Where the mark of the Elemento had lived since I was seven.
Nothing. Just pale skin. Just a boy.
A cold sweat broke across my back.
Then her reflection appeared behind mine.
Ayla’s mother. No knock. No warning. Just there, leaning against the wall like she’d been standing there for hours. Like she’d been watching.
I swerved back. My hand slammed to my bare shoulder. Too late. She’d already seen.
The empty place. The proof that I was nothing now.
"It is as I feared," she said. Voice low. Quiet.
That quiet was worse than shouting. Worse than yelling. It meant she’d already decided.
I forced my chin up. Tried for brave. Tried for the prince I used to be. The Elemento who never flinched. Who never ran.
"I can fix this," I said. The words came out rough, scraped. "Give me time."
The words tasted like ash even to me. Hollow. Because I didn’t believe them.
"Time I cannot give." Her eyes weren’t cruel. They were worse. Certain. Unmoving. Final.
"If the imperial family declares the heir of King Asher missing, there will be no corner of this hallowed realm left to hide you. Not in the forest. Not in the mountains. Not even here. You have to go."
Go.
The word hit harder than any fireball I’d ever thrown. It knocked the air out of me.
All my life I'd made enemies with my reputation. Elemento. Arrogant. Untouchable. The storm prince. The one who didn’t need anyone.
If I returned home powerless... they would tear me apart. Ralph would smile. Icelynn would clap. My father would look at me like I was a stranger.
I swallowed. Fear prickled down my spine for the first time in years. Cold fingers.
"It’s not just power failure," I said. My voice cracked. "It’s gone. Even my sigil. How am I going to look them in the eye? How am I supposed to stand in court? It’s only a matter of time before they find out. What happens to me then?"
Unanswered questions fed the anger in my chest until it burned. Until it hurt.
"I’m supposed to be Elemento," I said. "That’s all I am. Without it, what am I? What’s left?"
"They are bound to know," she said calmly. Too calm. Like she’d already mourned me. "You have to go. Tonight."
Impatience snapped what was left of my control.
"Your daughter did this to me!" The accusation tore out of me. Ugly. Desperate. Childish.
She moved then. Slow. Deliberate. Her gaze was disturbing. Mysterious. Ancient, like she’d seen kingdoms rise and fall and didn’t care about either.
"No," she said. "You did. You, ever grumpy, proud and nonchalant Elemento. You did this to yourself. Look into the mirror."
My jaw clenched. But I listened. I turned.
The man in the glass was me. Bare chest. Arms folded. Expression straight-faced. Waiting.
Nonchalant in a way I’d never been before. No storm behind the eyes. No lightning under the skin. No wind circling my wrists. Just... me.
Empty.
"Who do you see?" she asked.
Truth scraped my throat raw.
"Someone else," I answered.
We stared at the reflection together. Two versions of me. One with power. One without. One who commanded the sky. One who couldn’t.
"Why do you think that is?" she pressed.
I thought too fast. Panic made me stupid.
"Because I tried to break the law of the land by cheating nature? Because I tried to save her?"
She shook her head. The mirror-me shook with her.
"You are still blind to the bigger picture," she said. "Even nature has a habit of respecting the Elementos before you. They earned it. They bled for it. They served it. You... you took it for granted. You wore it like a crown and never asked what it cost. You’re a lost course. Find yourself. Only then can you acquire restoration. But until then, leave my place tonight. The rain will cease to fall in two minutes."
She left. No pause. No doubt. No looking back.
The door clicked shut behind her and the room felt ten times colder. Ten times smaller.
I stood there, breathing hard, staring at my bare chest in the glass.
Two minutes.
I counted them.
60. 59. 58...
The rain hammered the roof. Angry.
30. 29. 28...
My hands shook.
10. 9. 8...
Silence.
Exact. Like she commanded the sky. Like she spoke and the clouds listened.
Amused. Terrified. Both at once.
I pulled my clothes on with shaking fingers, throat tight. Every movement felt heavier. Slower. Human.
I took the door. Stepped into mud and night, slipping through the forest.
Each step sank.
Each step reminded me. No wind to lift me.
Just weight. Just human. Just weak.
The forest was too quiet without the rain. The trees dripped. Something moved and I froze, heart in my throat.
I had nothing but my hands and my fear.
Above, wings cut the dark. Marvu. Heavy, steady beats that shook loose water from the leaves.
Since I couldn't fly anymore, I needed help. Desperate, I called, "Marvu! Little help here!"
My voice cracked. It echoed off wet trees and came back smaller. Pathetic.
He passed overhead. Didn't look down.
A shadow against the stars, and then gone.
Like my situation had nothing to do with him.
Like I wasn’t worth the effort anymore. Like I was just another human to him now.
"Stupid dragon," I muttered, grumpy as ever. The old insult felt familiar on my tongue. It was the only thing that still fit.
Well. He wouldn't let Ayla ride him. What chance did I have?
But something was strange about the dragon.
About Ayla.
I felt it like a tether pulled tight between my ribs and her. Every time she laughed, it pulled. Every time she was in danger, it burned. Every time she looked at me, it tightened.
About her mother, her scope of knowledge. The way she knew the rain would stop. The way she spoke like time was nothing to her. The way she looked at me like she knew what I was supposed to become.
And something was stranger about me.
A vibe. Low. Under my skin.
Like we were meant for a higher purpose.
- Writer
