The princess and the hunter

1.

POV: ELAINE

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I once loved the sun that always shined down upon Lyle. I used to be thankful for the burning fire against my bedroom window. I believed it was also mine, somehow. Now, every time it wakes me up, I lose my temper. I never get to sleep long, no one ever gets to sleep long in Lyle. It's all because of our damned sun. I made it bearable by making at least some kind of curtain, but it wakes me up nonetheless. My bare feet hit the stone floor under me and I have to arch my back once before standing up. Today is another, ever so normal day for me. My brothers are nowhere to be found, I don't even know if they're alive, and my father is probably out in the palace, hiding from me. He rather does not see me when a new day begins. I managed to keep the servants away from my door, promising them a day off would do them good. It's what the people deserve. I don't know if my father let them go, though. He's a king like no other, and he doesn't have my mother to tell him what to do anymore. I quickly get into the dress that has been waiting for me on the chair and style my hair like I always have to. Stupid rules. 19 years and I still have no say in anything. Not even now that I'm about to become queen. And, for those I talk to right now, with 'quickly' I mean at least half an hour. 

The day will probably be like every other day. I get myself some breakfast from the kitchen, eat it while walking to the garden, take my morning stroll through the ever lasting green gardens, get into my training suit, train, eat dinner and go to bed. I would understand if you thought you were going to read about someone interesting, but there really isn't much interesting about me. The only thing everyone is interested in is my ability. You see, Lyle is the home of flamers. They control fire like no others and it can even come out of their mouths if they train hard. Yet all my hands and mind can do, is break things. From glasses to bones, I can destroy it if I want to. Well, if I could control it. I think that if I was born a breaker in Turi, home of the breakers, I would be very talented in controlling this ability. Now every time I try to raise my hand, everything around me breaks. That's not much of a problem, right? I bet that that's what you're thinking right now. It would not have been if we weren't at war with Turi. I've got powers of the enemy in my hands. I do what our enemies do. My father hates me for it, he doesn't even mind telling me how I was able to be born a breaker when I come from a flamer family. All I know is that every time I look down at my hands, I can't help but get angry at myself. I've got weapons hanging right there. 

I will never learn to control fire like my brothers did. I will never get to make my father proud, and I never got to make my mother proud. My stomach turns when I look up and see my father walk straight towards me. My eyes dart through the room as I walk on, not wanting to meet his eyes. Maybe he has to go somewhere, maybe he's not looking for me. "Elaine." I have just begun telling you about myself and I already got into trouble, without even knowing why. "You're late today." "Sun didn't wake me up early enough, father." I bow down to him. "We start training a little later today, my dear. Your aunt has arrived and I cannot let her down this time." My dear. As if that truly means something. "Can't I start without you? I'm pretty familiar with the attributes." I raise my eyebrows in question, awaiting his answer. I have a feeling a 'no' will come out of his mouth, but when his head nods, I have nothing else to do but smile. "Basics the first half hour, I'll be there when you start the rest." Basics. Something I'm getting better at, but will never control if I do not get proper training. I'm getting taught how to control breaking abilities from people that only know how to control fire. I learn what they learn, but it has a different effect on what comes out of me. I don't shoot fire towards targets, I break them in tiny little pieces. I don't sent flames into the air, I sent a shock painful enough to kill a thousand men. 

Time goes by so slow when you live inside of walls that are not supposed to protect you from the outside world, but protect the outside world from you. My eyes have to at least look at the clocks every five minutes to see if an hour has already passed by. My legs walk fast, faster than I want them to. I don't know why I'm so on edge today, but maybe it's because somebody is suddenly looking into my life. Not that I don't like you being here, trust me, it's nice to have someone. My legs only seem to stop when the gates start opening. I freeze in my spot, realizing my aunt is already somewhere in the palace. We never get any guests, and so I wait in front of the gates, my father's -and soon mine- thrown right behind me. I can't run fast enough when I see three familiar faces. They're filled with scars and blood, but I could recognize them just by the way they walk in. My brothers. "Elaine!" "Arlon!" I don't hesitate jumping into my oldest brother's arms. He reeks of sweat, blood and burned steel, but all I smell is my brother. I hug my twin brothers at the same time. We always hug that way. Dongchul's grip is strong, while Feran's grip is soft. "What are you guys doing here?" I can't believe you came by the moment all of this was about to happen. Do you believe in destiny, reader?

"The general send us home for a few days. I think you can see why." Arlon smiles at me as he hints towards their injuries. "Are you guys okay? Did it go alright? How is it over there?" There. Zagoroth. Every land calls Zagoroth the valley of death. I wanted to fight there when I was a kid. I wanted to be there for my country. Now I don't believe in war anymore. It will not bring us anywhere. It never will. It is useless yet it has been going on for the past year and a half. Zagoroth is also the home of most of our other enemies. The enemies of everyone. But that's information for another day, I promise you. "It's hell out there. I lost Siara today." Dongchul sighs out. Siara was Dongchul's Pesaré. It's a blue horse-like creature with peacock feathers for a tail. I still wonder how they were ever able to start existing, but I'm happy they did. I visit the Pesaré valley at least twice a week. Just to see them enjoying their very own valley. "I'm so sorry.." "I told the general I would never put Siara in such a situation like that but.. he just wouldn't have it.." They all seem to despise their general, even though they are so keen on saying such good things about him. "Alright, I gotta get out of this now. Everything hurts." Feran helps his brother towards his bedroom as Arlon stays with me, his eyes ever so bright. "I was just about to start training." "How's it going?" He doesn't hesitate walking with me. I chuckle. "Well.. ah.. nothing's changed. I'm doing the best I can but I just can't seem to control these bad boys." I put my hands up and smile at him.

He laughs. "You'll be fine, one day. I'm sure of it." Even when I walk down the stairs towards the underground hallway, he follows me. "Don't you want to rest, Lo?" "I'm doing just fine. I want to help you." "I don't think you're body is waiting for you to get destroyed again. You just got back." "My body is fine with that, Elle." He's the only one who ever calls me that. My other brothers do it occasionally, but not when father is around. Arlon does. The hallway is long, I always get eager when I walk through it. It brings me, with one stairs up, into the training era. I step into the mud and want to jump of happiness when I see there's no one else training today. The era is like a big, glass dome. The glass is too thick to break, though. Trust me, I've tried. "At least change into your training suit, then. I don't want to fight someone who has armor for days." I stick my tongue out at him before disappearing into the changing room. Even this is not easy to get into. My father likes to give our designers a challenge, and it shows. I really like their designs, though. I hope father pays them enough for it, cause every single piece they make is a masterpiece for itself. I put my hair up in a bun, two strands of hair not wanting to go with the flow. After ten minutes of trying, I decide it's time to let it go and keep it this way. f**k it, Arlon would've said. I hate to see him waiting when I come out again. "I just got back from war and even now, I am quicker than you." "Alright, bad boy, don't flatter yourself too much." I grab the box with the basics. I HATE doing the basics, but I always do what father asks from me.

"You have to remember you're going to fight a threat to humanity." "You're no threat to humanity, Elle. Stop saying that." "Ask father to stop saying that then, too." I see the hurt in his eyes when I say that. "Elle.." "I know. Sorry." I put the cups down into the mud, filling them with water one by one. "Basics first." I roll my eyes at my brother, who chuckles back. "Basics will one day be very helpful to you, Elle. Trust me." "What were your basics?" I ask him as I sit down in the mud and raise my hands. I rarely use my mind when training. Mind control is much more powerful than hands and I cannot say I trust my own mind with that. I'd kill someone if I ever tried to use my mind abilities. Two cups go up first. Easy. "Firing at targets." I drop my jaw at the words. "I rarely get to use targets. Father finds it way too dangerous. Especially when the kids are training, too." "It isn't much fun, anyways." Arlon sits down in front of me, the cups right between us. I now have four up in the air, the water staying in. "Looks like you're getting pretty good at it." Two more go up, and the six cups float around in the air like no effort is being made. Too bad to say that I'm having a hard time already. "Two more." Arlon motivates me to raise them up, the first one now bursting. Water splatters around us, the plastic cup now down on the ground into five or six pieces. "Ah, there goes one." I can see the smirk on Arlon's face.

I smirk now, too. I raise my pinky, one of the cups flying towards Arlon, hitting him in the face. Water now falls all over him and I can't help but laugh as I keep the other cups up. "You just had to do that." "You just had to tease me." I let the cups float around in a circle, but Arlon stops me. "Let's just go for it. Chanwoo won't be here for another while, right?" Arlon barely calls him 'father'. I don't think he's very proud of king Chanwoo being our father. I couldn't agree with him more. "Fine. But if I beat you, don't start crying." We both stand up, Arlon immediately putting himself into a defensive pose. "Show me what you can do, then." "Fine." I raise my hands up, taking control of his arm. He gasps. "Alright, that hurts." "Are we done already?" I curl my fingers up, his arm now slowly turning. "Definitely not." He moves his lose arm towards his left, fire spurting out of it. I don't know how he does it, but when the fire gets connected to his left hands, it hurts me. I flinch, losing control and letting go of his arm. "Oh come on, you could've guessed that!" "No one taught me what flamers can do, Arlon! I have no idea what tricks you'll pull on me!" A fire blast comes towards me and I jump backwards to avoid it. "Have you ever fought someone as training?" I take control of his legs this time, thinking it's a good way to stop him from getting to me. "I've fought father once, but it didn't last long." "It or he?" He makes me laugh, giving him the opportunity to get me on my back. I cough at the pain.

"Arlon?!" "Concentrate!" I get up as quick as I can, dodging the next flame that comes towards me. "I can't do much, Arlon, please go easy on me!" I run to the right and raise my hand, taking him with me. He chuckles as he feels himself slide over the mud, almost flying. "This is cool!" I keep him up in the air, his feet now off the ground. "But what will you do now?" "You know, I'm good with a sword. I could just strike you down right now." "But where's your sword, tough girl?" I curl my fingers again, not expecting what pain it'd bring him. He arch his back, a loud scream coming out of him. I gasp, and as if he was already watching, my father barges in. "Elaine! Are you mad?!" I look back, my hand flying down, but Arlon not coming with it. "Let him go!" Father yells at me, and when I look up, I see him still up in the air. "I-I don't know how! It was my hands! I thought-" "Your mind, Elaine! Let him go!" My heart starts racing as I try to get Arlon back on the ground. He's awfully silent, his face facing the top of the dome. "Please! I don't know h-" I feel something. Something in my mind. Arlon falls the moment I feel the connection. It's a link with his body. He coughs, black cracks now formed on the right side of his neck. My father takes his oldest son's head inside of his hands and looks at him. "Are you alright? Arlon? Can you hear me?" Arlon nods, despite looking like he almost died. Which maybe really happened. My father's eyes look up at me now. f**k. 

"What have you done?"