Just as it was before Lior graduated. I will make both him and my father proud when the day of the tourney finally arrives.
They will see the royal team dominate, and they will see me at its helm when they do.
- Journal of Princess Mysti Tidal
Elementa
It wasn’t her fault. She knew it wasn’t her fault. Not entirely anyway. Yet, the unchanging theme of misfortune seemed to follow her as closely as her own shadow.
Jessa Hardu had never intended for Kaizo Blaze to take things so far in the courtyard. Just what the hell had gotten into that idiot?
I’m in love with you, damn it.
What a joke. No. Not a joke. Jokes are supposed to be funny. There was nothing funny about throwing those words around. Not to her.
Still, she felt immense guilt over the whole ordeal. As a last-year student this would be the last tourney Kaizo would be able to compete in before the New Jhori Junior Championships(NJJC). Now that Kaizo was disqualified from taking part, his chances of being selected to compete at the championships were drastically lessened.
Sure, she may have just ruined his life and kept him from being selected by a top-tier agency. That was one way of looking at it. But still, it wasn’t her fault.
All she wanted was to see a little spar between Kaizo and Prince Jraken Ferno. And thanks to the prince’s brother, Dravon, she didn’t really even get that. Though, kicking Kaizo’s fiery attack into the sky was enough for anyone to see that Jraken would make a worthwhile teammate.
A knock came from Jessa’s dorm room door. She hopped out of her blue egg chair and unlocked it for her cousin, Kolzer Diamond.
He came in and welcomed her with a big hug. As always, she instinctively flinched upon unexpected contact. She hated that her body did this. Probably why moms should hug their kids. She did manage to finish strong though, with a friendly pat on the back.
Jessa hopped back into the cushions of her blue egg chair. “Please, have a seat.”
Kolzer looked around and noticed there wasn’t another chair. He considered sitting on her bed. The blankets were all wadded up in a ball and shoved into a corner. The rest of it was covered in a pile of clothes. So, he sat cross legged on the floor.
“I want to start a team,” said Jessa. “For real this time. And I want you to be on it with me.”
Kolzer had heard this kind of talk all year, but nothing had come of it so far. Still, this was the first time she had brought up starting a team with him. He was flattered, so he played along like the good cousin he was. “A team with two Onyxians?”
“Exactly,” she replied. “I’m sick of hearing a decent team can’t have two.”
Kolzer rubbed his beard. “That’s all well and fine, but who do you have in mind for the other half of the team?”
A smile crept over Jessa’s face. This was the question she had been waiting for all along. “I share a class with a certain Pyran prince.”
“The new kid?” asked Kolzer. He tilted his bald head like a confused puppy. “I’ve heard some good things, but he’s a little green, don’t you think? I mean does he have any experience with fighting non-Pyran Elementi?”
“Who cares?” said Jessa. “Even if he just handled the Pyrans for us he’d be pulling his weight. He’s certainly been able to handle Kaizo on more than one occasion.” The guilt still turned her stomach to stone. Saying it out loud only made it worse. There goes my appetite for the day.
“So, he really did knock him out with one kick?” asked Kolzer.
“I saw it first-hand, well, I was there anyway. It all happened really fast.” Jessa admitted.
“If you think a royal like him would ever join a team with two unranked Onyxians you’re even crazier than I thought,” Kolzer said with an amused chuckle.
In theory, he was right. It was a long shot. Princes and princesses only teamed up with each other. They would team up with the children of elite houses only when they had to. So, to insinuate that Prince Jraken would join their rag tag little group was understandably a tough sell.
But she had seen it in his eyes. That same thing she saw in all the eyes of her admirers. That little twinkle of longing. Her instincts had taught her to recognize it. Her ambitions had taught her to capitalize on it. The guilt migrated from her stomach to her heart. She felt it grow heavy beneath her breast. Beating faster to compensate for the added weight.
But she had to take advantage of it. It was a talent to be utilized like any other ability she possessed. She remembered her mother telling her as much. It was one of the last things they talked about before Jessa came back for her second year at the academy.
“I used to be like you.” Her mother had told her after admiring the make-up she had applied. “I used to be beautiful. Make sure that you get more out of it than I did.”
Jessa, of course, replied by telling her mother that she was still very beautiful.
“No, not anymore. Not like you.” Her mother had retorted. “Yet another thing you took from me. Add it to the list.”
The guilt was now starting to give Jessa the quivers. She was going to have to cut this little conversation short. “I’ll handle Jraken,” she said as she shot up and opened the door for Kolzer. “You just keep up with your training. I’ll take care of everything else.”
“If you say so,” Kolzer said with a shrug.
Jessa closed the door behind him and clutched at her heart. It hurt. She shouldn’t have dwelled on those memories of her mother. Ruining Kaizo’s life was also still fresh in her mind. Worst of all were the plans she had for Jraken.
Would she really go through with it all over again? Use someone else’s feelings for her own personal gain? At least I’m giving them what they want. She told herself. Even if it is only temporary.
She looked up into the bright purple skies of Elementa out her open window. Onyxia loomed up above beyond puffy white clouds. The ugly little rust-stained ball was on course to eclipse a portion of the sun. That seemed to be all her homeworld was good for. Eclipsing any and all light from her life.
The only other moon that was visible from her dorm room window that afternoon was Luna. Its bright blue seas were still visible from the surface of Elementa. A tiny yellow dot reflected the sun off its waters in its southern hemisphere. It had crossed her mind to use her feminine wiles on some poor unsuspecting Lunanite with a decent cottage on some Eversummer island. The truth was that any moon that orbited Elementa would still be too close to Onyxia for her comfort. It would still be hanging above her. Reminding her of all the ghosts of the past that she so desperately wanted to forget.
Her destiny was in the stars. It had to be. Beyond Elementa and her moons were worlds upon worlds. Millions of places filled with trillions of people. And Onyxia wouldn’t be visible to the naked eye from a single one of them.
The more she thought about her future in the stars the more her sense of dread went away. Her heart and stomach lightened. Her breathing smoothed itself out. If she could just get away from Elementa. Then she could put all the pains of the past behind her. She could find a real home.
He wasn’t sure if it was the continuous invitations to join tourney teams, the girls who giggled at his every word, or the instructors who had suddenly been giving him nods of approval, but something told Prince Jraken Ferno that he was doing a terrible job at laying low.
The cafeteria table that had been vacant upon his arrival was now full of students from elite houses. More specifically, it was filled with elite students who were still filling out the rosters for their tournament teams.
Plenty of them made tempting offers, but he couldn’t seem to get his mind off the first girl he had been teamed up with during the game of baseknock. Jessa Hardu. The sound of her name was enough to send a wave of euphoria through him. That Onyxian goddess had put a spell on him.
Developing a crush was nothing new to Jraken. He had crushes on girls back on Pyra. But this was different. It was so fierce. His mind ran in a constant loop of what little time they had spent together. Of those emerald eyes. Her big curly hair. Her impossibly lustrous dimensions. Even now he was tempted to get up, march straight to her dorm room, and… and what?
Oddly enough, he was then approached by the other girl who he had been teamed up with on his first day. Princess Mystie Tidal. At her side were the members of the royal team. Except for his brother, Dravon, who was still recovering in the infirmary after being knocked out by Princess Marilyn. Out of respect for his reputation, Jraken had denied knowing what had happened in the woods. Simply stating that he found his brother after following the sounds of the explosions.
Stolen story; please report.
“Impressive performance with Kaizo Blaze earlier,” said Mystie. She wore loose blue and green garments and kept her long black hair in a similar braid to that of her father, King Davus.
Jraken was familiar with all the royal families. King Davus and Queen Marcella had four children. The oldest was their son, Prince Lior. Mysti was the middle sister of their three daughters. Nella had received sponsorship and become a Jhori agent the year before upon her graduation. The youngest sister, Luna, attended the academy as well and had a team of her own with their two cousins. All three sisters were considered top-tier Lunanite warriors, but Mystie was arguably to be the strongest of the three. She had inherited King Davus’s prowess and physique, along with his black hair.
“And then you bring Dravon back unconscious from a huge forest fire,” said Prince Grolo Stone. “Wish I could have seen you put that arrogant jerk in his place! Did you know he blamed us for his loss to Kaizo?”
Grolo wore a brown jacket and tight black shorts. His dark green hair was greased and slicked over to the right. He was only an average build for a male Onyxian, but his ranking was always in the single digits. As of the last tourney, he was now ranked number 6.
“We didn’t—" Jraken replied, but his response was completely ignored and interrupted by Mystie who was eyeing the other students at the table.
“Beat it,” she told them.
The students all gathered their food and scattered as fast as they could. Not only was she a last-year student, but she was also royalty. It didn’t matter how elite their family houses were. It was wise not to cross her.
Mystie, Grolo, and their less talkative teammate Prince Keegan Monsoon all sat down beside Jraken as soon as the other students had vacated.
Keegan wore mostly white clothes with a long green and black scarf wrapped around his neck. He kept his silver hair short like his sister, Princess Lissie. She was 19 years older than him and heir to the throne. His older brother Prince Kortimo was his senior by 9 years and proudly served as a captain in a prestigious agency. Being only a second-year student made Keegan the youngest member of the royal team. He was currently ranked right behind Grolo at number 7.
“Hear me out. I’m sure you saw your brother get his ass handed to him by Kaizo at the last tourney,” Mystie said as her bright blue eyes pierced right through him. “You on the other hand, didn’t appear to have any trouble with him this morning.”
“Neither did my brother. He could have hurled fire to ignite Kaizo’s attack right on top of him. He just chose not to because he didn’t want the blast to injure any bystanders.” Jraken tried to explain.
“Right,” Grolo said slowly. “You know, just because the Jhori preach about being humble, doesn’t mean we actually have to practice it. The top two teams from the next tourney get to travel to the capital and compete in the championships. It’s the only chance a firstborn royal like me is ever going to have at leaving Elementa.”
King Harley and Queen Fria Stone’s children are all deceased now. But their daughter, Princess Leyfra, begot one son before she too perished in the Elementi Civil War. Her son, Kios Stone was Grolo’s father. Even though he was second in line to inherit the throne, Grolo was still a firstborn heir. Which meant he would not be allowed to join the military or an agency after graduation.
“And the best chance for those of us not in line for a crown to get sponsors and become agents,” Mystie chimed in. Her brother, Lior, was next in line for the throne. Allowing her and her sisters to become agents. “As much as I hate to admit it, some of these other teams are looking like they could be rather good.”
“Join us, Jraken,” Grolo finally spit out. “We can’t have us royals being defeated by the common folk.”
Jraken thought about how upset Dravon would be if he replaced him on the royal team. He felt like he was already losing a lot of ground on trying to befriend his older brother as it was.
There was also his grandfather to consider. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to him before he was whisked away to the academy. But given their most recent conversation, he was certain that joining any team would be frowned upon. Competition would lead to temptation.
His mind then looped back to the Onyxian. Jessa Hardu. There was something about her. His heart raced at just the thought of her. What if she proposed membership to a team? Could he possibly turn her down?
He wasn’t sure. Turning down the royals, however, would be all too easy.
“I must respectfully decline,” he said to Mystie while bowing his head.
“You what?!” Mystie yelled as she slammed her hands on the table. Jraken’s lunch tray bounced, and his glass of water nearly tipped over. “Listen you little brat! No one says no to the royal team! We will represent the Elementi in the NJJC, and you will regret that you didn’t take us up on this offer!” As she got up to leave, she manipulated Jraken’s water into freezing so cold it cracked the glass that contained it.
Grolo and Keegan simply shook their heads and followed the angry ice princess out of the cafeteria.
Jraken hoped that turning down the royal team in the busy cafeteria would ward off any other invites. No one got up to rejoin his table after Mystie’s outburst, which he took to be a good sign.
“That was kind of you.”
That voice. Thought Jraken. Enough to make an angel jealous.
He turned around to see the one and only Jessa Hardu.
“Most people would jump at an opportunity like that,” she said as she took a seat beside him. “Joining the royal team would put you on the fast track to a single digit ranking.”
Jraken’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. He was still shell shocked that she was sitting right beside him. And rather close too. Had he ever been this close to a girl? Not one like this. He would have remembered feeling like this.
Say something. Anything!
“I’m not competing this year,” he told her. But why did he say it? Self-sabotage. That stupid part of himself that pounced on the opportunity of being righteous. Best to just get the disappointment out of the way. It wasn’t like he would ever have a shot in the abyss with a girl of her caliber anyway.
“That’s a shame,” said Jessa. She gave him her best pouty face. “I thought it’d be fun to team up with you again.”
Jraken’s mind erupted with a symphony of adulation and triumph. It was deafening. It was so deafening in fact that the righteous part of himself that had tried to take control of the situation earlier was completely drowned out.
“Okay.” Jraken barely even heard himself say it aloud over the chorus of celebration in his head.
“Really?!” asked Jessa.
Her smile was so bright. She looked so happy. Even if the voice of reason was to make its much-needed return, he would never have the strength to let her down. To deny the world her smile would be to deny music its very own rhythm. This new realm of bliss that he now found himself in would cease to exist without it.
“Yes,” he replied with more enthusiasm. “Let’s do it.”
He was eight years old again. On his mother’s royal starship. Prince Dravon Ferno was hiding in the same cargo hold as he had all those years ago.
“DRAVON!!”
His mother’s scream came from the med bay toward the back of the ship.
“PLEASE!!”
But he was frozen. His body refused to respond even a little. Panic set in.
It is just a dream. He thought to himself. He repeated it in his mind over and over again. It is just a dream. It didn’t matter. He remained paralyzed just as he had before.
Through his childhood these nightmares had terrified him to his core. The piss-stained evidence would have reached his bedroom ceiling had he not burned all his sheets to ash the morning after every one of his “incidents” had occurred.
Now, however, there was no fear at all. His tolerance of horrible and despairing scenes had grown over the countless years. Some nights he would have nightmares up to seven times. Making the sleep cycles feel like entire dozen-days had passed before it was time for waking.
It gave Dravon an odd sense that he was far older than his peers. While they went soundly to sleep every night, he was spending what seemed to him entire days in search of his doomed mother.
Which is why at this point he felt only frustration at not being able to get up and help her. It was downright infuriating.
“DRAVON!!” she shouted. Followed by screams of anguish. She needed him. She would die if he didn’t move. But his body still denied his will.
He focused on his pointer finger. Start small. If he could just get a little wiggle out of it, then maybe…
There was a twitch. The finger made the tiniest of motions. Up and back down. It was almost as if he was encased in invisible sand. The more he moved his finger up and down, the more the sand gave way. Pretty soon he could move two fingers. A crescendo effect transpired from there. Two fingers turned to four. His hand came to life and his arm quickly followed. At that point his paralysis surrendered, and his body was free once again.
He just might make it this time. He could still hear her screaming. She was still alive.
Dravon ran down the halls of the ship as fast as his young legs would take him. But when he got to the med bay, he discovered that the ship had tricked him. His mind had tricked him. In place of the med bay was now an airlock.
“No!” Dravon cried out. “No! No! No!”
He ran up to the window. Inside the airlock were both his mother and Jraken. Except his brother wasn’t the wailing infant he was supposed to be. He was the Jraken from now. Halfway through his growth spurt and awkwardly lanky. He was pressing buttons on a screen beside the door that opened out into space.
“Stop it!” Dravon shouted at him. “What are you doing!?”
“You can’t save us,” said Drelaine. She was standing beside the window.
Suddenly, Dravon noticed that he was no longer standing in the hallway outside of the airlock. He was now in an airlock himself. He reached for something to grab ahold of in anticipation of being launched out into space. He was too late. A door behind him slid open and he was jerked through it with a violent tug.
He woke up in the infirmary with his body covered in a layer of sweat. Dravon threw the sheets off himself in both annoyance and disgust. A draft came in through the open window. It made him shiver as it hit his wet skin.
“I was wondering if you’d still wake up around this time,” said Chren. He was sitting on the windowsill with his legs dangling inside the room. “She must have knocked you in the ol’ noggin pretty good.”
Dravon felt the side of his head. There was still a lump sensitive to the touch, but he had dealt with far worse. “That was a cheap trick,” he mumbled. “What happened after I was out?”
“They took off,” said Chren. He ran a hand through his hair and produced a smile so filled with arrogance it was tough to tell if he was serious or not. “Probably spotted yours truly getting ready to jump into the fray.”
Highly unlikely. Dravon never recalled Chren volunteering to take action in anything involving combat. Not all children of elite houses wanted to become warriors. Some were forced into it. “Right,” Dravon conceded. “Were you the one who brought me to the infirmary then?”
“Not exactly,” said Chren. “After I scared off the Farako warriors I saw that Jraken already had you taken care of, so I flew out.”
Dravon made a loud smack as he punched his palm. He was not at all surprised. Chren never seemed to intervene in any of Dravon’s affairs. Only ever observe and comment on them. “What are people saying?” he asked.
The reputation he had worked so hard to build was crumbling around him. It had already taken one big hit from having to be saved from Kaizo. The last thing he needed was rumors spreading around that Jraken saved him not once, but twice on the same day.
“Jraken never saw me, and I haven’t heard what he reported. Generally, in a case like this, I would assume that the overall assumption of the student body would be that you two sparred and the one carrying the one who was knocked out would have been the victor.” Chren said with his hands up. Indicating he was not to blame. “Or he told them the truth about you getting your ass handed to you by some Farako spies. Either way, it’s not looking great for your public relations.”
Dravon started putting on his clothes. He didn’t care that it was in the middle of the night. He needed answers, and he needed them now.
“Where are you running off to? They’re going to want to check you out.” Chren tried to reason.
Dravon started lacing up his boots. It wasn’t just what his brother had reported to the instructors that he needed to find out. It was the brief display of his power. His speed. Just how good was the brat? How much of a difference did being trained by their grandfather, Locke, really make?
“I need to settle some things,” he told Chren as he quietly opened the door of the infirmary. “And I want to settle them tonight.”