#ritzawrites

Ashton of the earth-magic clan Terra was the first to be tracked down and you thought it’d be easy -or at least not too challenging because you weren’t alone. You had been traveling with the secret kingsguard assigned to you at birth. The second you emerged from your mother’s womb those brave men and women had been loyal to you. They had already gone above and beyond their duty after getting you out of the war zone that had once been your home once your family had been assassinated by rebel forces.

What you or your small but formidable cavalry hadn’t considered was the sheer density of the mountain forest that the earth clan had claimed as their territory. No, you all hadn’t considered that or the rabid wildlife. Big cats, enormous owls, territorial moose and bears. Bears like the one you were currently facing. Your guard having been driven to just you and one other one last knight, you slowly felt all the hope you had for a brighter future drain from your being. And when with a quick swipe of one of its massive paws, the black bear effectively ended the life of you plast line of defense, you lost control of your body and it’s reactions.

You heard screaming. They were pitiful, desperate shrieks hitting your eardrums at decibels you would’ve once thought impossible had you not been experiencing them there and then. It wasn’t until the bear swiveled to face you that you realized that the screaming was coming from you. This is the end, you found yourself thinking as the animal started towards you. You’d been about to close your eyes and accept your oncoming death when a man shaped blur darted through your peripheral vision.

There he stood before you. A mountain man with raging brown blonde hair. His chest and feet were bare, he wore only worn linen pants hacked off at the knees, and his arms were spread before him as if to ward of the giant creature three times his size. His back was to you so you couldn’t see his face but you had a feeling you wouldn’t be disappointed when you did. Or rather if you did. All you had to do was get out of this alive. He was shielding the bear’s view of you with his body and the wild animal wasn't appreciating it.

“Easy there friend,” he muttered in a voice like honey, while bringing his arms in a little and spreading his fingers. “You don’t want to do this.” The bear roared almost as if in response. Like he understood this strange man with the matted hair like wet sand. Like he was taking his soothing words as a challenge. It pawed at the ground before rearing up on it’s hind legs. “Don’t!” His voice went hard. He was warning it now. The bear ambled forward one step. “You leave me no choice,” the man sighed. And with no hesitation he shifted to his side before performing a graceful sliding stomp, thus opening a crater in the forest floor beneath the bear. All you hear was a small squeak of surprise -not unlike your earlier shrieks in volume- before the earth swallowed the animal whole. Shaking his head sadly the man turned to face you. “I didn’t want to have to do that.” At his sudden step toward you you jumped back, your foot catching on a tree root and knocking you on your royal ass.

“Hey,” he lifted his hands in a placating gesture like the one he had for the bear. But this one was somehow less commanding, more cautious. Rather than approaching a hostile animal he was facing a very scared and confused one. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“Who-” you hiccupped, the shock getting to you. “Who are you?”

“I could ask you the same question,” he replied, holding out a hand to help you up.

It wasn’t until you took the hand he’d extended that you felt it. The instant connection that all the old legends spoke of. You felt you blood heat and rush through your body, your heartbeat roaring in your ears. He was bound to you now, you could see it in his shining hazel eyes. And from the way he went “Princess?” his head tilted and his tone of voice slightly awed, without you ever having introduced yourself, you knew too. You’d found your first warrior. And he was game for anything if you were.

Serene yet playful like his element, Calum of the water magic clan Aqua wasn’t too hard to find. Especially when compared to your previous ordeal with Ash. That’s what you called him now, Ash. You two had gotten to know each other better while testing out his tracing skills. The earth magic users we notorious for their excellent senses of direction. You were also of use. Though you hadn’t yet “bonded” with the other three elementalists you had a sort of honing device when it came to them. You could faintly sense whoever was closest when they were split, and therefore catch on to their trail.

Anyway the Aqua clan was one of adaptation. They moved and changed but, much like their mother ocean’s tides, remained constant and predictable at the same time. Following your internal honing device, you and Ash found Calum and the rest of his clan in a matter of days. As a royal you obviously weren’t used to roughing it but Ashton with his adventurous spirit yet steady presence, made it fun. The two of you discovered Calum standing among the rapids in the middle of a dangerously churning river. Remaining upright whilst among such a powerful current couldn’t have been nearly as easy as the young man made it seem but he looked almost bored standing there with his eyes closed, feet spread apart and his knees slightly bent. He also, you quickly noticed, wasn’t wearing a shirt. Apparently there was some kind of trend going around with these guys.

Suddenly a huge wall of water rose up to Calum’s left before it shifted and coiled into twin serpent-like shapes; both of them were then directed straight at his chest. Instinctively you moved toward him, out from the cover of the trees to do what you had no idea but Ashton stopped you anyway.

“No wait,” he pulled you back by your arm before pointing to the opposite river bank. “Look,” he nodded his head over in the direction he was pointing. “They’re sparring.” You looked up to see another water bender in full attack mode. Her movements rhythmic and sinuous but still aggressive and focused entire on Calum. She actually looked a lot like him. You shifted your attention back to Calum when you felt rather than saw him twitch. Whirling his arms around clockwise in front of him he took a single step forward. Finally opening his eyes, he jerked his arm up, heel of his hand first and diverted the water streams around him. Then bringing both his hands together, he redirected it back at who you assumed to be his sister.

The water hit her chest dead center and shoved her back a few steps but she didn’t fall. She sent him a mock glare and straightened from his fighting stance, a giant grin on his face. You had to admit, at least to yourself, that Calum had a truly gorgeous smile. His deep brown eyes just lit up with familial affection that made you miss home. His smile quickly fell as he cocked his head in your direction though.

“You can come out now,” he yelled over at the two of you. Well, shit. 

~