[Chapter 12]

It was a rare day in which lessons ended early for all of us, and we could finally afford to come together to spend our time in the Main Area, lounging on the couch. Since we were well into summer, there were no more snowball fights between us, and we were left with nothing to do at the Sanctuary. Not that any one of us were up to using anymore of our elements. We were all tired of the trainings, even for me; the junior Training Master.

“Let’s do ‘first’s” Dru suggested, leaning backwards on the loveseat, snuggling close to Xaviel. Ever since they discovered that they were each other’s other half, both of them had been close like glue. Xaviel never really seemed the type of guy who would be so open with his relationship. But for someone with a girlfriend like Dru?

Everyone knew who the rational mind between the two of them was, though.

“Fine.” Ashe laughed beside me. Though we were less close with each other as compared to the lovebirds, relationship between Ashe and I had gone pretty well. We were able to talk like long lost friends, despite the situations. Of course, I fit right in with Dru and the gang.

“Umm…. Dru drawled, putting on a thinking face, “first… partner!”

We all groaned, though most of us had already expected it from her.

“Fine.” Dru pouted at our groan, giving her Guardian a glare, “I’ll start first, alright?”

Reluctant nods replied her and she smiled suddenly, as if finding something mischievously funny.

“My first boyfriend was… A guy called Xavier Fernandez.” She grinned at the coincidence, as well as at the alarmed look her current boyfriend gave her.

“He was a pretty boy; French, of course. I shared my first kiss with him too. Man, that guy can do a real good Frenchie… of course; we had an awesome time together.”

Xaviel stood abruptly, an offended look on his face. Frankly, it looked stern and unforgiving, but Dru only laughed, tugging his hand to pull him back down.

“I refuse to be compared with a Frenchman. Continue if you must, but I will not take more of this.” He announced firmly, keeping his gaze steadily away from Dru as he tried to draw away. We watched with amusement as Dru tried her best to make her partner stay.

“Oh, Xaviel! I didn’t know you were the jealous type! But it’s alright, my man. You have nothing to worry. There is something you don’t know about Xavier. That’s why I broke up with him.” She professed, pretending to be distraught when we actually saw her grin of victory. I wasn’t sure if it was a terribly clever move from her to reveal Xaviel’s jealous side or a terribly stupid move.

For the moment, he was calm enough to stay around for his girlfriend’s explanation. Dru was still grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“Xavier was perfect in every way. He was a gentleman; he knew how to make a girl’s day. But there were two problems. First, we were only six. Second, he’s a Frenchman!” She exclaimed his nationality, like she expected us to know what it meant.

“And…?” Logan prompted when Dru didn’t continue.

“You know how most Frenchmen are regular Casanovas, right?” She replied in a tone that said that she thought we would have known.

“Um… So you’re saying that he cheated on you? At six years of age?” Ashe spoke up beside me, an amused tone to her voice.

“Exactly! I caught his tongue down another girl’s throat! Can you believe it?”

“Oh… Poor you…” Sarah said in a tone that wasn’t very pitying, receiving a glare from Dru.

“That’s my story… Next, I pick Ashe!”

The girl in questions squirms beside me, blushing up a little.

“Tell the truth; I don’t have a first boyfriend. But I’ve got a longtime crush from back home.” She confessed, turning slightly red as we stared at her. How could someone as beautiful, brave and humorous as her not have a first love yet?

“You’re kidding me. No lover before Noel? But never mind that. Tell us about your crush.” Dru pressed on. I didn’t like the way Dru had already begun to view Ashe as my lover, but said nothing about it.

“Well, it’s really nothing much. I met Kaz the first time when we were four. He just moved in then. He had those perfect, superstar eyes. He was my neighbor, so I saw a lot of each other. We went to the same classes, and he grew up to be pretty handsome. He’s a nice guy, really. I was just too shy to tell him that I like him. It stays that way, even now. But not seeing him for almost six months already… I don’t think I like him so much anymore. I have Noel, and you guys, right?” Ashe put a hand over mine as she said my name, receiving cat calls from Logan and Dru.

Sometimes, I wondered why Dru wasn’t in love with Logan instead. Both of them had the same characteristic traits; whacky and crazy.

“Oh, look at that! Mr. Junior Training Master is blushing! Can you believe it?” Logan yelled, as if trying to announce to the entire world. I glared at him, receiving no reply from him as they laughed at his comment.

“Oh, stop teasing him, guys. Noel has been so nice to us. You can’t deny; he did save me from the fire.” Ashe stood up for me, and strangely, that made me blush even more. Damned…

“You’re killing him, Ashe! Can’t you see he’s going to explode?” Logan teased, and this time, I called water to my will, causing the wine in the wineglass at his side to splash right into his laughing face. That got more laughter all around as Logan spluttered, choking on his wine.

“Watch the shirt! And the wine costs a bomb!” He exclaimed, coughing as he did so.

Then someone’s voice –someone whom we hadn’t noticed until now –replied as he stepped into the room. “Then dry the shirt.”

There was a click in the sudden silence, and a fire exploded in the air just before Logan. Sarah, who had been sitting beside the guy in topic, jumped away with shock as Dru gave a little scream of surprise.

Beside me, Ashe stiffened while we turned demanding eyes towards the newcomer. Logan, having his own experiences with out-of-his-control fires, kept surprisingly still despite the heat of the fireball that was just inches away from his face. No one made a move to help Logan at his situation, since the attacker was still around.

“What are you trying to do, Zane? Murder?” I demanded, watching as he only grinned madly in reply.

No one actually had much communication with Zane since he had shunned company ever since he came. Yet, strangely, it made him very much desirable amongst the girls in the school. It was ironic how Zane seemed to get the most one-night stands because of his introvert nature.

“I’m trying to help Logan out, can’t you see?” He replied, as if it was the most obvious idea, and that anyone who didn’t see it was a moron.

No one –except the girls who were brave and stupid enough to find Zane’s bed –liked him. Like I was the best water user amongst my batch of students, Zane was the best in at fire-play. It did help that his father was Messir Lance Krien, one of the best fire-wielder still alive and breathing. Also, Zane was another constellation Faen, though he didn’t keep it a secret as I did. It was common news that he was stronger than most students, and when he DID spar with someone, it would only be with his father.

“From what I see, you are trying to roast him alive. Much as I appreciate the effort of shutting Logan’s rampant mouth up, I would like for our friend to not end up as ashes, so please stop it.” Sarah said calmly, as if she were discussing about dinner.

“Yeah! You wanna be an asshole; go find someone else to burn! We’re busy here!” Logan added, and I felt him throw out his power, trying to take hold of his element. Even though Logan was slightly stronger than other Fire students, it was Zane he was trying to defeat. The odds of him being able to take the fire out of Zane’s grasp were almost zero.

“Busy? Is exchanging little girly chats of nonsense with the likes of Dru a busy thing to do?” Zane taunted, still grinning like a madman.

As expected, Dru jumped to her feet to defend herself. “Hey! What do you mean by ‘the likes of Dru’?”

“Exactly what that meant. Girls the likes of you are not needed around here. All talk; no actions.” Zane scoffed, not even bothering to give Dru a single glance. Of course, it offended her Guardian-cum-boyfriend.

Xaviel pulled his power to him as he stood up, the angry, stern and murderous look on his face as he called to the water, ready to give Zane a good beating.

But I wasn’t going to allow it. I had known Xaviel for so long, and I had gotten to know him ever better when I joined their small group. But I knew this wasn’t Xaviel, ready to stand up against a fellow Council Member for the sake of his girlfriend’s honor. It was noble idea, but Xaviel wasn’t this sort of person. He would avoid confrontations, not find them. I called water to my power before Xaviel could, wrenching it away from his grasp before he could do anything more. Zane sensed the power play in the air, and it didn’t take long for him to connect to the situation at hand.

“Smart move, Noel. You know better than fighting against fire, don’t you? You fight fire with fire. Fighting fire with water… it will only make steam, and burn yourself out twice fold. But I suppose you know the experience of that, don’t you? Trying to fight an entire wall of fire with a choking girl in your arms, being all heroic for a poor little Alveron who can’t protect herself, much less a classmate.” He taunted again, turning his gaze solely on me, as if trying to single out the only other constellation Faen around.

I hesitated, trying my best not to release my power, to send it crashing into Zane. Much as I didn’t like it, Zane was right. No one should fight fire with water. No one should be fighting, even.

If any, we needed a fire user to take the element away from Zane’s grasp. Fighting fire with fire. But it didn’t seem possible; not like this. Not while Logan was inches of being fried, and Ashe’s skills not up to Zane’s match. It was not that I looked down on her, but no one could deny that Zane had been practicing his element since young.

Also another prodigy; Zane had discovered his talent for fire far earlier than me. From what I knew from my father, Zane had been playing with fire ever since he turned ten. He signed himself up for Guardianship at a mere fourteen.

He was the only Guardian who had waited longer than I did for his compatible Faen. Till now, Zane found no Faen. Till now, Zane had no other half.

“A scared bunch of bunnies, huh?” Zane mocked when no one made a single move, for fear of causing more harm towards Logan more than Zane had already done. Logan, though staying perfectly still and trying his best to lean away from the floating fireball, was beginning to get some minor burns on his face.

“And here I was, curious about what it is about these girls that tamed not only the infamous Logan, but also captured two Council Kids along for the ride.” He laughed, as if he couldn’t believe himself. I couldn’t believe that he actually gave a damned.

Zane’s eyes travelled from Dru, to Sarah, finally stopping at Ashe, speaking as if he were speaking to her only.

“Nothing but a bunch of Barbies. Cute face, cute voice, but no fire.” He commented, like the girls were art exhibitions and he were a critic.

Dru opened her mouth for a protest, but Xaviel knew enough to cover a hand over her mouth. With people like Zane, the less anyone opened the mouth, the shorter Zane stayed. Sarah, for her bit, kept herself calm; expression never betraying anything.

But Ashe spoke up, for the first time, taking Zane’s attention as she stood up slowly, as if she were dealing with a rabid lion, ready to maim her to pieces.

“Too much fire burns, Zane. It is not that we have no fire. It is that Logan has too much of it that you are blinded to ours. You are blinded by his fire, blinded to your own weakness –so blinded by your loneliness that you wandered to our campfire, didn’t you? You could not resist the homeliness we have here. You had to break it up.” Ashe spoke in a surprisingly calm voice, as if nothing fazed her at all.

Zane opened his mouth for a hurting and spiteful retort, but Ashe allowed none of it. As she pressed on, I began to see the same girl who dealt with people like Charmaine.

“You wanted to destroy our fire, didn’t you? That’s what most fire-users like us want. Destroy. But won’t anyone ever see that fire is not only for destruction? Everyone thinks like you; like Logan. But you guys don’t get it. I know I haven’t been here as long as you guys; I know I haven’t even been using fire as much as you guys. But you guys don’t see it. You think fire is to destroy. Everyone thinks fire is a weapon to control, to cause devastation.” She said firmly, seemingly to get angrier as she spoke, advancing towards Zane as she did so.

“What-” Zane tried to ask, but Ashe was on a roll.

“You are wrong! Logan is wrong! Even Mr. Blaze is wrong! You don’t see it! Fire is warmth. Fire is love. There is no love without warmth. There is no family without love. There are no friends without love. You are such a good user of fire, Zane! Your father is such a good user of fire! But you don’t get it. Fire is not to destroy. Fire is to build. Fire is bonding. You say we have no fire. But you are wrong. We have fire. Our fire is here,” Ashe continued, placing a hand over her heart, “and you’re just too blinded to see it! You have fire too, Zane! You just don’t want to use it. You just want to be angry. You just want to be silent; you want to destroy everyone’s fire, just so you can see your own. But you don’t understand. You need to let your fire combine with others. You need to let your fire free.”

Zane took a step back as Ashe advanced on him. For a moment, she seemed like a preacher. But that image faded away quickly as I tried to pull Ashe back, just in case Zane went over the edge and did something unforgivable.

“What are you talking about, bitch?” He demanded, even though he was the one who had taken a step back, like he was giving her more space, backing away from her.

“I’m talking about making friends, Zane. You want to talk to me, to us, just say so! You don’t have to do all this. You need friends. You have been hanging around, listening to us, and watching us. Don’t think I don’t know. I’ve seen you hiding in corners, pretending to read. I’ve seen you, reading over that in that seat, while we sit here, speaking about what you call nonsense. I’ve seen you, hanging around when I talk to Noel. I caught you sleeping outside Dru and our room, Zane. If you want to talk to me, just open your mouth. I was going to wait for you, Zane. But if you think waltzing in and setting Logan on fire is going to help us, I’m going to tell you to walk out that door to try all over again!” Ashe yelled at the guy outright, shocking us all. Ashe had guts, but I wasn’t sure if this was the correct move at the moment.

Ashe didn’t actually know much about Zane. She didn’t know why Zane closed up like that. I remembered Zane when he was young. Happy, lively. Zane used to be my childhood friend. His family was close to mine, since my father used to help Messir Lance out at his school in Europe. But after that one incident, Zane changed. He allowed no one in his heart. Only his sister could hold a proper conversation with him.

Still, Ashe shouted her anger at Zane. I was pretty surprised to hear her shouting at him, to hear how he hung around us. I had caught sight of him between times, but hadn’t put much thought in it. At least until now.

“You’re crazy.” Zane said, but he sounded shocked and unsure when he said that.

“Crazy, huh? You’re going to do better than that if you want to insult me.” She said, then walked to where Logan was, sitting almost like a statue. Fearlessly, she plunged her hand into the fireball, pulling her power to her at the same time. I watched with awe as she fought off Logan’s power, pushing away Zane’s as she held the fireball in her hand.

Dru gasped a little, as I reached my power to her, helping her out a little by lending my power to her.

Her power mixed with mine, strengthening her power play. She acknowledged it with a silent nod to me; determination and annoyance in her eyes before she turned to Zane, holding his fireball.

“Here. Take this back, and if you want to try it all over again, I’ll suggest you to wait until I’m done getting pissed off with you and stupid fire-users like Logan who, by the way, had just burnt up my third bedspread only this morning. So if you’re going to come here to make trouble for me, like I don’t have enough with my elements and my Guardian over here, I’ll suggest you to get your ass out of my way when I’m pissed. Get me?” She shoved the fireball towards Zane’s hand, knowing that he would protect himself in time.

Surprisingly, Zane only touched it numbly, dissipating it. Ashe’s hand fell on his, our combined power touching his.

Then something weird happened.

A connection. Like a bond forged, our power collided with Zane’s, and it became one. Three powers, in one.

Zane, alarmed, pulled his hand back as if he had touched the sun itself, staring with eyes that were as wide as saucers. Ashe herself seemed a little shocked, her anger forgotten as she struggled to place the familiarity of the situation.

Zane looked between Ashe and me, then at his hand.

Then, as if deciding he had enough with the craziness that was Ashe, he wiped his hand against his shirt –like he was scrubbing away dirt on his hand –and ran out the room.

“Noel… did you…?” Ashe asked, turning to look at me with unsure eyes. We had both felt it. We had all felt it.

I nodded.

“But…” She tried to find a protest, and I shrugged in answer to her unfinished question.

We were in silence for awhile while the rest reeled in shock at Ashe’s actions.

“Never mind, then. It’s nothing…” She muttered, and turned away.

But I saw something in her eyes.

Fear and shock. Because what I felt had been the same as her.

The feeling when our powers met Zane’s… it had been the feeling of finding our other half.