Elementals 11

 We return to the house for lunch. Alexis makes roast beef and potatoes explaining that we need to eat something that will stick to our bones. Misha and I enjoy the delicious meal without complaint. When I'm stuffed, I look over at Misha who appears to be deep in thought as she moves her potatoes around on her plate. "What's wrong?" I ask her. She takes a moment before answering then says "I want to be magic too." Alexis tells her "being magic isn't the only thing that makes a person special. Let me show you something." With that she walks out of the room. Misha and I wait patiently. Alexis retuns with what looks like two small leather belts. She walks over to Misha and rolls up the right leg of her pants. Alexis secures what I am now realizing is a holster around Misha's leg. She takes the dagger out of Misha's boot and slides it into the holster where it fits perfectly. "Cool" Misha says looking down at Alexis from the stool where she sits. Alexis rolls Misha's pants leg back down and tells her. "The thing that is more important than magic is love. You keep that dagger there and only use it when your heart tells you to protect the people you love." Misha looks seriously at  Alexis and says "yes, ma'am." 

    After I secure the slightly bigger holster to my thigh and slide my knife in I take Misha to the living room area. The map with our planned route is still sitting on the coffee table. Alexis stops looking out of the window and picks it up. She doesn't say it but I get the feeling she's worried about Tony who has yet to return from his trip to the gas station. She says she's going to put the map in a safe place. A moment later I hear her bedroom door close. 

       I turn to Misha and say "it's time you start your official studies." "School?" She asks. "Something like that, but these studies are different. These are the studies of our kind." I begin. Misha pulls her legs up on the couch then crosses them. She faces me and listens intently as I begin to explain Elementals. 

     This is our way. The history passed down from parents to children to grandchildren. My mother with her jet black hair and smooth chocolate brown skin once sat with me like this. She told me about our Mother Nature and dear father God. She told me the story of Arden the first human to be granted the Elemental gift. Arden is believed to have been a son of Adam and Eve who stood watch at the entrance of the garden of Eden. He devoted his life to making sure the garden was never again tainted by human touch. For his dedication The great mother and dear father granted Arden with power over all four elements. He passed this power on to his children and eventually to us through the generations. My mother who was earth told me the story again just before she came down with a terrible fever. She became very ill and unable to heal herself she returned to the earth. She was a wonderful mother, my best friend and I was heartbroken to lose her when I was a teen. I continued living with my father who was water. He became distant after my mother passed on and I worried that he would dry up like a lake during a drought. Then I met Jayson and our love took me away from that life.

    I reach over and pull Misha into my lap as I finish telling her the story of Arden. She looks up at me and asks "why do we run if being an elemental is a present?" I tell her that few Elementals since Arden have been born with power over all four elements and that some have gotten it into their heads that she will be one of them. "Awesome, I'll be super cool." She replies. "Yes, honey you will." I say pulling gently on one of her curls. "But for now not being magic is a gift. It helps hide you from them. They can't find you if you are not using a power." "What would happen if they found me?" She asks curiously. " I can't say for sure accept that the elders would take you away from me. Some think one person having that much power is a very dangerous thing and that it should be stopped." I don't go into more detail for fear of scaring her. "Ok, lessons over. Now let's have some fun."' I say.