Battle of the Elements

The carriage pulled up inside the kingdom. I could see her from here, through the bard cage. She didn’t look at me, she didn’t smile. She didn’t do anything.

I shoved the guards out of the way and slammed the doors open. I reached inside the cage and embraced her, mumbling her name over and over, “Titania. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry Titania.” But there was no response.

Harrison and Dane came through the crowd of people and saw what I saw – she was completely numb, her eyes were dead and her skin was cold and pale. I felt for her pulse and gasped in relief as I felt the slow, faint heartbeat.

Dane lifted her out of the cage and Harrison and I helped him shove through the nosy townspeople who crowded to see what was happening.

We brought her to her home and laid her down on her bed. The room hadn’t been touched since she left a year ago.

Her father entered the room, he ran to her and embraced her in his arms. I could see the tears running down his face as he stroked her hair. He stopped stroking her hair after a minute, and instead he cried. He knew she was numb.

Jake and Melanie rushed into the room, I put a hand out and they stopped. I shook my head slowly. I saw their heads drop in sadness as they took in Titania’s state.

Alex entered the room. He lowered his head and said something that sent me off the rails, “I’m sorry.”

I lunged at him, tackling him to the ground, “Sorry?! You’re sorry?! You don’t get to be sorry! This is your fault!” I punched him in the face, I felt hands on me, pulling me off him, but I didn’t stop yelling, “You killed her! You hear me!? You killed her!!!”

Alex left the room. Dane wrapped his arms around me, half trying to contain me and half trying to comfort me. I calmed down, restricted my yelling to mumbling, “It’s his fault. It’s his fault. It’s all his fault.”

Titania

I wanted to speak. I wanted to move, but I couldn’t. My muscles weren’t listening to me. So I just laid there, numb and tired and broken, as my father stroked my hair and sang to me as he sat next to my bed. He spoon fed me and never left me.

Bridgette would visit three times a day, morning, noon and night. She would sit there and talk to me like she did when I was in the dungeons, before I went through a year of unthinkable torture. The only thing in those labs that kept me going was my cellmate. He was my only comfort in the days we were jailed to the white tiled walls, he would joke with me and comfort me.

Bridgette

It had been two days since she arrived, and still, she hadn’t spoken, moved or even looked at anything but the ceiling. I leant against the castle wall by the gates to the kingdom, watching people pass as they went about their lives, not realising everything that was happening. A carriage pulled into the kingdom – the same one that Titania was brought in. I tilted my head to the side with a questioning look.

Out walked someone who I hadn’t seen in a very long time. I ran to him and threw my arms around him. He stumbled backwards and laughed a little, “Hey now, I didn’t think you would miss me this much.”

I punched him in the chest – it didn’t hurt him, he was too strong for it to hurt. “Shut up you idiot.”

Melanie and Jake walked around the corner – I had only allowed them to come back from the library if they stayed out of the mission, they promised they would and now they were stuck walking round town doing nothing – and saw him, Melanie smiled and Jake stayed the same as he always was around him – not caring.

I pulled away from him, “Good to have you back, Shane.”

He smiled – but as usual, it looked more like a smirk than anything else – and scratched his head, “Is Titania here?”

I pulled back slightly – how did he know Titania? “Yeah. Why?”

“I need to see her.”

I arched my eyebrows, “Ok.”

I led Shane to Titania’s room, where her father was sitting in his arm chair beside her. I left them be, I had already seen Titania this morning, I saw her three times a day.

I went to Dane’s room, I felt the cold ring of metal on my ring finger and smiled. Dane had proposed a month ago, and I had said yes. I had known from the start that I liked Dane, but I soon found out that I liked him more than I liked anyone else, I loved him.

I knocked on his door. He opened it and smiled before greeting me with a kiss. We pulled away and he smiled again, “Wanna come in?”

“Sure, it is my house.” I said as I strode into the room.

“Technically it’s the king’s house – and it’s not even a house, it’s more of a room.”

I shrugged, “Details, details.”

I slumped down on the bed, Alex had given us all homes in the castle to reward us for our ‘bravery’ on the adventures we had. I think he just wanted some people who didn’t see him as ‘Prince Alex of Astia’ and just saw him as ‘Alex’. Either way, I hated him now, even if his father was on his death bed.

Dane closed the door and leaned against it, “What’s wrong?”

I shrugged, “Shane’s back.”

And I saw something in eyes shift slightly, like he was worried. He had a right to be worried of course, I did have very strong feelings for Shane once – even tried to take him to bed once – but Shane never shared those feelings. He said something about a girl he met when he was little, a girl who helped him after he fell out of a tree and hurt himself. He said he needed to meet the girl, for some reason he could apparently tell they were supposed to meet – its bull if you ask me, but he seems attached to this mystery girl, so I never stood a chance.

Dane left the door and sat next to me on the bed. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and I leant my head on shoulder.

“I remember the day you said you loved me.” Dane said out of nowhere.

I smiled a little, “I remember too. I was really scared.”

“So was I! You literally came running into my room in the middle night, in tears no less.”

I gave a laugh, “I was terrified.”

“Of what?”

“You. I had never felt like that before, you know? I hated it. It was a weakness and I hate being weak.”

“Just like you hate losing your chocolate muffin.” He said jokingly, stroking my hair.

“That muffin was mine and you ate it. I needed you to see that you deeply hurt me by eating it and I will probably never trust you again.” I said, smiling.

“Yes, and I promise you I will never touch your muffins again now that you have literally labelled everything in the pantry with your name. The message is clear ma’am.”

I shoved him playfully, “Shut up.”

He leaned into me and kissed my nose, “Yes ma’am.” He said with a smile.

Shane

I held her hand, “Look where we are princess. We made it out.” I sighed, “I know you can hear me Titania. We didn’t go through hell and back for you to die on me. I need you to be here, with me. We made a promise in that cell.”

No response. I bent down and kissed her forehead before I left the room. It was time to pay the king a visit.