4: the council

tänään olen edistynyt jälleen kerran ideapuolella, mutta myös peruslaadukasta dialogia on tullut kirjoitettua. jotenkin mitäänsanomaton olo tällä hetkellä, toivottavasti en ole tulossa kipeäksi - se ainakin verottaa nanon sanamäärästä... kaiken lisäksi eilen jäi vähän uupumaan enkä ole saanut vielä tämänkään päivän sanamäärää valmiiksi. viikonloppuna kai sitten...

nyt alkuun kiitos ja kunnia Hirmsille ensimmäisestä kommentista! <3 toivottavasti muutkin uskaltautuvat näin tekemään, minähän en pure. enemmänkin syön kehuja ja kritiikkejä jotta saisin niistä jotain itseeni. :) nyt postaankin tästä nelosluvun jossa alkaa jo tapahtua jonkin verran. itse ainakin pidän tästä!

today i have made progress in the world of ideas once again, but i've also written some basically qualified dialogue. i feel somehow bland right now, i hope i'm not getting sick - it will affect on my nano word count. add insult to injury, i didn't accomplish the 1666 words yesterday and i haven't written more than 1000 words today. maybe the weekend then...

before anything i'd like to thank Hirms from the first comment! <3 i hope you others will also be brave enough to do so, i won't bite - more like i'll be eating your critiques and praises to get something from it. now i'll be posting chapter four where something already happens. i personally enjoy this chapter a lot!

koska tykkään kuvista, etsin ihan teitä varten tosi hienon referenssikuvan hilaryn pinkeistä maihareista! (ilman glitteriä toki.) haluaisitteko tekin parin?:::)

because i like pics, i found this super awesome reference pic of hil's pink combats (without the glitter ofc.) you'd like a pair?::)

Chapter Four

My mind grew heavier of worries with every step.

To cut a long story short: I was so stressed out with the fact Aurora would be introducing me to the Council it was the only thing I could think about.

I don’t know how far the council chambers were from Aurora’s bluff, but we definitely didn’t travel by foot. It was yet one of Aurora’s guardian-privileges, the same thing which had happened to us with getting up the cliff. I think it had something to do with wind – after all, it was a very universal element, sort of everywhere. Like we ripped our way through it and entered another place in a mere second no matter how far it was.

We appeared at the council garden. Gray clouds hung over us looking as welcoming as hell. The building was huge – the size of my old school times three. To be blunt, it resembled Aurora’s palace a lot – except it was built of a more solid material and the glass walls weren’t as large pro rata. It was surrounded by a circle garden, looking lifeless on the colorless autumn day. I must’ve stuck out like a rainbow unicorn. I was pretty sure there were dozens of eyes fixed straight at me and my pink combats.

Did the garden always look like that?

Trust me, but I had a bad feeling about it. I had those feelings often, and rarely was wrong. What maybe once full of life was now only shades of gray – autumn leaves covering the un-raked paths. There was no wind. Only a silence, hanging by place like it wasn’t meant to be.

That is why I startled as hell as I heard other footsteps than Aurora’s.

She wasn’t the one single person in this realm!

Meanwhile I turned around Aurora smirked and took a quick look over her shoulder. “I see your council mates are arriving. I will meet with the high council beforehand. Your mates will guide you up.”

Aurora strolled inside, leaving me standing amongst the leaves as awkward as hell.

“-you sick racist! Like you’ve got a problem with Hestia and Ariel being together?”

I squinted my eyes towards the three approaching figures. The way I saw it there were two guys and one girl – the noisy one. They were all dressed in red. The guys wore knee-length pants and ridiculous robes as the girl wore a replica of the dress Aurora had, only shorter. She had shaggy, dark auburn hair, pale skin and a big mouth. The guys walking beside him were a blonde and a brunette. The blonde looked like he had just blurted out something and tried to smart it out. The brunette just walked beside them, amused, punching his friend in the arm with his next words. “I never knew you’re afraid of lesbians, Chyse.”

“Quit it, nitwit,” the blonde responded. “I’m just disturbed by them holding hands in the council chamber, that’s all. The fire-and-water-absurdness, you know.”

What the hell?

These kids were around my age – some younger, some older. And they were seriously talking about sexual tolerance?

Except for the smart-ass-blonde guy they all seemed pretty awesome. And even he wasn’t so bad. After all, these two kids – Chyse and the brunette, were majorly good-looking. They were the two guys I would die for if I was completely straight.

What attracted the most attention was the fact they spoke like completely normal people instead of Aurora’s guardian-jargon. As I listened to their speech and watched their appearance, Aurora’s words rang through my head. They were once earthlings, too; people like you.

“What’s up with the infernal racket?” I smiled. The three stopped instantly. I must’ve done something very awkward.

The girl looked amused. She took a step forward, scanning at my clothes like they either pleased her or were ugly as hell. She noticed my bridge, smiling approvingly, her expression turning suddenly blank.

“Balance has shifted.”

Her light-blue eyes flashed. “Where is your guardian? What are you doing here?”

“Easy, kid,” I said. “Aurora went to the council chamber forehand. She told me you three are my council mates.”

The three of them smiled, suddenly welcoming and warm. The brunette guy took a step towards me, around my height. He offered me a hand looking totally official, reminding me of Ashton Kutcher. He was seriously good-looking.

“Welcome, wind child. I’m Nolan. These are my friends, Chyse and Rilla.”

Rilla snickered, glaring disapprovingly at Chyse. “Considering the conversation we just had I wouldn’t consider him my friend anymore.”
“Take it easy, Rilla,” Chyse phrased. “We’ve got a newcomer. You’re the first wind child I have met until yet. Until now I’ve just had to deal with those brainless wind spirits.”
I frowned, realizing I was still shaking Ashton’s hand. I couldn’t call him Nolan – the resemblance was too remarkable.

“I’m Hilary,” I blurted. “What’s up with the wind-child-shit?”
Chyse raised his sandy brows. If he’d stop frowning like a know-it-all, he’d actually look nice. He reminded me of some other celeb, like Jesse McCartney. In satin pants. “But you are a wind child, Hilary. Aurora, after all, is your guardian.”

I nodded vapidly. “Einverstanden… but if I’m Aurora’s ‘child’, whose are you, then? Who’s your guardian?”

Rilla pointed at her clothes, yet amused. “Isn’t it obvious? Hestia’s our guardian. She’s the guardian of fire.”
“Explains your fiery personality,” Chyse pointed out. Rilla answered with an angry look. “Don’t forget you’re a fire child too, smart-ass.”

Chyse sighed. All three looked at me, yet there was a tension in the air. These three definitely had problems with each other. Just standing there I took it a little back and could think. So, their guardian was Hestia – who apparently was together with some Ariel – which apparently meant they were lesbians. Which Rilla approved. So, I wasn’t the only one here. Suddenly I didn’t feel like sticking out so much. The feeling brought ease but also fear. It was another of those gotten-used-to-things.

Standing there, without Aurora constantly by my side and kids about my age who were easy to talk to was immeasurably reassuring. They were definitely more experienced than I was. I wasn’t yet an actual part of the council – though Aurora really believed I should be one.

I noticed the three still stood there, like waiting for me to say something. Time to time Chyse and Nolan poked each other with their elbows or Rilla shot deadly gazes at them, but none said a word. Like they actually were interested in me in another way than just bugging me out.

“I arrived yesterday,” I began. “It’s majorly confusing to me. I guess I’m still suffering the headache. My nemesis bitch-slapped me and I had a nice concussion. It’s yet awkward if I actually am here or is this just my hallucination from the bathroom floor.”

As I said my last words, Rilla shuddered. I decided not to question her more, but she almost looked like she was expecting for me to ask something.

“We all have our own stories to tell,” Chyse stated. “It’s only confusing at first. You’ll get used to it, all the council-stuff. You’re lucky to be chosen by Aurora. Some people just get dumped and they’ll never see their guardians again. In case they fail the test.”
Rilla snarled. “Chyse! It’s really not like that. It’s more like… well… the guardians maintain the balance between the realms. It’s kind of shady stuff we don’t really know about. We earthlings just keep on popping around here at times, and there are about three types of us. Type one is the worst but also the most common. These unlucky type one kids either just don’t decide to adapt and they’ll stay forever with their guardians in their places, or then their guardian will take care of them until they are familiar enough with their element and take care of themselves. They just start new lives here. And in some cases, even end up going back.”

A light of hope glinted in my eyes, but died as soon as I remembered my empty home and Ashley’s cold laughter. I saw it in their eyes, too. They all had left something miserable behind – didn’t want to return. They maybe hoped it deep in their souls, but yet struggled against it.

“We belong in type two,” Rilla continued, her voice suddenly hoarse of an unknown reason. “After an earthling gets friendly enough with their element, their guardians put them to the test. One guardian can have a three-person council. It’s the law of the jungle here – if one turns out to be more benevolent or powerful than a previous one, this one will be replaced. Thankfully these type two kids aren’t too common. We’re all special in our own, unique way. Usually it’s more about holding an elemental ability than the virtues of the guardians. Nolan, for example, shows unusually good strength.”

I glared at Ashton’s robe-covered shoulders. I couldn’t actually see any buff biceps under it, but I was sure this guy had some. “Chyse’s just a smart-ass – I don’t actually know how he ended up in the council.”

Chyse snorted jadedly. “How about you, Rilla, then?”

Rilla looked suddenly hurt. “Let’s rather not talk about that.”

Irritated by the constant arguing of the two, I sighed, pacing by my place. “Let’s go on to type number three, shouldn’t we?”

Ashton nodded, starting to recite the words like he had explained them to someone before.

“In some occasions, which happens very rarely, a guardian is particularly pleased by one of their earthlings. These are council members no doubt. They show an unusual ability of some kind and are trained to become guardians after their own. It, however, isn’t that simple.”

“It certainly isn’t”, Chyse swallowed. “I’m glad guardians choose their council members by measuring their benevolence. A malevolent guardian would be a little more than bad.”
I furrowed my eyebrows curiously. “How does one quit being a guardian?”

Ashton, Chyse and Rilla answered the question simultaneously. “They die.”

“Or are turned down by their earthlings,” Rilla added. “Basically, they turn against them.”

I yelped helplessly. “So… that means… in case there’d be some über-power-hungry earthling, this one could fake him- or herself into the council and overthrow their guardian?”
Rilla nodded. “That’s the extreme scenario. It has happened a few times, but not during my stay here. The high council of the guardians is very stable. They don’t just switch positions snap – like that.”

All right. I had known the guardian thing was serious business, but not that serious. I sincerely hoped all my dreams and stuff weren’t bad visions of something, but the feeling had been following me ever since. Something was wrong there, and it had something to do with me. Knowing I was right, I felt utterly hopeless. I glanced around at the lifeless garden, listening to my guts. This place wasn’t meant to look like this. Just like the Earth wasn’t meant to be empty like in my dream.

“Who are the members of the high council?”

Rilla answered my question instantly, as if she had been expecting it. “There are six, one devoted to each element. Hestia is the guardian of fire, like you know. Then there’s Ariel, the water guardian, and Aurora, of course. The opposite to wind is earth – Cheres. Then there’s light and darkness, Tristen and Severina.”

Suddenly I felt like I was pregnant and my pre-born baby had kicked my ribs so hard it made me breathless. I had to know more. I let my intuition lead me – just like I always did.

“Umm… I know this might be a little inappropriate, but who’s your favorite guardian? What’re they like? For example… is there a bitch-guardian amongst them?”

Chyse snickered, but reading from Ashton’s face I knew I was on dangerous waters – it was a subject which shouldn’t be brought up.

“Hestia of course, is the greatest,” Rilla chimed. “She’s our guardian, after all. But I see no problemo with Aurora either…”

Ashton coughed, shutting Rilla up, and she turned instantly crimson. “The council is in balance,” Ashton said monotonously. “The guardians act equally towards every being. The guardians always tell benevolence is the most important of all. That is, because it is very strongly connected to tolerance. The guardians must accept different situations and adapt to them, simultaneously maintaining the balance of the two worlds. Is the council will shatter, it will affect on the elements. Some of them are very sensitive. Without supervising control they are chaotic. They will take control of everything living and dead.”

I gulped, continuing, noticing that my next sentence was but a whisper. “You speak of the elements like they were persons.”
Ashton looked dead serious. “That is because they are very subtle. They are known to affect on certain essences. No-one knows their true form. It is believed to be universal: case in point – fire can be summoned in many places simultaneously. But they are known to also morph from shape to shape, affecting the ways of these worlds in more ways than all human kind.”

As he took a step towards the council building I knew our conversation had come to an end. I couldn’t tell how we had ended up from such a jolly atmosphere to the tension hanging over us then. My fault, obviously. Me and my hell of a mouth.

As Chyse and Ashton – uhm – Nolan strode side to side ahead me, Rilla slowed down to keep my pace. I let my eyes rest on her appearance as I tried to see through her. She was one of those very transparent personalities. I could tell exactly when she was feeling uneasy or the opposite – euphoric. I had always been able to see through people well. But Rilla was one piece of cake.

Her expression was still tense as she forced a smile and forced a puppy-eyes-look. It didn’t work very well, but at least it had some effect. “Just trying to break the ice,” she grinned.

“Jeez. You’re one of your kind.”

Her light-blue eyes squinted. “You think I’m irritating?”

I smiled, touching her arm gently. Something pretty unconscious I just did usually when comforting people. I had to have inherited it from my unknown father – wind was such a detached element, something I and mamma represented well. “No. I’m sorry about the things I blurted. Now you’re all silent. Didn’t mean to make it so awkward.”
“I feel you,” Rilla sighed as we entered the open doors to the council building. The hall opening inside was huge. I could imagine it at bright sunlight – rays of white light shining thru the windows and scattering into all the different colors there were. Now it was all blank, blunt. “You’re still very confused, unfamiliar to the standards. Some high council-guardian-related things are sort of taboos. You’ll learn them over time.”
“Yeah, over time,” I huffed. “I feel so ignorant it makes me feel stupid. It’s hard to believe in anything or trust anyone, yet.”

For a second Rilla bored her eyes onto mine, like she was searching for the fact which made me uneasy inside. “Trust isn’t something you need to worry about,” she began. Her next words I would remember forever. “You can always trust your guardian. If there’s anything on your heart, even something little and insignificant, your guardian can help you. Never forget it.”

And I never did.

According to my math skills the building had five floors. The building was the shape of a hexagon, so it apparently was divided into six. It was symmetrical from all sides, perfectly balanced. Even though my thoughts were still wondering in our last discussion with Rilla, I had formed a perfect 3D-map of the building inside my head. It’s hard to explain in words. Let’s just say – if I had a little fighter plane, I could fly it inside the building in my dreams. I knew the exact number of windows and doors only by walking through a couple of corridors. I just had to multiply it with six.

There were six guardians waiting outside the council chambers too, when we arrived. The chamber was in the last floor and unlike the four floors below, it had to be a single, solid chamber, maybe one with a round table or something like that. The windows opened a terrific view of the garden. All was red, orange and yellow, the colors of autumn. And good-old gray.

Aurora’s dress reflected the shade of the clouds outside. She smiled encouragingly, walking straight towards me. “Don’t be afraid, Hilary. They already know I am bringing someone.”
“Have you introduced me to the high council?”

“No. It is not how we proceed. To enter my council you must be approved by a representative of each council. Some have arrived already, as I see.”
Some of the figures next to Aurora turned around and I could notice instantly they all couldn’t be guardians – they were way too young: they lacked experience. They were also dressed differently. One had a blue, shorter dress like Rilla’s – apparently a water councelor. The ones next to her were dressed in green and black. I discovered fast that there were only two guardians in the room, at least for now.

She turned around and for a sec the voices around me faded – the chattering of Rilla and her friends, the rustling of robes as the figures in the hallway stirred. An awkward feeling rushed through me. But as I tried to explain it, my mind was only blank.

What disturbed me the most was her stare. She looked directly at my eyes. Almost like through them.

“You must be Hilary.”

She approached me, her ebony eyes still boring onto mine. Her appearance was pleasing. She was even taller than me, and her straight, platinum hair was shiny and long. Her lips, slowly curving into a curious smile, were painted a dusky red.

“My name is Severina. The guardian of darkness.”
The guardian of darkness? Give me a break! It was obvious – her dress was the blackest of midnight and the guardian pendant hanging in her neck reflected deep, dark space. Yet it sounded as awkward as if she was the evil witch from Snow White.

Stunned by her sudden appearance I almost forgot to give out my hand. My words were stuck in my throat. How to address a guardian? Aurora was an all different category – I had woken up in her arms.

I decided to spare Severina from the handshake. Reluctantly pulling back I glimpsed at Aurora with a clear SOS! beaming from my eyes.

Instead of the help I needed she gave me two things which only made me confused: a nod and a smile. What the hell?
“Nice to meet you,” I stammered, facing her beautiful eyes; eyes, that reflected an unknown sorrow which didn’t belong in there.

But instead of blowing me into bits like I could expect from a darkness councelor, Severina turned around with a blink and a smile that was almost too sad to be hers, as if she knew my arrival had been a great mistake.