After history, Tuatara hurried back to her room for some time to reflect over her talk with her father that morning, but found her path blocked by her eldest sister, Aurora, and Serenity.
“Well? Did he tell you, then?” Aurora demanded.
“Yes. Please let me pa.ss.”
“No can do. What element do you want?”
“I suppose Earth would be alright. Why?”
“Oh, not Earth. Both Venna and Echidna both have Earth. We couldn’t possibly have a third earth. I have Water,” said Aurora proudly.
“I have Ice,” Serenity added quietly in her soft, tranquil voice. “Did he explain about the circle of elements? It really helps with battle tactics. We practise all the time.”
“The... circle of elements? No...”
“Oh,” Aurora rolled her eyes. “It goes like this: Fire beats Shadow, which beats Earth, Earth beats Ice, Ice beats Water which beats Air, and then Air beats Fire taking us round and round again.”
“But what about if say... Air and Earth are faced with each other?”
“Well then that’s just down to pure talent and luck.”
“OK, can I go now?”
“Alright,” Aurora scowled.
“Bye...” whispered Serenity as Tuatara pushed past forcefully.
She walked down a few corridors before reaching the oak door which lead to her humble room. She entered and collapsed on her bed, then sat up sharply at the sound of her maid shuffling towards her, mouth open, ready to speak.
“Would you like anything, ma’am?”
“No, no, Madeline, you may go. You are dismissed for the day.”
“Are you sure, m’lady? No hot cocoa or a bath-”
“Madeline.”
Her maid scuttled out of the room at a fast pace, leaving Tuatara on her own. She flopped down onto her bed again and stared up at her plain white ceiling. She took a deep breath and whispered,
“Please don’t make me have Shadow... it would break my father’s heart.” Tuatara gravely hoped the gods had heard her.
She got up and took her black cloak from the back of her door. She put it on over her attire and pulled the hood over her unmistakable, waist-length ebony hair. Silently, she made her way through the castle, until arriving at the majestic, barred wooden door blocked by two guards. Tuatara removed her hood.
“I am going out,” she said to the men, who stepped aside, letting the door open. Hastily she walked out, replacing her hood.
Keeping her head down, Tuatara walked down a narrow, gloomy, slightly claustrophobic, street. She pa.ssed a few people, but other than that it was deserted. After a sharp turn, she found herself facing a man, whose little hair he had was white, and his face furrowed with old age. He grabbed her shoulders tightly and shook her. The man asked her if she knew a man named Fred Thorn. Tuatara shook her head and squeezed past him.
She carried on for a while, then broke into a run at the sight of a large, grey, stone chapel covered in ivy. Her hood fell off, but still she ran. When she reached the building, Tuatara sighed at the warm air, and stepped inside. She walked over to a stone statue of the bust of a woman. Her hair blew slightly to one side as if a gentle breeze was blowing. The woman’s clothes seemed simple, and her eyes kind. Tuatara knelt on one knee before her and placed an apple in front of the statue as an offering, for the woman was the Goddess of Magic. Tuatara explained her reasons for coming, and then asked her that she was not given the power of Shadow.
With a last look at the Goddess of Magic, she placed her hood over her hair again and slowly walked home.
When she arrived back at the castle, however, her sisters were waiting for her, prepared to fire her with questions. They stood in a tight semi-circle in their day clothes, an air of secrecy surrounding them. They were whispering gently and looked sharply at Tuatara as soon as her feet scraped along the floor. Hesitantly, she walked over to them, and received many hugs.
“Just don’t be a... a... you know,” Echidna said.
“Yeah, father would be furious, we’ll probably all be dead by the time you walk out the door if you are,” Venna added.
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