Tommy meanders down the path beside his brother. Wilbur holds his hand, keeping a light grip in case Tommy wants to slip away, as eight-year-olds are prone to do. Tommy is not like most eight-year-olds, so he remains at his brother's side. Tommy maintains a calm expression on his face, ignoring the swelling happiness in his chest. He focuses on the chill of the gardens rather than the warmth of his brother's hand.

Tommy is bundled tightly in fluffy, thick clothes, and he can feel the concerned stares of the servants. Despite his status as an older child, this is his first time being permitted to go outside the palace's borders. He is still technically within land owned by the imperial family, but it is unprotected by the warmth spell that encases the main palace. The weather isn't outrageously cold, but even summers in the Antarctic Empire are consumed by chilling weather. The thirteen-year-old Wilbur was similarly bundled up, so Tommy didn't feel too childish about his predicament as he was forced to sort of wobble through the snow banks because of his heavy boots.

Wilbur has a guitar slung over his shoulder. Tommy glances at the instrument. The servants carried all their other belongings, but Wilbur specifically stated he wanted to carry his own guitar. It was made from a special wood grown in Essempei, and the strings were made from the guts of the tsar's personal sheep herd. Despite this, Tommy was certain Wilbur wanted to carry it over his shoulder because he was intimately attached to the instrument. It had been a gift from their parents on a rare occasion when Philza, Techno, and Sneeg were back home. It has been the instrument he's used since the beginning of his lessons, soaking up all the emotions he's poured into each song he plays.

"Here shall do nicely. Do you agree, Theseus?" Wilbur says, squeezing Tommy's hand as they stop. Tommy glances around. Wilbur brought them to a small but fast river. A tree grew on the riverbank, the long branches hanging over the river. The water continues to flow despite snowflakes falling on the current.

"Yes," Tommyees, noticing a few flowers struggling to grow in the river. The blossoms are rather small, the petals hiding the center in shadows, but they are, despite the cold weather and fast current, growing. Tommy smiles at them. The flowers, especially with their dull red color, remind him of himself. He may not be thriving, but he's certainly surviving. The weather of the empire and the current of fate are not dragging him under. He feels proud of the flowers, smirking as he realizes he might actually be proud of himself.

The servants get to work. They lay out a few thick blankets to protect the prince's rear ends. Other servants set down the baskets of food and drink they were carrying. The servants set up the little picnic in record time. When they are done, the servants step back. An imperial guard climbs into a tree, and a few others meander around the perimeter. Tommy watches them idly until he feels something knock him off balance. Tommy releases an unmanly noise as he collides with a warm body. Tommy startles, looking up at his older brother. Wilbur smiles amusedly at Tommy as he wraps his arms around Tommy's waist. Tommy scowls at him, wiggling out of his arms. Tommy plops onto the blanket beside Wilbur. The brunette pouts at Tommy, leaning in close enough to poke his stomach. "Aww, my baby brother doesn't want to sit with me."

"I am sitting with you," Tommy tells Wilbur. For emphasis, Tommy leans against Wilbur's arm. The brunette laughs, raising his hand up to play with Tommy's hair. Tommy sighs in content, burrowing himself further into the warmth his brother provides. Wilbur moves his cloak to wrap around Tommy, hiding the blonde away from the weather, and in Tommy's eyes, the world. Tommy closes his eyes. He's once again struck with the thought of why Theseus wouldn't choose this. Tommy doesn't understand how anyone could see Wilbur's smile and feel his warmth and not get the urge to protect it, to preserve it, to bask in it. Maybe Tommy is just weaker than Theseus is... or maybe he's smarter than Theseus is. Maybe it's both.

"I am going to start playing my guitar, Theseus," Wilbur warns Tommy. The blonde nods. He lifts himself off of Wilbur's arm as the brunette pulls his guitar around his side into his lap. Tommy watches as Wilbur tunes the guitar. His fingers brush against the chords softly, making quiet notes that Wilbur can further assess to determine if they are correct. Tommy recognizes a few notes from his hours spent learning the piano. There are slight differences since pianos and guitars sound different, but Tommy finds certain qualities shared by both instruments the longer he listens to Wilbur.

Tommy reaches his hand out to pick up a cookie from a tray one of the servants brought. Tommy munches on the cookie as Wilbur starts quietly playing and humming to a real song in-tune. Tommy closes his eyes, not recognizing the song but knowing it sounds lovely. Wilbur's voice also sounds amazing, but Tommy suspected it would since it was one of Wilbur's most prominent features in The Ender Prince.

Wilbur mutters something about the jester, and Tommy exhales out his nose. For some reason, the jester has taken a special interest in Wilbur's musical talents. As a jester, he knows a lot of instruments- enough to qualify as a bard. One of the instruments he knows is the guitar. The jester has taught Wilbur almost as much as Clara, the woman who teaches Tommy the piano, has taught Wilbur. The brunette takes instructions from every viable source he can. He is trenching himself in the world of music, discovering a talent for himself that he loves. Tommy is proud of Wilbur for finding an emotional outlet that isn't drinking- though he knows Wilbur is currently too young for that. Tommy hopes it stays that way, and perhaps it will be under the jester's tutelage. The jester never did like drinking in The Ender Prince.

Oddly enough, Tommy has also grown closer with the jester. Instead of music, they share a passion for stories. The jester will tell Tommy larger-than-life tales of the dragon and his companions the jester spoke about their first meeting. He even indulges Tommy when the blonde asks about something Clara taught him in his history or theology lessons. The jester knows more than he lets on, but he still has time to tell Tommy silly jokes. Tommy huffs a laugh at each one, and the jester takes pride in making Tommy smile. He continues to call it medicine for the sickness. Tommy will always roll his eyes at that assumption, but he often wonders if the medicine is working. He cannot tell anymore.

Wilbur stops playing. It is so sudden that Tommy opens his eyes, a question on his tongue. Tommy discovers the moment his eyes are open why his brother stopped. They are not alone. Of course, they still have servants and guards around them, but the entity standing at the end of their blanket is not a servant or a guard, not even someone who could be engaged with by the protectors of the imperial family. It is a fire elemental in the shape of a young woman. She has curling red hair that lands gently across her shoulders with smoldering orange and black eyes. Her skin is a salmon pink color. She wears a mermaid dress with a black corset and a iridescent red skirt. She holds her cheek in her gloved palm, staring down at the two princes. A slow smile creeps onto her face as she notices the two looking back at her. She tilts her body, descending without letting her flat shoes touch the ground. The snow begins to melt underneath her, dampening the blanket. Tommy startles back as she cups Wilbur's cheek. The brunette's eyes widen in surprise, his attention completely enraptured by the woman in front of him. She tilts her head curiously at him. "I should have known that a person with a voice that beautiful would be equally as cute."

Her hand falls from his cheek as her knees bend in front of him. Her fingertips trail across the edges of his cloak. She smooths out the cloth, touching a silver emblem at his shoulder. She smiles at it. "I hadn't expected you to be a prince, but then again, would you expect me to have settled for anything less?"

She meets Wilbur's eyes, getting extremely close. Wilbur's face turns red, either from embarrassment or the heat the fire elemental naturally exudes. She smiles even wider at him, but her grin is not exactly natural. There is a wisp of insanity, of amusement, to the edges, a shining mirror of what she could turn Wilbur into if left unchecked. "Let us seal a contract together."

Wilbur's mouth opens, but nothing comes out. He looks away from the fire elemental. His eyes dart around too quickly for Tommy to meet his eyes. Tommy reaches out to grab Wilbur's hand. The brunette glances over at Tommy. Because of The Ender Prince, Tommy knows this situation could potentially be dangerous. The fire elemental in front of them is not a meek force to reckon with. But she does have substantial power in her own right, and she could prove useful to Wilbur, especially if the prince wants to sit on the throne. Tommy will just have to make sure that her and Wilbur's relationship never sours.

Wilbur squeezes Tommy's hand with an assured smile and slight nod. Wilbur looks back into the fire elemental's eyes. An energy Tommy is unfamiliar with touches the air around them. Wilbur breathes in deeply, "I, Wilbur Craft of the Antarctic Empire and Soot of the Blood Church, would like to seal a contract with you. In exchange for EXP and fulfilling your desires, you will deliver me from harm and make my wishes come true."

The fire elemental uses her hand to brush some of Wilbur's hair away from his forehead. She nods, "I, Sally of the Fire Elemental King, agree to your contract."

A flash of light is produced from Wilbur's side. He makes a startled noise when he pulls his hand up. The back of his hand is coated in flames as red as Sally's hair. She laughs quietly at him as she slides her fingers across the back of his hand. The flames die away, but they leave behind a rose gold emblem in their wake. The emblem is a few geometric shapes fitting together to make a complex pattern, almost flower- or star-like. The edges of the emblem shoot out, snaking up Wilbur's wrist. They disappear underneath his shirt sleeve, but he presses a hand to his heart. He sheds his coat, breathing in deeply. He stares down at his body with wide eyes, exclaiming, "I'm really warm."

Sally nods, gesturing towards herself. "Contracts with fire and water elementals make the contractor resistant to extreme temperatures. You should be able to withstand the intense heat or cold from now on. However, you are not completely immune, so it would serve you well to be careful."

Wilbur's eyes widen as he listens to Sally. Tommy seems just as excited. He grabs Wilbur's arm. He feels the heat radiating from his skin. It reminds Tommy of his mother and other brother, but their heat comes from their Nether disposition. This is from Sally's influence, or maybe the emblem on the back of his hand.

Sally laughs quietly at them. They both look at her. Sally twists around. She sits between them instead of hovering in front of them. Her presence starts to melt away the snow underneath them. Instead of getting damp, the blanket nearest to her has a thin layer of steam. Sally reaches both of her hands out. She pulls Wilbur against her chest, and she nudges Tommy down to put his head in her lap. Tommy expects this behavior towards Wilbur, but he never imagined Sally would be treating him this affectionately as well. She was, ironically, always cold to Theseus, whispering in Wilbur's ear how Theseus should be disposed of. Theseus wasn't much kinder to her, though, so maybe Sally in The Ender Prince was only throwing back what was dished to her. Tommy hasn't done anything to her yet, so she allows him to share her warmth despite not being contracted to him. Sally runs her gloved fingers through Tommy's hair, and he realizes that he might be right in his assumption. She smiles down at both him and Wilbur. "You are both so adorable when you're curious. Ask me whatever you would like. I shall do my best to answer."

Tommy blinks. Sally's greatest strength is not a physical one. While she does provide Wilbur with Elemental Armor- armor made from an elemental's essence- and the ability to conjure small flames, she is not as adept at combat as most of the other elementals in The Ender Prince. Instead, her value comes from knowledge. Sally is a relatively old fire elemental who has spent her life collecting stories from passionate artists, writers, and other arts-based talents. She was the sort of person people naturally gravitated towards, and she would collect their secrets for her contractor.

"What is a fire elemental doing this far north?" Wilbur asks, starting the questionnaire with a question Tommy had.

The blonde pays attention to Sally as she hums. "I find it easier to talk to people here. I am a novelty to them, and the frigid northerners are kinder to a fire source than they are to a bitter wind or a ball of hail. In any case, I would say the division between elementals and the two southern and northern nations is a misconception. Yes, elementals tend to gravitate towards where their king is, but that does not mean we are bound to that land. Even if we were, it wasn't too many generations ago that one of your forefathers was contracted with the Fire Elemental King. I came with the king to this land, and I stayed here even when the contract broke for the reasons I mentioned previously."

"Does that mean only the Earth Elemental King is bound to the Badlands?" Tommy asks.

Sally's eyes widen as she looks down at him. He fears that he's misspoken, but Sally smiles at him. "You are quite knowledgeable for a young prince. Yes, the Earth Elemental King, known as the Warden, has sworn to protect Pandora's Vault alongside the current generation's Guardian. This was a task bestowed upon him centuries ago during a time when even some of the current elemental kings were not born yet."

"Born yet? Does that mean the king can change?" Wilbur asks.

Sally nods. "They do not change as frequently as the kings of man do, but there have been instances where an elemental king has died and been replaced. The Earth Elemental King is the only one who has not had a successor, but that is mainly because no earth elemental wishes to be shackled with the Warden's duties. I believe the first elemental king to be replaced was the Air Elemental King. No one knows how she died; she simply disappeared one day. The air elementals fought for a long time over who would succeed her. The current Air Elemental King is the one who eventually took the throne. The Fire and Water Earth Elemental Kings do not have nearly as interesting stories behind the passing of their torches, but it has happened before."

"Would you ever become the Fire Elemental King?" Wilbur asks.

Sally laughs. "No, that is not my intention. I like the current king. Even if I did not, I would never dare oppose him. I am not a warrior or a leader. I prefer to think of myself as a muse. I can inspire, not rule."

"A muse, huh," Wilbur says. He glances at Sally with a smile widening on his face. "Would you like to be my muse?"

"Certainly. Your music is what brought me over here," Sally explains to him. Tommy closes his eyes. He listens to their conversation, mulling over the information he's just gotten. There was an Air Elemental King before Sneeg. The Ender Prince never mentioned it, but Tommy has long since come to realize that the world is far more complex than The Ender Prince made it out to be. Or Tommy doesn't remember as much about The Ender Prince as he wishes he does.

But the previous Air Elemental King... could she be... Tommy drifts off to sleep, basking in Sally's warmth and thinking over what he could be missing.

---

She raises a hand towards him. He tries to grab it, but it slips from his grasp. He drops onto the ground, a spluttering cough shooting blood from his body. He stares up at her eyes- warm, kind, red as the dawn, red as falling autumn leaves, red as the blood around him- and he smiles at her. He watches her body get consumed by the raging storm, part of her material form flecking away even as he calls for her one last time. With a heavy heart and shattered breath, he murmurs, "I release you, ▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️, from this contract of ours."

"I'll find you," She sobs, clutching her stomach as storm clouds descend from her eyes. "I'll find you, and I will protect you this time."

"I'll be waiting... for both of you," He whispers, and suddenly, the weight crushing him is gone. Before his soul can completely slip away from his body, he can hear the soft laughter of the goddess he once knew. He curses her weakly as everything he ever is or was or will be ceases.