I was made to lie on a soft spread of haystack, even after I had insisted that I was completely fine. Landon and Serena were on my opposite sides, looking worried. The Prince was standing directly in front of me, a few steps away. My heart was still thundering wildly, the way his powers thundered in the ring.

"Really, I am fine." I started to raise my body but couldn't, as the hay had my bottom buried in deep.

"Here," Prince Nova reached his hand over. I looked over his welcoming face and put my hand in his open palm. A Prince! A Prince! I tried to stop the slight tremor that occurred with the touch, it traveled through my arms, and into my brain, making it all fuzzy. 

He pulled me up lightly, supporting my elbow with his other hand. My eyes momentarily landed on his, and as a soft string of golden sunlight fell over his face, I could have sworn the yellow specks of his eyes, turned a little greener. I was almost drowning in their beauty. 

He let go of me gently, when I was fully seated, leaving me with nothing but mild tingles at the spots where he had touched. 

I smiled at him, feeling self-conscious as my inner system turned syrupy. Get a hold over yourself, Eleni.

He cocked his head to a side and asked, "Does your head hurt now, miss?"

It didn't hurt now, of course, after his calm healing spell. I reflexively touched my forehead and blurted, "I think it was a heatstroke. I will be fine, thank you for your help," I added shyly, "Your Highness."

As I said it, I realized what a pathetic excuse I had given, the sunlight here hardly touched the ground, it would take a miracle to cause a heatstroke. He gave me a polite half-smile, nevertheless.

I was about to nudge Serena to save me from the embarrassment and stole a glance at her, but she was ogling the Prince. I was about to roll my eyes but stopped knowing I was in the direct line of vision of royalty.

She had other plans, obviously, which worked out anyways.

"Your Highness, actually we were looking for you," Serena flashed her badge, "Liberan Corresponders, you see... to interview you... and your dragon. I mean not to interview the dragon, of course...just you."

It was funny seeing her so flustered, or she had perfect sentences flying out of her mouth at all times. I turned to Landon and saw him pinching the crook of his nose.

"Oh, you are from the Spring Realm too," Prince Nova said looking at her and stood up straighter, "Well, how about you interview me after the Round One? I am in a bit hurry right now. And also, for the inconvenience caused to your schedule, allow me to invite you over to the Gemini Embassy. There's a small celebration. Hoping your work could wait till then."

Serena opened her mouth again but Landon got in before, "We will be honored, Your Highness. That would be very generous of you. It would work very well."

Prince Nova smiled politely, he had his hands clasped loosely behind him and stood in a perfect princely posture. And I couldn't help but stare at his long legs and toned muscles that were evident from his lustrous white tailcoat, his perfectly chiseled face radiating with the faint golden aura of sunset. His hazel eyes suddenly glanced over me and I nervously lowered my own. This was what Amelia had wanted to know; Prince Nova was everything she had imagined.

He stepped forward and shook hands with Landon, catching him mid-bow. The gesture clearly told us he didn't want us to be formal.

"I hope," he looked at me yet again with a soft smile, gaze unruffled and steady, "that you'll feel better soon, miss." And with a final nod he turned away.

I stared open-mouthed at his departing figure, my face and thoughts frozen.

"Somebody tell me I am dreaming." Serena had recovered quicker than me and was panting like a canine.

Landon responded with a frown, "No, you are not, now come on, help her up. Can you walk, Eleni?"

"I think so, yes." I hated lying to them but I couldn't let them know the real reason of my pain. The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. I was sure that my Mark had gotten a bit darker after my sneaky flower demonstration on the ground earlier.

I couldn't wait to find out what shape the Mark would take.

As we walked, towards the porch above, where Violette waited at the entrance, I glanced back at the huge birdcage.

The dark red bird still seemed to stare at me.

***

I found myself busier than ever with articles to write and the score charts to figure out. I checked my finished article once again to verify that the Defensors were perfectly ordered as per the High Panel's results. Four Defensors would be deemed as 'also-ran', the ones that are defeated. And the remaining Eight Defensors would be marching up ahead for the Round Two - 'Duel of Creatures.'

Serena peeped into my chart and exclaimed, "Oh, how I wish that King Orlon were at the bottom of the Summer Realm's list. But alas, it'd be the cute Lord Lenox who would be leaving, not him." I nodded fervently at her words since I had had the same thoughts, while making the chart.

"Well, Lord Gareth is safe for now, that's a relief at least," she murmured and went back to her own work.

I, however, traced the letters of a certain name, remembering my hand in his. His smile unwavering and his voice soothing – 'Easy there. Breathe now.' I already had dreamt about him for two nights straight, but I would forget the dream as soon as my eyes would open. Only his face would linger back. Prince Nova had invited us to the Gemini embassy and I couldn't help but giggle about it with Serena. 

Amelia would be so jealous if she knew.

I had thought of writing a letter to Uncle Barak, but it hadn't felt quite right. If I had undiscovered Earth powers in me, it was obvious that my parents had been living in the Spring Realm as refugees, unpermitted. Uncle Barak must know something about this and the fact that he had never wanted to tell me anything, made me sick.

There must have been some reason for their strange actions, but it didn't mean I wasn't feeling betrayed. Why did my parents let me believe that I was powerless all my life? Why had they let me suffer?

I had been haunted by these thoughts since the day I had raised the black tower. The people of one Realm were not allowed to stay in another Realm, it wasn't particularly a sin, albeit not as huge as marrying amongst Realms. But it was enough of a big deal to make me homeless. And now that I knew my parents were not from Spring Realm, I started seeing certain moments of past in a different light.

The fondest memories that I had of my mother were us planting new saplings, watering the plants first thing in the morning, watching a bud turn into a vibrant flower. And father would help me with school work, he loved my beautiful handwriting. He would point to various locations on the maps and give me an insight into the unknown territories of the Four Realms.

I had been flying back in my memories, noting the key-points that my childhood brain had never caught on. Mother had always used the tiny climber veins to pick up her objects, making it seem like Air. The vines of the plants would be so thin that one couldn't see them through the naked eye. I knew now of course that she used to the shrink up the vines and make them as thin as a hair-strand.

My father, on the other hand, had always worked as a cargo man, he picked up heavy luggage, that needed manual support, items that were too delicate to be airlifted. It was the perfect job for him, as these men go unnoticed on the teeming dockyards. He was more than capable of lifting up the heavy shipments, I thought back as I remembered his physique. Tall and heavily built, muscular than most men I had ever seen.

Mother had never let me believe that there was even a small possibility that he might be dead. She had kept waiting for him, and now I was waiting for both of them. They needed to come back and answer all these torturous questions that were killed me from within.

If only I had tried searching inside of me, for something other than wind magic, maybe I would have found it. I should have realized that the soil sung under my feet and the plants whispered of wellness in my ears. The leaves turned brighter when I touched them and the buds opened up wider. I should have seen it, should have felt it.

The most horrible realization had been about Amelia. Was she even my real cousin? A shudder crept over my spine.

I rubbed my palms on my face and brushed away the dark wisps of my hair out of my eyes. I kept pushing these thoughts and questions at the back of my head, and continued with my work. I only had distraction as a weapon, until I went back home and sat down with Uncle Barak for some clarity. Forcing myself to not bother about the mountain of problems was the only thing I knew, and the only thing that kept me going.

I felt like I had opened a portal to a secret dark place, that reeked of ruination and despair.

I let out long sigh and looked down at the chart on my lap. Back to work.

***

"We must protect her," the woman sobbed.

"I know, my dear," the man was soaked in sweat and gently took his wife's hands in his. He was wounded and had cuts all over him.

"There might be a way," he said looking in the distant thoughtfully, "I have a friend. I had saved his life in Terraskee, and he owes me the Debt of Life."

The woman's eyes flickered with hope and she looked at the baby in the bassinet, sleeping peacefully, her pitch-black hair swirling with the wind. "How can this friend help us? Where is he now?"

"I don't know, love. But we might need to find out ourselves how he can help us. We need to go to the Spring Realm."

***

I stepped out of the working tent after a while to stretch my legs and kept walking, shivering a little in the cold, lost in my thoughts. I sat down on a bench near the entrance of the gate of Libra House's embassy. There was a huge birch tree behind my bench and the shadow, though unneeded as the sun was forever hazy, was calm. I reclined back, folding my legs up beside me.

I peered down and hitched up my woolen trousers, revealing the small red Mark on my ankle. It was vaguely shaped like the letter 'C', but nothing concrete. It was different, different in a way I couldn't really put to words. I had been expecting the Mark to turn into either the symbols of the Bull, the Sea-Goat or the Maiden. But it was taking its sweet time to morph completely into the shape it was intending to become. My patience was running out. If only I could perform Elementation freely, I would have sped up its process of revealing.

I traced the faint lines of my mark with my little finger. It was the only key for now that could help me find my identity; the sign would let me know which House I belonged to. I clutched my ankle lightly.

And then a sharp pungent smell hit me.

I craned my neck back around to find the source of the scent. a carriage was passing by outside the gate. As the carriage came closer, the smell grew even stronger. It was not at all familiar, it seemed like the object that was producing the smell was freshly made.

When the carriage took a turn left and was getting out of sight, a light breeze made the carriage's curtain fly and my eyes fell on two men riding inside it.

They were covered in all black. Even the masks that covered their faces, were a shade too black. They looked like the spy or soldier that I had seen under the mini-amphitheatre, who had been taking a woman hostage. Suddenly alert, I made sure I was well hidden behind the tree. The carriage passed on and I heaved a sigh of relief. 

There was definitely something going on.