"Trying to escape?" the Sultan asked after Gerrard and I were thrown in front of him on our knees.

"Trying being the operative word," I muttered. 

"You aren't making your punishment any easier on yourselves, are you?" he asked, only pretending to be concerned.

"Well, if you treated us better maybe we wouldn't be trying to escape," I said.

"What do you mean? How else do you treat prisoners?" he replied.

"When we went to one of the Earth nations, even though we were prisoners of the Queen's, she still made sure we were bathed, fed, and rested. She didn't once try to harm us until she knew exactly who we were," I said. "You see, the difference between you and the Queen of the Earth nation is that she was kind and fair. That's why as a Queen, she was greatly loved by everyone and is now a good friend of ours. She's one of the few people that I respect and revere. After the way you've treated us, I would never even think to consider befriending you, let alone respect you," I continued.

The Sultan stood seething at me. He had taken his turban off now and I could see the veins in his temple throbbing. Clearly, I had  touched a nerve. But whether or not it was enough to save mine and Gerrard's lives was uncertain.

"So am I to blame if I try to exercise some order around here? Pardon me for being a strict ruler! Imagine the state of this kingdom if I were to be as relaxed as this Queen you speak of. We would be obliterated by enemies in an instant!" the Sultan cried.

"Except they wouldn't. They'd respect you and consider you an ally. There's a reason that your enemies are your enemies. It's because of the relationship you choose to make with them. You choose to feel hatred towards them, so they do the same to you. It's one of the laws of the universe. An eye for an eye. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If you show your so-called enemies that you hate them, they'll show you that they hate you just as much. So instead, you could be the bigger person and step back. Be kind. Doing that alone will confuse the hell out of them. And then you talk like a civil human being instead of an animal," I said.

The Sultan stood speechless and staring. I breathed heavily, tired from the energy my little speech took. I had initially wanted to prolong my inevitable punishment for trying to escape. But as I spoke, I found myself venting all of my pent up frustrations with the magical world. 

From what I could tell so far, the hidden world of magic was just as messed up and broken as the one that I was a part of. Every nation was isolated. There was no nation that knew the whereabouts of another. Everyone hated each other and it seemed like the entire magical kingdom was in a state of never-ending war. How did we get like this? Was there ever a time when there was peace all around? I had always thought that since we were all magic users, we would be willing to help one another, for the sole sake that we were the same because we could do magic. But as my time in other nations increased, I was starting to think otherwise. We were just like everyone else: separated and vengeful.

"Tell me something. You hate the Aguamenti because of some wars of the past that never even affected you and now you're projecting that hate onto us," I said.

"How dare you say that those wars didn't affect me! They affect everyone in this kingdom! They are a part of our history," he said.

"So? Because of whatever my ancestors did to your ancestors hundreds of years ago, you're going to keep this feud going? When will it end? The truth of the matter is, is that whatever happened all those years ago doesn't affect you; it affected them. But now, it's your chance to start over. It's your chance to make your own decisions and not follow the ancient decisions of the past. Be your own self. What kind of ruler are you if you choose to make the same stupid choices of your ancestors? Because in my opinion, if you change up the way you choose to exert your power, you will be the one remembered in history. For making a difference," I told the Sultan. 

Now the Sultan was truly silenced. He closed his mouth, stress lines appearing on his forehead as he thought about what I said. Gerrard nudged me with his foot and I glanced at him. He raised his eyebrows at me, as if to ask how I had come up with all of that. I simply shrugged and looked back at the Sultan, who was now pacing, his brows furrowed.

"The reason I called you in here was not to chat," the Sultan began. I noticed a difference in the tone he was using. It no longer was harsh and condescending, but it wasn't completely sympathetic, either. "It was to tell you the results of the blood test," he said.

"Did you find that I'm a half-breed?" I asked him. He looked at me grimly.

"Yes, we did. You are, indeed, partly a water master and partly a fire master," he said. 

"So does that mean you aren't going to kill us?" I asked. 

"No matter the foul blood in your veins, we cannot kill one of our own," he said.

I let out a sigh of relief. One thing was for sure: we would get out of this alive.

"So are you going to let us go?" Gerrard asked. The Sultan turned towards him.

"Not quite yet," he said. I felt my stomach drop. "I still want to know what exactly you have to do with Mikael. And I would like to take a look at those maps that he has given you," he paused, looking at us, "However, that will be for another day. For now, since you have consistently insisted, you may eat and rest. We will converse in the morning tomorrow," he continued.

"What about me?" Anoki, who had been quiet up until this point, asked. The Sultan looked at him.

"Just let him go. He was only trying to help us. It wasn't his fault," Gerrard said, sticking up for our strange sidekick. 

"I let him free before and he chose not to accept it," the Sultan said.

"I promise I will leave this land for good if let me go now," Anoki said. The Sultan sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I don't care. Just go. I have a headache and I don't want to deal with all of this now," he said.

Gerrard and I glanced at each other. I decided to keep my mouth shut in case he changed his mind about giving us food and a comfortable place to eat. The guards unshackled us. One of them led Anoki out of the room. Before he walked out the door, he exchanged a glance with me. I tried to convey to him that we would meet up again once we got out of here, but I wasn't sure if he got the message. Turning his head away, we watched Anoki walk out of the room.

The guards then led Gerrard and I out of the room, too. We walked to what I assumed to be the center domed building and then went up a flight of stairs. We turned towards the right and walked down a hallway, which led to a set of doors. Above the doors, written in gold embossed letters, was a sign that read "East Wing". We walked through the doors and into what was called the East Wing. I noted the golden textured wallpaper. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it wasn't wallpaper at all. It was actual gold. I raised my eyebrows, impressed, and continued walking forward.

The guards led Gerrard and me to a suite with double doors that were trimmed with gold. 

"These will be your living quarters for the time you spend here. Someone will come get you for dinner," one of the guards told us. We nodded at them and then opened the doors to reveal the most spectacular room I had ever seen.

The walls were painted a fiery red and had gold designs running vertically down them. The walls and ceiling were trimmed with a shiny ebony colored marble that was embossed with a solid gold trim. The floor was covered with an extremely soft carpet that had brightly colored sun burst patterns. Directly in front of us were a few red suede couches with black and gold afghans thrown over them. To one side was a small kitchen area and to the other was another set of double doors that led to what I assumed to be the bedroom. 

Gerrard and I walked through the second set of doors to check out our sleeping area. It was decorated in much the same way as the main area, except for a giant king size bed on a semi-circular platform at the end of the room.

"Holy Merlin's pants..." I muttered under my breath.

"There's just one," Gerrard said.

"I'm sure it would be pretty difficult to fit another one of those in here," I said.

"Yeah, but it means we either have to sleep with each other or one person sleeps in the living area," he said.

"We've slept with each other before," I said, waving my hand like it was no big deal. Gerrard raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm really glad that our significant others weren't here to hear you say that," he said. I rolled my eyes at him.

"It's not like we're having sex. Calm down," I said. He elbowed me in the stomach.

"You wish you could have sex with me," he said.

"Ok. In your dreams," I replied.

"Been there, done that," he said. I turned to him, my mouth open. He laughed. "Kidding," he said. But I wasn't all together too sure about that.

Once we had settled in and took our turns showering in the equally magnificent bathroom, Gerrard and I pulled out our maps.

"We can't give these to him," Gerrard said.

"I know. It would give away the locations of all of the other nations and I'm not too sure that the Sultan is going to take my words about peace to heart," I said.

"Exactly. But he said that he wants to see our maps," he pointed out.

"We're going to have to tell him that we can't show him," I replied.

"I have a feeling that he's not going to take that as an option," he said. I frowned, biting my lip.

"What if we made a map of all the nations on here that are fire nations?" I suggested.

"Just the fire nations?" he asked. I nodded. "But you told him that we went to Sylvanterra. He knows we have maps of the other nations, too," he said.

"Should we just forge a fake?" I asked.

"That would piss him off," he said.

"Well, then, what do you suggest we do?" I asked, growing frustrated quickly.

"Distract him," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"Keep him off the topic of the maps. If he doesn't remember that he wanted to see them, we won't have to show him," he said.

"And how do you suggest I do that?" I asked.

"You're pretty good at finding things to talk about," Gerrard said.

"Are you calling me a big-mouth?" I asked.

"I never called you anything," he said. I gave him a look and he simply shrugged. 

"So what are we looking to get out of here?" he asked, changing the subject. I started putting the maps back inside my bag.

"Information. Maybe he knows where Mikael was heading after he was here. Wherever he was going, we'll go there next," I said. 

"I still don't get why Mikael is sending you to all of these places," Gerrad said. 

"Who knows what's going on in that crazy old man's head," I replied, hiding the purse under the couch I was sitting on. "I wanted to ask you something," I said.

"What?" he asked. I took a deep breath.

"I've been thinking about my mom," I said. He pursed his lips. "I thought maybe I could find some information about her from here. Maybe about her own lineage," I continued.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well...everyone says that because I have my mother's blood in me, too, that I can be a master of fire, also. Gianna only taught me some of the really basic spells that fire masters use. I can't do any of the advanced stuff. But if I really am a partial fire master, I should know how to, right?" I replied.

"Yeah...I guess you're right. I mastered both water and air. There's no reason for you to not try to master fire," Gerrard said.

"I was going to ask the Sultan if he would tell Anokhan to train me," I said.

"Anokhan?! Are you serious?" he asked incredulously.

"He's strong, Gerrard! He took me out with one fire ball! My fire energy balls are nowhere near as powerful as his. I want to be as strong as he is," I said.

"He's been training to master his element since he was a child, Caley. We don't have that much time to spare. You can't be a true master of fire in just a few weeks," Gerrard said.

"I know, but I just want to know how to be more in control of it," I said. He sighed, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Ok, but ask the Sultan if he'll train you first. I don't like that Anokhan character. He's ruthless and if he trains you, he has the permission to hurt you, too. And I can't let that happen," Gerrard said.

"I'll be fine," I said, trying to convince myself to believe my own words. Gerrard was right, after all. Although the Sultan seemed to be more accepting of me once he found out that my mother was a pure blood fire master, I didn't think Anokhan really cared. All he saw were my blue eyes and that was enough for him to hate me. It was magical discrimination at its most extreme. I just hoped it wasn't so bad that it would get me hurt; or worse, killed.

We heard a knock at the door and turned to see one of the guards.

"The Sultan has summoned you for dinner," he said. 

"Summoned?" I repeated, glancing at Gerrard. He shook his head at me. We both got up to leave, but the guard stopped us. 

"What?" Gerrard asked.

"You cannot dine with the Sultan looking like that," the guard said, gesturing towards our khaki shorts and white tees.

"We don't have anything else to wear..." I said, already seeing where this was going.

"Laila will take care of that," he said, stepping aside to reveal a very beautiful maiden girl. 

"Well, hello Laila," Gerrard said, checking her out. Laila shifted uncomfortably, so I stepped on his foot, making him let out a stream of curse words directe towards me.

"Are you going to pamper us?" I asked Laila, stepping aside to let her in.

"That is what I was asked to do," she replied, nodding. She had two garment bags in her arms plus a small bag. She handed one bag to Gerrard. "You must change into this," she told him, keeping her gaze down. "You must come with me," she said to me. I glanced at Gerrard and shrugged, following her into the bedroom.

Laila pulled out a beautiful red dress from the garment bag she was holding. It was the same fiery red as the walls and flowy with long, draped sleeves. Around the middle was black beading which cinched the waist. I went into the bathroom and changed into the silky dress. I looked in the mirror and smiled, wondering if my mother had ever worn something like this. 

I went back out into the room and Laila curled my hair and did my make-up. When she was done, I felt like an Arab bride. She handed me a pair of gold sandles, which I slipped my feet into. After looking over me twice, she was satisfied. I thanked her and she left. I followed her out to the living area, where Gerrard was standing in an outfit like the Sultan's, except it was plain black. 

"These pants are ridiculously uncomfortable," Gerrard said, pulling at the legging-like pants that he was wearing. I laughed.

"More uncomfortable than the leather pants you wore in Sylvanterra?" I asked. He frowned.

"Not quite, but almost," he replied. I laughed again. The guard was waiting for us outside. He led us through the palace, back down the staircase that we had previously gone up, and into an exquisite dining hall. 

The Sultan was sitting at the head of the elegant table. Around the rest of the table were members of the Sultan's inner circle. The only ones I recognized, however, were Anokhan and the man that I had spit on earlier. The Sultan raised his arms in welcome when we walked in.

"Ah, my guests have arrived," he said, a small smile falling on his face when he saw what we looked like in our traditional outfits. Anokhan sat with his arms crossed over his chest, a dark look on his face. "Come sit," the Sultan said, gesturing towards two chairs by the head of the table where he was sitting.

Gerrard and I made our way over to sit next to him. I didn't realize until that moment how hungry I was. It dawned on me that we hadn't eaten anything in nearly two days. It was no wonder that I was feeling so incredibly weak. It was because of lack of nourishment and because I still didn't have the necklace that Trey had given me.

"I assume you are well rested now?" the Sultan asked.

"Well, we're clean now, if that's what you mean," I said.

"We haven't had a chance to sleep yet," Gerrard said.

"And we're kind of really hungry," I added. Gerrard elbowed me in the side for my bluntness. The Sultan chuckled. 

"Well, I can take a hint. Since we're all here, let the food be served!" the Sultan said. 

Immediately, dozens of palace workers came out holding golden trays that were laden with food. My stomach immediately started grumbling as I saw the deliciousness set down in front of me. One of the waiters set down a dish of red chicken that was garnished with the greenest looking herbs I had ever seen. I had to keep control of my appetite and wait until everyone was served to begin eating. Once the last person had gotten their food and the Sultan announced that we could begin eating, I started stuffing my face.

"Oh my Merlin. This is fantastic," I said, savoring rich, spicy taste of the chicken. Gerrard shook his head at my less-than-feminine manners. But I didn't care. I was hungry.

Once we had been amply fed and the dishes had been cleared off, the Sultan let everyone go. He stopped me, however.

"Caley, if you would stay a moment," he said. I looked at Gerrard, who didn't move. "Just Caley. You may go, Gerrard," he said.

"But--" Gerrard began to interject.

"Just go. I can handle it," I said. 

"Caley..." he started. I gave him a look. He pursed his lips and then nodded before getting up and leaving.

"He's quite protective of you," the Sultan said as we watched Gerrard's retreating back.

"He's like an older brother to me. Or like...a guardian of some sort," I said. 

"It must be nice to have a companion on this journey you're taking," he said. 

"It's more of a comfort, really. To know that someone's there for you," I replied. He nodded.

"Shall we walk? I don't know about you, but my stomach feels heavy," he said. I chuckled and nodded. He led us out of the dining room and then out of the large dome building. We walked through the open corridors of one of the side domed buildings.

"Did you need to talk to me about something?" I asked the Sultan. 

"I wanted to know about your relationship with Mikael," he said.

"I told you already. I met him once and I need answers," I replied.

"Answers to what, though?" he asked.

"I can't say," I answered.

"And why not?" he asked. I opened my mouth to answer, but he cut me off. "Don't say it's because you don't know the nature of what you're looking for," he said. I sighed. He wasn't going to let this go.

"I recently found out about a curse on my family line," I said.

"The curse of the Aguamenti," he said.

"You know about it?" I asked.

"Everyone knows about it," he said. "Especially those of us in the fire nations. The curse is what helped us win the last war," he said. 

"Do you know the exact nature of the curse?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"All I know is that it kills the water masters," he said. I was silent for a moment, twisting my engagement ring on my finger.

"The curse was put on my elemental line by the original witch. The original water master tried to fool her into falling in love with him so that he could steal her powers. But she found out and put a curse on the original water master's elemental line, dooming water masters to never be happily in love. So when a water master falls in love, either they or their loved one will be subjected to something horrible. Because of this, the water masters can never fall in love," I explained to him. 

We stopped walking and stood by one of the wide arches that overlooked the city below.

"Do you know how it feels to love someone so much that it hurts, but know that you won't ever be able to have a future with them?" I asked him. I felt a lump rise in my throat as I thought of Trey and how far away he was and what this curse would do to me and him.

"Not exactly in the sense that you mean, but I have lost many loved ones," the Sultan said. 

"Like who?" I asked.

"My grandfather, for instance," he said. I remained silent, letting him continue. "Back when my grandfather was ruler of this nation, there was a war with one of the water nations. This was nearly 50 years ago. My grandfather had been a kind ruler, much like the one you described the Earth nation ruler to be. But the war...it changed him. He was hit by a curse that was so powerful that it left a poison inside of him. Slowly, over the years, he became bitter and irrevocably sick. I only knew him for the first ten years of my life, but from the stories he told me, I knew he used to be a powerful leader," he paused. "He cared about me a lot. Much more than my own father. So when he finally passed away, it affected me significantly," the Sultan told me.

"I guess I understand why you hate the water masters so much," I said. "But I also see that you've gone through the same thing that I'm going through now. There was nothing you could do to help your grandfather and I'm sure that if there was, you would have taken the chance to do it. That's why I'm trying to find Mikael. He's my only chance to save any future that my fiancee and me have together and I have to take it," I said. 

We were silent a moment, the sounds of the city below us swirling around in the air. I stared out at the magnificent city, but wasn't quite seeing any of the buildings below. My mind was haunted by the sad images of my past and possible horrible images of my future. 

"My mother died trying to find the counter to the curse," I told him. "I watched her die, right here in my arms," I added.

"I am sorry to hear that," the Sultan said. He sighed. "You know, Caley, I misjudged you," he told me. I raised my eyebrows and looked at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He shrugged.

"When you were first dropped in front of me, all I felt was loathe towards you because you encompassed all the characteristics that I hate. But now, I realize that you are simply a girl on a mission to save her beloved," he said. "Although, you are quite hot-headed. You should probably learn how to control that, since many of the things you do, albeit effective, are also offensive," he said. I smiled slightly. 

"I'm working on that," I said. "So do you think you can help us out? Do you have any idea where Mikael would be?" I asked.

"I remember him saying that he was going to the Himalayas for meditation after he left from here. Because my father was also quite hot-headed and he suggested that my father take up meditation, too," the Sultan told me. 

"The Himalayas? Why go all the way there just to meditate?" I asked. 

"There is a community of monks atop one of the mountains. They say that those that live with the monks there come back spiritually enlightened and completely in control of themselves," the Sultan said. My ears perked up when I heard the last bit.

Completely in control of themselves. That is exactly what I needed to be. Although Rowan's lessons helped me a little in taking control of my emotions, I was still far from being completely stable once provoked. I shuddered as I thought of how easily I would have killed Ahmet had Gerrard not stopped me. Maybe this wild goose chase looking for Mikael wasn't for nothing. Maybe I could gain something from going to each of these nations. 

"Can I ask you something, Sultan?" I asked. 

"Please, call me Firaaz," he said. 

"Ok, can I ask you something, Firaaz?" I repeated. He nodded. "I was thinking about how I can be a master of both water and fire if I really tried. I mean, not a true master of fire, but a partial one, at least. I was just wondering if you would be willing to train me for a few weeks," I said. 

"You plan to stay here that long?" he asked.

"If that's all right with you," I said.

"Will your fiancee not be worried that you are away for that long?" he asked.

"My fiancee doesn't know I'm here," I said. He raised an eyebrow. "He thinks I'm studying abroad in Italy," I said. I waved my hand, shooing the topic away. "It doesn't matter. It's a long story. So can you? Help me train?," I questioned.

"Well, I have other affairs to take care of, so I will not be able to train you myself. I can, however, appoint you one of my men to train you," he said. 

"That would be perfect. Thanks," I said. 

"Why do you want to be trained?" he asked. 

"Back where I'm from, there's a war brewing. I just want to be prepared, just in case," I replied. 

"Ah, another Trinity War?" he asked. My eyebrows shot straight up.

"How do you know about that?" I asked.

"Word gets around. We isolated nations think that the wars are petty and pointless," he said.

"You don't follow the Trinity of Magic?" I asked. He shook his head. 

"We don't have to worry about interference with Magia-Non. Our nations are completely isolated and we do not have to interact with those that do not use magic. Thus, we have no reason to have a law about how to behave when around Magia-Non," he explained. 

"Wow...that must be nice," I said. "How do you keep magic from the children, though? Or does that work differently, too?" I asked.

"Our children learn about magic as they grow up. They memorize theories and spells until they receive their own powers at puberty," he replied. 

"I feel like that is the smart way to go. I don't understand why we keep magic a secret from our kids. It's stupid and adds more complications, in my opinion," I said.

"I see the sense in it, though," Firaaz said. "Because our children are exposed to magic early on, we have to worry about making sure they do not try to attempt magic on their own, so we have our own rules about safety," he told me. I pursed my lips.

"I guess that makes sense," I said. I tried and failed to suppress a yawn. Firaaz chuckled.

"I can see that you are tired, so I will take leave of you now," he said. I smiled lazily at him.

"Thanks," I said. "And thank you for the hospitality. I know I can be a complete...bitch...but like I said, I'm working on it," I said. He laughed.

"Sleep well, Caley Lucia," he said. I waved at him and then turned to walk down the hall to my room.

I walked in to my suite to find Gerrard awake and waiting. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw me unharmed.

"What took so long?" he asked.

"We were just talking," I replied.

"About?" he questioned. I went into the bedroom to change out of the pretty red dress I was wearing. Gerrard followed me. I grabbed a pair of pajamas from the wardrobe and then went into the bathrrom to change.

"I told him about the curse on my elemental line and that that was why we were looking for Mikael," I said.

"Did it do any good?" he asked. I came out of the bathroom.

"He said that after Mikael left here, he was going to go to a monk community in the Himalayas to meditate," I told him.

"But that was, like, 15 years ago..." Gerrard said.

"But if he was there, maybe they have more recent information about him," I said. "And besides, I think the monks can help me with my anger issues," I added. 

"Ok, so we know where we're going after we leave from here," he said.

"I told him that I wanted to stay a few weeks," I said, getting into the giant and extremely comfortable bed. "Because I wanted to train."

"What did he say?" he asked.

"He said he'll find me someone that will train me and that I can stay as long as I want," I replied. 

"I think you're getting too comfortable here," he said.

"We have a whole year to find Mikael. I think we're fine on time," I said. He shook his head and got into the bed next to me.

"But don't you think it'd be better if we found him sooner rather than later?" he asked. I yawned and laid down, pulling the blanket up under my chin.

"Of course I do. But I also want to make the most out of these trips. I still want answers about my mother," I said. He sighed and laid down next to me.

"It's up to you, then," he said. 

"I know what I'm doing, Gerr. Don't worry," I assured him, turning the lights out.

And before he could say anything else, sleep washed over me.

________________________________________________________

A/N: Yay! He didn't kill them! 

Next chapter will be action-y because the focus will be Caley's training.

I'm asking again for you all not to consistently tell me to update. I have a life and other things to take care of. So chill out. I'll update when I have time.

How do you like the Sultan now? Leave a comment and vote!! 

XOXO