Chapter 27: Respect Among Adversaries

Of all the options presented before us, my answer was to just leave the sleeping beast alone, and maybe it would fly off on its own one day. Others wanted to kill it, and though it seemed cruel, they just wanted to protect their families. Having been recently married myself, with a child on the way, I could understand the sentiment.

Still others wanted to try and wake the monster up, which I thought would be seen as a sign of aggression on our part, and I wasn’t sure that the human race could fight off that Dragon once angered. We had only recently stopped fighting with all the alien races in the new galaxy, and I wasn’t too eager to start another war. But by far, the most dangerous opinion was one that some of the scientists had, one which involved using the monster as an energy source. Guess who won the vote?

“Leon Lurranna ... care to tell me why you never mentioned the fact that you are the son of the Emperor?” asked Éclair Hamashe with her arms crossed. Éclair was already slightly peeved at Leon for the other day, so now that she knew he’d been lying to her this whole time, she was beyond furious.

Leon did have the courtesy to look slightly uncomfortable as he held up his palms in surrender. “I’m sorry, okay. It’s just not that big of a deal. I never told anyone because it’s a little awkward coming clean with the fact that your adopted father is the political enemy of every Elemental in the Empire.”

Éclair was aghast. “You mean he’s not your real father?”

“You really think my mother would put up with that pig, or that a man like Chissler would ever be seen having a relationship with an Elemental, especially one from the Lurranna family line.”

Éclair had to sit down on the chair beside the bed and think things through. After they’d shown the strange man named Kavic to his quarters, Éclair followed Leon back to his room to confront him. What angered her most of all was the fact that he seemed content to pretend it never happened, and everyone just went along with his delusion, no doubt a very subtle hint he gave them all with his telepathy.

Leon’s room was large but simple. Leon himself didn’t have many mementos, which struck Éclair as odd since she knew that the Lurrannas must’ve been a very wealthy family given Leon’s aristocratic mannerisms. The room was pretty bare, with only a tall bed with black sheets, a writing desk with a holo-computer built into it, and a few guest chairs that had been shaped like black swans.

The only personal items to be found in Leon’s room included a small black rose with a white stem and red thorns that sat in a vase on a shelf over the bed, and a 3-D holo-projection. The projection depicted a family with dark hair and eyes, just like Leon, dressed in noble attire. Obviously, the picture had been taken in the days when Elementals were still allowed to hold noble titles.

There were two adults, whom Éclair assumed were Leon’s parents. In between the adults stood a little boy with glasses, obviously Leon himself, albeit a much happier and more innocent Leon. And then there was one other person standing next to Leon, a little girl holding his hand. Éclair had at first assumed that the girl was Leon’s sister, but the more she glanced at the picture, the more she thought her initial theory to be false.

First of all, the eyes and the nose weren’t right. Her eyes were still dark, but more darkish brown than black. And her hair seemed a slightly lighter color than the other Lurrannas. If she wasn’t Leon’s sister, she could have still been a Lurranna. The Lurranna family was a clan after all, and clans are different from families in that they can have hundreds of members, all from different families that share only slight blood relations with one another.

An old custom that went back to prehistorical times on the primitive human homeworld. Apparently, inside a clan, everyone was related somehow. Not directly related, but they were all cousins. That’s how the Lurranna clan had been formed; at least, that’s what Leon told Éclair. She still didn’t understand it completely, but it didn’t change the way she felt about Leon. What Éclair couldn’t figure out was how Chissler fitted into this picture.

“If Chissler hates Elementals so much, why would he adopt you?”

“Why do you think? For power.”

“Power?” repeated Éclair quizzically.

Éclair feared that she was starting to sound like Ryan with all her ignorant questions, but she couldn’t help herself. She had to know the truth about this mysterious man that had stolen her heart.

“Yes,” said Leon as he walked to his window, gazing out into the night as if searching for answers from the stars. “Why do you think that Chissler despises Elementals? It’s because they have power that he can never have. So what’s the next best thing if you cannot have the power of Elemency? Control someone who does.”

Éclair took a step closer to Leon and spoke quietly. “He wanted to turn you into some kind of weapon?”

Leon didn’t reply right away.

Éclair could tell that it must’ve been a painful memory. “If this makes you uncomfortable, then I can leave.”

Éclair turned to leave, but Leon gently took hold of her hand and said. “No, please stay. I want you to know.”

It wasn’t lost on Éclair her proximity to Leon at the moment, or the fact that he held her hand.

As if reading her mind, Leon let go of her hand and turned back to the window. “There’s not much to tell, really. Chissler took me in because of my blood. It was all business to him. Never mind the fact that a young boy had just been made an orphan.”

Éclair felt that now would be inappropriate to inquire on his family’s fate, so instead she asked him, “What do you mean by blood?”

Leon laughed a little, which surprised Éclair since she’d rarely heard him so much as chuckle. “You don’t know much about my family, do you?”

“Only what you’ve told me.”

How can you expect me to know anything else if you don’t tell me? Why do you have to act so mysterious all the time? I can’t read minds like you can, thought Éclair.

Then Éclair realized that Leon might’ve been able to steal those thoughts from her head. She almost blushed, but Leon didn’t seem to notice, which seemed a good sign that he wasn’t reading her mind.

“Well, let’s just say that my family had a rather famous, or should I say infamous, reputation for being powerful Elementals. Chissler makes it a matter of pride to ‘acquire’ a choice few Elementals with unique abilities and add them to his ‘collection’.”

Éclair put her hand to her mouth and gasped in astonishment. “You mean to say that the Emperor has Elementals of his own?”

Leon chuckled again like he thought her a stupid little girl. “Of course. He calls them his ‘elite.’ His own personal bodyguards. They are little more than slaves to him. He selects them at a young age based on their unique lineages and abilities and adopts them before the Ministries have a chance to find them. He brainwashes them into mistrusting all Elementals and nonhumans, teaching them that they must be subservient to their ‘pure-skinned’ masters.”

“That’s horrible,” gasped Éclair, knowing full well the fate of those in bondage. “How many have had to suffer this fate?”

Leon bobbed his head sadly and Éclair finally understood a little of where those sad eyes came from. “Last time I was there, it was ten including myself, but he could have recruited more. As soon as I realized what Chissler was trying to do to me, I escaped. It wasn’t easy. I would have been caught, but someone helped me.”

“Who?” asked Éclair, a slight amount of emotion seeping into her voice.

“I don’t know. I never got his name. I only remember a white dog and an old man with green eyes,” replied Leon

Éclair froze, her eyebrows raised in shock. Leon’s description fitted perfectly with a man from her past, a man that Éclair swore she would never tell anyone about. Éclair tried to practice the training she’d been given by her mother to shut off her mind and keep her thoughts from being stolen, but it proved difficult ... especially with Leon.

How can I keep this from him? Him of all people?!

But as much as it hurt Éclair to do so, she had to keep this information from Leon, as much for his sake as for the sake of her old godfather. Éclair prayed to the Caretaker that Leon didn’t notice her panic.

Sadly, he did. “Éclair, is something wrong?” asked Leon with concern. “You look pale.”

Éclair’s mother had taught her long ago that the best way to tell a lie was to put a little truth into it. Not to lie outright, but just not to say the whole truth. “I just thought of something embarrassing a few moments ago and I panicked because I realized you might have picked it up.” Éclair blushed, genuinely embarrassed not only by the accuracy of what she told Leon, but from the guilt of keeping secrets from him.

Leon smiled benevolently and said, “No need for that Éclair. Truth be told, I can’t really read people’s minds.”

Éclair almost sighed in relief, but for the sake of the deception, she simply said, “What?”

Leon seemed a little embarrassed himself now as he scratched his lower cheek with his index finger. “I’ve never told anyone this because it’s dangerous revealing the weaknesses of your abilities, but I have a hard time reading people’s thoughts. If I concentrate hard enough on a single person for a few seconds, I can sort of tell what they are feeling, but nothing more. I can imprint my own thoughts easily so that I can communicate messages to others, but I haven’t gotten the hang of stealing thoughts. As much as I like to look cool in front of people, the truth is I still have a lot to learn.”

Éclair felt even more guilty about her secret now that Leon was trusting her with such a dangerous secret of his own. She decided she should leave before he told her anything else that could be used against him.

On the day that I’m ready to tell you about Starbeard, then I will ask you what happened to your family.

Éclair started backing away slowly to the door. “Leon, thank you for everything you’ve told me. You don’t know how much it means to me. I can understand if you want to be alone to-”

Éclair heard someone grunt just outside the door. Leon heard it too as he immediately stepped in front of her and waved his hand to make the door dissolve. As the door burst into flames, a person fell through the entrance, a short person who’d been eavesdropping in a very crude manner of espionage.

“Ryan?” said Leon.

Éclair had no words.

Ryan quickly got to his feet, dusting himself off with that stupid grin of his. “Hey, guys.”

“Ryan! You were spying on us!” cried out Éclair, her fists shaking in rage.

Ryan started turning purple, but that would hardly be enough to save him from his fate. “It’s technically not spying, it’s eavesdropping. There’s a difference, you know.”

“It’s also called rude, ‘you know’,” said Leon angrily, but not nearly as angry as Éclair.

Ryan put up his hands nonchalantly. “What do you expect after dropping a bomb like that on us? ‘Oh, by the way, I’m the Emperor’s son. Get over it!’ I was just curious like Éclair.”

“Ryan!” growled Éclair a little louder than she had intended.

Now Ryan looked scared, as well he should. He backed away as Éclair took a step forward. “Okay. I can see that I have made a severe error in judgement. Allow me to express my deepest apologies to the both of you for my foolish ways.”

Éclair had endured enough of his childish attempts at charm and humor as she scowled at him, her hands on her hips. “I’ll give you three seconds,” said Éclair in a terrifyingly quiet voice.

When Ryan spoke again, he sounded deathly serious. “Thank you. I’ll need it. You are a very fast runner. And on that note...” Ryan raised his finger again as if to say something even more ridiculous, then he bolted.

Éclair wasn’t about to let him get away that easily as she quickly counted to three in her head before chasing after him while summoning icy mist to her fingertips.

“Are you listening to me, Ryan?” said Eramar tapping his foot impatiently. “Or are you still whining about that little bruise Éclair gave you?”

“Little bruise!” exclaimed Ryan indignantly, rubbing his face still swollen from Éclair’s right cross. “I barely escaped with my life, and just because I was a little curious. Women! Am I right?”

“I don’t know why you’re so upset,” sniffed Grafael. “A few bruises are to be expected in a courtship. Why, I even knew a couple that loved each other so dearly that they severed each other’s arms just to prove their undying affection.”

Ryan’s jaw gaped in disbelief at such a statement. “I feel disturbed on a number of different levels right now.”

Grafael seemed confused. “What? The battles in love are much the same as the battles in war ... at least on Sauria. Is it not the same for humans?”

“No. Severed limbs are not romantic,” replied the exasperated Ryan.

“Then what is?”

“I don’t know,” said Ryan honestly since he’d never given much thought to such girly activities. “Dinner. Movies. Poetry maybe.”

“You take that back!” roared Grafael, suddenly offended as he hoisted Ryan up by the scruff of his neck with a single hand.

“What?! What did I say?” cried a terrified Ryan as his feet dangled from the ground.

“On my world, anyone who dares to call himself a poet is killed on the spot! Such prancing peacocks with their idiosyncrasies, their rhyming, their metaphors, and their nonsensical ways of talking are not welcome on Sauria! Saurians mean what they say, and they say what they mean!”

“I can see that,” gasped Ryan, finding it difficult to breathe in Grafael’s grip.

“Grafael, please put Ryan down?” asked Eramar calmly.

As if coming out of a daze, Grafael slowly lowered Ryan to the ground. “I apologize, little one. Such prejudices have long been instilled in me since I was very young. If you wish to offer poetry as a means of courtship, then so be it. However, as you are part Saurian, I would have thought you to have better taste in culture.”

Ryan rubbed his sore neck. “Hey, don’t worry about it,” he said, hoping to ingratiate himself back into Grafael’s good graces. “I don’t really get poetry either.”

“Then we are brothers again,” said Grafael cheerfully as he clapped Ryan on the shoulders so hard he nearly fell over.

“Yeah ... brothers,” said Ryan, now messaging his sore shoulders.

“Alright, that’s enough bromance, ladies,” said Eramar while clasping his hands together. “Grafael, I asked you here because Ryan’s deadline for the exam is approaching and he’s not ready yet.”

“Pshh! Says him,” mumbled Ryan under his breath.

“Says everyone,” retorted Eramar.

“Come on, I mean ... I did defeat a Level Three Mystic. If you ask my opinion, I’m too strong,” replied Ryan. “I mean, I’m so strong, my muscles are swollen, yo.” Ryan thumped his chest and gave the peace-out sign like he’d seen men do in the holomovies.

“Me thinks that the only thing swollen is your inflated ego,” commented Grafael with a dry chuckle.

“I’ll rip your tail off and stuff it down your throat, you big-headed jerk!” retorted a flustered Ryan, puffing up his chest and stepping forward aggressively.

“I’d like to see you try, foolish human child,” said the Saurian now nose to nose with Ryan, except Grafael had to bend down considerably to do so.

“I think that’s a good idea,” added Eramar with a smirk.

“What?” asked Ryan and Grafael simultaneously.

“The reason I brought Grafael here is to help improve your physical combative skills, Ryan,” replied Eramar. “From what Tork has told me, your power with fire is improving and your skill with the blades is adequate, but your hand-to-hand fighting skills leave something to be desired. Elementals are required to be versed in all fields of combat as a general rule. So, until the time of the exam, you will be training with Grafael in Vok’gar, the Saurian martial art.”

Grafael grinned at Ryan in a way that made him feel squeamish, like the way a wolf might grin at a sheep.

“Uh, is that such a good idea? I mean, what does punching really have to do with Elemency?”

“What happened to the vigor that I perceived earlier?” taunted Grafael. “Perhaps the whelp is not as durable as he boasts.”

“You still haven’t answered my question,” said Ryan, ignoring Grafael.

“Have you learned so little?” Eramar asked, clutching his eyelids while shaking his head back and forth in defeat. “Elemency is as much an art as the martial arts. To know your body, to have your mind and spirit focused together into one engine ... this is the essence of martial arts, and yes, it is also the essence of combative Elemency.

“When you summon the flame element within you, you aren’t just shooting fireballs. You’re releasing a part of your essence - a part of yourself - into those flames. It’s much the same as extending your fist for a punch.”

Eramar demonstrated by punching with his own fist in the air, then a ball of flames appeared from his knuckles and exploded into the air, becoming as large as a house before dissipating.

“When you fight with fire, you must use it as if it’s an extension of yourself, like you use your hands and legs. Do you really expect to be so familiar with the flames if you don’t take the time to become familiar with your own limbs?”