Jeweled

Prologue

Adult voices echoed throughout the long, stone alley, coming to rest in the ears of a young infant. The baby had been placed in a woven basket, and wrapped in a thin green cloth. However, even with the chill of the autumn breeze and the noise of the adults, the child didn???t stir.

???Ain, no, we can???t do this!??? pleaded a female voice. It sounded as though the owner had been sobbing.

???Seika, we have no choice. This child will ruin us if we keep her!??? countered the loud voice of a male.

Now, with the shouting of the man, the child awoke and began to howl. The normally pale face was scrunched up and red, hiding the bright, emerald eyes from view. Short arms flailed wildly, barely covered by the sleeves of a tattered grey shirt.

A woman in an equally torn teal dress leaned over the child, trying to sooth it. ???Calm down, sweetie.??? She said softly, her necklace sparkling even in the dim light. Pale hands reached up to grab the precious stone, and the woman laughed. ???Sorry, Avani, but you???re not getting my necklace.???

???Come on, Seika.??? The man said impatiently, walking over to them. His grey pants provided no shelter from the cold night, and his shirt wasn???t much better. The girl in the basket began to sob even louder at the sound of his voice, and Seika glared at him.

???Ain, she???s terrified! We can???t just leave her here!???

???Seika, it???s better for her to stay. Helen will take care of her, don???t worry. I???m leaving a note.???

And sure enough, there was a note pinned to the cloth.

???Mistress Helen, this is Ain Drash. I???m leaving my daughter, Avani, with you. She is the Earth Elementalist, but do not tell her about her powers until she discovers them on her own! We???ll be waiting for her to come and find us in Ruby. Please take good care of her, and let her know that we love her very much and are waiting to see her.??? It said in Ain???s messy scrawl.

Seika was once again trying to calm the screaming child, but gave up her efforts when she was tapped on the shoulder by a solemn-faced Ain.

???It???s time to leave, Seika.??? He said softly, knocking on the door behind them. ???Avani will be safe here.???

The woman nodded slowly, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. And then, with one last kiss placed upon the forehead of a screaming child, they left. The baby???s cries still echoed throughout the alley, longing for a mother to comfort the infant.

Chapter One: Twelve Years Later

???Oh. My. God! I can???t believe that your birthday is tomorrow, Avani!??? exclaimed a girl with short black hair. Her fingers moved swiftly through the mass of light brown curls in front of her as she pinned them into place. ???And not only that, you???re turning thirteen! Now all of the little kids are going to look up to you!???

The curly-haired girl laughed; a sound like bells ringing, ???Kae, it???s just my birthday. It???s nothing special. But then again, I???d love you forever if you managed to get the prince of Jeweled to talk to me.??? Her emerald eyes sparkled at the thought of the prince, Lyulf, talking to her. That was the only present she wanted; the rest she would accept, but not truly care about. Prince Lyulf was the most sought-after boy in the kingdom. His eyes, which were strangely the reddish-orange colour of fire, were the envy of most, both male and female. His personality ??? or what people had seen of it ??? his clothes and even his hair were all perfect. However, he had never talked to any girl in Jeweled, save for his sister and mother. It was Aoi???s dream to be the first to be spoken to by him.

While Avani daydreamed, Kaela was hard at work pinning up the birthday girl???s hair. ???Done!??? the latter announced, stretching her pale fingers with a grin. ???You have way too much hair, Avani,??? she commented, sliding down from her position on top of one of the beds in the room.

Avani laughed again, which ended in all the girls in the room staring at her with disbelief in their eyes. Avani never laughed about Kaela???s comments! Everyone looked at her, Kaela included, with their mouths nearly hanging open.

???What???? Avani questioned. The others burst into laughter, shaking their heads to indicate to ignore them. Avani shrugged, still confused. ???I guess I???ll pack for the trip, then.??? That comment that had just come out of her mouth made Aoi remember why she had been so happy about her birthday in the first place. There was a camping trip that took place the day before her birthday every year, each time lasting the same number of days as the year she was turning. This time they would be out in the nearby Emerald Forest for thirteen days, because she was turning thirteen. She had wondered about the length of the trip when she was younger, but hadn???t asked Mistress Helen about it for a couple years.

A few minutes ??? and some random articles of clothing thrown into leather bags- later, the twelve girls in the room were done packing. They stared at the wooden walls of the room, which had been painted yellow by Kaela a year ago, for a couple seconds before charging out the door. It swung shut behind them with a loud bang, making a few of the younger kids jump. One of the girls, the only one with flaming red hair, looked up at Avani with some kind of respect. The young child looked to be about seven, and she stared at the older girl with wide blue eyes. ???Are you going ahead with Kaela, Avani???? she asked in a small, timid voice. Avani nodded, smiling down at her.

???Yes, that???s what we???re doing. You guys are going to have to wait for the Mistress!??? Kaela announced, gripping Avani???s pale arm after straightening the bottom of her pale blue dress. Her hand was strong, probably stronger than the hand of a twelve year old girl should be. But Kaela had always been this way; she was the leader, and everyone knew it. The two girls marched into the forest, Kaela nearly dragging Aoi along behind her. They left behind the younger orphans, all of them under ten, as the group of ten children waited for some authority figure to show up. They were admittedly scared of Akari and Kaela, the only two girls that had been in the orphanage for over eleven years.

Akari was dragged along the bumpy path that wound through the forest, the skin on her arm stretched to the point where it hurt. Sunlight filtered down through the treetops, casting an eerie, greenish glow on her pale brown hair. ???Kae, stop! You???re hurting me!??? As soon as Aoi said these words the girl in front of her stopped moving. Akari stumbled forwards, almost crashing into her as she rubbed her aching arms. Kaela was gazing straight ahead, mystified by a strange, golden glow that shone from the clearing ahead. As soon as Akari noticed it the light surged, bright enough to eclipse the sun for a split second. And then, as quickly as it had come the glow vanished, leaving Akari with a golden after-image in her eyes. She blinked to clear her vision, and then gasped. Standing in front of them, with branches that seemed to go on for miles, was a tree. This would have been ordinary, if it wasn???t for the fact that the trunk, the branches, and even the leaves that drifted to the ground from this miracle were all solid gold that shimmered slightly in the sunlight.

The shocked silence that had come over both girls was broken from a low, menacing snarl from the surrounding foliage. Both Akari and Kaela tore their eyes away from the living masterpiece to stare into the impenetrable green wall. A pair of glowing red eyes stared back. Kaela panicked, screaming and shoving Akari towards the monster in an attempt to escape. It was no use; the shrill sound just aggravated the beast and it ignored Akari in a desperate lunge to silence the loud creature. All Akari saw as the monster flew past her was a blur of blackish-brown that seemed vaguely dog-shaped. A second scream followed the first, and Akari whirled around to face her friend. The nearly-teenage girl was on the ground, with a giant dog standing over her. Sharp fangs curled out from its muzzle, and drool dripped down onto Kaela???s face. The girl was shaking with fear, forcing herself not to scream.

At this sight only one thought ran through Akari???s head: ???I hsi eh go dluo pot!??? She had no idea what that meant, but as soon as the foreign words ran through her mind the rough growling suddenly stopped. A fearful glance at the animal proved that not only had the growling stopped, but a branch ??? complete with leaves ??? from a nearby tree had wound itself around the animal, stopping it from moving. It tried to open its mouth, and when it failed, made a pathetic whimpering sound. Kaela stood up shakily, somehow managing to brush dirt off her dress as she approached Akari. ???W-What???d you do, Akari???? The girl didn???t answer. Instead she dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. She stared at the trapped animal, before her eyes closed and her body went limp.

~*~

There was a bright, blinding light. Even though her eyes were closed they hurt, and she didn???t have the strength to tell someone to make it darker. The world surged into blackness again.

~*~

Another light, softer this time. There was noise as well; a jumble of voices that was impossible for Avani to understand. She tried to speak, but her mouth wouldn???t work. The darkness took over yet again.

~*~

Voices again, but this time louder and much closer. Avani fought against the force that threatened to overtake her, and nearly lost. Her consciousness slipped for a couple seconds, before she regained control of her mind. The sounds slipped out of focus as the scene from three days ago replayed itself in her head. It was patchy as the event slipped in an out of focus. ???Kae???? she asked, her mouth finally working. Even when her eyes wouldn???t open she hoped that her friend was alright. But before she could hear an answer the darkness took over again, dragging her back to sleep.

~*~

A bright light was all she could see for a few moments. Then there was black against the whiteness, and the soft whisper of voices. It was now that Avani realized how dry her throat was; she swallowed, which didn???t help. ???Water,??? she croaked out, her voice cracking. Avani couldn???t believe what she was hearing - she sounded ancient!

A cup was held to her lips, and she let the cold liquid trickle over her cracked skin. ???Are you okay, Avani???? a quiet voice asked, and Avani forced herself to nod. She began to actually drink the water, relishing the feel of the liquid against her throat. It wasn???t long before the cup was empty, and Avani was struggling to sit up.