Chapter 19
1761 Words
Chantelle walked inside and she closed the door. Roman was standing at the kitchen counter peeling an apple, and he looked at her with a smile. She looked up at him, and she sighed a heavy sigh.
"What are you smiling about? You better hope that girl can keep her mouth shut," scolded Chantelle, and Roman looked at her with a grin.
"Don't worry, she will. Besides, she wants to talk to me later,” he said, as he looked back down at his apple, and Chantelle looked at her son oddly.
"Do you two know each other?"
"We have met before,” he said, as he put an apple slice in his mouth, and Chantelle only nodded.
Evidently, she didn’t want to pry and scare him off. If he is okay with that girl coming over, then she would have to trust him, and Ashta. She didn’t mind Ashta at all, she just didn't know her yet. Seemingly, she hoped that if anything got serious between them, that she would be able to get to know the princess better. Chantelle had an extra bedroom in her house, and she gave it to Roman. She looked in the room and sighed.
"Listen, I know this is not what you are used to, but.."
"Mom, it's fine,” said Roman, as he chuckled, and Chantelle looked at him in shock.
"What did you just call me?" she asked, as a tear came to her eye, and Roman looked at her sincerely.
"You are my mother, aren't you?" he asked, as he gave her a sideways glance, and Chantelle smiled happily, as she nodded.
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Later that morning, Ashta and Lashanna were bored in Lashanna's room, lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"This place is so weird,” stated Lashanna, and Ashta nodded in agreement.
"So, what are we going to do now?" She asked, and Ashta looked at her thoughtfully.
"I'm not sure, but I need to get in touch with the spirit realm again."
Lashanna looked at Ashta with wide eyes, as Ashta let out a heavy sigh.
"The spirit realm? What do you mean?" She asked, intrigued.
Thoughtfully, Ashta looked at her friend, and she decided to tell her about the other realms she had visited.
"Sometimes, when I dance with the elements, I am taken to another world. I have seen visions of the past, and I have to tell you that there are gods out there that speak to me,” she explained, and Lashanna just looked at her.
"Am I freaking you out?" Ashta asked, cautiously, as she closed one eye.
"No, I think that you are amazing," Lashanna said in awe, and Ashta rolled her eyes.
Suddenly, they heard a bunch of commotion outside Lashanna's door, and they quickly sat up.
"The princess! She is gone!" they heard someone shout, and Lashanna and Ashta giggled.
Reluctantly, Ashta got up from the bed, walked over to the door and opened it. She noticed a bunch of guards as they ran down the hallway, and she huffed a laugh.
"Hey, guys!" she called in a singsong voice, and the guards turned around and looked at her for a moment.
"I am right here,” she said, as she waved her hand dramatically.
"We just came to check on you, after what happened today,” said one of the guards, and Ashta rolled her eyes as she closed the door.
She didn't care what else they had to say.
"Well, I guess sneaking out to see Roman is out of the question,” said Lashanna, as she clicked her tongue, and suddenly, Ashta looked at her.
"Wait, how did you know?" Ashta asked her, as she uncrossed her arms.
Lashanna gave her a knowing look, and both girls laughed.
"Uh, if I want to go see Roman, I will," Ashta stated, and Lashanna nodded.
"Alright then. Come on, let's go terrorize the castle. I'm bored,” said Lashanna, and Ashta nodded in agreement.
"Tag, you're it!" Ashta cried, as she opened the door and ran out of the room.
Immediately, Lashanna chased after her. Ashta had just made it to the stairwell when she tripped and went tumbling down. Lashanna watched in horror as Ashta hit the bottom of the stairs and didn't move.
"Ashta, oh, my gods!" yelled Lashanna, as she ran down the stairs.
Evidently, Damian, Xavier, Glen and Liam must have heard the racket, because they came running out of the throne room, alarmed.
"What happened?" Glen asked, worried, as he looked down at Ashta's body.
"She tripped," Lashanna cried, as she put her hands to her face.
She wanted Ashta to be okay. Suddenly, Ashta moved her arm, and Lashanna gasped.
"Ow!" Ashta cried, as she stretched her arms and legs.
Surprised, they all watched as Ashta sat up.
"Oh, my. Look at your hand." Cried Liam, as he pointed.
Curiously, Ashta brought her hand in front of her, and she looked at it. Her wrist was twisted in an unnatural way, and there was a bone sticking out of it. She stared at her wrist wide-eyed for a moment.
Why don't I feel any pain? she wondered, as she stared at her bone.
I wonder.
Firmly, Ashta grabbed her wrist, and she twisted it back into place with a sickening snap. Everyone stared in horror as she moved her wrist in a circle and realized that she was fixed now.
"There, good as new," Ashta said, as she looked up at everyone's gawking faces.
"You can self-heal!" Gale asked in shock, as he stared at her wrist.
Ashta shrugged her shoulders as she got to her feet.
"I guess so. I have never gotten seriously injured before. I guess that is why,” she said, frankly.
"Hmm, very interesting. I don't think that Ashta has reached her full potential yet,” said Liam, as he put his hand to his face.
"Really? Well, we will take her to the Garden of Eternity,” suggested Gale, and Liam nodded.
"What is the Garden of Eternity?" Ashta asked curiously, and Gale and Liam both looked at her, as they gave her a peaceful smile.
"It's our place of peace and enlightenment. Also, some of the Slayers and Selvempts were born with the ability to control one of the sacred elements. The rock of elements is there," explained Liam.
Ashta nodded, and Damian turned to her.
"Would you like to go there on our afternoon walk?" he asked her, and she nodded as she smiled enthusiastically.
"Afternoon walk?" asked Gale, suspiciously, as he raised an eyebrow, and Damian looked at the king sheepishly.
"Yes, we have a date,” said Ashta happily.
Gale looked at Liam, and Liam nodded encouragingly. Gale cleared his throat and nodded.
"Well, have fun on your date, and I encourage you to visit the Garden of Eternity,” he said, as he held his head up high.
Ashta could tell that her uncle was trying to accept the new change, and she grinned at him.
"What is a date?" asked Xavier, seriously, and Lashanna and Ashta busted out laughing.
Liam, Gale, Damian and Xavier all looked at each other.
"I think that is what humans do, when they fancy each other," Liam suggested.
"Something like that,” giggled Lashanna.
"Well, Damian and Xavier, why don't you two go get ready? Ashta, does this occasion acquire dress attire?" asked Gale.
Ashta smirked up at her uncle and she shook her head.
"Keep it casual,” she said, as she winked at them with one eye, and gave them a thumbs up..
Seemingly, Lashanna bent over and laughed again. Gale and Liam looked at each other, and they shrugged their shoulders.
"Well, when you four get back, I want to hear all about a date,” said Liam, and Lashanna snickered.
"Oh, and wear comfortable shoes,” added Ashta, and Damian nodded.
Seemingly, Gale dismissed them, and Damian and Xavier went upstairs to their rooms to change.
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That same day, at the cottage, Chantelle showed Roman ways he could help around the house. She also showed him how to take care of things that he had never done before, like doing his laundry, the dishes, and whatnot. Roman seemed to quickly adapt to the fact that he was no longer a prince anymore. Although he was still arrogant, his mother decided she would try to fix the damage his father had done to their son.
Roman was happy that he had finally found his mother. His father had lied to him, and had abused him all of those years for what he was. Everything he did was wrong in his father's eyes. When he got frustrated with something or did something wrong, Roman expected Chantelle to scold him or beat him, but to his surprise, she didn't. This was strange behavior to him, and he didn't understand it at first, because he felt that he deserved to be punished.
Seemingly, Chantelle showed him nothing but patience and love. Roman was beginning to feel like he was actually wanted, and that was the best feeling in the world to him. He had never felt this feeling before.
The people of the community didn't bat an eye at Roman and the neighbor's daughter had taken a liking to him. He began to feel like he was home, and he knew if he had ever gone back to Taitum, Maya and his father would lock him up in the dungeon forever. He had made his decision. He wasn't ever going back there now. Besides, he was finally able to see Ashta.
"Roman, I have a council meeting tonight. I shouldn't be out too late. I think you should go out to the garden where I found you. Maybe the spirits will connect with you. They can help you figure out who you are,” suggested Chantelle.
Roman looked at her in question, and she looked at him with care.
"You have just as much power as the princess does. You just need to figure out how to unlock it. I am sorry, the only person who knew about the elemental powers was a man named Yinlin, and word around here is that the man has passed on,” she said sadly.
"Yinlin?" Roman asked.
He remembered hearing that name before, and he thought for a moment.
Ashta's grandfather! He realized.
Roman looked at his mother, and he nodded to her. He decided while she was gone, that he would go check out the garden.
- Writer
