“How old is your daughter?” I got the feeling that I may have met her already.
“She would be fifteen now.” He confirmed my suspicions.
“Is her name Tara?” I asked, hoping I was right.
“Yes, have you heard of my Tara?”
“More than heard of her, she’s a servant for them. She was assigned to me.”
Theodore sighed with relief and asked questions about her. I assured him that she looked well. For a moment, I thought I heard him crying, but the sound disappeared quickly. When he asked about his son and wife, I had nothing to tell him. I wished I had better news. After talking to Theodore through the wall for several moments, it finally dawned on me that Tara was my cousin! Monty wasn’t married and dad was an only child, so I never really contemplated what it would be like to have cousins, but it was exciting.
Ruth brought me back to reality when she told me that I had to continue to practice. “Last time you closed your eyes, you wielded water, so you clearly have a connection to water. Let us try growth. I would assume you have this one. Charlotte, concentrate on that vine up there.”
I looked up to where Ruth was pointing. High up at a small window next to the ceiling, vines intertwined with the bars. I closed my eyes and visualized the vine growing longer and longer until it moved down the wall. I heard a gasp and opened my eyes.
“Such strength so early,” Ruth whispered. I looked around and saw that the vine had moved all the way down the wall.
“Okay, Charlotte, now reverse it.”
I closed my eyes, expecting to instantly visualize the vine retreating, but instead I visualized wood from the door splintering. I heard a loud cracking sound, but kept my eyes closed tightly.
“Charlotte!” Ruth cried. I immediately opened my eyes.
“You are splintering the wood in the door. It is unbelievable, but the vines are still there,” Ruth said, her voice full of surprise.
“I know. I just pictured the wood instead; I couldn’t control it,” I admitted.
“You are going to have to practice, as I said; these powers are dangerous without control. Try again,” she commanded.
This time when I closed my eyes, I mentally tried to shift my mind toward the vine. Immediately, I pictured the vines retreating. By the time I opened my eyes, no sign of the vine even appeared in the window.
“Now the door, we need to repair it before a guard comes down,” Ruth instructed.
I closed my eyes and made myself think of the door. I heard a sharp crackling, and when I opened my eyes, the splinter was fixed.
“How am I doing this, Ruth?” I asked in awe.
“An Essence is the human form of the earth’s powers. In theory, an Essence should be able to wield almost any natural power. However, in practice, I have never heard of an Essence that had them all. Theodore mentioned the importance of you being born of an Essence. It has only happened once before, over six hundred years ago. Energo was invaded by the Sutonti nation. A rogue guard forced the hand of a Guardian, making him use his sword on the Essence. The Essence was young, probably only a few years older than you. She had already had children, and her eldest daughter began showing signs of the Essence very young. By the time of her ceremony, she had already exhibited several abilities, but even she never mastered them all.”
Ruth was silent for a few minutes, and my thoughts returned to Calvin, making my heart ache. I decided to ask Ruth about her Gerard. She told me that she hadn’t even met him before the ceremony, but the feeling was instantaneous. I told her about my fear that the love I felt for Calvin wasn’t real, and she immediately became serious.
“Charlotte, you should not underestimate the bond between you and your Gerard. To do so could be your downfall. I know it is especially hard for you, because you are being told not to trust him, but the second you forget the power of your bond is the second that you lose your advantage. Please remember that no matter what happens, that bond will exist for the rest of your life, and his. Even if you are fighting on different sides, you are tied together.”
“Do you still love your Gerard?” I asked Ruth quietly.
“Yes, the love changes over time, becoming something even stronger.” I could tell that Ruth was thinking about her Gerard, and I wondered where he was, if he was even still alive.
I knew that my time with Ruth might be limited, so I asked her about her own abilities. I learned that Ruth could use water, fire, wind, growth, and temperature. I instantly remembered the water at the waterfall when she mentioned temperature. Ruth imagined I would have all of her abilities and more. She told me that she hoped to help me discover all of mine, but that if she were unable, I would have to do it on my own, like I had with the wood. She explained that the splintering of the wood was a type of manipulation, and that in theory, I should be able to do it with any natural material.
As the sun set, we sat in darkness. The cell was cold and still damp from the water. I tried to figure out how long I had been at Bellgard and began to count the days. I started to laugh. Ruth immediately asked me what I was thinking.
“Today’s my birthday. I just spent my entire sixteenth birthday in a dungeon.” I wasn’t entirely sure why I was laughing. I guessed it was because most girls had sweet sixteen parties or got fancy presents, and I had purposely had myself thrown into a dungeon. It was too dark to see, but I could sense that Ruth was smiling.
I tried to sleep, but I was cold and uncomfortable. I would have thought that nearly four years in Alaska would have better prepared me for this cold, but I had weathered the Alaska winters in warm clothes and heated buildings. I closed my eyes thinking of the snow drifts in Alaska. I opened my eyes as Ruth shook me.
“What are you picturing, Charlotte?” she asked anxiously.
“Just the snow.” I noticed that the wind had picked up outside, and it had become colder.
“Well, I guess we know you can control the weather,” Ruth said. “And that is an ability that may just come in handy.”
Eventually, I must have fallen asleep because I awakened to a sound that turned out to be a tray being slid under the door. Ruth took the tray and handed me a piece of bread. We listened as the guard retreated. We sat there in a comfortable silence for some time, before we heard footsteps moving down the corridor again. Confused, I looked at Ruth. Why would the guard be coming back? Ruth took my hand and warned me to stay calm and play along.
“Charlotte?” an unfamiliar voice said from outside the door. I stood and looked through the metal bars that provided the only visual vantage point outside of the cell. I immediately caught the eye of one of my Guardians, William.