I scooted up to his side and lifted an eyebrow. “Do you mean everybody else who can control it isn’t around right now?”

Yushir shook his head. “No. I mean that the only one ever capable of controlling that volatile element is Lord Eastwei. If anyone was ever able to do so, it is not in the records.”

A dark thought crept into my mind and I narrowed my eyes at the man. “So if it’s really hard to control how come you had me see if I could do it?”

He shrugged. “I thought perhaps your unique circumstances had made you a perfect fit for such a powerful element.” The prince stopped in front of my meditation spot and turned to me with a smile. “I am somewhat relieved to know I will not have to try to school you in such a dangerous magic.”

I raised my hands in front of myself and studied the plain, somewhat soot-covered palms. “So what elements are left? I’ve done wind, fire, water, and earth.”

“And we will skip lightning, at least for the present,” Yushir added as he tucked his hands into his bell-curved sleeves. “That leaves the ice element.” He looked past me and at the gate. “And I believe we will be able to perform that test immediately.”

I turned around and watched Arian hurry toward us. She grasped the thin handle of a small pale in one hand and her chest moved up and down under the influence of a great deal of exercise. “I. . .I have fetched it, Your Highness.”

“And in very good time,” Yushir complimented her as he took the bucket from her hand. He drew aside the cloth that covered the interior and peeked inside. “This will do nicely.” I craned my neck to catch a glimpse but he covered the mouth back up and beckoned to me with his empty hand. “Give me your palm.”

I frowned but stretched out my hand with the palm up. Yushir lifted the bucket and tipped the mouth over my hand. Something slid down the metal side of the bucket and dumped into my palm.

It was a hunk of very wet and very cold ice.

I yelped and attempted to throw it off, but Yushir clapped the bucket over my hand and pinned the hunk to my palm. “Wait a moment, Lady Roberts,” he scolded as his eyes twinkled at me.

I glared at him. “Wait a moment? You’re trying to freeze my hand off!”

“But do you not feel anything?” he persisted.

“No, because my hand is frozen!”

Yushir sighed and removed the bucket. I flung the ice onto the path where I was glad to see it begin the melting process. My hand was as red as an apple so I tucked my frost-bitten fingers into my sleeve.

Arian hurried up to my side and pulled out my hand which she began to vigorously rub. “I am so sorry, Anna. Prince Yushir made me promise not to tell you what was about to happen.”

I patted her frenzied hand. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you.” I turned my ire on our companion. Prince or no prince, I was pissed. “You could have just told me what you were going to do.”

He sighed. “I had hoped a surprise emulsion would have shocked your element out of you, but I see that I was wrong.”

“Are there any more or are you done torturing me for today?” I wondered as I drew my hand out of Arian’s firm grip.

“We are finished for the moment,” he assured me.

I plopped myself on the grassy ground and stared down at myself. “So what now?”

Yushir stroked his chin as he studied me. I felt like a newly discovered biologic trapped in a petri dish. “I am unsure. Perhaps your elemental gift is delayed due to your unusual creation.”

“But she can use creation magic,” Arian spoke up.

“That is what is so confusing about the matter,” the prince commented as he folded his arms over his chest. “You have quite a knack for that skill but for nothing else.”

I slumped over and hung my head. “Thanks. . .”

Yushir came up and patted my back. “There is no need to be ashamed. Creation magic is quite useful and as I said before, you have livened up the heavens with your food alone.”

I heaved a great sigh and lifted my head. “I guess I’ll have to be happy with baking brownies for a while, huh?”

The prince nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. I have been assigned several tasks for the festival and cannot come for several weeks. We will resume your studies after that.”

“Looking forward to it. . .” I muttered.

“Excellent! Then I will be off. A good day to both of you ladies.”

Arian clasped her hands in front of her and bowed low at the waist. “Good day, Your Highness.”

I climbed to my feet and performed my own bow though with less enthusiasm. Yushir left and my shoulders sagged.

Arian came up to me with worry written all over her face. “Is something the matter?”

I wrapped my arms around myself and shrugged. “I guess I was hoping I’d find a little bit of myself today.”

She blinked at me. “A little bit of yourself? You mean your element?”

“Element, or maybe why I was meant to be here,” I mused as I dropped my eyes to the ground and gave the earth a light kick. “I can’t forget how Lia was telling me about her grandfather and how he was meant to be a carpenter, or how everyone else has a place here but me.” I smiled up at Arian and clapped a hand on her shoulder. “Even you have a purpose while I’m just dead weight.”

She shook her head. “Never say that, Anna! You have given me my purpose and you have brought such joy to the children! They would not be so happy without you playing with them and making them those brownies.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I snorted and slid my hand off her shoulder. “I guess that’s what I’m useful for: making things for the-” I froze and my eyes lit up. “That’s it!” I grasped Arian’s shoulders and danced her around in tight circles. “You’re wonderful! You’re magnificent!”

“I am dizzy,” Arian replied as her head lolled from side to side.

I stopped and sheepishly smiled at her. “Sorry, but you really did give me a great idea for the decorating!”

She cupped her head in one hand to hold herself still and focused her blurry eyes on me. “I am glad I could help. What idea did I give you?”

“This.” I stepped back and cupped my hands together in front of me.

I focused intensely on my palms and imagined that wonderful object that would make my home decorations feel like home. My silver strands of light slipped out of the ether between my cupped hands and wound around each other.

“Come on. . .” I murmured as I crinkled my eyes. “You can do this, Anna.”

My heart lifted as I was filled with a soft warmth that gave me as much hope as the shape that emerged from my magic. The light faded and the object dropped with a soft plop into my palms.

Arian stepped closer and inspected my newest creation. “What is it?”

I held the blue-colored thing up by its ‘tail’ and the rest of the bag hung like a lightbulb beneath it. “This, my dear Arian, is a balloon.”

She squinted at my rubbery invention. “A. . .balloon?”

I proudly grasped the balloon between two fingers on each hand and stretched it out in front of me. “Yep. It’s a toy we give kids during celebrations.”

Arian cocked her head to one side and scrunched her face up. “And they have fun with this?”

I laughed. “Not in this shape, if that’s what you’re thinking. Just watch.”

I put the stem to my mouth and blew. Hard. The balloon exploded into the familiar egg shape I had known since my childhood.

Arian leaped back and let out a terrified cry. I sputtered through a laugh and choked on my own exhalation before I wrenched the mouth away from mine. A laughing fit took me as Arian’s wide eyes stared out from her pale face. She watched as still as a statue as the balloon deflated.

“W-what magic is this?” she choked out as her fearful gaze fell on me. “I thought you could not do any elemental magic!”

I got a hold of myself and held up the balloon by its stem. “I can’t. I’m just breathing into it.” I wiggled the toy and it flopped about like a flap of bluish skin. “Did you want to try?”

A green tinge accented Arian’s features and she placed a hand on her stomach. “I. . .I believe I will watch you breathe into it again.”

“There really isn’t anything to worry about,” I assured her as I placed the mouth of the stem in mine and took in a deep breath.

I took another deep breath and blew. The balloon expanded but this time I was able to pinch the mouth shut before all the air escaped. I held up the balloon and smiled at Arian.

“See?” I mused as I wiggled it. There was no sickly flopping about this time. “It’s a toy. You just blow some air into it and it takes this shape.”

Arian took a cautious step toward me and squinted at the object. “What else can it do?”

“Well, it’s really only good for one thing,” I told her as I tied the mouth into a knot. “This.”

I tossed the balloon into the air and knocked it like it was a volleyball. The toy bounced in an arch and came down in front of Arian. She scuttled back and the balloon landed harmlessly on the ground, bouncing a few times before coming to a rest near her feet.

“Go on,” I encouraged her as I nodded at the balloon. “Do what I did.”

Arian stooped and studied the strange object. She poked it with her finger and the balloon rocked from side to side. My friend took a deep breath and clasped the balloon between both hands. She stood, minding the toy as if it was as perishable as a Chinese vase, and looked it over.

“I merely strike it?” she asked me in such a child-like voice that I had to stifle another laugh.

I stepped back and opened my arms. “It’s tougher than it looks so give it a good whack.”

Arian nodded and tossed it into the air. She swung her hand hard and knocked her fist into the balloon. It shot across the distance between us and slammed into my face. I stumbled back and the balloon floated to the ground where it sat innocently rocking about.

Arian’s expression of pure horror returned. “My Lady!” She scurried over and grasped my arm as I cupped my nose in one hand. “Are you alright?”

I snorted and dropped my hand to reveal a slightly reddened nose. “Nothing a little time won’t fix but it’s my fault. I wasn’t expecting you to have such a good swing.”

She blushed. “Well, I am a bear shifter, My-”

I held up a finger. “Not another mistake like that or you’ll be using that strength to clean out Kang’s stables.”

Arian smiled and bowed her head. “Yes, Anna.”

I slipped past her and scooped up her dangerous weapon. “I’m glad you hit it that hard. Now we now how sturdy I can make them.”

Arian came up to my side and studied the toy. “But what will you do with it?”

I tossed the balloon into the air and caught it on the way down. “Why don’t we go see if the kids like it?”