Good morning. I believe we left off with a very soggy boy and his non-soggy parents. Heh. I hope you enjoy.
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“Eeek!” A sound of disgust escaped Isolde’s mouth when the thick carpeting squelched under her slippered foot.
“What happened here?” Deitrick asked in confusion, while peering over her shoulder into the wet room. His first instinct was to check to roof for a leak, but then realized that no matter how big a leak, it wouldn't let in this much water. Plus, it hadn't rained the previous night. His eyes instinctively moved towards his unique son. They widened when reaching the bed.
His eyebrows shot up when he saw the tattered and blacked blankets. When Isolde saw she rushed over to Ezekiel who was dead asleep on the bed. She was shouting thing like “My baby. My poor baby,” the whole time, all while dodging the waterlogged stacks of books. She gave a spectacular flying leap over her last sodden obstacle and landed nimbly by her son’s side.
Her eyes teared up as Ezekiel lay still. She grasped his hand. “Oh little Zekie, are you alright?” she sniffed, “answer me my baby.” Deitrick walked over to her side, also becoming a bit fearful.
Then Ezekiel abruptly opened his eyes and said. “Oh. Hello. Good morning.” He waited for a response, when none was forthcoming he continued. “What’s for breakfast? I'm starving.” His stomach grumbled, proving his point.
Isolde almost fell over. Deitrick chuckled at her speechlessness. “Alright, little monster, we’ll tell the cooks to whip up a feast.” Still infected by an unseemly merriment he grabbed his wife’s listless hand and guided her from the room. Their silhouettes walking down the wall bore a sharp contrast between a mother’s drooping shoulders, and a father's heaving with laughter.
Once his parents left, Ezekiel looked over the mayhem that was his room. He got out of bed and scratched his stomach like an old man. He bent down and touched his toes, and the reached up and stretched his back. He did a few more exercises to work the stiffness from his body.
He bounced over to the large wardrobe in the corner, hoping to find some clothes that would fit him. When passing in front of a large mirror, just next to the wardrobe, an unexpected black reflection drew his attention. The figure in the mirror turned with him, and suddenly he was looking into his own eyes.
This was the first time seeing his own image after arriving in this world. Piercing golden eyes, shimmery golden hair, and a well proportioned face made his lean figure quite eye catching. The thing that confused him more than the reflection, was the robe he was wearing. He didn't remember ever putting one on, and his parents certainly didn't; there just wasn't enough time for them to find one that fit him. Especially one so elaborate.
The robe was a made of a thick material that felt slightly cool to the touch. It felt as if it was made of water. The back brushed the floor, but the slippery black fabric wasn't wet at all, even after dragging through the remaining puddles on the carpet.
Ezekiel fingered the six golden buttons at the top. They were arranged much like a double-breasted jacket from his previous world. The two layers of the front overlapped until mid-thigh, where they sloped away from each other and fell separately to his sides. This left his knees and lower legs, clad in the black material, exposed.
The sleeves went a good couple of inches past his fingertips, and were very wide. The strangest parts of the vestment were two symmetrical strips of cloth attached to his collar of either side of the buttons. It looked a little like the thing some of the priests of his previous world wore, a stole, but it was attached to the clothing itself.
It was very narrow at the top, but got wider and wider towards to bottom, it ended in a point which made it look like a really stretched-out rhombus. From each point dangled a small teardrop of red crystal that shone when caught in the light.
Originating in a yellowish diamond shaped patched at the end, there climbed up the heavy strips of cloth two green vines, interspersed with vibrant flowers and golden leaves . The two vines twined gracefully together.
The background of each was a pale blue, bordering on white. The rest of the robe was black, except the edges which were rimmed by a thin strip of dark blue. When Ezekiel walked, the robe flowed majestically behind him.
He grimaced a bit at the impractical costume. Although it was certainly becoming, it would make it difficult to move. ‘I would much rather have a nice set of trousers, and a good shirt,’ he thought for a moment. The clothing around him responded to the wish. The cloak shrunk into the shape of a loose black jacket, and underneath was a crimson shirt.
His black pants flared at the ends and grew a pair of pockets. Around his waist wound a light blue sash, heavily resembling the strips of fabric attached to the collar of the previous robe. Two heavy yellow tassels hung from its ends, and the familiar green and gold flickered in its folds.
Startled, but no longer doubting the oddities of this world, Ezekiel sighed. ‘It's better, I guess.’ Still a bit flashy for his liking, but no longer as ridiculous as before, Ezekiel turned to make his way from the room.
A knock at the door signaled a visitor. “Yeah? Come on in.” A simply dressed maid entered and bowed. Ezekiel was a bit disappointed at her garb of plain pants and a uniform jacket, but knew it was functional. Unlike the frilly skirts and aprons of the ‘ideal maid’ back on Earth. “What is it?” he asked.
“I've been told to show you to the table.” She promptly explained: “Please follow me.” Ezekiel nodded and moved toward the open door. Once he exited the maid ushered in several others (who were dressed in light blue uniforms). Curious, Ezekiel glanced back over his shoulder at them. They were all using minor wind spells, or channeling the wind element, to dry out his room. One young man was flipping through an old book, carefully drying each page.
“Neat.” Ezekiel muttered. The maid motioned for him to continue walking, and so he did.
After walking several minutes through a maze of corridors, the maid gestured towards a pair of double door. She bowed, and signaled for him to enter. Ezekiel meekly pushed open the doors, his head barely reaching the handles, and stepped inside.
The room was much less grand than he had expected of a palace, until he realized it was a private dining hall. The one for events was closer to the entrance of the building. Although the room wasn't overly adorned, it was quite beautiful. With a coffered ceiling, and paneled walls, it had a very comfy feeling.
He walked over to the smallish table at which his parents were seated. A man standing behind the, walked around the table, and pulled out a chair for him. Ezekiel climbed onto it, but his head barely rose above the top of the dining table.
Holding back a chuckle at the child’s undignified expression, Deitrick called to the man to grab Ezekiel something to sit on. He returned with a firm pillow and placed it on the vacant seat. Afterwards, he had to lift Ezekiel onto it.
“You may leave.” Isolde told the man. Once he was gone, she looked at he son. She searched for something to say to break the silence, but someone else interrupted her. Or rather something. A grumbling sound filled the room.
Ezekiel said “I'm hungry.” Leave it to a child to ignore an awkward atmosphere. Deitrick smiled.
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“We should eat something then, shouldn't we?” The other two nodded. Deitrick called for food. Three people came out, each carrying a couple of dishes. The platters were set down and uncovered, and the servants left the room quietly. Ezekiel started drooling while looking at the slew of delicious seeming dishes. Breakfast food had always been his favorite, and it looked to be similar here to his previous world. Only it was less pre-packaged and frozen now.
Deitrick and Ezekiel said “Yum!” in unison. They then both reached for the purple sausages. Before she realized what she was doing, Isolde slapped her husband’s outstretched hand and gave a pointed look at her son.
“For goodness sake! Use the serving spoons.” She chided. They looked meekly at her. Ezekiel slowly changed the trajectory of his hand, and reached for the long metal handle. He scooped as a few sausages before passing it to his father.
Deitrick’s good humor was infectious as they looked at each other and broke out laughing. “We're already like a real family,” Deitrick laughed, while Isolde blushed at her actions.
“Sorry.” She stared at her plate. She shook it off, and stretched out her delicate arm for the spoon. “I want some too.”
Ezekiel smiled. Back on his previous world his family was distant, and he didn't get many scenes like this. He watched his parents jokingly bicker for a moment, before diving into fray. He daringly grabbed what looked like a slice of boiled potato from a plate with his bare hands, but his mother caught him. While he was distracting her, his father reached for a gigantic egg, also bypassing the serving utensils. “Hehe” he chuckled waving it in Isolde’s face. “I got one.” She harrumphed and flicked a bit of water at him, manipulating some from her glass to fly at him using magic energy.
“No fair! That’s a foul.” While his father was complaining, Ezekiel quickly stocked up on a fair portion of food before his mother saw him again. He also got a good dousing.
The meal continued much in this fashion. When everyone was too stuffed to play around, the mood quieted.
“So…” Deitrick started “anything you want to explain?” He asked Ezekiel. Isolde also looked at Ezekiel. They didn't suspect he was behind the crazy mess in the nursery, or in his room. Both places showed signs of more than one element. Plus, only someone who had gone through the awakening ceremony could channel an element.
Ezekiel would much rather not say anything, especially about having multiple attributes. He knew that the more people who knew, the more danger he was in. At least before he was strong enough to protect himself. He also didn't want people, especially his family, to think he was a monster.
Ezekiel frowned looking at the serious faces of his parents. His reluctance to explain was overpowered by a thirst for answers, and a wish to develop his skills.
With his parents’ influence it would be much easier to gain access to important people and documents that may explain why he was the way he was. Additionally, by giving this information to his parents, he would be provided with top notch instructors and be able to start exploring this world without having to wait until he was fifty.
He sucked in a mouthful of air. The anticipation in the room rose as he pondered what to say. Not too much, but they deserved some information.
“Well, I'm not sure what really happened.” It was true, mostly. He tried to act as much as a child as he could. “Ever since I was born I've been trying to decipher the strange memories I had.” Again, more or less true, but his parents thought he was referring the the made-up hereditary memories. “It was like yesterday I suddenly understood something. I really wanted to be able to move around and I realized there was a way to do that; transform into a human. I used some of the magic power I had, and followed the instructions in the memories. That's about it.”
“We understand that much. But what about the elemental mayhem in both your rooms?” Deitrick questioned.
“I… I'm not sure, really. My guess is as good as yours about the nursery; when I woke up in my human form the destruction had already happened.” His parents didn't look satisfied, but that faded from their faces and was replaced by awe when he said:
“And about this morning. That was me. I tried to use the elements, but my control wasn't very good.” He shrugged, not happy about having failed.
To a casual observer, it would look like two parents chiding their son because Ezekiel’s eyes were downcast and his head hung. Instead it was Ezekiel who was disappointed in himself. The parents were awed by the insane ridiculousness of his statement. Here was a child, perhaps unparalleled in all of dragon history, that was disappointed in a small mistake while doing something even they couldn't do. Once it sunk in, the protests started.
“That's impossible. Disregarding the claim of multiple elements, even if it was just one you wouldn't be able to use it yet! You haven't gone through the awakening ceremony.” Isolde prodded. Ezekiel felt like he was one trial as he searched for an explanation. Instead, Deitrick replied.
“Not necessarily true. There have been cases where a young dragon’s elemental affinity was forcibly awakened when they were exposed to great amounts of magical and elemental energy. Yesterday we rushed to the nursery because we felt a huge power emanating from it. It it possible for his abilities to have been awoken by that.” Deitrick answered Isolde.
“Alright.” She shook her head. “I won't even mention the amount of the water element he was able to control. But what about the bedspread? Water... Water wouldn't cause burning. How could he have an affinity to two elements?” Isolde looked at Deitrick for an answer.
Ezekiel just smiled secretly ‘It’s a lot better than that, mom’ he thought.
“Again, there have been cases. Very rare cases, when a person has affinity to two elements. Usually one element is dominant, and the other just a minor affinity. But still, that would explain some of what happened with Ezekiel. He probably accidentally used his minor fire affinity, and in his panic tried to put it out using the water element.”
“Okay.” She hesitated. “But I still find it hard to believe. I've never met someone with two elements before.”
“I guess our son is just special.” Deitrick grabbed her hand, and they looked fondly at Ezekiel.
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Author's Note:
Hola! It's so great to see people reading what I've written. I'll try to keep up regular posting in the next week, although my schedule will be somewhat hectic.
On a different note, I would love to know what you think of my story! It is still quite new, so I don't have everything planned out yet. I really want to hear from you all about what you want to happen, or don't want to happen. Any suggestions are more than welcome.
Also, the story will start speeding up in the next few chapters, so, unless you want to, you needn't worry about that.
Have a good evening, or morning, or whatever time it is you read this.
Bye!