Elegy: Lost Shadow

 Anemone stared at the beast as she was struggling to remain conscious. She stared at it as it looked down on her. Flames gathering at its maw.

…..

 Anemone gazed at her father's corpse before looking at her mother's face. She was being asked the same thing again. She was being asked to join the profession that sent her father to his death.

 She smiled, tears rolling down her face, before she replied, "If that's what you want… .then I will do it." Her eyes began releasing a golden-greenish aura.

 "You are lying!" Galena exclaimed as she embraced her. "Please, I need you to become a knight. That's all I want from you. I need you to stay alive." The aura that was coming from the former's eyes dissipated as she fell unconscious. Galena felt Anemone's body slipping from her arms as she fell to the ground. The bracelet pieces around her formed a bracelet around her left wrist.

 Leila grabbed Galena by her shirt as she pushed her against the door. The door continued moving until it hit the wall.

 "What's wrong with you? Why would you ask your own daughter that when you know what she just saw!" She gripped the latter's shirt tightly before she continued, "What now! So you just want her to die now!"

 Galena smiled as tears continued rolling down her face. "What else can I do? This is the only way I know that can keep her alive! If I don't ask her… I know for a fact that she won'-...." A slap was sent echoing as she received a slap, ending her outburst.

 "What's wrong with you!!"

She removed Leila's hand from her shirt as she said, "I am sorry .....but I don't know ….what else I can do." She went and picked up Anemone's unconscious body as she went directly to her daughter's room.

 Shit_ I have always known her to be rational but maybe this must have pushed her over the edge.

 She went and locked herself, as well as her unconscious daughter, in the room. About two hours later, she began regaining consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she saw her mother, who was exhausted. She was struggling to catch her breath as sweat ran down her face.

 Seeing this sight made her wonder what was wrong before she recalled that her father was dead. She continued crying, the bracelet around her wrist was releasing a green aura.

 Just outside the room, Leila wondered what was wrong. They had been locked in that room for about three hours. Immediately she heard the door unlock, she quickly rushed there. As soon as the door opened, Galena came out stumbling before she fell on Leila. Her breathing, erratic.

 "What's wrong with you? Are you sick?" At the door, she saw Anemone walking out. Her eyes were still glowing golden- greenish. They then changed back to brown.

 The funeral that was meant to commemorate the life of a hero, the guardian of wind, received a lot of attention. The masses going on about how he kept them safe, how he risked his life to save them, how he always triumphed. How he was one of the two remaining guardians, at least until that moment. The funeral was filled with a lot of guests, many of whom they had never met before but were all eternally grateful to him.

 But out of all of the guests present, none were from his family. All relatives, either distant or close, never made any effort to attend his funeral. They never even replied after hearing the news. All they did was send some funds to help with the execution of his funeral.

 On the second day of his funeral, Galena and Anemone received a sudden visit from a strange family. It was a family of three that claimed to have been saved by him. The father of that family cried as he was beside himself when he spoke.

 "I know it's not much….but I wanted to be here to show my gratitude. At the very least, say thank you to his family for what he did!"

 "You really didn't have to," Galena replied, gripping her daughter's hand tighter. Anemone felt her mother's grip tighten. When she looked at her, she saw her wearing a calm expression. In that expression, a smile appeared.

 "But you don't understand …..I failed to protect them. I tried but he was just too strong. When I thought it was all over, he showed up. We felt his wind blowing against us as he protected us. He gave all he could and in the end, he won. But unfortunately, he died just after that."

 They felt his wind, she thought, his wind; wind? Speaking truthfully, she never heard a word he said past that point. That statement didn't make any sense to her. His wind, that's nonsense. He never used wind in combat. Only Crystalis. She felt tears come to her eyes as she added.

 "I am glad….I am sure he would be happy to hear all your gratitude. I am glad you came. Thank you." She took Anemone as they began heading back to the house. The man too walked back to his family.

 As they were walking, Galena said, "Honey, I need you to do something for me."

"You are crying again," she replied, tears rolling down her face too.

"Tell me," she halted before continuing, "From those three, do you feel a strong similarity in their spiritual vibrations?"

 The bracelet she wore, the one on her left wrist, began glowing. Releasing a green aura.

"I do….," she replied, "They are really similar." She wiped her tears when the glow disappeared from her bracelet, "But why does that matter?"

 "That's because I was just testing you," she said as she wiped her tears, "I wanted to know that you could feel it too_ the fact that they are a family."

 "But how come yours and dad's spiritual vibrations aren't that similar?"

"Don't be silly, we are both of the wind class after all." I knew it, there was no way he would lose. He made me that promise after all.

 Even the guardians agreed, there are two things you should never doubt. The fact that air exists even when you don't feel the wind blowing and…the fact that he will pull through if he says he will. Something's up.

 Anemone stared at her mother as she thought, so those were the people he chose to die for. Even after he said he would be back, he chose to die for them. To save lives was all he wanted….then why, why do I feel as if the choice he made was bad?

 In just a month's time, the impact of the guardian of wind's death finally died down. Since almost all the guardians were dead, leaving behind only one, the man who succeeded the throne after the former king's death eight years ago. He decided to choose a new set of guardians and assigned them their own territories to protect. This was an attempt to restore order.

 Each of the new guardians were assigned a name based on the province they protected. The guardian of the east, the other of the west, the other of the north, the other the south and the final one, the one of the center.

 Within the same time frame, Galena succumbed to illness. In fact, she was at the end of her life. Following her husband's death, her spiritual vibrations suddenly started to weaken. They weakened until they couldn't even be compared to those given off by an ant. The plague-like illness she was suffering from was as a result of that.

 Anemone sat at her mother's bed as she thought about what she could do. How she could help. Out of all the doctors who came to examine her, none could make out what was happening to her. It was like she had a plague, caused by the weakening of her spiritual vibrations. That was unheard of and there was no possible way to rejuvenate them.

 "Honey…..how far have you gone with your training? You still want to become a knight right? Order is like the talent you were given. You are gifted like that. I know for a fact that you will be amazing."

 "Mom_ why is it so important that I become a knight? Why is it so important to you that I save every person who wishes for it? Why do you keep telling me I need to bring order?" She lashed out crying, "I don't want any of that! You keep telling all that when you know for a fact that that was what led to his death."

 Her left bracelet shattered to pieces as her eyes began releasing a golden-greenish aura.

"Calm down honey….your magic is getting out of control."

 "He died protecting people he didn't even know. He left you because of that. He chose to die for strangers over all of us!" The aura in her eyes thickened as she suddenly fell unconscious.

 "Damn it…..why now?" She said as she tried to force herself off her bed. Scarcely had her legs touched the floor than she fell to the ground. I can't even walk now, she thought as she crawled towards Anemone. The latter's eyes were still wide as the aura kept leaking out.

 "Please…..please….just let me talk to her; just one more time," she said as she placed her hands on Anemone's chest.

 Moments later, Anemone regained consciousness again. Her head rested against her mother's lap. She felt tears dripping on her face before she opened her eyes.

 "Mom…"

"I am sorry to ask this of you again, honey. I just want you to know that I really tried. I have done all I could and I just want you to have a long life. That's why I keep asking you…that's why I want you to become a knight. I want you to save all those who wish for it. I want you to bring order."

 "What are you saying, " Anemone asked as she got up. As soon as she did, she saw Galena cough out blood.

 "I want you to promise me_ I want you to tell me that you will give it your all. That should I see you again, you would have maintained order….you will bring them peace."

 "I am sorry but I can't do it….no part of me wants that..knowing…knowing full well that I might leave you too. I would rather I just stayed with you."

 "Stupid girl, I want nothing more than that ... .but if I had to make a choice, I would rather you became a knight. My brave little order preserving knight Anemone. So please, stay alive….for my sake okay. I hope you have fun."

 Galena smiled as whatever trace amount of spiritual vibrations she was producing disappeared. She fell hard to the floor. Her skull bouncing off it. She had no pulse, no heartbeat, no life left in her. She was dead.

 Anemone, who could no longer sense her mother's spiritual vibrations, knew what it meant. After all, the only things whose vibrations she couldn't detect were those of the dead. She bit her lower lip as she began crying.

 The bracelet to her right wrist, which she had always carried in her pocket, began releasing a green aura. It shattered to pieces as it began floating around her. The bracelet on her left wrist broke to pieces too. She cried as she fell on her mother's corpse.

 A funeral was quickly held for her, celebrating the life of the former chief of division A who unfortunately died at the age of twenty- five. A short life but one that came with a lot of accomplishments. Accomplishments as a member of the Ent Magic Research Facility's research team.

 As soon as her mother's funeral was done, she was sent to live with her aunt.

.....

 She saw the flames growing as she began forcing herself up. Blood was pouring from her body as she was staring at the beast. Its flaming mane blowing in the wind. She stumbled, struggling to maintain her balance. She then smiled.

 The left bracelet for my dad and the right one for my mom. Both of them for my world. I want to save that boy because that's what you'd want from me…..right mom. She thought as she looked at her right bracelet.

...

 She then remembered the time at her aunt's house.

"Why are you always seated by yourself looking at those bracelets? It's not good you know…..being isolated."

 "Aunt…..can you help me become stronger. Much, much stronger. I want to be really powerful."

"What for?" She asked.

 "I want to be a greater knight than my father was ... .save more lives than he and mom did combined. I want to become…order itself."

"This again. I have told you before. You can't join those damned knights. You would be just throwing your life away. Your mother wouldn't want you to jump into a field where your life could end at any moment."

 "But you don't understand, she told me herself. If she had to choose, she would choose me becoming a knight over me staying with her."

 Her aunt staggered after hearing those words. Those words couldn't have been anything Galena said. She loved her daughter too much. It was always, honey did this or she did that, with her. That was all she kept going on about. Then why, why on earth would she curse her child like she did?

 Her aunt declined any request Anemone made with regards to training. She went as far as to interrupt any attempt Anemone made to train. She hid all the books that spoke of the use of magic for combat purposes. Each time she had the chance, she would talk down Anemone's goal.

 Because of this, she grew tired. "I have had enough, I quit." She talked back to her aunt. She left her new home and headed back to the secluded place where her parents and her lived. She continued living there since she was eight years old. Studying, doing all she could to get strong. Alone.

....

Wind began blowing from her body as she felt its flames intensify. The Panthera Leo Krugeri bystier's flames were burning hot as she could feel the heat from where she stood. It was like a giant bon-fire.

 She put her hands together as she thought, Wind art: Sudden Impulse. Hardly had she taken the first step to it when she fell to the ground. Her aura dissipated as the glow in her eyes intensified. The lion roared as it released a stream of flames aimed at her.

 "GET OUT OF THE WAY_ ANEMONE!"