Sacred Promises

Chapter One

I did not have time to enjoy the scenery of a road trip. I would have liked to seen the familiar flat lands of Texas with only a few trees in sight transformed slowly into the rolling hills and never-ending trees of Missouri. Nevara’s method of transportation was a little more immediate than a long car ride. She reached out, took my hand within her slender fingers and shimmered us directly into the main office of the school where we were greeted by Head Mistress Repsher. A woman I was able to recognize immediately, without introduction. She matched the description I was given perfectly, from her salt and pepper hair that was pulled tightly back into a bun, to her boney facial features and birdlike nose. She was wearing the blue and gold designer jogging suit I heard was like her second skin because she was never seen without it, or one like it, on.

Welcome to the Maramec Conservatory. As always, it is a pleasure to see you again Nevara. Head Mistress Repsher greeted Nevara with a slight bow of her head and she in return made the same gesture.

Watching it reminded me of those old kung-fu movies where the opponents bowed their heads to each other before a fight. However, in our world, it meant showing you had a great level of trust and respect for one another.

The pleasure is all mine, Susan, responded Nevara as she lifted her face back to the Head Mistress.

And you must be Ms. Abbey Ray Morgan. She reached out for an introductory handshake. I should have been happy to take her hand, but the pressure of the change had me a little apprehensive. I slowly reached my hand to hers.

All my years of training had led me to today. Today I turned eighteen. Today I was no longer under the control of the orphanage. And today I would join the Divine Academy, an organization consisting primarily of five schools stretched across the world. All of which were responsible for the teaching and training of Elementals, Mystics, Watchers, and Warriors.

Nevara had arranged for me to be admitted to the Maramec Conservatory. It was the most prominent of the five academies. One that happened to be concealed within the backwoods of Missouri, where the rolling hills I had wanted to see lie. It was hidden within the Maramec Springs Park in St. James.

Unfortunately for me I was used to the wide-open spaces of Texas, so the thought of being hidden away out in the woods seemed a little surreal to me. Seeing and living were two completely different things. Nonetheless, it was where I was told to go, so it was where I was going.

If given a choice, I would have chosen to be a normal eighteen-year-old girl. I would have gotten some normal teenager job, like working at a little pizza place, while trying to juggle paying rent and class fees at the local college. I would have gotten a boyfriend, or two, or three. I would have made friends with everyone I met and enjoyed life.

I wasn’t given a choice though. My future had already been preordained. For me there was no choice. Just acceptance! Coming to terms with that fact was the hardest part.

I gave her a slight bow and then took her…gloved hand giving it a less than enthusiastic shake. Strange. Classic black leather driving gloves didn’t really go with a jogging suit, but to each their own I guess. Yes, ma’am.

I have to say I was a little surprised to find that an elemental had somehow remained undiscovered for eighteen years. The Watchers usually do their jobs well and find them before they reach the age of five. To the best of my knowledge, before now, they had never let one slip off their radar. Nonetheless, it is nice to have you here with us now.

She was right of course. No one ever went undiscovered. Not even me. A feeling I got deep down in my tummy told me that she knew it too, yet something kept her from saying anything to the contrary. Maybe it was out of respect for Nevara or maybe she thought it was impolite to make assumptions without proof. Either way, for now my secret was safe. Thank you, Head Mistress.

Here no one would know of my true identity, not until the time was right. Nevara thought it would keep me safe if they didn’t. I agreed. Since I was a target for assassination at the age of one I could only imagine the price on my head, now that I was almost old enough to assume my birthright, was much larger and more enticing and therefore more dangerous for me.

It was a position only few have had the pleasure of serving in the past and yet it was the most important role in our history. So I’ve been told.

Every fifty years there was a new queen born into the world of Elementals. She was the personification of Gaia. Our Goddess. Our Mother Earth. Each queen bore a distinct mark that covered her back and identified her to the people. It was a flourishing tree with many winding roots that stretched down into a line of water. It had strands of yellow and red that wrapped around the trunk and intertwined with its branches. Together they displayed the four elements of air, water, fire and earth. Above it set the triple moon – the left crescent was iridescent silver representing the Watchers, the right crescent was midnight black representing the Warriors, and the full moon in the center displayed a beautiful shade of deep purple representing the Mystics. I was very familiar with this mark, for it was part of me.

Through my protector and guardian, Nevara, I learned that there hadn’t been a queen in over two hundred years. Someone had been seeking them out, hunting them down, and murdering them one by one, which was where my story began.

My mother was murdered when I was one, and though she was too late to save my mother, Nevara somehow managed to save me.

She hid me away in an orphanage in Texas. Not exactly the place I would have chosen for myself. It was a dreary place, everything gray and white, strict rules that barely allowed small things like talking, and the only time we were allowed outside was when we went to school. It was run by an elderly couple who seemed more like prison wardens than ones who should be in charge of children. It was not fit for any child, let alone a place for a future queen, but it was the last place anyone would have looked for me, allowing time to go through childhood unnoticed by anyone who would have seen me harm and giving time to train for my future, as the next queen.

A future I wasn’t sure if I wanted...

Over the next seventeen years she trained me on every subject I would need to know, from politics, to the rule of the queen. Including the knowledge of how to embrace and use my elemental gifts along with my non-elemental ones, the rules of nature, and honing my battle skills.

Despite her delicate nature, and much to my surprise, Nevara knew how to fight. She was an incredible instructor, which was very beneficial for me since it was important for a queen to be both knowledgeable and powerful. It was known that a queen would always be protected by her private warriors, and if needed the Knights of Noir Warriors, and would never be expected to have to protect herself, yet it was still her duty to know how. The queen had to be just as proficient as those who were chosen to protect her.

At Nevara’s surprising request, we have enrolled you into all of the advanced classes. She assures me that they will not be a problem for you, Head Mistress Repsher said with such skepticism I almost doubted myself for a second. Almost.

I did however understand her being cynical. I would be too if someone showed up out of nowhere thinking she knew too much to start with the entry level classes. I on the other hand knew that not even the advanced classes would provide much of a challenge after training with Nevara. No, ma’am.

She has also arranged for you to have a student mentor, a Mr. Kaleb Storm. She paused long enough to glance over at Nevara. I do want to say that students usually do not mentor other students. That is a position traditionally assigned to an instructor. However, we will honor the unique request. Mr. Storm is an excellent student and I believe he would in turn be an excellent mentor.

As do I, added Nevara with a smile, obviously ignoring the slight sarcasm in the Head Mistress’s voice.

Under the unique circumstances, since he is a Knights of Noir warrior and you are an elemental, special arrangements are being made so that you will have access to each other at all times. However, he is currently out on a training assignment and will not be back until Sunday night. He will meet you first thing Monday morning to show you to your classes.

Yes, ma’am.

In the meantime, I would like to introduce you to Ms. Morgan Starr. She gestured to a girl about my age who had just walked into her office. She was tall – I’d guess about five-ten – had gorgeous long blonde hair and wore an adorable black mini skirt with a yellow blouse and matching sandals. The shortness of her skirt only enhanced the never-ending length and beauty of her legs. I’d always wished for legs like hers. She will be your roommate. And right now she will show you to your room, help you get settled in, and then over to the dining hall for dinner.

Yes, ma’am.

No one could know how close I was to Nevara so there could be no long emotional goodbyes or hugs to show her how much I was going to miss her. All I could say was, Thank you Nevara. I won’t let you down. She nodded and then I followed Morgan out of the office.

Moving one foot in front of the other, not looking back, it felt like the hardest thing I ever had to do. However, that was just the beginning of my journey, and I knew if I could have enough courage to do it, then I could do anything. Keeping that in mind, I held my head up high, smiled, and continued forward into a world I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a part of. A world that only got me closer to a life I was fearful of obtaining.

The main office building looked like any typical school office. There was dim overhead lighting, white walls, private offices for the administrative staff, and a simple secretary desk just inside the front doors. It was what I expected it to be. What I wasn’t expecting was what awaited me outside the main doors.

Nevara had told me very little about this place. Only that it was a perfect balance of today’s conveniences mixed with everything nature had to offer. But nothing could ever describe what I saw. It was like something out of a painting. A dreamscape turned reality. Something you had to witness with your own eyes before you could believe in its beauty.

The courtyard consisted of lush green grass, stone sidewalks, and beautiful water fountains. Flowers and trees surrounded everything from the sidewalks to the buildings making it almost impossible to see anything else. Almost. In the distant background just above the tree line I saw the slow turning blades of several large wooden windmills.

I love the look on people’s faces when they see this place for the first time. It’s pretty awesome, isn’t it? Morgan asked, glancing at my expression from the corner of her eye. Between the slight raise of her eyebrow and the grin on her face it seemed as if she was reliving her first day at the academy.

Awesome would not have come close to describing the beauty before me. Maybe life changing, spectacular, feeling like life before this place was only a dimly lit arena, and this was the most enchanting place Nevara could have chosen for me to shine would have been a little closer. That’s putting it mildly. I honestly did not think there were words to describe this place. It was more of an overall unidentifiable feeling. One that started in my head and danced all the way down into my toes.

Wait until you see the other buildings. Our dorm is right on the other side of those trees. She pointed off to the right. But the campus is designed in a circle. So even though I’m supposed to be takin’ you straight to our dorm, I’m takin’ you the long way around so you can see all of ‘em.

Sounds good to me. I knew I was going to like Morgan. She and I had similar creative ways of thinking.

There are six main buildings on campus. You’ve already seen the administration building. Though there isn’t really much to see there, it’s pretty plain. The teacher’s dorm isn’t much different. I think they enjoy the simplicity of plain. She pointed to a two-story, red brick building. Vines climbed the brick walls covering most of the red and small perfectly manicured shrubs bordered its perimeter.

It was indeed plain. It’s quaint.

She smirked. Now who’s puttin’ it mildly?

Like you said, they may just enjoy the simplicity of plain.

The trainin’ facility’s next, she said as we continued walking. It’s mostly used by the guardians.

Mostly?

Well it’s meant for the guardians, but there’s an indoor pool which frequently calls my name.

It too was made of red brick. The walls toward the back shortened, opening up to expose a track and something that appeared to be an obstacle course. I could see movement on the track and hear voices coming from inside, but they were too far away and too faint to completely distinguish what they were doing or saying.

Well you’ll have to let me know the next time it calls to you. I love a good swim. And I did, but the truth was I couldn’t go, so I didn’t know why that flew out of my mouth. Swimsuits were totally out for someone who couldn’t show any of her back.

Abbey, I think we’re gonna get along just fine.

I have that same feeling.

We continued along the sidewalk until we reached the next building, which stopped me dead in my tracks. It was a beautiful six-story stone building with iron bordered arched windows, and an oversized iron front door with matching torches on both sides of the walkway. It was almost medieval looking and it would not have surprised me to see a moat, but there wasn’t one, just a stone sidewalk leading up to the vast front door.

Yeah, this one definitely stands out. But if you like this then just wait ‘til you see ours.

And what is this one? I asked without taking my eyes away from its magnificence.

The Knights of Noir dorm. The bottom three floors belong to the watchers and the top three belong to the warriors.

The Knights of Noir were the warriors who protected our people. They bore the midnight black crescent and were known for their impressive strength, unrivaled battle skills, and undying nobility. It explained why their dorm looked like a fortress.

The watchers were not members of the Knights of Noir. However, they were under their leadership, which explained why they were housed together. Watchers were the most unique in my book. They were changelings, people who could turn into animals. It was their duty to protect the children who had been gifted by Gaia until they could attend a school. Sometimes that was a few years, other times it was much, much longer. They bore the iridescent silver crescent.

The Warriors and the Watchers were our people’s protectors. Our guardians.

Does the inside look all medieval like this too?

She gave me a questioning look. I dunno. Elementals aren’t allowed to fraternize with members of the Knights of Noir. And they are definitely not allowed in each other’s dorms.

Of course not. I knew that. I also knew it was a rule that would not apply to me. My mentor lived in that dorm and I would be training alongside the other guardians, that should allow me in there if I so chose to be, but that didn’t stop me from stumbling over my words and then quickly trying to recover. So what’s next?

The school and dinin’ hall.

I followed her to the three-story brick school building. It reminded me of the teacher’s dorm, plain with the same small manicured shrubs surrounding it. I could hear the sounds of classes in session, which explained why we hadn’t run into any other students.

Last. But definitely not least. Is our dorm. She pointed ahead, along the sidewalk, toward a row of trees.

On the other side of those trees was our dorm. It was also six-stories, like the Knights of Noir dorm, but it was made of white stone. Vines with delicate white blossoming flowers grew up the stone sides, the windows altered in size and shape, but were all made of multi-colored stained glass, and a shallow stream encircled the building with a small wooden arched bridge leading over the water to the doorway.

The dorm consisted of the elementals, who bore the color crescent that related to the element they had an affinity for, and the mystics, who bore the deep purple crescent. In today’s world Mystics were scarce and so their gifts of sight and healing were sacred. It was this dorm that I was assigned to live. This was the place everyone would think I belonged.

Okay. You have a very strange look on your face. So now I just have to ask. Whatcha thinkin’? Morgan asked with a slight tilt of her head.

It kind of reminded me of a Cinderella type castle and all I could say was, Just wondering where the Fairy Princess is.

She busted out laughing. Oh yeah, we’re definitely gonna get along. Come on, I’ll show you our room.

Inside the doors was a common room. It had areas set up for studying and lounging with a few TVs scattered around. There was also a kitchen tucked away in the corner. It must have been there for the late night studying munchies because it wasn’t big enough for much else.

We were in room three-fourteen; it was at the end of the hall next to the stairs.

You must have an affinity for air, was the first thing to escape my mouth as I stood inside my new room looking around at the decor. The walls were painted with a sky mural and Morgan’s bed was covered in a thick golden comforter with about twenty matching pillows.

That obvious, huh?

Not at all, I succeeded in getting out amongst our laughter.

So what’s your affinity? she asked after catching her breath.

It appears that I’m still undecided. That wasn’t exactly a lie. The crescent birthmark on the back of my right shoulder wasn’t colored in like everyone else’s so it appeared that I hadn’t formed a bond with an element yet, but then again my birthmark was just that…a birthmark. It would never be colored in.

Oh. I’m sure you’re just a late bloomer. It’ll come when the times ready. So what kinda classes are they puttin’ you in anyway?

All of them, I responded matter-of-factly.

You’re gonna have to take all the beginner elemental classes? That sucks!

Oh no, that’s not what I meant. I’m taking all of the advanced elemental classes along with the guardian classes.

Oh. Well good luck with that. The upside is that most of the guy Guardians are majorly hot. Especially the Warriors and of course some of the Watchers are too, but it kinda depends on what they can change into. There’s just somethin’ icky about a boy who can change into a snake. I don’t care how hot he is. But the downside is that most of the girl Guardians are totally scary, rambled Morgan.

And what are the other elementals like? I’d never had time for friends, Nevara made sure of that when she took up all of my free time with training, but she had basically instructed me to socialize with everyone here. She thought it would be good for me to have acquaintances and form bonds. Maybe now I could actually have the normal life of a teenager, like friends and possibly even dating. Or at least the illusion of a normal life. I doubted anything for me would ever be normal, but the thought was still nice. Even if it was far fetch.

We definitely have a variety here. There’s a little bit of everything. You’ll see.

I turned my attention to my side of the room. My favorite blanket covered the twin size bed, it was a quilt that Nevara had sewn for me, and even my big, fluffy, extra-stuffed pillow was there. I opened the closet door to find it filled with my clothes, along with a few new ones and a note from Nevara telling me to enjoy them. So much for settling in, it looks like all of my stuff already found its way to our new home.

Yeah, Nevara came in early this mornin’ and did all of that. Speakin’ of… How’s it that you have royalty like Nevara makin’ your bed and hangin’ up your clothes?

How was I to remain inconspicuous, like we’d agreed to, when she was making it difficult for me by not remaining inconspicuous herself? And wait. Royalty? She’s nice and she wanted me to be comfortable here. And what do you mean by royalty?

Oh, you didn’t know. Nevara’s some kinda tribal princess or somethin’.

Well that explains why Head Mistress Repsher met all of her requests. I couldn’t believe that after all these years I didn’t know that about her. Then again, after thinking about it, I realized I didn’t really know much about her personal life at all. I knew she was beautiful. She had long, soft, golden blonde hair, pale blue eyes and skin so fair it appeared to sparkle. She definitely did not look like what I had imagined a guardian would, and for the longest time I didn’t even believe she was real. She would magically appear, or shimmer as she called it, a few times a week to check on me. I looked forward to her visits, to her comforting smile, and to the enchanting lullabies she would sing when I couldn’t sleep. That was pretty much all I knew, making me realize just how sad it was that our entire relationship had revolved around me and the fact that I never even noticed that until now. No, I did not know that about her.

Obviously noticing the hesitance in my response she changed the subject. So what teacher did they get to be your mentor?

Oh I don’t have a teacher mentor. I have a student one.

Seriously? Who?

Kaleb Storm.

Wow! She began fanning her face with her hand. He’s like one of the hottest warriors at this school, probably even the planet. And boy does he know it. He has a different girl on his arm every week. Not to mention he’s top in all of his classes, which makes him even hotter in my book. But despite all of that, he comes from a totally disgraced family. His father was banished and no one knows who his mother is. She was probably too embarrassed to come forward. She paused for a second as she brushed the hair away from her face. Wait. Why in the world would they make him your mentor?

That was a very good question, but I was sure Nevara had her reasons. Like you said, he is top in all of his classes. Sounds like good mentor material to me. Wish I knew the real reason behind him being selected to be my mentor. The one thing I did know was that Nevara had reasons for what she did, even if I had to discover what those reasons were on my own.

True. Just promise me that you won’t let his total hotness get to you and then become one of his flavors of the week.

I wasn’t officially queen yet, but my promises still bound me as one. A queen’s promise was unbreakable and even though I could almost promise that I wasn’t going to be someone’s flavor of the week, I wasn’t ready to make any unbreakable promises quite yet. I’ll try not to. Anyway, he’s my mentor and I’m sure there is some rule that forbids a student and mentor from seeing each other. Plus, I thought there wasn’t supposed to be any fraternization between the dorms.

There’s not…supposed to be that is. But an occasional line gets blurred every once in a while. And what the teachers don’t know can’t hurt us.

I’ll have to remember that. You know. Just in case I get the urge to become a flavor of the week for someone or something like that. The thought that I’d ever even consider that crazy possibility made me smile. I’d never even had a boyfriend. To be honest, the thought of one terrified me. With the rules I had to obey as future queen nothing could ever become of a general relationship. Not to mention the thought of entrusting my heart to someone else and risking it being broken.

Maybe if I had been born normal my opinion would have been different.

Like I haven’t said it enough already, but I think we’re gonna get along just fine. I mean how could we not? We do share the Morgan name, my first and your last. It’s even spelled the same. What’re the odds of that?

I honestly couldn’t tell you the odds of that, but I will agree with you.

Morgan’s personality did not fit her body. She looked like a stuck-up super model. But she wasn’t. She was nice, had a sense of humor, and definitely had the light demeanor of someone with an affinity for air. She seemed like the perfect roommate for me, making me wonder if Nevara had anything to do with choosing her too.

Chapter Two

I had prepared myself before walking into the school. Being raised in an orphanage I was used to meeting new people, the children revolved through that place like inventory. This will be no different, I quietly tried to convince myself as I held my head up high and walked alongside Morgan through the double doors of the dining hall. Truth was this time was different. I did care what these people thought of me, before I didn’t. Winning the approval of people while being myself made me more nervous than anything had ever before. Admitting that gave me a little bit more courage, but unfortunately didn’t make the situation any more comfortable.

For the most part I was right. It wasn’t much different from any other school cafeteria. Instead of long tables set in rows, it was kind of divided into two equal sides by a salad bar, with a mixture of small cafe style tables and longer picnic table types.

It was obvious which section belonged to the guardians and which belonged to the elementals. The warriors and watchers were much louder and seemed to be playing around, while the elementals and mystics were lost in quiet conversations with the occasional elevated giggle. It was like looking at day and night in the same room.

We successfully made it through the dinner line – grilled chicken on a bed of vegetables – and I thought I’d made it without being noticed. I was wrong. When I turned around, with my tray in hand, I noticed everyone, from both sides, were staring. So much for not standing out!

Morgan nudged my arm. Oh, don’t worry about them. They all like shiny new things and unfortunately today that’s you. They’ll get over it. Come on, our table’s right over here.

Silence continued to fill the room until my butt actually sat in a chair and then the idle conversations resumed. Thank the Goddess. I mean I didn’t mind being the center of attention, especially since one day I would be, but it would have been nice to fit in for a while first.

Abbey, these are my friends. This is Amy Larsen. She gestured to a girl about the same average build as me with long gorgeous brown hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail.

She reached across the table to shake my hand. Nice to meet you, Abbey.

When our hands touched I felt the cool rush of a water flow over me. Nice to meet you too. I’d never actually touched another elemental before today and it was one of the strangest things I’d ever felt. I knew the moment our hands touched that she had an affinity for water.

This is Lawrence Newton. She gestured to a skinny boy with curly blonde hair and glasses, who was wearing a green plaid shirt. I usually didn’t notice clothes all that much, but the plaid kind of stuck out. And that’s his laptop. Or as we like to call it Lawrence Jr. or LJ for short. He never goes anywhere without it, she said, pointing to the black and plaid bag hanging off his shoulder, and I don’t know why since you can only get signal up on the overlook.

His arms opened wide as if making a grand welcoming gesture. Welcome to our lovely academy.

I was curious to know all of their affinities so I extended my hand toward