{Arrad river}

  Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. What to we do we swim, swim, swim.

  Oh god, this is worse than death.

  "Great, now that stupid song is stuck in my head. Thanks a lot Roxie." I yell up at her, running a hand down my face.

   We're currently walking along yet another river. Grim in the lead with Arveldis beside him, Roxie twenty feet in front of me as we walk in a line.

   So far it's been two uneventful days that's been filled with quiet and a air of dread. None of us have really talked much, unless you count the part where Roxie just randomly started humming that song like thirty minutes ago.

   Which leads us to this.

   "Oh I'm sorry." Roxie yells back. "Would you like me to go bonk you on the head and see if that helps?" She sarcastically asks, glancing back at me. "And Finding Nemo is not stupid." She states.

   I roll my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest as I restrain the urge to shoot something back at her.

   And within these two days both Roxie and I have been slowly growing more and more stressed.

   Well what'd you expect?

  We're still wearing the same clothes we were wearing that fateful day seeing as Grim doesn't have any extra, the material now soaked from sweat. Both our feet are sore - hers more than mine I assure you, due to our shoes not being the best for walking on woodsie roads.

  And now we're arguing over Finding Nemo. Great. Just great.

  I've been doing what Grim told me to do with the stupid stone. Unclenching and  clenching my fist probably five hundred times a day.

  Which frankly. I'm getting a little miffed about it.

  So far I haven't had anymore of those....nightmare things. Which I'm thankful about.

   Though I've found something almost...peaceful about the air. How it's never been touched by all the chemicals and radiation as earth has, how it smells so clean and fresh.

   The complete opposite from earth. How I literally felt like I was always breathing in thick, toxic air. Choking me.

   It almost makes me wonder how I can even stand to go back to earth now that I've found this place.

   I shake my head, clearing those thoughts from my head.

  You're going back to earth. Your home. Who cares if it's nowhere as nice as here, that there's no blaring noises that used to leave my ears ringing for a whole day.

   There's Orenda back home. My somewhat good life.

   I can't stay here and be branded as a....as a long lost prince. I can't have those responsibilities. I'd only screw it all up.

   I glance over to my left, watching as the large moon shimmers in the gently moving water that's only four feet away.

   Grim walks over to a cluster of trees, cracking his back before he starts to untie the bags from Arveldis. "We'll setup camp here for the night." He softly yells back at us, still being overly paranoid that we're being followed.

   Roxie lets a groan at as she sits down on a log, pulling her feet out of her shoes before she rubs them.

   I walk so I'm five feet from Roxie, deciding to stay standing. "We should make it to the town of Celeblas by tomorrow evening." Grim says, still unloading his horse - spirit animal, whatever you wanna call it.

   I glance down at the smooth stone in my hand, running my thumb over it. "Callon." I swing my head up towards Grim.

   "Why don't you build the fire tonight?" He suggests, looking over at me with a look.

   I gulp. "You mean like with..." I trial off. "Magic." Grim finishes, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, I want you to try and use your magic." He nods.

   I bite my lip, nodding before I move around to pick up some sticks to build a fire with.

   I said I was going to learn how to control this. So I am.

   Placing a few sticks down teepee style, I stare down at it. I rub my right hand with my left, feeling the slightly raised scar on my palm that's all that's left to show where I cut my hand no more than five days ago.

   A thought hits me. "So how come that simple cut I had on my palm got infected?" I question. "I mean, I've never had anything get infected before. And every time I ever got injured it was usually all healed within a couple days. Without a scar." I cock my head to the side, looking over at Grim.

   He smiles. "You're stalling Callon." He states, finding it slightly amusing. I immediately frown, recrossing my arms.

   I'm not stalling....right?

   "But," he takes the last bag off, sitting down on a log ten feet across from Roxie. "There is a explanation for that."

   "Most of the creatures here have the natural ability to heal much faster then your average human." He digs in a pack. "Not much can actually harm them."

   Oh really?

  Roxie raises a brow. "Though they aren't immortal, they have weaknesses and are susceptible to most any weapon." Grim continues. "Iron is the ultimate weakness for the elves and fay kind. It drains their power and weakens their bodies." He shrugs at our questioning gazes. "No one's really sure why. It's been like that for far longer than anyone can remember."

   He motions to my hand. "So the only logical explanation would be that you cut it on something made of iron. Which is why it left a scar." He explains.

   The railing. It was made of iron.

   "Oh. I guess that explains it then." I mumble, kneeling down in the snow by the pile of sticks.

   "Alright Callon." Grim gains my attention. "Don't think too hard about it. Just hold your hand over it and imagine what you want."

    I nod, holding my right hand over the pile. I take a deep breath in through my nose, calming my rapid heart. Closing my eyes, I concentrate on imagining a fire beneath my hand.

   "Remember the stone, your hand opening and closing around it. Imagine that as a on and off button for your energy." Grim instructs.

   That actually make since.

   I imagine a valve inside my mind, opening just a crack to let a small amount of energy out to light the fire.

   And right when I think nothing's going to happen, there's a sudden hot flash that runs through me. My hand grows warm, unbearably so.

   My eyes snap open, immediately spotting the red flames that are now sprouting up from the small pile of limbs.

   And my slightly glowing blue hand now only three inches above the flames.

  I jerk it backwards, holding it up to my chest. I close the valve in my brain, shutting everything off.

  My hand returns to its usual color, the blue dissolving up my arm in that creepy way.

   "Good job." Grim praises, giving me a proud smile.

   I feel a stab of satisfaction.

   "And those strange marks on your arms - because yes, I could tell you're curious. Are...." He trials off, looking a bit bewildered. "You know what, just imagine them as your magic veins. Just like how you have some for blood, these are for your magic." He nods to himself.

   "Geez, just think how much simpler it would've been to build a fire last week if you'd of known how to do that." Roxie sighs, leaning her arms down on her knees.

    I hold my hand up to my face. "So why does it sometimes glow red, then sometimes blue?" I ask, ignoring Roxie.

    Grim nods. "Well, when you were on the cliff - when you practically exploded everything around you-" He abruptly stops, furrowing his brow as he seems to think about something.

   He looks over at Roxie. "Where did you say you were when all that happened?" He questions.

   Roxie shrugs. "Like four feet behind him." She absentmindedly answers, giving him an odd look. "Why?"

   Grim scratches his beard - something I'm learning he does when he's in deep thought. "Well, that explosion should've killed anyone within thirty yards by the sound of it." He looks back at her.

   She leans back, realizing what he's saying. "So why didn't you?" Grim continues, looking completely clueless.

   Uhhhh.

   Grim shakes his head after staring at her for ten seconds straight. "But never mind, I'll ponder on that on a later date. But to answer that question, when your energy is red, that means you're not in control of it." He spreads his hands out. "As a matter of fact, anyone - with the exception of a few, who has a red energy is usually not in control."

   He taps his chin. "But then those who are in control usually have their own specific color." He looks at me. "And for you, that's blue." He smiles again, a distant look in his eye.

   "Just like your father's."

   The air seems to get knocked from my lungs, my heart freezing.

   Grim gives a wry shake of his head. "Though your father was very special - even for a elf. For he could turn his energy into multiple different colors." His eyes spark with remembrance.

     "Which is a rare feat. Only few in history have ever been able to do it." He holds his hand out, palm up. A lime green color immediately sprouts up from inside his palm, floating in the air.

   "As you can see, mine is green." Grim shuts his fist, the energy disappearing. "Who knows, maybe you've inherited his gift of transferring colors to your energy." He stares over at me.

  "Only time will tell."

  Roxie coughs. "So, you said the other day Callon was the last Dark elf. What other types of elves are there?" She leans forward, generally curious.

   Grim leans back, warming his old hands over the fire I'm currently building up. "Well, there's actually five different species of elves to be exact." He holds a hand up, ticking off one as he speaks. "Dark - which Callon is indeed the last of his kind, Light, Moon, Wood, and Snow." He places his hand back over the fire.

   Roxie tilts her head to the side. "So how do you tell them apart then?" She purses her lips.

   Grim rubs the back of his neck. "They all have specific characteristics to their breed." He goes on. "Snow elves have the whitest skin you'll ever see - hence the name. Their hair is blond oddly enough, and they have beady red eyes."

    "Wood elves are native to Orelon, with tan skin and brown hair and eyes." He rubs his feet. "Moon elves have a unique grey tinge to their skin, silver hair and pale - almost white, eyes."

    "Light elves." His face darkens. "Have darker skin with white hair and black, soulless eyes." He almost sneers.

     Doesn't that sound pleasant.

     "Then, there are the dark elves." He motions over at me. "You need only to look at Callon here." That proud spark returns to his eyes. "He's the spitting image of a Dark elf."

   He smirks. "Though he is a tad bit tanner then your typical Dark elf." He gives a small laugh. "You've got your mother to thank for that." He jokes.

I look down at the ground, biting my lip.

"Hmm, interesting." Roxie mumbles, seeming like she's making a mental note to remember everything.

   She's probably going to go home and write a book about all this.

  Her eyes suddenly flicker to the right, and I find my own eyes looking over that way.

  A large mountain with two smaller mountains on each of its sides sits in the distance. We'd passed it yesterday, but no one really said anything.

    "What's that mountain?" She points at the large one, a permanent cloud seeming to circle around the top of it. Concealing it.

    Grim frowns as his eyes land on it. "That's the mountain where the fabled Healing Tree resides." He answers, somewhat reluctantly.

    Roxie's head swings over towards grim. "Healing tree. You mean it can heal people -humans?" She rapidly asks, eyes growing wide.

   Grim watches her closely. "Yes. It's said if you eat the fruit of the tree any injury, disease, illness, you name it, and you're instantly healed." He breaths.

   Roxie's jaw almost drops. "You mean that actually exists?"

   Grim shrugs. "No one really knows for sure." He eyes her. "Because no one's made it up there and lived to tell anyone." He stares.

   Roxie just looks confused. "What?"

   "I'm saying that you don't want to venture up there because certain death is unavoidable." He takes a breath. "It's said the mountain tests you. That only a person of a pure heart can make it up and claim a piece of fruit." He stares at her.

   "And so far no one's made it." He deadpans. "Which means no one should attempt to attain it." He looks specifically at her.

   Roxie gulps, leaning back against a tree. "Ooookay." She drawls out, looking like she's done talking for the evening.

   Grim stands up, Arveldis out in a small clearing as she nibbles on whatever she can find out there to eat.

   She suddenly swings her head up, ears twitching. My own ears abruptly catch the sound of rapid footsteps, Roxie and Grim completely oblivious.

   My eyes widen as I realize what it is.

   Arveldis lets a ear piercing neigh out at the same instant I swing around to my left. The sound of rapid footsteps breaks out into our clearing, a movement catching my eyes right before I find myself falling backwards as something heavy rams into my chest.

   It's too late.

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A/N

   Hey guys! Sorry I'm taking so long to update, I feel horrible about it. But I've been in a slump lately, but I think it's disappearing. ^_^

   Vote!!⭐️❤️

Questions:

   1.) What do you think just happened at the end of this chapter?

Next update: Next week.

Teaser: We find out what exactly is happening.

P.S. I couldn't resist putting the song in XD.

Maggy