Chapter Four

The girls awaken in a strange room with statues after all experiencing the same dream...

    Chosen Ones…I have awaited many years for you to come…Darkness has already spread throughout this world, awaking the evil hearts of its inhabitants. I need your help to stop this from spreading any further…from spreading into the hearts of our pure ones. Several have already been taken in by this darkness. One in particular is known to you as Drake and he is now being held within the ranks of a horrific army.

    I need you to accept the gift I have to give you and to free the pure ones from this corrupted grasp. I shall give you this power in exchange for your assistance; the power over the elements.

    The Guardian of Earth; the power over the very ground you stand upon and self healing will be yours to be used as you see fit. This is a wondrous honor that will be well fitted to its bearer, needing rationality and great inner strength to control.

    The Guardian of Fire; The very flames of the sun won’t be enough to burn your skin as you will now be able to call upon devastating heat of your own…To be able to will the very flames within your own fiery spirit to your finger tips…singeing your enemies in an instance.

    The Guardian of Water; within the watery depths, your lungs will know longer sing for a breath of air, for now you are one with this element. The healing arts are yours to control completely. And with the chill of your heart, will be the chill of your touch upon your enemies.

    And the Guardian of Air; the strength of the wind shall be yours. The power to bring the slightest breeze on a hot summer day, or to bring ferocious winds to strike down your enemies…this gift from nature shall be yours, prohibiting anything or anyone from standing in you way.

    Each of you will gain a power of your own, your own element to control. And with your new found powers, I pray for you to help me defeat this darkness in our world. It will be a difficult task…but I have faith in you none the less.

    You must hurry and find your way to the castle beyond the hill. Within these walls is a horrible man, wishing to bring nothing but destruction to our world by bringing a once feared ruler back from the dead…She must not be brought back to this world, or everything will be thrown into sheer chaos once more.

    I shall be within these walls as well, waiting for your arrival. I shall be able to explain this ordeal in greater detail once we meet, but until then, please be patient. This world needs your strength; I need your strength.

    My time seems to be running thin. Please, Chosen Ones. Please, awaken and accept the powers which are rightfully yours. Accept them, and accept your destiny to stop this man before it becomes too late. This woman shall not be allowed to live within this world once again. I cannot stress this enough. This will be the most important duty you shall ever undertake within your lives. I shall be waiting…

 

*      *      *

 

    “Ah, my head…” Asha grumbled as she pushed herself up from the ground. She curled her legs up underneath her, placing a hand to her head as she looked to the other three girls sprawled out before her. “Are you guys ok?”

    Rose rolled onto her back, coughing slightly. “Yeah…I think so…”

    Asha looked to Jade and Tygra. They had landed a few feet apart; Jade was lying on her left side while Tygra was on her back. “Are you two alright? Hey!” She crawled over to Tygra since she was closer, placing a hand on her shoulder.

    “Ugh, what happened?” She heard Tygra question as she placed a hand to her soar head.

    Asha looked up from where they had fallen, seeing nothing but an opal colored ceiling. “I thought we had fallen, but I don’t see an opening anywhere above us…”

    Tygra lowered her hand as she slowly sat upright. “This is just too weird…” her head snapped up as a thought crossed her mind. “Where’s Jade? Is she alright?”

Asha turned to look back at Jade, she hadn’t moved from where she laid. Tygra quickly crawled over to her, rolling her onto her back. Jade’s eyes slowly fluttered open. “That was one hell of a fall…”

    Tygra snickered slightly as she helped Jade to a sitting position. “Of course you’re alright. I should have known better.”

    Jade pushed Tygra’s hand away as she helped herself up to her feet. She looked to each of the girls quickly. “Is everyone alright?” They each gave a quick nod as their answer. “That’s good…that means the only thing we need to worry about is where we are.”

    After her comment, everyone began to take a look around to where they had fallen. Or, to where they were suppose to have fallen in from. As they all looked up towards the ceiling, they could see what Asha had said earlier was true; there was no hole within the ceiling. Yet the area was well lighted as the torches lined along the walls seem to engulf the room in a soft golden glow.

    “What is this place? How did we get here?” Asha questioned as she continued to look up at the ceiling, wondering if they had somehow missed the hole.

    Rose pointed to the back of the room. “Maybe this room is a shrine to those statues?” They all turned to see four statues of women, each set in a different pose. The statues seemed so real, so life-like with their appearance; the girls couldn’t help but gawk at them for a few moments.

    The first statue from the left wore a red silk tunic with black pants. A pair of tan leather boots was strapped over the pants, reaching just below the knees. The hands were clenched tightly as the arms were crossed over the chest. This woman seemed to have been strong and full of courage in her time as the pose was set with her head held high, her eyes looking straight into the future. Bright red bangs illuminated her features as they hung from either sides of her face, the rest of her hair set up into a messy bun. Around her neck was a chocker, with a bright red stone in its center.

    The next statue wore a royal blue gown the sleeves reaching passed her finger tips. Two slits run up either side of the gown’s skirt to the statue’s hips. There was a short dark purple skirt set underneath the longer blue skirt of the gown. Around the statue’s waist was a cloth belt, the same shade of the purple as the shorter skirt. This one was kneeling upon the ground, the hands held out before her as if cupping water. The woman’s features were set with a hard jaw, making her seem to be a harsh woman of her time. Yet her eyes were soft, completely contradicting the first set of thoughts. Her hair was a sleek black, nearly touching the floor with her flawless straight strands. And as the statue before, she wore a chocker with a dark blue stone.

    The third statue wore a green jerkin with tan pants reaching down to her soft leather shoes. Around the waist was a tan belt with green beads embedding the edges. This one was also kneeling, though only on one leg with her right hand placed flat onto the floor. Her pose was sincere as her face looked onward; her eyes closed gently. Strands of dark brown hair fell just along her face as the rest was tightly braided hanging down passed her shoulder, the tip just reaching the elbow of her supportive arm. Feathers and multicolored beads could be seen woven into the braid, giving her an authentic look. Around her neck as well was a chocker, with an emerald green stone in its center.

    The final statue wore a light blue gown, much like the second statue, though there was a buttoned gray vest placed over. Her hands were held out before her, press flat together as if she were in prayer, the forehead touching the tips of the fingers. This one seemed to have strong faith in what she believed, not allowing anyone to take it from her. Her hair was a wavy golden blonde covering her shoulders completely. And as the others before her, she wore a chocker, a light blue stone in its center.

    “Wow…” Asha said quietly as her eyes fell upon each statue one by one. “I wonder what they did in order to have statues like this made for them…”

Jade walked up towards the statues, stopping just before them. She bent down, running her hand along the floor.

    Tygra went to her side. “What is it Jade?”

    “It’s more of that writing…” she looked to Tygra, her eyebrows narrowed slightly from deep thought. “You know the one from that stone wall.”

    “Now that you mention it,” Rose began as she came closer, “the stone within these walls look to be the same as that wall.”

    Asha walked over towards them. “Does that mean we really are underneath that stone?”

    Jade shook her head. “I don’t really know what it means but,” she pointed down towards the floor, revealing more of the writing, “I do know these symbols.”

    The others looked down to the writing on the floor, seeing the symbols that Jade was speaking about. In a row starting from the left was an upright triangle with nothing inside, a downward triangle with nothing inside, another triangle pointing downward, a line etched through it near the tip, and another upright triangle with a line etched through it near the tip.

    “These are the symbols for the elements.” Tygra said, glancing over to Jade. “Fire, water, earth, and air…but, why would they be here?”

    The three girls turned to Rose as they heard her let out a little laugh. “What are you laughing at?” Asha questioned slightly annoyed.

    “Oh, it’s nothing. I just remembered a dream that I just had. It was kind of silly really.”

    “Dream?” Jade questioned, an eyebrow raised high. “One that spoke of the elements?”

    “Yeah, it was nothing-”

    “Chosen Ones…I have awaited many years for you to come…Darkness has already spread throughout this world, awaking the evil hearts of its inhabitants…I believe that‘s what she had first said, wasn‘t it?”

    The girls remained silent as Rose’s mouth dropped a little. How did Jade know that? Unless she too-

    “There was also something said about Drake wasn’t there?” They turned to look to Tygra; this was starting to get too coincidental.

    Jade then looked to Asha, seeing her face had lost all its color. “You dreamed it too, didn’t you?”  She only nodded slightly as Jade looked back down towards the writing. “What the hell is going on here?”

    There was a sudden flash of light from the statues before them, causing the girls to back away slightly, covering their eyes. “What was that?” Asha cried her eyes burned from the brightness of the light.

    “I don’t know!” Rose cried, slowly lowering her hands from her eyes as the light slowly began dim.

    “Don’t be afraid.”

    The four girls stopped what they were doing, motionless at the sound of the voice lingering in the air. “Did you say something?” Tygra questioned, hoping one of the others would give her an answer.

    Jade remained still her hands now at her sides. She looked to the statues placed so defiantly before them as they looked back to her. As each of the four statues looked back to her; their once cold features carved from stone had faded into silent laughter.

    “So, you have finally come to take our place…” The second statue said with a mysterious smile crossing over her now firm face as she lowered her hands to her sides. The sound of stone rubbing against stone rang throughout the room as she stood slowly to her feet. “Excellent.”