The Darest Days

"How are we going to find the others?" Aiden wanted to know.

Ella and Marc looked at each other and Aiden sighed. "You guys know where they are."

"Yes." They said together.

Aiden shook his head and stood up. He began pacing and looked at Alani. "Are you even the least bit pissed off?" he asked her.

"They only blocked our powers for our protection Aiden. I see no need to be pissed." She shrugged. Aiden nearly growled out his frustration. It was wrong that they had kept their powers blocked.

"Did our parents have these powers?" he asked.

"They did, though you guys are stronger than they ever were. And that is saying something since they were the most powerful elementals of their time."

"I hate to rain on your parade Ms. Ella, but I can barely control my element. Earth is a hard on to control." Alani said.

"You will learn my dear." Ella told her and hugged Alani to her side.

The room fell silent for what seemed like an eternity but in reality was only a few short minutes.

"So where are the others?" Aiden asked, looking to Ella.

"Sylbie is with Ryland and Amara in the Caribbean. Gabriel is in Europe with Cyrus and Moira. I have contacted both of them as well as their protectors and they will be arriving at the end of the week." Ella informed them.

"I will definitely be glad to see them again. I have missed them both, especially Sylbie." Alani said with one of her heartwarming smiles.

Aiden had stiffened upon hearing Sylbie's name. Sylbie. She was the one person whom he'd ever really fallen in love with, the only person that had ever gotten to him.

He'd broken her heart. He'd never told her he loved her. When she had confessed her feelings to him, he yelled at her that love was a weakness and that he'd never love her. He remembered the tears that filled her gorgeous blue eyes and threatened to break his own heart as he turned and walked away from him.

She had been seventeen at the time. He had been nineteen. It was the last time he'd ever seen her. The thought of seeing her made his stomach sick.

"Aiden are you alright? You like you have seen a ghost." Ella's voice carried through his thoughts.

"I- I'm fine Ella. It's been a long day. I'm going to bed. Goodnight- er, good morning Ella, Marc. Sweet dreams Lani."

Aiden woke up to his alarm clock blaring in his ear. The bright red numbers on the digital clock read that it was six o'clock in the morning. He hadn't been able to get to sleep until close to four o'clock, and had forgotten to turn off the alarm. After hitting the off button, Aiden closed his eyes and buried his face in his pillow. It was the third Saturday of the month, which meant he had the night off. He had nothing impending going on so he tried to go back to sleep.

Nearly half an hour later, it became clear to Aiden that he wouldn't be going back to sleep. He could hear someone banging around in the kitchen, which was right below his bedroom. He figured that Ella was already up and cooking breakfast. She always seemed to have it ready by the time he got up. It was something he'd come to depend on over the years.

When the addictive scent of coffee hit him, he couldn't stay in bed any longer. He rolled out of bed and pulled on his discarded pair of jeans from the night before. He did bother to grab a clean t-shirt and pull it over his head before he left his room. When he got downstairs, he was surprised to see both Ella and Alani in the kitchen. Ella stood at the stove cooking eggs while Alani leaned against the counter nursing a cup of coffee.

"What a sight to wake up to. Not one, but two beautiful women." Aiden said as he walked into the brightly lit kitchen. He was greeted with warm smiles by both females.

"Want me to fix you some coffee?" Alani asked him. Aiden grimaced as he remembering a time when she had been younger and fixed him coffee, but the result had been a thick liquid with the consistency of tar.

Laughter filled the room as both Ella and Alani remembered the incident as well. It had ended with stained pristine white table cloth and a long string of words unsuitable for an eleven year old's ears, which had been how old Alani was at the time.

"Don't worry. I make much better coffee these days Aiden." Alani said as she poured him a cup. She seemed to remember he liked it black as she bypassed the cream and sugar and handed him a steaming mug.

He took a sip and sighed in relief. It tasted just like a good cup of caffeine, and considering his lack of slip, he was entirely grateful for it.

"I figured you would sleep in til noon." Alani said as she leaned against the counter once again. Aiden couldn't help but admire her mile long legs in the silk pajama shorts she wore. "I seem to remember sleeping was your favorite past time when we were younger."

Aiden laughed. "Ah, the good old days."

Ella turned from the stove and handed him a plate piled high with eggs, sausage, and toast. She motioned to the table with a spatula when he began to dig in while standing.

She and Alani soon joined him at the table.

"Did you guys get any sleep at all last night, or this morning?" Aiden asked.

"No, but I'm going to go to bed as soon as breakfast is done. I probably won't resurface again until late." Alani confessed and began to scarf down her food.

"I was going to go back to sleep as well. It's not even seven o'clock." Ella said and looked at Aiden. "Isn't it your day off?"

"Sure is. I plan on being a lazy bum with the load of you today." Aiden smiled.

"You deserve it." Ella smiled and began to eat.

Aiden finished off his breakfast and put his plate in the sink. Everyone was quiet for the next few minutes as Ella and Alani finished eating. Everyone jumped when the phone rang, breaking the silence.

Aiden answered.

"Is this Aiden?"

The voice, it was as familiar to him as the back of his hand. The sweet and quiet sound that he'd loved so much was on the other "Sylbie?"

"Yeah, uh is Ella there?" she asked. Aiden didn't miss the nervousness in her tone.

"Just a minute." he told her and held the phone out to Ella. The older woman stood up from the table and took the phone from Aiden's grasp.

"Hello? Sylbie dear, what is it?"

The next few minutes were filled with silence and Ella's face became pale. Aiden didn't miss the way her eyes began to tear up.

"Don't you worry about a thing, dear. We'll see you in the morning Sylbie."

When she hung up the phone, she couldn't help the tears that began to fall. Alani stood up and walked over, and Aiden put his arm around Ella.

"Amara. She's dead." Ella cried. Aiden felt his heart wrench. Amara and Ella had been nearly inseparable. They had been like sisters. Aiden couldn't even begin to imagine what Ella was feeling.

Aiden looked at Alani who was silently crying as well. "What happened?" Aiden asked.

"Ryland and Sylbie were training out by the water, and a demon attacked their home. Amara was outnumbered and taken by surprise. She didn't stand a chance."

Thirty minutes later, Ella and Alani sat on the couch as Aiden paced back and forth across the living room. Marc, who was now wide awake, stood in the corner looking somber and just a little sick.

"What are we going to do?" Alani asked, sounding young and scared.

"Ryland and Sylbie will be here early in the morning. I called Cyrus. He said they haven't had any attacks, so they will be arriving at the end of the week as planned." Marc said.

It was barely nine o'clock and Aiden was mentally exhausted, but he felt wired. His head was aching and his stomach was turning. He would never admit it, but he felt scared shitless. Not for himself, but for his friends and family.

Aiden would be the first to admit that he didn't do well not knowing what was to come and what was going to happen. He felt like he was being thrown headfirst into the unknown. He'd been training for this day, Aiden knew. He might not have realized it, but he'd been getting ready for the battle to come every time that Marc made him train.

He was strong. He would get stronger. He would save his friends, his family. His kingdom. He would personally kill the Reaper himself, even if it was the last thing that he ever did.

"Be honest. Have we had any attacks while I'm not around?" Aiden asked. The sudden thought of Ella or Marc being killed shot through his head, and sent a shudder through his body. He couldn't picture life without Ella's sweet mothering nature, or Marc's confidence in his strength and power.

"No." Ella answered simply. Aiden studied her for a moment then nodded his head, believing her.

"Good."

Alani stood up from the couch and stretched. "There is nothing more we can do now. We should all get some rest." She said. Her voice was still a little shaky but she seemed more stable as she spoke.

"You're right." Ella agreed.

The two women left the room and Marc walked over to the couch, sat down. "Ryland is going out of his mind. It's worse than Sylbie let Ella know. They weren't training. Sylbie was there. She got hurt."

Aiden stopped pacing and looked at Marc. "How bad?"

"According to Ryland, a few cracked ribs, a concussion. He thinks she's hurt worse than she's letting on. But you know Sylbie never liked to be a bother when she was sick or hurt." Marc ran a hand over his chin.

"Ella will know immediately when they arrive how bad it is." Aiden said. Sylbie had always kept to herself when she was hurt. Once it had almost gotten her killed when they were young children. But Ella, Moira, and Amara had always been able to tell when she wasn't telling the whole truth about her health.

His heart hurt for Sylbie. Amara had been like her mother. They had been close while Sylbie had been growing up. He couldn't imagine how Sylbie would have felt seeing Amara killed. She would be devastated, not that anyone would be able to tell. She'd always been quiet and reserved with her feelings.

"Get some rest Aiden. For the near future, it's going to be rare." Marc said.

Aiden walked back to his room. He wasn't one for lying around all day, but he figured he deserved it. He fell onto his bed and closed his eyes. Within seconds he was asleep.