Elementor (Elementor Series Book 1)

Let my words choose her name... It's air in your veins. Blood and air and blood. Twisting, turning flowing. Arianrhod, feel the air in your veins, light and bubbly, and you will know...

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Arianrhod's friends said she was one of the happiest people they knew. They also said that could easily change, but often didn't. They all said she had air in her blood.

If they were asked to describe her in one word, they would have so much difficulty picking one and, more often than not, reply with her name, for there was no one word to describe her. Or maybe they would call her an airhead, but in the nicest way possible. And it was actually pretty close to the one word that could describe her, because she would never stop thinking about air. In fact, the one word that could describe her, was indescribable.

Ever since she could remember, Ari (as her friends called her) dreamt of flight. But her flight was not with wings, no. She shifted the air to hold her, push her, and the thrill, the rush! No one could describe it but Ari. Amazing, brilliant, beautiful and more! Air lifted her spirits, made her joyous, brought to her emotions that nothing else could.

She was the highest, warmest air current, sweet and warm and loving and kind and beautiful. When she stood, when she ran, when she just was, air was all around her. It was her. She found it beautiful and unexplainable and was so thrilled by its complexity and at the same time it's simplicity.

Her eyes were a faint grey, and her hair shone silver and bright. Her favourite pastime was to stand atop the sea cliff, the ocean pounding beneath her, the wind blowing her hair across her face. She loved to sit at the edge of the cliff, her feet dangling down because it was just the ground and the water, the birds and the sky, the air and her, and she was free. She was free. She was free.

When she ran against the wind, and it blew her hair out behind her, that was freedom. When she ran with the wind, and it blew her hair in front of her, that was trust, trust that though she was blind to her hair, the wind would direct her down the safe path. When she stood still, and the wind blew her hair straight up into the air, that was beauty, the beauty of this, this... This what? What words summed up such a beautiful thing as air? The air we breathed, that others breathed yet we still breathed, that everything breathed and relied on for life. How did you sum that up? How could that possibly be summed up?

Even though Ari had kind, caring, loving friends, she was still bullied. And even though she was light and happy and optimistic, she was still human. Well... That she knew of, anyway. She was human at heart. She cried. And she hated it. Because she was so happy, it broke the hearts if everyone who cared about her to see her cry, see her sad. When she was at school, she ran from the taunts, and her friends ran after her. They would let her go where she wanted, and give her a few minutes of quiet, then one of them would sing 'Brave' and slowly all the others would join in. Ari would be the last to join in, and as she sang, she would raise her face to the sky and let the wind blow away her tears.

When she dreamt, she let the wind carry her dreams where they wanted to go. She controlled the wind, pushing it, pulling it, and it was hers, hers, hers, this little, peaceful mind space. She would curl the air, forming things, carrying things, bringing herself towards her love and dream and truth. It was her own, special thing, and even though so many others breathed it, it felt like it was just hers alone.

With every natural breath, she felt alive. With every breath she made herself take, she felt joyous. A part of her longed for breath. When she swam, she would hold herself under so that when she broke the surface, that part of her inside would fill with joy, and the air would flow in, lighting her up from the inside out. That part shone when it met with air, and it made her feel alive and happy.

Her friends new about her addiction to air, it was obvious. On her eighteenth birthday, they blindfolded her, popped her in the car, and only let her take off the blindfold when they reached the skydiving building. They took lessons all morning, and finally went up in the plane. Ari chose to jump last, watching her friends leap into free fall, before it was her turn. Her friends had stood, terrified, at the plane door, before being basically pushed into the sky. She, however, stood in awe, and when she was told to go, she practically dragged her tandem partner out of the plane. Flying through the air, it felt like she was flying, floating. The wind whipping around her felt like her dreams, and as she fell, she pushed her hands out, imagining she was pushing away the air. As her partner pulled the cord and the parachute popped out, she felt the rush of air that came from the opening. She tried to take a breath, but it was cut short by how thin the air was. As she got closer to the ground, a thrill ran through her. As she landed, and her lungs filled with air, her inside burned with warmth and happiness, and she hugged her friends, squealing.

She had an apartment, and her friends dropped her home. They ate cake and sugary foods, and soon they were all feeling tired. Ari waved her friends off, and changed into her pyjamas. Then she fell into bed. The window, as always, was open, and she let the breeze lull her to sleep. Her dreams started in the skydiving plane, but she jumped alone. As she fell, the scenery around her changed until it was just plain white space. She landed on her feet, and the parachute disappeared. A girl, roughly her own age, with long, gold hair and a white staff stepped forward. She smiled at Ari, and said "Welcome Arianrhod, Goddess of Air."