The party resumed their trek, changed by their experience.  Concerned about some sort of pursuit, they set a hard pace, heading out early in the mornings and pressing on as long as they dared at night before full dark came upon them.  Those with the greater endurance helped keep the pace, steadily pulling those who tired quicker.  Watches at night were set and the fire was doused early to prevent any light from giving them away.

           Wary of the very people they had set out to save, the group was skittish when any person passed by.  Most were like themselves; travelers and small groups of families seeking safety.  Others were obviously soldiers or even deserters and a handful of merchants who regarded them just as warily as they did.  Hooded eyes observed them carefully and then dismissed them entirely when they were out of sight behind them.  Only once did they have to worry about a patrol which they saw coming, thanks to the pennants the group carried, bright cloths flapping lazily in the breeze.

           On either side of them for quite a ways, there was not much to hide behind…  Fields and open plains dominated the terrain, beyond which did lay some forested areas, well out of reach.  The tension in the group rose noticeably as they noticed their lack of cover.  If was fair to concede that the patrol could see them, though likely they were as yet unrecognized.

           Leeteuk grimaced.  If they fled at all, that would be highly conspicuous and he really did not wish to fight again…  The very thought left a bad taste in his mouth as these men were not that different from the injured they had seen in Farwell.  If Enrhyll was actually looking for them, their very number was conspicuous as well, though.  It wasn’t impossible that he even had an idea of what they looked like…  What Siwon said several days ago came back to him and he paused in the path, looking back to regard the water elementalist with a thoughtful expression.  What if Enrhyll could scry…?

           Siwon noticed the look, confused by the pause in their trek.  “What?” he asked, looking over the earth elementalist at the slowly approaching patrol.

           “I’ll tell you later,” Leeteuk waved off the question.  The others could sense his unwillingness to fight and they shifted uncertainly.  They were the enemy after all…but they were also fathers and sons too…

           Thinking out loud, Kharin sighed, “They’re bound to notice if we just disappear.”

           “We should just get this over with,” Kyuhyun sighed, resigned to fight, since it did not appear there was much of any other option.

           “Can’t we just put them to sleep?” Eunhyuk asked hopefully, glancing at Siwon.

           “We could,” Siwon nodded, but then shrugged, “but I wouldn’t want them behind us either.”  None of them knew how long it would make a person sleep for and they were bound to be able to put two and two together as to their direction when they woke…

           “Well what if we just disoriented them?” Summer asked, looking around the group.

           “Can we make them forget?” Eleanara asked uncertainly, grasping for straws.

           Leeteuk and Kharin’s eyes met at the question and it seemed they both had a thought.  Kharin smiled.  “Well, seeing that we’re not going to run and we’ve decided not to fight, what would you have us do?”

           “I think I have an idea,” Leeteuk finally smiled, a genuine one this time.  “Come here,” he waved as they gathered close to share in his plan.  It did not take long to explain and, given the circumstances, they were all inclined to try.  Kyuhyun expectedly grumbled, but the rest were in favor.  A quick glance up showed the patrol nearing them, faces becoming noticeable in the closing distance.  There was no turning back now as the group began to take interest in them.

           “Here we go,” Siwon smiled as he stepped into the front.  He closed his eyes as he felt the water in the air, recognizing with a start that it was probably going to rain in the near future.  Immediately, he pushed the thought aside and focused on his part.

           Around the water elementalist, a thick fog began to rise into the air, white and obscuring.  As the mist formed, Eunhyuk caught it with the wind, propelling it ominously towards the patrol, a roiling cloud of dense fog.  The patrol was not stupid and they recognized immediately what the cause was, as they slowed down and called warnings to each other, very well aware of what they had run into.  They were, however, quite blind and with Eunhyuk’s wind to keep the mist enshrouding them, the patrol had no way of knowing where they were in relation to the party on the road.

           At the ready, the others stood tense and quiet, alert for any escapees.  Leeteuk knelt on the ground with his eyes closed, listening to the men mill about.  He could see them testing the boundaries.  “Kyu,” he called softly, surprising the fire elementalist.  “Block them in,” he directed, taking a second to meet the younger man’s gaze.

           Kyuhyun swallowed hard.  He knew this whole attempt was dumb.  The only way to make sure they didn’t follow was to incapacitate them or make sure they didn’t get up again, but even though he had suggested as much, his stomach rebelled at the thought.  He was angry with himself for the betrayal of his body.  With a smirk, he focused that aggression on the requested task and quickly but skillfully raised a fire wall in front of the fog, preventing the patrol from moving forward.

           They knew he was successful by the alarmed cries of the men from within as they felt the heat and the temperature rise noticeably.  Thus stalled, Leeteuk dropped the ground out from under them, trapping them in a pit.  He cringed at the sound of their panicked cries as the situation became too much for all of them.

           Finally, Kharin and Eleanara approached as the fog was blown away easily enough and the fire dismissed by Summer.  Before they reached the pit of crying and angry men, Eleanara called down a ray of light behind Kharin, casting her in shadow and briefly blinding the men in the pit as they stared up at the dark figure peering down at them.  Cast in light, her features were unrecognizable but the stir of power was impossible to miss as she met their eyes and called upon the shadows to hide this moment from them.  It was a small patrol, no more than fifteen or sixteen men, but the effort cost her.  Proudly, she maintained her position until she was she had reached them all, pulling a shadowy veil over their distraught minds.

           Confused expressions looked around and she motioned for Eunhyuk and Siwon to move up.  The pair came to stand in the light and both reached down to the men.  Siwon let the mist of sleep drift down and Eunhyuk hurried the cause, carrying them quicker into that blessed embrace.

           With a sigh, Kharin sagged and the pair beside her caught her swiftly.  “Are you okay?” Eunhyuk asked, holding her steady with one hand and using the other to brush her cheek and smooth her hair back with an open palm.

           Siwon grinned at the gesture even as Kharin nodded with a tired smile.  “I’m fine.  It just took more than I expected.”

           They were startled when Leeteuk raised the earth again, bringing the soldiers back to ground level.  “I can’t leave the road that way,” he explained, shrugging.  Quickly, he headed over to the group of moderately piled bodies and began retrieving the weapons.

           Summer banished the ray of light and then stepped in to help, followed shortly by the others.  Kharin tried at first but then felt her head spin when she bent down to retrieve a weapon.  “Ohhh…” she murmured before she took a seat and rested her head on her knees.

           Eleanara drifted by and pat her shoulder sympathetically.  “It’ll pass,” she assured the recovering woman.

           When the weapons were retrieved, Leeteuk made another hole that the blades and halberds sunk into before he looked at Kyuhyun.  Easily, the earth elementalist gestured at the hole and nodded once.

           Kyuhyun’s brows drew together in thought and finally he nodded.  The fire elementalist stepped up to the edge and stared at the weapons sitting there.  They weren’t anything special; just so many blades and long weapons, but they had the potential to cause so much harm in the wrong hands.  Their fight was far larger than they had ever anticipated but they had to take small victories where they could and if he could not stop the people that used these damn weapons, then at least he could destroy the tools themselves.  With all the pent up frustration he still held from those who had taken up arms against him and the others, he incinerated the items.  Wood burned to ash in the blink of an eye while the blades were melted down, nothing more than a pool of benign metal.

           The fire was so hot, the others felt it even as far back as Kharin and Eleanara were, but it lasted only a short time before nothing remained of the original weapons.  Kyuhyun nodded at the work done and brushed his hands together once.  It was not much, but for now…it was enough.  As he stepped away, Leeteuk covered over the hole and regarded the others evenly.  “Well done,” he congratulated, proud of the way they had managed to work together and hopeful that when these men did wake, they would simply just go on with their lives.  If nothing else, he hoped, like all the others, that they had no memory of the Elementalists ever being here.

           “Up you go,” Eunhyuk smiled, giving Kharin a hand up, moving his hand so that it rested briefly on her lower back as he sought to make sure she was steady as he stood beside her.

           Completely uncharacteristically of Kharin, she giggled and then promptly half-snorted to cover it.  Eunhyuk laughed at her response to which she replied, “What?  I could have gotten up myself.”

           “I know,” he assured her, removing his hand from her lower back to pat her shoulder in a friendly gesture instead.  He looked over at the sleeping patrol one final time and he frowned at them in thought.  He hoped they wouldn’t follow them.  If they did, next time they might not be able to be quite so nice…

           Strangely elated by their success, the group started to head out again.  With a sly look at Kyuhyun, Siwon hurried up to Summer and threw an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.  “Well that certainly turned out better than expected.”

           Summer nodded and brought one hand up to lightly grab his forearm.  “It did.  You’ve all gotten much better,” she admitted, remembering when they had started this journey they had pretty much been throwing power blindly.

           She did not notice Kyuhyun’s eyes following them, a mix of annoyance and confusion in his gaze.  Siwon had saved his life not that long ago, so he owed him a fair bit, but did he have to walk quite so close to Summer…?

           “We’ve all grown,” Leeteuk smiled, coming behind Eleanara and giving her a gentle push to propel her forward as they brought up the rear.  Both glanced over at the sleeping patrol on their way.  Eleanara in particular was pleased they had been able to allow both parties to get by, unscathed.

~~~~

           Very briefly, a frown creased Enrhyll’s forehead before he quickly smoothed it out, erasing any imperfection in his face.  Instead, he pursed his lips as he watched the Elementalists walk away from the patrol that had been so neatly dispatched…  The water shimmered as if reflecting his mood while he thought.  They had definitely gained control over their power.  It was not something he was overly concerned about, as he was a god after all, but their combined strength might well be a nuisance he didn’t want to have to deal with.

           “My Lord?” the young woman asked, holding a tray of tea delicately beside him as she tried to catch a glimpse of what he was looking at so intently.

           “Yes, Hana?” he asked softly, his gaze never leaving the pool of clear water.

           Carefully, she stood up on her toes to try and see better and the tray shifted slightly, rattling the cup on the saucer just the tiniest bit.  Immediately, she settled herself and focused on Enrhyll as he turned dark eyes to focus on her.  As she always did, she felt herself falling into the depths when she looked at him and had to take a breath.  “I brought you your tea, my Lord,” she finally smiled, meeting his gaze for only a few seconds more before dropping her eyes respectfully.

           Enrhyll regarded her simply.  She could not see what he saw in those depths, no matter how hard she tried.  Her concern was almost laughable.  What did he have to fear?  Gracefully, he stepped up and moved in front of her.  As she held the tray, he effortlessly poured himself a cup of tea by guiding the water from the teapot to the cup without ever touching either.  “Am I your god, Hana?” he asked her pointedly as he elegantly picked up the delicate cup and tasted a sip.

           Surprised, Hana answered immediately, “Of course, my Lord.  You are the only god,” she assured him with a curtsy.

           He reached out under her chin and raised her face up to look at him.  Easily, he stood a head taller than her and he smiled as he watched the adoration in her eyes.  “And what would you do, Hana, if someone wanted to hurt me?  Someone with power?”  The adoration shifted to genuine horror.  “If someone were to challenge me and the divine power that I wield?”

           “My Lord.  Such infidels would deserve death,” she answered fervently.

           Enryhll favored her with a smile that one would give a misguided child.  “Would it not be better to show them the error of their ways?”

           “But, my Lord-” she started to say before he overrode her.

           “Do you not think I can take care of myself?” he asked her, a dangerous tone to his voice.

           “That’s not what I meant, your Lordship,” Hana hurried to cover her words.  “If it is your desire, of course they should be converted,” she spoke swiftly, determined not to disgrace herself further.

           “Good,” Enrhyll murmured in satisfaction.  Pleased, he kissed the top of her head condescendingly and waved her off.  “You may go now.”

           “Yes, my Lord,” Hana curtsied and departed, feeling as if she were walking on air, a silly smile on her face as she removed herself.

           Without conscious thought, Enryhll flicked his hair back over his shoulder and resumed his seat, the cup of tea still poised elegantly in his slim, manicured hand.  He took another sip of the warm liquid and smiled haughtily.  To himself, he simply murmured, “I desire it to be so, and so it shall be,” before he leaned forward to watch them for just a while longer.

(a/n: I just wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to those who continue to follow this story and especially to my commenters, whose thougths and remarks always encourage me to continue.  Thank you again and I hope you have a splendid day!  ^_^ )