"Shut up and walk." The guard was just pulling on my cuffs and eating bananas. How annoying. Well, there is a good side to all of this, I thought, trying to appeal to the level-headed side of me. If they have me, they won't go after Hyemi. I mean, I was the one with powers. 

 

          Smack! Another banana peel hit my face, bringing me out of my reverie. I couldn't take it anymore, I snapped my fingers, taking delight in how the bunch of bananas burned. Wait, what? They didn't burn. 

 

          "Look at you! All disappointed... and stuff," the other guard lamely commented. Now would usually be the time for me to burn his head off, but you know, right now my powers weren't working! 

 

          The guard with the bananas clarified for me. "Cuffs that restrain your powers - you seem to have understimated the queen." Dang. I have underestimated the queen. What evildoer who catches powerful people wouldn't have cuffs that restrain powers? I should've known. Guess I'll just find some other way to kill that b*tch. 

 

          "We're here," said guard Lame and I looked up and saw that we had, in fact, arrived at our destination. The palace was impressive, imposing. Huge gate, impossible-to-climb walls, a moat, the works. The inside was even nicer. The ceiling, walls and floor were all made of ice so clear I could see my (beautiful) reflection in them. The staircase was elegant and it seemed to spiral with no end in sight.  A lady was coming down (though the way she walked made me want to describe it as descending ) the staircase. She had a regal air about her, but she felt cold. I presumed she was the "ice queen". 

 

         "Hello, and welcome to my castle." She smiled at me. Her face was actually not that pretty up close. Ha. I made a face. "I understand that you don't like this, but please know that I won't hurt you. I don't need you anyway." She finished with another generous smile.

 

         Okay, I was definitely confused. "You chased us for four years, four fricking years, and you don't actually need me?!" 

 

         "The one I need, you see, is your sister." Oh. Wait. What?

 

         "But she doesn't have powers." 

 

          She laughed, a sound that would've been pretty if it wasn't so cold. "Elements' powers are hereditary, with no exceptions." So we're called elements, apparently. The more you know...

 

          "Well just use mine! My sister's powers are probably really weak, they've never even showed!" I could hear my confused voice. My pleas sounded desperate, even to my ears, but I should at least keep her from trying to capture Hyemi. 

 

           The queen sighed. "Put her in the dungeons," she ordered the guards. To me she said, "We'll see about that."

 

           My protests were completely ignored and my powers somehow useless, so I had no choice but to surrender. And so began my life as palace prisoner.