She awoke to the tantalizing aroma of frying bread. It took her a moment to pull herself out of the comfortable haze of sleep and remember where she was.

        Her eyes shot open, and she tried to sit up. She regretted both actions immediately. Morning light seared her vision, and she abruptly realized that her everything ached. Now that she was awake she couldn’t imagine how she’d slept through the cacophony of pain. She groaned.

        “Oh! You’re awake!” said a kind female voice. Kaz blinked, and her eyes started sorting out her surroundings.

        A woman with the kindest face she had ever seen leaned over her. Morning light streaming through an open door created a nimbus around her dark hair.

        Kaz lay on a pile of comfortable cushions next to a low wooden table. A small wood-burning stove by the door was the origin of the heavenly smell. More cushions formed a semicircle on the other side of the cozy room. The walls were hung with weavings featuring bright stripes, zig zags, and other designs.

        “Where am I?” Kaz managed to mumble. It felt like her tongue had swollen in the night.

        “You’re in the shaman’s house in the village of Yavasay.”

        Kaz screwed up her brain. Flashes of events started to come back to her. A girl in the river. A man holding her up and helping her along a narrow trail. He had been a shaman, hadn’t he? The terraces and small stone houses of a village.

        “How long have I been asleep?” she asked, trying to sit up.

        The woman put a surprisingly strong hand on her chest and pushed Kaz back onto the pillows. “Don’t sit up yet, dear. You’ve been asleep for almost 12 hours, since you arrived last night. You’re very weak. You need time to recover.”

        “But,” said Kaz, now pushing against the woman’s hand and kicking to dislodge the heavy blanket covering her legs. “I need to go. They’re after me. I can’t stop. I need to-”

        “The trackers won’t be able to find you here,” said a man’s voice tartly.

        Kaz stopped fighting and looked over to the other door. A tall man stepped through it. His face was weathered and honest. His expression was serious, but his eyes sparkled. Kaz recognized him. It was Orlando, the shaman who had helped her yesterday.

        Seeing him filled in some of the blank spots from the day before. She remembered that the girl had taken her shoes to lay a false trail. Yet she was nowhere to be seen.

        “Where’s - Jess, isn’t it?”

        “Yes, her name is Jess,” said the man, moving to kneel beside Kaz. “And she’s alright. The trackers did catch up to her and by all accounts were very angry that they had lost you. She said one of them knocked the herbs out of her arms and pushed her to the ground before their leader intervened. He said not to hurt her, though he did threaten to do so if they found out she had helped you. She got back a couple hours after you did, just after sunset.”

        Kaz winced. “I’m so sorry they did that. My problems shouldn’t hurt anyone else.”

        “What exactly are your problems,” asked the woman. She brought a plate over with fried bread and scrambled eggs. Kaz’s stomach rumbled.

        “I don’t,” she said, staring at the food. It was so difficult to make decisions like this when she was this hungry. “I don’t know if I should tell you. It’s-”

        “Don’t worry about it right now,” said Orlando. He put a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “You can decide when you’ve eaten something.”

        Kaz smiled gratefully at him as he helped her sit up. “Thank you,” she said, and fell upon the plate.

        The food, though simple, was better than anything she had ever eaten at the palace. It was fresh and flavorful, and somehow filled her up more than she had ever known was possible. She looked up a moment later to find her hosts across the small room, speaking quietly to one another. She was suddenly aware that she was intruding on their home, and that they had not said a single word about it. They had just helped her, as though that was the most natural reaction in the world.

        Kaz returned her attention to her plate, not wanting to impose any more on their lives than she already had. And yet, when she finished, the woman was back, whisking her plate away.

        “Thank you so much for the food,” Kaz said. “It was delicious.”

        “I’m glad you enjoyed it dear,” said the woman.

        “Um,” said Kaz, feeling that she should have asked this earlier. “What’s your name?”

        “I’m Maria, dear,” she replied, smiling. “And before you say it, it’s no trouble at all. Jess and Owen will be up soon as well, and I was making them breakfast anyway.”

        “Owen?” said Kaz, startled. “Surely not the blind boy who was on his vision quest yesterday.” It wasn’t a very common name, as far as she knew. But how could she have been saved by his family?

        Maria smiled. “That’s the one! He said you were probably the one he met, but he couldn’t be sure without hearing your voice or your footsteps.”

        “He’d recognize me by my footsteps?” Kaz asked, startled. She had imagined that blindness augmented the other senses, but hadn’t realized to what degree.

        “Oh yes, dear. Can we call you Kaz, then?” said Maria.

        “How did you know - oh, did Owen tell you?”

        “He did,” said Orlando. “We didn’t want to unsettle you, so we waited until you confirmed your identity before using your name.”

        “Oh,” said Kaz. She realized they had a point. She would have been nervous to learn that they already knew her name without knowing that Owen was here. “Is Owen alright?” she asked. “Did he find his element and make it back ok?”

        “He did find it,” said Orlando. “We’ll let him tell you, though. And yes, he got back safely, though rather late. He’s resting now.”

        Kaz fell into silence, still reeling at the startling reappearance of Owen in her life.

        “Excuse me,” she said, tentatively, after failing to make sense of it all. Orlando knelt beside her and Maria turned to look at her. “I’m confused,” said Kaz. “I mean, I don’t understand how I was helped twice in the same day by the same family. What were you even doing down at the creek? It just seems so unlikely,” she finished lamely.

        Orlando was smiling. He put his large hand on her shoulder and she felt once again the deep well of reassurance that came with his presence and his touch. “The elements work in mysterious ways sometimes,” he said. “But in this case there was also an element of luck. Jess and I were down on the riverbank gathering herbs. We go there several times a week. Sometimes hunters pass that way too, but we’re there the most frequently of anyone in our village. From what Yapuna told me, your fate is tied to the fate of this family, though what she meant by that I’m not sure. When you’re feeling a little better, I’d like to do a sweat ceremony to find out more about why we crossed paths the way we did.”

        “Oh,” said Kaz. “I guess that makes sense.” But inside she was squirming with discomfort. She liked this kind, strong man, but the thought of doing a real ceremony scared her. She had found her element, Chukulla, by almost getting hit by him. And apart from a couple of flashes of insight, she had had very little contact with the mystical side of the world. Real shamans were rare, and revered as powerful healers, and the only ones who could work with multiple elements simultaneously.

        Just then, the curtain on the far side of the room rustled, and a tousle-headed jess came through the doorway, yawning. Her eyes lit on Kaz and she smiled. “You’re up!” she said. “How do you feel?”

        “Terrible,” said Kaz, honestly. “But a lot better since eating something.”

        Jess nodded. “You were out when I got back. It looked like you really needed to rest. Didn’t you say you’d been running for three days?”

        Kaz nodded.

        “What were you running from?” asked Jess.

Kaz looked away. If she couldn’t trust these people, who could she trust? Was it really that simple?

        “I’m sorry,” said Jess. “You don’t have to tell us. I just thought-”

        “Give her space, Jess,” said Maria. “It’s obviously something that’s hard to talk about.”

        “I guess,” said Jess. But the look she gave Kaz was disappointed and even a little hurt. It was that look that did it. This family seemed to be committed to helping her without even knowing who she was. Would they be more or less likely to help when they knew the truth? Surely they would be shocked and horrified to hear her tale. But to the point of casting her out to protect themselves? She wouldn’t blame them if they did. Yet somehow, she didn’t think they would. Not after the lengths they had gone to already to help her.

        “I’ll tell you,” she said quietly, before she lost her resolve. Orlando, Maria and Jess, who had been talking quietly, stopped and turned to her. “But I want Owen here before I do.”

        “Jess,” said Orlando. “Go wake your brother. He can rest more later. He’s going to want to hear this.”

        Jess nodded and left.

        Orlando crouched beside her again. “You know you don’t have to tell us. Sometimes it’s important to take time before talking about traumatic events.”

        Kaz looked him in the eyes. “I think I do have to, though,” she said. “It’s about a lot more than just me. And I think a shaman may be one of the only people who can help me right now. I just hope you still want to once you know what’s at stake.”

        Orlando took her hand in both of his. They were callused and warm. “I’m sure I will. Only a coward would walk away when the elements speak this clearly.”

        Kaz nodded, unable to speak through the lump in her throat. For a moment there was silence, filled only by the sizzle of another round of frying bread and eggs. Orlando continued holding her hand, and did not seem to need her to speak. After a moment, another question occurred to her.

        “Orlando, did Yapuna really tell you to save me?”

        “Yes,” said Orlando. “She wouldn’t tell me why or who you are. She said those are your truths to tell. But she did say that you are tied up in something much bigger than any of us, and it was very important that you stay alive.”

        Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. At least one of the elements was on her side. She couldn’t think of anything to say, but once again Orlando didn’t push.

        “What’s it like when you talk to Yapuna?” asked Kaz.

        Orlando looked thoughtful. “It’s like having a conversation inside my head and simultaneously throughout my entire being. It happens in sensation first, before being translated into words. As a shaman, I speak to all of the elements, but Yapuna’s voice and presence is always the strongest.”

        “All of the elements?” Kaz stared at Orlando. “Don’t most shamans only speak to two or three?”

        Orlando smiled gently. “To be considered a shaman, you must be able to contact at least two. But to be a true master, you must communicate with all of them. Shamans spend their entire lives studying and working to expand their range. I am far from the most powerful shaman in the mountains, or even in our small region. But I am young to be a master. The elements came to me early, and speak to me often. I can feel the elements within people, and how strong their connections are. I can tell that you are chosen by Chukulla, and that he is growing stronger within you.”

        “He is?” asked Kaz, startled. “What does that  mean?”

        Orlando squeezed her hand. “It can mean any number of things. Sometimes people’s connections to their elements mature and grow stronger over time. They communicate with their element more and more consciously. That’s the most common case. In rare cases, it can mean some powerful personal shift, or even the gifting of a mage’s or shaman’s power.”

        Kaz gulped. She hoped it was the former, though even that made her nervous. Chukulla scared her. “How will I tell which it is?” she asked.

        Orlando replied, “It will become clear in time, but I can help you find clarity. When we do that sweat ceremony, that is an excellent time to ask for clarity from your element. It opens the channels of communication and makes it easier to connect directly.”

        Just then, Maria said, “Good morning Owen! Come have some breakfast!”

        Kaz looked past Orlando and saw Jess guiding Owen by the elbow, the brown dog panting along beside them. Jess led Owen to the other side of the table and helped him sit, while Maria placed a plate of eggs and bread in front of him.

        “Thanks Mama,” said Owen. Kaz wanted to greet him, but found herself feeling suddenly awkward. What did one say? Good morning, and thanks for saving my life yesterday?

        Owen solved the problem for her. “Jess says that Kaz is here?” he asked.

        “Yes, I’m here,” she said hurriedly.

        Owen smiled. “I’m glad you’re alright,” he said. “I heard that Papa and Jess helped you get back here yesterday.”

        “Yes,” said Kaz. “You have all been so kind to me. I’m grateful for your help. Owen, how did the rest of your vision quest go?” she added, keen to change the subject. “Your parents said you should be the one to tell me. What did your element turn out to be?”

        Owen sighed. “Well, I found my element, but I’ve got more questions than ever, because I was chosen by Ch’usaj.”

        A sort of ringing filled her ears. It couldn’t be. Not again. Not someone else she trusted, or at least wanted to trust. All that talk about the elements being on her side, and then this. She felt betrayed, stunned by the revelation. He couldn’t be chosen by Ch’usaj. He couldn’t be because that meant that Kaz would never escape from her. Her breathing sped up as her mind raced. Should she just get up and run? How could she go from feeling relatively safe to feeling so utterly lost and desperate in the space of a few seconds?

        “Are you alright dear?” Maria’s voice cut in on her panic.

        “I don’t,” she said, fighting the tears that threatened to form a deluge. “I don’t understand.”

        “Kaz?” said Owen. “What’s wrong?” His expression was worried, his voice uncertain. That was enough to unblock her tears, for everything within her urged her to trust this young man, that he was entirely, utterly good.  But he simply couldn’t be. But he at least deserved an explanation, before she left.

        “It’s just that,” she said, trying to order her thoughts. “I’m here, I’m in this situation...because of Ch’usaj.”

        The kitchen fell silent. No one moved or spoke. Kaz looked around at the expressions. Shock on Maria and Jess’s face. A thoughtful frown on Orlando’s. And naked, open sadness and confusion on Owen’s.

        “I need to go,” Kaz said abruptly. She held back her tears. She needed to leave now, before she lost the surge of determination that had filled her during the brief silence. She started to rise.

        “You’re not strong enough,” said Maria in a tone of concern.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Kaz, starting to rise. Orlando squeezed her hands, but then let them go. She was grateful that he hadn’t made her fight to free them. “They’ll catch me and sacrifice me to Ch’usaj. It’s clear to me now. I can’t escape her.”

Orlando caught her hand and pulled her back down to the cushions. He didn’t have to pull hard. “Kaz,” he said, before she could argue, and he spoke in a tone that quelled her immediate urge to flee. His voice was unyielding, though still somehow gentle. “You don’t know that Ch’usaj is after you. If there’s one thing I have learned from my work as a shaman, it’s that people are not their elements. Perhaps someone else chosen by Ch’usaj hurt you. I don’t know the whole story. But I do know my son, and he will never hurt you, no matter how hard he is pushed. Owen has never hurt anyone in his life.”

Kaz wanted to believe him, wanted it so deeply that she could feel the hope in her toes. But she had to hear it from him. And she still wasn’t sure that it would be enough, because she knew what Ch’usaj was capable of.

“Is that true, Owen?” she asked.

Owen took a moment to answer. He frowned, looking troubled. Kaz saw Orlando and Maria trade a concerned glance. Finally, Owen placed his hand on the table, palm up, as though asking her to hold it. She couldn’t quite bring herself to. Owen waited a moment, then spoke.

“I won’t lie to you, Kaz,” he said. “Something happened at the end of my vision quest. Something I don’t fully understand. I haven’t even told my family this yet, because I wasn’t ready to yet. But I think you need to hear it.

“The trackers were coming back. I was coming out of the trance or whatever it was from meeting Ch’usaj and she warned me. And I heard them coming over the top of the hill. And then Ch’usaj guided me and I...shot strands of void at them, I guess. I heard them fall to the ground. Ch’usaj told me it knocked them out. I think she gave me some sort of power.

“It scares me, Kaz. It scares me because I don’t want to change to become whatever she wants me to be. Being chosen by Ch’usaj is enough to scare me all by itself. That she gave me power terrifies me because I don’t want to hurt anyone. It’s not who I am.

“Chu’saj is dangerous. She showed me that last night. But everything my father has taught me about the elements tells me that the link is a relationship, not a master-slave situation. What I can promise you, Kaz, is that I will never let Ch’usaj use me to hurt you. I’m still me, and all the elemental influences in the world won’t change that. I’d still choose to help you, even if I knew what my element would be and how that would impact you.”

He sighed, and his head drooped. “But I also understand if you feel you can’t trust me because of my element. It’s up to you whether you stay with us or not. I won’t try to stop you if you want to leave, and I’ll ask my family to let you go as well.

“But I also believe that right now your best chance of survival is staying here. And I very much hope you choose to do that.”

Kaz studied Owen’s face, trying to make sense of the raging battle inside her. One part of her still wanted to run. It knew that Ch’usaj was the most dangerous and powerful of all the elements and that she was, for some reason, after her. And if Owen had not only been chosen, but also given power by her, then she should get as far away from him as she could. But there was something about the way he had spoken, about the very fact that he had chosen to tell her rather than giving her reassuring lies, that told her she could trust him. Maybe not his element, but the human being sitting in front of her.

She forced herself to breathe, to calm her emotions and think clearly. No one spoke, not even Owen’s family, who must be just as shocked as she was. It wasn’t his fault that Ch’usaj had chosen him, said a calm, fair part of her. And he himself had said that the choice had scared and confused him. She believed that he did not want to hurt her, and that he would fight his own element if he had to to avoid doing so. But she also worried that Ch’usaj might be stronger than he was, or could otherwise control him. Kaz looked around the room, and came to a decision. She had let fear control her for the last several days, and it had only led to desperation and exhaustion. Perhaps the best way to fight for her own survival was to risk telling this family the truth.

She reached across the table and grasped Owen’s hand. His fingers closed on hers in a firm grip. “Owen, she said quietly, “If you had said anything else, I would have run. Your honesty itself is reassuring. I believe that you don’t want to let Ch’usaj control you. But I’m not sure that I believe she won’t manipulate you or - I don’t know - overpower you somehow. I’m as close to trusting you and your family as I think I’m capable of right now. But I don’t think I’ll ever trust Ch’usaj.”

Owen squeezed her hand. “That’s fair,” he said. “I don’t really trust her either.” His smile was a tentative, shy expression. Kaz squeezed back, liking him despite her fear.

“The question is,” continued Owen. “Can you trust me enough to tell us what’s going on so we can decide how to act?”

Kaz looked at her hand holding Owen’s. Could she? But really, could she do anything else? If she left, then she was sure that the trackers would find her soon. She had to find help, and when she took the elements out of the equation, she had never met such kind, honest people in her life. Despite everything, she felt that she could trust Owen, or at least that she very much wanted to. And she knew she could trust the rest of his family as well. She took a deep breath. “I think I have to,” she said.

A moment later, everyone sat around the little table. Owen still held her hand, and Kaz found that she didn’t want to pull it away. Owen’s other hand rested on his dog’s head. Orlando sat next to Kaz, Maria next to him. Jess sat between her brother and her mother, with her head resting on Maria’s shoulder. Owen’s plate lay on the table, completely forgotten. A tiny part of Kaz wanted to point this out, just to put off the moment when she would have to tell her story. But no, it was time. She took a deep breath and began.

“My name is Kazreena, and I am one of the Ñust’a, the daughters of the Sun King. Four days ago my father’s most trusted commander called a gathering of the entire royal family in the great throne room. It was supposed to be a celebration of the royal line, organized by Vidar, the commander. Instead, it was a slaughter. The whole thing was incredibly well-organized. Vidar’s men were stationed throughout the hall, and the massacre was very thorough.

“I only know this because Chukulla told me. I didn’t go to the gathering. My mother scolds - scolded - me for it, but I always hated the ceremonies and official protocols of being a princess. I ran away as often as I could, often helped by my little brother.” At this, she paused to take a deep breath, blinking away the tears that the thought of Blaze brought to her eyes.

“The day before, when the gathering was announced, I had the whim to explore these mountains. I’ve done it before, and I thought it was nothing more than a whim. But late that morning, as I stood on the first of the great peaks surrounding the palace and the capitol, I learned that Chukulla had pushed me to rebel that day. From that vantage point, I watched the smoke rise from the rooftops of the great throne room and the tiny figures fleeing from the front gates, only to be overcome and cut down. I don’t know how many are dead, but I do know that the Sun King, the Sapan himself, has been killed, and Vidar has taken his place. Chukulla told me all of this before urging me to run, because Vidar had sent his trackers after me. If they catch me, they’ll sacrifice me to Ch’usaj, Vidar’s element.

“This is the most Chukulla has ever said to me. I don’t know why he urged me to skip the gathering and then to run. I don’t know whether more members of the royal family escaped. I don’t know if Vidar’s hunting them all, or if I’m the only one left. I don’t know why Vidar did all of this, except that he was somehow inspired by Ch’usaj. All I know is that for three days all I have been able to think about is escaping Vidar’s men. And now I’m here, and things are so much bigger and more confusing than I even realized. And I think I will definitely need help to even know what to do from here.”

Kaz had addressed her story to Owen’s plate, convinced that if she looked any of her audience in the face she would lose her nerve. When she finally did glance up at them, she found them staring at her, open-mouthed. Except for Owen, who didn’t look at her, but whose look of shock mirrored the rest of his family’s.

Orlando was the first to speak. “So the Sapan is dead,” he said, his voice low and numb.

“Yes,” said Kaz.

“And this Vidar person has taken control?” asked Jess. Her indignation almost made Kaz smile.

“Did he have a lot of support?” asked Orlando.

“At least half of the army was on his side,” said Kaz. “It was a full-on coup.”

“Do you know what he plans to do with the rest of the empire?” asked Maria.

“I have no idea,” said Kaz. “I think his control is probably concentrated in the capitol at the moment, but I don’t really have any way to confirm that.”

“Do you know why he wants to sacrifice you?” asked Owen. He looked shaken.

“No idea. Probably to make his claim to the throne stronger,” said Kaz.

“I see why you don’t trust Ch’usaj,” said Owen. “Thank you for telling us, ñust’a.”

Kaz winced. She hated her title. “Please don’t call me that. Especially now that I’m on the run. Just Kaz will do.”

“Still, Kaz,” said Maria. “It’s an honor to help a member of the royal family.”

Kaz looked at her. “So you’ll still help me?”

“Of course!” said Jess, her young face lit with passion. “We can’t let Vidar or Ch’usaj get away with it!”

Kaz smiled at her. Even though she was the youngest, her support felt good.

“Now that we know the truth,” said Orlando. “We can hardly do anything else. Now I understand why Yapuna was so insistent that we help you.”

Abruptly, his voice took on a deep, melodic quality, and his eyes drifted out of focus. “Whether you are the only member of the royal family left or not, you and anyone else who managed to escape will soon become symbols for the order that has been upset. Many will want to help you. But there will also be those who are driven by greed and ambition and will try to win your trust only to betray you. Be very careful about revealing your identity. When you find those you can trust, keep them close. Judge people based on their actions, not their elements, for the balance of the elements is also at stake. Human beings are influenced by elements, it is true, but elements can also be influenced by the humans they associate with. Sometimes people can bring out the worst in their elements, or the best. The elements on their own are neither good or bad. Only their expression through human beings takes on that moral character. It is up to you to help restore the balance. In order to do this, you must have help. You cannot do this alone. Accept the help that is offered to you now, for it will not only guide you in the coming journey, but it will impact the fate of this entire world.”

A ringing silence followed this speech. Orlando slumped sideways and Maria caught him, guiding his head onto a pillow.

“Was that what I think it was?” asked Owen in a quietly awed voice. He pulled his hand away from Kaz’s and reached towards his parents. His mother took it and gave it a squeeze.

“It’s only the second time I’ve ever heard him go into prophecy,” said Maria, stroking Orlando’s forehead with her other hand. “He collapsed then, too.”

“What was the first time about?” asked Owen.

“It was when I was pregnant with you,” said Maria. “I will never forget it. He said you would grow up to become a mighty warrior who fought in ways no one would ever expect. We were waiting until you found your element before we told you, but, well, I suppose on balance it might be time.”

“Wait,” said Kaz, pulling herself out of her astonishment. “So what he just said. That...wasn’t really him?”

“That was Yapuna, speaking through him,” said Maria. “It happens rarely, and only to the most powerful mages and shamans.”

“And everything he said...is true?”

“Yes, Kaz,” said Maria. “You were right to tell us your story. It is clear, to me at least, that we were meant to help you. And you were also right that this is much bigger than any one of us.”

Kaz stared, dumbstruck, at her hands, at her ordinary, human hands. They were scratched and dirty from her time in the mountains. They did not look like the hands of someone destined to change the world.

“I don’t feel like any of that,” she said quietly. “I never wanted to be a symbol. All I wanted was to get away from being a princess. And now that I have, all I want is to go back to hating it again.”

Owen’s hand reappeared in her line of vision, sliding, palm-up, across the table. Kaz took it.

“Well I don’t particularly feel like a warrior,” said Owen, “Or Ch’usaj’s champion. I guess we both have a lot of discovering to do. I heard papa mention a sweat ceremony. Maybe when he wakes up that will help us both find some answers.”

Kaz squeezed Owen’s hand, hard. She found his calm practicality very reassuring.

“I hope so,” she said.

Next Chapter: 8. Owen - Pondering