Air {Elements of Power 3}

Chapter Four: Jasmine

Jasmine:

The conference room was characterised by its absence of colour. It was cool, corporate and functional with clinical white walls. A large grey table, fashioned from Arcan mountain stone, dominated the centre, surrounded by chairs comfortable enough to put you at ease, but upright enough to stop you from falling asleep mid-meeting.

It was not a room of the castle I had ever spent much time in, besides the meetings following our return from the Helian Realm.

It was the firm, slate coloured sofas outside that I had frequented growing up, eavesdropping on meetings, or, increasingly as I grew older, waiting for Brae to come out of them.

As we walked through the castle, I was struck by its stillness. Where servants, businessmen and officials had once thronged, there was a conspicuous emptiness. The King was in the castle, somewhere, probably in his old room, lying in a coma on the precipice between life and death. The business side of the castle, with its meeting rooms and offices, would now be Brae's domain.

The space was, however, definitely out of Tristan's comfort zone. His head wasn't still for a moment, as he turned this way and that, taking everything in.

"I guess you don't really have anything like this in the Sephan Realm," I said as I sunk into a chair. My voice was hard and cold. This was the man who had put my sister in chains and paraded her in front of us. I wanted to make him feel the insignificance of his status.

"No. Nothing so large, or so permanent. Of course-" he continued, as though suddenly regaining his sense of national pride, "Our buildings are far more sustainable and have less of an impact on the natural world around us. They also allow us to move easily from place to place. We can live in different areas of the Realm and mix with a larger variety of people." Tristan sat across the table, in the seat that Brae would once have occupied, at his father's right-hand side. But now, the seat at the head of the table was Brae's instead. Tall, white and still topped with the cushions his father had needed as his illness worsened.

A fierce gust of wind blew in through one of the open windows, saving me from having to respond to Tristan's propaganda. I shivered and tugged the sleeves of my white knitted cardigan over my hands before wrapping it round me tightly.

"Cold?" Tristan asked. He was watching me, his head cocked slightly to the side.

"Always. It's freezing here." Tristan didn't look too toasty himself, I was pleased to notice.

"I guess it must be difficult for you, living over here with your... heritage."

Was he fishing for information? How much did he know? I wondered what Erica and Nolan had said about me when they returned home. Roxy too. I had no idea what it would be safe to say and I didn't want to give too much away.

"It can be uncomfortable, but hardly ever difficult," I told him, selecting the most harmless truth. "Everyone here is very accepting and open-minded; it is one of the Arcan Realm's greatest strengths." I was aware that I sounded like a travel brochure, but I didn't mind-I wanted to praise the Realm I had been brought up in. I was promoting it for Brae.

"Hardly ever? I'm sure that discovering your... uniqueness must have been problematic, even somewhere so diverse."

Despite myself, I liked how careful he was with his words; clearly thinking of the most diplomatic option before speaking. But that didn't mean that I wanted to tell him something so personal. Yet he even seemed to sense this from my silence.

"I apologise. I don't mean to pry. It's just not every day that one meets someone as unique and special as you. My curiosity got the better of me. Perhaps, once we know each other better, you will be happy to tell me more." He smiled again and I felt my mood soften, ever so slightly. I could already see why he had beaten Erica in the election. The Sephan woman had been surly and proud at best; Tristan clearly excelled at diplomacy and charisma.