Chapter Text
The Royal Academy of Elements. That was where Kai Smith’s parents were sending him. Anger and annoyance swirled through his mind as he stalked through the palace halls to his room, the brochure still clutched in his hand. Sure, he was the crown prince of the Fire Kingdom, with a rare power over his kingdom's namesake and an even hotter temper, but that didn’t mean he needed to be sent to a school for elements. Even just the name sounded ridiculous. Throwing open his door, he flopped onto his bedspread and kicked off his slippers.
He stared up at the ceiling, which was printed with a swirling design of red and gold, the faded paint indicating that it had been there for decades. His room was simple, but what it lacked in grandeur, it made up for in size and history. The wardrobes that stood in the corner were all made of the finest wood, probably from the Earth Kingdom, and had old-fashioned carved designs. More recent additions included black burn marks, pretty much on everything, from Kai’s experiments with his powers. Even the bathtub in his en suite bathroom had a black mark, though he wasn’t entirely sure how that one had happened.
Kai lifted his hand, examining it, before willing it to burst into flames. It obeyed, tongues of fire licking at his skin and shirtsleeve. The crumpled brochure in his fist disintegrated, bringing a smug smile to his face. Unfortunately, the flames weren’t quite so obedient when he tried to calm them down. They engulfed his torso in a raging inferno, burning up his shirt and probably blackening his red bedcovers, before dying out. It happened so fast; he didn’t have time to react, though he was so used to it by now that it hardly fazed him.
“At this rate, the kingdom’s going to run out of clothes for you,” said a voice from his doorway. He picked up his head to see his younger sister, Nya, leaning against the doorframe and smirking at him. He returned the look, reluctantly rolling off his bed to grab another shirt from the wardrobe.
“Lucky them. They’ll be treated to this awesome view,” he said, gesturing to his bare torso and flexing before tugging on a tunic.
Nya rolled her eyes. “More like unlucky us.” Before Kai could retort, she said “I heard you’re going to The Royal Academy of Elements. Sounds exciting.” The words were sarcastic, but he detected an undertone of wistfulness in her voice. He turned to look at her, to where she had moved onto his bed.
“Yeah. Mom and Dad seem to think it’ll help me get control of my power.”
“You’ll need it. A bit of help with your temper wouldn't hurt either. Though my guess is that the two are related.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Come on, it makes sense. Your control must be affected by your emotions. Dad said so himself. Maybe once you learn to control your temper, your powers will stabilize.”
He moved to sit beside her. “Okay, but even when I’m not angry, I can’t control it.”
“Then maybe it’s just something you have to train. Like a muscle. Which you’ll be doing at The Royal Academy -”
“I get it,” he grumbled, “you don’t have to say the whole thing.”
She laughed and nudged him with her shoulder. “It won’t be that bad. At least you might meet the other heirs. They’re all Elemental Masters. You might be able to make some connections.” Again, he heard the longing in her tone.
“It’s a shame you won’t be there. I could use your help,” he hedged.
“You’ll do fine on your own. Besides, I’ve shown no sign of powers, so I hardly fit the criteria.” She tugged at the embroidered blue sleeve of her kimono, staring at her palm. Kai and Nya’s parents were both Elemental Masters; their father had control over fire and their mother was the Elemental Master of Water. Since Kai had inherited his father’s power, they had hoped that Nya would inherit their mother’s. So far, they had been disappointed. Kai knew how much that affected Nya, how much she hated being inadequate. Still, she found other ways to ‘make up for it’, as she put it. Nya had undoubtedly inherited most of the brains, and she put it to good use. She was always coming up with new ideas and strategies and inventions to help the kingdom. He knew that all she wanted was to make their parents proud, and her fear of being less than enough had blinded her to the fact that they already were. Kai hated that. He hated seeing her put herself down for something she couldn’t control, not when she had surpassed all expectations the minute she was born. He hated even more that she thought the one thing she couldn’t do defined her.
She sighed, snapping him out of his thoughts. “When do you leave?”
“A week. Seven days to pack up my life and get shipped off to a school for elemental masters. Whoopee.” His flat tone made her laugh.
“Don’t be so dramatic. It’ll be fun. You’ll see.” She stood and flicked his ear, making her way out of his room. “See you at dinner.”
That night, he lay in bed, unable to sleep. He rolled over, pushing off the duvet that was now slightly charred.
It'll be fun. You’ll see. Yeah, he thought bitterly, I can’t wait.