Nuriah Enya Lover of Earth's Story

"Nuri~" Came a voice from the front of the stall. It was her mother, Tanwen. "Yes, ma?" She, the girl in the back room with long white hair, replied. "Bring me the bread?" The woman called back, but Nuriah knew the rhythm of their workday. She had already reached into the stove and brought out multiple round loaves of fresh bread. Then, she swiftly weaved her way in and out of the bakery appliances and to the curtain that separated the bakery part of the store with the selling stall. "Ah! Thank-you." Tanwen said happily, and took the loaves from Nuriah. Nuriah nodded, and turned to go again, but was stopped by her mother's voice.

"Nuri, can you do your mother a favor and stay up here for a bit? I know, I know, you're back there organizing and baking and cleaning, but I need to go find your father before he spends our little amount of wealth on whatever he pleases. I'll find Cetiri and get her to do some work back there while you're up here." Her mother said, and Nuriah aimed her red eyes on the floor. "Sure, ma, but don't you think Cetiri won't want to be back there?" She raised her eyes again to see Tanwen nodding. "That's true. But I'm sure she can handle it. It's your father that babies her so much." She chuckled and placed a hand on Nuriah's shoulder, putting away the bread in a basket, then left the stall, calling her sister's name.

Nuriah sighed, and her shoulders slumped. "My sister won't be too pleased." She said, and moved the bread around in the basket so she could fit a few more pieces in. When she was finished, she leaned against the wooden counter, and waited.



"Cetiri! Stop that!" Came a harsh, loud, and surprising voice which could only be Tanwen's. Her mother. Cetiri felt the fire on her hands slowly burn out. "Cetiri, you know better, baby." Her mother said, and furrowed her eyebrows. "Ma, I was only-" "Save it, Cetiri. Your sister needs you back at the shop. Hurry now." Tanwen ushered Cetiri along, and watched as she slunk away. "Every. Single. Time. It's as if Ma and Pa don't trust that my element is fire, like I won't be able to control it." She muttered, and pouted her lip.

Once she reached the shop, she shot a glare to her older sister, who was happily leaning against the counter. "What do I need to do again?" She asked, and looked to the curtain. "Just keep an eye on things and tell me if they're overcooking. But don't touch anything, or you could get hurt." Nuriah said, and Citiri cringed at this. She gave a nod and moved into the back room, which was warm, as per usual. She smiled at the heat, and looked to her hands, that were itching to join in. "Puh. 'You could get hurt'. As if. In fact, I bet I could speed things up." She said, her mischievous eyes sliding from pastry to pastry. "I'll give it a try." She muttered and walked over to some dough, picking it up in her small hands. She slowly felt the warmth in her hands grow stronger, and saw the bread visibly baking.

"Beautiful." She smirked, and placed the perfectly toasted loaf down. "Of course if I were to tell anyone about this, they would scold me." Cetiri frowned, and checked all of the baking things before standing in the corner of the room.

Eventually, Tanwen made her way back to the shop, with their father in tow. She walked right past Nuriah and into the back, to Cetiri. "Thank-you Cetiri. Here's a little something for your help." Tanwen said, taking a small bite-sized piece of sweet bread and handing it to her. Cetiri took it, rather reluctantly so, and gave her mother a fake smile. "I'll be going now." She said, and moved past them, and back into the marketplace. Nuriah waved to her younger sister as Cetiri looked back. When the small blonde-haired girl had disappeared from Nuriah's vision, she frowned.

"I wish I was given the freedom to do as I please." She sighed, and turned to see her mother and father still working in the back. I guess I'll stay here then. She thought, and raised her head to a customer who had placed four bronze coins in front of her. "Three loaves?" The man asked, and Nuriah nodded. She took three of the loaves from the basket and handed them to him. He turned to leave but she reached out, and touched his shoulder to stop him. He paused, then turned to look at her. "Sir, you gave me four coins." She said, and he gave her a confused look before she continued. "You only bought three loaves. They cost one bronze coin each." She explained, and he smiled.

"Your honesty is humbling," For a moment, she felt warmth in her heart. Finally someone who recognizes a good person in this forsaken world, would he let her keep it? No, he took the coin from the counter and walked away.



Once she walked back into the marketplace, her eyes went searching for Princess Rosa. For a while she walked, but she never saw a glimpse or a flash of that unique, burning red hair. Eventually, she gave up and decided to leave the marketplace (though her parent's wouldn't approve) and rest for a while. She knew Komuna pretty well by now, so she had no problem navigating around the stalls and tents and shops. Before she left, however, she stopped by her most favorite tent. It was a wonderful purple, but that's not why it was her favorite.

Cetiri approached the tent, and looked at the paintings on display. "I'm sure your paintings get prettier every time I visit." She said, directing her comment to the girl in the middle of the room with long silky black hair and vibrant blue eyes. "I'm saving up my coins so I can get this one." She said, pointing to one of them, and the she looked at another one across the room. "Or that one. I can't decide-" Cetiri stopped herself from continuing, reminding herself that the girl was probably trying to focus.

At the mention of bread Ethan's stomach growled, he then gave a grin to his sister. "I'll admit im hungry. But there is another reason I wished to see you hang on one second it should be in my pack." Ethan then proceeds to rummage through his pack. A couple minutes pass as he does not produce anything. After another minute or so Ethan sighs "I guess it can wait till after we get some bread. I'll probably remember when I stop thinking of food." Ethan then proceeds to turn until he spots a baker's stall. "ah here we g-" Ethan than interrupts himself nearly biting his tung in half. "wow" He mutters to himself staring at the girl at the counter. He continues to stare for a bit not sure what to do. Then says aloud " Your gunna make me go over there aren't you sister?" wishing it wasn't dead obvious that he thought her attractive.

Cetiri was in the middle of looking at yet another painting when she heard the familiar voice of the eldest or the four royal siblings, the Prince of Air, come from behind her. "If you are looking for Rosa she is just down the road playing hop scotch with some younger children." He said, and she nodded. "Thank-you! I was wondering where she'd gone to..." Cetiri trailed off as she walked out of the tent, waving a goodbye to the artist and her art.

Once outside the tent, she began to search once again for that red hair, further down the road. Sure enough, there it was, among everything else. She skipped forward, until she was in ear-shot of the young princess. She was somehow always more comfortable around Rosa. They were best friends. Cetiri's straight face grew into a grin as she waved to Rosa, and came closer. She was playing with some of the younger children, which seemed like something Rosa would do, so Cetiri joined in.



Nuriah had always kept track of all her customers, so before the man walked away, she took note of his unusual multicolored eyes. A while after he left, all she could remember were those eyes. She had thought they looked soft at first, but as he turned to leave, they turned cold. Her mind kept droning on as customer after familiar customer came and went, choosing and purchasing. She was about to ask if she could bake, when she spotted an unusually familiar face from across the market. Nuriah's face tilted in confusion. She knew that face, but it wasn't a face of one of their customers...

Her cheeks turned a bright red when she'd caught herself staring, because he was also staring. Her crimson eyes- those same crimson eyes that did not take note of Princess Clara who was next to to boy- darted to her hands, which she kept busy with rearranging bread. She didn't want to look up again, or she might blush again.

Ronan's stomach growled, and he frowned. "I guess I should grab something to eat. I haven't eaten for a while now, and I can already feel myself begin to weaken." He sighed, and brought his legs out of the water. Sure, his pants were soaked now,but it was worth it. He raised a hand to his multicolored eyes and shielded them from the sun. He didn't hate the heat, like most with the water element, but only found it irritating at times like this. Like when it gets in your eyes. He walked towards the city he knew as Komuna, where most go to visit the friendly marketplace, and buy their essential wants and needs.

It didn't take long to finally get inside the village, but it took a while for him to remember where everything was. He hadn't been to marketplace since last month, when he wanted some unique clothing. Ronan wasn't wealthy, but instead a little too free with his money. He usually spent it on gambling games (he may or may not have won), or on useless, entertaining, pretty, artsy items. Right now he had enough to get him a few things. Food, and then maybe some trinkets, or new pants. Once he reached the marketplace, he didn't search for more than ten seconds before spotting a bread stall. He walked towards it, and set his four bronze coins on the wooden counter. "Three loaves?" He asked, and watched as she looked up to him. He would buy three loaves, saving two of them for later. Her eyes searched his for half a second before processing what he'd said. She gave him the bread, and he turned to go.

Before he left, there was a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her. "Sir, you gave me four coins." She said, and he furrowed his brow, confused. Four coins-? "You only bought three loaves. They cost one bronze coin each." She said, and he looked at the four coins on the counter. Ah, so I did. Silly girl, you should be more street wise, you should have kept this to yourself. "Your honesty is humbling," He said, ignoring his thought process and took the coin, leaving.

He stuffed the two loaves away and continued walking, until he found a wall to lean against. His eyes never left the girl at the stall, though she'd already lost sight of him. He found her interesting, yet foolish, so he continued to watch her as he broke pieces of bread from the loaf. His stomach filled quickly with the bread, and he already felt better. Eventually, he became bored and his eyes drifted from the girl to other stalls, where there were many alluring items being sold. He got up from the wall and walked to one, where someone was selling jewelry.

Rosa smiled as Jessi went to speak to the pretty artist and of course, managed to have charmed her in a matter of minutes.
Returning to her game, she hears a faint voice in the distance - "Uh-oh, Madam Loser will not be happy." She thinks to herself.
Turning to run, she spots another familiar face, Cetiri her bestfriend.
Grinning back at the girl she grabs her wrist and runs, just as her advisor turns the corner to where they are.
"Come and find us then, Madam loser." She yells giggling as she emphasises the 'Loser' part.
Turning a sharp corner and running into her sister.
Taking a step back and releasing Cetiri's hand, she bites her lip.
"Oops, sorry Clara." She says, knowing that her sister won't get angry - She never does - but give her that disappointed look she hated so much.
"Oh!" She exclaims, trying to change the subject so maybe, maybe she won't get 'the look' "This is Cetiri, she's my bestfriend."

She then spots her other brother, Ethan, at her sister's side and grins.
"Hello Ethan." She says and then looks at the girl he's staring at, "Ooo, she's very pretty. Is that your girlfriend?"

Clara nodded to Rosa, not wanting to ruin the moment. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She says to Rosa's friend. She didn't want to get Rosa all riled up, like Clara knew she would if she mentioned the running into her. Plus, she was hungry, and if she could get her brother to talk to the girl at the breadstand, then that was a plus. "Of course I am. Now go on, say hello." Clara says quietly to her brother, nudging him wiith her elbow.

"um." Ethan started to say considering both his sisters knew that he was staring. He then jerked his head down realizing the girl behind the counter had caught him staring. He then starts walking towards the stall feeling his heart rate increase. "not good with women." He muttered as he approached the stall and said "um. hello? id like to buy two loaves please." Placing two gold coins on the counter. He looked back over his shoulder staring at his sisters and rosa's friend. "better make it four" he said placing two more gold coins on the counter. he looked at the girl across the counter. then quickly looked down at the counter staring real hard at the coins he put on the counter. He knew he should relax more but he couldn't help it. He really found her attractive.

Cetiri let out a small gasp as her arm was taken, and Princess Rosa pulled her away, obviously trying to avoid her advisor, Madame Loser, as they had called her. Cetiri giggled at the name as Rosa jeered it and continued to run. Eventually, they ran into Princess Clara, who Cetiri had seen only a few times in the past. Rosa appologized to Clara, and released Cetiri's arm from her grasp.

Cetiri was jealous of Clara's deep and powerful beauty, which was astounding. She had this air about her which spoke calm and cool, like her element. As Rosa introduced her friend to clara, Cetiri could only look at the ground as Princess Clara greeted her. "Nice to meet you too." Cetiri said as kindly and politely as she could, while her eyes fell upon the young prince, who was staring at something. It has risen Clara and Rosa's attention too. Rosa has asked the young prince if 'she had been his girlfriend', so Cetiri had no choice but to look at what the rest of them were.

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.



Nuriah didn't have to wait long until another customer had approached the stall, and when he had placed four gold coins on the counter, she knew instantly who it was, and why she'd recognized him. She took a few minutes to process that it was actually him, and that there were actually four gold coins where an empty counter used to be. When she finally snapped out of it, she looked up to see him staring at the coins as well. "Y...Prince Ethan?" She stuttered, and smacked her head, hard. "I mean, yes! Here. Here's your bread." She said, fumbling with the loaves, and handing them to him. "Um, sir, these only cost one bronze each." She said, composing herself again, and gesturing to the coins he'd set on the table.

She looked at him, and studied his facial features for a while. He was handsome, that was for sure. Her eyes stayed on his as her mind drifted to her sister, who had always spoken about how she was best friends with Princess Rosa, and how she had seen each of the siblings as well. She must have met him. For the first time in a long time, jealousy ripped through Nuriah like a bullet.

As soon as she said the price of the bread Ethan looked up. "only a bronze each? um, well..." Ethan was trying to figure out what to say when he realized that the girl behind the counter looked familiar. pushing this nagging feeling aside he finally says " just take the coins anyways, never hurts to be generous does it?" his voice cracking at the end making Ethan feel embarrassed, he looks down again, but this time not at the coins but at her hands. Ethan realizes this and reverts his attention back to the coins and finally gives up on trying to ignore the feeling he should know this girl "have we met before? I'm sorry but you seem familiar for some reason." looking back up again he looks directly at her face hoping she could shed some light on why.

Nuriah listened to the prince was saying, all the while trying her best to remain composed. "Only a bronze each? Um, well..." He paused, and she tried to decipher his facial expression, which was unclear. "Just take the coins anyways, never hurts to be generous does it?" He said, his voice cracking. Her eyes widened. This was a lot of money compared to what she normally had. He looked down, and she tilted her head. "Have we met before? I'm sorry but you seem familiar for some reason." He asked, and Nuriah could only look confused. "I don't think it was me that you've met before, but my younger sister, Cetiri. You're Prince Ethan, right? Your younger sister, the young Princess Rosa, is friends with my little sistrer. We look similar." She said, and for some reason felt disappointed that they hadn't met before.

Just then, Cetiri approached from behind, and looked straight at Nuriah.



Cetiri waited a few seconds, and watched as they awkwardly spoke to eachother, before letting out a long sigh and deciding to go and help. She looked to Princess Rosa and Princess Clara. "If you'll excuse me," She said, and walked away from them, and towards the bread stall.

"Nuri, I'm glad you've met Prince Ethan, Rosa's older brother." She paused and came behind the counter. "Isn't he handsome?" Cetiri grinned as she saw her sister's face take on a bright red hue. Cetiri glanced down at the gold coins on the counter. "Wow... Where'd you get those? Did her give them to you? Say thank-you!" She demanded, and Nuriah's face was even brighter. "I meant to thank you earlier..." She trailed off, and looked at him. "You don't know how much this means to me, really." She said, and Cetiri only smiled. Hopefully this had helped. "Looks like Rosa is calling me, see you." She said, turned on her heel, and made her way towards the two royal sisters.

Rosa grins as her friend decides to help out the other two more, bashful? People.
Giggling she calls her friend back over, letting them be alone.
"So that's your sister 'eh?" She says, looking over at Nuriah, she did look astonishingly like her sister but, at the same time, very different.
You could tell they had almost opposite personalities and Rosa thinks as to why her sister is never really seen around the Fire Kingdom.

"Does your sister practice a different element to fire?" She asks her friend once she returns, a little surprised but not angry - It wasn't like she had the perfect family, her and all her siblings practiced each a different element so Rosa could only be accepting with her friend and her sister, which she would have been anyway.

Prince Ethan took a few moments to understand what just happened. "So that's your sister? explains why you looked familiar. although it would have been nice to know that sooner. i probably could have asked her to introduce me to you." he thought aloud realizing this was getting terribly awkward and that she was already a bright red colour from her sister nearly making him jump out of his skin and... helping? he wasn't sure if she helped or was simply teasing her sister. all he knew about teasing was pelting rocks at his insufferable brother. "Well i must go now, but before i go may i get your name?" he asked, not sure why he started relaxing. maybe because he had some idea about what to do if he should ever visit her again. which he certainly would Although maybe with a little bit more planning and less prodding from his sisters. or if it was because that little scare from his sisters friend managed to allow him enough time to think the situation through a enough to relax. as unsure as he was why he felt relaxed he knew he what he would do after this. he was going to meditate, right after he nearly throttles his sisters for putting him in that position.

Cetiri nodded as Princess Rosa asked her, "So that's your sister 'eh? Does your sister practice a different element to fire?". She looked over to her sister once again and frowned. "Yeah, she practices Air. We're so different, her and I." She sighed, and crossed her arms. "It's a shame, because I've always wanted a twin. Someone I can share things with." Cetiri muttered, and looked at Princess Clara and Princess Rosa.

They were different in their own ways, from their appearances, personalities, and even elements. Princess Rosa was petite, yet fierce-looking, while Clara was regal, almost, and extremely calm.



Nuriah had calmed down a bit after her sister had left. "So that's your sister? explains why you looked familiar. although it would have been nice to know that sooner. i probably could have asked her to introduce me to you." Prince Ethan had said, which made Nuriah blush again. "Well i must go now, but before i go may i get your name?" He asked, and she smiled. "Sure thing. I would ask you for yours, but I already know who you are." She paused, and carefully looked at him, almost skeptically, as if she wasn't sure whether or not to give her identity to him.

"Nuriah. Pleased to meet you." She said, and looked down to the coins. "...And thank-you once again for your generousity." She said, and her mind drifted for a few seconds to where her mother and father were. She shrugged, and directed her attention back to the Prince.

After a while, Ronan had bought some new pants, and a few other odd things. He had gotten a small metal contraption that spun on a point, which was called a top. He had also bought a small clay pot that had engravings of odd creatures displayed across it. The final thing that he had purchased was a silver-colored ring that looked like a snake wrapping itself around your finger. Ronan looked down at it happily.

When he was finished, he walked back to the wall he was leaning on previously and looked to the bread stall, where the girl from before was talking with his friend, Prince Ethan. He watched them for a few seconds, and contemplated joining them. Instead, he stayed and watched for a little longer, a grin forming on his face. "Interesting. I wonder what her reaction will be when we meet again." He paused, and imagined it in his mind, his grin growing bigger. His fingers found the ring on his hand and he played with it, mind occupied with the Prince and the white haired, red eyed girl behind the bread stall counter.

noticing her shrug partially Ethan's heartbeat raises significantly "Well it was nice meeting you, i hope to see you again some day." he says with as much composure possible. he then walks away from the counter and towards his sisters trying oh so hard to think straight. "you two are so lucky you are my sisters." he said when he made it to them and handed each of them a loaf of bread. after they ate the bread for a bit Ethan does remember where the gift he wanted to give Clara was. he opened a pouch on the side of his pack and pulls out two gems, he hands the rose shaped ruby to Rosa and the tulip shaped sapphire to Clara. "there we go. now if you'll excuse me i am going to meditate for a bit." Ethan said and he started walking away. eventually he made it to the outskirts of Komuna and found himself a tree to rest against looking across the field he now had a wonderful view of. he closed his eyes and began his meditation.

Clara looked at the beautiful stone with awe, but before she could say 'Thank you', Ethan walked away. She felt a little bad for forcing him into an awkward position, but it was because she cared about him and wanted him to find someone. Clara looked around, finding a pot of water in the market. She walked over, and used her ability to pull out a ball of water, causing it to float above her hand. Very precisely and carefully, she made a chain out of the water, and placed the stone in part of the loop. She froze the chain, a task which was actually somewhat difficult, to create a beautiful pale necklace. After placing it around her neck, Clara places a few coins on the merchant's stall as payment for the water. Clara made her way back to Rosa and Cetiri. "I would make you one, sister, but I'm afraid your bad temper would just melt it away." Clara said.

After the Prince had left, Nuriah let out the breath she'd been holding on for so long. Before he had left, he'd said "Well it was nice meeting you, i hope to see you again some day." Which had made her hopeful. Her eyes fell to the gold coins, and she gathered them up in her hand. "What will I do with these..." She wondered, and looked over to where her sister was standing. "Perhaps," Nuriah whispered, and looked back to the curtain that seperated the back of the shop to the front. "Surely they'll need atleast half of this." She muttered, and slid her hand along the curtain, parting it so she could walk through.

Her mother was kneading dough, while her father was checking the sweetbread to see if it was done. Nuriah walked toward her mother, and held out the coins. Immedeately, she gasped and looked at Nuriah with wide eyes. "Please don't tell me you stole this. Was it Cetiri? Dis she do it? Tell me the truth-" "No, It was a customer. A Prince, actually." Nuriah quickly interrupted her mother before she had a heart attack. "Prince Ethan. You know, the brown-haired handsome one." She said, and held the coins out further. Apparently, her mother had already guessed Nuriah would have tried to correct the prince about the coins. "Nuri, keep them. something like this doesn't just happen every day." She said gently, and Nuriah shook her head. "No, I already have what I've earned today. It's your shop, your money." Nuriah ionsisted, and her mother sighed, defeated. "I'll take one, but you keep the rest. Go buy yourself some pretty things, so you can impress him later." Before Nuriah could ask what she'd meant by 'Impress', she was ushered out of the room and back to the front of the shop by her father. "We've got it from here, now go on." He said and waved her off.

Nuriah sighed, and began to walk away, the three remaining coins in her pocket. Nuriah had always been kind, and she'd always thought of others first, so being given the coins was a big deal to her. She looked around, in search of something that caught her eye.

Which he did, leaning against that wall, cold and multicolored eyes staring straight at her.



Cetiri watched in glee as Prince Ethan returned, with gifts for his two sisters. She envied how they could get along so well. Ethan gave Clara an enchanting sapphire tulip, and Rosa a radiant ruby rose. "There we go. now if you'll excuse me i am going to meditate for a bit." The Prince said, and walked away without an other word. Curiousity hit her hard, and she wondered what had happened between him and her sister. Clara left for a few moments, and returned with an ice chain necklace, that held the tulip delicately. "I would make you one, sister, but I'm afraid your bad temper would just melt it away." She said, and Cetiri raised her eyebrows. Was that supposed to be an insult? Maybe not, maybe just an observation.

Cetiri looked at bot of the beautiful gems and she smiled. "Those are pretty. They match you well. Ethan has good tastes in finding pretty things." She said the last part, remembering how he'd been looking at her sister.

Ronan watched from afar as the Prince walked away, leaving the gold coins to the girl. "Hmm, perhaps she noticed her mistake? Could she have kept the gold coins for herself without letting the Prince know?" He watched for a while longer, and she disappeared behind a curtain. "Now she goes to hide her earnings." He let out a sigh, and his eyes drifted away to look at the group of three royal siblings, and a family friend. Ethan seemed to be giving them something, but then left.

A flicker of movement came from the corner of his eye, and he saw the girl emerge from the curtain once again, ushered by a man, no doubt her father. Ronan didn't see the coins. He continued to watch her as she looked around, and walked closer to him. He was to focused on wondering what she was doing, and didn't think to hide when her eyes met his.

He stood up stright, not sure what to do now. Speak to her? Leave? It was already obvious he'd been watching her. "How's business been?" He asked, rather nonchalantly.

Cetiri

After Rosa had made herself her own unique chain, Ethan returned, apparently looking for his pack "Now has something happened or is this feeling like the air will burst in the flames natural?" He said, and Cetiri noticed it now, too. "Hmm, you're right." She said, and followed his gaze to a man who just looked- odd. She watched for a little longer to see that he said something. Then she realized, after shifting her eyes to Nuriah, that he was speaking to her. Cetiri knew better than to interrupt her sister twice in one day, and she also knew that if anyone, Nuriah could handle it the best.

Cetiri's eyes returned to Rosa, who had begun playing with some more fire, making two bracelets out of the same metamorphic material she'd made her chain out of. It formed into a beautiful swirled bracelet.

Nuriah

"How's business been?" The man asked, and she narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "You don't need to concern yourself with such small talk." She hissed, and strangely, didn't regret it. Usually, Nuriah was better in these kind of situations, handling them with ease and coordination. Right now, she wasn't doing that. She was saying what she wanted to say because she wanted to say it. She could feel the air around her become thin, her element at work.

Nuriah continued to glare at him, waiting for a response, all the while studying his features once again. He'd asked her about her business, which would have been seen as a kind gesture by anyone but her right now. To top that, she'd replied with a harsh remark. Somehow, their roles from before had changed. She was the cold one, and he was the kind one. Her eyes widened. He had switched them. Thinking hard, she tried to reverse it so he was in the wrong. "I'm sorry for speaking like that, I just earned two weeks worth my wage in one purchase and I've had a strange day, and right now I have a lot on my mind, so if you don't mind me asking," She said, and continued before he could say anything. "Just why and how long have you been watching (or waiting) for me?"