Anima Eurus's Story

Deep in the bows of the navy ship of the Air Kingdom, Anima Eurus was rudely roused from her sleep by the sounds of voices and heavy footsteps overhead. Wh-where am I? Anima raised her head from the large ornate bed that sat in the middle of one of the great royal cabins of the ship. Brushing her graceful pink hair from her face, Anima stared about the cabin, sleep still playing on her eyelids. She was on a boat. A boat. Trip. Journey. Sea. Air Kingdom. Marriage. Finally, the fog of her sleep passed from her mind and she remembered why she was here. Her spirits dropped as she recalled the fate that was set before her. She was here to meet her "perfect" spouse. Supposedly a prince from the Fire Kingdom, the only thing Anima knew about this "prince" was his name. Fiona Cinder. Fiona? That did not even sound like a man's name! 'Strange', she thought. Lightly swinging her legs off the side of the bed, Anima sat up slowly and blankly touched her hand to her chest. It hurt. Why did it hurt? Her heart felt heavy and troubled. She knew what it was but she knew that if she tried to think about...... him..... the hurt would only become unbearable. The Princess of Air clenched her fists as a sob escaped from her throat. All she wanted right now was him. He was the only one who could comfort her at her time of greatest need but..... he was not here.

Anima shook her head violently back and forth, her pink locks of hair wildly thrashing about. Pushing the unwanted emotions aside, the princess got to her feet, tidying herself up so that she was presentable. Looking herself over, she felt satisfied and made her way to the door of the large cabin. By the feel of the boat, it seemed that they had already arrived and the servants and cabin crew would be already unloading their baggage. The wonder of her brothers whereabouts suddenly popped into her mind. Were they already on the mainland? How long was she asleep? Opening the ornate wooden door, Anima gracefully glided onto the main deck. Sailors were here and there unloading and attending to their own duties. Many gave her respectful bows and greetings as she passed and she gave slight nods in return. Anima found herself at the edge of the boat that was facing the island. She had to catch her breath. It was strikingly beautiful. Her mother and father really overdid it this time. Not that they never did whenever they were sending their dearest daughter off somewhere. The warm sea breeze rustled her pink hair and it tugged lightly on the long streamers that were part of her flowery leotard that was glowing brightly under the sun. But as Anima gazed upon the stunning beaches and lush greenery, she knew that the ugly truth of why she was here lurked beneath the calm beauty. It was time to face her destiny.

The young prince raised his head and turned to the all too familiar voice of his older brother Athens. It looked like the Air siblings were the only ones who had not yet left for the great palace where they were all staying. Aether raised an eyebrow and smirked at his brother's rude but playful insult.

"There you are brother. I was wondering where you were." Striding over to Athens he looked about. "Have you seen Anima? I haven't seen her since we landed. I wonder if she-"

"I'm right here, dear brother."

Anima's soothing voice piped up behind him. Setting her hand on the top of his head, the girl ruffled his hair lightly and chuckled. "I was just wondering where you two were and it looks like we should get going. We don't want to be to late to meet our partners...."

At the mention of "partners" Anima's voice dropped and she stared at the ground blankly. Aether stuffed his hands in his pockets and confusion drifted across his eyes. Both of them sensed the other's distress and they knew they both felt the same. The same question ran through both of their minds: "why?"