Chapter Three: The Definition of Duty

It had been a week since their little stunt in the training yards, a week that they had spent idling in their cabin and ignoring all calls to lessons and training, and Kami had basked in the knowledge that they would escape the incident unscathed. However, as Kiron and his gang stood before a very displeased Commander Terry, Kami realized the consequences of the past week were about to bite them in the butt. Painfully.

“So,” he said in a way that, despite her outward appearance of nonchalance, caused chills of apprehension to run down Kami’s spine. “So.”

Normally such situations left her unfazed, but something about the Commander seemed to break through her self-composure, and so Kami found her eyes rolling around the room, looking anywhere but the face of Commander Terry. They were standing in his official office, and it was furnished smartly. Several straight-backed, wooden chairs clustered around a stout table that was currently host to a large map of what appeared to be the surrounding area. A polished oak desk stood in the center of the far wall, papers stacked neatly on top of it. On the surface of the desk rested a small, stone paperweight in the shape of, Kami was startled to see, a rose. She glanced quickly at the Commander, taking in the details for the first time. His square-jawed face housed an assortment of scars, and his plain brown eyes were hard as flint. Moderately tall and heavily muscled, he was the picture of a stern, brave, reliable commander. There was nothing about him to suggest that he had other layers to him, such as, say, an un-manly sentiment for flowers. Kami almost giggled, but stopped herself. She had the feeling that this wasn’t really the time for that.

Commander Terry paced around the four, arms locked behind his back. Each Elemental reacted differently to the tension in the air. Gemicka stood straight and tall, her eyes holding a determined glint to them. Slouched and looking bored was Kiron, while Jade merely followed the Commander’s progress with his eyes, his face giving nothing away. Kami herself was leaning on one leg with her hip sticking out, observing her fingernails. Hmm…they needed a little buff. They were starting to get dull.

“Sergeant Walloc informed me immediately of your earlier activities, as I am sure you have already figured out,” Commander Terry began, calling Kami’s attention back to the reason she was there.

“No sir, we have absolutely no idea why we’re here,” Jade replied sarcastically.

“Enough!” the commander boomed, bearing down on the blond-headed boy. “I, and everyone in this base, am tired of your insolence. Merely a week has passed, and you four have already angered every person here!” He gazed menacingly into each of their faces. Kami was utterly shocked. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t annoyed people before; that wasn’t a surprise. But he was actually yelling at them. They had never, never had voices raised towards them. The title of an Elemental demanded respect; naturally, none had ever dared to risk their anger. The Commander, however, obviously dared.

“The disrespect shown earlier to Sergeant Walloc, as well as the flagrant disregard towards my own orders that you have shown has earned you a day in my company.” Here he paused, and Kami looked up to see Commander Terry smiling in a way that could only be described as evil. “Normally, I don’t personally handle disciplinary matters, but for such important people as yourselves, I thought it only right that I make a special exception.”

Kami didn’t like the sound of that at all.

--

Kami spat angrily at the man who had dragged her to the small, stone-built building she was currently standing in front of. He stared blandly back, hands locked formally behind his back as he awaited his next orders.

Only the faintest tinges of pink graced the horizon; when the Commander had said they would be with him for a day, she had assumed he meant the rest of that day, but he had sent them back to their barracks. It hadn’t occurred to her that he would send men to come and get them the next morning, so he could have the whole day in our company, Kami thought bitterly.

Four men had come and yanked them out of bed, and while they sleepily protested, tied their wrists behind their backs with twine. It had taken only a few seconds for the shock to wear off before Kami started fighting like a wild-woman, while Kiron, Gemicka and Jade quickly followed suit. Their struggles had been in vain. Without control of their arms, they had found it impossible to call up their gifts in strength. Kami had managed to bring up a few sparks to her fingers that began to hungrily lick at the rope binding her; the response had been swift. Kami remembered her gasp of shock as an ice cold bucket of water was been poured over her head and effectively doused the embers, as well as preventing any other measly sparks she managed to conjure from having any effect.

Now Kami stood barefoot in grass that was wet with early morning dew as she waited with her fellows, arms still tied behind their backs.

“Good morning,” Commander Terry said cheerfully, stepping out of the building into view. Kami treated him to her best glare, infusing it with all the hatred and spite she could. He ignored it. “I hope you slept well?”

“We did,” Kiron spat back, “Until you ordered your men to drag us out of bed and tie us up like animals.”

Commander Terry smiled knowingly, enjoying the hold he had over them at the moment. “Ah, yes. Terribly sorry about that,” he apologized, not looking sorry at all. “But it was necessary to keep you from using your powers. We couldn’t have you flouting your punishment the same way you have with all of your chores, now could we? Obviously you wouldn’t come here willingly. The only option was to force you.”

“So what are you going to do?” asked Gemicka. Beneath her scornfulness, she sounded genuinely curious. “As soon as you untie us, we can use our powers again. Unless you mean to just leave us like this all day?”

The Commander smiled more widely than ever. “What, and let you miss out on all the fun I have planned for you?” He gestured, and a servant brought four steaming cups of liquid on a tray. “I had a lady I know brew up something special for you. It should effectively bind your powers. Oh don’t worry, the effects aren’t long-lasting,” he said, catching the looks of horror on their faces. “but it should work nicely for the space of a day. Men,” he called, gesturing at the men who had brought them. Each of them took a cup of the liquid and proceeded to force it down the Elementals’ throats. And force it they did. Kami pursed her lips and ducked her head, but it didn’t matter. The man grabbed her chin and opened her mouth for her, pouring the substance between her protesting lips. Kami shuddered as a feeling like ice spread through her body, locking her flames behind frozen doors. She was shivering so much as the numbness spread through her that she didn’t even realize that the man had untied her wrists. As soon as Kami comprehended her freedom, she raised a hand in front of her face and concentrated. But even as she attempted to call forth her flames, she knew it was a vain hope. No fire came to her call.

Commander Terry gave a satisfied nod as the Elementals turned towards him, looking, for the first time, subdued.

“Now then, behind me is a storage shed cleared out specially for our use” he told them. He had lost the playful, mocking tone used before, and his face was now hard and set. “We are going to spend the day having a nice little chat. Men,” he addressed the soldiers, “You are dismissed.” As they marched off, the Commander opened the door, and Kiron led his group in a silent procession into the building.

Inside, the air was dry and cool. The walls were stone, and under the layer of earth the floor was too, presumably to keep animals and insects from chewing through them to get to whatever was normally stored there. Now, it was completely empty but for a cloth sack in one corner.

“Line up.”

Kami did as she was told, ending up at the end of the line next to Gemicka. She a stole a glance at Gemicka’s face; her jaw was thrust out and her eyes flashed in anger. Kami felt fury boiling through her veins, and glared at the Commander rebelliously. I will not give in, she thought, teeth clenched. None of us will.

The Commander was either oblivious to or ignoring the anger that rekindled in the Elementals’ eyes. “I’m going to make things easy,” he began, voice clear and cutting. “The rules are simple: do what I say. Any insubordination will only lengthen your punishment, so I suggest that you learn to obey my orders when I give them.”

“And what makes you think we’ll do anything you say?” Kami spat, words dripping with defiance. “Just because we don’t have our powers today doesn’t mean we’ll start obeying you. We are still Elementals, and you’re still not.”

Commander Terry turned to Kami, a sardonic smile twisting his lips. “Ah, the Flame. I should have known you’d be the first to dissent; you do have a fiery spirit, don’t you? I suppose it’s only fitting,” He walked slowly over to her until they were face to face, his bulky frame leaning over her thin one. “You will do as I say because while you will have your powers back tomorrow, you don’t have them today, and need I remind you that today is when you are locked in this shed with me,” he answered, his brown eyes boring into her golden ones. “Without your flames, we are on an even playing field, and on an even playing field, it is I who has the advantage.”

Kami flared up immediately, “I am never going to give in,” she hissed into his face, eyes burning a challenge.

Commander Terry whipped behind her before she knew what he was doing, and a second later, his hand was in her back, shoving her into the dirt. “What was that?” he asked, standing over her.

“You-” Kiron and Jade both screamed, leaping for the commander. He dodged them easily, grabbing the scruffs of their necks as they went by and throwing them to the ground as well. Gemicka swiftly aimed a punch at his head; Commander Terry merely grabbed her fist in his hand and swung her over to join the others in the dirt.

“You have no precision, no strength in your attacks,” he lectured them, as if the entire incident was merely a training session. “You need to adjust your timing and work on your speed.”

He squatted down to the four teenagers that were kneeling in the dirt looking royally pissed-and smiled. “So,” he said, getting to his feet in one swift movement. “Who’s ready to begin?”

Kami stood slowly, trying to look as dignified as possible while brushing dirt off the seat of her pants.

“Don’t bother getting up,” the Commander commented as he studied her face. “I can already tell you’re about to find yourself back down there.”

“Oh really?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“Oh really,” he replied, and sure enough, Kami face-planted the dirt once again.

“What the hell was that for?” she said angrily, getting to her feet. No sooner ha d she stood up before she was shoved down once more.

“Once you learn to speak to me with respect, you won’t find yourself hugging the ground,” he replied easily. “Each of you, form a line and kneel.”

Each of them obeyed, shooting daggered glares all the while. Each of them got mouthfuls of dirt as they hit the ground. “You’re making this difficult for yourselves,” Commander Terry shook his head in mock sympathy. “No disrespect, no disobeying, and everything will go smoothly.”

As Gemicka lifted herself up and knelt once more, he came down to her level and gazed into her face. Whatever he saw there obviously didn’t please him, because he pushed it into the dirt and held it there for a few seconds before moving on to Jade and performing the same task, with the same result. After several repetitions of this with each of the Elementals, he finally seemed satisfied, and proceeded to order them to begin push-ups.

Kami simply stared at him. She had kissed the earth more than the rest of them, and her face was coated with dirt that she had not been allowed to brush off. Despite this, she still hesitated, loath to obey. Never in her life had she done any type of physical work or exercise; she wasn’t about to start now.

“No.”

The Commander looked as if he had almost expected this from her. “No?” he asked in mock incredulity.

Kami stood her ground. “No.”

Commander Terry turned his back to her and strode over to the cloth sack that she had forgotten about until now. From it, he pulled two items. One was a metal pole with two clasps on either end, the other, a sheet that appeared to have small spikes glued to it. Kami felt her heart speed up in panic, her bravery faltering slightly. Was he about to torture her or something. She watched mutely as he walked over to a corner of the room and clasped the bar into place on the connecting walls. He then placed the spiky cloth beneath the pole, covering an eight-foot square, before folding it carefully in half. He strolled back to where she was sitting and looked at her curiously. She looked right back. Then Commander Terry surprised them all by grabbing Kami and slinging her over his shoulder while he marched her over to the corner. With a grunt of effort, he threw her into the air, and by instinct she grabbed onto the pole to keep from falling onto the spikes that lay two feet beneath her swinging feet. The commander unfolded the cloth, leaving an area of points that she couldn’t swing to avoid.

“Alright, you three,” Commander Terry faced Jade, Kiron, and Gemicka, breaking the stunned silence. “Start those push-ups. You,” he said, spinning around to face the hanging Kami, “had better hang on until you decide to start following my orders. Those thorns are pretty painful. I wouldn’t want you to fall on them.” And with that he walked away.

Kami watched as he hovered over the others, making sure they were doing their push-ups properly, pushing down on the backs of any who was slacking. She could feel her hands cramping as they held onto the bar in a death grip. Her face was dripping sweat with the effort of holding herself up; every time she felt herself starting to slip, she would look down at the nails hovering beneath her, and she would hold on tighter.

Every once and a while Commander Terry would glance over in her direction and ask “Feel like doing push-ups yet?” Kami clenched her teeth in defiance each time, finding strength to keep her grip. But as the minutes ticked by, it was getting harder and harder. Sweat lubricated the palms of her hands, making the pole slippery. Her arms were unaccustomed to this sort of thing, and were protesting loudly. She could feel herself slipping…Commander Terry raised his eyebrow in her direction, a spectator to her struggle. No amount of anger, no surge of fury, could lend strength to her anymore. Slowly, her fingers began to slide down the pole; the commander came to stand on the outskirts of the spiky cloth. “Are you ready to do some push-ups now?”

Tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn’t hold on, she couldn’t. Clenching her eyes shut, she nodded. “Y-yes,” she whispered shakily. “Yes.”

It was a matter of seconds for Commander Terry to remove the cloth so that she could drop safely. Resignedly, she went over to where the rest of the group was and began to do the exercise. Her hands ached fiercely; they were covered in blisters. She tried to ignore the burning pain in her arms as she lifted herself up and down. However, despite her best efforts she collapsed wearily after only five of the things.

“Giving up already, are we?”

Kami shot him a look of pure hatred, and, unsurprisingly, was reunited with the ground.

“When are you going to learn, Flame, to turn down your fire when you look at me?” he asked her, his eyes emotionless as he watched her pull herself up. “Humble yourself and show some respect. There are those worthy of it, and you have not yet earned it yourself.”

When none of them could lift themselves off the ground, he set them to doing sit-ups, followed by laps in the house. At first, Kiron and Kami deterred, but the Commander simply told Gemicka and Kiron that they wouldn’t stop running until the pair decided to join them, and the angry looks directed at them soon made Kiron, and eventually Kami, churn their legs into jogging as well.

“You have a hard time obeying orders,” Commander Terry said as they circled around him, breathing harshly. “You must learn to do so. Even as an Elemental, you have a duty, and that includes serving your country. As commanding officer of the King’s armies, you are required, just as any soldier, to obey me. It is part of your duty. Duty,” he continued, “is what hones us. It is what molds our actions, shapes our lives, makes us what we are and governs what we become. Right now, you have a duty to this country. Some day, you will have a duty to this world, and until you do everything in your power to carry it out, you will never be respected, and you will never be fulfilled.”

Kami, who felt like she was about to throw up, listened as her legs continued to churn unsteadily. Damn duty, Kami thought as she tried to force oxygen into her lungs. I’ll think about duty when I can breath.

Okay, so I was a day late on what I said would be my next update. My sister was graduating! I was distracted! Anyway, I made up for it by giving you an extra long chapter, so you can't hate me! It was rather fun to write, I must say. Kami and them needed someone to get them in check! Anyway, so my next update will probably be around...6-8, a week from now. Check in then, and don't be shy about dropping a note! Peace and love, have a good week!