Promise
"Do you think you will stay in Astraia your whole life?"
Young Gideon, holding his bow and arrow that his great father had crafted for him, caught his breath and slowed down to join Sarita by the seashore
"Do you?" Gideon gently gave the girl a nudge, his ocean blue eyes fixed on Sarita.
"I don't know. I'm not like you, Gideon. I'm not meant to be great like you. All I know is I want to understand why the stars aligned to create me." Sarita picks up a shell and holds it to her ear, allowing her to listen to the songs of the sea. "Do you get scared, knowing that soon you will have to leave?" Sarita asks.
Gideon is the son of the Ruler Aiden of the House of Fire. A boy of thirteen, with golden hair and eyes blue as the ocean, a contrast to the fact that the entirety of his being belongs to the Element Fire. Gideon was a gift from the stars, with his placements of Sagittarius in his Sun, Aries in his Moon and Leo in his Ascendant. This was the mark that all Legacies share, the Triple Elemental. Gideon was everything that his father had hoped him to be. Even as a young boy, Gideon has proven to be a true son of Fire, passionate with his beliefs and unafraid to lead and face difficulties head on. Gideon has always been at the top of his class at the Ember Academy, the school for all children of the House of Fire, and understood discipline is an essential to becoming the best of the Legacies. His father had taught him this.
"Leaving to become what I was truly made for? Is that something I should be scared about?" Gideon smiled and brushed Sarita's hair away from her face. Sarita blushed, and looked away. Coming from the House of Water, she knew her emotions would show in her eyes. Hers was deep brown, but was truly the window of her soul. Her long black hair fell to her waist, with beautiful waves framing her face. Sarita was not destined to become part of the Legacies. As happy as she was to know that Gideon was born to fulfil a great purpose, she could never imagine being away from all things familiar in her life. Change, however exciting it was, can sometimes be difficult for Sarita to embrace. She was made with the placements of Cancer in her Sun, Sagittarius in her Moon and Virgo in her ascendant.
"I know you're brave, but sometimes, I worry about you. You can't take that away from me. We've known each other our whole lives." Sarita hikes her white flowy dress to her knees to feel the soft waves hit the shore. Gideon laughs. "The last thing you should worry about is me. You should be worrying about getting your marks up. I hear you're now second to Celena?" Sarita splashes water on Gideon and says, "Yes, I am now second. Not everything has to be a competition, Gideon." Sarita is not one who bothers to compete with anyone. Especially not Celena. Celena holds a special place in her heart, as she is her closest friend at the Ryver Academy of the House of Water. Celena is one of the Legacies gifted for the House of Water. Having two Legacies in her life, Sarita knows that there is no point competing. However, she believes that there is always a good reason to always do her best in everything that she does. This belief had helped her gain consistent top marks at the Ryver Academy, even as a commoner.
"Now that is something I could never understand." Gideon splashes water back at Sarita and laughs. "I live to be the best. That is my purpose. Without it, I am nothing." Sarita looks back at Gideon, whose hair glistens as the sun shines over it. Suddenly, Sarita realizes they are no longer just children. In a month, the young Legacies are bound to go to The Aurora, where they are kept to hone their gifts and live up to their purpose of becoming the possible future rulers of their Houses. Legacies are trained to become the best of their Houses, the perfect embodiment of their element. In a month, two of her closest friends will no longer be with her. In a month, Sarita's life will also change. Not in the same way as the Legacies would, but in a different wound. The wound of having to grow without Gideon and Celena by her side after all the years she shared with them. Tears start to well up in her eyes. She has never truly stopped to think about this, and now the reality has hit her in waves. Gideon has started walking further down the shore, unaware of Sarita's thoughts. "I know you'll be great." Sarita whispered to herself as she watched Gideon meet the waves. She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks. The sense of pride that she feels knowing that two of her friends would bring honour to each of their Houses is overruled by the selfish wish that if only, if only they didn't have to leave. If only she did not have to be the one left alone. Gideon and Celene will also have to start their lives anew, but Sarita will be walking on the same path they have all started. She could never say this out loud as she knows Gideon has waited all his life for this. Gideon rose earlier in the morning earlier than everyone else to make sure he was putting in hours of work to master his lectures. He worked hard because Gideon truly wanted to lead. Gideon truly wanted to become like his father. And Sarita only wanted to be with her friend. Maybe it was simple, maybe it was selfish. But in that moment, she truly wished she could stay with them.
Gideon turned to look back at Sarita but he could see from where he was standing that she was trembling in tears. He's known Sarita long enough to understand the sudden burst of tears, but he wonders what it could be this time. Gideon brushes his hair back as the wind blew against it, blocking his view.
"Are you crying again?" He asks.
"What do you think?" Sarita snaps.
Gideon chuckles. "Come on, the sun's been nice. The skies are blue. Why are we crying?"
"When you leave, do you think you'll remember me?"
This question takes Gideon by surprise and froze to his feet. He has been looking forward to the day that he leaves, but he's never thought about the fact that he will be leaving Sarita behind. He looks at her face, her cheeks flushed, her eyes filled with tears. The lower leg of linen trousers has been touched by the water, but this was the least of his worries. He could not answer. The sound of the waves filled the silence between the two. Sarita sobbed louder. Slowly, Gideon walks towards her and pulls her closer to a warm embrace. Sarita was only a year younger than him, but he was much taller than her, so her head rests perfectly on his chest.
"There will never be a day that I will forget about you. You should know that by now." He says, gently caressing her hair.
"I don't believe you. I know you. The moment they give you a task, you forget everything. You're constantly focused on winning, you even forget about yourself." Sarita replies, trying her hardest to fight her tears but miserably failing. She has been keeping this to herself because she did not want to worry anyone, but this time, she couldn't help herself.
Gideon could smell roses from Sarita's hair. He smiled to himself. He could never hide himself from Sarita, she was the one person who truly knew him, probably even better than he knew himself. Sarita attempted to pull away, but Gideon held her tighter, closer to him. He could feel his heart beating faster. He was a stranger to this emotion, but only Sarita could elicit this from him. Slowly, Sarita wrapped her arms around him. Gideon closed his eyes, an effort to keep this memory in his mind. He cupped Sarita's face and looked into her deep brown eyes. His thumb wipes away her tears.
"When I come back, I will look for you. Even if you try to hide from me, even when you might have forgotten all about me, I will look for you in every corner of Astraia."
Sarita gazes over Gideon's ocean blue eyes. Forget him? How could she ever? How could she ever forget those eyes? How could she ever forget this moment? They were young. Perhaps too young to know exactly what they were both feeling at the moment, but they both understood that they were each other's person. They both understood that distance could break them. Maybe they did not know any better, but they both knew in this moment that they do not want to let that happen.
"Please don't say things you don't mean, I might just start believing it." She softly replies.
"'Maybe you should believe it. You're not someone I could just forget, Sarita."
"What do I know? Time will fly anyway. But if you could find it in you to remember me at times, that would make me happy."
Gideon looks at the glistening sea and holds Sarita's hand. "I don't like making promises. You know this. But this one will be easy. I will never forget you, Sarita. And I promise, I will come back for you."
Sarita smiles. "I will always remember you too, Gideon."
"Not that I'm someone you will forget anyway." He chuckles.
Maybe it is just words. Maybe both of them just do not know how long ten years is. Right now, what they only have is their youth. This is their friendship they were holding together. Sarita knew she meant every word. Even when she is almost sure that Gideon would not remember his promise. Gideon would work his hardest to be the next Ruler of the House of Fire. Someone like her would not matter, when he has a bigger mission to complete.
"When you come back, you'll be a different person. I might not even be able to talk to you anymore. Before you go, I already want to let you know that I am always proud of you. Know that there will always be one person who believes that you will make it. That would be me. Remember my name."
