Chapter III:  The Emerald Rock

Alan was staring out the window looking out into the night sky.  He saw that the moon was bright and full.  It was late; he could hear Mayu’s light sighs as she slept upright with her head on a pillow against the window.  She managed to fall asleep with her cloak on.

Alan felt the satin gold lining of his own cloak.  He couldn’t explain it, but he could feel a strange aura emanating from it; a power that only proved that it actually was the cloak that Manix wore so long ago.  For an instant, he thought if he stared at it long enough, he would see the face of Manix himself.

He continued to look out the window at the clouds that had a silver glow to them from the moon.  He also continued to wonder what the soldier of Fire looked like. Alan had grown found of the Fire soldier when he read the story as a kid. Even though he was the Wind, he always loved hearing the roles Apolonia had on the Great Creation and adored all the artist renderings of Apolonia in horse form.  He could only imagine how she looked as a human girl.

Alan was itching to ask Morgan, but he didn’t want to sound desperate.  However, the urge kept daunting him like a troublesome fly.  He felt a certain desire toward the soldier even before they meet! He couldn’t really explain why he was feeling this way.  He barely even had his mind on what had just happened and how his life was about to change.

“Could this be because I loved and honored Apolonia as a kid?” He thought.

“Can’t sleep, Alan?” Morgan said through the stagecoach window.  His voice made Alan jump.

“I guess not, I was thinking…” he hesitated.

“What’s that?” Morgan asked as Alan made his way to the window.

“Well I don’t want to sound desperate, but…”

“But?” Morgan turned back to give Alan a look that called him predictable. Alan sighed.

“What is the Fire Soldier like?”

“Oh?  Already fancy Elijah do you?” Morgan said as if he didn’t know.