Awakening Part 2

"Bella, just drop it. She is still young." My father's voice was the same as ever, but I could see that he was not happy. He was not mad at me but at the fact that the princess was being a bit more than spoiled.

"Then can I at least punch her?" I asked. This, of course, made everyone turn and look at me. But surprisingly, my Father answered: "Mmm.... Go ahead."

"Devan! Bella, you are not to hit anyone! Just put up with it for now." My mother quickly pulled me back. Well, I guess it was worth a shot, right? I mean, I guarantee if I hit her once, she would be very obedient after I was done. I would not hit her hard or anything, just smack her bottom until she submitted. If I were to actually punch her, it would just be wrong. But a good old fashion butt spanking is definitely in order for this brat.

I pursed my lips and turned my head. I mean, if the brat keeps getting away with things like this, she will end up growing up to be a tyrant. And that is not good for the kingdom. And since my father works hard for the kingdom, I do not wish to see it go to hell because of a spoiled brat. As I was lost in thought, a young boy's voice broke my concentration. "You are really an interesting person."

I looked up to see Prince Zack staring back at me. I wanted to retort and tell him he seemed to have a few screws loose if he letting his sister act like this, but Ray stood in front of me again, blocking his view with a snort.

"Haha! Children are really something, huh?" King Lionheart said with a chuckle, but the look on my father's face was a different story.

"Raymond, I will say this once more. Control that kid of yours because if she does anything to harm my children, I will forget family ties and cut off her head myself." Again the whole place went silent. I mean, my father just threatened to kill the kingdom's princess after all.

"Devan, I will be sure to punish her when we get home. You have my word. But this is not the place for this. Give your brother some face, okay?" With how the tone in his voice held a bit of hostility, the air seemed to freeze as my father and the king looked at one another.

"Father…." I reached up and tugged on my father's hand. He turned his gaze from the king and looked down at me. I shook my head, causing him to give me a nod. "Alright, I will keep you to your word."

"Haha! You can count on it." The king finally smiled and looked at his daughter with a stern gaze. "Like I just said, we will talk about this when we get back to the castle. Zack, keep an eye on your sister and do not let her do anything dumb."

"Yes, Father." Prince Zack bowed his head. But as he raised it, he gazed over at me again. I do wish he would stop looking at me. It's causing his little sister to stare daggers at me.

After the tension in the air lifted, my mother spoke with Queen Lionheart as if they were old friends and my father and the king also began talking normally again. As for the kids, well…. I was currently surrounded by both Preston and Ray while Prince Zack and Princess Leslie were off to the side, just standing there surrounded by guards. It looked more like they were prisoners than kids here for the awakening.

"Brother Preston…." I called out. I had a question that had been bothering me.

"What can I do for you, Bella?" Preston seemed excited that I called out to him. I guess I have been giving Ray more attention lately. Maybe he was feeling lonely.

"Well… I was wondering…. Why does the queen look like she is young enough to be the king's daughter?" I asked, causing Preston to almost choke on air. He quickly covered my mouth, bent down next to me, and whispered into my ears. "She is an elf. They look young. She may look like she is seventeen, but she is actually as old as Mother. Elves live much longer lives than humans, so they age slower and well… She is also the princess of the elven Kingdom of Tialonni. Uncle and Aunt were part of a political marriage before Uncle took the throne."

"I see…." Now that I was truly looking at her, she did have slightly pointy ears, and so did the prince and princess, just not as noticeable. I was just wondering due to her youthfulness. I did not know if my uncle was a weirdo or not. But I guess this makes sense. Then again, now that I think about it, my mother was thirty one with a fifteen year old son as well.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone." An old voice echoed through the hall. We all turned to see an old man with a white beard walking out in white robes and a strange tall square hat on his head.

"I was caught up in a sermon just now. We can now begin the awakening ceremony." The old man explained. I guess he was this world's version of a priest. As he looked over everyone from the podium, he clapped his hands and began speaking again. "Please line up. The ceremony will take different's amounts of time per child. And as always, whether you are the king or the poorest man in the room, you are not to try to use status here. This is a house for paying respects to the spirits, after all."

I was quite surprised to hear that not even the king was going to get special treatment. And it seemed he did not mind either. The king only nodded and pulled Prince Lance and Princess Leslie into line. My father and mother both held my hands as they pulled me along.

As we stood in line, the old man waved his hand, and a transparent door suddenly appeared out of nowhere. If I am not wrong, this was definitely a kind of magic. What kind I do not know, but what concerned me was that as the door opened, I only saw black. There was nothing beyond the door except eternal darkness.

"Each child will step through the door one at a time. The door will then close and open once more to let the next child in. When you enter the door, you will need to discover the elements that are best suited for you. You can tell by the abundance of elements of the same color that circle around you. You will then need to find the source of this element and touch it to fully awaken your ability. Each door leads to another realm of its own. But do not worry. There is no danger in these realms. They are perfectly safe. Although I will say that there is one element that might be tricky, and that is the dark element, but the dark element is so rare that it is considered legendary." The old man explained.

I never thought it was such a complicated process. I thought I would go in, touch my hand to a crystal, and then bam, I would awaken. But I guess that would just be too easy. However, I think the old man could have chosen his words a little bit better. All the kids now look terrified. Even Princess Leslie is holding on to the princes with a pale face. Not that she doesn't deserve it, but I kinda have a bad feeling. I wonder if my system will do something that will make things harder on me.

I guess I really shouldn't Jinx myself.

We stood in line and began moving forward slowly. Many kids looked very nervous, but with a bit of persuasion from their parents, they stepped through the door. I guess this was something all kids had to go through. When it was finally time for the Prince and Princess to go through the door, Prince Zack walked through it just fine, but Princess Leslie began throwing a fit. "No! I won't go! No!"

"Leslie! Behave yourself and go through the door! Nothing will happen!" King Raymond yelled out. He looked furious. I can understand why. As a king, he must be very busy, and the one time he does try to make time to be there for his kids for their awakening, his daughter tries to kill his nephew and now is causing a huge fuss. Is this karma?

"No! No! Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!" Princess Leslie was really going crazy. I watched as the king picked her up and with a toss, tossed her right through the door and closed the door behind her. The old man at the side chuckled while the king shook his head. Even the queen was trying to stifle her laugh. As for me? I was laughing out right. I mean it was funny after all.