Element-ary

Daylight faded to utter blackness seeping out the last reserves of her strength. The light, the heat died. A cold laugh pierced the air, chilling her to the bone.
"Puny child! You thought you could fight me?
 I am the Ice King and you have endangered my domain for the last time," in the faint starlight she could see the hulking man raise his arms over his head and an ice dagger appeared in it. Wait, starlight? Moments ago it had been completely black. Then she looked up. Some of the stars that could be seen through the newly gaping roof were blocked out by the shape of a falling person. Instantly she knew who he was. The figure landed in front of the king.
"Do my eyes deceive me?" He roared. "My own child here to hasten my destruction?"
"If you want to hurt her you will have to go through me," the figure replied in the silken voice she had come to know so well.
"Don't think I won't boy!"
"Didn't really think you wouldn't so are we just going to stand here or are we actually going to fight?" The boy looked back at her and flashed he cocky grin she had come to love.
"You would fight your own father to protect the daughter of our sworn enemy?"
"No dad, your sworn enemy. Karla is my friend. No, she's more than that... She's my girlfriend. And I love her!" He said it, he finally admitted his feelings for her and he felt relieved.
"Blake," her voice came out as barely a whisper but it warmed him and strengthened him.
"Don't worry K I won't let him touch me."
"You better not." Despite the pain she smiled as his shirt fluttered to the floor. Blake lunged at his father and the battle began.

The two ice warriors clashed with a sound like an avalanche. Shimmering ice swords and lances bounced off of each other or shattered into glittering piles. Karla slowly shrank back out of the way for fear of being pummeled by a wayward chunk of ice. She marveled at how Blake, who had always been afraid of his father, was able to not only match him in combat but now it seemed as though he was winning. With a well timed slash of what seemed to be his twentieth sword the Ice King fell at Blake's feet.
"Give up father you can't win."
"I will never give in to such an ungrateful child."
"I am 18 years old and crown prince of this realm I am not a child!"
"You will always be a child!" With the Ice King's words Karla staggered to her feet.
"Blake is not the one acting childish here! He's only fighting to protect what he loves, you're the one fighting to keep your power!"
"You would learn to hold your tongue in the presence of royalty peasant!" the king thundered.
"As you stated sir I am the daughter of your greatest enemy and who is that if not the emperor of the fire kingdom? So what does that make me if not a princess? And is not your own rule that royalty can only marry royalty? How many other options does your kingdom have? Two? One kingdom has a son the other's daughter is so sickly she would probably die before being able to marry? Blake realized this long ago and sought me out. It wasn't long before we became friends; however, recently we came to realize that we were more than friends but we were truly in love. That is why I came here today, not to fight or challenge you but to make amends so that our two kingdoms can continue to live in peace. I love your son and I intend to do whatever it takes to be with him. If that doesn't work for you then I'm afraid this is war."
"Karla no," Blake muttered taking her into his arms. "I will not have us going to war. There has been too much bloodshed between our two kingdoms as it is. I love you and I know how much it hurts you to see your nation suffer. So no, no war. This is good bye my love. I'm sorry." His hands warmed as he held her chin then he leaned in and pressed his cold lips against her burning ones. She inhaled and leaned closer winding her arms around his neck and intwining her fingers in his hair. As they touched the air around them began to shimmer and glow. The light expanded until it filled the room then it forced its way out of the wreckage of the roof and spread across the town. When the the light died away the Ice King had vanished. Where he had been his cloak lay in a heap. The sun broke across the horizon, the battle had lasted all night but the only weapon they needed was true love.

Days later in the Air Kingdom a wedding was held. The doors opened wide as the band began to play. The bride entered with her gown of silky white and glimmering green. The princess of the Earth Kingdom was a vision in the colors of her nation and the fresh lillies in her hair. The prince of the Air Kingdom stood proud in this suit he color of the sky outside (it kept shifting as the clouds passed). Karla and Blake sat in the front row her dress of gold and orange his suit, the dusky gray of the sky on a winters day. As the bride took her last steps to the altar she turned.
"Today is a special day," she said her voice strong for the first time in many years. "Today we unite two kingdoms. However the two of us could not be standing here if it weren't for two people who risked their lives not only for their kingdoms, not only for ours, but for their own true love. So it seems a shame to have them in attendance today and not have them joined. So Prince Eric and I agreed that we would share our joyous day with them. So this is now not just a joining of people, not just a joining of kingdoms, but a reunification of the world." With her words a bridesmaid and a groomsman came to Blake and Karla and ushered them to the altar. And so the princess of the Fire Kingdom and the prince of the Ice Kingdom were wed, and the princess of the Earth Kingdom and the Prince of the Air Kingdom were wed. I would say now that they all lived happily ever after and I'm sure they were happy in the end but life isn't always happy but we can make the best of it and they did.