Chapter 2:embers

I opened my eyes… In the darkness small embers floated about like small glowing feathers. I felt no pain and no weakness I felt as though I could set fire to the world in a second. My eyes shifted around the dark room trying to see where I was. My eyes set on the corner of the room, a boy sat curled up. His dark hair stuck to his head as though he had been rained on. His legs skinny and pale like he'd never seen the light of day. The clothes he wore were bloody and tattered, bruises marked his skin each a darker black than the last.

I sat and watched as he lifted his head and looked at me. His eyes so familiar and yet so unrecognizable that it irritated my thoughts. "Stop the embers" he said, his voice soft and gentle. But something about it scared me; something about it was so familiar. My mind shifted to his demand and I wondered what he meant. He looked around the room and stopped when he came to the bare dry ceiling in the middle. He turned his head and put an ear to it not moving any other part of him. Fear struck his eyes and he quickly looked at me, his face emotionless and his voice grave; "Stop them now!" I sat confused and the boy grew irritable but did not remove his eyes from mine. "She is coming, and she'll hurt us" he said with a quick glance to the door that sat across the room from either of us. I felt anger build in me; clearly he could see I did not know what to do. Suddenly the embers went from an orange-like glow to a pale blue. I felt more powerful; the boy just sunk his head into his knees in fear. Did he fear me?

The door creaked and a crack of light peeked itself through, the smoke becoming visible only in the light. I looked about the slightly lit room; it was still the smoke room… But the boy was something that I had never noticed before. He rested in the dark corner of the room to not be seen, the light made him shrivel more into the corner. The door creaked more as it opened to bring Mother Sagorian and Bellivia into view.

Mother Sagorian held her head high, so high her eyes were forced closed because of the smoke. Her expression was mixed, some of it anger, some of it happy but most of it was pride… For something unknown. Bellivia stood still and quiet as she held a shiny platter with a plate on it. The plate's food looked disgusting; no one in their right mind would eat it. "Will you ever repeat your actions again?" Mother Sagorian said her voice more horrid than usual. She hadn't yet seen the small blue embers floating about. Anger began to flow in my blood; the embers became a more vibrant blue.

Bellivia saw this. She whispered into Mother Sagorian's ear, but she was ignored. Mother Sagorian waited for my reply, I looked to the boy and I looked back to the single plate. Something told me to stay and something told me to run. Something told me to take the boy with me. But I sat still, Mother Sagorian grew angrier. Her smile suddenly grew kind and she opened her eyes and she looked at me. The embers turned to ashes quickly and fell to the floor. "Good, a girl must know her place. To be seen not heard." She said signalling Bellivia to fetch me. Bellivia walked up to me, when she stopped she put the platter down then stood and held out her hand. I gave a quick glance to the boy; Bellivia saw and followed my gaze. She suddenly got scared and looked away pretending he never existed.

She pulled me gently toward the door, Mother Sagorian's eyes growing more evil and taunting the closer I got. I wanted to pull away but I knew I'd hurt myself for Bellivia's grip was of steel. We came to the door and Mother Sagorian began to walk up, leaving Bellivia and I alone. "The boy… He's…" I began weakly but Bellivia stopped me in my tracks. "It was a nightmare you had. Nothing more. No boy exists in that room. No embers were forming. For there is no fire" her tone serious and lifeless. She locked up the door and began to walk up the steps. I never mentioned embers and yet she did, I knew she saw them. I waited till she was out of view, my thoughts racing. I gently put an ear to the door; I knew the boy could hear me so I knocked. All he said was a sentence, but it then struck a hard blow to the head. I knew who he was, but how did he end up here? It all came to me when he said: "it suits your eyes".

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I sat on the rug by the fire, full of soot but deep in thought. The younglings rough housed around me, but I kept my train of thought. I wondered how the boy got there, how did I see him by the lake. Maybe Bellivia was right, maybe he wasn't real. Maybe a figment of my imagination, the smoke must have done a number to my lungs.

A shrill cry broke my thought as Mother Sagorian grabbed a small girl of five by the wrist. She tried to pull away but Mother Sagorian's grip was turning her blue it was so tight. Tears streamed down the small girls freckled face, I looked down to her lips… Blood dripped from her mouth as she screamed for help, her lips edge turning from crimson to a dark red-brown as the blood quickly dried from the fire. Suddenly I could hear another shriek as a small boy pointed to Bellivia. I looked at her as she stood clutching her arm, crimson poured from under her hand and she dare not lift it. Her expressionless face shed a single tear, the younglings now getting scared and screaming at Bellivia's now blood dripping arm.

I suddenly stood up and helped Bellivia up the stairs and onto the second floor. We came to a passage of doors, each with a board attached. The boards were painted white with two black names nailed in the middle of the door. I helped her to the last door on the left, the board said her name and someone else's, but I'd never seen them before… I focused on opening the door, in the room was the typical set up throughout all the other rooms. Two beds against opposite walls with a window in between them. A black chest stood at the end of the bed and the top engraved with the owner's name. The other bed was made, and the chest had dust on it as if the person just went missing. Bellivia's bed on the other hand was messy with clothes strewn all over it. "there in Elijah's chest, some old linen wrappings of his." She said gripping her arm. I went to the chest, and as I touched it the sudden feeling of dread filled the room and something grabbed my shoulder, pulling me out the room. Bellivia screamed as it all went black.

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