She was outside the country manor playing with her nursemaid Ghislaine. They were sitting in a small field near the edge of the property, the vast expanse of Fire Forest spread before them, the leaves sparkling like rubies and topaz and amber, the trees frozen forever in the colors of autumn. They were having a picnic and Ghislaine was chasing her around the yard as her parents watched from seats in the grass. Her parents were smiling and happy, eating a fruit spread on a platter beside them on the blanket. She ran right to them giggling as she slid to the ground and hugged them in an attempt to get a moment's breath. She panted wondering why they hadn't yet embraced her. When she looked up at her parents, daggers were embedded in their necks. Ghislaine was pulling her away as blood soaked her dress. And their faces-their faces. Blood was streaming down their mouth and throat, staining the golden bodice of her mother's dress crimson. Ghislaine was dragging her, screaming and crying, and she couldn't turn away from the sight of them. And than Ghislaine took her face in her hands,
"Look at me! Ana Look at me!" she quieted down glancing from her parents to Ghislaine but Ghislaine made Ana look at her. She was sniffling now trying to be quiet and focus, "There is no time for tears for my child. We have to run." a noise came from behind them and Ghislaine looked at her, "Go, run. Now!" Ghislaine was backing away but Ana shook her head, grabbing her wrist.
"I can't leave you!" it was a cry, a plea, she couldn't do it.
"You can and you will, I'll buy you as much time as I can child, but you need to run." Ghislaine removed her hand from her wrist. Ana shook her head, tears streaming down her face though she knew this was a battle she wouldn't win.
"Please, please don't leave me." Ghislaine's face softened, Ghislaine kissed her brow one last time before backing away and pointing at the forest,
"I love you Ana, please Ana, run." a tear slid down her cheek and ghislaine brushed it away, "For me." Ana swallowed and nodded, hugging Ghislaine tight one last time. Her nursemaid ceresed heer hair before stilling and whispering, "Go go now, " and Ana only let herself look back once as her nursemaid turned to face the man approaching from the otherside of the field but she heard her call, "Run Ana run, keep running and don't look back." tears streamed down her face but she turned and ran into the forest of Fire.
And then she was running through the woods behind the house and Ghislaine was dead in the grassy meadow behind her, her maid's last words haunting her and pushing her forwards.
Run Ana run, keep running and don't look back.
Twigs and leaves stuck to her hair as she scrambled through the forest burning everything in her path. The forest was ablaze in her terror, but not the fire of the forest's namesake. No, that fire was the color of the orange and red and yellow leaves looking like a flame in the trees year round. This was real fire, fire that burned the gem like leaves and coated the trees in ash and embers. A cold sweat coated her skin and shivers ran down her spine but she kept running, kept burning, she had to run. She had to. Fear and terror and adrenaline coursed through her blood and it was the only thing that kept her up right. She was so tired and scared, she wanted to cry, but she had to keep going. She was lost and alone and afraid but she had to keep running, for Ghislaine, she had to keep running and she couldn't look back.
She sat up in bed her skin was scorching hot and the take of ash coated her tongue. Her sheets were ripped like someone had clawed-no, burned through them. She held her hands up to her face in the dark ness and saw a faint glow emit from them. She looked out the window at the cool moon and the crisp autumn air and found a raven watching her. It angled its head before taking flight and flying away.
She dressed in a tunic and pants in which she could train, not even the mighty Queen Aine could keep her from practicing. She sheathed twin blades at her side and paced back and forth in front of her bed, sheets still torn by flame. She must have woken from that nightmare near midnight for it seemed like hours before someone knocked on her door. She stopped and turned when Saron walked in. She hadn't seen him much when he had been visiting the palace, but she knew him well enough.
"How are yo- woah, you're up early."
"Yes I am, and I'm ready to train."
"Aine didn't say any-"
"Unless she said I wasn't to be trained I think you can allow it." Her stare seemed sharp enough that he didn't question any further.
"We didn't plan to train you so.."
"I'll just train with you and Aspen." she pushed past him walking into the hall but behind her she heard laughter, she turned to find Saron laughing so hard silver started to line his eyes. She gave him a lethal stare and he looked at her as if to make sure she was serious. She stared at him a moment longer and he stood up straight.
"Okay then," he started walking and she followed, hearing him mumble to himself, "Aspen won't be happy about this." She rolled her eyes, Aspen could shove it.
"I don't really care what Aspen thinks." Saron rolled his eyes
"Sure."
Saron led her outside into a courtyard that looked more like someone had wanted to start a garden but hadn't gotten any farther than clearing everything but dirt out of the area. The space was flat and the floor was dirt. There was a sparring ring in the center that was marked by what might have been red chalk. Leaning on a wall were staves and swords of all length shape and make. On the opposite end of the area Aspen was facing away from them, leaning in an arch way and talking to two males who looked somehow exactly the same and yet polar opposites. One had a face of stoney annoyance and night black hair and the other had golden locks and seemed more relaxed, and interested in the conversation.
"Hello Gentle males, and Costrae." Saron said with bravado as they approached the fae. The two dark haired ones rolled their eyes before seeing her and halting. Aspen turned around looking like he had a retort on his tongue before his eyes snagged on her. Her hair was slicked back into a high ponytail that fell down her back in a river of dark blood, her eyes, she knew, were cold despite the gold and ruby hues. Aspen's face went hard,
"What is she doing here?" Was he mad at her?
"She's going to train with us." she glared at Saron at the reluctant tone in his voice but the others just kept staring at her. The kinder looking of the two dark haired fae stepped forwards and put out his hand,
"I'm Pierson, and this," he motioned for the female to step forward, she didn't, "is Costrae." She shook his hand and smiled awkwardly.
"Nice to meet you." Costrae gave a reluctant grunt and nodded in her direction. She looked back at Aspen to find him still angry.
"No-" He started but she was prepared for the response
"Why? Do you think I'll slow you down? Because I won't, I'm not going to stand in your way, and I don't stop just because I get tired."
"No."
"Why?!"
"Because, the Queen said-"
"She gave us no orders against it." Saron interjected though he quickly quieted at the wrath on Aspen's face. She smiled,
"I'm training, and you can't stop me." Her voice was low and immovable, she was heat and fire and unyielding flame. And for a moment she thought she saw him blink at her in surprise but it was gone so fast she wasn't sure if it had ever been there. She noticed her daggers were heating a bit, she went to grab one and immediately pulled her hand back at the forge hot metal.
"That's why," he snapped and she looked up to find Aspen staring at her. "Because your magic is untamed."
"I won't ever be able to control it if no one ever teaches me." They stared at each other down. She was starting to think that this might never end when Aspen blinked and conceded,
"Fine, but you aren't sparing."
"I wouldn't dream of it." she crooned sweetly. He rolled his eyes and walked away. Pieson smirked at her before turning to follow after Aspen and Costrae who now walked behind Aspen. She looked to Saron to find his eyebrows slightly raised.
"You know, I honestly didn't think he'd let you do it." and he followed his companions, and after a second she ran after, not daring to believe her luck.
Her lungs were burning, she had run 20 miles with the fae warriors and she was drenched in sweat. She couldn't get air down fast enough even as she grabbed the water skin and poured it down her raw throat. Someone snorted a few yards away and she turned to see Pierson staring at her with a grin on his face.
"What?" She said out of breath.
"I'm surprised you've lasted so long, most mortals would have given up on mile 10." she straightened.
"I'm not most mortals, I'm an assassin, and a demi fae." he rolled his eyes and took a gulp of water.
"Well then, let's see that fire." She groaned inwardly though she reminded herself that it was what she wanted, control. The others all watched from where they stood in the training space as she closed her eyes. She focused all her energy on one point at the center of her palm. Heat bloomed there but when she opened her eyes to see nothing was there. She concentrated harder trying to push all her energy out to that point and than-. Fire burst from her palm, she stepped back in shock but tripped and fell, swearing colorfully as that energy erupted out of her and a row of ancient looking staves leaning on a wall burst into flames.
She heard someone, Aspen say "Shit." Then she was choking gasping for air and as her vision blurred she saw the flames around her recede. But she still couldn't breathe, couldn't get air-
"I'm going to let the air in but Pierson, keep dousing the area." Aspen's voice cut through the blurring world and the darkness receded. Air- she could breathe again and she gulped it down. She blinked and saw that she was leaning on her elbows on the ground and ash was swirling around her, Saron and Pieson were staring at her in shock but Costrae was just staring at her with a feline grin of amusement on her face. Aspen looked at her with resignation though as he held a hand out to help her up, she took it but noticed that when his hands came away from hers it looked slightly burned. Her skin was cooling down fast but she took a gulp of water anyway.
"So, just a tip, don't do that." Pierson said
"Oh really, I thought I did amazing." she sniped sarcastically back at him. He gave a huff of laughter in response.
"You have to focus your energy on one point, you started to do that in the beginning but you let your control slip." She cut a glance to Aspen and winced.
"Should I try again?"
"Sure but let me and Pierson get ready." In her peripheral view she saw Pierson seem to ready himself for something. She focused her power again on that spot on her palm. She forces herself to cut out only a piece of her and to let it rage into the world. She felt flames slither and intertwine with her fingers, and she saw now the red and orange and yellow burning bright as the sun.
"Good now shape it." She closed her eyes imagining a sword of flames, ruby and gold, a burning cutting edge. But when she opened her eyes she found that her flames merely now were shaped into a line. She let out a huff of air and the flames disappeared. She cut out that piece of her again and honed her focus to that one spot, fighting against the raging fire that roared at her to burn and burn and burn. She fought it and aloud only that sliver of fire to slither between her fingers. "Start with shielding, you must learn to defend-"
"I've done training before." she spat at him and the sliver of flame leaped but she pushed it back down. She used that knife and cut out a little more, willing it to swirl into a circle of fire in front of her. She felt the fire coil around her arm sliding down to and out from her fingertips until it spiraled in the air in front of her, flames as golden as the sun heating her back.
Her back, she saw the cuts and scared flesh in the mirror, felt the welding that had burned her skin raw to the bone, tasted the iron that tainted every meal at that palace. She was staring now blankly at the space her shield had shown. Someone took a step towards her, Aspen, he reached out but faced Pierson. "Get ready.'' That was all the warning she gave before she exploded like a star. Heat seared through her veins and she savoured the crackling burning core of her that was finally released. Her hair band snapped and her hair roared up with the flames. It was bliss and pain and everything.