Of Frost and Flames

Chapter 4

"No need to be wary of me, Cahira Cross Rakra. I am no foe of yours."

'Rakra?' she thought, only having heard that name once before when she was still very young. Her mother had used it when she had gotten mad at her father, and it had made him shut up instantly.

"How do you know my dad?" she called out, taking a deep breath.

"I know everything about you."

A shiver went down her spine, she inhaled, but did not dare to turn around. She could feel him there, right behind her, before she felt the hand that slid down the side of her neck and to her shoulder, underneath her jacket.

"This might be against his wishes, but don't worry, it will all play out. Destiny is destiny after all. This would happen either way. The faster it happens, the quicker you can go home."

'Home? He knew how to get back home?'

Cahira opened her mouth to say something, but all that escaped was a groan as the sudden pain from him digging his nails into her shoulder went through her entire body. What was he doing? Who was he? But she could feel something inside of her, a heat spreading like a wildfire. It made her scared. She grabbed the hand and pulled it away, staggering forward, clutching her shoulder.

"We're not done yet, it's not completely- "

But she'd heard enough. She turned to face the man, but he took a step backwards. Then another. Until he was a mere shadow.

"The grand ball is where you'll find him." It was like the whispers. If it was a warning or an invitation, she couldn't tell, but she didn't want to know either.

When she couldn't feel his presence any longer, she leaned against one of the closest trees and took a deep breath. The more she stayed there, the stranger the events were being. First it was coming into that place, then it was bandits, then it was this man wanting something to do with her.

'Cahira Cross, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?'

She looked up at the sky through the top of the trees, maintaining steady breaths as she thought about what to do next. She could go back to Seren and see what he would do, but she could also continue without him, figuring out this place by herself.

Rakra. She'd never used that name, for people found it weird. But how come people here knew about it? What was so special about it?

"Don't dwell too much on it, Cahira. You still got a long way to go and thinking too much won't do you no good," she told herself.

Cahira scoffed as she pushed herself off the tree and headed the same way she'd come. All you must do is go home. But where was home? Where did she truly belong? Was she just a simple piece in a game that someone out there was playing?

As she arrived back at the lake, she stopped when she saw Seren standing by the fire creatures. They'd gotten more shape now.

"And here I thought you would take forever washing yourself. Had to do some lady business, so sorry about that," she excused, it being the quickest thing she could think about, "now, what was it with clothes? I don't think I managed to catch that earlier."

"One needs a sword for lady business?" he asked, his eyebrow raised.

'Better safe than sorry?' she thought but stayed quiet. She watched him walked over to his shirt and put it on.

"You'll need to put that weapon away, and you'll need to hide your flames. You'll need to make a fuss, act hurt, scream – anything to give me a minute or two in that cottage."

It was almost like the weather had changed sour with how he was talking. And for some reason, it stung. He just walked past her, not trying to throw some unasked opinion at her like he would have by now. She looked at the fire creatures with a frown, but they seemed to shrug. Despite having been there while she hadn't, they couldn't tell her anything?

She went over to the sack and crouched down. She quietly wrapped the sword in the cloth she had found it in. Then she picked up the pebbles and stood up, looking after him. Had she done the biggest mistake in coming back? Was that why he seemed to have turned cold? But she stayed quiet as she followed him. Every step seemed heavier than the last, all the way to the front door. She made sure that the sword wasn't visible before knocking on the door.

"One second, dearie." When the door opened, an elderly woman greeted her. She looked at Cahira with soft eyes, "are you okay, sweetie? How come you're crying?"

'What?'

Cahira wiped her cheek, feeling the liquid on her fingertips. Why was she crying? But she couldn't think about that now, Seren had asked her to make a distraction, so that is what she would do.

"I- My husband... He-" she tumbled over her own words, even though she didn't really mean to.

"It's okay, sweetie. Take a deep breath and try again."

Cahira lowered her head and looked at her hands. Why were they shaking? She was confused. Why had Seren seemed so different than that same morning? There were a million possible answers, but she didn't know which one was the one she could trust. But she took a deep breath before looking up at the older woman again. No, she wasn't looking directly at the woman, but rather Seren who climbed into the cottage behind her.

"My husband and I came from far away; we met some bandits in the forest and got separated. He told me to go to the village center to meet him, but I don't remember the way."

Seren looked back at her, their gaze meeting, but she couldn't read his expression. Until she noticed the other older woman, looking exactly like the one in front of her, come up behind him. But she couldn't signal to him, or she would also get caught up in it. The older woman in front of her patted her shoulder, unaware of what was happening behind her.

"The way to the village center is in that direction," the old woman in front of her said, smiling softly.

Cahira tried to smile back and gave a slight bow before taking a step back. It was too dangerous to interfere directly. She stopped barely behind the line of trees and looked at the cottage. The fire creatures swarmed around her.

"I know we can't leave him behind," she whispered, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, "even though I would love to at this point."

The creatures tugged at her hand. But she shook her head, "I can't go in there. It's too dangerous. However, you guys can."

She looked at the fires and then at the cottage. It seemed like they figured what she wanted them to do before they lunged towards the house. All she could do was wait patiently. She bit the inside of her cheek as she kept an eye on the house. If only time could go faster. Something told her that she had to do anything she could to get him out of there.

"Princess."

A hand covered her mouth, muffling the yelp of surprise. But it wasn't the man from before, but instead a female standing in front of her. Her brown hair braided backwards, and a soft smile on her lips as she pulled down the mask covering half of her face.

'Did she just call me princess?' she thought, finding it odd.

"I know your situation. You care for the man many despises, and now you want to save him. Come with us willingly and we shall get him out of there for you."

It was almost too good to be true, but she nodded nonetheless. Maybe they could do a better job than she could. Time seemed to slow down as she was picked up and everything became a blur. She was terrified.