Raging Fire

Three

Calla sat down in the chair waiting for her, relishing in the warmth of the fire. Cambria, the youngest, brought a tray of steaming mugs of tea. Calla took a sip, and Celia began her story.
" Once, long ago, The Realm of Suthria was once a place of peace and prosperity. The king and queen, King Arkos and Queen Sasha ruled over the land, making sure everyone was happy, and everything was as fair as possible. In the small town of Cyrus, a man and a woman, named Claude and Isador, longed for a child. When they finally had one, it was a beautiful baby girl with bright red hair and blue eyes. They named her Arietta." Celia paused to take a sip of her tea. " Arietta grew up astonishingly fast, and soon, Claude and Isador were older, watching their once young child evolve into a magnificent young woman. Men groveled at her feet, asking for Arietta's hand in marriage over and over again. She refused every single time.
" One day, the prince, Tiberius, came riding into Cyrus. The prince had heard of Arietta's unnatural beauty, and came to marry her. Arietta accepted immediately, almost as if she had been expecting it. She left her parents, saying nothing more than 'goodbye'. Arietta and Tiberius arrived at the palace in the center of Suthria, and their marriage was planned quickly. The next week, Arietta was married to the prince. Tiberius was madly in love with the girl, and Arietta found that she really had no love for her husband. Still, she stayed with him, hungry for power. She found that being a princess got her some power, but she wanted more. Arietta devised a plan. One night, she slipped into the king and queen's bedchamber. She carefully slit their throats, throwing the knife out the window. She wore a pair of large boots, and made tracks in the mud, leading them towards the mountains. She took the boots off when the ground was dry, and tiptoed off back to the castle in her bare feet. It was nearly dawn as she slipped back into bed.
" Later that morning, the maid went to wake King Arkos and Queen Sasha. She saw that they had been murdered, and went screaming for help. Arietta woke Tiberius us, saying that a maid was screaming somewhere in the castle. They went running to the room, and Tiberius saw that his parents had been killed. He was devastated for a few days, Arietta making herself cry, and comforting him. Eventually, Tiberius became king, Arietta alongside him as queen. Arietta was still hungry for more power. Every night, she put a drop of poison in Tiberius's food. The poison would not kill immediately but would make it seem like Tiberius would have died in his sleep. The next week, Arietta woke to find her husband dead. She went running for help, saying that her husband wasn't waking up. The doctor confirmed that he had died peacefully, most likely because of the grief of his parents being murdered.
" Arietta was to be the queen, as Tiberius had no sisters or brothers. His other relatives were dead. Arietta became the supreme ruler of Suthria, and soon, she set her soldiers out to find her mother and father, both fire mages. The soldiers brought back her parents, and they begged for mercy. Arietta denied their pleas and sentenced them to their deaths. From then on, Arietta called herself Queen Adonia, as she never liked the name Arietta. Adonia sent soldiers looking for the last fire mages, and soon, almost all of them were dead, only one remained, a mother and father, named Tiodore and Dalila had two daughters, and the youngest one was the last fire mage. Her name was Calantha." Celia paused again, drinking a long gulp of tea, now cool.
" That was me?" Calla asked.
" Yes," Celia said. " Adonia herself set your house on fire, knowing that Tiodore and Dalila had kept you safe for 10 years. As you know, your parents gave their lives to help you and Briony escape. Then, you ran and hid, away from all the dangers of the queen." Celia seemed to have finished her story. Calla still remembered that fateful night 7 years ago.
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7 years ago...
" Go! Go and run! Calla, you will keep your sister safe! Go!" Dalila screamed. Calla choked on the smoke, hot tears running down her face. She grabbed her sister's hand and focused on her breathing. She felt herself warm and looked down to see her and her sister's bodies glowing. Calla turned back, about to grab her mother's hand. But a second later, half the roof fell in, burning and smoking, on top of her parents bodies. Calla turned and ran, hand in hand with Briony. They tumbled out of the house and Calla's magic faded, weakening her. Briony dragged Calla out of the way. She heard her parents' screams as they burned, and then, the entire house collapsed, and they were gone forever.
~~~~~~~~~~
" Calla?" Celia asked. " Are you okay?" Calla realized that tears were streaming down her face, dripping into her lap. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.
" I'm fine." She lied. " It was nothing."
" Okay," Celia murmured in her dreamy voice.
" Why was Queen Adonia after all the fire mages?" She asked, rubbing her face.
" Because she wanted power." Celia answered.
" Yes, but why murder all the fire mages? She could have recruited them all!" Celia sighed.
" Because Queen Adonia is a fire mage also."
" What?"
" She wanted power by eliminating all other equals." Celia said climatically. " But she doesn't know for sure that you are still alive." Celia said. " And she can and will keep hunting you until she breathes her last breath."
" Why would she spend her time searching for me if she isn't even sure I'm alive?"
" Because she never found your body, and she is pretty sure you are alive, because she can feel a connection between you two."
" Why?"
" Adonia had connections to all the other fire mages, but she can still feel yours, because you are her blood relative."
" I'm related to Queen Adonia?" Calla asked, practically yelling.

Shorter chapter, I know, but it was interesting, and it revealed Calla's backstory. I cried a little bit when I wrote the flashback. Anyways, please will someone please comment?! Well, thanks for reading, I may not update tomorrow, and I will be going back to school in a few days, so I will be busier, but I will hope to update at least once maybe twice each week! Goodbye!
— chaoselephant