FireSweet

The Truth about the Prophesy

            “It’s Firesweet,” I said emotionlessly. 

            My thoughts flashed to Briamy, still dressed for the Conclave as Bliss, drinking firesweet for the first time.  It was the drink that had convinced her to come with me, that had made her feel invincible.  Had she not drank it…

            I dropped the sphere back into Jumé’s hand, feeling nauseous from the guilt of what I had done to her. 

            “I don’t drink it,” I lied shakily.  “Narasia was wrong.”

            “My queen, the healer said you must drink,” he urged gently.  “You need to address the pirates.  They have gathered to hear your orders, and your story.”

            “If they’ve come to kill me let them come,” I sighed dejectedly.  “I don’t care anymore Jumé; tell whoever is holding them back to stand down.”

            “No one desires to kill you anymore,” he said.  “With the exception of Captain Carnation, whom I believe we can agree to having a legitimate excuse, the other captains have stood down.  You will be safe.”

            “Why?” I asked tiredly.  “What’s the point?”

            “I will explain as soon as you have permitted them to see you,” Jumé promised, picking up the queenblade and returning it to me.  “But they will not leave you in peace until you have made an appearance.”

            I nodded glumly, recognizing that Jumé wouldn’t leave me alone until I did what he wanted. 

            “Grab the kingblade too,” he instructed.  “You will need it.”

            I followed Jumé-falio down the tower steps and out the door at the bottom, not caring that I still bore the marks of my trials.  I squinted in the mid-afternoon sun, the whispers of the pirates around me growing louder as they saw me. 

            Jumé stepped onto a large piece of stone that had previously been a part of the wall.  I didn’t remember it being there before I entered the tower, but it had probably been moved for the purpose it was serving now, to permit the person standing on it to be seen by the crowd.

            “Pirates,” Jumé announced clearly, his voice carrying as if he was holding a microphone.  “I present to you Gittoran Flame, Queen of Thieves, and King of Pirates!”

            I opened my mouth to contest the new title, but a screech shattered the air, forcing everyone to clamp their hands over their ears.  Immediately, the ground began to buck and rumble beneath our feet.  Several members of Carnie’s crew screamed, but everyone was too frightened to take even a single step in flight.  The earth split around us, swallowing portions of the wall and sending the entire tower, mere feet behind me, toppling into oblivion.  With the walls gone we watched as the surrounding forest rose and fell in waves, as if someone was trying to shake out a rug.  Lighting cracked overhead, making the air hum with raw power as the world was reshaped.

 A building rose beneath my feet, dirt clods from the earth bouncing from the polished balcony I clung to, snapped from my emotionless haze by fear for my life.  This building was as tall as the tower, though larger, the size of a small fortress.  The balcony I stood upon was only a story up, and as I stared up I watched other balconies sprout from the building, sliding and shifting through the stone to reach their destinations.  What was left of the walls gently slid together, forming a single thicker wall with a gate to replace the gaping hole Tempest Storm had blasted.  I watched as Flint’s section of wall lifted him high into the air, flowed like liquid across the yard, and deposited him at my side on the balcony.  With that done, the stone returned to its place. A section of the yard repeated the trick, showering many of the pirates with dirt as Narasia was also placed at my side.