A Fire's Dance

Prologue.

The flames danced, the colours wavering and dashing through the open air. They were wild and free, destroying all that called to their sparks. Her screams echoed through the night, consecutive and filled with pain as the fire spread to her feet, then her legs. It had her in its hold and it wasn't going to let go.

The crowd watched, some in glee others in plain horror as the girl before them was burned alive. Her hair flew in the wind, the colour bright against the night sky and her pale skin glowed with the fires light. Her arms were pinned, nails held her wrists to the wooden plank in which she was bound to.

The wood caught alight, and the smell of burning flesh wafted into the air, making bystanders' eyes water, and little kids to block their noses because of the pungent smell.
'At night the wolves come to play,
But they always forget where the dragons lay,
The roar and the fire,
The ash and the bone
The bodies that were
Are now definitely gone,'

The last verse was mumbled, and the crowd bobbed their heads in sorrow as the girls life faded to dying embers and ash.

She sat up screaming, sweat drenching her hair and clothes. The fire beside her was dying, the embers flickering with their last heat. The dream had plagued her for days now, always the same but each time it became more terrifying. She gasped, trying to calm herself down, but her heart still pounded and her actions were jittery with adrenaline.

The first night she thought it just a normal dream, but when it plagued her for the following days it began to have a deeper meaning. The girl burning began to change, some nights it was her mother, or the nanny that used to look after her when no one was there to care for her, and even on occasion; like tonight, it was her.

'Milady? Are you okay?' A knock sounded, and the knob of the door turned as her maid poked her head in.
'I... Yes, just a bad dream. Go back to bed, all is fine,' The girl sighed, pulling blankets up to her chest now that the sweat was gone and the cold was finally biting down once more.

There was a pause, before the maid continued talking.
'...Was it the dream again milady?'
'You know there is no need to be so formal Georgia,'
'Oh yes, sorry milady,' Georgia's eyes widened at her mistake and she hurried to fix it, 'I'm sorry, I mean Ella,' Ella sighed, and shook her head a small smile curling her lips.

'Forgiven and forgotten, now hurry back to bed. You're making me more tired,' She snapped, but it was not out of anger, it was more a reminder.

She watched as Georgia slipped out of the room, and then lay down once again, flipping the pillow to feel the cooler side. She had put on a brave face for Georgia, but she was still shaking, and her mind raced as her thoughts relived every second of the dream.

Her eyes wondered to the embers that died beside her,
'Georgia! I need some wood for the fire!' Ella called out, and soon the hurried foots steps of the maid echoed from behind her closed door.
'Yes milady.' Ella shook her head, but refrained from correcting the girl once more.

The fire was lighted again, and Georgia had gone back to bed leaving Ella to watch the flames in silence. They swirled around the wood engulfing it in its burning jaws.
'Goodnight fire.' Ella whispered before turning away from its blaze only to fall into sleep.