Fragments of Ash Vol. 3 (Urban Fantasy)

Chapter Eleven: Fiona's Ascension

Amelia sat in her cosy, warm living room and sipped on some wine; sitting in her dressing gown on the sofa next to the fireplace, what a comforting feeling. The King of Melchiezedek had been extremely generous to her, the house he had let her stay in was massive, far too large for her. The expensive red carpets, the beautiful portraits and assorted landscape paintings, the classic furnishings, it was truly the lap of luxury. Not to mention that the lounge itself was larger than the interior of many of the houses in the surrounding districts. She enjoyed being in darkly lit areas, and hence it was nice of them to supply her with a house that had a fireplace; the warm, comforting flames calmed her soul. Was it weird that she found the sharp cracking sounds, the musky burning smell, and the distractingly flickering light so soothing? She wondered, her soul, if she even had one, would definitely appear in the form of fire if it were ever bought into a material plane. Her dogs would have liked this living room, she regretted not bringing them.

There was a knock on the front door. Amelia knew who it was straight away, after all, she had sent for her.

"It's open. Come in Fiona."

"Yes ma'am!" said an excited voice, she crept in and slid in the door for a reason she didn't know. She slowly closed the door behind her.

"Sit down," said Amelia, gesturing to the couch opposite her, "have some wine. It tastes terrible but it's the best the people in Melchiezedek can do."

Fiona shuffled in and sat down on the chair, she sat uncomfortably, as if she couldn't help but be tense around Amelia. She sat upright, hands on lap, eyes facing forward. The wine sat on the table and beckoned her, she stared at it; she didn't drink wine, it tasted gross. She preferred juice. But she would always drink it when Darien suggested it, and defying Amelia would be an act of suicide in and of itself. So, no choice then. She gripped the bottle and tried to tip the bottle into her glass, hoping not to spill anything despite her nervous, shaky hands.

"Don't be so nervous," said Amelia, rolling her eyes,

"Y-yes ma'am!" said Fiona

Amelia sighed,

"Anyway, Fiona, I have a couple of questions of for you."

Fiona gulped, it was an audible, comical gulp,

"Don't worry, you're not in any trouble" Amelia continued,

"Oh, good, because, Lady Rosa, you're my hero, you know I'd neve-"

"Don't interrupt me," said Amelia,

Fiona gulped again,

"Anyway, how long have you been training with the Spell Fencers for Fiona?"

"Eight years."

"And... before that. Why did you choose to join the Spell Fencers?"

"How could I say no? You saved me! I wanted to be like you! A legend!"

"What do you remember about your childhood?"

"Um. I don't know. Not much, my whole life has been the Spell Fencers, I barely remember my days at the orphanage, or before that." Fiona had a confused frown, "Is that weird?"

"No. It's perfectly normal."

"O-oh, because, sometimes I think, I don't know, sometimes I have dreams, memories and they don't really line up with-" Fiona stopped, "never mind."