Flames

Prologue

A man cleared his throat.

"Once upon a time, the great land we live in was new to the world. It was more beautiful than how we know it. The sky was always bright, not a single cloud in the sky. Birds sang through the morning and into the afternoon. The kingdom was at perfect peace."

He held back a chuckle under his breath. It sounded like absolute lies to him. With the world he had grown up in, the one he currently was reading aloud seemed like a fairytale. Never once had he witnessed a perfect peace. One glance around the room told him to keep the thought to himself. He couldn't ruin their hope.

"There were two princes of the first king and queen. Their names were Ralph and Edmond. They were close as brothers, though their interests varied differently from the other. Ralph loved combat. He would put on shows in front of his family, thrilled to reveal how much he had improved since the last time. He was planning on becoming a soldier for the kingdom, wanting to devote his newfound abilities to the land he loved. Edmond preferred to focus on his education, studying even after tutors left for the day. He wanted to be the smartest version of himself possible. There was never enough information to learn for him."

It was odd reading about the origin of their land. He had never read this book before, nor had any idea of how the kingdoms had come to be. He went to the orphanage each month to read to them. They picked the book. The children had insisted he read it to them. Better late than never, he supposed.

"As time passed, the brothers grew older. Ralph fell in love and married a lovely woman from the village. Edmond kept his attention focused on his education. He learned more and more with every passing year. When their parents passed, Ralph and his wife took the throne and became the new king and queen. They were wonderful together in ruling their kingdom. They were madly in love with each other and wanted nothing but peace for their people, just like Ralph's parents had done many years before. While they had each other, they believed they had everything. They didn't need anything more than their little family and their peaceful land. As their minds focused on ruling their land, they slowly began to forget about Edmond, who had slipped into the shadows once his parents passed."

"Edmond had faced many challenges before, but none like this. All those challenges filled him with determination and rage. This one, however, filled him with jealousy. Ralph had always been the stronger one, the more favorable of the two. His entire life, he had watched from his books as Ralph gained their father's favor towards him to take the throne. He was older, after all. As he watched his brother rule their father's kingdom, he realized what could be done to change the land for the better. He focused on his books and studying, realizing how easy it would be to change things. Knowing he couldn't convince his brother, he set out to start plotting how he would be the one to save the kingdom; how he would be, for once, desirable over his brother. He left the land shortly after this realization without leaving a single note behind. He wanted his family to forget about him. And, they did."

He found himself sighing. He understood the feeling of being forgotten. He couldn't help but think of her. Wherever she was, did she remember him?

"Over the years, Ralph and his wife had two children. The oldest was a girl named Dana, the youngest, a boy named Conley. Conley resembled his forgotten uncle, always sneaking into the library at any time throughout the day. Anything he was tall enough to reach was what he read. He was connected to his mother's hip. Anything he didn't learn from tutors or his books came from her. He was quiet, yet stern, never letting himself be forced into anything he wasn't interested in doing. He knew how to hold his own. Dana, however, was nearly identical to her father. Even if it was against her mother's will, she loved combat and practiced whenever her father would let her. She was neat with her skills and proudly walked beside her father, wanting to become identical to him one day. Ralph was just as proud to guide her. Never before had there been a girl interested in fighting. She was the first. She practiced with any weapon she could get her hands on; swords, knives, bows, anything with a blade. She was prideful and cocky, wanting to be exact in all preparations at all times. Anything that wasn't the way she wanted was enough to cause her to explode."