CHAPTER 3
CIRA'S RECOVERY EXPECTATION was nothing but a mistake. She calculated that she would recover in half a day, but that did not happen. She only gave her essence to Sollel for two hours, and the consequences were severe. She was spent, like her whole essence had been drained from her. Cira felt weak; she couldn't even move a muscle, and she stayed on the bed for days.
Cira was grateful that even though Sollel already looked better, she stayed and cared for her. Though she couldn't comment about her cooking—it was awful. But she had to stomach it, even though it made her stomach hurl.
As Cira lay on the bed, she couldn't help thinking back to when she was healing Sollel. She felt as if she were filling an enormous empty cauldron, and that cauldron felt like an abyss. It couldn't be satiated by her essence alone, and if she tried, she'd die without a doubt.
Cira turned her head on her house's door when it opened and saw Sollel carrying a bowl in her hand. She flinched. Cira was sure that it was another one of Sollel's horrible dishes.
And Cira was right. It was, indeed.
But Cira did not complain, since Sollel was feeding her diligently. She was actually delighted, but she didn't show it. At that moment, Cira was still having doubts about Sollel's identity.
The days passed by with Sollel's horrible dishes as Cira's nourishment. Finally, after a few couple of days, Cira was now able to stand, and the first thing she did was cook.
"Just go get some water," Cira said when Sollel offered to help. Cira wanted Sollel to be away so she could think clearly.
Sollel listened and silently went out, holding a wooden basin. When she arrived at the riverbank, she filled the basin with water, but instead of lifting it back to Cira's house, Sollel stared at her hands.
She didn't mean to drain Cira's essence. It was her flame that wanted to devour everything to recover its former strength, but she still felt guilty. If she didn't stop her flame, it would've devoured all of Cira's essence, including her life.
It was actually easy to recover her strength, but it meant killing innocent elves and draining their essences dry, starting with Cira. But such way of recovering was brutal and dark. She would never be like the humans she loathed, sacrificing other lives to alleviate their own.
Sollel heaved a deep sigh and clenched her hands when she remembered what she gained after Cira's essence entered her body. Cira's essence was drained, but her strength was only raised a little bit. Not enough to gain back one-eighth of her strength, but close enough.
At least with her strength now, she could deal with her pursuers—only if their numbers were low since she was still weak to fight a dozen of soldiers. She could damage them at most, but killing them? It would take a lot of time.
Sighing, Sollel picked up the basin and started walking back to Cira's house, but before she reached Cira's home, she felt her strength being drained.
Moonrite!
Sollel clenched her teeth and was about to run as fast as she could and hide when she remembered Cira. She was weak at the moment because of the essence she had given her. What if the empire did something to her?
Sollel couldn't stand the thought of her healer suffering because of her. Therefore, with everything she got, she fixed her dark red cloak and put on her hood before walking to Cira's house, leaving the basin in the middle of the forest.
Slowly inching closer to Cira's house and hiding behind trees, Sollel saw more than a dozen of soldiers outside. Cira was forced to kneel, her face pressed on the ground while being interrogated.
"I am Captain Hutch Hamlin of the Infernal Empire. Some of the Beastrela's residences said you saved a woman. Where is she?" the head of the soldiers asked.
Cira didn't answer. Captain Hutch Hamlin put his left foot on Cira's head to press Cira's face to the ground. "Answer me or we will execute you for assisting a wanted criminal!"
Cira grunted in pain as the captain of the soldiers pressed her head harder. She could feel that it wouldn't take long for her skull to be crushed, but she couldn't open her mouth to tell them where Sollel was. She didn't want to.
"Where is the woman?!" Captain Hamlin asked angrily. "Speak or I will cut your tongue, you impudent elf!"
"I...don't...know..." Cira answered difficultly. "S-she already left j-just this morning."
"Where?"
"N-north." Cira was squeezing her eyes tightly while feeling the weight of the captain's feet on her head.
Satisfied with the information he gathered, Captain Hamlin took off his left foot from the elf's head and kicked her away from him. Then he ordered his men, "Tie her up. We're going north. If we didn't see the Mistress of Flame on the way to north, we will kill her. For now, feel free to have your way with her."
The soldiers who heard that snickered and licked their dry lips while eyeing Cira hungrily, especially her long, slender legs that were bared because of her torn clothing.
Cira was scared. She wanted to scream, but she knew no one would help her but herself. These were the Infernal Empire soldiers. Whoever dared to go against them would be considered traitors.
While feeling hopeless, she was thankful that she lied. Cira had a feeling that even if she told them the truth, what was about to happen to her now would still happen to her. She couldn't escape, but at least, Sollel could.
But before the thought of Sollel escaping eased Cira's mind, a ball of flame, two times larger than Cira's fist, was thrown from the forest. The ball of flame looked weak that the soldiers even started laughing when they saw it. But when it reached the center of the soldiers' formation, it exploded so massively that Cira felt a ringing in her ear.
In the midst of the fire and confusion, someone grabbed Cira and pulled her to run. But before they could run toward the forest and escape, Captain Hamlin saw through the fire and confusion and blocked their path while taking out the moonrite stone.
Sollel, who was holding Cira's arm, immediately felt her strength being sucked away. She dropped on her knees, weakened by the moonrite. From Sollel helping Cira, now it was Cira helping Sollel.
Seeing the Mistress of Flame on her knees, Captain Hamlin laughed maniacally, already imagining the honor and reward he would receive for recapturing the Mistress of Flame. Captain Hamlin already forgot about Cira; his sole attention was focused on how to maximize the power of the moonrite that he began advancing toward Sollel, his hand holding the stone stretched to its limit. He was too focused on weakening the Mistress of Flame that the captain didn't see how Cira's elven eyes glint with understanding while looking at the stone that he held.
Sollel's body was about to fall to the ground completely when she suddenly felt her strength slowly coming back. She looked around and saw Cira running away with the moonrite stone she grabbed from the captain's hand.
When Cira realized earlier that the stone was weakening Sollel, she immediately made a plan to grab it and ran away, hoping that it would give Sollel her strength back. Cira didn't even know if what she did made sense; she didn't even know if running away with the moonrite was the right thing to do in their situation. She just went with her gut feeling. Using one of elven strengths, speed, Cira stole the moonrite stone and ran away.
"Don't bother with that elf," Captain Hamlin clicked his tongue, his voice was confident seeing that the Mistress of Flame was still kneeling on the ground near him, like she was groveling before him. He feel elated. "We already have what we came here for. Tie her up while she's still weak. Then, we will regroup with the others and celebrate our catch of the day."
Captain Hamlin was beaming with happiness, his lips twitching in delight. He couldn't stop thinking about all the honor and the reward he would receive. The captain's greedy eyes glinted in delight after seeing all the soldiers under his command readied the chain made of iron to tie Sollel, who they thought was still weak. But unbeknownst to everyone, Sollel had regained one-eighth of her strength now that there were no moonrite stones to weaken her.
In a heartbeat, before the soldiers could lay their hands on Sollel and before the fitly iron chain seized her, Sollel's hand swiftly grabbed the captain's sword, pulled it out of its sheath, and made two turns on her heel to put a distance between her and the captain.
"My sword!" Captain Hamlin gritted his teeth and bravely advanced toward Sollel, thinking that Sollel still hadn't recovered. "Give it back, you witch!"
Sollel did not listen. Instead, she spun the sword around her hand like an expert warrior before gripping it tightly again and using its sharp blade to cut her other palm, letting her blood soak the sharp edge of the sword.
Standing in the center, surrounded by the soldiers and Captain Hamlin, Sollel slowly closed her eyes to concentrate before muttering under her breath, "Blood of flame, come forth and burn my foes."
Sollel opened her eyes and saw how her blood on the sword turned into flames, gleefully dancing. Now the sword was eagerly covered with fire.
It was blazing and blistering hot, but Sollel wielded the flaming sword as if it were a part of her, spinning it around her hand as she moved to annihilate her enemies. Sollel was like a demoness wielding flame, and the fire burned fiercely as she mercilessly slashed and burned her foes, precisely moving her flaming sword like she was performing a piece of art, not sparing a life, but the captain's.
Seeing how his soldiers were easily defeated, Captain Hamlin started backing away. His mind was planning to escape and come back with a moonrite stone, but before he could take a step, the Mistress of Flame wielding a flaming sword appeared in front of him.
Immediately, Captain Hamlin dropped on his knees and begged pathetically, "Please don't kill me! I'm just following orders. It's not me! It's General Adri. Please spare me. Please! I'm a nobody!"
Sollel didn't think twice or hesitate. With a single slash of her flaming sword, Captain Hamlin's head was cut off from his neck and flew. When it dropped on the ground, it rolled down a couple of times before it stopped, Hamlin's face facing the ground. Instead of blood dripping from his head, it burned; the flame mercilessly devoured it.
Seeing her dead enemies, Sollel dropped the flaming sword. The second the sword left her hand, it melted in a heartbeat.
Looking at the melted sword, Sollel remembered her war blades—a twin sword made of lava and fire stones blessed by deities. It was the only weapon that could withstand her blood of flame and would not melt. But it was taken away from her; she didn't even know if it still existed.
Sollel stopped looking at the melted sword and turned her head to her right when she felt Cira's presence.
"The moonrite stone?" Sollel asked when she saw Cira.
Cira showed Sollel a leather pouch. "In here. This is a sealing pouch. Don't worry. It won't leak."
Sollel just nodded and silently walked past Cira. It was Sollel's way bidding goodbye, hoping that their paths would not cross again. She knew she'd end up dragging Cira to her problems, but then, Cira ran after her.
"Who are you really?" Cira demanded. She had her doubts and wanted to be certain.
Sollel didn't answer. It's better for Cira not to know.
"Don't you think I deserve to know the truth after I lied for you and my life is now ruined?" Cira was just saying anything that came into her mind to get an answer from Sollel herself.
Sollel stopped on her tracks and turned to face Cira. "We have to part ways here, or you'll be in constant danger."
Cira hid the leather pouch in her satchel and looked at Sollel sternly. "I don't care about the danger. I want to know who I risked my life for."
Sollel remained silent, so Cira continued asking.
"Why are the Infernal Empire soldiers looking for you? Why are they so desperate to capture you?" Cira asked, not giving up on getting an answer from Sollel. "Are you really a wanted criminal like they say? I saw you wielding a flaming sword...how could you do it? A halfling Ytherian couldn't possibly wield such powerful flame. Does that make you a pure-blood Ytherian? But that's just impossible! Even pure-blood Ytherians can't turn a sword into a flaming one!" She looked into Sollel's eyes. "Your name...is that really your real name, or did you lie to me about it?"
Sollel shook her head quietly.
"You were really named after the Mistress of Flame?"
Sollel looked into Cira's eyes and answered, "I am she."
Cira wanted to laugh at what Sollel said. But seeing Sollel's earnest expression and recalling the event that had happened—her scabs and wounds, her unusual hair and eye color, the Infernal Empire soldiers, the moonrite stone, and the flaming sword—Cira finally accepted the truth that she had been doubting since she saw the woman.
"I thought... you're dead." Cira was doing her utmost best to remain calm.
A sad smile appeared on Sollel's lips as she conjured a small ball of flame in her hand. "I maybe weak considering how I was caged and tortured for more than a century, but I'm pretty much alive, Cira."
Cira's jaw went slack, and her speech became erratic as she understood what was happening. "T-that's why the I-Infernal Empire is l-looking for you! Th-they want to r-recapture you! Oh, my deities!" Cira's hair on her skin rose. "So the rumors are true! It's really true!"
Sollel's forehead furrowed. "What rumors?"
"That Yther's four queens, the mistresses blessed by deities, are still alive and being held prisoner by humans!" Cira exclaimed. She couldn't believe it. Her heart was racing, and she couldn't contain her excitement. "Oh, my deities! It's been so long that no one believes it. It's just a rumor—a bedtime story among halflings and non-humans!"
Sollel's face darkened. "Tell me the story."
Cira nodded and immediately told Sollel the story she knew too well. "According to the story, after the siege, you, Queen Sollel, the Mistress of Flame, was taken by the Infernal Empire. Queen Astrid, the Mistress of the Wind, was imprisoned in the Kingdom of Caelum. Queen Gatria, the Mistress of Nature, was imprisoned in the Kingdom of Treterra. And lastly, Queen Aenwyn, the Mistress of the High Seas, was taken to Nayale Archipelago."
Sollel's rage toward the four kingdoms doubled, but she controlled her raging anger and spoke to Cira calmly. "Thank you. I have to go—"
"Are you going to save the other queens?" Cira could guess what Sollel was thinking. "Let me accompany you! I can be your guide, Queen Sollel."
Cira looked too eager, gone the indifferent elf who gave Sollel an essence. She would never let an opportunity like this pass. To travel with the Mistress of Flame would be Cira's greatest honor. "I have travelled far and wide after I was banished from the sacred forest. I know everything there is to know about Azitera."
Knowing that she couldn't stop Cira and leaving her here was dangerous, Sollel nodded and accepted Cira's offer. She needed a guide indeed. It had been more than a century. She knew that Azitera had changed over the years that she was imprisoned.
"Where to?" Cira was smiling happily because Queen Sollel accepted her offer.
Sollel took a deep breath and chose the nearest presence she could feel. "Gatria..."
Cira immediately faced north. "To the Kingdom of Treterra then."
CECELIB | C.C.