Aurelie was in a mood to fight. Rage boiled over inside her. Ever since she opened her eyes that morning, she was ready to burst into flames at the first sign of unkindness. So much so that something inside her told her to go out and look for it.
She hoped that Orken would irritate her again to prove that she was not just making idle threats. Her irritation and anger stretched so far as to imagine setting what little blobs of fur he still had on his head alight.
She lay back on her boulder and looked at the sun. Her eyes burned, and her surroundings were covered in a dark blue tint. Her legs dangled restlessly off the side of it, making a loud knocking sound every time they touched the side.
The water usually calmed her, but today she was in a mood to stick her arms right in and test whether or not she could cook all the first in one go. She had forgotten how she had ever been able to get angry without lighting something on fire before.
Leaves rustled nearby.
Aurelie shot up, her head turning in every possible direction, trying to see what had caused the disturbance. Her eyes had still been affected by the sun. A large bright spot covered half the field and made everything surrounding it look much darker than it should have been. Aurelie closed her eyes and watched the light spot slowly disappear into the darkness. When she opened her eyes again, only a little bright spot remained in the corner of her eye, and she was about to see the trees before her clearly. Nothing seemed to be disturbing it, and the sound didn't return, so Aurelie lay back down, keeping her ear skeptically alert to any more sounds.
Probably just the wind, she thought after a moment.
A twinge of worry remained at the back of her mind. What worried her more was the unsettling feeling of being watched. The hair on the back of her neck rose. She felt like a little girl again, trying to creep through the dark cabin while feeling the eyes of monsters on her back. They weren't there, just as she was sure nothing had been out here now, but that did not stop that dreadful feeling.
She jumped off the boulder, looking around again, slower this time and much more carefully. Aurelie's back was stiff, and her strides long as she made her way back to the cabin. Too scared to look back at the forest, Aurelie broke into a run, her elbows carelessly knocking into her sides.
The last steps towards the cloaking spell surrounding the inn were the longest. The three strides seemed miles away. She jumped and skidded on her knees. Aurelie slumped down on the ground, releasing a breath. The field around her was clear, but the grim feeling did not leave her.
She thought herself sillier then because even if something were watching her, it wouldn't have been able to see her any longer, yet she felt its eyes still resting firmly on her. Aurelie shook herself as if trying to regain her sanity.
People walked to and from the back garden. Orken was not outside, so she remained there in the hope that she could avoid his miserable face as long as possible. He had no right to speak to her as he did, and while everyone could hear and see him! An urge to beat out his remaining teeth settled over her. She tightened her lips and got back on her feet, wiping off the grass that stuck to her knees. Thinking of Orken made her forget all about what had happened and focus on how angry the old fart had made her the day before.
Someone had put clothes on Kirin's hay men. The middle one wore a red shirt and a straw hat. Aurelie burst into a fit of laughter. Daerious, she thought, shaking her head and laughing some more. Only he—or perhaps some of the little ones—could have done such a thing. One of the hay men wore an old dress that looked suspiciously like the one Aurelie had arrived at in.
She looked at the figures, wondering which one to start with. Kirin's voice kept sounding in her head. Burn the inn down. She smiled. It faded quickly, replaced with a sudden emptiness in her stomach that always came with missing him. She missed him often . . . even when he was nearby. The rejection was cold and lonely. Among the many things she wanted, he was at the top of the list.
Her nose burned with the coming of tears. She shook her head briefly, forcing the thoughts of him away. Stubbornness kept them right where they were because a sadistic voice inside her head told her that at least she felt him then. She wondered if his wounds still hurt. The castle medicine men must have assisted him by now. Don't be in pain, she thought to herself, her eyes filling with tears.
Aurelie turned back to the figures, hoping for something else to focus on.
She was able to summon her fire now, well enough, at least. As dangerous as that was, the people at the inn weren't precisely forming a line to assist her with using her magic, and Kirin was gone, so she had to take it into her own hands. She wanted to feel useful for once.
Her grandfather's rose had been the most potent magic she had come across. The fire existed without harming the rose. Before her grandfather mastered the task, it was just an idea, just like the Keeper explained. By that definition, she could create a fire that harmed only what she chose it to. Aurelie narrowed her eyes, trying to determine how she'd manage that.
Her eyes ran past a strip of straw that stuck out of the pack. One by one, she lifted her finger, and loose pieces ignited, not harming the others. The flames were calm and obedient, charring only their pieces of straw.
She released it, her back curving with the ecstasy of casting the magic. It felt like a tight muscle had suddenly shot loose, and her body both relaxed and ached with the pleasure of release.
Her hands shot up, and the fire rose with each of her movements. The flames crawled down the wooden stumps and, in a straight line, sailed onto the other two hay men. Aurelie's hands swayed, the fire moving along with her rhythm.
It wasn't enough. She wanted more. She always wanted more when it came to her magic. A shiver ran down her spine. She gasped and made the fire rise higher, sending great clouds of smoke upward.
Aurelie inhaled, dragging the fire off of the hay men and down to the grass. She heard a gasp and the rush of footsteps behind her but ignored it. They'd understand what was happening soon. This wasn't like the accident at the pond. The fire danced, rose, and fell at her will.
The fire crawled down the stumps that were once covered in hay and approached her, slowly slithering along the grass like an orange snake. It embraced her body in a soft caress. She called the fire into her hands, holding her breath as she felt it warm her fingers. Aurelie left the fire dance on her hand for a moment and then blew, sending it floating back toward the hay men. From a distance, it could look to be coming from her mouth.
A shadow moved past a tree in the far distance. Aurelie stiffed. Her eyes narrowed to get a better look at the trees, but once again, she had stared into brightness, and her eyes were disturbed by the light. The Wind blew and swayed the fire out to the side, revealing much more than she wished to see. The shadow moved again, closer this time. It was right on the outskirts of the forest.
It saw something. It saw her. It must have. Why else would it be creeping around, snooping so close to the inn?
She released the fire from the stumps of the hay men, but there was little she could do about the smoke. It rose and covered her sight in shades of black. She stepped through it and just then saw the figure move again. Sparks of ice and fire traveled through her spine.
A man, wrapped in a black cloak, stood between two trees and looked to be watching her. Her knees weakened.
The inn is protected. We're fine, she thought but stood frozen with fear as she and the man in the trees shared the longest glare.
Her pulse bashed in her ears. There was one way to test the severity of his presence. Aurelie moved left. The man's head followed her. Aurelie gasped, feeling a scream trapped in the middle of her throat and held there by crippling fear.
You idiot, you should have checked the forest. You should have made sure before running into the inn. Oh god, his cloak. Now that her eyes started to regain their strength, she saw a white image embroidered on it. She did not need to take a better look. She knew who sent him—the King.
He stood still for a long time, just watching her from the cover of the trees. Aurelie thought about trapping him with her fire but didn't know how far her magic could travel and didn't want to spook him either.
Perhaps she could creep back slowly without making him realize. . . Of course, you can't, she thought, he already knows that you can see him.
Orken, Kirin, they were both right about her. She was careless and dangerous. Both those things just lost them their home.
The man turned sharply, looked back once more, and disappeared into the trees. Aurelie's heart dipped in her chest, and she came back up with a sharp, hard knock.
The inn was exposed.
Aurelie turned on her heel and screamed as she had never cried before. By the time she finished letting out a screeching, "Orken!" her throat was raw and her skin pale as a ghost's.
She ran on instinct, skipping steps and leaping into the inn. Her mind no longer worked properly. It clamped up with shock and horror.