THE FIRE IN THE WIND
by Cheyenne Lynnae
CHAPTER ONE
The Dream
“The baby” I rasp. “They’ll kill her!” I run to the Queen, the baby in her arms.
“Quickly, they are coming!” I gasp, beckoning, my arms out. I could hear the Elders’ footsteps coming up the stairs. The King looked at me, understanding in his grave eyes. He took the baby out of his wife’s hands, and placed her in mine. A tear tips off his cheek and lands on the fur lining of the infant’s pink lace cocoon.
“Take her.” he says. With a loud crash, the door is smashed open. I scream. Splinters embed themselves in my back and neck. An army of men surge into the room. Hands wrench the child from my arms, my fingernails leaving frayed holes in the blankets.
“No!” I cry. A smack echoes through the room. I fall, bringing a hand to my smarting face.
The Queen’s sobs fill the air as she fights against her husband’s restraining arms.
“Arrest this one,” A man roars, pointing his finger at me. Arms grab me, forcing me to my feet. The man looks down at me his red eyes glaring into mine. Ivthonan. It was over. I had failed. Then there were flames. Flames all around me.
I started awake gasping for breath and choking on my sobs. I buried my face in the blankets, attempting to block the noise so it wouldn’t wake Chani, asleep in the next room over. It was no good. Chani rushed through my door, sweeping me into her arms.
“It was so real, so real.”
“Sh, I know my dear girl,” Chani soothed, franticly rocking me. Her pale arms held me to her. It hurt her to see me like this, It happened every time I had this dream.
“The poor child.”
“She’s safe dear, she’s safe,” Chani whispered, her hair so blond it was almost white, falling like a waterfall around me, sticking to my wet cheeks.
“B-but they got her” I stuttered.
“Come, love; let’s have some milk and bread.” She suggested, brushing away the brown strands of my hair that stuck where my tears had streaked down my face.
I followed Chani out of my room to the end of the hall where the ebony stairs laid sleeping. As Chani descended she skipped the first two steps, the sixth step, and the last step. Those creaked so loud that they could wake the entire village. I stumbled behind her, my eyes half open, as she lit candles in the kitchen.
“Here you are,” Chani said placing a bowl in front of me, and scooping up her own. I wrapped my hands around mine, and we carried them outside, as we did on nights like this. I sat on the door ledge, my body relaxing, as I ate. I looked up at the stars, tracing them, making pictures in my head.
“Tell me the dream once more,” Chani asked me.
“Oh Chani, I couldn’t” I squeaked. Panic started to build up inside me, making my chest feel like a bear was sitting upon it.
“You must. It’s the only way you may stop fearing it,” She coaxed.
“I was running up a staircase. I had urgent news to tell.” I started, remembering the tingling in my legs, the heat. Chani nodded, encouraging me to go on.
“There was a pouring waterfall that the stairs looped around. Only the waterfall wasn’t made of water. It was made of a thick golden liquid, like sap or honey.” I continued, my voice just a whisper.
“You saw it this time, the ‘waterfall’?”
“Oh that’s right. I only caught a glimpse of it before,” I mumbled, before continuing.
“Then, I burst into the King and Queen’s room, and, well I told you all the rest before.”
“There was nothing else?” I began to shake my head, when I realized there was something more.
“Yes actually,” I said. “When the people burst in and took her, there was this man. He had fiery skin, and… awful white eyes. On his forehead he had a mark, flames inside a ring.”
“The Elders,” I thought I heard Chani whisper.
“Did you say something?” I asked her.
“Nothing, dearest; come it’s time to go back to sleep” Chani said. I followed her inside, shutting the door behind me. A cool breeze slipped through the cracks twirling itself around my wrists before it was gone, as it did the man’s face came into my mind again. His red eyes chilled me to the bone, promising me a sleepless night.