1

After stepping out of The Grand Lift, which Fena now understood to specifically be “The East Grand Lift” upon noticing signs detailing as much around the drop off point, immediately she was awestruck by the jaw-dropping sight that was Origin’s Wake. At the dead centre of the highest mountain in the village, a gargantuan tower as black as pitch loomed ominously, piercing through the clouds just as Fena had read. It was like a spear of black lightning, tethering the land of mortals to the domain of the divine. She tried her best to take in its unfathomable proportions, imagining just how far she’d have to descend into the Earth’s heart to find its base, as well as what she’d be able to see if she could stand atop its peak amongst the clouds.

Fena blinked and rubbed her eyes, scoping it out again, then shook her head as she rubbed them once more, before this time using both hands to form an imaginary camera of sorts… Yet, no matter how she framed it within her field of view, she couldn’t make out any perceivable patterns or consistency about its structure at all. The tower's true proportions skulked behind an all-encompassing wall of darkness emptier than a starless sky and slumbering atop that ethereal tower, an omnipotent, all-seeing eye carefully watched over the world she had created.

Well, that was the extent of Fena’s knowledge on the tower at least, “No way… Crazy stuff like this actually exists in the real world too? Not just in books? Incredible,” Fena said. The red orbs of fire in her eyes danced and crackled and flared in astonishment. However, in the wake of such a revelation, a far less welcome realisation in turn unearthed itself, “…I don’t get it, why does mom never talk about history stuff like this? It’s always that technology crap.”

Fena cringed at her own words as soon as they’d spilled out of her mouth. She respected her mother’s work, the little she understood of it at least, and cherished seeing her mother’s face light up when she’d come up with a new idea or finish a design for a contraption she’d spent all night drawing up.

Nonetheless, Fena still felt conflicted, her mother had taught her so much about combat, what it meant to be a Shinobi and about technology, but next to nothing about history… Her head felt heavy as she gazed toward Origin’s Wake, completely unaware that she’d strayed quite far from her accomplices…

2

Watching on as their newfound acquaintance had wandered a short distance away, Koria nudged Ruby, “My Lady… are you certain that this is what you desire?” she asked as she twiddled with her auburn hair.

Obscured by a tousled curtain of black, Ruby responded, “Yes, of course. I don’t know his story but—”

“Not him…” Koria ground the words between her teeth. She snatched hold of Ruby’s arm.

Ruby peeked out from the veil of black that she so often hid behind, her beautiful blue eyes met Koria’s for just a moment, before shrinking away and retreating toward the ground, “I have seen to you in the shadows for how many years now?” Koria said, relinquishing her grip.

Koria kneeled slightly to sit just underneath Ruby’s eye level, “I know you, Ruby. It is because I came to know you that I still draw breath to this day. However, what you propose to go through with today is absolute madness,” Koria said, clenching her fists. “You know just as well as I that your father’s sordid hands will be submerged in today’s events and he’ll pit you against your brother.”

Ruby’s eyes shot up from the ground and met Koria’s, “And what exactly is it that you are implying? Say it,” she demanded, with more than a hint of venom in her voice.

There had been fewer divine children born of the Goddess than the number of times that Koria could recall moments where she’d sighted any semblance of colour on that girl’s face. It crushed her that this latest instance remained just the same as the previous two; blackened pain and reddened anger. Her sapphire stare was glacial, as harsh as any winter Koria had ever lived through; it dared her to continue.

A crimson tear spilled from Koria’s lip. She stood back up, cursing them for spewing words that wounded her dearest friend so, but it was precisely because she valued Ruby so much that she wouldn’t shirk them, “We both heard what your father said. He’s no patience left within him for your brother’s ‘incapabilities’ and if he doesn’t prove his worth and awaken to his birthright this day, only the Goddess knows what he’ll do to him.”

Koria placed her hands onto Ruby’s shoulders, digging her fingers deep as she leaned in closer, “As for you… You are shackled, girl. Bound by blood. You are his. Just as I, an “Ashen” slave, am his also, nothing more than chattel that he houses, waiting only for when his whims call for making use of you, be-it for power, wealth, or even…”

Koria reached for the frilly white collar of her uniform. Her hands trembled as she undid the buttons. Underneath her black dress were harsh, deep red blotches that stained her bronze skin like a field of red roses.

Ruby gasped and immediately looked away.

No, Koria wouldn’t allow it. Ruby had to see it, all of it. Koria cupped her hand underneath Ruby’s chin, “Look at me child,” Koria said. “If by some sheer miracle you see the end of this day with your life intact, this is all that awaits you.” Rage seethed within her, she couldn’t let Ruby become like her, never.

On the contrary, Ruby’s flames seemed to have simmered down. Only saddened, flickering Ember’s remained. Her oceanic eyes were directed toward Koria, yet she knew that within their vision she was not. Just what was it that she saw when the apathy would assail her as it did in this moment? Where is it that her mind would go to seek refuge when the heat of her burdens scorched too hot for her to handle? For nearly a decade Koria had wondered, and she wondered now just the same.

Ruby had always been a timid and hesitant girl, what with an abominable, flame-fisted father that’d have her battered blue by boys twice her age and size, hiding his twisted lust for authority and excellence under the cunning guise of “training” if she’d ever dared so much as step out of line or show any weakness. “Flickering flames vanish under the cover of night; The Pheonix deign bequeath his blessing to those who are not worthy,” he’d always warn her. Most despicable of all, without fail, even if she couldn’t bring herself to stand, he would force her to fight against her own brother as her final opponent. The boy's corrupted flames never spared her even a flicker of mercy.

Koria had always cherished Ruby’s passivity, even if it was considerably abnormal. It was part of what made Ruby, Ruby. Despite being inequitably burdened with her father’s implacable expectations whilst also having no real family to turn to, there was room reserved in her heart for those that she loved, even more room than she left for herself. She’d offer nothing but the warmth of her embrace and the gentle, soothing sound of her breathing, yet it gifted Koria a priceless stability.

Though the memories were vague and painful to reminisce upon, Koria always likened Ruby’s calming presence to when she’d used to walk barefoot across her favourite place in the entire world: a small beach just a stone’s throw away from her home back in “Fret” called “Rock Beach”.

The tide would creep across the sparkling, grainy gold sand and tickle at her feet, but just as quickly as she could appreciate that sensation, the water would disappear, dragged back into the ocean… Inexplicably, it would always leave her feeling hollow and bereft. She’d always wish that she’d have savoured that blissful sensation the way she ought to have before it so suddenly would leave her. Just like how when she’d be comforted by Ruby, in between her steady breath’s, horrific memories and survivor's guilt would thrust their sharp, hateful cries into her stomach… Until the waves would come creeping back, tickling at her feet once again, reassuring her that things would be alright, that she wasn’t alone, that the next breath would come— it would always come. That reassurance had kept her going all these years.

However, today that feeling was fleeting in a way it never had been before. Just as she was powerless that tragic night when she’d witnessed Fret set ablaze with pillars of fire whilst a ferocious, howling wind bent and twisted those flames to make them dance over the corpse of her home, staining the once beautiful, glittery golden sand with blackened, burning ashes, once again, Koria was powerless as she watched Ruby, her sole purpose for remaining in this world, determined to walk into those same flames.

—Please… Not again…

Koria confided within her dearest friend the dark cloud permeating the halls of her mind, “Your father… He has burrowed his way into that boy’s head. Your brother is a lost cause. He will fight and continue fighting until he seizes the power that is his birthright, even if that means he must take your life.” Koria collapsed to her knees. She dug her hands into the earth beneath her, clasping at the soil as tears poured from her eyes, “I can’t do this… Not again… Please, I beg of you…” Run away with me, Koria cried within herself as her words trailed off.

Koria was selfish, so unabashedly selfish. Ruby had chosen this to be her fate as was well within her right, but Koria refused to let Horace have his way once again, not with Ruby. She wasn’t trying to control her; she wasn’t the same as him.

Suddenly, the radiant sun and the brightness of the world as she knew it became shrouded in a veil of black that tickled at her face, one she knew all too well. Thin, delicate fingers gripped at her shoulders, scrunching up her black dress and the white shoulder straps of her apron, whilst two intricately embroidered black sleeves wrapped around her back and embraced her, “Then so be it,” Ruby said, the resignation in her wavering voice shaking Koria to the core. “I cannot live like this anymore. I’ve long run out of stars in the sky to wish upon for the courage to take my own life or to run away, but my heart simply cannot abide it. I love my brother, I believe in him, Koria, and I love my mother, I refuse to relinquish her to my father…” Ruby pulled Koria in even tighter. Her words devastated Koria, but she wouldn’t dare interrupt, “...Father always told me that the Ember name engulfs all within its flames… its wretched, heinous flames… If I cannot best my brother, begin to change this twisted clan—”

“Heeeeey! I kinda recognise those two buildings over there! And I see a bunch of people too! That’s gotta be where we’re going, right!?” a familiar, oblivious voice called out, interrupting with the worst possible timing.

Hurriedly pulling away from Ruby’s embrace, Koria wiped her eyes and patted down her uniform. She’s grown so tall now, she fondly remarked to herself. The sparkly black dress that she wore today was absolutely stunning. It perfectly complimented her long, flowy black hair, in spite of the fact she knew that her dear friend hated the colour so much. Her putrid father had long labelled his daughter “The Queen Of Ash”, insisting that her natural hair was a sign that she was no daughter of his and refusing her leave of the estate unless she wore all black as he deemed her unworthy of the Ember Clan’s traditional red, white and gold. To hell with her father, Koria thought, a benevolent, wonderful Queen she would be.

It had just occurred to Koria that when Ruby cried, her big and beautiful oceanic eyes glistened just like the waves did back on Rock Beach— a bittersweet realisation that stabbed her right in the heart. Would she ever have the privilege of witnessing those sparkling sapphire crystals twinkle with hope and enthusiasm, with happiness and love?

As her world hung on the brink of collapse once more and those thoughts floated around her mind, one particularly stormy night, about a year shy of a decade ago, began to play out in Koria’s mind.

3

Heavy rainfall relentlessly crashed against the dilapidated wooden shack like an onslaught of arrows whilst water crept through the crevices between the wooden panels, soaking Koria and the prickly ball of hay that she struggled, just as she did every night, to sleep upon. The flaming demon who’d erased her home and everything she’d ever known thrust upon her a new life, one of servitude. She’d been working in the stables, where she’d also been lodged, at the Ember mansion for about two weeks— a mere fifteen years of age. That night, desperate for someone, anyone to hear her cries, she held her hands to her knees and cradled herself back and forth, praying for the indiscriminate hand of the cold to sweep through her bones and freeze her heart stiff, or that the distant roaring of thunder would rampage on and find its way to the shack, relieving her of the suffering that was her life.

There was nothing left for her in this world, yet she was stuck within it. How could she possibly draw her own blood and disgrace the memories of those who fought and sacrificed themselves for her survival?

Suddenly, a loud bang shook the wooden double doors that served as the entrance to the stable. Granted, they’d been rattling and banging away all night, but this thud was far heavier, as though something, or even someone had banged on it, hard. Koria shot up to her feet, the freezing, damp stone floor bit at her heels whilst she frantically rummaged for a knife, one that she’d stolen from a kitchen on the first day she was brought to the mansion. Once she’d found it, she tiptoed toward the door. The steel in her hands shook in all directions, both out of fear and exhaustion; she’d been the only maid appointed to the upkeep of the stables and the caretaking of the myriad of animals carelessly sheltered within them and she’d been worked to the bone. Small bumps and bruises and cuts marked her all over and she was sore in places she didn’t even know she could be sore. Her fatigued, beaten legs rattled like maracas, buckling under her weight, which itself was fast fading from her.

Servants ate less and worked more, that was it meant to live a life of servitude.

The winds were so fierce that as soon as Koria slid out the wooden board from the makeshift latch she’d built, the door swung wide open, nearly flying away off its rusted hinges. She held onto the wall beside her and poked her head around, yet nobody was there. She reached for the door and pulled it back with all her might, praying that the winds wouldn’t snatch it away. After she finally slammed it shut and slid the plank of wood back into the latch, Koria collapsed against the door, “I… definitely gotta get some sleep…” she insisted, lightly thudding her head against it several times.

Servants slept less and worked more. This truly was her life now, there was no other choice but to get used to it.

The skirling shriek of the wind refused to relent and just as Koria thought she’d settled upon some semblance of calm, another bang, accompanied by the crashing and tumbling of wood and the smashing of rain inside the shack left no doubt in her mind— there was an intruder. The rickety roof had collapsed with a tremendous thud. Koria pivoted instinctually, almost falling over her own feet as she held her knife out before her, screaming, “STAY AWAY!” with her eyes sealed shut.

After a few moments of silence, save for the turbulent weather, Koria dared to glimpse what was ahead of her. In a bed of splinters and boards lay a tiny little girl who couldn’t have been older than seven or eight, soaked to the bone. Blood oozed from underneath her opulent, silk white nightgown. Koria knew straight away who she was, the youngest of the two children of her employer, Ruby Ember… But why was she here? What in the world was she doing outside at this time of night in this perilous weather?

Koria shuffled toward her, knife still raised, daring not to breath or blink. The noble child raised her head. Her eyes narrowed slightly, yet she did not waver. She was clearly wounded and she shivered violently, yet she did not wince. Koria saw an emptiness in her eyes, so bereft of anything at all, not pain, nor fear, nothing. The body moved, but what of the mind controlling it?

She’d no doubt see “The Demon Of Ember’s” flames again if she were caught holding a knife toward his daughter, but Koria soon perished the thought, as the girl needed immediate attention, “You’re hurt, let me— s-sorry, I mean, Y-Your Grace… may I please assist you?” Koria asked, her voice quivering. She bowed stiffly, still not quite accustomed to the formalities expected of her.

“Bathroom,” the girl droned, stoic and still.

“I… don’t understand. Can you show me?”

And show her she did. She stood up and walked toward Koria, grabbing her by the sleeve of her uniform and led her toward the big double doors. Koria was at first opposed to going back outside for obvious reasons, but once she’d voiced that concern to the girl, she let go and then made a start for the run’s where the horses stayed.

What is it with this girl? Koria asked herself, incredulous. Still that emptiness lingered in her eyes. Koria glanced up toward the hole in the roof, making certain that there wasn’t a puppet master manipulating the girl’s body and playing a nasty trick on her tired eyes.

The girl nonchalantly slipped out of her nightgown and Koria could only pray that she’d scraped herself scaling the shack or during the fall, because everything else other than the wound on the child’s stomach was mortifying and the fall from the roof wouldn’t even begin to explain it all. Deep, purple lumps with small pools of red in their centre swelled all over her stringy legs like fleshy volcanoes. Clearly emaciated, her hollowed, bony body had been scourged by a demon's tongue. The glowing, red welts left in its wake intruded upon the girl’s sanctity, a sanctity that seemed as though it’d been long stolen from her, a sanctity that she may have never even known she’d had a right to in the first place. It made Koria shudder to her core.

She just couldn’t leave the girl in such a state, “Don’t! J-just… stay there, please.”

Beside the bundle of hay that served as a sorry excuse for her bed sat a large, ancient chest that she’d made use of since arriving at the Ember Estate. Koria sifted through it, grabbing some rags that had been tossed to her by a senior maid and some mouldy bread that she’d stolen and stashed away. Everything to her name was in that box. Though it humiliated her having someone else witness that fact, her feelings were of the least importance right now. The little girl needed to be fed and Koria’s mouldy bread would have to do for now, “I’ll take you back inside. We gotta be quiet though and you’ll have to show me the way, how’s about it?” she asked, kneeling before her whilst washing off her wound and dressing the girl into the rags.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

After she’d finished, Koria grabbed whatever rags she’d had left and made deft use of the final thing stored within her chest, a sewing kit, and fashioned together a makeshift bandage. Morbidly enough, neither when Koria wiped at the wound, washing away the blood and making sure no debris remained in the cut, or when she tightly wrapped the bandaging over it, not once did the girl wince or cry out in pain, not even so much as flinch— it was harrowing.

Koria offered her the bread, “I’m sorry, forgive me for such a poor offering, but please, before we leave, you gotta eat.”

“Flickering flames disappear in the dark... Father says that The Phoenix doesn’t give his blessing to weak children,” the tiny girl droned immediately in response to the offering.

“What…?” Shocked beyond belief, Koria didn’t know what to say. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip. Horace Ember was truly a monster.

Koria forced out a weak smile, “Hey, uh, R-Ruby? It’s okay if I call you that right? I promise that I’ll get you back inside, take you to the bathroom and get you tucked up nice and warm in bed, but you gotta promise me one thing,” Koria raised a single finger in the air, “keep this a secret from your papa, okay?”

Finally, for the first time since she’d so unexpectedly met her, Ruby Ember showed just a glimmer of emotion. Her fingers, thin as a spider’s legs, reached out for the bread, probing at it. Just one more push, Koria thought; she refused to abide even the rising of the morning sun before the girl had been fed.

Koria leaned in closer. Ruby jolted, letting out a barely audible gasp as she shrunk back slightly. She’s brave, so, so brave, Koria thought.

As gently as she’d handle a newborn, Koria lowered her rough hands onto Ruby’s bony shoulders, pulling her towards herself slowly until the pair's foreheads touched, “‘A song from the heart to quell the tempest in the mind’. Where I come from, these words have been spoken to solidify promises for generations,” Koria pulled away from Ruby, looking her in the eyes once again, “but that story can wait until another time,” Koria said with a smile. “Okay, let’s get you inside.”

Koria turned her back to Ruby, beckoning her to climb on. It was frightening just how light she was. The weak embrace of her sunken body came with a groan and a shiver; there was no more time to waste. She slid the wooden latch open once again and as soon as the winds wrenched the door away, she bolted out from the stables and onto the main courtyard. Save for the day she was brought in, Koria hadn’t once stepped inside of the Ember mansion. She’d have to keep her guard up. Koria made a start for the main entrance until a weak tug at her shoulder gave her pause.

“No…” Ruby said. A paper-thin arm rose up, extending outward and pointing to the left.

Koria struggled to intuit what Ruby was trying to communicate, though her shivering arm remained raised, so Koria followed its direction, aborting her original plan of sneaking in through the front doors.

She skirted toward the left-hand side of the building. Instead of now extending outward, Ruby’s arm retracted and now signalled for Koria to look upward. There, she saw an open window about four stories high with a long, white curtain flapping about at the mercy of the violent winds. If she were caught, no doubt she’d see those flames that burnt her home once again, so she decided to scale the wall as fast as possible.

Using every ounce of strength she had left within her, Koria kneeled on the mushy mud beneath the window and infused Essence into the palms of her hands, then plunged them into the soil. Shortly afterward, a small mound emerged from beneath the surface, just barely large enough to encircle the area where Koria stood and slowly, it began to raise the pair upward toward the window. Fatigued, starved and recently bereaved, Koria simply wasn’t in any condition to be harnessing Essence and each and every second that passed by dealt her excruciating pain. She drifted dangerously close to passing out multiple times, no longer feeling the torrential rain or turbulent wind at all. Her body was succumbing to the stress, but she refused to give in.

How dare she when a child half her age showed such tremendous resolve yet didn’t so much as wince in discomfort? Somehow, she’d made it out to the stables and for some reason, she‘d put her trust in Koria. A promise had been made, one sanctified by the words that The Fairy Of The Wind had parted with to her ancestors centuries ago, and she fully intended to keep it.

In spite of her resolve, the glowing brown light swirling around Koria’s hands began to dim. She braced herself to jump, squeezing out every last drop of Essence that her body could manipulate to get them as close as possible to the window.

“Hold on tight!” Koria shouted.

The instant that the platform began to crumble and rock, Koria leapt from her kneeled position and reached for the windowsill jutting outward toward her, then she scrambled to establish solid footing onto the wall, “Climb inside, quickly!”

Koria dug her fingers into the unforgiving brickwork as the wind and rain beat away at her suspended body whilst Ruby clawed her way up from her back and through the window. Finally… Safe from this terrible weather… Koria felt herself fading, she’d pushed herself far, far beyond her limits. She’d gotten Ruby inside, to safety… It didn't matter what became of Koria now. She felt numb. She’d felt numb since that day she’d watched her loved ones and her home burned before her eyes. Her family, her friends and the beautiful music they’d played together every single night… Playing the piano filled her heart with inexplicable joy, it transported her to a place where the delightful, varied tones of the keys could soak up her deepest thoughts and feelings and woes and share them to the people who would hear her play.

She’d yearned to feel the weighted thud of a pressed key against her fingertips once again for what felt like a lifetime now, visualising herself playing and singing at the top of her lungs to the people that she loved, just like the best of times.

Even right this moment, her mind wandered there, but it was different, everything was different.

Nobody was there. She was all alone. She struggled to breathe. She’d try to sing, but her voice made no sound. She’d press onto the keys, but she couldn’t feel their touch on the tips of her fingers and their wonderful sounds were replaced by empty, lifeless thuds. She tried smashing her hands into them and screamed as loud as she possibly could… but there was simply nothing — no sound could ever come from playing a piano at the bottom of the ocean. (Keep?)

A fall from this height, with her body so exhausted, would almost assuredly result in her death. We’ll be playing together again soon, mother, father, brother… Koria closed her eyes. She let everything go. The water rushed into her lungs, the darkness closed in around her… Soon, she would feel nothing at all.

Until suddenly, a clawing, squeezing pain racked her left forearm and her eyes shot wide open, “Why…”

Perilously leaning out of the window, Ruby had clutched onto Koria’s arm. Tears poured from her eyes, or was it just the rain? She grimaced, grunting and groaning as she grit her teeth with her eyes squinted shut, “Won’t… let you…”

In an instant, the pain forced Koria’s survival instincts to kick in. She snapped back to reality, scrambling for the windowsill once more and once she felt its cold, wet embrace, she gripped onto it tight, tighter than she’d ever grabbed anything before and launched herself upward in unison with Ruby, who assisted her with one final pull.

Koria flew through the window and grabbed hold of Ruby, twisting to avoid landing on top of her as the pair of them crashed onto the laminate wooden floor.

Save for heavy breathing and the awful weather, a silence befell the pair as they lay upon the ground, soaked, sore and utterly exhausted. How someone hadn’t heard them thus far was nothing short of a miracle; at least in this one aspect, Koria felt grateful for the tumultuous weather. Suddenly, the near silence was broken by sniffling and short, irregular breathing beside her, “I’m so sorry, are you hurt?” Koria asked, reaching out toward Ruby and checking for her wound.

“You…” Ruby smacked her hand away, then buried her head into Koria’s chest, “...You’re just like everyone else— just like him… You’re a liar. Your promise… You were gonna break… your promise…” she cried, whilst pillow-punching and kicking Koria all over.

The truth in those despaired words pierced sharper than any steel could ever, straight through her heart and into the depths of her very soul. Koria was a liar; she was going to break her promise… Yet despite that, Ruby had still saved her life. How lucky she had been to have received such benevolent kindness, especially from someone who’d so clearly lived a life bereft of it thus far.

“I... I am so, so sorry Ruby…” Koria said, wrapping her arms carefully around Ruby, “...You’re right, I am a liar. I was going to break my promise… I miss my family so, so much. I wanted to be with them again, more than anything in the world,” Koria rubbed tears away from Ruby’s eyes with her thumb, “but still, you saved me. Thank you.” Koria lifted herself up from the ground, then lifted Ruby up into her arms, “I gotta promise to fulfil, right?” she winked. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Ruby nodded, then leaned into Koria’s chest.

After taking a moment to collect herself, Koria crept out of the room, tiptoeing down a lavishly decorated corridor, sporting an expensive looking red carpet and various opulent ornaments and portraits, to Ruby’s direction. Fortunately, their destination was only a couple of doors down from the room that Koria presumed was Ruby’s, despite it housing nothing of note that would distinguish it as such.

Once they had entered the bathroom, Koria locked the door behind them and slumped down onto the warm, white marble floor. Her head throbbed, both from the impact of her smashing it against the floor earlier and upon recalling the events of this torrid night.

Mere minutes ago, she’d almost been swallowed whole by the jaws of death and accepted that this night would be her last. Koria exhaled a deep breath and looked toward the white marble ceiling, losing herself in the intricate patterns that just seemed to go on and on without an end.

The bathroom was huge, just like Ruby’s room and everything shimmered and shone with a glean that made Koira feel queasy. Nothing was out of place, towels were freshly stocked and all toiletries were neatly arranged— it seemed that a servant's life didn’t seem much easier inside the mansion than it was outside, save for dealing with the weather.

Koria felt a light tug at her hand. She looked up toward Ruby, who fidgeted whilst staring at the ground, “I’m here. I won’t let go of your hand,” Koria said.

Ruby ceased her fidgeting, remaining still for a few moments, before tugging again at Koria’s hand, this time pulling slightly harder and leading her toward the lavatory.

A wonderful warmth filled Koria’s heart, one which for a moment surprised her; despair and bereavement had cast their unforgiving flames over the flower garden where her memories were planted, even those that remained were burned beyond recognition, horrifying to relive knowing now that those people whom she shared those moments with were gone.

Koria directed that warmth toward Ruby. Even if just slightly, the feeling that she’d taken one tiny step toward understanding the person who’d given her life meaning once more meant the world to her. Never again… I won’t let go, ever again Koria swore to herself.

4

Once Ruby had relieved herself and was ready to return to her room, Koria quickly bathed her and dried her hair. Then, after the pair had snuck back into Ruby’s room, Koria promptly sealed the windows shut then discreetly searched the room. Finally, a serene quietness fell upon the pair.

She checked Ruby’s wound once again, then swapped her out the towels that she’d wrapped her up in and replaced them with a cosy grey bathrobe that was hung up within a large, old oak wardrobe. Inside, it housed a myriad of ridiculously gaudy looking clothes that Koria surmised individually could’ve probably commanded more “Essence Crystals” than her entire home would have back in Fret.

Is this what happens when men become filthy rich? They just become closet weirdos? she wondered.

It’d escaped her notice before, but there was a distinct, acrid smell that stuck to her nose, suffocatingly so now that the windows had been sealed shut. Koria covered her mouth with a mortified hand; if the tales of Gods and monsters and mythical creatures in this world really were to be believed, Horace Ember was as foul and rotten as the worst of them.

As was typical of such an abundantly rich family, it seemed you’d never be found wanting for the essentials, as after a short bout of searching, Koria located spare bed sheets inside of a large drawer affixed to the bottom of the bed, choosing a dark blue colour to replace the pure white sheets that had been soiled.

She wrapped Ruby up under the covers nice and tight and at first, she seemed quite puzzled, her breaths short and erratic. She looked toward Koria, trepidation in her blue eyes as they shrank.

“Don’t worry,” Koria said, looking down toward Ruby’s hand as she gently took it within her own. “I won’t let go.”

Koria watched on with a smile as the warmth suffused Ruby’s body, drying her chilled, rain-soaked bones as her eyelid’s drowsily descended. The huge bed and thick covers threatened to swallow up her tiny little body whole. Koria chuckled quietly; it was truly a blissful sight.

For a short while, Koria watched Ruby’s hollow little chest rise, her bony ribs looked as though they were pushing the elasticity of her skin to its limit as her lungs filled to the brim with air before sinking back down. “I see it now…” Koria whispered, brushing away some hair that had fallen onto Ruby’s face with the tip of her finger.

There was a frightening power hidden within this little girl. Not a power of the Goddess or of fabled monsters, nor of insurmountable strength or impenetrable defence, one as inherently human as any power could be, one that made Koria certain that this girl was human, just as human as she was: a pure heart.

Alone, it wouldn’t free her from this prison of fire and flame that her father confined her within, it wouldn’t fill her stomach and it wouldn’t provide her the love and care that her life was so bereft of. Maybe one day she’d even grow to despise it, cursing how in the end it would only ever seem to shackle her to pain and suffering whilst knowing she didn’t have it within her to cast it aside. Such a simple, worthless power that like herself, couldn’t achieve anything on its own, yet it could reach the heart of another, someone who would value her pure heart just the same way Koria had begun to right now, someone with the strength to protect her.

Ruby’s dainty fingers gradually slipped from Koria’s hands, yet they didn’t relinquish their grip entirely. An overwhelming warmth filled Koria’s heart, tears escaped from her eyes, it broke her heart that she had to leave Ruby’s side for the night, but to ensure that she could remain by her side, she would have to see to her in the shadows, directly underneath the nose of her employer, lest she bear witness to The Demon Of Ember’s flames once again.

Once Koria was certain that Ruby had fallen asleep, she’d gently slipped her hand back underneath the covers and made her way back to the stables.

A few hours later, not too long after the sun had relieved the moon of its duties on a day as usual as any other, Koria was dragged out from her soaked slumber in the stables by rampant shouting and screaming and smashing and banging. Ruby was turning the entire mansion upside down, smashing ornaments and screaming at the top of her little lungs that she’d wished her father was dead and that if she didn’t get what she’d demanded of him, she’d run away.

The hearty, conceited laugh that spewed from her father’s pompous mouth when he’d told her, “Go right ahead! The Phoenix sees all, and he’ll be squawking as loud as I once the taste of your petulant words hit your stomach, because that’s the only food The Princess Of Ash will get her hands on.” made her blood boil to this day.

That night, Ruby really did run away, and Horace, who never, ever, waddled out toward the stables, watched her like a hawk. Every few hours or so he’d waddle on by, the pitch-black coals in his eyes bulging wide, glowering at her, yet not a word would he ever speak.

A few days passed and Ruby still hadn’t returned. Each night that went by, Koria got less and less sleep. It was blatantly apparent that her father abused and neglected the girl and Ruby seemed to have found her own way of bottling it up, but what in the world could have caused her to lose herself in such a fit of rage and madness? So much so that she’d spew such venom in the direction of the man at the source of all her pain, knowing how severe the consequences would be?

The night before she finally returned, Horace came by the stables once again, but this time he came with another man, a hulking, brute of a man, bigger than any she’d ever seen save her late father, and approached her, This is it. They’re going to take me, she despaired. It haunted her to recall how terrified she was in that moment.

Had Horace somehow found out about the events of last night? Surely, upon unearthing such information, he’d pin his daughter’s rebellious behaviour slowly upon Koria’s influence, an ungrateful stable wench who’d far overestimated her station. Horace traced his stubby radish-like fingers over a thick, golden chain that coiled around his neck like a snake and let out a long sigh, then curiously remarked, “Seems you maids have caught my daughter’s eye as of late…” He looked at Koria through one eye and then turned toward the large man, “...Gale, collect her belongings for me, and you, follow along. Do not speak a word.”

Though she didn’t quite know what time it was, the moon had long cast its dim glow through the hole in the roof and the inconstant gaps between the wood-boarded walls of the dilapidated shack and the constant hustle and bustle of maids and servants and training and all other new wealthy person activities that Koria encountered each and every day had all ceased.

Just as she was instructed, she followed the two men and kept her mouth sealed shut, slinking through shadows and entering the mansion underground through an entry point she’d never seen before. Every ounce of her being wanted to turn tail and run, but if she did, the large man would most certainly catch her.

As preposterous a wish it was, she’d wished that they’d both at least possess the decorum to be gentler with her womanhood providing she did as she was told. The impending atrocity that the two beasts accompanying her were about to put her through ate away at her spirit. First, they took her home and her family, and now, they’d take her. Koria felt empty, vacant, not paying any mind to her whereabouts whatsoever. She bumped into walls and tripped on steps, feeling all the vitality from her body being sucked away.

They led her to a huge, extravagant room on the western wing of the mansion, which she had only recognized because of the furnishing; it was nearly identical to Ruby’s room.

The large man tossed Koria’s things onto the massive bed in the centre of the room.

Horace then beckoned the man closer, whispered something in his ear and then saw him out of the room, shutting the door carefully behind him. He took a long look at Koria, then, with his hand raised and poised to strike, he warned her, “Not a damned word ‘Ashen’ wench. Noah tells me those Shinobi hunting lunatics have been spotted as near as Emberfield, yet he doesn’t do a fucking thing about it. Only Origin knows what the devil’s they’re plotting.” Horace exhaled a deep breath and then lowered his raised hand onto Koria’s shoulder, digging his fingers into her skin through her torn rags, “You will speak nothing of this to anyone. If I even suspect your treachery, you will see my flames again, is that clear?”

Koria bowed her head, retreating from his terrifying gaze, “Y-Yes Your Grace.” Once he’d finally left the room, Koria held her breath, focusing on Horace’s heavy, laboured steps shuffling away until she could hear them no longer, then collapsed to her knees. She scanned the room around her, then jumped back to her feet, grabbing whatever she could to barricade the door whilst making as little noise as possible and waited, slipping out her knife from underneath her dress, fearing that it was all too good to be true.

At some point, Koria had drifted off, slumped over a small wooden table and when she awoke, what she saw both spooked her out of her skin and relieved her to no end. On the other end of the room, a huge window, just like the one in Ruby’s room, welcomed a brisk breeze that rustled at the white silk curtains, carrying with it an earthy, mushy smell. Orange-tinted rays of warm sunlight beamed onto the laminated oak floor and underneath the window, in and amongst the blotches of light that swayed in and out of the curtain's shadow, she saw red… Blood, fresh blood and wet mud and pieces of torn clothing, “What in the world happened?” she gasped to herself.

It then occurred to her that she had no recollection at all of opening that window. Did someone render her unconscious? Where was her knife? She clenched her fists, but no longer was it in either of her hands, instead it was on top of a set of tall drawers near the window on the other side of the room. A weight tied her body down to the floor and her legs were incredibly sore. Frantically, she checked herself all over, starting from her chest, scouring for any bruising or markings and when she looked down toward her legs… everything became clear.

There she was, clothes torn to shreds, cuts and bruises all over her and her hair an awful mess, fast asleep in Koria’s lap. “You… are truly incorrigible.”

Remembering those events all these years later filled Koria both with an overwhelming happiness and a suffocating sadness. Ruby was her everything. The second chance at life she truly didn’t deserve. “I will be praying that you return safely, Ruby.” Koria said, her own words the anchor that sank her heart into the depths of despair, knowing that they may be the last words she would ever speak to her dearest friend, words that she despised herself for even having the nerve to say, for she did not believe in Ruby’s chances whatsoever.

Ruby reached out her hand, passing Koria’s face and touching the back of her head. She pulled Koria close and the pair’s foreheads rested upon each other, “’A song from the heart to quell the tempest in the mind’. Thank you Koria, you’ve done more for me than I could ever repay you for. I’m not going to lose, I promise.”

And with that, the pair reunited with Fena, making their way towards the academy. The trio walked in complete silence and as they did, Ruby resolved herself to her fate one final time…

Father, Brother… No longer will I cower in fear. In victory, or even in defeat, you will see it… You won’t dare tear your eyes away. Even the sun shall be put to shame; my flames shall burn brightest this day.