Strike the Match

Chapter 1: Embers

One stroke. Two. One stroke. Two.

Sunlight filtered in through the window, casting a faint glow upon porcelain skin and ashen hair.

"Flicker of fire, sliver of smoke," a young woman hummed softly. "Burn forever bright. Burn forever light." With each beat, she ran her brush through her thin white hair. The rhythmic, repetitive motions soothed her as she prepared for her day.

As she prepared for her very long day.

"From ashes, rise again. From cinders, become flame. Ninety-nine. One hundred." Gently she placed her hairbrush on top of her dresser, directly beside an ornate golden tiara, with horns on either side and a radiant ruby in the center.

A radiant ruby, perhaps, but not nearly as precious as the one hanging from her neck.

Carefully she began to twist and tug at her platinum hair until she had formed a large blond bun on the side of her head. Holding onto her (lopsided) hairstyle with one hand, she reached her free arm out towards one of the gold-plated horns. She scowled as she realized that she had placed it just out of reach. Slowly she slid over on her seat, trying to scoot to the edge of her bench. She stretched her fingers out as far as they could reach, and a wide grin spread across her lips as she grasped hold of the tip of the horn. "Aha!"

A sharp rap on the door cut off her celebration. "Lady Edelgard!"

Edelgard nearly jumped out of her seat, sending her carefully organized hair now falling in a cascade around her head and neck. She cursed under her breath as she held the horn up to her head, without any bun in which to place it.

"Lady Edelgard?" the voice called again, and an even fiercer knock resounded at her door.

"One moment!" she called back, eager to quiet the frantic guard. "I am finishing my preparations!"

"The son of Count Gloucester has arrived!" He definitely sounded like he was in a panic. "Ahead of schedule!"

Edelgard rolled her eyes as she wrapped her hair into a bun again and then hooked it around the golden horn hair ornament. "If he's anything like Count Gloucester, I'd say we should just send him home now," she muttered bitterly. Loud enough for the guard to hear, she replied, "I am almost finished, but I require silence!" With a huff, she placed her second horn ornament on the opposite side of her head, so that she now had a matching pair directly above her ears. "Now for the final touch," she murmured, and she reached out to the golden tiara on her dresser. With a delicate touch, she lifted it up in front of her, taking a brief moment to admire the gem embedded in its center. "The original ruby," she whispered. "Did your holder have to suffer the burdens of royalty, too?"

"Princess!"

"I hear you!" Edelgard snapped, finally at the end of her patience. "I am coming now!" She sighed and placed the tiara on her head, centered perfectly between the two horns. Her crown may have seemed over the top to some, but she felt that it perfectly represented the power of the Fire Empire. No, her power, as the Fire Princess and the most powerful fire wielder in generations.

At least, she was supposed to be the most powerful elemental to arise from the empire since its founding nearly 1000 years prior, so why did her father insist on trying to still find her a perfect husband to take place as emperor? Wasn't her authority, her confidence, her independence, her wit, her raw power... wasn't she enough? Her hand moved to the ruby hanging from a thick golden chain around her neck, and she clenched her fist around it. The warmth emanating from the small stone helped put her at ease and dissipate the doubt in her mind, like a torch in the middle of fog.