Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Fire

Chapter 4 Silverlite Village

     A week has passed since the festival. The closest village to the capital was a place named Silverlite. Lilac Kinroc was 18 years old and she was a resident that lived there with just her sister Ella, who was 14. Their parents went away on a trip last year overseas and never came back. Lilac was getting more worried about them everyday. She would have gone and looked for them herself but that would mean leaving Ella behind.

Lilac wouldn't want to bring Ella with her on some treacherous journey either. So Lilac had to be the big sister that she was and take care of her. It was just the two of them within that lonely cottage. Lilac was brushing her black hair in the mirror while she checked up on her sister appearing in the reflection. Behind Lilac was Ella sitting at an empty table with a bowl of soup. Usually Ella would be full of energy in the morning but ever since their parent's disappearance, Ella has been in a really foul mood and Lilac couldn't blame her.

It didn't help that Lilac had to work extra time to make up for their mom and dad's absence. Lilac couldn't spend that much time with Ella anymore. Work had to be done and gold had to be earned. Food had to be brought back to the table. The more Lilac worked, the more tired she became. Lilac was done getting ready for the day and took her hatchet lying on the table. It was once again time for her to get to work.

Ella spoke up to her. "Promise we can go by the hideout this time when you're done?" She asked. Lilac gave her a smile. "Alright, we can go after I'm done working. Just be good and look after the cottage while I'm gone." She responded. Ella quickly got up from her chair and gave her sister a hug. The hideout Ella was referring to was a special place only these two sisters knew about.

Made from sticks and branches, this hideout was located in the woods not far from Silverlite. It was a hut both the sisters created while playing in the forest when they were younger. Lilac strapped the hatchet to her belt and waved goodbye to her sister "See you." Lilac said to Ella. "Bye!"

Just like that, Ella was alone again. Any moment that Ella spent with her sister, no matter how long or short was something she always treasured. Ella never told Lilac that she would go wander around the village when she wasn't around. Ella didn't like sitting around the cottage by herself. She would often overhear rumors from the other villagers about how her parents might have been eaten by a sea monster or hear stories about how her parents simply decided to ditch the Kingdom of Fire and start a new life elsewhere.

She knew none of it was true and she didn't let any of that get to her. After finishing her soup and washing out her bowl Ella was already out the door. She walked away from the cottage and glanced at the woods. Today she decided to go to the hideout early. She grabbed a long stick that was laying on the ground and started dragging it off into the forest. Ella started to play around with it as she made her way to the hideout. She would use it to draw pictures in the dirt or even see if she could make it reach a certain branch on one of the trees.

With one hop across a small creak and past some trees with scratch marks on them, Ella was soon at the hideout. The scratch marks were made by both Lilac and Ella. Lilac suggested that they should make some kind of way to help them find their hideout so they carved out the trees to make a path. With one glance at the little hut, Ella could already figure out something was wrong. The blanket that usually hung over the branch on one of the trees was missing.

Both Lilac and Ella were just here at this spot yesterday too. The blanket should have been tied on the branch with a rope. Ella looked at the ground beneath the branch. The rope was just sitting there at her feet. Both Lilac and Ella only got the blanket out whenever they wanted to have a picnic. She knew someone can only take it down deliberately which means someone found their hideout. Ella's heart was now racing.