The Heiress of Fire

Chapter 10

I have no idea what Enya means by going "into town" clothes. I watch as Ember is going through my closet again. She keeps mumbling to herself as she throws clothes everywhere.

"It is hot out there, so I would assume some light clothing. I think that is what she meant," Ember speaks out loud. I think she is going a little crazy today. Maybe it has been a long time since they have been outside. I believe this is a good thing for both of them. Ember digs through the pile she has thrown on the floor and finds a pair of shorts. She looks so relieved when she pulls that out of the heap.

I take the silky shorts in my hand and feel the soft fabric with my fingers. This material probably was so expensive to get. I have never felt anything as smooth as this. It is nice to be getting all of the perks of being rich and living in a castle, though. I get the best clothes, food, and housing. Just imagine if another girl who was a peasant had kidnapped me? I try to shake those thoughts out of my head. I am not a golddigger, usually. I never really thought about money, I mean, it was just my mom and me, and my mom is a nurse who works long shifts. I love her to death, and she does everything, and I bet she is still super freaked out. I wish I could tell her that I am okay.

Ember leaves me in my room, and I put on the new, cooler clothes. I look at myself in the mirror, which I haven't done in a long time. My hair is starting to grow past my ears in the back. I'm not too fond of when my hair gets this long. I also don't like those huge bags under my eyes. I haven't gotten some good sleep since I've gotten here. I usually cuddle my pillow and think about my life and where my choices made me end up here. I typically fall asleep soon after, but it always takes so long. I don't like to be alone with my thoughts for a while.

Ember, like usual, is standing outside my door, waiting for me to get ready. She grabs my arm, her tiny hand wrapping around my muscled arm. In my free time here, I do some of my own workouts. I miss that back home, so I try to do whatever I can do here.

She is changed into different clothes too, instead of her standard dress that she wears all of the time. That was fast, though. She is wearing a more summery version of that dress. I think it is so that people know that she is still a maid in the castle, but it should be comfortable in the weather. I am guessing it is pretty hot out there. I mean, this is the fire kingdom. Ember takes me through those never-ending hallways. It seems like. Instead of assuming that turn to go to the dining hall, she continues straight.

I have never been to this part of the castle before. It seems like these halls go on forever, and they are dimly lit too. I don't know how Ember can walk all over them without getting lost. I mean, she probably has been here for a long time.

"How long have you been working for Queen Enya?" I ask her, trying to make some conversation. It is a little awkward, and I don't know how much longer to the front gate.

"We will be there in a minute," she replies tightly. I guess that was a personal question, wasn't trying to push her or anything. I think Ember hates me now. I don't want her too, but I think she does. I don't say the right things around her, and it doesn't help that she is super sensitive. I feel like girls are usually super-sensitive, though. Boys don't think when they talk or ask things, so they don't know what they say that could be hurtful.

We take a right, and I see the giant front golden gates and that Enya is already there. She is wearing a lovely dress, so people know that she is the queen. I am guessing it is significantly extra of her. It seems like the material is made out of silky flames.

"Are you guys ready?" Queen Enya asks her hand on the gate. I am pretty excited to see what it is like on the outside of this castle. It has been too long being cooped up in here.

I nod, and Enya slowly opens the wide gates, and it creaks loudly, almost like it hasn't been open in a long time. The first thing that I notice when we get outside is the smell. It smells of burnt firewood, and I love that smell. Ember wasn't joking when she said it is hot, I can already feel myself sweating, and we've been walking for only a couple of minutes. The trees are burnt oranges and reds, just like how you would imagine them in the fall. It seems like it's always fall here. I do love fall. It is probably one of my favorite seasons. It's not too hot and not too cold, just perfect. Since we are in a fire kingdom, it is going to be hot, no matter what.

It feels so amazing to be outside right now. I was starting to go crazy in there. As we make our way down one of the main streets, Queen Enya seems to be enjoying herself as we go deeper into the town. The town is pretty decent sized, with lots of the same type of houses. They are made out of the same material as the castle, mainly lots of dark oak and stone. It is beautiful here, and I am glad to be able to convince them to come out.

 Some people have just stopped what they are doing and watched as she walked right past them. I heard so many whispers around us. I'm guessing they haven't seen her in a while. Everyone in this city seems to look like Ember, with electric hair and yellow eyes. I wonder if it is only a royalty thing to have red, orange hair.

I can tell that they are all staring at me too. I am not sure how many humans they have seen in their life. I look way different from all of them. Enya and I are standing at the end of the street, looking over everybody. People are starting to form around us, like celebrities, trying to talk to the queen and her new human. I watch as a little girl makes her way up to us. She seems to be almost two and so adorable with those chunky legs, and she seems to be holding something made of flowers in her hand.

The girl pushes her way through the crowd, and everyone moves out of the way. This seems to be some test to see if they can trust the queen again after going rogue for so long.

"Oh, my goodness!" Enya gushes, "this is so beautiful!" The little girl whips out a flower crown, and the crowd murmurs in aww's. You can tell that a child probably made it, but it was still cute anyway. I watch as Enya kneels to the ground, not caring about her dress, and she bends her head. The little girl is giggling happily as she puts the crown on her head. Queen Enya picks up the child and spins her around, making her laugh more.

I love seeing this new side of Enya that I hadn't seen before. I like seeing that she is an actual reasonable person. She seems genuine and carefree when she is out here with her people instead of getting anxiety while cooped up in that castle. I think those gates should be open way more than they are. It would do everyone a lot of good. I think it was an excellent thing to convince Enya to come out here today. She seems so happy. I've heard outside does wonders for your soul, and I am happy it seemed to work on her.

Even Ember seems to be enjoying herself. She's got all of these people around her, too, talking to her. They are probably trying to get some insight into what the castle is like on the inside. They can tell that she is a worker from the court. I think it is suitable for Ember to get some attention too. All of that hurt she has had was while in the castle, so she was one who needed to get out of there the most.