Embers of Sun and Flame (Fuegoleon Vermillion x OC)

Chapter 24 By the riverbank

They could see clearly in the distance. A sea of red foliage standing out from the surroundings, the colour fading gradually at the edges of it through orange into yellow, and from yellow into green; the forests around spreading just like any other. The edge of the woods that they could only see from this side, the hues of red continued far beyond what their eyes could distinguish.

Their home is in the red forest? Fuegoleon found himself thinking as they were on a circular platform, similar to the tray that had been used to hold up a coffee pot during the hearing, gliding across the sky. Lady and Lord Equinox were standing with him and Mereo on the same platform, gazes fixed forward while the Vermillion siblings let their eyes wander free.

The castle was left far behind them; easily standing as the largest human made structure around. It rose up to the skies with the same smooth surfaces glittering in the light of the sun that they had seen inside. Plants grew on its surface, but only reached so far. The castle, the symbol of the Queen and the Queendom, radiated with light more than anything else; life climbing across it, life being nourished by it, sheltered by it, held by it. But despite the flickering radiance, the castle, wasn't a representation of life itself. That position was held by the nature that grew around it.

They had seen statues decorating a path to the castle as they took off into the air, probably those of previous queens. After all, it would have made sense. But what seemed odd was the fact that the castle itself wasn't in the middle of a city. There had been something that resembled a training ground on one side; various paths of alternating sizes spreading out from the castle. The cities rose close by, but not directly around the castle.

Glass, metal and stone, formed the bones of the cities. Very little wooden structures were in sight despite the abundant nature. People going about their day, either walking on the ground or flying through the air, either by their own means or using the same technology that held the four of them in the air. Mountains rose in most directions, some farther than others. Rivers, lakes and streams ran through the landscape without breaking it. Fields and valleys were left standing in-between it all, belonging into the painting that life had created. An occasional form of a creature was flying through the air in the distance, but each of them too far to see what they were. And it all was connected by one thing, the feeling of mana that seemed to flow through it all, seamlessly and without effort. As if it all was being washed by a steady stream of warm water, or breathing in unison with one set of lungs; drawing fresh air into them.

It really is beautiful... He thought watching it all, seeing the diverse, and colourful landscape.

"Where are we going?" Mereo asked, seeing no buildings large enough to house a noble family.

"To see Solara," Lady Equinox replied, her tone distant and factual.

"I don't see a house here."

"Because there isn't. Not a large one at least."

Mereo quirked an eyebrow at the answer, her arms staying crossed. "Shouldn't she be home, resting?"

Fuegoleon turned his gaze to Solara's mother, waiting intently for the answer.

Lady Equinox gazed to the two from the corner of her eye, her brows furrowed and her eyes were colder than permafrost, as a brief silence lingered in the air. "The red forest has therapeutic benefits."

"The red forest?" Mereo asked, her eyebrow still raised. "How original," she scoffed, closing her eyes.

"...It is a poor translation. I'll give you that," she replied, turning her gaze back forth; signalling the end to the conversation.

They lowered down onto a clearing, warmth hitting them immediately. As if the leaves, presented in each shade of red imaginable, were radiating heat. But upon walking closer to a plant, it became evident that, that wasn't the case. The air simply bathed in warmth.