From The Ashes

Part One

  It’s hot. I thought to myself. It’s winter, why is it so hot? I was sweating and felt groggy from waking from a comfortable sleep. I swung my legs over the bed and stood. The floor creaked under my feet as I sleepily made my way to my bedroom door. The smell of smoke started to pour into my room. Panic washed over me. Flinging my door open I began to hurry my way down the hallway but I stopped. Crimson flames engulfed my childhood home, I couldn’t even see the front door anymore. I turned on my heel and ran to my parents’ room. I placed my hand on the doorknob and immediately let go, it had singed my hand so bad I cried out and fell onto the floor. I started to notice it was getting hard to breathe. Smoke surrounded me and the flames grew stronger.
  “Mom?!” I shrieked, desperately pounding on the door. “Dad?! Please! Help me!” There was no response. My body started to feel weak. I couldn’t move.
  “Rei..” I wasn’t going to make it. “Rei..?” I was going to die there, alone. “Reika?! Wake up!” I jolted awake and sat up fast, clutching my chest. Breathing heavily I frantically looked around the room. To the side of my bed, two twinkling blue eyes met mine.  “Rei..were you having the dream again?” He said softly. My body relaxed, relieved to be in my comfortable bed.
“Yeah sweetie, I did. But I’m okay really.” I said, attempting a reassuring smile. I hopped to my feet and stretched. My shoulders ache and my back creaked. I felt like I slept on a rock. I walked over to my mirror to attempt to smooth down my bed head. My hair was wavy and a deep red color fell to my shoulder blades. Most of the time it was manageable but had the tendency to frizz. My hazel eyes were framed by my dark eyelashes framed them. I was fairly tall and had a somewhat muscular build. My skin was fair and I had a few freckles on my cheeks but not nearly as many as Eian. I had burn scars on most of my right side including my cheek. I wasn’t ashamed of them, they made me who I was so I never tried to hide them. Overall, I looked like an average twenty-four year old with subpar fashion sense and general lack of vanity. I never really cared for anything flashy, just the basics were enough for me.
  “Alright Eian, I’m up. Want some breakfast?” His face lit up with a smile.
  “Yes! I’m always hungry.” I chuckled a little.
  “Yes, I know that. I can barely keep the pantry stocked.” I said teasingly. “Go on and get the eggs from the coop. I’ll start making biscuits.” With the promise of breakfast he hurried off, his black curls bouncing on top of his head.
 
  I placed the biscuits into the oven and glanced around our little cottage. Our home was modest but comfortable. A small living room with a couple of chairs and a couch that our very lazy dog Luci often lounged on. A fireplace that, although a bit outdated, kept us warm in the winters. It was also Eian’s favorite place to play me in cards and I swore he always cheated because he beat me in every game we played. Our kitchen was bright and open. Cooking always brought me a sense of comfort, it reminded me of all the great meals my mother made me when I was little. I peeked into the oven to check on the biscuits, they’d need about fifteen more minutes.
  There were two bedrooms in the house. My room only consisted of the necessities. I had my bed, a little reading area, and a chest of drawers that only contained about three different outfits. I’ve always liked things tidy and simple. Eian’s room, however, was a blast of color and wonder. His desk displayed pages of drawings and his toys littered the floor, as you’d expect from an eight-year-old. A huge bookshelf took up almost an entire wall of his room, packed full of books. Some of them were mine but Eian’s collection took up the majority, he’d always loved to read.
  I looked out the back window, watching Eian collect eggs from our chicken coop. The outside of our little home was quaint but beautiful. Vines crept up all sides of the white walls and black shutters. I planted violets and begonias in all of our front flower beds. In the backyard, we had a small garden of tomatoes, carrots, peppers, and cucumbers. We kept some for ourselves and the rest we sold at the Friday market. We had a small chicken coop with two hens that Eian affectionately named Angel and Demon. Demon once pecked him for trying to take her eggs so hard he bled. He still hasn’t forgiven her to this day thus the name Demon stuck.
  Our horse was named Ebony, as she was a beautiful all black mare. I only rode her on long journeys, most of the time she galloped through the field behind our house and fed on the tall grass. A local carpenter helped me fence in the area years ago when Eian and I had a rather large harvest. We gave his family as much as we could spare that year as he had seven children and a pregnant wife, it was becoming hard for him to make ends meet. He insisted on doing the labor for free but I still snuck a few silver pieces into his pocket. We also had a goat named Boris we collected milk from but he was more like a pet to us.
  I took another look at the biscuits to find that they were finally done. “Rei look at this!” Eian shouted from just outside the back door. I spun around to see 6 eggs levitating well above the floor in a line and then one by one gently lay in the bowl next to me. Eian crossed through the threshold with a huge, excited smile.
  “I’ve never been able to levitate something that far!” He said excitedly. I looked down at him and smiled.
  “That’s great sweetie I’m proud of you,” I said ruffling his mop of black curls. If it wasn’t obvious Eian was a mage. You know, magical powers and all that. His mother was a mage so it only makes sense that he is. A good portion of his books are spell books and he often spends his nights burying his nose in one, learning all he can about his abilities.
  I took a seat across from him and studied his features. Black curls framed his face and were always at least a little messy. Bright blue eyes that sparkled and often got him what he wanted. Light brown freckles danced across his olive skin. His smile was sweet and featured a missing front tooth. He was getting so big. It felt like yesterday that he was the quiet, reserved little toddler I took in.
   I found him when I was eighteen.  I didn’t have a permanent home yet I just drifted from town to town picking up jobs. I found him in his hometown burned to the ground, just like my childhood village. He was beside his mother, crying his eyes out. She had been gone for a while and he was all alone. I looked at him and saw myself. I couldn’t leave him there so I decided to raise him. I became attached quickly and thought of him as my own child.
  He knew about his past but doesn’t remember anything, honestly I was grateful he didn’t. We took time to remember his mother every year on the anniversary. For a little while he was sullen and withdrawn. But time heals and  years later he was charismatic and rowdy, but also extremely smart. Sometimes it scared me how much he knew about the world. I was sure by the time he was twelve he’d be smarter than me. His mother would be proud.
  “Alright bud, are you all done?” I asked picking up his empty plate. He nodded, still chewing his last bite. He took a big gulp of water to wash it down and then popped to his feet.
  “Hey Rei, are we gonna go to the tavern? I wanna see Mira. She promised she’d make me cinnamon buns.” he said.
  “Yeah, I have to go look for a job anyway, getting a little low on funds. We didn’t make much at the market last week.” Eian sighed and looked down at his feet.
  “I don’t like when you go away. It’s dangerous..” I felt a surge of guilt rush over me. I hated leaving him but I had to support us. Besides selling at the market, my job as a bounty hunter was the only other source of money we had. I know, bounty hunting is not the soundest job choice but I don’t have a lot of skills, fighting is one of them. I had even earned myself a nickname. "The Phoenix of Aster" which made sense on account of my firey red hair.
  “I know. But, I promise I’m going to be careful.” He stayed silent. I knelt to be on his level, he was still staring at the floor. “Hey Eian, look at me okay?” Reluctantly he looked up, doing the little pouty lip that always melts my heart. “I am going to be okay sweetie. I promise. Okay?” He sighed.
   “Okay, but if you die I get your sword.” He said teasingly. I chuckled a little.
  “If you ever get a hold of a sword the whole town better look out. Now get dressed and we’ll head out.”