A Tale of Frozen Flames

Chapter 1

I stumbled down a crumbled set of spiral stairs, landing hip-first on the dusty tile floor. Humiliating, but luckily nobody was around to see my blunder. There hadn't been a soul in these ruins for decades, maybe even centuries. The silence and abandon of time hung heavy in the air. If I had broken a bone or sprained an ankle in these ruins, nobody would know where to find me. It would have spelled certain death.

Upon gathering myself from my less-than-graceful fall, I took in the eerie silence of the building. It was centuries old, perhaps a temple of sorts, and this basement had been hidden below a concealed wooden door in the floor of the ruined stone structure above. It was as if the very air here held a hushed secret, and it was my mission to listen.

My satchel, containing a modest oil lamp and tinder box, had gone flying upon my wild descent of the stairs. In the blinding dark of the undercroft, I pawed at the floor until my fingers met the familiar leather strap of my bag.

The court elders had warned me many times not to go to ruins such as this. They spun tales of malevolent fae spirits that lurked around these decrepit sites, waiting for naive young women to enchant and devour. Despite their explicit warnings, I had chosen to give in to the allure of many such places and the mystical escape they offered me.

What kept me coming back time and time again were the statues, small carvings, and tapestries of elegant figures with pointed ears and, occasionally, wings. The High Faeries and High Elves were considered the most human-like among the fae realm outside of the human kingdom. They weren't the kind of primordial fae to devour unsuspecting human souls, but legend says they carry the same untamed malice in their hearts.

The sound of striking stone echoed through the underground chamber. I lit my tinder box with flint and steel, the sparks bloomed into the first flames this area had seen in too long. I lit my small oil lamp, and the dense fog of undisturbed shadow receded around me.

The room was nothing like I had ever seen before. It was intimate, with two rows of decorative arching support columns holding up the ceiling. There were tapestries of majestic looking High Faeries with large bird-like wings on the side walls of the space. In a domed niche of the back wall was a life-sized marble statue, the face cracked with age.

I stood up and rubbed my bruised muscles, bringing my lamp forward to the statue ahead. It was simply... Magical. Even in its time-worn state, it radiated ethereal grace and devastating beauty.

How could a people said to be so morally tainted produce such beautiful art?

I moved closer, my quiet breaths echoing off of the stone walls. The lamp light illuminated my pale strawberry-blond hair, turning its locks to flames in the dark, a stark contrast to the cold, yet majestic, marble hair of the sculpture in front of me.

I wondered how many people or fae had come down here to find solitude or pray to whatever gods faeries and elves prayed to. Were they still alive somewhere? Did they live good lives, or were they filled with fear and danger and turmoil as the elders would suggest? I let out a deep sigh as the realization dawned on me; I would never know the answer. The people here in the human kingdom weren't allowed beyond our borders. The most I could ever glean of their magical, otherworldly lives were from ruins like these. From when the High Faeries and High Elves used to occupy small homes and towns in human lands.

I was about to turn away from the marble figure when my lamp's light glinted brightly off of an object on the floor. Reaching down to delicately lift the object from the floor, I took in its brilliant beauty. It was a necklace of white gold, barely touched by the ravages of time. The main pendant held a fire opal in its center, accented with loops of white gold chain, white diamonds and smaller warm-hued gems. It was the single most beautiful object I'd ever seen on my various journeys beyond the castle. As if afraid to suddenly lose it to the creeping shadows, I stowed it safely away in my leather bag, buckling it shut.