Fear of Flames

Part 1: Chapter 1 [A Stranger]

Author's note:

I update this story very regularly, almost ever day. 

It starts off slow but you need this for Seraphina's development, so bear with me :D I promise it warms up around chapter 5 and 6! Thank you for giving the story a chance and I hope you'll stick around for the end :)

>SERAPHINA'S POV<

FUTURE (THE FALL)

I dreamt of fire.

Of freedom.

Of chaos. 

I dreamt it all came from me.

It flowed from me.

All from the pain that I had endured. 

Their looks.

Their comments.

Their pity. 

And him.

It was all because of him. 

I fell.

~~~

PRESENT (BEFORE THE FALL)

Still.

She lay chest down in the snow, hidden behind a dead bush that had long forgotten green.

The cold bit into her pale face as she buried it further into the snow - a desperate attempt to remain hidden. 

She could hear the now close yells of her pursuers as they sought her location with intense fervency; her death would be no question if they found her. 

Crunch

Seraphina heard the Lich acolytes rush past the bush she was hiding behind, breaking twigs buried beneath the snow as they ran. 

She held her breath. 

Seeing that they had passed her and supposedly failed in their task of spotting her, she dared a look at the Lich. Raising her head with extreme caution, Seraphina managed a glimpse in her pursuer's direction. A trembling breath escaped her as she considered the appearance of one of the Lich.

Matching the description of stories she'd been told, the acolyte's flesh was somewhat grey and corpse-like. Its physique could be likened to a mixture of a dead human and a demon. From where she was positioned, she could only see the back of the tall Lich - this did not take away from the terror its appearance instilled in her. It wore a type of chain mail which glistened in the fading light of dusk. The Lich wore a metal helmet with several menacing spikes protruding from the top, and it carried a small curved blade in one of its hands. 

I need to tell the village of the Lich presence, she thought. I need to move. 

Seraphina waited until all Lich acolytes were out of sight and slowly sat herself upright. Her limbs were numb and stiff from the unforgiving cold of the winter terrain, so standing upright was a taxing movement. 

She picked up the basket of the few medicinal herbs she had managed to collect on her initial task into the forest and brushed the remaining snow from her dark hooded cloak.

Picking the final burr out of her long black hair, Seraphina cautiously made her way back to the village. 

~~~