Fire and Ash

Chapter 3 - Noria

I head out of the castle as quietly and quickly as humanly possible, hoping not to wake anyone who still sleeps.

The sun is just now coming into view, causing the sky to turn a light shade of blue, the black night fading along with the stars.

My clothing consists of a silky wine-red dress, which has a V shape in the front, and it loosely falls down my legs. The thick robe I wear which buttons at my neck is the only thing keeping me warm from the morning air, although any trace of snow is gone.

I walk down the grand marble staircase and onto the gray granite path. Trees surround the path on both sides, and flowers of all sorts are planted on the ground. A squirrel runs up a tree and another follows, an orange butterfly lands on a violet, and in the distance, I hear a bird chirping.

As I stroll down the path, I start to compare my home and this home. At my home, there are not nearly as many flowers and animals roaming around, even during the summer. The most you get to wake up to at home is someone's dog barking at the mailman.

Memories of all sorts spring to life inside me, and I start to think about my father.

Life is like fire. Sometimes it can be a forest fire of emotions, and other times, it's like a candle, just enough to light the way.

My father's words have stayed with me ever since he said them during one of the hardest parts of my life, and his words always helped guide me through difficult times. He always had a way with words, something I constantly admired about him.

My path leads to a dome-shaped gazebo, and I climb the few steps to sit inside. The wood is covered with all sorts of vines, flowers blossoming off of them, and on the other end, a dock is attached to the floor of the gazebo. The lake reflects me and all of the gazebo's beauty.

How is all this vegetation still alive?

I try to reach for my phone to take a picture of the gorgeous landscape, but immediately realize it was with me in the car crash, and is likely long gone.

Taking pictures of things I found pretty was one of my favorite things to pass the time at home, and it quickly became a hobby of mine. I took pictures of everything, from pictures of my room during golden hour, to ones of my dog when he was sleeping.

The next few minutes are short and sweet as I admire the lake, the water rippling every so often as a turtle pokes its head up. I stay at the lake for as long as possible before I have to get ready for my lesson with Nyx and Malaki.

~~~

"Yesterday, you seemed to go for a lot of punches, but let's try to practice something more useful today, like disarming your opponent," Nyx explains as he grabs his stool and brings it to the edge of the mat.

"Go ahead and grab some daggers over there along the wall. You only need a few for today," he finishes, and I approach the wall that holds more weapons than I thought existed. Malaki walks over as well, picking up a dagger and examining it quickly before sheathing it along his muscled thigh, and I glance over at him, my eyebrows dipping in.

"What?" he asks, confusion lighting across his face.

"Don't you think you need to look through them all and see which one will work best?" I ask, looking back at the dagger that I was examining before putting it back and grabbing another.

"Nope," his answer intrigues me, and I look back at him. When he sees my interest, he continues, "Doesn't matter if my weapons are good, as long as I know how to use them. You see, a man can have the best swords and daggers to fight, but he will not draw an ounce of blood if he does not know how to wield it."