The Fire Prince

~Chapter Six - Part 3~

A/N: This will be the LAST update for a month as I'm away on holiday. I hope you enjoy and please don't hesitate to comment what you think of this story so far. Your opinions are very valuable :)

Seph's POV

I stood in the middle of the clearing, my eyes glued to the figure sprinting to get as far away from me as possible. I watched as the red dot was consumed by the forest, showing no more.

"Nice going your royal asswipe! I liked her as well," Pippin spoke with such rage it took me aback. He was rarely angry and he had certainly never been this angry.

"All she offered you was comfort and how did you repay her? With that feverish temper of yours. I know you're too scared to accept your responsibilities and follow in your father's footsteps, but that doesn't give you the right to have a go at her. The least you could do is find Aurora and apologise," the elf finished before taking on his spherical light form and whizzing away from me.

I closed my eyes knowing Pippin was right - I was petrified at becoming the next ruler of Azarath - my mind was always clouded with doubts: what if I was never a good enough king? My father is a great and just ruler, how could I ever exceed let alone live up to my nation's expectations?

The throne was mine by birth right and I've always believed it to be a curse. I didn't want to fail my kingdom and see them suffer from my mistakes. I'd rather abdicate it to one of my friend's; 'Demetaccor,' possessed brute strength and would ensure that our kingdom was protected and ruled with an iron fist. And then there was 'Velare,' the best hunter Ikran had ever known, so that would automatically make him good at solving predicaments and ruling Azarath altogether.

Unfortunately, Dragon Law states that the throne cannot be passed down unless it is of royal blood, and to avoid any unnecessary wars, the Gods would only bless the royal family with a single heir each generation.

I would never admit it openly, but I was scared, scared I'd never be good enough. I shook my head furiously. That still hadn't given me the right to yell all my bottled frustrations at Aurora. I recalled how she had shrunk back in fear; how she had seen the cruelness in my eyes; how she had glimpsed at the savage beast within.

Wasting no more time, I spread my wings and took off into the black night that shrouded me from mortal eyes.

Aurora's POV

I bolted out of the snowy valley and passed the school's colossal iron gates. Short, ragged breaths escaped my lungs as I paused to examine my surroundings. Just a little more to go. I picked up my pace, sprinting down a long road; the pallid streetlights dimly illuminating my path.

I bounded and leapt over the small cobblestones, eventually coming to a stop at the familiar wooden door, which had the number twenty six carved deeply into it. I peered round, noticing that the house was in total darkness. It looked so gloomy and lifeless I thought it had been featured in a horror movie.

I edged round to the side, placing my fingers on the dusty window panes. I felt a light ticklish sensation crawling over my hand and I looked to the source to find it was a small spider. My heart skipped a beat as I tried not to shriek in terror and flung the eight legged creature to the ground. I watched as it bounced back up and scurried away into one of the bushes.

Suddenly, the kitchen light switched on. Somebody was home. I quickly ducked and pressed my body against the cold bricks, straining my ears to listen for any noises inside. I could only hear the sound of bottles clinking together and then it went quiet again.