Royal Flower

Chapter One

The sun was at its peak in the Azalea kingdom. It was never too hot, though, as clouds moved to absorb some of the sun's heat. Citizens walked on stone paths as vendors tried to make business. The citadel was usually lively but not too crowded, and it provided everyone a perfect view of the Azalea castle, a large palace of ivory with green and silver vines entwining the windows.

The balcony doors of the castle suddenly opened, and citizens stopped what they were doing when they saw the royals emerge. A middle aged man was then led out onto the scaffold below and tied to a pole. At a glance, the man was not one that would stand out, but the crowd knew better than to be deceived by appearances. If he was about to be publicly burned then he must have committed an unforgivable crime. The man faced the crowd head on, his face not betraying any regret.

"Behold, my people!" Queen Flora's voice cried from the center balcony. Her five daughters stood on the neighboring balcony to Flora's left, while her two sister-in-laws and her nephew stood on the other balcony to Flora's right. "This man before all of you is Raymond Henessey, the Red Phoenix leader, and the very man who killed your king! For that, he shall die!"

The crowd, recognizing the criminal for who he was, roared in anger. The kingdom had flourished under King Basil's reign. Queen Flora was unable to move on from the nature of her husband's death, and she changed into someone unrecognizable. She had always been a sharp woman, but now that the fair and just King Basil was dead, the kingdom would eventually fall into chaos under Queen Flora's rule. The people could not forgive the dreaded Raymond Henessey for murdering their king.

"Any last words, Raymond of the Red Phoenixes?" the queen nearly hissed.

Raymond looked up defiantly at the queen. He then declared, "Your husband deserved to die, and now look at what his death has done to you."

The queen narrowed her emerald eyes at the man before glancing at one of her sister-in-laws, Amaryllis, who nodded her head. Flora's crown then emitted a lurid gleam from the sun as she proclaimed, "I sentence you to die, Raymond Henessey."

All of a sudden, a bunch of red and pink flowers started to bloom near the pole. The pole then magically lit on fire, the flowers blooming ever so. Flora glanced at Raymond's red phoenix tattoo as he died away, the crackling flames reflecting a fiery spark in her eyes. The crowd clamored in celebration as they heard his screams. Marguerite, Flora's other sister-in-law, turned around and retreated back inside. Amaryllis once again nodded approvingly before following Marguerite. Amaryllis's son, Aster, quickly hurried after his mother, like a dog following his master.

Alongside their mother, the five Azalea princesses remained, standing in order of their birth. The eldest, Rose, was the only one who watched the Red Phoenix leader burn with a calm expression on her face. Lily's mouth was dropped in horror as she averted her eyes from the gruesome sight, her hand shaking as it clenched her chest. Violet breathed heavily, but she appeared rather content seeing the man burn as she hugged Ivy and Acacia, who both closed their eyes and cringed from the man's screams.

Raymond's screams finally stopped, but the fire continued to burn his body to ashes. The crowd dispersed to continue with their daily routines, but one remained in the shadows separate from the crowd to watch the burning body. Reese watched horrified as his father burned into nothing. His eyes set on each of the five Azalea sisters in anger, and then he finally rested his eyes on Queen Flora. She still stood there, her chin tilted upward, blatantly challenging other Red Phoenix members to come out and stand against her.

Reese looked at his left arm. The blazing red phoenix stared back at him as he looked up with eyes of hatred, clenching his fist.

He stared into the fire that was still burning, a memory suddenly surfacing in his mind.

"Reese, even if I'm gone, you must never forget that the Azaleas must die." Raymond Henessey had said. His father had been sitting at a table with four other adults.

"Not all of them are bad, though, right?" a younger version of Reese asked innocently. He had only been ten at the time. "King Basil's eldest child is only two years older than me. Does a twelve year old girl really deserve to die? Do any of them deserve to die?"

Raymond sighed. "Son, you can't be fooled. The Azaleas themselves may be fine people, but their magic will corrupt them. Their magic will be the downfall of this kingdom."

"But-"

"Your mother is dead because of an Azalea. That is why they all must die, before their magic kills anymore innocent people. Never forget that," his father said sharply, ending the discussion.

Reese gasped, the news of his mother's death hitting him hard. He never knew his mother, since she died when he was only a year old. He glanced at his father's friends, who were all regarding him seriously. Holding back tears, he finally said, "Yes, Father."

Reese tried to hold on to the memory of his father's face, knowing that he would never see his father ever again after what Queen Flora did.

Staring hard into the flames, he said to himself before leaving, "You will pay for this, Queen Flora."