Purest Heart

1

Fire, like few things,  was a striking acquaintance to make. From the second its hand met yours, it became that kind of not-so-stranger that you could never escape.

It was not on rare occasion that fire's greeting would occur. Some faced it daily, dancing with the flames they subdued as if old friends. Others didn't know or understand the foreigner's deathly tango that they had heard so much about.

It was a bleak evening when red-orange flames first blundered into a musty old home in the center of a collection of mysterious dwellings. The Flint family was completely unprepared to meet a force as irreconcilable as the destruction they chanced that night.

"Vera, darling, won't you fasten up my jacket?" Emerson Flint was the epitome of a traditional man- a flawless example of the classical Victorian man. Strict, kind, outgoing, boisterous, quite proper and altogether clueless: Emerson was nearly perfect in the eyes of many who were to help usher in the new era of pompous in England that was quickly emerging.

Emerson's wife, Vera, rushed to his side- an extra scarf in hand as she prepared him for the bustling streets outside where cold chilled many to the bone. Vera was the perfect wife for Emerson. Each and every soul they met couldn't help but to agree that a woman who seemed to be perfectly soft- tempered, spoken, mannered or hearted- was quite the match for a man of Emerson's undeniable characteristics.

"Anything to keep you from that dreadful cold," Vera placed a kiss upon her husband's cheek before wrapping his exposed skin in a blue-plaid scarf.

Emerson gurgled out a few words in response, muffled by the fabric. Vera let out the laugh of an angel and turned away from him as he tried to tug down the garment in order to talk properly.

"Oh, my little darling," Vera hummed as she bent over to converse with her only child. "It's so freezing cold outside! Are you sure you want to go with your father, Halo? You know it's quite cozy inside, darling, and you don't have to go with."

"Vera, don't give the girl any ideas. Harsh weather's a sure fine way to teach a youngster true appreciation for their place inside the house."

"But a duel, Emerson? Are you sure that's the best thing you can expose your seven year old daughter to?"

"Stop worrying, darling!" Emerson chuckled, a deep, throaty laugh that would easily give life to any space. "My daughter has plenty to learn from both the cold and the fight. Honor, little Halo, that's something a Flint should always have."

Vera pursed her lips. She didn't always admire Emerson's way of expressing his pride. Sometimes the adoration he should only hold for others came off as quite self-centered and pompous. Vera wanted her daughter to be confident and allowed to adore herself, though. If Emerson said that him and her spending time at a wizard duel would ensure that, Vera couldn't argue.

"I suppose you should be on your marry way, then," Vera grinned, patting her husband's cloth-covered cheek before sending him out the door with Halo in tow.

"Love you, ma!" Halo called back, before disappearing down the ice-clad steps that led to the distinguished and imposing Flint household home which sat on the corner of twenty-fifth Roucrest Avenue and sixteenth Willis Street.

"I love you, too, Halo." Vera's confirmation echoed from the brick homes that surrounded the Flint estate. Halo smiled to herself when the words reached her ears, but only briefly. She was too excited to focus on her mother's words. This was her first wizard duel! Her older friends all talked about the ones their parents towed them to after school with looks of disinterest. Halo found the stories of competition both exciting and strangely enticing, however.