Brigid Kenna, Child Of Fire (Watty Awards 2012!)

Chapter 2 - The Gypsy

I woke up suddenly as a victim to a horrible nightmare. When I opened my eyes I realised it was all but a dream. It was my reality. I no longer had a home and I did not have the comfort or security of a family.

I came to the sudden fruition that I had not thought it through where I was going to go or how I was going to survive. However, the few who had come to know me understood I was impulsive and impatient.

As I pondered over what I should do next I began packing up my few belongings. However, just as I was folding up the letter, I came across a sentence on the back, that I had not noticed before.

'Chant the rhyme at Hallowstime, when the fire's burning'

It made no sense to me, but it was in my mother's handwriting. So I decided to take it into the nearby town in hopes to find a library to try and make sense of the command.

I was walking through the crowds of bewildered men and women when I saw the gardener of the convent making his way towards me. Out of sheer panic and impulse, I slipped down a dim ally way before he could recognise me. That's when I saw it. An old shop which would look abandoned if it weren't for the glimmering purple lighting and crystal ornaments in the window. I noticed the sign read: 'Lavender's Spells and Incantations' and so I decided to go in.

The ring of a bell welcomed me as I entered the store, but no one appeared so I stood stationary only moving my head to witness the glorious trinkets and shimmering colourful scarves. I heard a woman shouting at someone from what seemed the floor above and then I heard her voice getting louder and clearer as she descended the staircase.

"I'm Lavender, what can I do for you sweetheart?" She asked with a toothy smile.

She was rather tall and swarthy skinned with long, black corkskrew curls and lipstick the same shade as her name. I rummaged around in my rucksack and found the box with the letter and ring.

She took the box in her delicate hands and I directed her to the symbol on the base. She smirked to herself before producing a large, brown leather book with yellow stained pages.

"Ah, here it is." She said tapping at a page before turning it round to me.

"This symbol is the markings of the higher powers of the fire element, Vestos and Fiva, it is a myth that they unlocked secrets of the fire element and discovered how to control it. But of course they were never found and identified. A ring enclosing some of their power is needed for that."

The word ring stuck in my mind and replayed over and over. Surely not my topaz ring, where would my mother have got it from? It was lost and it was just a powerless piece of jewellry, wasn't it?

"How did you manage to get your hands on this?" Lavender asked, snapping me out of my daydream of confusion. "It must have belonged to Fiva, it is definitely not a replica."

"It was my mother's" I managed to choke out. "The ring, the one with the power, that you were talking about......it.....it's in there too."

Lavender's expression switched from its previous state of happy to shocked and hopeful as she furiously opened the box and grabbed the ring. She spent her time examining it before reaching her conclusion.

"There is no dount about it, this is Fiva's topaz ring...my grandmother told me all about it." She whispered to herself happily.

"What's your name?"

"Brigid" I whispered. "Brigid Topaz Kenna"

 She disappeared under the counter for a few moments before rising up with a sheet of paper and an odd sort of crayon.

"You say this was your mother's?" She asked, gesturing towards the box.

"Yes." I replied nervously.

"What was her name?" She asked quietly spinning the crayon in her hand.

"Fiona...that was her first name."

"Did she have any middle names?"

"Iris, Violet" I replied. "My Grandmother..she loved flowers so she named my mother after her favourites"

"Did you know her maiden name, before she was married?"

I remembered the paperwork in my old home, the wedding certificate was in a box under the bed.

"Addison." I whispered interrupting my thoughts.

Lavender began writing, making smooth delicate swirls and flicks with the curious crayon. I watched as she carefully printed my mother's name and stood back waiting for something to happen. I couldn't help wonder if she was slightly...odd. Although, I could hardly talk..I mean, I could start fires with my mind for God's sake.

Suddenly, she looked up at me and pressed her lips together so tightly that they seemed to disappear.

"I need one more thing." She said and somehow I realised what she wanted wasn't in any of her peculiar little jars in the back room.

"What do you need?" I asked nervously.

"Some blood." She replied and studied my face, looking for a reaction.

I took the small, silver letter opener and dragged it across the palm of my hand. Cherry red blood began seeping through the gash on my hand.

Lavender took my rist and tilted it to the left. As I watched the blood trickle from my wound onto the page I saw Lavender smile.

All of a sudden, the blood began to move and traced the letters of my mothers' names until it absorbed into the first letter of each one. Spelling out FIVA

My heart began to pound in my chest and I became aware of the painful sting in my left hand.

"It's you." She said flatly. "You're Fiva's daughter....the child of fire."

Lavender gathered bandages and wrapped up my hand as I stood still in shock. I needed answers. It all seemed so surreal and bizarre to me. But the evidence of magic lay before my eyes.

"What do I do now?" I asked. "I have no family...my parents are both dead..I..I have no other family." I stuttered feeling the emotions rage inside of me.

"You need to calm down now Brigid." Lavender whispered to me. "If there's anything I know it's the short temper of the fire elementals."

Her words calmed me with the aid of the little waterfall fountain on her desk. The sound of the water trickled through my brain and down through my body, cooling my boiling blood.

"Let's get you a nice hot meal and I'll help fill you in on your ancestry."