A Heart Of Fire (Final Fantasy XV)

Chapter 5

As I am sure most of you may know, last month has been a rather crazy one with hurricane Irma hitting Florida. I do live in Florida so that is why I haven't been updating as much as I'd like. My family and I don't live in the area where Irma really hurt the state, and my area wasn't told to evacuate, but we were still busy preparing for the worst, and we still had a pretty crazy storm where I lived.

But my family and I are safe and we are now back in the flow of things, which means that I should be back to updating regularly. I will be updating this book AT LEAST once a week, but do know that I do go to college and I'm trying to catch up on my assignments, so that might slow things down a bit, but I will try. I am also working on a few other stories on the side, but it's little by little. One of them is another fanfiction and the other is a story written completely by me, my own story!! It might be a long time before I even begin to publish it, but I am working on it!

Now, without further ado, here is the next chapter to A Heart Of Fire!

~Lady Maria~

I had woken up a few hours ago due to the frantic beating of my heart in my chest, events that happened only hours ago replayed over and over again in my head as I turned the expensive dagger over in my hands. My fingers glided delicately over the blade as if it were something fragile, and I couldn't help but marvel at the craftsmanship of this weapon. The King must have a real good blacksmith working for him.

"The King's dagger is in my hand," I thought, "The King's dagger." I repeated those words in my head until the realization of what I had done hit me like a ton of bricks. I set the dagger down next to me and covered my face in shame. I had just stolen from the King of Lucis! I turned onto my stomach and shoved my face in the bundle of blankets to let out a muffled groan. I turned my face to the side and looked out the window that showed the glowing moon hiding behind some clouds. With a heavy sigh I pushed myself up on my feet and began pacing back and forth, beginning to have second thoughts about my plan.

"Etro, what was I thinking?! How could I have even thought about doing this?!" I scolded myself. "I've done some pretty dumb things before, but this is by far the dumbest! I'm such an idiot! There is no way that I could have gotten away with it so easily. Maybe it's not too late to give it back? But what if I do give it back and they arrest me for theft? Although the King doesn't seem like a very harsh guy. Gaaahh! I don't know what to do!"

As I ruffled my hair in frustration I could have sworn I heard footsteps outside, and I froze. The footsteps seemed to have stopped as soon as I went silent, then the whole area was filled with only white noise. I turned towards the door and tip-toed over to it. I set my hands on the door and pressed my ear to the old wood, listening for any signs of life outside. All I could hear was the rustling of leaves in the distance.

I stepped away from the door as my heart started beating loudly. Did they follow me here? I thought worriedly to myself. I gulped and put my hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly. I pushed the door open slowly and peered out into the darkness with only the dim light of my oil lamp from inside to help me see. I poked my head out farther and looked both ways and forward, but I saw nothing other than the same grass and vegatation I normally see. Letting out a sigh of relief I pulled myself back into my shed and closed the door behind me. I leaned against the door trying to calm myself down, reassuring myself that nothing or no one was out there. I closed my eyes and said to myself, "Surely they're not so easily fooled, right?"

"No, we're not," answered a deep voice.

The unexpected reply caused me to gasp loudly and snap my head up in the direction it came from. My eyes widened at the sight of a man sitting on the floor across from me up against the wall. Not just any man, but the same man that had accompanied the King, the one named Cor.