Silvestre Pendragon

Into the Fire

"You. You did this!" Silvestre yelled at Noirsk as Milo wept over Crystal's body. 

"No Silvestre. That was all you." Noirsk replied, her voice relishing in the wonderful tragedy of the situation. "You killed her. You murdered his precious sister. You. Not so heroic now, are you?"

The smoke had thickened but nothing could blind Silvestre from the agonising tears that sprawled down Milo's face, slicing amethysts of crippling heartache combined with his mournful cries of loss, shattered Silvestre's entire being, forcing a raging fire to burn in her fist. Recklessly, she launched the burning ball at Noirsk, who, yet again dodged it with ease.

"There really is nothing you can do now. You will wish I had killed you earlier." In a dramatic sweep of her cloaks, Noirsk strode into the fires.

 Baring her teeth in fury, Silvestre took once last glance at Milo. That was when it clicked: suddenly, Silvestre had a plan. Her seething scowl morphed into a determined expression and her mind was enveloped in a new sense of understanding. Following Noirsk, Silvestre ran into the scorching fires. 

***

"Noirsk! Show yourself!" 

"You really don't know when to stop, do you?" 

"The ruby. You can save Crystal, she can live can't she?" 

"No." Cackled Noirsk "The ruby is tied to Kiara and can't be used again. Your hope is foolish."

Of course, Silvestre had been expecting that answer but in her last attempts at clinging onto hope she had desperately begged for another solution, but now it was confirmed, now Silvestre had only one choice. From her pocket, she revealed the golden feather she had been carrying along her journey and she watched in anticipation as Noirsk's smirk disappeared from her pale face.

"Where did you get that?" 

"I've been hunting you down for years and every time I've acquired something new." Silvestre began, examining the delicate feather in her fingers, "You see, I didn't realise what it was, but it was something your daughter said 'the phoenixes are dying' and now I know. I may not be a high priestess like you but I remember the legends, the stories of phoenixes rising from the ash, and I also recall their feathers being an essential ingredient for many elemental spells. Such as.. I don't know, blazing fires?" 

"You are useless without Elgido' s knowledge, stupid girl." Noirsk hissed dismissively.

"Don't ever underestimate me Noirsk. This feather alone can absorb the fires and stop Camelot's fall, all it needs is a magical  life source. " Silvestre declared, carefully reciting the pages of the spell book currently locked away in her chambers; who knew that helplessly leafing through those pages would've been much use to Silvestre, and now she stood, face to face with Noirsk, determined to stop her destruction. 

"You are inexperienced. It would kill you." Smirked Noirsk. 

"I know. If I do this, I die. If I don't, thousands of innocent lives are taken and Camelot will fall at your knees and I will not let that happen." Silvestre declared.

"Perhaps we are not so different Silvestre, we both love something and are willing to sacrifice everything for it, we have given the Kingdom our strength and the King our hearts, yet we are both outcasts. Silvestre, do you really think they would care? Would they even mourn you? You could be better than this. Moping over Elgido who will forget you instantly, fighting for your fathers attention, killing yourself for a pitiful Kingdom that wont even notice that you're gone.  You could be so much more. We could be so much more. You can turn your anger to the world and you can rule it all. Anger is better than tears, better than guilt, better than pain. Why be so uselessly heroic when you can watch fire burn and your power flourish, you want that, I can read your mind remember." 

Silvestre's heart pounded. No. 

"You are so wrong. I want so much more than that, but life isn't a game that you can play, people get hurt! I killed her! I killed Crystal! I didn't want that. You don't always get what you want. And if, by some miracle, if I survive, Milo would hate me a little less, even just a little less if he knew that I would never, not in hell would I ever side with you." 

"You love him. And now you are willing to die, just in the vain hope that he will hate you less? "

"Yes." Stated Silvestre. Conjuring a rippling ribbon of fire she ignited the feather and taking one deep breath she thought, god I hope this works as she let go of her colourful sphere of magic and with a final scream she battled with Noirsk's fire. I am stronger. You will obey me.  The darkness slammed into Silvestre like a brick wall and viciously it winded her, then, like two giant hands squeezing at her lungs she absorbed the painful blindness of the perpetual gloom that flooded her veins. Absorbing each flame choked Silvestre, forcing her to clutch her chest and growl with pain. Its nearly over. Sparks flew from the orange feather and gradually the glowing fog surrounding Silvestre had subsided, turning grey as Silvestre slumped to the hard earth, her eyesight blurring into nothingness. 

"I admire your courage, you really have exceeded expectations. It would be a shame for someone so full of potential to die." The voice whispered into Silvestre's ear, "In fact, you remind me a little of Kiara too, same rebelliousness... You will know where to find me when you get bored of hiding your true self, but for now, goodbye Silvestre Pendragon." 

In the end they were all made of flesh that can be cut, and bones that can be broken. Silvestre was left shattered, shattered but still alive.