Blacksmiths daughter

The Fire

Earlier that day...
It was late afternoon, and the sun above was orange and cheerful- disgustingly so according to Zadic- but the air was slowly cooling. The Rãgnak was riding his horse at walking pace, coming closer to the village. People were bustling about, talking, going from one house to the next. Everyone seemed to know what to do and how to do it. When he passed through, people glared at him, moved out of the way, but there was none of this palpable fear that he got in the villages more to the south-west. Here, people didn't know him well. Yet.
Zadic didn't have to keep his horse in check. Even the horse knew where they were going. Normally, they shouldn't have changed home. The Rãgnak and horse were in the right street now, and Zadic could see the house. Nothing had changed really, nothing from all those years ago.
Clop clop, his horse slowly came closer. The door was closed, and Zadic hoped she was there. If not, he would ask around. And the other villagers would tell him- he could be very persuasive. He stopped in front of the house, and jumped off his horse. He attached the reins to the fence near the door and, whithout knocking, entered.

Inside, a man was sitting alone, his head over a glass of wine. He was very large, with dark hair messily hanging down. A fire was burning lowly behind him. When Zadic entered, the man looked up, his eyes first hopeful but becoming dark. "Who are you? What do you want?" he growled, standing slowly. Zadic was puzzled for a second, but then he realized who the man was. It was most likely the girls father! "I am here to find someone. A young girl, with green eyes. Do you know where she is?" he asked, tilting his head. Despite the light words, there was an undertone of warning in his voice. The man in front of him frowned deeply. "Why do you want to see Gwen? You have nothing to do here, get out." Zadic frowned in return, but that was hidden under his hood.

"That was the first warning, old man. After the second I'll need to take more.. Drastic measures. Now, where is the girl?" he asked coldly. But instead of cowing, as Zadic had expected, the man just stepped forward. "I don't care what drastic measures you intend to take. You're not going to touch my daughter!" Zadic took a step back, then raised his hands.
"I warned you, old man!" he called, then he summoned the dark Sykia within himself. The magic gripped the man in front of him, squeezing tightly. He stumbled. "Where is the girl?" Zadic asked again, his teeth clenched. The father was fighting hard against the power. Zadic wasn't used to holding people that strong: for only a second, his grip slipped and the man was able to stumble back.

In that single second, the man reached back, and just as Zadic managed to get his grip on him again, he took a burning branch from the fire just behind and threw it at Zadic. The Rãgnak's eyes widened and stepped back. But the branch, flung hard by the smiths powerful arm, was going fast enough to hit Zadic on the arm. In a second, his dark cloak caught fire. A huge screech rang out as the Rãgnak stepped back. His cloak was fully on fire, and as Zadic touched a chair, the bits of hay caught fire in an instant: soon, the wooden furniture was ablaze.

There was a moment of panic. Zadic threw himself to the floor and rolled towards the exit, extinguishing the flames on his cloak while doing so. Once outside, Zadic stood and looked around for his horse, but cursed. The foolish stallion was in a complete panic, and just as Zadic watched, he broke free and ran off. Seeing the horses state, Zadic guessed he wouldn't see it again. The Rãgnak turned his attention back to the house. He could see flames licking the edges of the roof now. The fire was spreading fast. The man hadn't left the house yet, and Zadic dearly hoped he would burn with it: he wasn't any closer to finding the girl now than he had been before.
People had now begun to notice the fire. Many people screamed, some went to get water. It was panic all around. The sun, during Zadic's time inside the house, had fallen behind the horizon, which was high because of the mountains. Now, the sky shimmered with heat above the house. Then, a spark leapt from the burning roof to the next: soon, two, then three houses burned.
Screams of fear, black smoke rising in the air. People were running around, either trying to save their belongings or attempting to put out the fire.
In the middle of the chaos, Zadic stood, looking around. Rage was slowly building up inside him. The girl wasn't here. But just as he turned, ready to leave the village, a movement coming from a rock a little above the village caught his eye. He looked up, and there she was, standing, clearly outlined in the sky. The girl. Even from the distance, Zadic could make out her mass of auburn hair, glinting dully in the firelight. Her eyes crossed his own; a shiver of anticipation went through the Rãgnak. He as sure to have seen a spark of green in her eyes. Then, just as he blinked, she was gone.