Drifting embers

Roses are red, Sugar is sweet.

Flames licked at the edges, the fiery amber glow crawling through the crowded space. Little orange fireball like sparks flying through the air, hitting the cold stone beneath with a sizzle. "Allistair". The flames continued to roar on. "Allister!". The voice became more desperate. "ALLISTAIR!" It yelled out. "If you don't get your lazy ass up here right now I'm going to lock you up for being so utterly useless!". Allistair; who had been seemingly lost in thought by the fire raging on in the pit, sprang up and dashed through the hallways, rushing past bodyguards and employees in the halls, desperately trying to get to 'him' as fast as he could. Allistair pushed open the door to 'his' room, only to witness the horrific scene laid before him. "It seems that your shirt is stained sir, would you like me to get some help?". "Shut up you idiot and find me another shirt!". Allistair tried to stifle his laugh. Casually walking towards the mile long wardrobe, eyes already set on a new clean shirt . There standing behind him was the future ceo of Rylon industries. The so called Prince Charming of Edilassa, with a coffee stained dress shirt, messy black hair and black ironed dress pants to match.

Allistair walked down the busy streets of Edilassa with only one thing on his mind, the warm and comforting taste of coffee. The best place for this was Green Velvets Coffeehouse, or know by many as GVC. This secret sanctuary is hidden in the alleyways of the big city, only those in need of escape from the maddening city find this, as the alleyways are hidden behind the towering jungle of concrete. The cold air rushed past his face and ruffled up his rose coloured hair, as he pulled his coat tighter around him and pulled his scarf higher up his face if even possible. As Allistair trudged through the cold and mud of the early spring, he couldn't help but  feel the familiar taste of the bitter liquid sliding down his throat, and the warm steam spreading across his face, flushing his cheeks while fogging up his glasses. A wave of warm air hit his shivering body as he pushed open the dark green coloured door, with the faint sound of a bell following closely behind. He wiped his feet on the welcome mat before preceding towards the counter. "Allistair!." A familiar voice called out. "Glad to see you again, its been years!". "It's only been 16 hours Zevon". Allistair sighed as his best friend draped dramatically over the counter. "16 hours too long if I say so myself. So I'm guessing the usual?". "Of course! What else would I have?". "I don't know something with more sugar not a long black". Zevon's face scrunched up to one of disgust, at the terrible thought of his best friend drinking what he called the 'juice of death'. "It's not that bad, just stronger than most". "sure, sure whatever floats your boat bro" he replied back sassily. Allistair chuckled at that and walked off to find a quieter area of the shop. He sunk down in one of the booths near the far corner window, he watched as the clouds rolled by above as the artificial sky slowly darkened.

The shop was decorated in all shades of green, warm coloured fairy lights strung up around the ceiling, while vines cascaded down along the support beams in the middle of the room, and along the walls. The chairs are made of a soft velvet in the shade of a deep emerald green, while the tables are of a dark brown wood. On the table sits a black vase holding two peculiar coloured roses, in which he recognises as Osiria roses. "You look a bit glum, why is that?". Allistair looked up at the voice, face turning into a smile at the sight of Koniko, one of the waitresses that work weekly at the coffeehouse.

Koniko has light blue wavy hair, cut into a short bob framing her face. Her fringe is being held back by a small black rose tucked behind her ear. She has cream coloured freckles decorating her cheeks and nose despite her dark complexion, as well as amber eyes illuminating her face even more. She was wearing her simple work attire, dark blue jeans, light green top covered by a black cardigan, and her ocean blue sneakers torn down from the years gone by. "Is the royal highness giving you a hard time?". Koniko smiled cheekily, which quickly turned curious as she slid into the booth opposite him. "You're usually never off this early, did something bad happen? Did you get fired!?". Allistair just laughed. "No, no nothing like that. Carnell just had meetings for the rest of the day, so I was not needed anymore." Allistair looked up and quietly thanked the waiter, who had carefully placed his coffee down before continuing on. "How are you and Levon coming along? Any tea to spill?". Koniko flushed a soft pink at the mention of her new lover, and from the mischievous smirk sent her way from across the booth. "We are doing just fine, we finally bought a house of our own, just on the outskirts of the city in the town of Collmond. It's a beautiful spot just a 7 minute walk down to the beach, and the neighbours are a bit loud but very lovely and kind all up". Koniko rambled on before stopping abruptly, pulling a confused look from the man opposite. "Have you heard of the serial killer running around town lately?" She asked taking a sip out of Allistair's coffee, earning her a light slap to the arm as she continued talking. "Her names Thorn, all her victims die either by suffocation by flowers clogging up their air ways , or from thorns stabbing into the heart. well I believe It's a girl as who goes around killing people with flowers? Certainly not a male that's for sure." Allistair choked on her words, letting a small squeak as ape from his lips. "Why can't males kill people with flowers? I mean I would, well if I had intentions to kill people that is." Allistair laughed nervously, side glancing at his friend while bouncing his left knee up and down. "Well, I mean, you could? But your different." He opened his mouth to protest, but was quickly shut off when koniko started talking again. "Anyway back onto topic, apparently she's been killing people randomly, at different times, places, rankings ect. The police haven't found ANY connection with any of the victims."  Allistair stared at her friend before speaking up. "And what has this got to do with either your love life or me exactly?". "I'm just making sure you're up to date with all the latest gossip floating around town, wouldn't want you missing out on all of the fun now would we." Koniko replied smugly. "No I guess not". Allistair replied smiling shyly back at her. "Well I better get going, I've got a lot of boxes to move back at home". Koniko said as she stood up before sternly saying. "Be careful out there when walking home tonight,  I don't want to find you on the news tomorrow morning. See ya Alli". Koniko waved at him before leaving the shop and walking off towards the car park out the back.

Heavy, grey clouds hung low in the sky. They shrouded everything beneath the city like the ferocious waves of the pitch Black Sea Rolling across the sky. Another crash of lightning split the sky in half, illuminating the whole world for less than a heartbeat with a blinding flash. The sight was quickly followed by an ear-splitting boom before the ferocious winds carried it away. Allistair stepped into his apartment slipping off his shoes, before hanging his coat and scarf up on the racks by the door. He closed the door softly behind him, as to not wake the sleeping kitty near the window sill. He quietly walked over to the grey kitten, picking her up so she lay between his arms. As he did so he noticed a vibrant red rose and a small card neatly placed next to the lamp on the sill, he softly shifted the kitten onto one arm an picking up the card with the other. He flipped the card over and noticed writing on the back. "Roses are red, sugar is sweet." He read out quietly to himself. 'That's odd' he thought, but paid it no mind as it was late and it was probably a love note meant for one of the girls next door. "Must of delivered it to the wrong door". He placed the kitten down next to him in bed, as he pulled up the blanket he swore he heard something moving from next door. Before he could go and check sleep overtook his tired frame, and the warmth of the blankets constricted his thoughts of moving.

1505 words,