“Do not look upon the fire simply to seek its power, for there is more behind the hearth than fair eyes can tell.” “And what of it? It is power that I seek and that shall do me enough.” “It will never be enough, my dear. Not when the flames consume you.” ------------------------------------------------------------- Behind the Hearth is, initially, a submission for my school’s creative writing competition, in which we were required to write an essay not exceeding 500 words on the topic “Playing with Fire”. The story will be quite rushed and unexplained due to the word limit, sorry about that. I may continue to unravel the story in more lengthy chapters, but for now I have (reluctantly) uploaded my submission, word for embarrassing word, as some have requested. Please enjoy!