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  Emberchase had shied away like an animal, clutching his own face as his spicy tears of regret flowed down his fresh wounds, sending an unbearable searing heat that made him want to kill himself. His eyes had been closed, entire body drenched in sweat and shuddering uncontrollable shivers. He had curled into a ball, helpless and suffering from the wrath brought by jealousy.

  He had tried to feel the right side of his face, but it only stung, the stabbing, lacerating knives that once ran across his flesh digging deeper, ripping off his nerves and sending his mind off a cliff.

  His stupid heart was the reason. His stupid, foolish heart.

  She had pressed his weeping body close to hers, stroking his hair as gentle as the way she caressed his gruesome, bloodied face.

  "Please stay away from me," he had begged, but she simply shook her head and hugged his weakened body even tighter. The sensation of the damned bastard carving his face with a psychotic smirk entered his mind, and the man could do nothing but whimper in agony.

  She had kissed his quivering lips, the excruciating pain mingling with her sweet love. Even if it was just for a while, the burning pain went away, and Emberchase melted under her consoling touch.

  His heart was so stupid, indeed.

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  Emberchase's eyes fluttered open, slowly adjusting itself to the sun's radiant glow. The lovely jays chirped and sang their morning melodies, and the fresh dawn dewdrops glimmered like diamonds as they lay on their leafy sanctuaries. The entire day was going to be a bright and sunny one, yet the fire's lover shuddered, the unforgettable searing pain inflicted onto him ringing once more.

  Fier's wet nose touched his cheek, right next to the pale scars on his chiseled face. Her long tongue lapped his jaw, and the weaver of flames had to shove her away with a chuckle of relief. The vixen barked, and as her owner sighed and gave her the ‘go’ signal, she immediately perked and dashed away, bounding enthusiastically through the tall grass.

  Emberchase raised a brow at the boy, who was snuggled right next to him. How he had gotten himself there, he'd never know. Last night had been a disaster, with the boy tailing him like a stray dog looking for an owner. He had allowed him to stay, but was incredibly annoyed at the fact that he tried to sleep beside him.

  ‘Leave him alone, Emberchase, he's just a boy,’ he had recited and reminded himself for more than a hundred times. He tried to ignore the child and went to another spot where he could sleep comfortably, but when he gained the slightest bit of consciousness later on, he would find out that Asagai had positioned himself beside the weaver once more, his eyes closed tight.

  Emberchase simply huffed as he stood, brushing off the damp grass that had clung to his skin and clothes. He picked up his rucksack and slung it over his shoulder, leaving the sleeping boy.

  The man treaded without a sound, his footfalls naturally light and quiet. The only thing preventing his invisibility was Fier, but she was out hunting for her breakfast. The faeries floated around Emberchase with glee, their silent voices flitting through the wind like the whispers of trees. The fire's lover understood, so he plucked a few strands of his sandy, almost cream-coloured hair and handed them to the fae. They each gave their thanks and warm wishes in return, laughing as they fluttered and danced towards their nests.

  The water nymphs greeted him with their silent, almost incoherent splashing, and Emberchase nodded as he whispered back, carefully kneeling down to witness their magnificent charade. The water nymphs relished in silence, and one loud noise could end up with their entire family trying to drown you.

  The scar-faced dancer placed an index finger on the surface of the water, sending small ripples enough to shake the equally tiny lilies. The nymphs giggled as if he had told them a joke, and one by one, they rose upwards and held onto his skin, making their way towards the weaver of flame's arms and face. They danced and spun and played merrily, small blue dresses flowing like the water, reflecting the sky with their white little faces.

  Emberchase's soft, reserved chuckles bemused the nymphs even more, so they sent him off drenched in slime and packets of precious lilies. A nymph sat on his nose, her lithe cerulean figure peering curiously into the weaver's unusual irises, which she could only compare to young leaflets during spring. She was not going to live long enough to reach such season, so the tiny creature took ample time in exploring her friend's features.

  A large twig behind him snapped loudly, and the water nymphs, petrified, dove straight into their pond without the slightest hint of saying goodbye. The damned child was so annoying. 

  "Why are you still following me?" questioned Emberchase, gaze still fixed upon the quiet waters. Even without looking, he knew it could only be the boy. Fier wouldn't be as dumb as to make a noise like that.

  Only silence answered him, so the fire weaver simply stood and brushed off the grime on his knees. He bent over to pick up his rucksack, only to realize that it was slightly open for the first time.

  "Ouch."

  The dancer turned in exasperation, just to witness the boy playing with his juggling torches. He wasn't really doing a great job, since every time he raised the object into the air, it fluctuated and landed on his head with a thud.

  "Those are mine," muttered Emberchase dryly. To be honest, he didn't really know what he was supposed to feel. Probably annoyed. "And I don't recall giving you the permission to play with them."

  The boy said nothing, just smiled as if he had been juggling ever since he was born. Oh how Emberchase wanted to burn the sheepish grin off his face! Finally, the weaver strode towards the boy and caught one of the torches flying in midair with one hand.

  "You said you were going to Amoria, right?" Asagai held the other two tightly, running away as Emberchase tried taking them off his bandaged little palms.

  "Yes, I did." Emberchase gritted his teeth. "Now will you hand them over to me?"

  "I can come with you," answered Asagai with a sleazy grin. "After all, you did mention something about gold."

  The fire's lover rolled his eyes. It was the laziest, stupidest excuse a person could think of. He was pretty sure the boy was still trying to make him venture to Xaddercrux with a bunch of fae sitting on his shoulders. Besides, wasn't the boy supposed to be writhing angrily on the inside? After all, he had not extended his hand to help him but only prolonged his suffering.

  "I hope you're still not trying to make me change my mind," recited Emberchase placidly, pulling off one of the nymph's gift lilies on his black sleeve. Their banter had been interrupted by the sound of canaries flapping and flying off, shortly followed by Fier.

  "No! Of course not!" Asagai shook his head wildly as he gazed at the pair of torches resting upon his hands, the sticks brightly decorated with a red hue that spiralled towards the clothed ends. He flinched when Emberchase grabbed them so suddenly, their unusual warmth disappearing.

  For a moment, the boy had courage. But then after gazing at the weaver of flame's scarred face, Asagai shrank back like the coward he was. Perhaps what Emberchase had said the night he showed him his trade was right. He had always been easily frightened.

  Emberchase stuffed the materials recklessly into his rucksack, and Asagai took a step back at the sight of Fier trotting towards him. He pondered for a moment, contemplating his choices. There wasn't anything in it for him.

  "Well, if you're not going to come with me, then teach me your trade instead!"

  "Excuse me?" Emberchase spun so suddenly that a fae attempting to grab a clump of his hair flinched. The empty ponds gave birth to the unusually tiny lilies again, among their flowers the curious and watchful glances of the water nymphs.

  Asagai swallowed hard. A chuckle threatened to crawl out of the man's placid face, but he bit it back rather easily. 'It's easy to take control of a little boy,' whispered the second voice in the scarred man's head. 'Besides, your fire-dancing is too beautiful to hate, and you know it, you vain thing.' 

  "I want to know your trade. I want to make fire dance on my palms too. I want to breathe fire, and I want to talk to them as well."

  Emberchase laughed. It was a loud laugh, sweet-sounding but mocking all the same. Hadn't the boy known from all the tales around Vorare yet? He tried teaching other fire-dancers, yes, but none of them had been able to even mimic an acorn-sized flame. The boy was amusing, and it sent flutters on his chest, and he hadn't felt such bemusement for the longest of time. Perhaps it was nice to bring along a new item for once.

  A yellow fae hovered close to his ear and whispered something, bright platinum-like wings tinkling and ringing.

  "You wouldn't be able to do it," Emberchase chided, "none of those who begged me to teach them learned anything. Fire still bit them and abhorred their constant cooing."

  "I still want to try!" insisted Asagai defiantly, his wavy hair getting in the way of his vision.

  Emberchase pulled off a few strands of his hair and gave them to the faerie who had waited patiently. Her giddy giggles wafted in the morning air as she flew back to her nest. The man picked up his rucksack and threw it at Asagai's face so suddenly the boy almost got toppled over. Oh, how the smile on his small face said it all! This was going to be amusing.

  "Trip ends in Amoria," was all Emberchase said before heading off, whistling sharply for Fier. But the vixen was circling Asagai suspiciously, as if she herself didn't trust her master's judgement.

  "How many days does it take to reach Amoria?" Asagai had asked shortly after they left the flowery clearing. He often slightly staggered by the weight of Emberchase's rucksack, but had made no fuss about it.

  "Three to five. The path will be much easier once we get to Acbawn Woods." Emberchase continued to tread ahead, his springtime eyes forward. He always remembered every path he took, and it had proven very useful to him more than once.

  He remembered the Acbawn Woods and its apples, and he bit his bottom lip as he recalled the sweetness dripping down his mouth when they had once stolen into the trees and ate to their heart's content. Unfortunately, one of the noblemen's guards had spotted a protruding leg from the leafy branches and had chased them down.

  He and the Prince of Nighttime — they had ran off towards the deepest parts of Woodsworth with their bellies and pockets bulging with the delicious red fruits, whilst the guards never found them. Oh what fun they had when they were nothing but children! Emberchase often wondered what had happened to his friend and his unusually pale features. How long had it been since he last saw him and his mangy, flea-infested pet?

  An elf trotted towards them, pointed red hat barely visible amongst the water weed's blue and green leaves. Asagai's shoulders rose uncomfortably as he trekked closer to Emberchase, his face nearly colliding with his back.

  Emberchase turned, his eyes focused upon a lovely doe, her slender body grazing on the fresh dewy grass. Her small tail swayed from side to side as she chewed.

  "Can you hunt?" he questioned Asagai, whose hands had groped his juggling torches once more.

  The boy snapped out from whatever trance memories had entrapped him in, nodding vigorously. "I can hunt, but I lost my knife."

  "There's one inside. Look for it," ordered Emberchase brusquely, never taking his eyes off the beauty. He whistled softly, and in that instant, Fier sat by his side, ears perked and golden eyes eager.

  Asagai pulled out a knife, longer than his previous one. It shone a bright, lustrous silver against the sunlight, excited that it was going to be used. A round ruby had been perched on the metallic snow by the blade, and a pale, oval amethyst rested on the hilt.

  The boy's hand instinctively touched his stomach, empty and growling like a rabid dog. For a moment, he remembered how his old hag chased him round the house with the same knife he had carried when he set upon the journey, her wrinkly face contorted with anger for he often came home late, beat up, and hungry.

  He was about to hand it over to the proper owner when Emberchase shushed him. "Stab it on the side of the neck," he had ordered before setting off with his fox, sparks of fresh embers adorning his soft fingers.

  Asagai immediately followed, eyes distracted as he watched the scorching flames lapping round the doe beguilingly. Emberchase frowned at the fact that the boy had just been standing there, but coaxed his flames to entrap the poor little thing.

  The animal writhed and cried as the fire scathed and grabbed her nimble legs. Fire rose and flew into multitudes of smaller torrents, the mixed stench of hot smoke and burning meat enough to make the fire-dancer cough.

  Emberchase looked away and Fier crouched, teeth like pricked broken glass shimmering underneath the sun. She must be telling him how much of a coward he was.

  But as the weaver of flames set his eyes the other way, Asagai ran towards the doe, knife in hand. Emberchase bit his bottom lip as a few strands of his fair hair got in the way of his vision, but commanded the fire to make way for the boy, nevertheless.

  Asagai's charcoal irises reflected the flames as he rushed towards the animal, knife aimed for the one lethal spot Emberchase ordered him to stab.

  The thief brusquely twisted the knife and harshly ripped it sideward, scarlet shades coating the poor animal's coat and splattering everywhere. The boy's arms were even covered in a few tendons, but he just shook them away as if those were nothing but dried leaves. He did so without batting a lid, and Emberchase closed his eyes shut and flinched when the doe landed on the ground with a loud thud. Perhaps the boy often went hungry, and perhaps that hunger turned him into such a merciless thing.

  ‘Open your eyes, coward! The hunt's over!’ yapped Fier repeatedly, though Emberchase only assumed that those words were what she had tried to say. How nice it would have been if he had understood the language of animals — or at least Fier for that matter.

  Asagai was staring at him, a seemingly expectant look inside those soot-black orbs. What was he expecting him to do? Pat his head, smile, congratulate him for the job well done?

  "Suppose we roast this thing?" mumbled Emberchase, observing the doe instead. The townsfolk in Xaddercrux were indeed cunning people. They had to. "Well, that's about the only thing we can do at this moment because of lack of materials."

  Asagai nodded in approval, a glazed look in his eyes that already saw the cooked meat and smelled the delicious scent almost enough to satiate the stomach. Fier hastily bit on the doe's burnt down leg, but it didn't taste good, much to her dismay.

  "Why do you avoid staying in kingdoms for too long?" the boy had questioned when he once attempted to stroke the vixen's fiery coat. Fier hissed at him quite loudly, her fur brisk and spiky.

  Emberchase blinked up at the sun. They had already finished roasting the doe and cutting it up to manageable bits, though that part had taken them quite long. A few robins flew down an oak's brach, but the fox made no effort to run after it. She yawned lethargically, curling up beside her master and blinking sleepily.

  "Kingdoms are bound by intangible threads of rules, and the people in it are like nightingales in cages. Suppose you've heard about the folks not held under the kingdom's protection anymore once they venture out, right?" Emberchase bit the doe's thigh, inwardly cringing at the leathery taste. Perhaps he had burned it a little too much.

  "Is that why you don't go to Xaddercrux?" asked the boy once more. He didn't seem to mind their awful meal at all. In fact, he even looked rather pleased. Emberchase's filth-covered rucksack lay beside the boy, four juggling torches and their bright red paint placed outside.

  "Not quite, but good enough," replied Emberchase with a weary sigh. His knees somehow felt rather weak after the hunt. Good thing the boy was too busy throwing his torches midair and getting hit square in the head to notice.

  "You live there, so you yourself should know how it feels like to be alone and trapped amidst large predators." Emberchase cooed the flames, allowing them a small spot on top of his palm. The fire danced lovingly, towering and spinning higher and higher until Asagai blinked again and again. The flames bloomed and formed a flower the shape of a rose, and the boy gasped in amazement.

  "What about you, boy?" Now it was Emberchase's turn. "In my opinion, you seem awfully calm when your old hag's supposed to be sick. Do you not want to go back to her anymore?"

  "I don't want to disappoint her when I get back, so I'll return to her with a proper job... when I learn your trade." The boy grinned sheepishly, as if he had been living and hunting in Woodsworth his entire life, and they had been nothing but childhood pals. Such a smile seemed lost in the vast abyss of Vorare, for it only knew darkness, and it only stirred up even more darkness. It was a good thing light still shone like fire to a cold night.

  The fire-dancer felt his stupid heart hammering wildly, like a bird that had been given a false sense of freedom and was squirming around, helpless against fate. It would be nice if he could return to her, too.

  Too bad.

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  Hello there, dearest fire folks! Thank you for taking the time to read my story once again! It is truly an honour!

  Finally, an Emberchase chapter! I'm nervous, but also pretty excited to write about him. 😆

  (Sorry for the late update...)

  If you liked this chapter, then please press that tiny star and type in a few opinions! (Hope you have a few fingers to spare...)

  See you guys on the next update!

  awesomeSTG