Pure Fire Chapter 7

“What do we do, sir?! We can’t get through the fire!” One of the men called, his face twisted in pain.
“Just get in there! I don’t care what you have to do!” The man shouted, trying to fling a sleek-looking Siamese cat, who obviously was Flynn, off his arm.
Roy suddenly gasped. She had almost run over a cat just like that… Suddenly, the fire disappeared, and the men closed in. She threw up her hands protectively, and watched as fire flew from them to its target. Roy began to shiver. What was going on? She stepped back, further, and watched as the men recovered and stepped menacingly forward. One of them had stayed back, obviously too scared to get close once more.
A bit of a defiant spirit caught fire as Roy flung her hands to the side; a blast of fire snaked its way along the ground, eventually catching a man’s pant-leg on fire. She smirked, and a feeling of hatred seeped into her heart.
She grinned as she brought her hands from her sides up into the air, creating two columns of fire. Her eyes brightened as she stepped forward, causing a couple of the men to cower and shout for their master. She looked back. Flynn was there, pouncing and clawing at the leader. She smiled. The little cat could put up with a fight.
Something grazed her cheek, and she felt a warm liquid begin to crawl down her cheek, then her neck. She turned and glared at the guilty one. She took a step forward, and pushed her hands in front of her. The fire shot from her fingertips to him, causing him to fall back and gasp in pain. She shuddered and turned to the next person.
Almost, she felt content. Something about using fire caused something deep inside to calm. She was calm, and that was a first in many years. She watched everything around her. What had she gotten herself into, anyway? Since when did people have such unnaturally colored hair and eyes? Since when could they summon water? Since when could she control fire? Could she control it? Or was she just dreaming? Maybe she had been caught in the fire, and she was going to wake up at any given moment…
“Roy!” Flynn screamed, changing once more into a human. Thankfully, Roy noted that her clothes were still on her. Flynn lunged towards Roy, knocking her to the ground. An icicle whizzed overhead, and Roy stared in wonder at Flynn.
“You… just…” Roy gasped out.
“I know, I know! Get up! That stuff will act like a poison against you, move!” Flynn cried, jumping now to another man, landing a kick in his chest. He doubled over and fell to his knees. Flynn’s face twisted in pain as she cradled her foot for a second. But only a second. The next she was lunging for someone else.
Roy turned to her own adversary. There were only two left, the one Flynn was tackling and the one Roy now faced. The leader stood off to the side, watching with his arms across his chest. Something about that infuriated Roy, and she cried angrily as she clasped her hands. A tiny flicker; a giant fireball was in Roy’s hands. She gaped as she watched the mini-sun pulse. She looked through the flames to see the man’s eyes. They were wide with fear as he stood there.
Stop. The whisper caused Roy to hesitate, but she only hesitated. She threw the ball to the man, savagely crying out. He managed to duck out of the way, but she fell to her knees. She looked up, glaring at the man who stood across from her, holding a piece of ice, unnaturally shaped like a sword.
“Well, Princess Roy. It’s good to know that after all this time; Aden couldn’t hide you far enough away. I’m entirely pleased that I have the pleasure of bringing him the woeful news that his daughter died at my hands, because he wasn’t there to save her.”
“My… my father’s name isn’t Aden…” Roy managed weakly, her shoulders bent and her eyes dark.
“Sweet little girl, you never remembered! Your parents, King Aden and Queen Erin sent you away from their home so as to keep you from my, William’s, hand! But they failed, child, and I now hold your life in my hands. What can you do about it?” William asked cruelly, his eyes snapping and cold.
Out of the corner of Roy’s eyes, she noticed a small figure kneeling on the ground, hands clasped. Her lips moved quickly, but Roy couldn’t hear Flynn’s words. What was she doing? “I can’t do anything. And that’s the beauty of it. Think about it, you’re going to kill a girl in cold blood, a helpless, defenseless girl. Is that even man enough for you? You build yourself up on unstable ground. I assure you that you’ll fall.”
“I won’t do anything of the sort, girl! You’ll die here, and no one will ever know what happened. You little diva! Nothing you could ever do would be enough to be noticed by anyone.” He stepped back, glaring at her, his eyes filled with hatred. He threw up his hands and threw the ice.

In that moment, Roy’s life flashed before her eyes. Everything she had ever done was meaningless, nothing. All of her friends, her family, and her days spent doing nothing. She felt truly helpless in that moment. Nothing good would ever come from it. She had wasted her life, her time. And she could never get it back.
She had to ask herself, “What was the point?” Was there a point? It seemed so meaningless. Nothing could ever come from the waste of time and space that she was. What ever happened to the fun loving little girl? The one who looked up to her brother like he was a king was suddenly lost in a tangled web. And she couldn’t do anything about it. She remained helpless on the ground. Nothing was real anymore.
Her life was hanging in a delicate balance, and in the few seconds she had, she had to make a choice. But what was that choice? Something heavily weighed on her shoulders, if only she could figure it out what it was. Some deep question tugged at her heart. But what was it?
Nothing would work. Everything just hurt too much. The fire had not only burned the large mansion, but it also burned an emotional part of Roy. She had to gain that part of herself again. She had to take off the bandage and let the wound breathe.

Roy looked up, ready to accept her fate. The sword had obviously been thrown at her, but now it was stopped, frozen in the air. It was only a few inches from her face. What was going on now?
“Benjamin!” Flynn cried, her eyes wide. She held her hands entwined nervously as she said, “Thank goodness!”
“B-Benjamin?!” William cried, his eyes wide and shocked. He gaped at Benjamin, who stood shivering behind Roy, his hand raised.
“I can’t let you hurt her. Have you forgotten your- our heritage?” Benjamin asked, his voice shaking. He was obviously scared, but of what?
“Our heritage is dead!” William cried before turning and fleeing. His men were soon to follow, some limping, others being dragged by their comrades.
Benjamin sighed and let his hand drop.  As the icy sword shattered against the pavement, Roy could only stare in confusion. He had just saved her life…