The Wildfire (1)
The acrid smell of blazing embers fills the air; the dense smoke emitted from the fiery fire stings the eyes of the fayes, and the pungent odor of the burning houses chokes the lungs of the creatures who woke up in the middle of the night to a massive wildfire.
The icy landscape had turned soft pink as the flames continued to slaughter everything in its way. The thick smoke obscured the pale sky, the radiance of the moon, and the stars, deemed useless against the cataclysm that threatens to wreck their sanctuary.
Desperate cries of help erupted from the wretched creatures as they fled from their burning homes. Even the gift of water fayes was rendered useless as no one was able to extinguish the huge fire that continues to grow steadily as it gobbles up the fayes' houses. The fayes, engulfed in horror, desperation, and hysteria, ran towards the kingdom for refuge.
The men prioritized women, children, and the elderly to flee first. All the able-bodied water fayes built a massive water wall as high as the surrounding trees against the formidable force of nature to buy ample time for them. The water fayes, with both of their arms stretched in front, mustered up all the strength that they could and took a staggering step forward to push the fire with the water wall they created.
It appeared to be working at first, and even the fayes silently rejoiced. However, after less than a minute of pushing the water wall against the fire, the fire suddenly grew in size and was now towering over the wall that they had built. The fayes' mouths gaped open in horror, rooted on the ground-unable to move their bodies even an inch; it was a bizarre phenomenon as the fire crawled down their water wall, its flames snaked through and prancing in the air. Earth, air, fire, and water were the elements, and water was the best competitor of fire, but not in this case.
Sweat beads formed on the fayes' foreheads, and their palms were drenched in sweat from the scorching heat of the flames. When the male fayes realized what was going on, they broke their stance and ran as fast as they could, causing the water wall to collapse. "Run! Run as far as you can! There was no stopping the fire! We had to flee to save our lives!" yelled a male voice amid the chaos.
What was going on in Aelfrey? What was the cause of the sudden wildfire? And why did the solid ice encasing the landscape not thaw despite the fact that it was engulfed in flames?
The faces of the women carrying their children, others with their wailing infants, were drenched in tears, their eyes sparked in terror and agitation as they wondered if they would ever make it out alive tonight. Everyone silently prayed to their sacred-faye, Dylareia, to deliver them away from harm.
A terrified wail erupted from the chaos, and a teen-aged faye howled in pain as smoke spurted from her wings, filling their nostrils with the burnt smell. A male-adult faye approached the young girl and scooped her up.
From a distance, it was a horrifying sight.
--
"Make haste or it will be too late for us!"
Alvaro and Deviro frantically followed Gala; they were still skeptical about going back to the kingdom without fulfilling their mission first. "Gala, no offense intended, but how certain are you that your dream will happen tonight? Not that I don't believe in your abilities, but it could happen at anytime in the future." Alvaro queried the young whisperer.
"The moon, I see the exact same moon in my vision." Gala answered while gaining more speed. She doesn't know how or why she can suddenly run fast, but it could be because of the adrenaline rush.
"The full moon won't just appear solely tonight, Gala, so logically you can be wrong about tonight." Deviro replied, looking over at Alvaro next to him.
The young whisperer came to a halt, her face irritated. "If you don't believe in me as your whisperer," she gritted her teeth, emphasizing the last word as she approached the two fayes slowly, "then you are free to go back."
The two warriors fell silent, embarrassed that they had doubted the young whisperer. Gala cast an irritated glance at them before scurrying back to the kingdom. Alvaro and Deviro trailed her in silence.
Gala could sense the danger from miles away when they came to a fork in the road. Her ears perked up, hearing the fayes' chaos, and the loud cackles of fire sent shivers down her spine. 'It's already happening!' She thought frantically.
She turned to face the stunned Alvaro, her face foreboding. "Can you conjure up enough bubble heat for two people?" she demanded.
Alvaro, who was dumbfounded at the sudden shift in Gala's emotions, nodded blankly. This was their first time seeing a serious Gala, as the young girl was usually upbeat and naughty. "Why?" He asked the young whisperer, spreading his hand in front of him. A transparent bubble surfaced out of it, slowly growing to the size that Gala wanted.
Deviro, who had his arms crossed across his chest, asked Gala why she wanted the bubble heat for only two people when they were obviously a group of three.
Alvaro waited for the young girl's reply, as he was curious as well, what exactly Gala was planning.
"I can hear the fayes' cries. The vision I saw in my dream was already happening; we can't afford to be late; we need to warn the kingdom about the wildfire approaching them." Gala then turned to Deviro and said, "I am so sorry, Deviro, but can you stay here and wait for us to return this morning? Since Alvaro can conjure up a heat capsule, he can use his wings despite the extreme temperatures."
Deviro collectedly agreed with Gala's plan, not wanting to delay them in their attempt to save the kingdom. "So, you mean, Alvaro will fly towards the kingdom?"
Gala's lips curled into a smirk. "More likely, he'll fly me to the kingdom."
--
The young girl screeched whilst her eyes closed tightly. Her stomach would lurch in upheaval every time Alvaro would jolt to a higher altitude. She heard the young warrior chuckle.
"The audacity of you to demand that I fly you back to the kingdom when you were actually afraid of heights!" Alvaro mocked the young girl, whose screams were now muffled by his robes.
"You're deliberately scaring me by going higher!" Gala bit back. She bravely looked down and let out another scream when she realized that they were surrounded by clouds already. "Can't you go down a bit more? This is too high!" As she nervously shifted to a more comfortable position, sitting on his back, she cowered on the thick fabric of his tunic against his back.
His magnificent, dark-gray wings were spread out against his back, the surface elegantly patterned with translucent, sparkling colors. She watched enviously as his wings fluttered rhythmically, making faint swooshing sounds. 'How I wish I had wings, too,' Gala lamented.
Without any warning, Alvaro suddenly dove down, making Gala frantically reach for his tunic as if her life depended on it. 'I'll be dead even before I reach the kingdom.'
--
Gala jumped down from his back as the young warrior hovered in the center of the courtyard. Her gaze wandered around the kingdom, the complete silence confusing them both as hell. They proceeded to check the guards, but were surprised to find all of them snoring in their respected posts. Nobody was watching over the kingdom!
Alvaro slapped the guards as hard as he could to wake them up. They all gaped in shock and seemingly appeared in a daze when they saw them both standing in front of them. Finally recovering from the shock, they staggered a bit and bowed at them both. "Why were you all sleeping in the middle of your duty? I won't be tolerating such negligence!" Alvaro's angry voice thundered throughout the courtyard; the guards shrank in his presence.
"Forgive us, Alvaro; we're not sure either; all we remember is smelling something in the air and passing out a second later," a younger faye replied, earning a nod from the other fayes.
"Alvaro, we don't have enough time; just deal with them after." Gala convinced the irritated warrior.
Seeing the logic in her words, the young warrior calmed himself in front of the guards. "Listen carefully, Gala here, I saw an impending danger coming towards the kingdom," he said, turning to face them with a more relaxed expression. A massive wildfire is currently approaching us. I want you to send off a warning to everyone. Questions can wait later, now move!" Alvaro's stern voice echoed throughout.
The faye guards hurriedly followed his orders, flying in all directions within the kingdom. The younger faye, who had previously answered Alvaro, went to the bell tower and rang the massive bell. For the first time in fifty years, the kingdom's bell rang.
Gala clung to Alvaro's back as the young warrior dashed off to the king and queen's chamber. Gala's chest heaved erratically, and she could hear the flames roar. "Make haste, Alvaro; we only have a minute to get everyone out of the palace!"