The Wildfire (2)

Alvaro speedily dove off towards the king's and queen's chamber, expertly navigating through the palace. Gala was no longer that nervous while riding on the young warrior's back, although she would let out occasional screams every time they would turn sharp corners.

When they finally reached their chamber, Alvaro carefully landed on his feet, his other hand supporting Gala's back. The young warrior knocked three times but received no response from anyone inside, so Alvaro decidedly pushed the door open forcefully.

They found the king and queen in the same state as the faye guards. They were sleeping soundly on their beds. Gala, fully aware of the urgency of the situation, dashed towards the canopy bed and shook the king and queen violently to wake them up right away. They can't afford to waste any time, not even a single second.

"Don't just stand there, help me!" Gala hissed angrily at Alvaro, who was rooted at the edge of the bed.

Alvaro rushed up to the king and shook him as well. The king's and queen's eyes fluttered as they adjusted to the light of the torch. They exclaimed loudly when they saw Gala and Alvaro beside their bed. "Alvaro, Gala? What are you doing here? "Didn't I send you both on a mission?" the king inquired quietly.

"Your questions can wait, your Majesty. For now, we need to leave the palace immediately." Gala answered.

Still disoriented, the king and queen rose from their beds and were about to reach for their thick robes when she intervened. "There is no need for that, your Majesty."

The king and queen looked at her puzzlingly. "What do you mean?"

"You'll understand why later," Gala simply replied, eager to drag the king and queen out of their rooms as soon as possible after wasting so much time.

Gala was the first to exit the door, waving her hand for Alvaro and the king and queen to follow her. The young warrior led the king and queen out the door first.

The king and queen exchanged puzzled looks. "What was really going on? I demand answers right away!" The king, being his usual arrogant self, strongly disagrees with leaving the palace without proper justification.

Gala felt compelled to smack the king's head, but she knew better than anyone how she would end up if she did, so she restrained herself by letting out a long sigh. She wanted to tell Alvaro to leave the king and just let him be, but of course it would be an act of negligence of their duties and defiance against the kingdom. She poked Alvaro and bulged her eyes on him, urging him to convince the king to just follow her as she could hear the chaos less than a kilometer away. They needed to leave the palace immediately.

Getting the message across, Alvaro coughed up to get the king's attention. "Please, your Majesty. This is for your safety. Rest assured that we will answer your questions once we are out of danger." Alvaro elaborated. He placed his hands on his shoulders and pushed him lightly. Gala could clearly see the frustration on Alvaro's face. The king's stubbornness was really too much to handle.

The king wriggled free from Alvaro's grip. "What danger?" asked the king again, despite being told to hold his questions.

Gala tensely walked back and forth. Out of repulse, she bit her nails restlessly-a mannerism that she always does every time she is nervous. Alvaro and the king continued to exchange conversations with each other, the annoyance on Alvaro's face getting more obvious, his tone indicating that he was already on the verge of losing patience.

Gala's ears perked up again when she could hear the familiar cackles of the massive fire. She jumped in fright when she realized that it was already on the outer wall of the kingdom. Any second, its raging flames will completely engulf the kingdom.

The young whisperer turned to them in panic. "Please, your Majesty, just this once, please listen to me. We really need to leave the palace right now, or it will be too late for us!" Gala choked on her tears. She was desperate to escape the kingdom as fast as she could. Dying is not an option, especially since she has not returned home. She must live regardless.

But will she ever come out alive when the stupid, insolent king that she disdainfully hates won't budge on his position?

It was as if time had stopped ticking and everything around us had slowed to a crawl. Gala turned to Alvaro, her face contorted in an inscrutable fear. Her life flashed right in front of her. She remembered her parents, her younger brother, Avin, and their humble abode; the marvelous days she had spent with them and the simple and peaceful life she grew up with. All at once, she felt immensely guilty for enjoying the adventures she had had in the mystical land.

The queen yelped in horror as the raging flames finally came into view. The king, as swift as the wind, snatched the surprised queen and flew right away. Alvaro's wings fluttered briskly as he hovered, waiting for Gala, who unfortunately stood up a few centimeters away from him. "Gala, run quickly!" The young warrior urged the young girl as he stretched his hands to her.

The young warrior could finally feel the scorching heat from the flames. As much as he wanted to fly towards Gala, he couldn't as his wings would surely get burned. The young warrior staggered towards him. She looked around in horror. "Gala, please!" He called the young whisperer. Gala was being chased by flames. He ascended as the flames began to lick the floor beneath him. Gala had finally gotten within a few inches of him. As the young girl reached for his hands, he stretched out his hands. Her fingertips had finally touched his. 'Just a tad bit more, Gala.'

Alvaro was so focused on Gala that he didn't notice a massive flame snaking towards him. When the flame touched Alvaro's stretched arm, causing a minor burn, he winced. Alvaro stretched his arms again, not wanting to give up so easily, but the flames had begun to attack him, almost engulfing his wings. Alvaro had no choice but to fly higher, and she reverted her gaze back to Gala, who was now crying. "Jump, Gala; I swear I'll catch you."

Alvaro exclaimed aloud as the flames engulfed the room before Gala could jump towards him. When Alvaro heard the girl's piercing scream, he exclaimed, "GALA!" It was a scream that sent shivers down his spine and almost drove him insane. It was a scream that Alvaro knew would haunt him for the rest of his life. He lost the girl. He failed to protect their whisperer.

Alvaro bellowed woefully. He attempted to dive towards the raging fire, but the other faye guards had come to get him. When they saw that it was only Alvaro who made it out alive, they bowed their heads miserably, as they knew that it was impossible to survive the raging fire. Aelfrey had lost their whisperer, so soon.

The faye guards had to drag the hysterical warrior towards the mainland. Everyone in the kingdom had miraculously made it out unscathed. When they finally landed, Alvaro quickly walked away from the ogling fayes, wondering where their whisperer was, as they were informed by the faye guards that it was both Alvaro and Gala who woke them up and instructed them to evacuate everyone outside the kingdom. Elderifrey hastily followed the young warrior.

"AARGHHHH!" Everyone gasped as they heard Alvaro scream, then punch a nearby tree as hard as he could. Thankfully, Elderifrey intervened to prevent the young warrior from causing further harm to himself.

"What happened, Alvaro? Where is Gala?" The elder faye asked.

Alvaro turned to the elder faye with a gloomy expression on his face, regret written all over his face. "Gala? Gala didn't make it out of the raging fire, Elderifrey. Do you know why?" He growled, then turned to the king, who seemed unaffected by the whisperer's absence. "Because the king refused to come with us, no matter how much Gala pleaded!"

The king's nonchalance irritated the young warrior even more, and he restrained himself from striking the king. Regardless, he was still a warrior of this land, bound by the king's rules.

Upon hearing this, Elderifrey knelt on the ground, her knees woobly. She could not believe the young girl's early demise. What will happen to Aelfrey now that their whisperer is gone again?

A sudden, loud crash erupted from the kingdom. Alvaro and Elderifrey rushed in front to see what was happening. A bolt of lightning struck the palace's four towers, sending bright pink flames swerving in all directions.

As if thinking the same thing, a smile appeared on Alvaro's and Elderifrey's faces, certainty plastered on their expressions.

"Gala," Alvaro whispered, hoping that it was Gala who caused the loud bang.

To everyone's bewilderment, the flames had stopped moving. It was like they had come to an abrupt stop. All the fayes' chattered, "What would this possibly mean? Could this mean that the wildfire had stopped or could it be the 'silence before the storm'?

It happened so fast, seemingly in the blink of an eye, that the flames were gone, as if they weren't even there in the first place. No trace of smoke was left behind, as if everything were a figment of imagination.

'What the hell happened?'