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Before she had regained her memories, she thought herself not so different from the other heroes who had been called to this strange kingdom. With them, she found friends, comrades, and... well... actually, not quite more than that.
Even as those around her began to find themselves creating that special bond with one another, something kept her from taking that final step.
Looking back, she wished she had taken not just a final step, but a leap. What a leap she would have taken, had she known! She wished she had allowed herself to enjoy the ignorance she had been wrapped in then, before she had recalled what she truly was. Before she had realized her embers were burning out from within.
Torn between a sense of urgency and one of inevitability, she didn't know how to act.
Fate lent her its hand that day.
That lone knight, devoted in everything he did, had been separated from his love. The little knight that made her voice catch, that dazzled so many around him without his even trying, without his even knowing... the poor, sweet, kind knight, who deserved the world, had had his ripped from him in the most cruel of ways.
She was breathless watching him battle during the tournament. Despite his broken heart, he was a foe unlike any. No matter what chances his foes were given to best him, he turned things around in his favor.
And yet... and yet, no matter how many times he triumphed, he would not smile. His mind was elsewhere. His heart was even further still.
Fate could be just as harsh as it could be kind, it seemed.
It was no surprise he made it to the final round. How could he not? If there was anyone to make it there, surely, it would be the knight whose heart was so true.
Even so, the knight did not smile.
She decided, then, that she would simply take him by force.
Damn appearances and damn the consequences! Damn this kingdom and everyone else in it, if she must!
He would be hers.
She made her intentions known and strode into the arena with her head held high.
For the first time since she had regained her memories, since she had recalled who and what she was, she was filled with purpose.
She could share her endless lifetime, if she wished. All it would take is a feather and a little magic.
She would restore his smile even if it took her an eternity.
... if she had been allowed the chance, that is.
Fate, at the end of the day, would only be so kind for so long.
She was not upset that she lost.
How could she have ever defeated one as pure as he?
She had threatened his loyalty, his devotion to his lost love, and made to capture him in her talons. She had dared declare she intended to take him for hers, without giving him so much as a choice in the matter, should she best him in the final round.
Some might have faltered. Some might have jumped at the chance, even.
But him?
It only made him that much stronger, that much fiercer, that much more determined, and despite her best efforts, she lost magnificently.
Somehow, she knew it was better this way.
His light was not one to be captured, to be taken against its will. It was to be given, with love and care. Just as it had been before, so it would have to be again.
Maybe if there had been more time... what an ironic thing to think that was.
Her final day was upon her. Soon, she would combust, and await the beginning of her next life. With luck, it might be soon, but it could just as well take decades. Who knew when it came to situations such as the one she found herself in?
It mattered not. There were things she needed to make right while she still had time. A life, taken by mistake, at the encouraging of him of all people... she would bring back.
And despite whatever misgivings he had every right to hold towards her, born from her attempt at taking him for herself and more, he never faltered. He searched high and low for a way to revive her accidental victim, and took both her and the spirit of the fallen one to where things could be set right.
He gave her the chance to fix things, and not once did he question her. Together, they toppled the form of her mother in all its glory, and the spirit was granted life once more.
She wished she had spent more time with him before now.
She would treasure every moment she had with him now, no matter how few they would be.
She knew her time was almost up. Her flames would take her once more, and who knew if she would still be here when the blaze settled down and she began life anew?
There was only one place she wanted to be in her final moments. One person she needed to see before she was gone and returned to ash.
It was no surprise where he was, that stalwart little knight. She found him at the foot of the statue that he had been working so hard and diligently on completing, the grand idol in the form of their queen.
Despite all the lifetimes she had lived, despite her trying to take him as hers just one night before, she could not bring herself to be upfront with her feelings at first.
So instead, she offered a gift. Small. Humble. Beautiful.
... Fleeting, perhaps. A blink in the lives of those who would be able to enjoy it- but so radiant all the same.
She could have laughed when he placed it before their towering queen, declaring its beauty one that should be shared with all. She could have laughed, if it hadn't made something in her twist, leave her voice momentarily trapped in her throat.
Yet she could not fault him. Oh, she could never fault the knight. A thousand years could pass, and a thousand more still, and she would never be saddened by him.
He was just too loyal, too kind, too generous.
It was why she loved him so, after all.
She would much rather see him smile as he was than be hers only for a short while, only to lose her as well soon after.
...
Still...
... still...
... still!
"I LOVE YOU!"