Chapter Text
Clouds were gathering outside.
Ring-ring-ring-iiiiiiiiiiiii-ing
'Huh, it's so much louder than before.'
That was an electric bell that replaced the old one when it broke down back in spring, around the same time it started.
Back when some punk, and certainly not Elizabeth, activated the fire alarm as a prank (1) . Ever since then, the administration installed the new gizmo that did nothing but remind her of being woken up by the elderly donkey that lived on her neighbor’s farm, some hundred-odd acres away, who, despite the distance, brayed loud enough to mess with her sleep.
Even then, the donkey’s call beat by a mile the idea of living in this soulless sprawl of concrete and broken dreams that reminded her of the futility of self-determination and the absurd obscurity of—
Whatever …The new alarm was ass. Correction, it brayed like an ass. Important distinction.
(1) Which was the truth as far as her parents and the principal were concerned
She organized her bag quickly, barely listening to her teacher’s ramblings about the summer project, a project she’d already finished without the aid of her helpful groupmates to clear the schedule for her other activities.
She packed her things, fixed her desk, and almost mechanically made her way to the exit, sparing nary a glance at her classmates, and their staring, and their comments, and their—
“Miss Bloodflame?” A mature voice interrupted her train of thought.
“Yes…?” She answered instinctively, though she regretted it almost as quickly once the woman’s glare tightened noticeably under her glasses.
‘Less monologuing and more paying attention, Elizabeth…’
“I said you haven’t delivered your participation sheet for the Summer Festival." The woman pointed to a stack of papers neatly arranged on her desk, "Remember, we all have to play a part. If you still don’t have a group, we can—”
“Yes, Ma’am!” She said tersely, fidgeting with the straps of her bag, “I will send it as fast as I can.”
Her teacher huffed in obvious disapproval, while Elizabeth braced herself for what looked to be another tirade about the lack of commitment she'd shown for the last months and how that would affect her prospects in the future. It was a well-repeated conversation she'd had with the woman ever since she'd realized Elizabeth wasn't willing to either integrate or participate in her class in any significant capacity.
To her surprise, the woman's frown shifted the longer she stared at Elizabeth’s expression. The girl stood frozen in discomfort while the rest of her class tried their best to move around her, not without making sure she could see them snickering at her expense on their way out. “Verdammt noch mal…" she mumbled, shaking her head as she took off her glasses. "You have until next Monday, and don’t you dare be late. The festival is an important tradition for the city, Elizabeth. I very much hope you get to experience it.”
‘Bleh, important tradition my ass,' Elizabeth thought, her inward disdain contrasting with her frantic nodding as she waited for her teacher’s dismissal.
Once the woman nodded back, she was off running, moving past wave after wave of students until, almost without realizing, she made it outside.
She blinked, staring listlessly at her school’s courtyard. She’d been so focused that she didn’t realize it was raining today.
“Stupid teachers and their saviour complex. She’s just pissy because she didn’t get the music teacher’s spot like she wanted.” Elizabeth mumbled to herself as she used her jacket to cover her hair.
She didn’t exactly know where she’d heard that particular rumor, and she didn’t particularly care enough to check, but it felt enough of a payback for the humiliating callout earlier.
Her voice took on her teacher’s slight accent, “'Oh, poor Elizabeth! If you still don’t have a group…’” Her fists holding the jacket above her tightened, “Why would I want to group with these—these… frigging… I even— I did all the work and she didn’t even—!”
She paused, breathing in deeply.
“You won’t see her again for three more weeks, Elizabeth… Chill…”
She also had better things to worry about, like this rain…
Yeah, summer rain. One of those where the humidity made sweat stick to her skin. Where her stuffy school uniform of her stuffy private school, felt overbearing in a way that made her want to rip it off, decency laws be damned.
She never imagined her new home would be such a humid place. Of course, it made sense in retrospect, like, ‘Duh, it’s right next to the sea.’ She just never stopped to question what that would actually entail.
Rain. She should have cared more about that. Not about her old school or her friends she left behind… She should have thought about the rain.
Whatever. It didn’t matter that much anymore, she’d come to terms with it, with time. She cared so little now that she even got a bike!
Yes, it took some convincing; some good arguments from her side against her parents’ desire to just get a car like the rest of her classmates and uphold the vapid standards of River Valley Academy (2).
(2) River Valley? The School wasn’t even close to a river, and what valley are they even talking about?!
River Valley, quite the stuffy high-class school where tuition was worth a middle-class family’s income, and the students loved to flaunt around whatever allowance their parents gave them in the form of cars, phones, clothes, everything from the most expensive brands that money could buy.
To spite them all, she got herself a little rusty thing she felt quite proud of, something that set her apart from the other students’ expensive taste (3).
(3) It was also quite easy to find among the sea of luxury cars.
And what if it was counterintuitive? The humidity would sometimes screw her over without a car, but she’d rather embrace the wind and water than bow down and accept her parents wishes.
Plus, she’d gotten the cutest blue raincoat she’d been dying to try out.
Sometimes she did admit to herself that the ride could become a bit of a hassle. Especially since her house was located at the other end of the city, right by the limits between civilization and a sprawling, dark green forest.
And it wasn’t because she got tired! She had always been an athletic person, and ever since the incident, the added stamina and strength she’d suddenly gained guaranteed a laughably easy time with almost all physical activities. (4)
(4) She was quite sure she could benchpress a car. She’d never tried, though.
The city just… felt a little too big sometimes.
All those tall and shiny high-rise buildings felt just like giants waiting to step on her. Yet, once she rode past the seemingly endless downtown sprawl and took the road up the forest, the one overlooking the ocean, her thoughts became a little bit clearer.
She’d gravitated toward the cliffs almost immediately after arriving. She'd never lived so close to the ocean before, so everything felt new and exciting. And maybe it was her new proclivities, but there was definitely something magical about the place.
Sometimes she liked to find a nice place to sit, she put on her headphones and sang her heart out to the ocean with nobody around but the seagulls flying by. It felt wonderful to have a place to sing (5) like she used to, before she moved.
(5) Not to brag, but her pipes could earn her a prize or two.
Today was not one of those days, though; she had things to do.
The rain had let up a little by the time she made it to the entrance of their gated community. Quaint Willow Village had been exactly the kind of suburban nightmare that she feared ever since the move was announced. A tennis court, a community center, a pool, and a spa. The perfect little suburban community, for her perfect little family.
She smiled lightly at the guard at the gate as she passed. She’d made a point to befriend the grumpy-looking stout old man (6) , to the chagrin of her father. That turned out to be a great decision since her father’s scowl after every: ‘Good morning, Mr. Bloodflame, Ms. Bloodflame, how’s Elizabeth doing?’ was worth it every time.
(6) Old Robert turned out to be quite the chatterbox underneath the frowny exterior. He once gifted her a delightful piece of pecan pie that his daughter had baked for him.
Her father was not a people person. If she had to describe it somehow, she’d say that he never really understood kindness, so he seldom saw a point in trying to be kind. Neither to the help around the farmhouse, nor to the neighbors, nor his workers… Moving had barely changed anything, Elizabeth found.
After some streets of perfectly arranged buildings, she reached her house at the end of a quiet tree-lined cul-de-sac. Her father had personally commissioned the whole thing himself, he probably spent more time thinking about the planning than on Elizabeth’s whole… whatever deal she had going on with her life.
Months of discussions with architects and designers resulted in a large terracotta brick facade with tall windows framed by dark shutters, adorned by meticulously trimmed ivy that climbed one side of the house. The closest a house could be to a manor without falling into ostentatiousness. Or that’s what her mother had said.
She left her bike haphazardly slumped in the back of the currently empty (7) garage. She took off her raincoat and gently shook it to remove the droplets of water sticking to it, then she made her way inside the house. Then, she walked quickly and purposefully to her room, ignoring the empty living room and its sterile cream-colored sofas and polished mahogany furniture.
(7) Empty seemed to be its normal state as of late, with both of her parents working overtime and spending less and less time at home. It seemed kind of useless in retrospect to have a garage this large.
On the way, she grabbed a pack of cookies from the kitchen, deciding against her empty stomach’s growling and leaving future Elizabeth with the task of getting something to eat during her evening patrol.
Finally, in her room, she dropped her book bag and her raincoat. Hurriedly, she stepped out of her school uniform and into more comfortable clothes, though her outfit wouldn’t matter at all for the next few hours.
‘At last,’ she thought to herself excitedly. She played with the silver-colored necklace that pulsed with warmth at her touch. “Are you ready?” (8) She asked both to herself and the multicolored jewel in her hands as she pulled it close to her heart.
(8) Always…
The gem’s warmth suddenly turned into a blistering heat, like flames beating in tandem with her eager heart. It was time.
“IDOL: INSTALL! SCARLET QUEEN!”
Her room suddenly lit up in bright flames, sweeping through like a hurricane of blues, reds, and blacks, enveloping her body. It felt right, like an old friend’s embrace. She exhaled in a contented sigh, feeling the heat of her fire travel to her heart and burning away all her anxieties, her insecurities, and frustrations.
The whirlwind of flames moving up her body started to form an outfit, a black bodice covered by a light cream dress with a half-skirt, that, despite its flimsy appearance, felt as solid as a full suit of armor. Her hair lengthened, glowing a bright red and reaching up to her mid-thigh. A rush of warmth also spread from her chest as silver bracers covered her arms, followed by a glowing armored chest piece appearing, and a bright blue wisp settling snugly on her breast, pulsating with the rhythm of her heartbeat.
At last, the light of the flames focused on her hands, forming a pillar of crimson. After a moment, when the light faded, a scarlet claymore as wide as her thigh, stylized with silver markings, had materialized in front of her.
She grabbed the handle and smiled at the engraved scales on the pommel of her claymore. The symbol of Justice.
She took a look at herself in the nearby mirror, grinning broadly as she proclaimed, “Roses are red, the fire of my heart is blue; also known as the Scarlet Queen, the Harbinger of Order—I am Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame!"
The plushies on her bed remained quiet, but in her head, she was sure they were cheering. “That’s the one for sure ,” she mumbled, shaking herself off the remaining sparks from her transformation.
Frantically, she jumped off her bedroom window, landing silently in the backyard of her house. She glanced carefully around, checking for any wandering neighbors. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, she took a powerful leap, jumping over the suburban houses and in the direction of the city.
Who cares if the patrol started early today? Nobody would blame her… Besides, evil monsters and demons of death did not care to wait for the night to attack; whyever should she?
‘An entire summer defeating monsters…’ She thought to herself, landing briefly on top of a house to leap again.
An entire summer fighting for justice…
Starts Now!