Chapter Text
Its a early Wednesday Morning in August. Just a few Weeks have passed since the Wedding of Lady Elizabeth and Joel Nicholas. Not even the Birds are singing their Morning songs yet, when suddenly the Peaceful Sunrise gets Interrupted by the sound of a Loud, echoing Scream;
FIRE! EVERYBODY GET OUT, THERE'S A FIRE!
Swiftly the scream travels trough the Forest; Its raspy and Loud, enough too silence any other sound for just a few seconds.
..
A split second passes, the only sound being the Hot Orange Blazes, quietly hissing while slowly moving their way onto the next bush. The Flames spread higher and Shadows sink deeper; then suddenly the sound of the crackling flames gets overpowered with more gut-wrenching Screams.
They start echoing trough the Trees; Getting Louder, Faster, Heavier. The Panic in their screams flying trough the air like the small clouds in the Sky.
-
The Event is happening fast; Shadows of panicked Citizens now start rising up, Running trough the Burning Trees to find an Escape Route as fast as possible.
The Flames continue to Grow, spreading further until they reach the tallest Trees from the Kingdom—and during this, the cries of help are quickly escaping the Forest's home and starting to rapidly travel trough every Street; waking the remaining citizens.
Soon after, the Loud Bell Towers start tolling, getting louder with each bang against the Cast Metal.
..
Though this time, the Bells aren't Echoing their way trough the Kingdom for an announcement.
This time, they're a call for Help.
Soon the Panic in the Kingdom awakens Lady Elizabeth. Her Beloved Husband Joel is already outside, rushing Towards the Flames in an Attempt to support those trying to control the Fire. He Gasps for Air as he gets closer to the Fire; each Step feeling heavier than the last as the particles of Flames and deep darkness of smoke start to catch up to him.
Lady Elizabeth briskly realizes the pure Panic in the Air, hearing the Screams of pain and torture from the comfort of her warm, King sized Bed. Her Head has already realized that something is wrong— and it soon starts to ache in pain while she slowly makes her way towards her Window. In a fast-moving position she tugs the Floral Window Curtains away, just enough to be able to look outside.
on the spur of the moment she now finds herself watching the pure Horror of hundreds of civilians running for their Lives, losing their beloved homes and trying to save whats left from the Forest.
Crowds of Mothers and Fathers are flowing trough the last gaps of air they can find, hoping to get their Children to safety, while hundreds of farm animals attempt breaking out to run towards Freedom. Her eyes start widening and her Lips slightly trembling, not being able to look away from the Large Firestorm destroying the Kingdoms most priced possession. How could this happen? After Generations of safety and proper care, the Trees just..catch Fire? Was it an accident? Was It planned?
Question after Question starts to flood into Lizzie's head, the pain worsening by the shock.
..
The distress keeps her Frozen in position for a second, until she suddenly awakens from her daydreaming and swiftly courses her way out the Castle.
-
As the girl hurries down the Royal Stairs, the Gateway of the Castle is already wide open— more yell's fleeing out. She runs towards the exit, along with a small crowd of Workers and Knights that weren't able to react as fast as others.
Lizzie looks trough the crowd, slightly slowing down her pace to step onto the stone stairs outside the castle. She proceeds to look down towards the dust filled ground, trying to prevent an accidental fall.
however not long after she reaches the ground, she stops.
…
The Crystal.
without warning she suddenly Starts chasing the warmth of the Flames— the Fire getting closer while her Shadow can barely keep up. Together with her are running hundreds of others, but while they're rushing towards escape, Lizzie hustles her way trough the Crowd and hurries towards the Forest.
With each Step that she gets closer, she becomes more visible too see running. A few Soldiers realize her plans and attempt to chase after her, but shes already way ahead.
-
Lizzie's right foot steps into the Firestorm first; her Breath is getting horribly tight, but she doesn't realize until the next few steps forward. Her Legs continue to fasten, slowly getting numb from the hot sharp stones piercing her bare feet like needles— and Soon after the View continues to darken; nothing but Ash and Dust flying trough the Trees like Fireflies.
The run is painful, not just physically but also mentally. Lizzie continues to sprint, not being able to focus on anything but the thought of the Crystal. However in spite of that, the constant trance shes stuck in suddenly breaks, as she hears a faint yell of her Name just behind her.
She briskly looks back, realizing its her partner Joel running towards the Forest to try and stop her.
..
The girl now finds herself in two difficult choices to make as fast as possible. Either she follows her Heart, running back towards Joel and saving herself while leaving the Kingdom's heart to die, or— she follows her Brain and risks her Life.
Although every single Muscle of her exhausted Body is fighting the urge to turn back, Lizzie continues to flee. She doesn't have a plan, nor a way to get out, she just runs in hopes of figuring something out on the way.
She runs, and runs.. and after ages still runs. It feels like an eternity that never ends, and despite the fact that she doesn't understand how she hasn't passed out yet— The sound of the Fire crackling is soon overpowered by her loud painful breaths.
Slowly The yelling of her beloved husband start fading more each second, though as Lizzie goes farther in, the Forest gets quieter yet somehow warmer.. even when it already feels as hot as Lava.
Eventually, this weird amount of strength suddenly fades from Lizzie's body. She didn't know how she had it anyway, but she took advantage of it. Her Legs quickly start shaking and slowing down, while her vision darkens itself like a running out candle. Her tight Breaths were already barely manageable, but now they're suddenly even more painful and each breath feels like a stab into the throat.
She tries to continue, she really does. After all— she came so far, she needs to save her Kingdom! But— she can't, Its too much.
From one second to another She suddenly feels her Legs go out. The only thing she can still spot before hitting the dusty stones and dirt is a burning purple Flower just a few steps in-front of her.
..
Well, at-least that's what she assumed, because if she would have looked a little more to her right, she would've seen the Crystal, laying on the ground just a little farther.
-
Time has taken its turn and changed by multiple hours, but the time where she was unconscious felt like less then 7 Minutes.
She hasn't fully realized she's woken up yet, her Body still frozen in motion— however her Mind has already awaken. Lizzie tries to realize whats happening, and with the help of time she gradually realizes shes laying on her back, somewhere warm and comfortable.
She's not in the Forest anymore, but this doesn't feel like home either..
progressively her vision finally seems to make a return, and the black void turns into a bright Orange almost painful light.
She quickly gets bothered by it and squeezes her eyes as much as she can with the little energy she has, although not long after she faintly opens her Eyes.
Lizzie finds herself in a warm cozy Bed. Its not as big as her usual one, but its perfect for her current condition. she takes a look around the room, its not one she recognizes but it has a warm touch to it— almost following the vibe of a small, comforting cabin.
Everything seems to be made out of a specific type of Wood that doesn't get used much in her Empire, regardless the Question of where she is gets answered soon after as she sees a small picture frame on the bookshelf across the room.
The girls mind is still a little foggy and the picture is a little difficult to view, though after a few seconds of focusing on the frame, Lizzie swiftly realizes that its a picture of ..Skizz?
..
Well...Skizz and someone else she doesn't know..but, they do look pretty similar, so maybe a family Member? or just a good Friend? Wait..how has she even come here? Why is she in the city of Arellas? where is Skizz? and most Importantly, what about the Fire?
The girls Emotions are visibly forming on her face. She looks confused, hinting towards terrified. Lizzie's mind clearly races as her eyes widen in shock, and as she tries to answer the Questions to herself as best as possible,she seems to be Interrupted with a chuckle from behind.
"Lizzie! What are you up to already Daydreaming? You've just awakened from your actual Dreams like… three Minutes ago!"
Skizz leans back onto the Wooden door on the Right, his arms crossed while greeting Lizzie with his beloved signature smile. The girl reacts fast, jumping up in shock. where did he come from?!
"Skizz? Oh my gosh Skizz! im so glad you're here, what happened? the Fire— what happened to the Fire? My Kingdom? why am i here?"
"oh dear, still just as confused as always huh? .. Well miss Elizabeth, you've quiet literally almost died today, and.. you did miss out on alot while you were asleep. But don't Panic! I will give you all the information you need to my best attempt!"
..
For a second the fear on Lizzie's face falls back into the shadows, a sight of confusion now fully taking over. She vaguely remembers what happened..fire, smoke.. and a-lot of running, the pain still being able to feel in her feet. She doesn't remember much after that though, so all she can really now do is hope that Skizz can answer.
"Died?"
"Oh, yes! I'm not sure what got into your head that made you think its a good Idea to run into a MASSIVE burning Forest barefoot with NO safety Equipment whatsoever, but then again I am just glad they got you out of there in Time. Some guards eventually found you and brought you out, but more Information other then that has unfortunately not been given to me."
The Man stays silent, moving his steps towards the Chair next to Lizzie's Bed and sitting down. He doesn't seem worried, which calms Lizzie down a little..irregardless of that she also can't read of a single individual emotion on his face, which makes her stomach twist either way.
"I've heard that everyone's generally fine..perhaps they've taken care of those who HAVE gotten hurt already though, After-all the Fire was enormous, there's no way that every single person got out of there safely."
Skizz's expression changes, The young gentleman seeming worried, frustrated.. still he doesn't spit out another word, leaving Lizzie in silence before she breaks it herself.
"Well, yeah.. but what if they lied? who told you all of this?"
"I've gotten most of my Information from your husband, so surely my words are correct. No promises though, Joel seemed quiet foggy when talking with me anyways."
"Joel? wait what do you mean "foggy", is he okay??"
Skizz finally looks back at the girl instead of the cold floor, realizing the worry he now planted into her mind.
"Huh? Oh no-no, he's Okay! Most likely at-least..I only managed to catch him for a few minutes because I knew that you would wanna know what happened, afterwards he went to the Meeting though and i saw Tango leading him to his Home in the Evening. I'm guessing Joel will stay by him for the next few Days, probably resting like you."
"So he's fine? Thank goodness.. what do you mean by Meeting though? I've never been Informed by one?"
Skizz takes a short second to himself, looking away from the girl and biting his lower lip while reasoning with himself on what words he could best explain everything with.
"uh, well.. the Meeting was only announced after you've ran for the Forest, In-fact Joel only got the time to call it after all the civilians ran out of the Empire..
.. He went and called a small Emergency meeting throughout all the Northern Kingdoms, which.. actually worked quiet well seeing as a-lot of nearby Emperor's already heard of the incident from the Bell-towers and, well.. the massive cloud of smoke forming in the Sky.
Either-way they then decided on bringing all of your people into small Groups and giving them a Home throughout all the Northern Area's for the time being. Once your Kingdom is safe to enter again, everyone will be able to return and go back to the usual, so don't fred about that!
..Now to another thing you might wanna know.. uh, this might sound like a joke but bare with me!
I'm speaking based on rumors here but.. apparently a young Girl with a big Spiky hat and way too big sweater somehow managed to save the Crystal..? Some people think It was actually the guards, but they say that they only managed to get YOU out in time.
As you may expect no one right now knows the actual truth, but those who do stand by their "Spiky Hat girl" rumor say they saw her using Magic? Which to me personally seems quiet ridiculous as no one in their right mind would dare to use spell-craft in Land's like ours where it is forbidden. I mean.. Its been a good few years since Katherine's event, everyone should know by now that It is no longer allowed, right?"
…
"Magic? Yeah that does sound unusual.. though if no one could Identify her properly, she could be from farther away? I'm not sure why she would be here though..
..Thinking about it more, I did feel an usual amount of Energy within me while running, It does seem unrealistic that I was even able to come so far Into the Forest before I needed help, but then again I'm not sure what to think about the Idea of Magic in our Land's aswell."
Lizzie gradually looks away, her mind wondering. She hasn't heard about the usage of Magic in a while— nor has it been dared to even be mentioned often after an accident with another Emperor.
"I dont think it really matters right now dear Lizzie, me personally? just glad that you came out of there alive. I'm SO incredibly relieved that all the civilians are in safety aswell! hopefully all the children managed to stay with their Parents, or reunited. As I said Joel should be fine, I mean.. if he's not I dont see why. After-all he gets to relax in the biggest and prettiest house in Arella's.. such a Joke."
Lizzie reads off a little bit of Jealousy on Skizz's Face as he continued the conversation. It brings her face a smile, following with a chuckle.
"..Oh skizz, hes Arella's Ruler! Of course Tango will have a bigger house then the average! Hey, if it makes you feel better, I think you have the prettiest House in Arellas, even if its the only one I know."
"Oh! You think so? Thanks Lizzie, you are so right!"
As Lizzie watches Skizz's Face light up from her Compliment, she smiles and looks around the Room again, this time taking a proper look into all the cozy Details. A sigh leaves her lips, her shoulders relaxing as she lays back onto her pillow.
"at-least I can rest easy now that I know that everything's generally ended Okay."
"Oh— yes! Don't worry everything has been taken care of. Now, you do need to stay here for just a few more Days to rest ..however, a little Bird aka. Your husband has ALSO informed me that during their emergency meeting they've planned a proper meeting with all the Kingdoms. I think its…5 days from now? I'm not to sure but you absolutely have enough time to get back on your Feet."
"Alright.. makes sense. Uh— do you think you can ask Tango on Joel's conditions in the upcoming time? I just need a proper confirmation."
"Of course! I'm supposed to meet that Guy for a feast preparation tomorrow anyways.. so If I dont forget, I'll gladly ask! I'll bring you all the Updates I can get."
"Oh Thank you so much Skizz, what would I do without you? and Thank you for all the research just to tell me, I seriously appreciate it."
"Always my dear! It is an honor to me that I was even given the task to take care of you for the time being, so I hope that I was able to help you calm down at-least a little bit.
..
I do have to go now, I'll have to prepare us some dinner, do you like mashed potatoes?"
"for sure! Thank you Skizz, If I need anything I'll let you know."
"Great! Okay, I'll see you in a-bit. Not sure how long it will take me to finish the Food, but once it's done I'll bring it here for you to eat. Feel free to do whatever you want, just.. dont walk TOO much if you do, you should probably rest those feet! I'll also work on getting you some extra clothes tomorrow, seeing as the only thing available to wear for you right now is your nightgown. We can talk about that later though, for now I'll see you! Buh bye!"
"That's fine, See you Skizz!"
The Man gives Lizzie one last smile, standing back up from the squeaky Wooden chair and slowly walking towards the Door while leaving a shadow of himself behind. Lady Elizabeth who is now a little more calm, decides to watch the Sunset out a nearby arched Window while Resting. Eventually she also manages to get her hands on one of Skizz's books, Interestedly reading until Skizz come's back with delicious mashed potatoes to end the Day.
The two continue to share conversations over the next few days and slowly but surely Lizzie gets back up on her Feet. Once she had enough strength in her feet to properly walk again, she decided to head onto a Stroll trough the city of Arellas.
The colorful Field's of all kinds of Flowers bring the girl a smile as she brings her steps closer, her hair flying in the Wind while she collects the prettiest she finds. The sun seemed utterly bright on that day, but as much as it shined its light onto the earth, Lizzie suddenly manages to spot someone farther in the Fields, one she can soon recognize as her partner, Joel.