Fire and Ice

Prologue

I can tell you I've always been special, and I wouldn't be lying. As a young child, I grew up to love fire. I'd be able to do anything I could possibly want with it, something that was looked down upon. They thought I'd be the downfall of the village. With huts of wood, beds of straw, and very flammable surroundings, they thought that fire would be the death of them.

Of course, they were right. But when it came to the cause of the fire, they were so very wrong.

I could remember it being the day of my fifteenth year, and I'd gotten the worst surprise.

I woke up to find the village in flames. Of course, people were quick to blame the Embers family, despite the fact that the fire had started at McKrubnick's hut, on the other side of the village. I could hear screaming, and the crackle of wood as fire ate away at all it could consume. Smoke swirled through the sky, blocking out the bright and fiery sun. It seemed to go on forever, and I felt myself paralyzed until the flames began to lick at our hut.

"Elijah!" I screamed, hoping my older brother was okay. "Mother?" I got no response from either of them, and I felt fear swell in my chest. I continued to call out to them, stumbling out of bed to search the rest of the smoke filled hut. My lungs burned, my throat itching to be scratched to shreds.

I could faintly see Elijah dragging my mother from the hut, and I knew she was unconscious from all the smoke. Being ill, this could have killed her. I could understand why he'd taken her out first. We needed her to survive, and we were to put our parents first. Our father died long ago, when I was only seven. Elijah had been thirteen.

I followed them out, wincing as the flames licked at my feet. I rushed out to see bright orange everywhere. The flames danced through the village, people falling into its grasp. I could hear children wailing at the top of their lungs, only taking a break to hack and cough in an attempt to banish the smoke in their lungs. Running through the village, I caught sight of the Solace hut, and of little Patrick inside.

I didn't have time to think before I broke away from Elijah and mother, racing off to get Patrick. He was only five, and I could hear his screaming throughout the village. I swore under my breath I as got to the hut to see the door was a rising flame and nothing more.
They have to have a window, I thought to myself angrily. I ran around to the back and found a small, child-sized window. There we go.
"Patrick!" I shouted, sticking my head in the unscathed window. He turned to look at me, boiling tears streaming down his chubby cheeks.
"Ash!" He wailed, running over to the window. It was just above his head. "I'm scared! It's too hot, Ash. It hurts!"
"No baby," I cooed as soothingly as I could. "You'll be okay. It's just a little light, light is good. It makes the bad things go away, okay? There's nothing to be afraid of, it's just light."
The tears streamed down his cheeks, turning to steam when they hit the ground.
"I can't get out," he sobbed, running ashy hands against his eyes. He cried out in pain and I could see the fire spreading rapidly into his home. I felt the panic and the fear encase me. I rubbed the small ruby that was tied around my neck on a worn string. It caught the light, throwing off orange and red beams of color. My father had given it to me.
"You'll be okay Patrick. Let's make it a story time. Once upon a time there was a small village, with a special little boy named Patrick. He could do anything he dreamed, darkness and nightmares battled away by the fire in his eyes. He brought light to everything, and a fire was always so much warmer when he was around. One day a big fire came to the village, and Patrick was trapped. His best friend Ash came to the rescue, finding a small Patrick-sized hole in the wall for him to escape through. He jumped through the hole, letting Ash catch him and pull him out. Everything was okay, and everyone was safe," I rushed, watching the flames get closer by the second. He had stopped crying and ignored the rest of the world to listen to my words. I smiled at him as best I could, trying to ignore the smoke that burned away the air in my lungs.
"Was it really okay?" He called, turning abruptly when the front of the hunt began to collapse.
"Yes! Yes it was all okay!" I cried urgently, causing him to whip back around. "To be like him, all you have to do is jump as high as you can. On the count of three I need you to jump, okay?"
He nodded, bending at his knees as he readied himself.
"One..."
The flames inched closer.
"Two..."
They began to lick at his clothing.
"Three. Jump Patrick!" He jumped and I grabbed hold of him, slamming against the wall as his weight threatened to pull me in. I struggled against the burning wood and rising flames, pulling him free of the hut. We slammed down onto the hard dirt and he rolled out of my arms. He got to his feet, rushing over and grabbing my hands as I hacked up smoke.
"Come on Ash! Let's go," he urged. I heard the strained goraning of wood. I knew what would happen next.
"Go!" I shouted, giving him a shove in the other direction. He moved to come back to me when the hut collapsed. I felt the burning wood fall onto my body, encasing me in pain and smoke, the flames licking at my skin. The last thing I remember seeing was a full moon, peeking out through the black smoke.

I could remember being burned. Waking up, I wasn't sure how I was still alive. I struggled to breathe, fear encasing me as I remember what happened to me. Had Patrick made it out alive? Was he okay?

Be at peace, someone whispered. I looked up, the full moon peeking out through the black clouds. The moon shone brightly, an eerie bluish-white colored light coming down in beams. They surrounded me and, sitting up, I could see I was lying in a circle of ashes. During my period of unconsciousness, they'd been matted into my blonde hair – turning it an ashy gray-black color. I sighed. I'd have to go wash it out in the stream. Getting up, I ambled over to the stream, which was somewhat deep into the woods. Crouching down, I closed my eyes and submerged part of my head, allowing the water to flow through. It felt like ice was seeping into my body and I recoiled, eyes flying open.

Steam was rising from the water, and my head. My heart clenched as I bit back screams. I'd fallen back onto my bum, the water half a foot in front of me. I leaned forward, my hair steaming. The ash wouldn't come out. I leaned over the water, ready to dip my hair back in when I caught sight of my eyes. A scream tore its way out of my throat as I saw my eyes. They were literally blazing with fire in the irises. My eyes were no longer a nice blue, they were bright with orange flames, dancing around and making me dizzy.

My hair had become an ashy color, my eyes bright with flames. What happened to me?

Well, I found out when Manny, the man in the moon, told me. His exact words: You are Ashlyn Embers, starter of fire and bringer of light.

Well, isn't that just wonderful.