Chapter 27: Elena

　　Eight Years Ago

　　Before nightfall, on the eve of Isabel`s demise, Elena fled from the palace of Belmire. She had caught the attention of a few guards, and they were giving chase. It was probably not the best idea to have walked right out the front door, but she was too happy to worry about being reckless.

　　I found the way up. I found the door. Oh, by the Crown, Isabel is going to be so excited! Elena sprinted toward the wall between barracks one and two. The palace blacktop around her was empty save for her pursuers. She had set up a fake wall to easily sneak into the palace.

　　She wore a hood and mask to conceal her identity; she wasn`t that careless. With it being so dark, she was glad she brought her lantern.

　　"Stop! Intruder!" a Crown Knight shouted from behind her.

　　Let me deal with them first. . . Elena thought. She didn`t carry a weapon - Isabel`s orders - but she did have her own bag of tricks. With a bright smile, she took a small orb from a pouch in her pocket and lit the wick on the end of it with her lighter. She paused in front of her fake wall and threw the item behind her. The guards shouted incoherently, and then the world was

　　surrounded by smoke. Elena slipped through the fake wall - making sure to place it back so they wouldn`t follow, and then fell silently into the alleyways of the city.

　　Finally, Isabel is going to see me as an equal! Elena`s smile broadened. Maybe then she`ll& she flushed, then shook her head vigorously. She poked her cheeks and continued back toward her tavern.

　　No. Her love would always be unrequited.

　　As soon as she stepped onto the main path of Belmire, she crashed into someone. She fell back, landing on the floor.

　　"Hey! What the hell is -" She paused and held up her lantern. The girl of her dreams stood in front of her, her best friend.

　　"Izzy!" Elena sprung up and threw her arms around her friend. She put her whole body weight on her, and the Lady of the Moon did not once falter. She had her white hair tied back, her hood off, and her mask fell around her neck. Although she had some kind of serious look in her eye.

　　"Off," she said.

　　Elena obeyed.

　　"Are you going to tell me what you`ve been up to?"

　　"Oh yes absolutely!" Elena said, bouncing up and down.

　　She glanced over, and although she had hardly noticed him, little Caden stood pensively behind her.

　　"Uh, maybe we should take him home first?" Elena suggested.

　　"No! I`m big enough to go on missions now," Caden protested. "I just defeated my first bad guy." He smirked.

　　"He means I defeated him, and he just watched," Isabel corrected. "But you can tell me I`m giving him a chance, you know?"

　　The small boy huffed and turned bright red.

　　"The palace is weak right now. The Crusaders have left!"

　　Isabel raised an eyebrow, "Really? Where could they have gone?"

　　"I`m not sure, but I checked. I was sneaking around and -"

　　"Wait, you went into the palace again?"

　　Elena flushed and put her hand behind her head. "I was scoping out the place for our mission."

　　"Is that why you`re wearing that ridiculous mask?" Isabel asked, gesturing to the face mask and hood.

　　"Yes ma`am!"

　　Isabel sighed. "Well, were you caught?"

　　"Nope!"

　　"Tell the truth."

　　"Maybe&"

　　She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Ellie. . ."

　　That little nickname nobody else called her, oh, how it made Elena`s heart flutter.

　　"Tell me what you found."

　　"Cerise Hall is empty. If we go in there right now, we might be able to make it to that top room! I found a door through a passageway, and it leads into the center tower."

　　Isabel was suddenly ecstatic. Her eyes lit up with joy, and the corners of her mouth curved into a smile. "We should go." She turned to Caden. "You need to go home."

　　"What! No! I can go! You said I could go!" He stomped his feet.

　　"There`s no time, the Crusaders are returning today," said Elena. "Izzy, if we don`t do this now. . . we might not ever get another chance."

　　Isabel looked very concerned for a moment. It was like she was calculating one thousand things all at once. Was she communicating with her past lives?

　　Finally, she said: "Fine. Just grab my hand and don`t let go."

　　Caden looked so confident at that moment. The boy had a short sword tied around his belt and a cloak like theirs. His mask was the one she sold him - Luna had made it. She was always crafting things. It was wonderful, despite her condition.

　　After today, we`ll heal you. After the curse has ended, you will be healthy again. Elena thought. Not only did she do this dangerous work to impress Isabel, but she did it to help restore her sister`s health.

　　"Come on," Isabel grabbed Elena`s hand and Caden`s hand.

　　I`m holding hands with her. . . Elena thought.

　　She pulled her along, back through the alleyways and the fake wall. They immediately vanished into thin air. Elena had to keep her eyes off Isabel as they moved, and she also had to not furiously blush a bright red.

　　The trio put their masks and hoods on to conceal themselves and - using Isabel`s invisibility - walked right through the palace blacktop and into the building itself.

　　Elena led them past the sizeable double staircase and opened the rosewood doors to Cerise Hall. The place was vacant, empty, and it seldom was. They took a hidden corridor from the large circular room and stopped before a solid steel door.

　　Isabel let go of them, and they all became visible. Elena glanced up at her and watched as she wiped blood from her nose. Was she okay? Did that over-exert her? Did she need -

　　"Come on," Isabel said. "If it truly is here, as you say, we must be quick. We can`t let those bells go off, or every knight in the city will be after us." She approached Elena, glancing directly into her eyes. "Is this what you found? Are you sure it leads to the tower?"

　　By the Crown, she`s so close. . . Elena thought, leaning toward Isabel. She`s so pretty. Her cheeks grew hot.

　　"Elena."

　　The girl jumped. "Ah, yes, right, sorry!" She skipped down toward the circular steel door in front of them. "I think you should be able to open it like you do with other locked doors. Then we can know for sure if it will take us up."

　　The wall the door was on was a weird array of sheets of metal plastered with bolts. There was more metal - that looked like pipes and gears - covering the entire wall. The door stood at the center, with lanterns that lit up with no flame surrounding the perimeter. It was like, light. . . coming from nowhere.

　　Isabel placed her hands on the door. Magic erupted around her. Lights, sparks, and snowflakes of blue and white radiated out from her form. She began to glow with an incredible aura. It swirled through the air like a wind torrent before finally filling the door with that same light. It clicked loudly and creaked open, revealing the interior of a circular tower.

　　"See! The tower!"

　　"This is fantastic," Isabel said. She rushed Elena and lifted her into a hug. She twirled around and laughed before placing her down. Elena was stunned by the rush of her closeness, and her scent now lingered near.

　　Oh god, I`m so out of it. Elena thought.

　　"So," Caden spoke up. Elena had forgotten he was even there. To be honest, she was surprised Isabel had brought him - but perhaps the excitement from the Sun skewed her judgment.

　　"What is it, Caden?"

　　"What`s in here? And why did we have to sneak in?"

　　Elena looked at Isabel, and she nodded in reply. She bent down, and although she didn`t do it often - she knew when Isabel was about to lie.

　　"Well, some knights are bad people, and they decided to take the sky and make the clouds bloody. So, Ms. Elena and I are here to fix that." She stood up. "I should really take you home. . ."

　　"No! I can be here! If you guys are saving the world, I want to be part of it!"

　　"Listen to me carefully then," she said. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is a dangerous mission, very dangerous, the one you always said you wanted to help me with, but you know that you can`t. I`m going to let you go up there with us, but you need to promise me that you won`t do anything unless I give you permission."

　　He nodded vigorously. "Yes ma`am!" He gave a knight`s salute, and Elena couldn`t help but chuckle at his determination.

　　The three ascended the tower. Torches were placed in sconces in a deliberate pattern. The stone steps spiraled upward, and a thin railing was placed all along it. Banners of purple and blue fell in long sheets. The walls were stone brick, gray, and old. There were cracks; it was as if this was the oldest building in Belmire - and the palace was built around the tower. This looked nothing like the weird metal wall they had come through.

　　The ascent was brutal, and Elena`s legs felt like they were going to fall off by the time they finally reached the top. Caden was moaning and complaining to Isabel the whole climb - but whenever he spoke up - she would tell him that this was what it took to go on missions with her. His vigor would be renewed.

　　Isabel didn`t get tired - nor did she stop for a moment, it was insanity - that woman - that beautiful woman. . . she was unstoppable. On top of that, every step they took made her smile grow.

　　Not too much time passed, as the blood-red clouds still produced light by the time the climb was over.

　　The top room of the palace was this giant, wide area that jutted out in all directions. It was more expansive than the tower and rose two stories. There were closed doors to the left and a large throne to the right. Above them were railings that led to separate rooms and many torches lighting everything up. Pillars ran along the sides of the railing to keep it upright, and underneath were little hallways that held many open chests overflowing with random items that Elena didn`t recognize.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author`s consent. Report any sightings.

　　"It`s a treasure room," said Caden. He began to pace around the room, touching everything he could get his little hands on. Isabel would scold him every single time.

　　That was what it looked like. Treasure.

　　After a minute of exploring, Isabel pointed to the double doors across from the large throne. "Let`s see where this door leads."

　　She threw them open and immediately shielded her eyes. Elena did the same. It was so bright as if they had just cleaved their way up to heaven. After a moment, their eyes adjusted to the new bright light, and all three of them entered the door and arrived on a balcony. The place was a small semicircle cut out from the tower with a hefty steel railing running around the edge.

　　Below them were the blood-red clouds that covered the sky. Above them were brilliant fluffy white clouds. They were the complete opposite of the bloody ones below. Heat radiated outward from somewhere, surrounding them all.

　　Elena glanced up at Isabel, and she was crying.

　　"Izzy. . ."

　　"Look. . . you feel it, don`t you. You see it up there, behind the white clouds. Look." She pointed forward.

　　Elena glanced out and saw an orange orb of fire rippling through the sky. It was hidden behind the white clouds, but when those clouds moved - they saw the Sun. She had to shield her eyes from the sheer power it held over them. She cowered, covering her face and looking down.

　　None of them could look at it directly - not even Isabel, and she was unstoppable.

　　"Looks like your hasty nature paid off this time, huh?" Isabel said. "Come on, let`s find a way to destroy those clouds."

　　Elena nodded.

　　Caden followed them back inside. He had mumbled a few things to her, asking about the legends - but he was very new to all of this. However, after today, he would probably be involved in this now. Elena thought of Luna - and how she would never involve her in the life that Isabel had created for her.

　　"Caden," Isabel said. "Go wait at the staircase, and let us know if anyone is coming, okay? I need to find a way to save the world."

　　He nodded vigorously and ran off.

　　Isabel stopped in place in front of one of the large stone walls. It was littered with tons of different symbols and writing on it. After her eyes scanned the wall, she pulled out a stack of papers from a satchel she had thrown over her shoulder. With a writing utensil, she began to copy a ton of notes.

　　"Do you know what these symbols mean?"

　　"Yelzar says he recognizes them, but I`m writing them down for translation later. I think I have a buddy who can read it for us. Some kind of instructions to break the curse or to stop a Shard of Sin."

　　"Shard of Sin?"

　　"Well," Isabel said. "I`m the Tigress, the reincarnation of it at least, you get that, right?"

　　Elena nodded.

　　"The Shards of Sin are my mortal enemies," said Isabel. "Created to destroy me."

　　"And. . . the curse was caused by one of them?"

　　"Precisely."

　　"What do we need to do next?" Elena asked. She scuttled closer to Isabel, and their shoulders touched. She smiled broadly, and Isabel didn`t seem to notice.

　　"I`m not sure. There`s not much we can use here. Just a throne, an old Crown, and a bunch of random objects." She lifted a small stone statue from one of the many chests and tossed it back in.

　　"Hey. . ."

　　The girls turned at the sound of the voice. It was Caden. He had moved. He now stood directly in front of the throne with the old Crown in his hands. His eyes were wide, and his body was trembling.

　　"Put that down, Caden, it`s useless," said Elena.

　　Isabel raised an eyebrow at her brother.

　　"No. It. . . It can make me strong. I can - be like you," he whispered.

　　"Caden, NO!" Isabel shouted, her demeanor changing entirely in a matter of seconds. She lunged after him, dashing through the air like an arrow in the wind. But it was too late. Caden placed the Crown on his head and exploded. Magic sparks of flame and embers erupted out from him. A cloud of pitch-black smoke swallowed him whole.

　　Isabel was thrown back, and the two collided.

　　And that was the first time Elena had felt her Flame.

　　Whatever it was that spewed out from Caden as he put on the Crown - gave her the shred of madness called Pyromancy.

　　Kill them. It spoke for the first time, and Elena was frightened.

　　Isabel struggled to her feet. "My past lives," she said. "They are gone. I have nothing, whatever that was. . ."

　　"I`m Kindling!" Elena complained. She panicked, putting her hands on her head and struggling to get up. "It`s screaming at me!"

　　"Calm down," Isabel said. "You need to. . ." she cried out in agony, thrusting Elena back into reality. "Please, we need to go. Something is terribly, terribly wrong. I`m forgetting. . . I`m losing it. Elena, we need to run now!"

　　"What`s wrong? What can I do?"

　　"I`m losing things. You, what`s your name? I know you, but your name I . . ." Isabel stammered, taking a step back and holding her hand to her head.

　　The black cloud that was once Caden had now reformed into something demonic. A hulking monstrosity of a man was in his place. The Crown himself. He was ten feet tall at least, with bulky black and red armor full of spikes protruding outward in random directions. He held an enormous hammer of pure death with a spearhead that topped it. He lit a fireball in his hand.

　　"Look out!" Elena dived low, tackling Isabel to the ground as the fireball soared through the sky and exploded the doors to the balcony.

　　She didn`t have time to process that she and Isabel were nose to nose before another fireball soared toward them. Elena reached her hands out to protect her best friend.

　　Kill them.

　　Help me! She cried.

　　The voice, her Flame, listened to her demands. The fireball was absorbed completely. The voice grew louder and more urgent, and Elena`s mind flickered and desperately clung to sanity.

　　"Let`s go! Now!" Elena exclaimed. Isabel burst to her feet and shot a beam of Moonlight at the Crown. The attack was so strong it knocked the hulking beast back. Then, she grabbed Elena, threw her over her shoulder, and sprinted for the staircase. Another fireball exploded, and the shockwave sent them hurtling down over the edge of the railing.

　　Elena watched as the spiral staircase fell around her. She needed to do something and fast. Isabel was above her, diving down toward her. They were both in free fall. The wind ripped at her hair, and they danced in mid-air momentarily before Isabel grabbed her and thrust them both upward. The force slowed their descent, and they landed at the bottom of the tower.

　　Her magic truly is unstoppable. . .

　　The footsteps of the Crown echoed throughout the whole palace. The bells began to ring loudly as well. They had been caught. Isabel looked around aimlessly, not sure of herself. What had happened to her? She was never this worried.

　　"You," she said. "Where am I? What`s going on? Who are you?"

　　"It`s Elena!" Elena said, tears falling from her face. "We need to run!"

　　She got to her feet and grabbed Isabel by the arm, pulling her back into Cerise Hall just as the entire tower filled with a brilliant orange fire. The Crown had burned everything on the way down. The old door exploded, and the weird metal wall was smothered in flames. He landed, and Elena glanced back, seeing the red eyes of death.

　　What do I do?

　　Kill them all, said the Flame. Kill her. Kill the Tigress.

　　Elena bit back the desire to listen and pulled Isabel back into the palace hall. They passed the twin staircases and took a left down toward the mess hall.

　　The sewers! That`s it!

　　"I`m taking you here," said Elena. They arrived at the entrance that led to the sewer tunnels. She reached down and grabbed a metal grate. Eventually, this path would lead to the vagrant tunnels.

　　Isabel would find safety there. The metal melted in her hands, and with much more force than she intended, Elena lifted the entire grate off and threw it to the side. Her mind burned with a desire to kill everyone around her.

　　Burn them all. Then, walk away stronger.

　　"What is happening?" Isabel looked confused, like a child who was na飗e to danger. A few knights rushed toward them from behind.

　　"Stop! Trespassers!"

　　"Who is a trespasser? Is this girl evil?" Isabel asked them. She began to approach them. Elena rushed her, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her back. What was wrong? She was acting as if she`d never seen her before.

　　The Shard of Sin enjoys messing with memories, said the Flame. The corners of her vision began to bleed red.

　　The Crown? Was that how she forgot everything?

　　"You two, with me. Do not resist. We`re taking you in," a Crown Knight shouted at them.

　　Elena stepped in front of Isabel.

　　Kill them, said the Flame.

　　Very well.

　　Elena unleashed a flame so hot it melted the bronze armor of the men in front of her. The metal melted through their skin and bone. Their screams were drowned out by the blazing roar. They were dead in seconds.

　　She spun back to Isabel.

　　"Listen to me," Elena pleaded. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

　　Kill her, said the Flame. Take her power for yourself. Become the Tigress. It`s what you`ve always wanted. Her vision bled, and the corners of everything she saw turned a deeper crimson. She shut her eyes and shook her head furiously.

　　"Shut up!"

　　"I didn`t say anything," Isabel said, flinching away.

　　"Not you!" Elena stammered. "Listen to me. You need to leave. Enter the sewers. Keep that satchel safe. I`ll hold everyone and everything off. You need to. . ." The footsteps grew closer. "Go into the sewers now!"

　　Elena ushered a frantic Isabel down the ladder.

　　"Remember this," Elena said. "Your name is Isabel. You must protect that satchel and your brother. Your past lives are nearly lost. Please. Go, and I`ll come to find you, and we`ll get your memories back. Just run."

　　Isabel descended the ladder.

　　Elena threw on her cloak and mask, concealing her identity once more. Then, and only then, did she let her vision bleed crimson. Madness encompassed her, and it filled her with one brutal emotion. Rage.

　　* * *

　　A chunk of time had passed, that much she knew. The Flame had taken her will and rampaged out into the city. Her Kindling was awful, and she barely remembered any of it. After it ended, Elena was on her back in an empty alley. She heaved in deep breaths as her eyes glanced skyward. The blood-red clouds had begun to produce light; It was daytime. She reached up with her hand. "The Sun," she said. "It`s real. I will bring it back."

　　She had just one thought with her mind still burning.

　　Isabel.

　　She leaped to her feet and began to sprint through the alleyways. Her skin had turned into a glowing orange color. She was Kindling, and her Flame still roared in her mind. This magic was new to her, but it felt horrible - how could any Pyromancer live like this?

　　After searching for quite some time, she saw her. Isabel. She was limping down an alleyway with her back turned.

　　Kill her. Said the Flame.

　　Elena lunged after her just as Isabel collapsed.

　　"Izzy!" Elena shouted. She fell to her knees right next to her.

　　Isabel looked horrible. Her side was bleeding, and her face was covered with scratches and wounds. Her hair and clothes were soaking wet, and her eyes were big and wide. Elena had never seen Isabel ever look weak, but she looked horrible now.

　　"Hey, you`re going to be okay, I promise, don`t worry." Elena placed a hand on her cheek and sat next to her.

　　"Who. . . are you?"

　　"Someone safe."

　　"I don`t remember. . . Where is my brother?"

　　Elena didn`t have an answer to that.

　　"He`s safe," she lied.

　　Kill her, the Flame said. Her vision bled crimson, and tears fell down Elena`s cheeks. She wiped them away, only to see that she was crying blood. A thin red line ripped out from Elena and pierced Isabel. She didn`t know it at the time - but her Kindling had allowed her to freely compel anyone with no cost or drawback.

　　Kill her. Compel her. Force her to give the Tigress to me. To us. The voice filled her head and caused her entire body to ache. Pain ripped through her like waves, peeling her skin back and tearing off her nails. She was so hot; she was melting. A blazing inferno ripped the air apart around them.

　　"NO!" Elena shouted, putting her hands on her head. "I won`t! I refuse!"

　　"It`s so bright," said Isabel. "Why?"

　　Elena was on fire. She was burning everything around them - but not her, oh, she could never burn her.

　　"Do it," said the Flame, using her voice.

　　"NO!" Elena frantically clawed at her head, trying to get the Flame out of her.

　　But her vision had already bled crimson, and she remembered leaning down toward Isabel and choking the life out of her.

　　"NO! STOP! PLEASE!"

　　Kill her.

　　"I won`t!"

　　"Give me your power," said the Flame, using Elena`s voice. "Give the Tigress to a Shard of Sin."

　　"NO!" Elena screamed.

　　Despite everything, the Flame had reached deep within her heart and uncovered the fruit of her sin. Ever since she had met Isabel, she had been jealous of her. She had wanted her power. She had desired to be the Tigress. She wanted this, no matter how badly she tried to deny it. All she wanted at Isabel`s last moment was to take her power for herself.

　　The red line rippled with Heat, and the compulsion worked.

　　But Elena did not deserve such magnificent power.

　　"Give it to me!" Elena said. "To my blood!"

　　Only when life faded from Isabel completely did the Kindling stop. The Flame was snuffed out, and she was left alone.

　　She sprang into action and pushed down on Isabel`s chest, compressing it. She had recalled her mother using the same technique to bring back the dead before.

　　Come back. Please come back. I can`t do this alone. I need you!

　　Everything around her was stained in ash, all but Isabel`s lifeless form.

　　"Isabel?"

　　Caden was shouting from a reasonable distance away.

　　"Please. . . come back."

　　It wasn`t working, despite the chest compressions - Isabel was already gone.

　　You failed, said the Flame.

　　"Isabel! Where are you!" Caden was shouting.

　　She could not face Caden. She could not tell him what had happened. She didn`t even know how he was alive - let alone what happened to the Crown.

　　So, she just ran. Elena got up and sprinted away - away from everything and everyone. Perhaps Isabel would still be alive if she had simply tried hard enough. If only she had more control, if only she could have fought back against this madness. . .

　　It was your rashness that killed her, said the Flame. If you had been more cautious, more careful. . . more in control.

　　Despite her hatred of her newfound magic - he was right. It was her fault. What had she done? How could she ever atone?

　　* * *

　　Time passed. She wasn`t sure how long. Now, she sat down on a low stone wall in quadrant three and cried. Isabel was dead; the Flame had forced her hand. She held onto her goal tightly. The curse that rested over the land must be broken, and Pyromancy must be eradicated. If not for the world, if not for herself. . . then for Isabel.

　　Elena stayed up well into the night sitting on that wall and crying, desperately hoping this would all be a nightmare. . . but she knew one day, she must return to the tavern to help Luna.

　　Oh, Isabel&

　　Not once had she anticipated this. Never again, she would never be reckless again. She would control everything, the entire world if she had to. She must. For if not, the curse may never be broken. She had nothing left; there was nothing more to give. She would see the Sun again - no matter the cost.

　　"Flame," she said out loud. "I command you to tell me everything about Pyromancy."

　　You do not have Pyromancy. The Flame said.

　　"Explain." She wiped her tears.

　　You have Heliomancy. Magic of the Sun. Gifted to you by the Shard of Sin: Madness.

　　"That`s what you call the Crown?"

　　Indeed. I am part of what you call "The Crown." But we are much more than that.

　　"Then tell me. Tell me everything."

　　As you wish, daughter of ash.