Chapter 13: The Scar of Fire
Why are
you afraid of your own magic? It was a question Kiara had expected to hear,
but never did she think it would come so soon. Never did she imagine it’d come
from someone other than Danson, or Leeu, and never did she imagine she’d be
without something to say. It was the abruptness of it all that left her
speechless, and made her take a seat in one of the room’s blue lounge chairs,
as if she had been dealt a heavy blow. Why
are you afraid of your own magic? The question echoed through her mind and
she wondered as she sat there, how it had done so much to overwhelm her, and as
she wondered that, she wondered what was taking her so long to say. It was a
question she had expected, and despite her silence, it was a question she had
an answer to, but every time that answer tried to come up, she felt it get
stuck in her throat. After the third time she found her eyes locked onto the
bronze-skinned girl, who stared worried back, and Kiara wondered what stopped
her from giving the answer, and shooing Parlia’s wonder away. It wasn’t the
atmosphere as warm and friendly as the lights and Parlia’s intention, and it
wasn’t the reason behind it as it had never truly been a secret. Kiara knew she
could tell it to anyone, she had always wondered if she would, but despite
being in a position where she had the chance to say it, she couldn’t bring
herself to summon the words. She couldn’t bring herself to tell someone… someone
she had only just met.
“K-Kiara?”
Parlia called out to her, and it was at that moment that Kiara realized she had
started to cry, and realized that it was not being able to tell her friends and
family that kept her from divulging her tale.
“I’m
fine.” She said as she wiped the tears away, then looked down to her feet and
felt her mind go back. “On Nuovo Mondo… where I’m from, there are only three
eye-colors a person can have. Green, Blue, and Brown, and anything else is a
shade of those, so scarlet eyes like mine are unnatural, and because of that I
was always called a monster.” She started and with all the intent she could
show, Parlia listened and made Kiara feel just a slight bit better.
For
the young scarlet-eyed girl the tale that scarred her started a little less
than seven years ago. It was shortly after school had started again. To welcome
all the students back, a fair was being held, and the young eight-year-old
Kiara had decided to invite her family. For her it was going to be fun, just
being able to play with her mom, dad, and brother at a place she had never been
before, but someone else had a plan that didn’t agree with hers. It was in a
moment of separation when she had to go to the restroom. Kiara found herself
alone, but only briefly before Emily arrived with a group of friends.
“I
got into a fight with her recently because of a prank she pulled, but before
that it had been awhile, all because of what happened that day.” She explained
to Parlia who continued to listen, and wonder what would transpire within the
restroom that would change Kiara’s life around.
The
day was sunny and bright, the birds were chirping a peaceful melody, and
whether you listened carefully or not, you could hear the jubilee of jovial
children who played outside. It wasn’t a day that was set for tragedy, but
despite what the atmosphere would want; tragedy was what it would get. Emily
had come into the restroom, and upon seeing Kiara, she was a bit surprised. A
conversation she had with her friends had ended abruptly, and now she stared
with wide eyes at the scarlet-eyed girl, who stared back with a grimace, hoping
her day would not go wrong.
“Oh
my god Emily, you were right.” A girl had said. A girl who looked so much like
Emily yet contrasted with brown hair and height, and a smirk on her face that
suggested so much more dubiousness. “There really is a girl in your school with
weird eyes; I thought you were just lying.” She said, and her words struck
flint as they sparked a fire within Emily that made wide eyes turn briefly
apologetic before she smirked, and looked back to the older girl.
“I
don’t have to lie about these sorts of things.” Emily had replied, and Kiara
was ready with fires burning in her as well as she imagined the private
conversations where Emily laughed at her with the older girl.
“Look
at the look on her face; I guess she really is a monster too.” The older girl
remarked, and it was those words that made the flames rage and made Kiara
spring into action as she pinned Emily down and they began to fight.
It
was as uncoordinated as a fight between two grade school students could be. The
jump into action had caught Emily off guard, but the moment Kiara threw the
first punch and hit her in the face; Emily was back to her senses and decided
to grab Kiara’s hair. Kiara would still punch, but the pulling of her hair
would pull her away and have her on equal ground with Emily, who kicked at the
red-eyed girl as she tried to gain her footing. She had managed to stand before
Kiara, but that didn’t last too long, before Kiara sprung back up and pushed
her against one of the stalls’ closed doors. She was ready to throw a punch
again, before she felt something pull her hair, and felt it pull her body as
well, as she was thrown against the wall.
Just briefly, as she hit it and ignored the pain that climbed up her
back, she realized it was Emily’s friend, and was ready to fight her as well.
She was ready to jump at the older girl as well, and throw all thoughts of her
being taller and stronger away, before a third and fourth girl grabbed her
arms, and made sure they held Kiara back.
“Mom
and dad are going to be mad at you!” The older girl said, and it was then that
Kiara realized why she and Emily looked so similar. “You let this girl rip your
dress.” She pointed to a tear in the white dress Emily wore, and watched her
eyes fill with terror as the older girl’s smirk return full force.
“W-what
am I going to do?” Emily cried, and her sister could barely hold back the
laughter behind that smirk.
“There’s
nothing you can do, they’re going to be really mad.” Her sister managed to
swallow the giggle just long enough to spout antagonizing words. “All you can
do is, make her pay.” The giggle remained swallowed just long enough for her to
let out venomous words and spark Emily’s fire again, as blue turned onto Kiara
and cut her with murderous intent. “First we should beat her up, then we should
tear her clothes like she tore yours.” Her sister whispered to her, and Kiara
struggled viciously as she tried to escape the girls.
“I
think Emily was still a little scared though, despite how mad she was. Her
sister wasn’t however, and to make sure Emily would do it, she decided that she
was going to throw the first blow.” Kiara explained their persons and could see
Parlia get visibly sick as she imagined Emily’s sister and couldn’t contain her
disgust.
The
brown-haired girl, who looked so much like a taller Emily had walked up to
Kiara and pulled her hair back. A fist had been raised as she prepared to
strike the young scarlet-eyed girl, and like Kiara had never felt before,
something had hit her and thrown her for a loop. A hit had come a second time,
and then a third after that, and before too long she realized they weren’t
coming from one person, but three who were hitting her from all around. The
first thing she could recall from that moment was a warm sensation. The warmth
of the tears that ran down her face, and even some blood that had managed to be
drawn, but then she felt a blaze, an intense heat, and in that moment of fear
and hatred, she remembered wishing that everyone would burn. That was when the
fire appeared and exploded with all her rage, catching everything in the room
in an unhindered blaze and making the four girls run and leave her behind. For
a moment Kiara thought she would die, before she realized the flames were hers
to control, and letting all her rage flow out, she targeted Emily, her sister,
and her friends, and sent the fire rolling after them to make sure they
couldn’t get away. First, it exploded from the restroom door, and threw the
four girls across the hall, before it exploded out there as well, and they were
trapped. She could remember walking out of the restroom, the fire parting as
she made way and staring down with judgmental scarlet eyes, as a raging army
waited to take orders. She was ready to get her revenge. She was ready to make them pay, but before she could cast the
fire down, she heard a horrible scream, and realized someone was caught in the
blaze as well. She tried to calm it, but lack of experience left her unable and
more and more she heard screams and felt her rage get smothered under guilt.
Even when her rage was gone, the flames still raged, and while it was a bit
unintentional, she managed to keep Emily’s group alive as she cried in that
space.
“Eventually
the firefighters came and put the blazes out, but by then it was already too
late. Four people had died, and twelve others were severely injured, and the
cause of it all was I. It wasn’t till I heard that scream that I realized I was
about to kill someone, and since that day I hated it. I hated being able to
control this power.” Kiara held herself as her story concluded, and much like
that day she felt something warm, as Parlia came over and wrapped her arms
around her, leaving Kiara surprised.
“I’m
sorry!” Parlia yelled, and again Kiara had no idea what to say. “I’m sorry it
was so horrible for you.” She said, and without any idea what to say, Kiara
accepted the apology and hugged Parlia back.
“It’s
alright Parlia, after all, there’s nothing you could do.” She finally came up
with something, and as Parlia pushed herself away and took Kiara’s hand, she
realized that Parlia was apologizing for something else.
“I’m
sorry Kiara.” She said. “But you really mustn’t be afraid!” She pleaded, but
before Kiara could question why not, the window exploded, and a dust cloud
flooded the room…
[Chapter 13 ends…]
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