Ashes to Ashes | ✓

6 || Her Game

Scarlet and crimson stained the halls of Niveus's palace. Gold lined the red carpets, providing something for Aiko's eyes to follow when she began to drown out the brilliant, fiery color that surrounded her. Her steps were muted against the soft carpet as she walked down the hall, clipped and choppy to reflect the storm brewing within her.

"You don't have blood on your hands, do you?"

The words had barely left her lips before the unnamed man's forest green eyes lit up in surprise. He took a small step back as if struck and it took him a heartbeat to flatten back into his expressionless mask again. It was fascinating. He almost always wore this disinterested expression, as if to portray that his mind was empty. Sometimes, a weak flicker of a flame stirred in his eyes, and a cold, calculating look took over his face. But for the most part, he was empty like a shell.

That unnamed man... A smile rose to her lips. His weak flame was exactly what she needed.

She flung the doors open, stepping into the palace library. At this hour, it was completely dark and abandoned, and the halls of the west wing of the palace were the same. Windows lined the far wall, letting silver moonlight flood the room. Yet even so, the shadows hung thickly around the shelves of books, clawing at her from the depths of the deep. They could never reach her, for she was engulfed in flames that burned ever bright, but some small part of her hung back anyway.

Taking the lantern from the hook on the wall beside the door, she crouched low to the ground. "Mae," she called, her gaze locked on the farthest part of the hall. "Come light this for me."

Quick as always to answer a summons, the white cat came scampering out of the dark, his tail waving in the air and his head held high. He mewed at her as he sat in front of her lantern, staring up at her with striking, electric blue eyes. He held her stare for a moment longer, the tip of his tail twitching.

With a sigh, Aiko pointed to the lantern. She opened the hatch to expose the candle's wick inside, holding it out to the pesky cat. "Light it, Mae. I haven't got all night to stand around and stare at you."

He almost seemed to roll his eyes as he turned his attention to the lantern. Opening his mouth, he breathed a small, blue flame onto the wick. The flame stuck, flickering as it cast pale azure light across the deep red floor. Smiling, Aiko stroked Mae's side, combing her fingers through his soft fur. A purr rumbled through his body; he closed his eyes and nuzzled against the palm of her hand. She chuckled to herself. For a magical creature with a flame bound to guarding the forests of Niveus, he was often just the same as any normal cat.

Aiko stood and made her way into the library, holding the lantern high to allow its light to cascade across the floor and chase the shadows away. The shadows seemed to hiss as they retreated from the light, parting like water for her as she walked.

She knew exactly where to go even without scanning the shelves. She had been there many times before, and her feet carried her without a signal from her mind. Smooth wood slid beneath her fingers as she trailed them across the shelves, brushing over the numbered plaques. Forty-three, forty-two, forty-one. She stopped at the empty place where plaque forty should have been, though it had been missing for as long as she could remember. All that remained as evidence of its existence was the faint outline of it left on the wood.

Row forty was where the records of myths and fairytales were placed. As a kid, she had asked before why forty was the number that marked them. The librarian had told her it had to do with fairies themselves. The explanation made Aiko frown, even now. In this palace, no one ever took her seriously. Her concerns were waved away, her ideas were dismissed, and her questions were looked down on. Despite her coming coronation, the court and the regent were still quick to steer a conversation in their favor, glossing right over her when she voiced concern about the Core and her curse in regards to the safety of her kingdom. When she was a kid, it didn't matter. As an adult preparing to take the throne, it stung.