Chapter 5: Fire In The Village
1389 Words
The heavy knocks echoed through Elara's cottage.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
She sat frozen on the edge of her bed, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. The strange dream still lingered in her mind, and the warning of the mysterious woman refused to fade.
"Run... they are coming."
Another knock came, louder this time.
Elara grabbed the small knife she kept beside her bed and slowly approached the door.
"Who is it?" she called.
"It's me!" a familiar voice answered. "Rowan!"
She let out a relieved sigh and quickly opened the door.
Rowan Hart stood outside, breathing heavily. His sandy-brown hair was damp with sweat, and his clothes were covered in dust.
"Rowan? What happened?"
"You need to leave," he said urgently.
"What?"
"I saw strangers near the village. Armed men. They're asking about a healer who entered Blackwood Forest."
Elara's stomach dropped.
"They're looking for me?"
"I don't know for sure, but something feels wrong."
Before either of them could speak again—
A deafening horn blasted through the village.
BWWWWWOOOOM!
Rowan's face turned pale.
"They're here."
The peaceful night exploded into chaos.
Screams echoed from every direction.
The sound of galloping horses shook the ground.
Then came the first burst of flames.
A cottage at the edge of the village erupted into fire.
"Fire!" someone screamed.
"They're attacking!"
Elara rushed outside.
Dozens of masked warriors poured into Ashford Village like a black tide. They wore dark armor with crimson cloaks, their faces hidden behind iron masks shaped like snarling wolves.
They didn't rob.
They didn't negotiate.
They burned everything.
Torches flew through the air, setting rooftops ablaze.
Children cried as terrified parents pulled them toward the forest.
Smoke filled the sky.
The peaceful village became a battlefield within moments.
A masked warrior grabbed an elderly farmer by the collar.
"Where is the healer?"
"I... I don't know!"
The warrior struck him to the ground.
"Find her!"
"They said she lives here!"
Elara's eyes widened.
"They're looking for me..."
Rowan grabbed her wrist.
"We have to go!"
"But everyone—"
"You can't help anyone if you're dead!"
A scream cut through the air.
Lily's house was on fire.
Without thinking, Elara ran toward it.
"Elara!" Rowan shouted.
Ignoring him, she rushed into the burning cottage.
Smoke stung her eyes.
The roof groaned dangerously overhead.
"Lily!" she cried.
A weak sob answered.
She found the little girl trapped beneath a fallen wooden beam.
"Don't worry," Elara said, coughing. "I'm here."
Using every ounce of strength she had, she lifted the beam just enough for Lily to crawl free.
The moment they stumbled outside—
The roof collapsed behind them.
Rowan hurried over and carried Lily to safety.
"You could have died!"
"I couldn't leave her."
He wanted to argue, but another group of masked warriors appeared at the end of the street.
"There she is!"
"The healer!"
Their leader pointed his sword directly at Elara.
"Take her alive!"
Five warriors charged.
Rowan stepped in front of Elara.
"You'll have to go through me."
The leader laughed.
"A village hunter?"
"You think you can stop us?"
Rowan drew his hunting sword.
"I only need to slow you down."
The first warrior attacked.
Steel clashed.
Rowan barely blocked the strike before kicking his opponent backward.
Another attacked from the side.
Rowan spun and slashed across the man's arm.
The warrior cried out.
Two more surrounded him.
Despite being outnumbered, Rowan refused to retreat.
Elara watched in horror.
"Rowan!"
"Run!" he shouted.
She couldn't.
Her legs refused to move.
One masked warrior slipped past Rowan and lunged toward her.
Before his blade could reach her—
A burst of silver light exploded from the moonstone pendant hidden beneath Elara's clothes.
The warrior staggered backward.
"What was that?"
The glow disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Elara stared down at her chest in confusion.
The pendant...
How?
The attackers looked at one another.
"She has it!"
"So the old woman kept it!"
"The High Priest was right!"
Before Elara could ask what they meant, another voice rang out.
"Elara!"
Grandma Mira stood at the end of the street.
Her gray hair had come loose, and blood stained the sleeve of her dress.
She leaned heavily on her walking stick.
"Come to me!"
Elara immediately ran to her.
Rowan followed, fighting off another attacker as he retreated.
They reached Grandma Mira's cottage just as several villagers barricaded the door behind them.
Inside, frightened families huddled together.
Children cried softly.
Outside, flames continued consuming the village.
Grandma Mira looked at Elara with sad, knowing eyes.
"It has begun."
"What has?"
"The day I've feared for twenty-two years."
Elara frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
The old woman gently touched Elara's cheek.
"I prayed this day would never come."
"You know why they're here?"
Grandma Mira nodded.
"They're not here because of the Emperor."
Elara's breath caught.
"They're here..."
"...because of you."
Silence filled the room.
Rowan stared at the old woman.
"What do you mean?"
Grandma Mira closed her eyes.
"There are truths I've hidden for far too long."
A loud crash interrupted her.
The cottage walls shook.
"They're breaking in!" someone shouted.
Wood splintered.
The barricade began to crack.
Grandma Mira looked back at Elara, tears filling her aged eyes.
"I wanted you to have an ordinary life."
"You deserved that much."
Another heavy impact shook the door.
"We don't have much time."
She reached beneath her cloak and pulled out a small object wrapped in faded cloth.
She pressed it into Elara's trembling hands.
"Guard this with your life."
Elara carefully unfolded the cloth.
Inside rested an ancient silver pendant carved from a glowing moonstone.
It was unlike anything she had ever seen.
As soon as her fingers touched it, the pendant pulsed with a faint silver light.
Grandma Mira smiled sadly.
"I've been waiting..."
"...for this day..."
"...for twenty-two years."
Outside—
The front door exploded inward.
Masked warriors flooded into the cottage.
Their leader pointed directly at Elara.
"Seize the girl!"
Grandma Mira stepped in front of her granddaughter.
"No one touches her."
The old woman's voice, though quiet, carried a strength Elara had never heard before.
And for the first time in her life...
Elara realized her grandmother had been hiding far more than simple stories.
- Writer
