Flame in the Ashes

Chapter4

CHAPTER 4

It felt like she had been set ablaze all over again as she stared at her sister with blood on her neck and some streaming down her pale cheeks, serving as her tears.

Zhagayah reached out to her as fast as she could, but just when she was about to grab her by the hand, a strong force pulled her back to consciousness.

Gasping loudly, she bolted awake.

"Helena? Halena??" She Inquired sharply, her eyes searching for her sister in the unfamiliar room.

Had she dreamt it all? Or did she somehow hit her head and go into a coma?

She quickly raised her hands to examine her skin, and she found it healed with absolutely no blemish.

And better still, she had no broken bones. With excitement, she jumped from her sick bed and dashed towards the door, which looked very unfamiliar to her. It was fancy and beautiful-- the entire room was. Nothing she was used to.

Deciding to think about that later, she pulled open the door, ready to search for her sister.

She would tell Halena about her stupid dream, and they'd both share a laugh.

"You're awake." Her train of thought was cut short when she came face to face with a strange man. His face was consumed by surprise, but Zhagayah brushed it off.

"Yes." She would ask him questions about how she got here later, but first, she needed to find her sister. "But I can't find my sister." Her eyes kept scanning her surroundings in search of her sister.

"Oh Las," the man's expression turned sad and sorry, and Zhagayah immediately understood the message of his unsaid words.

She held on to the wall and closed her eyes to keep herself from falling from the sudden dizziness that washed over her. "But, but... How am I healed? I don't understand. I should be dead!" The ache in her heart returned alongside an immense pain she wished would do her a favor and kill her.

Hot tears immediately coated her cheeks as she fell to her knees in utter devastation.

"It's alright, child." A female voice said from somewhere in the room, but Zhagayah couldn't bring herself to lift a muscle in search of its owner. "You're alright." She felt an arm wrap around her in the gentlest touch she's ever felt.

With blurry eyes, she lifted her head to look at the woman. "How am I still alive? I should be dead. Why didn't you just kill me? I'm a monster." She couldn't make out the woman's features as her uncontrollable tears wouldn't let her.

"Firstly, we were hoping you'd tell us." The woman said while wiping tears from her eyes so she could now see her kind face. "And secondly, you're no monster."

"You don't know that. You don't know what I've done. You don't know what I'm capable of." Zhagayah cried even harder, and all the woman's efforts to wipe off her tears went to quick waste. She pushed the woman away from her-- or at least, she tried to.

The woman chuckled lightly before lifting a very frightened Zhagayah by her hand. " Oh, I do know, Zhagayah. The question is, do you?"

Zhagayah followed her, a bit dizzy that she knew her name. " How do you...?" She let her question slide away. "It doesn't matter." She said, her voice becoming emotionless as she ripped her hand away from the woman's.

"You're not safe around me. No one is." She quickly made to leave, but the woman was quick to pull her back, and before Zhagayah could protest, she locked her in a tight hug.

"Don't lock away your emotions, Zhag. You're not a monster, neither are you a curse." Her voice was so kind and soft that her eyes stung with hot, peppery tears all over again.

"But I...I...I..." No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't say it.

"It's fine. I know. We all do." The woman said, and fear immediately overwhelmed Zhagayah, making her shoulders tense.

If the people knew, then they'd probably kill her, and Zhagayah wasn't sure she was ready to face such a death again.

The woman must have noticed her train of thought because she gently squeezed her shoulders. "No one will hurt you. We all have our disgusting pasts."

That seemed to reassure Zhagayah, and the woman led them into another room.

Zhagayah took in the room. Other than a bed and a small closet, there wasn't any other furniture in it, but it was clean with a marble floor, and the furniture was luxurious to Zhagayah.

Having a place like this signified that one was well-to-do. But why was she in such luxury, especially after what she had done?

"I can see you have lots of questions. Ask, and I will answer them." The woman told her and waited for her patiently.

Zhagayah took a minute to take in the woman's appearance.

She was neat and chubby-- not things she was used to seeing. Her clothes were of high quality and spotless; even the ones Zhagayah was wearing were in a similar state.

Also, she looked...healthy, and for a middle-aged woman, that was very surprising for Zhagayah.

"Where am I?" Came her first question.

The woman sighed before answering. " You're in another Pack. The Onyx Pack." After reading the confusion on her face, the woman added. " Yes, we escaped the Alpha King and have managed to stay hidden for many years now."

"How?" Zhagayah tried to school her surprised expression but failed woefully at it

She watched the woman shrug. Whose name she still didn't know.

"Long story." It must indeed be as the Alpha King would never allow it, and no one would risk their lives like this woman and the man she had earlier met were doing. Whoever this Alpha was, he must be solid.

"How am I here? How do you know my name? Who was the older man I first met? Why did you guys save me?"

"Whoa... Slowdown." The woman chuckled again, and Zhagayah thought it was weird as people hardly smiled where she was from

The woman was just about to reply to her many questions before giving a long pause as if she were listening to something or someone.

"The Alpha is summoning us. " She quickly got up and stretched forth her hand to Zhagayah. "Don't be scared; I won't hurt you." She assured, but it wasn't what Zhagayah was afraid of.

Zhagayah followed the woman closely behind and took notice of her environment. She saw people dressed cleanly, going about their business without as much as a second look her way, even with her weird looks and appearance.

Their streets were clean and beautiful. There were no beggars on them, and this surprised her the most. Everyone seemed to have where to be and what to do, and they related well amongst themselves.

Was this what a Pack should look like?

Some of them called out greetings to the woman, and she answered them with cheerful smiles.

Zhagayah stuck close to the woman, who always looked behind to make sure that she was following.

It was almost enough to distract her from the constant pain in her heart.

But her train of thought is cut off when a man who looks somewhat cr

azy points at her with shaking fingers. "It's the child of promise! The chosen of the goddess!"