The Fire Beneath the Crown
1502 Words
That evening, the Foster house was quiet.
Louise was in the kitchen cutting vegetables while Ken sat at the table fixing a small broken lamp. Pyra walked in slowly, clearly thinking about something.
She leaned against the kitchen counter.
“Louise… there’s something I need to ask you.”
Louise stopped cutting and turned to her.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“What about it?”
Pyra scratched the back of her head.
“Well… yesterday you told me you’re not my real mom…”
Louise stiffened.
Pyra continued carefully.
“So I was wondering… are you telling me the truth that this is my natural hair color… or is it some sort of dye?”
Louise stared at her for a long moment.
“Why are you asking that?” she said slowly.
Before Pyra could answer, Ken looked up from the lamp.
“Alright young lady,” he said. “What happened at school?”
Pyra groaned.
“Fine!”
She threw her hands in the air.
“Tomorrow is our test and the teacher said anyone with dyed hair has to remove it!”
Louise blinked.
“But… your hair is natural.”
“I know!” Pyra replied dramatically. “But you’re the one who told me to hide it in the first place! This is your problem, but I’m the one facing it now.”
Louise sighed and leaned against the counter.
“I told you to hide it because only the queen—your mother—has red hair. We don’t want anyone noticing that.”
Pyra crossed her arms.
“So now what?”
Ken stood up calmly.
“We’ll fix it,” he said. “Tomorrow morning we’ll go to the principal and explain everything.”
Pyra immediately shook her head.
“Don’t worry. Lena already has a solution.”
Louise and Ken exchanged a glance.
“Friend?” Ken asked slowly.
“Lena?” Louise repeated.
Pyra nodded happily.
“Yes. My best friend.”
Louise’s expression suddenly became serious.
“Did you tell this Lena about your hair?”
Pyra hesitated.
Louise stepped closer.
“Did you tell her that your natural hair… is red?”
Pyra froze.
Her eyes darted around the room.
Then she finally muttered quietly,
“…yes.”
Ken jumped up.
“WHAT?!”
Louise slammed her hand on the counter.
“What part of keep your hair a secret did you not understand, young lady?!”
Pyra frowned.
“She’s my friend. My best friend.”
Then she looked at both of them firmly.
“You told me my real mother trusted you with her life.”
Louise went silent.
Pyra continued.
“So why can’t I trust someone too?”
Ken and Louise exchanged a troubled look.
Without another word, Pyra turned and stomped upstairs.
Her bedroom door slammed shut.
The house became quiet again.
Ken rubbed his forehead.
“Well… that went well.”
Louise sighed deeply.
Neither of them knew what to say next.
---
The Next Morning
Before heading to school, Pyra stopped at Lena’s house.
She knocked on the door.
A tall man opened it.
He froze the moment he saw her.
Almost like he recognized her.
Pyra smiled politely.
“Good morning, sir. I’m looking for Lena.”
The man blinked.
“You’re… Pyra?”
“Yes, sir.”
“My daughter talks about you all the time,” he said slowly.
Pyra smiled.
“I hope good things.”
He stepped aside.
“Come in.”
Pyra entered the house.
“Honey!” the man called toward the kitchen. “Come see Lena’s friend!”
A woman walked in from the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel.
Her name was Marissa.
She looked at Pyra for a moment.
Then she smiled warmly.
“Pyra, right? Lena told us about you.”
“I’m doing fine, ma’am,” Pyra replied politely.
As Pyra walked further inside, the man leaned closer to his wife and whispered quietly.
“This is the princess of Ember Kingdom… right in our house.”
Marissa whispered back,
“And best friends with our daughter.”
They both looked shocked.
Just then Lena ran down the stairs with her backpack.
“PYRA!”
She ran over and handed her something.
“A wig,” Lena said proudly.
The wig had soft brown hair.
Marissa helped adjust it carefully on Pyra’s head.
Then she stepped back and smiled.
“Trust me… red is your color.”
Pyra laughed.
“Thanks, Mrs. Marissa.”
“Anytime, dear.”
Pyra and Lena waved goodbye and left for school.
The door closed behind them.
The man walked to the table slowly.
He picked up his phone.
Dialed a number.
The call connected.
“Can I speak with Lord Fedrah?”
A moment later, another voice came on the line.
Cold.
Commanding.
“Report.”
The man smiled darkly.
“We found her.”
---
At School – Test Day
Students filled the hallway nervously.
Everyone was preparing for the exam.
Madeline and her group walked past Pyra and Lena.
Then Madeline suddenly stopped.
She slowly turned around and looked at Pyra’s wig.
“Oh wow.”
She burst out laughing.
“Your natural hair looks so… natural.”
Her friends laughed loudly.
Madeline leaned closer.
“Almost believable.”
Pyra sighed.
“Oh not again.”
Suddenly Madeline “accidentally” bumped into her.
“Oops.”
Books fell everywhere.
Madeline and her friends walked away laughing.
Pyra bent down to pick them up.
Then another hand appeared, picking up the books.
She looked up.
It was Nathaniel.
The most popular boy in school.
Pyra froze.
He handed the books back to her.
“Hi.”
Pyra blinked.
“…Hi.”
She looked at the books.
“Do you want to drop another one? Because technically they’re already fallen.”
Nathaniel chuckled.
“No. I’m just helping.”
Lena stood nearby watching with a huge grin.
Pyra took the books.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Nathaniel rubbed the back of his neck.
“We never actually introduced ourselves.”
He extended his hand.
“I’m Nathaniel.”
Pyra shook it shyly.
“Pyra.”
Nathaniel repeated it softly.
“Pyra…”
He smiled.
“I like that name.”
Pyra felt her face warm slightly.
Nathaniel continued.
“There’s a party after the test today. On the school field.”
He smiled.
“You want to come?”
Pyra hesitated.
“I don’t know…”
Behind her, Lena was making wild gestures telling her to say yes.
It looked ridiculous.
Pyra almost laughed.
“Okay,” she said finally.
Nathaniel smiled.
“Great.”
Then he walked away.
Pyra exhaled heavily.
Lena ran over.
“WOW!”
“That is the most popular guy in school and he just invited you to a party!”
Pyra shrugged.
“Yeah. He’ll invite me, embarrass me in front of his friends, then dump me.”
Lena blinked.
“…what?”
“That’s what boys do.”
“Have you ever had a relationship before?” Lena asked.
“No.”
“Then where did you learn that?”
“Movies.”
Lena stared at her.
“…that explains a lot.”
They both laughed as they entered the classroom.
---
After the Test
The exam ended two hours later.
Students flooded into the hallway.
Madeline and her friends appeared again.
One of them shoved Lena hard.
She fell.
“Oops,” the girl said. “Trash belongs on the floor.”
Pyra helped Lena up.
Her eyes burned with anger.
“What is wrong with you people?”
Madeline stepped forward proudly.
“Careful.”
She pointed to herself.
“You’re talking to the Queen Beauty of this school.”
Students began gathering around.
Nathaniel and his friends were watching too.
Pyra’s voice suddenly became cold.
“You know what?”
Madeline smirked.
“What?”
“You should go put your face inside your locker…”
Pyra stepped closer.
“…and stay there all day.”
At that moment, Pyra’s eyes flashed red.
Only Lena noticed.
No one else.
Madeline suddenly turned around.
Walked to her locker.
Opened it.
And shoved her own head inside.
SLAM.
Her friends stared in shock.
“What are you doing?!”
Madeline didn’t answer.
She just stayed there.
Pyra looked confused.
“…what just happened?”
Lena grabbed her arm quickly.
“Let’s go.”
They hurried away.
---
That Night
Lena sat quietly in her room.
Something about today bothered her.
She walked to her drawer.
Pulled out an old book.
The cover read:
EMBER KINGDOM
She flipped through the pages quickly.
Then stopped at a chapter about the last queen.
And the child born during the war.
Princess Pyra.
Lena’s heart started beating faster.
She read another page.
Then found the meaning of the name.
She whispered the words slowly.
“Pyra…”
Her eyes widened.
“Princess of Fire.”
- Writer
