The Dragon Prince

Fireworks

I awoke from my short nap to a soft knock at my door, my sleep encrusted eyes forcing themselves open. Rolling out of bed with a grunt I padded my way over, opening it just enough to find sheepish green eyes peering into my own. 

“Hi…” I pulled the door open wider as I realized who both the voice and the eyes belonged to, my sleepy mind still a bit foggy. Tifa stepped through the doorway cautiously, a large tray of food balanced precariously on one of her delicate hands. 

With a loud yawn I retreated back to my bed, sitting on the edge wearily. Tifa followed behind me, seeming to realize there wasn’t a suitable surface to place the tray on. She opted for the bed beside me, choosing to sit down on the opposite side of it from me. 

“Ash told me you might be hungry.” She said, a wary smile on her cherub-like face. 

“Well, he’s not wrong.” I muttered, snatching up one of the delicious looking apple tarts. 

“Twice in one day, that’s got to be a record for him.” Tifa’s face broke out into a smile as I choked on the tart I’d shoved in my mouth hungrily. 

“Hey, slow down, Ash would have my head if I accidentally killed you.” She joked, cackling at me as I gave her an obscene gesture with my tart free hand. 

Finally able to swallow, I cleared my throat loudly. 

“So why didn’t mister protective come and check on me himself?”

“Oh, I don’t know. He mumbled at me to bring you some food and wandered off. I’m not sure what’s up with him. He’s been acting strangely since he returned.” She shrugged, before rising from the bed and traipsing over to the make-up filled vanity. 

“You knew him before he left?” My curiosity piqued. 

Through everything I’d dealt with in the past couple of weeks, the thought of Ash having a life here before being sent to the human world hadn’t really occurred to me. Outside of introducing me to Berria, he hadn’t really talked about it, and I hadn’t thought to ask. 

Tifa nodded her head slightly, rifling through one of the drawers and pulling out various different pots of the strange make-up.

“I did. He was only captain for a few years before he left, but before that he’d been training with our army since he was fifteen.”  

I paused my ravenous feast at her words, my mouth dropping open slightly. 

“FIFTEEN?! The queens let a child be a soldier?” 

Tifa snapped the lid shut on one of the pots she’d been eyeing, setting it down and trotting back over to where I sat. 

“No, silly. They would never. They just allowed him to train because his father insisted.” She rolled her eyes at me sarcastically. We stayed like that for a moment, me continuing to stuff my face and Tifa wandering around my room. She stopped by the window, a thoughtful look crossing her features before asking.

“Hey, do you want to do something fun?” 

*******

I was out of breath when we finally reached our destination, the village far in the distance behind us. Tifa had chattered endlessly on our long trek out into the field surrounding the Dark Court, pointing out various shops and homes of servants who worked in the castle. 

“Should we really be out here?” I asked through my panting breaths, realizing how close we were to the edge of the brightly glowing field. 

Tifa flashed me a maniacal grin, her sharpened canines glinting in the light shining around us. 

“If Ash has something to say about it, he can fight me.” I was taken aback by her sudden aggressiveness, but let out a breathy laugh. She skipped a few feet ahead of me, stopping with her arms held in the air above her. 

“I want to see what you’ve got.” She proclaimed loudly, causing my brows to raise. 

“What?! What do you mean what I’ve got?” A wild chortle left her lips at my words, as fire erupted from both hands she still held high in the air. I took a step back from her in fear as the flames in her palms grew white hot, sending sparks flying around her lithe form. She pulled her arms down in front of her, cupping the flames in both hands before sending them soaring up into the sky. 

I watched in awe as the twin balls of flame flew high above us, swirling around one another until finally crashing together. Blue sparks coalescing to form the shape of a magnificent bird before shimmering and disappearing. 

I looked back at Tifa to find her still staring mesmerized at the spot the bird she’d created had vanished into, her fair skin glistening with sweat from the heat she’d just poured from her own hands. Her face was filled with what I could only assume was childlike wonder as she marveled at her work. She ran a hand through her short curls, the red tips of which matched the flames she’d wielded moments before. Tearing herself away from the spot up above, she turned the same look to me. 

“Well go on then, it’s your turn.” She grinned, motioning for me to copy her stance. 

“But I don’t know how to-... What if I-... what if I hurt you?” I stuttered out, suddenly unsure of myself. 

Tifa shook her head at me, letting out a loud cackle. 

“If anything happens I can contain it. I did before… of course that was after you demolished half the field, but still.” 

I nodded, copying the stance she’d taken before. 

“But didn’t the queen specifically say for me not to use my magic?” I wondered aloud. Tifa gave me a mischievous look, twirling a curl through her fingers. 

“No, she said you can’t use it in the field” 

I gave her a weak half-smile before attempting to clear my mind as I’d been shown earlier that day, begging the gods not to let me lose control like I had before. 

“That’s it Arya, you’ve got this.” Tifa’s voice echoed through my ears. 

I steadied myself, filling my lungs with a deep breath of air as I tried to reach the well of power I’d felt this morning. A tingling sensation sprouted in my chest, sending a chill down my spine. It radiated outwards until it consumed my entire body in crackling energy. 

“What the actual fu-” Tifa’s voice sounded once again, forcing my eyes to spring open.

Thick black smoke rose around us, it’s fingers trailing swirling paths between our shocked faces. Luminescent orbs of light the size of silver dollars danced within it, brushing against our skin and leaving bright sparkles in their wake. 

Tifa brushed some of the sparkles off her dirty training gear, causing them to fall and vanish before they hit the ground.

“Well… that’s definitely not what I expected.” Tifa said quietly, reaching out to touch one of the orbs as it passed by her face. Her face lighting up suddenly, she looked at me with another of her devilish grins. 

“Do you think you can shoot it up into the sky?” I raised a brow at her, but nodded. 

“I can try?” I said nervously, attempting to corral the power flowing around me. 

Focusing myself on the energy pouring out of me, I made a sweeping motion with my hands, urging the power to flow with it. I gathered the smoke into a large ball into my hands, marveling at it for a moment. It looked as if I had a tiny universe cupped between my palms, the lights now trapped within its inky depths. I could hear Tifa suck in a gasp as she, too, marveled at my little creation. 

I slowly raised my hands above my head, forcing the ball upwards into the sky. It soared high above us before stopping, hovering in mid-air. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, neither of us moving as we waited for something, anything to happen. 

Suddenly, the sky flashed with light so bright it filled the perpetually dark sky for what felt like eons as we stood in awe. The now bright blue sky let out a loud c***k as a burst of lightning shot across its expanse, drawing terrified shrieks from both of us. The darkness slowly seeped back in to cover the bright blue above, sending down a mix of spiraling rain and snow. The wind picked up, almost blowing us off our feet from where we were now huddled together for warmth. 

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Tifa yelled, doing her best to be heard over the storm. I nodded in agreement, attempting to pry myself out of her grasp to run towards the village. Tifa clung harder to me, shaking her head. 

“We’re not running through this.” 

The sensation of falling hit me abruptly, sending us spiraling down into infinite white.