The Emissary of the Flame

The Second Chapter: The Flame on its Chest

"Ms. Ainsworth, these are the supplies Mr. Campbell listed in this paper. If possible, please inspect what I have packed for the second time, so we can be sure if these supplies are enough for your likeness. Ahm, Ms. Ainsworth, are you listening?" Her thoughts were brought back when she had heard Mr. Hawkins's voice, querying her visible absence.

"Huh?" The only words she was able to utter.

The older ones could not help but be amused because of the reaction of the younger ones. Maybe because it was too early for her to go into the market, that was why she could not think properly. "It's alright, Ms. Julia. I understand that you are still sleepy. It's still early in the morning."

If the former was amused, then the latter was befuddled because of what had occurred a while ago. It had passed an hour since the event when she had perceived something uncanny on the older woman's chest. Still, she could not remove the said image inside her mind.

Mr. Hawkins was trying his best to provide the supplies for their cafeteria, yet here she was, disoriented about everything. Ugh, she really had to stop concerning herself about what she had seen. She could have been daydreaming; that was why she had seen such an image.

Yes, that might be the reason. She could imagine it.

Or was she pushing herself to believe in her own hearsay?

Even if Julia could not think properly, she did her best to be back on track. She still had obligations to fulfill. She should stop stressing about herself because of an unsure imagination.

"I apologize for being absent-minded, Mr. Hawkins." She smiled a little. "Allow me to check the package you gave me a while ago."

Mr. Hawkins agreed with her idea. "Okay, I am going to call Mr. Thompson so he can help you carry those packages." He then left and went to where Mr. Thompson had stationed their carriage.

She inspected the goods Mr. Hawkins had included inside it. Thankfully, even if she was out in a trance, the seller provided the things she had to buy from his store.

A little while later, when she was done doing her task, she saw Mr. Hawkins crossing the street with Mr. Thompson. They were talking with each other, so she was not expecting their eyes to meet because the chauffeur was busy talking with the salesperson.

"Lady Julia!" he called.

The young lady was planning to wave her hand, but before she could move, suddenly, her eyes were locked with the chauffeur's eyes.

Immediately, there was this peculiarity again about her surroundings. Everything was moving in a prolonged phase. And for the second time, she was able to perceive the flame-like symbol again with the uncanny codes she had seen a while ago, but this time it was on Mr. Thompson's chest, and it also had this little light emitting from it.

It would be better if this occurrence had just proved her claim that she had not imagined things a while ago, but to her unlikeness, there was another strange disturbance that was currently happening, right before her eyes.

The scene where the two older men were crossing the street was already gone. Rather, it was changed to a new scene where she could see that the place she was standing was covered with smoke.

Wait, what is happening? Seriously?

Where am I?

She could not move away because she was still in shock from what she was now witnessing. There was like a commotion in that place. She could see people running from everywhere, some were escaping, and most were seeking help.

“A bomb explosion!” A man who was running away yelled out. “Someone planted a bomb inside the carriage!”

“Terrorism against the Holy Empire of Britannia!” Another man screamed out.

So, the reason why this place is covered with smoke is that there was a bomb explosion?

Even if her mind was telling her to stay still, her heart guided her feet to walk away from where she was standing, to know better what was really happening at that very moment.

She saw a horse lying on the ground. She discerned that it was badly injured. It was with its carriage, but it was destroyed. Why did the carriage look so familiar? From how its pieces were scattered, she concluded that it might have resulted from a strong impact.

She was still investigating the area when the realization hit her. What the hell was she thinking? She should know why she saw this in the first place.

A while ago, she was inspecting the packages for Mr. Hawkins had told her to check, but now she was inside a scene that seemed to be a vision. It was such a realistic one, but then she knew deep inside her consciousness, everything that was taking place right now, was just a scenario created by her mind.

She really had to wake herself up and stop this queer mind-play her mind was doing against her. Julia was about to slap herself to wake her thoughts, but before she could ever do that, unexpectedly, she had recognized someone was lying on the ground.

She badly wanted to help the person she was looking at, at this very moment, but before she could ever advance her feet, her eyes caught a glimpse of who that person was lying on the ground.

Slowly, she moved towards the said person, and abruptly her eyes mirrored terror, horror, and despair. For the very person who was lying on the cold hard ground was none other than the person her orbs had perceived before this unearthly occurrence.

“Mr. Thompson...” Her lips escaped the very name of the person she was now witnessing to have burns that were covering his skin.

She wanted to think that this was really imagination, but everything that was taking place now felt so real.

She wanted to remove her eyes from the said victim, but then she saw another familiar person, crying beside the man she had seen dead. Her claim that it was just an image did not conclude the way she wanted because she was crying in front of Mr. Thompson was none other than his wife, Mrs. Thompson.

“Lady Julia? Are you alright?”

It was just a short statement, but it was ample to fully awake Julia from her deep imagination.

Her eyes blinked in surprise. She saw that her surroundings were back to their original phase of motion. She could feel her heart was in a very frantic phase, and she could feel her knees were staggering anxiously.

The moment her head lifted to look at the older man who had greeted her with a smile, another horror consumed her, for her eyes could still see the flame-like image she had seen a while ago.

“Ms. Ainsworth, do you feel sick?” Now it was Mr. Hawkins, who turned to question her, again.

She gazed at Mr. Hawkins before returning to Mr. Thompson. She could not help herself from preventing him from looking at the other man. But this time, when her eyes laid again on the said older man’s chest, the image she had viewed a while ago, was nowhere to be found.

“Ms. Ainsworth, you can go home if you wish to get some rest.” Mr. Hawkins added. “I can send help to Mr. Thompson, for your Aunt Clara would not be pleased if she discovered that you are not feeling well.”

But then she did not find any of her thoughts were still trapped inside.

“Maybe, Lady Julia was not able to sleep properly last night.” The former answered for her.

At this moment, she was sure that all she had perceived a while ago was a mere mind-play, but then why did it feel so real?

Now she could not stop thinking, what the hell was the meaning of that petrifying vision and that flame-like image?

And what does it have to do with her, and especially with Mr. Thompson?