The Emissary of the Flame

The First Chapter: Ainsworth of Manchester

"My dear Julia, you have to wake up." A hand had disturbed her deep slumber. She still wanted to return to dreamland, but the voice had been her alarm to wake up herself ever since the same person adopted her. "You have to visit the market. We do not have enough supplies for this morning."

"Aunt Clara?" She asked while her eyes were still fixed on the blurry vision she was having at that moment.

Her aunt nodded while being amused by the reaction of her niece. She could not help but giggle a bit. Ah~ she could not believe that it had been 13 years since she had adopted her when she found her in an orphanage in the town nearby. "Yes, dear. We would not open the cafeteria unless we have enough supplies to cook and serve the customers."

"Alright..." She yawned while uttering her words.

Her aunt smiled at her. She knew her niece would obediently follow her request. She was a very polite and obedient young lady. "Thank you, Julia."

She was about to leave the young lady's room when she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to give her a gift. "Oh and, Julia?"

"Hmmm?" She answered while fixing her torso.

"If you have already forgotten that your birthday is tomorrow, then allow my special gift to be your reminder for this special day." Aunt Clara slowly opened the door of her bedroom. "You can see it inside your wardrobe. You will find a white box there. Try to open it."

With those words, her aunt left her dumbfounded. Hmmm, really? Was it really her birthday tomorrow? For her 18 years of existence, she had never celebrated the day she was born; for a reason, she did not meet her biological parents. It caused her to lose interest in her own birthdate, but her aunt had never forgotten it. Aunt Clara was just her foster mother. She adopted her when she met her in an orphanage when she was younger.

It would be better if Julia Ainsworth could call her Aunt Clara as her mother. But the former does not allow it. She cannot yet move on from the incident of losing her first child before meeting Julia. That was why, even if she had already legally adopted the said lady, she would introduce her to other people as her niece and not as her daughter.

Though this would burden Julia, still the younger lady did not choose to dwell in such idealism. Even if she was not a child born from Clara's womb, her aunt had never allowed her to feel unloved. Allowing her to live a better life than those who were not able to be adopted from the same orphanage where she came from was enough to make her feel very grateful for her aunt's existence in her life.

Julia was combing her hair in front of the mirror when she accidentally glanced at the reflection of her wardrobe. She could not help but wonder what was inside the box her aunt had told her. “What could be the gift from Aunt Clara this time?”

Her aunt would always surprise her with gifts on her birthdays. She would occasionally ask her niece to have a grander celebration. Yet, Julia would not play with these social affairs and would always choose to invest the money she would spend on her birthday to improve her family's cafeteria.

If other people asked her if she had met her parents? Well, the answer is no, because she did not have the slightest idea where she came from.

And now that she was reminded that she was turning 19 years old tomorrow, questions were now hovering inside her mind.

Where are her parents?

Why did they leave her in that orphanage?

Don't they love her? That was why they had abandoned her?

Was her birth a sin for this world?

She could not prevent her little mind from quivering for such reasons; she was guessing. She wanted to meet her birth parents, but even the orphanage she came from did not have any record of her parents. The only mark left from her birth was the mark of the flame-like shape on her spine.

Having no parents should have affected her, but thanks to her Aunt Clara, she had been living a normal life. She could not just stop thinking about the reason why she was born. Ugh, why was she thinking about this anyway? She had lived for more than 18 years, and this was the first time that her mysterious birth had affected her so much.

It was still dawn, but because she was the one responsible for the stock supply of their little cafeteria, she had chosen to act based on her morning routine than to continue dwelling on her emotions. Well, she could check the surprise gift she had received from her aunt later. Now, she should focus more on the task she had to do, this early dawn.

Once she was done preparing herself, she chose to wear a vintage gray dress. She looked at herself in front of the mirror, for the second time muttering, "You can do this, alright?"

She smiled to herself. Yes, she could do her tasks, and she would survive another day being alive, even if she had reached 19 years of existence and the reason for her birth is still a mystery.

---

Julia went down to the kitchen to check what she would be purchasing from the marketplace. She had to know what she had to buy because she might end up buying supplies that their kitchen had already. Once she reached the said place, she immediately got a chair and stood in it. She checked what remaining goods they had inside the cabinets.

She scanned every piece inside it. "Pasta, homemade marinara sauce, tomatoes, and some ingredients. Hmm, we have a spare pesto sauce, but I guess I still have to buy basil, garlic and onion. Oh, we still have mushrooms. Then what shall I buy from Mr. Hawkins in the market?" She queried herself.

"Do you wish to receive a helping hand from me, Lady Julia Ainsworth?" The young lady was flabbergasted when she had heard the voice that had greeted her early that dawn.

She almost fell from the chair where she was standing. If the young man beside him did not get hold of her hands, she would have fallen because of imbalance. Really? Why did he surprise her like that?! She did not even expect that he would be there at this very early time of the day.

"Mr. Anderson, what are you doing here, early this morning?" She asked. She was having a tongue-tied. Like seriously, why?!

The younger man, who was the same age as her, responded with a smile. "Well, I have been working here since we were still young, Julia. I hope you did not fail to recall that."

"I.—I did not forget."

"And would you stop calling me Mr. Anderson? How many times do I have to remind you to call me Bradley?"

Her eyes widened in realization. Their faces were just inches away from each other. It flushed her cheeks as red as tomatoes. Why were they so close?!

Their eyes were locked on each other. If her eyes could speak, she knew she had already conveyed her honest feelings for the man in front of him.

"Ehem, Ehem." The long conversation of their eyes was interrupted when they had heard another person coughing at the very place they were. "I do not think Mrs. Clara Ainsworth would be pleased if she witnessed what is currently happening to her kitchen, this early dawn, my dearest young people of Manchester."

"Ah, oh." Julia immediately pushed Bradley away and stepped down from the chair she was standing in. "Good morning, Mr. Campbell."

She could see the brows of the lead chef furrowed because of what he had witnessed between her and Bradley. And right now, she just wanted to be swallowed by the cold ground.

"Good morning, sir." Bradley also replied. Even if he wanted to prolong his dialogue with Julia, he could wait another year to tell his true feelings for her. But he hoped to confess it today before Julia could turn 19 years old.

He wanted to offer his love as a gift to the lady on whom his interest was set. But ugh, now he was begging the heavens to give him another chance.

"I was just helping Julia to check the supplies she had to buy from the marketplace." The young man defended the visibly nervous lady at that very moment.

"No worries, my young people," the main chef sighed. "Your generation tends to have more interest in other young people like you are. That was why what my eyes had seen between the two of you were just normal circumstances of the 19th century."

The two others almost bowed their heads as a sign of apology to the older man in front of them. It was visible that they were ashamed because of what the chef had seen. Mr. Campbell could only feel amused because of the two younger people's visible nervousness at him. Well, it was normal; they had been caught in the act, anyway.

"Julia, you can now leave." Mr. Campbell had handed her a paper which she presumed to be the list of supplies she had to buy for their cafeteria. "Do not forget to buy plentiful parmesan cheese for the Alfredo."

She nodded. "Alright, Mr. Campbell."

She was about to leave when she heard what Mr. Campbell had told the young man inside the kitchen. "There will be another young man who will assist us with serving our customers. Mrs. Ainsworth had hired him a while ago."

"Huh? I thought Mrs. Clara was cost-cutting?”

“Oh well, I also thought we were.”

Oh, new staff for the cafeteria? They already have plenty of people to serve their customers. Why did her aunt hire another one? What was she thinking?

Sometimes Aunt Clara can be very unpredictable.

She still wanted to hear what they were talking about, but she had to leave before her Aunt Clara arrived from their family's farmland.

Her Aunt Clara loves her with all her heart, but she is strict when it comes to the opening hours of their cafeteria. Late opening hours would displease her aunt. Just imagining being scolded by her dark Aunt Clara had already sent shivers to her spine.

She looked at the older man's clock at the side of the cabinet and had realized it was almost 5 am.

"Oh, I have to leave." She bid goodbye to the two other people inside the kitchen. "Now, will you excuse me, Mr. Campbell and Bradley?"

---

The sun was not yet fully rising when Julia had reached her destination. She immediately got out of the carriage when the chauffeur had parked it beside the entrance of the marketplace.

"Mr. Thompson, please wait for me here. I am going to purchase supplies from Mr. Hawkins stall." She instructed the coachman.

The coachman agreed. "Alright, Lady Julia."

As she entered the marketplace, she noticed that even though it was still morning, the said place was already crowded with consumers.

One would easily identify the people who were now bargaining with the sellers in the market for their offered price for the chosen goods they were planning to buy. The place was filled with either loud voices of people talking with each other or people carrying the supplies they had bought for their carriages or even stray dogs who were barking continuously because of the people they had sensed to be strangers.

It was a good thing that she had her own chosen seller. In this way, she would not be trapped in this congested marketplace.

She fastened her walk because she had to come back to their cafeteria before their opening hours. She really had to go to Mr. Hawkins' stall to avoid such a delay.

Her dress did not help either. Now she wished that the way of clothing would evolve into wearing more comfortable and shorter ones, opposite with the typical formal clothes for men and women, during this coming era of the 19th century.

The young lady was so focused on her way that she did not even notice a young man crossing the streets just in front of her. Because her thoughts were in a jam with the list of supplies, Mr. Campbell had given her, she was not attentive to her surroundings.

"Ouch!" She cried when she accidentally hit a thing or a person. She did not know exactly what it was. She was not looking in her way.

She wanted to scold whoever she crossed paths with, but then she realized she had hit a broad chest. Realization hit her when she had grasped that it was a young man.

He was tall and had that grayish hairband and grayish eyes, arranged in a shaggy way. He was still alive yet he looked paler. He was wearing a long white coat with a hood attached to it. He was also wearing a risk watch that looked different from the ordinary risk watch one would see on the market. At one glance, she knew this man was of English descent, but with a peculiarity. All in all, he was an odd-looking young man. This was the very first time she had seen a youngman with these odd physical features.

It was a good thing that the latter was attentive compared to her that he was able to hold Julia on her back to prevent her from falling on the muddy ground of the marketplace. But even if the latter had obviously helped her, still she could not stop herself from being intimidated by his presence.

The latter, whose age she presumed to be like hers, did not give any response. It was visible that he was looking at her blankly.

No, it was an understatement. He was like examining her facial features for a reason she did not know. Like, what the heck? Was this guy insane? Why would he scrutinize other people's faces?

It was obvious that the guy was not planning to let her go. That was why she initiated the separation. What was he thinking? Was he a p*****t or something?

She then pushed him and fixed her clothes. "I am sorry if I was not attentive on my way, but you did not have to touch me." She added while emphasizing each word she was saying.

"You could have fallen in the mud if I had not caught you on time." It was just a short response from the young man, yet it completely annoyed the former.

Her brows furrowed. What did he say? "Excuse me?"

"Mr. Bradford!" An older man, wearing the same clothing as the young man, had arrived at the scene where the former and latter were still having their little misunderstanding. "We have to go to the cafeteria where the White Order had sent you to investigate."

The young man gazed at the older man who called him. So, his name is Mr. Bradford?

Julia did not bother to leave her stares for the other man. Her fierce eyes were still focused on him. "Aren't you going to explain yourself as to why you have done that?" She asked him.

"I would not. Again, if it were not me, you could have just taken a bath in that muddy ground." The young man who responded by the name Mr. Bradford looked at her again with an unreadable gaze.

She wanted to retort, but before she could even speak, the young man had already left her sight.

"Why did I meet such an annoying person this early morning?" She sighed in defeat. Oh well, at least she was not involved with such a probable discussion with a stranger.

She was about to take her step to finally visit the store she was planning to go to when suddenly she noticed there was some strange occurrence in her surroundings.

She was not about to hit another person again but, it was like she was sick that her surroundings had begun moving in a prolonged phase. Wait, what was happening? Was she feeling dizzy?

But no, she was sure she was not sick, nor was she feeling dizzy. Then, why were her surroundings like that?

Her eyes pondered the place. She had noticed an older woman who was about to pass by in front of her in a languid motion.

She wanted to ask for help for what she was now witnessing, but she had found another peculiarity before she could even speak.

As her eyes were laid on the chest of the older woman, she had seen a weird flame-like appearance that was encircled by these uncanny codes. She could not properly describe it, but the strange flame was emitting a little light.

She ceased her tracks because of what she had just observed. Wait, what was that?

Was she dreaming? Did she imagine things? But she knew she was wide awake. But what was this weird symbol she saw right now?

"Ms. Ainsworth, I have been waiting for your arrival. Good thing I was able to find you here." A voice approached her that had awakened her trance.

When she looked at the person who had just caught her attention, the motion of time had already returned to its normal flow. Her surroundings were now moving at a normal speed.

She tried to look back at the older woman. The latter was still standing in her position, but the flame she had seen on her chest just seconds ago was nowhere to be found.

"Julia?" It was Mr. Hawkins who had called her attention.

By now, she should be informing the said seller of the things she would buy from his store, yet she could not stop herself from thinking about the image she had just witnessed a while ago.

Really? What was that? What did she see?

Why the hell was she able to see that peculiar flame-like symbol?

What was that?