The Fire Phoenix’s Eternal Flame

Acadia is the biggest city on the Isle of Nations, which is the biggest island in the Great Sea. The Isle is made up of 3 territories: Acadia, Buckham, and Crille. Alex’s father had been President of the Isle for all of her 18 years of living (well almost 18). Everyone loved him, and when he called upon them to fight- not one person was hesitant. They lived in Acadia and even though the attacks were less frequent now than they had been over the years, the Isle has been at war for far too long. The people have grown tired of death, and they wanted to live in peace again. Alex couldn’t blame them, but she couldn’t believe they would just bow down to the King. There were three soft knocks on the hotel room door, letting her know it was time to get ready. After a short pause, the door opened and Alex’s Mother, Nadine, rushed in and walked straight to the closet. After rummaging through it, she turned to her- “Alex dear, where are all of your dresses!?” she asked, after letting out a long sigh. Her mother looked nervous. Alex had never really seen her like this. Not even when they were bombed a few years back. Back then Nadine was stoic, and led everyone to safety in the middle of the night without even flinching. Now, she was clearly unnerved. Alex felt bad for her. Her mother was barely into her 40’s but the angst of war had aged her. She had warm golden eyes, and long brown hair. It was flat and straight but thick, and full of grays at the top. She used to dye it, but things had been shut down for so long, so she let it grow out. Alex looked nothing like her. She was the spitting image of her father, but one thing she did have was her mother’s eyes. “Mom, I’m not wearing a dress.. why do we have to argue about this again?” Alex complained. Alex wasn’t into dressing up..she was used to the strain of constant war. They were receiving shipments sporadically now, but Port had been permanently closed for almost a decade.. so she preferred the usual hand me down t-shirt and sweatpants. Things had changed since the armistice. The people were experiencing a time of normalcy. Although she didn’t know what normal used to be, she had heard the maids whisper all the time reminiscing about how the Isle was, before her. They talked about the celebrations, parades, the farmers market and all of the different ships at Port. Port is in Acadia and where the goods come into the Isle from the Great Sea. Now it was just one of the many armories. “Alex, your father has a meeting with the King. This is the biggest meeting in 18 years! You will dress appropriately for dinner.” Nadine said. She left little room for Alex to debate. It was a meeting that could make everything go back to the way it was, so how could Alex argue with that? She was tired of feeling like everything was always her fault. It was the biggest meeting of her life, even if she hated to admit it. THE KING. King of everything and everyone except for the People of the Isle. They were still, and would always be, free so long as she was alive. She got up, pulled out a suitcase from under the bed and threw it open. “Oh look, here they are!” Alex said, with a half smile. Nadine never grew tired of her daughter’s antics. Alex was the last child, and only daughter, born to them. Sons made heirs, but daughters made alliances. Alex was constantly under the watchful eye of every presidential advisor, and never wanted to conform to their way of doing things. She didn’t want to be a pawn in their schemes to win over other territories. “Finish getting ready and I’ll see you downstairs in 20. Love you.” Her mother said before closing the hotel room door and leaving Alex to stare at the suitcase. The dresses were more like ball gowns. Alex rolled her eyes at them. Her father had them made a few months ago after the armistice. He is confident that the war will be over this time, and she wants that more than anything so she sifted through the suitcase and found something plain. Last thing she wanted to do was stand out. The dress was satin and a deep emerald green, floor length that fell off her shoulders. When she looked in the mirror, finishing her hair, she realized she failed at her mission to not stand out. The emerald green complimented her fair complexion. Her wavy auburn blonde hair twisted in its curls around her waist. She was curved in all of the right places and with natural make up, she was stunningly beautiful. She noticed her eyes were- glowing?! She blinked, massaged them with her fingers, and looked again.. but they seemed their normal golden color. Maybe it was just the setting sun rays reflecting from the glass. She did one last twirl, and left. Alex headed down the hall toward the elevators. She saw her twin brothers, Byran and Bruce, waiting by the elevator doors. They were only a few years older than Alex, barely 21, and obnoxious. But, she had to admit they looked handsome in their little tuxedos. “Whats up brats?!” Alex said to them both. Even though Alex was technically the little sister, she had always been more like a big sister. “Ready to get this over with.” Byran said with a straight face. He was always so serious, but the war took from us all. Bruce was antsy, and he chimed in.. “Yeah hopefully nothing goes wrong or I’m gonna have to kick someones ass.” That’s Bruce for ya, always down for a fight. The elevator reached their floor, and the door opened. They were all hesitant to go at first, but shuffled in next to each other. For a second, it was like the bombings had flashed before their eyes. Most of their family and friends were killed, and the King, whom they were going to be face to face with soon, was to blame. The hotel lobby was on the first floor, which led to the banquet room. The King was set to arrive any minute, with the Queen and their only child and son, the prince, Caleb. Alex had heard about him, and how they were grooming him for the throne. She couldn’t stand it. He was set to take over the long waged war on the Isle, and Alex wanted to crush him on sight. Once they arrived to the banquet room, they met their parents at a long elegantly decorated table. Alex rolled her eyes. All of the tables were overly decorated with flowers and overflowing with food. “He’s late.” Eric said out loud, as his children approached him. The family of 5 stood there together. The room was filled with presidential advisors, the King’s guests, and the former leaders from other territories around the world. It was lit up and there was light piano music playing. Alex thought it was actually really nice. It was very different than the usual candlelit dinners. “Relax, Eric. This hotel is in the middle of nowhere for christsake.” Nadine joked. Alex’s brothers were digging into the food on a table nearby. The smell was appetizing, but Alex wasn’t the least bit interested. She scanned the room for her best friend, Layla, the vice president’s daughter. “LAY!” Alex yelled out to get her attention. Once their eyes met, they crashed together and laughed. “Wow Alex look at you!” Layla gawked. “Yeah, I know! Definitely not for me but if it makes my parents happy then.” Alex said, as she gestured to the dress. They heard doors open, and the announcement was made that the royal family had arrived. Everyone found their seats, except for Eric, Nadine, Alex, Byran and Bruce.