“Only one will be able to save the kingdom of fire from its own flames.”

 

 

 

 

I have heard this line at the Kingdom’s council meetings for as long as I can remember. The Kingdom has been falling apart over the years due to the miscommunication and deception amongst its people and outer dwellers. Every year someone comes forward to try to restore it, but all of their attempts have been failures. The Reason: the ones who come forth do it solely for the inflation of their ego. This is why we are no where near our goal. It's like the saying goes, "There will always an enemy on the outside, but inside you will find the same. It will only hurt more since, that person should be on the side of right."  The all around goal is to save the Kingdom from internal destruction. However; it seems as if it will never be attained.

 

My grandfather is the head of the clan and has been serving for nearly sixty years. I always look up to him and at times wonder where we would be if he wasn’t here. He's beyond his time and so resourceful in any matter. I have little to no knowledge of the others before him, but from what I’ve been told by the older clan members, they weren’t considerably better-by far.

 

My grandmother passed away earlier on. When I was born, I inherited her name, which was Ember. My full name is Ember Rouge, receiving Rouge due to the firebrick red color of my hair. I’m not so favorable of the first part, but since my grandmother was well known and loved, and did so much for the Kingdom alongside my grandfather, I’m learning to accept it.

 

My parents are part of the council as well. My mother is a nurse and assists my grandfather with his health, and since he’s up in age, he needs a lot of physical attention. Aside from his physical ailments, his mind is perfectly intact, and he rarely has mental absences. My father has been helping him with the council for the past twelve years. He and his younger brother have publically debated on whom should take the lead after their father. Personally, I would rather have grandfather maintain his role. I love my father and uncle just the same, and I don’t want either one of them to feel unworthy or cheated if one of them doesn’t claim the throne. When one of them does get it, I hope the other maintains his decorum.

 

 

 

 

Later that day…

 

 

 

 

 

 I was walking down the path by the village to see my friend Ash Stone. He’s the same age as me which is sixteen, and he's taller, with somewhat of a muscular built. He has short brown hair that’s usually hidden under a cap he wears at most times. He spends a majority of his time working with his father in the laboratory. It’s considered a chemist’s lab although it’s more of a father-son garage-type lab. Ash and his father build all sorts of equipment such as weapons, and armor for people to use when going into battle, and they also do custom repairs. As far as weapon-making goes, this only occurred during the war against the prevalent or “normal” ones, a few years back.

 

When I arrived, Ash was in the back room working on some sort of contrivance.

 

“What are you working on?” I asked, as I walked over to the right of him.

 

He stopped what he was doing, and looked up at me. “It’s a fire pack.” He answered.

 

“A what?” I asked furrowing my brows.

 

“A fire pack. I’ve been working on this for a few months now.” He went back to his project. “You see this cylinder right?”

 

“Yeah,” I knelt down beside him.

 

He used his wrench to point to the different parts to show me what they were and what they’re used for. “It goes on your back. The tubes on the sides here connect the gloves with the cylinder. In the palm of the gloves, there’s a screen.”

 

“Is that where the fire would come out?”

 

He waved his wrench. “Exactly.”

 

“So what are you building this for?” I asked, raising a brow to express my confusion.

 

“It’s just something to work on. I don’t know if anyone will be using it any time soon, but-you never know.”

 

“I know,” I sighed “Everything has been getting out of hand. Even the other Kingdoms are suffering.”

 

“True. But the Water Kingdom is worse off than the Earth and Wind Kingdoms.”

 

“Well, of course. Their head has gone astray, and they lack in the guidance and regulation they need.”

 

He continued to work until he stopped for a moment and spoke in an undertone. “I just hope your grandfather sticks around for a very long time.”

 

“I hope so too.”

 

“Speaking of your grandfather, what is the council meeting discussing this evening?”

 

“I'm not sure. It's probably another one of those 'Come Forward' talks.”

 

He chuckled at the mention of it, probably thinking back on some of the stories he was told. “I hope it's not me; I'm a builder, not a fighter.”

 

“I would hate to be chosen, and have everyone so reliant on me. I feel like I would only make things worse.”

 

“I disagree.”

 

"What do you mean?" I must admit; a felt a little taken back by his comment.

 

"I mean that you're a good person. And if anyone could do it, it would be you."

 

Somehow, I couldn't find an agreement. Nor could I find a rebuttal.

 

 

 

At the Assembly Hall…

 

 

 

 

 

“All rise for Keezheekoni, head of the Fire Kingdom.”  A voice from the podium announced. It was the voice of Nachiketa, the temple’s cleric.

 

We all rose, and remained standing as he came to the council table. He sat in the center with my mother on his right and my father and his brother on his left, my father being right next to him.

 

Keezheekoni lowered his hand, and we all sat.

 

He started out the way he usually did: He looked around at the assembly hall, lowered his head to look down at the papers in front of him, put on his reading glasses, shuffled papers, put them down, looked up again, and then started talking.

 

“It has come to my attention that our Kingdom has been coming to somewhat of a turning point,” he said.

 

There was a half cheer from the audience.

 

“Reviewing the past struggles we have been faced with, and in comparison to where we now stand, it’s evident that we’re no longer in that cycle of darkness.”

 

The audience cheered again, and this time I joined in.

 

He continued to talk on for a few hours about how the Kingdom is getting better. We still have a long way to go before restoration, but nonetheless, we’re improving.

 

The chair next to me was still empty. I had saved it for Ash, and was looking around, wondering where he was.

 

I searched the left and right sides of the hall, but didn’t see him. I looked behind me, and felt someone tap me on my right shoulder.

 

“Did I miss anything?”

 

I turned around and there was he was next to me, arms crossed.

 

I faced forward. “Not much. It’s pretty much like every other assembly we’ve been to.”

 

He just nodded and looked ahead.

 

My grandfather was still talking, only, he sounded a little off.

 

I guess I wasn’t the only one, since I heard others around me murmuring about the sudden change in his speech.

 

“I must apologize,” he said “I’m not sure of what has come over me this evening.”

 

Since I was in the front row, I could see everything clearly. Like the drops of sweat accumulating on his forehead, and his chest shakily expanding as he breathed. He reached into the inside pocket of his overcoat to get a napkin. As he did, he slumped forward. The way his head was positioned, it looked like he was looking inside his overcoat.

 

Despite this, I had a hunch that wasn’t what he was doing.

 

Ash also thought it was peculiar. We glanced at each other and then focused back on the stage.

 

My mother rose half way, and put her arm around him, speaking  into his ear. I couldn’t hear what she said, but by the way he was still crouched over, and unresponsive, we knew something was wrong.

 

At this point everyone started speaking amongst themselves.

 

I overheard conversations such as:

 

“I know his health hasn’t been that great for some time now,” or “I hope everything is alright.”

 

The one comment I heard that sent nausea into the pit of my stomach was, “Is he dead?”

 

I hoped against the idea, and feared for it. If this were true, then that would put us in the same position as the Water Kingdom, but worse. I would rather have a leader who went astray than a leader who was deceased.

 

In the midst of the commotion, it became quiet. My mother soundlessly rising was the loudest movement that could be heard throughout the hall. She slowly drew her arm from around him. Her doing so caused my father and uncle to immediately rise. The assembly hall became even quieter.

 

She looked over to them. I searched her face to find what emotion she bore, and when I did, I found that it was sorrow.

 

She didn’t have to say anything; we all knew what had just happened.

 

The last I remember about this day, was burying my face in Ash’s shoulder, as the rest of the hall went into an uproar.

 

“Why? Why?” I kept thinking. “Why?”