The Fire King's Daughter

by Ridener, T. E.

  It seemed that Isaiah had stood and approached her within the blink of an eye, his hands reaching out to cover hers. She could feel the cool sensation running over her skin as the steam rose from between his fingertips. She didn’t have to look down to know she had done it again. That was a terrible waste of a pretty blouse.

  “You’re getting riled up over nothing,” Isaiah said in a softer tone. “I’ve only come to talk to you, Heidi. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay and it is clear to me that you aren’t.”

  Dash him. Why did he have to break down the door and come in here like this? Why did he have to witness her in such a state? What sort of future Queen was she, to be so vulnerable in front of him in such a time of turmoil?

  “I just want to go home,” Heidi confessed as her bottom lip quivered. “I miss my father. I miss my home. I want to go back,” She gazed up at him as tears began to blur her vision. Had she ever cried in front of Isaiah like this before? Even as a small child she would run to her mother to release her tears. She hadn’t given him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. But he wasn’t the reason for her tears right now.

  “I miss home, too,” Isaiah offered as he kept her hands in his own. She supposed he was trying to keep her from setting the place on fire. It was a good call on his behalf. She was always the fire starter and he was always the one to put out the flames. It was a never ending cycle, it seemed.

  “I just don’t want to be here anymore. I can’t fit in with the humans. I’m not a good actress,” She lifted her hand away from his, trying to wipe at her eyes. “I should be there, helping my father fight. I can feel in my heart that he is not well, Isaiah. I should be there helping, not parading around as a school girl on this planet.”

  A sob escaped from her throat as she turned her head away from him quickly. She really didn’t want him to see her cry. She felt ashamed to show such emotions in front of him. She knew it made her look weak and that was the last thing she needed Isaiah, an Icer, to see. It did not matter that they had grown up together for most of their lives. It did not matter that there was a truce between their families. He would use it to his advantage at the first given opportunity.

  “It’s going to be all right, Heidikin,” Isaiah said quietly, pulling her against his chest as he moved a hand to the back of her head. She could feel as he attempted to soothe her by smoothing his palm over her hair. It did feel quite nice.

  “I want to go home,” She repeated, her voice muffled against his chest.

  There were so many differences between a person of Fire and a person of Ice. It wasn’t just the physical appearance. Heidi could feel how cool his skin felt beneath the material of his shirt. Perhaps to a human girl he felt quite normal, but Heidi could literally sense the iced particles that flowed through him. She knew he could feel the heat within her own.

  She knew that her body temperature was uncomfortable for him, but for whatever reason he was still holding her like this. Did he feel sorry for her? She didn’t need his pity!

  As she tried to pull back, he locked his arms around her, not letting her move away. She pulled her head back to look up at him, frowning.

  “If I let you go, I know you’re just going to do something drastic, little toaster,” He said quietly, his winter eyes fixating upon her face. “I don’t think your father would be very pleased with my allowing you to place yourself in harm’s way,” A brow slowly lifted upon his forehead. “Neither would mine.”

  “I cannot stay here any longer,” Heidi whispered, her eyes staying on his as she relaxed her shoulders. “I need to go somewhere else, Isaiah.”

  “Why? What’s wrong with being here?”

  She sighed, watching the concern return to his face. She didn’t want to have this conversation. She had hoped to avoid it entirely. It would have been so much easier to disappear during the night and never look back. Why hadn’t she left sooner?

  When she didn’t answer him, Isaiah lifted his hand to hook his fingers beneath her chin, forcing her gaze to meet his. The action wasn’t aggressive; it was oddly gentle on his behalf. His cold fingertips held her face steady as their gazes locked once more.

  “What are you not telling me, Heidi?”

  Could she really tell him about kissing Brison and how she had nearly set the poor human on fire? It was embarrassing enough reliving the memory in her mind; let alone sharing it with another person-especially Isaiah. He would only make fun of her. But she felt if she kept it bottled up a moment longer, it would consume her in the most terrible of ways. He was the only person she could tell, no matter how he reacted to it. She would have to deal with it.

  Just as Heidi opened her mouth to speak, a sudden flash of bright light temporarily blinded both of them.

  Isaiah stumbled back, pulling Heidi with him. It was his natural instinct to protect her, and himself, from whatever the hell was happening. That was probably why Heidi was crying out from the sudden surge of cold overtaking her heated little frame as his went into defense mode.

  Heidi’s eyes were wide as she heard the high pitched chime of surprise and she looked up just in time to see that Lille had been frozen solid in mid-air, watching as the small fairy fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

  She turned her head slowly to see that Isaiah’s hand was in the air and it became very obvious what had happened then.

  “You froze her!” Heidi exclaimed, pulling away from him as she knelt down to the floor to carefully pick up the frozen fairy. “Oh, Lille,” She held the fairy shaped ice cube within her hands, gazing at the look of terror upon the young fairy’s face. The poor thing hadn’t even had time to react.

  Isaiah was slowly approaching her, staring at the small frozen figure in her hands with confusion written all over his face. “How was I supposed to know? She came out of nowhere! I thought she was going to attack us!”

  “A fairy?! Honestly, Isaiah. You are paranoid! She’s a Fire fairy. She’s here to help us, not attack us,” She hurried over to the computer desk, placing the chunk of ice upon it as she turned on the study lamp. She had to get her thawed out and quickly.

  “I didn’t know that. Maybe she should have tried approaching us in a different manner, offered a greeting or something instead of blinding me.”

  Heidi ignored him for the time being, moving her hands up and letting them hover above the ice as the heat began to radiate from her palms. She watched as the ice started to liquefy and she held her breath, hoping that it wasn’t too late. The ice wasn’t melting as quickly as she was hoping for, and with each passing second, it was a second too long. She feared the small fairy’s heart would not start again. She feared the light would not return to her tiny body. Even if by some miracle she was still alive, what if her wings didn’t work? What was a fairy without her wings? Oh, how terrible!

  Heidi could feel the tears building up in her eyes as she concentrated on thawing out the poor creature. The heat intensified as it left her fingertips and palms, the room heating up to such a significant level that Isaiah tugged at the collar of his shirt. He took a step away from her and Heidi knew she was probably reaching a temperature that even a human would be uncomfortable with. She only needed a few more seconds.

  As the water began to drip over the edge of the desk, nothing but a mere puddle remained around the limp body of the fairy as she laid there. Heidi reached down to pick her up, unafraid of burning her. She was a Fire fairy after all; she had been upon the sun before and Heidi was aware that her natural heat would not harm the fairy.

  “Please don’t be dead,” She said softly, lifting the fairy up to eye level as she gazed at her. She was so blue. That wasn’t right. Sun fairies were supposed to be bright and emit a soft orange glow. Lille was so dull and blue. “Please wake up, Lille. Please.”

  Isaiah stood idly in the background, frowning as he watched the scene before him. He felt a little bad for having frozen the fairy, but how was he supposed to have known that she wasn’t someone trying to hurt them? All he had seen was a bl
inding bright light and his instincts had taken over. He was a bit on edge with everything. He couldn’t be blamed for it!

  Heidi closed her hands around the fairy, eyes closing as she willed all of her energy into the palms of her hands. “Please be okay,” She whispered, a bright glow escaping from between her fingertips. It grew stronger and Isaiah was forced to shield his eyes once more as the room became nothing more than a box of light for the next ten seconds or so. If anyone was walking by outside, they would have sworn a spotlight had been turned on in the small space allotted for a dorm room. Thank goodness for the fact it was class time and most students were either in a lecture or sleeping.

  As the light faded and the room darkened, Isaiah blinked rapidly, attempting to focus his vision as he watched Heidi move to sit upon her bed. He slowly stepped forward, gazing down at the small creature she held in her hands so delicately. The guilty feeling wasn’t going away. Fairies may have been some of the most powerful creatures to exist in all the universe, but they were also some of the most helpless when it came to size.

  Whether it was a Fire Fairy who was frozen, or an Ice Fairy who had been burnt; the end result was normally the same. The outcome for them was often fatal. They were just so small. Their tiny bodies could not withstand such rigorous damage.

  Even Air Fairies and Water Fairies could not survive severe damage done to their tiny bodies. It was the only disadvantage to being a fairy that Isaiah could see. But to be a fairy meant to be brave, and Isaiah knew the particular little fairy Heidi was crying over in that moment must have been something special if she had travelled all the way to Earth, knowing that Heidi was the Fire princess and knowing what dangers must lie ahead. Isaiah himself had been feeling something dark and treacherous in the pit of his stomach for days now.

  He was silent as he listened to her sobs, her soft pleas for the fairy to awaken. With every moment passing, Isaiah was beginning to regret his quick instincts to keep the princess safe. He was only trying to uphold his promise. He never meant to harm a fairy, let alone kill the poor thing.

  Heidi fell to her knees, cradling the lifeless fairy against her chest as dark tresses curtained them both from Isaiah’s view. He could still hear the heartache from her sobs and he didn’t like that. There was a huge difference between picking on her just to get her riled up and hearing her cry because she felt such a devastating pain in her heart.

  He’d heard that pain before, when her mother passed away. He could still recall that small little girl who kept her face hidden against her father’s broad chest. Her little shoulders shook with such despairing grief. Isaiah had felt incredibly bad for her and somewhat guilty that his mother was there at his side while Heidi was grieving the loss of her own. He wanted to tell her over and over again how very sorry he was that her mother had died, but he could never find the words to do so, nor was it expected of him to give such an exchange when his father had formally given his condolences for the family before the remembrance ceremony began.

  It was not expected of him, so he did not do it.

  He could not stand by and watch her cry this time. He could not allow Heidi to feel as if she were alone, because she wasn’t. He knelt down behind her, his hand resting against her shoulder as he gave a gentle squeeze.

  “I’m sorr—“

  He was a bit taken aback, and maybe he shouldn’t have been, when Heidi pulled away from him quickly. She turned her head and glared at him angrily. He could see the tears in her eyes and for a split second, Isaiah wasn’t sure if he had ever seen anything so terrifying-or beautiful.

  “This is your fault!” She cried, clutching the fairy against her chest. “Everything is your fault, Isaiah!”

  There was the briefest expression of hurt upon Isaiah’s face before his brows furrowed. “I said I was sorry, Heidi,” He replied. “It was an accident!”

  “You have messed up everything,” Heidi continued, moving to stand up as she stared down at him. “All you have done since we’ve arrived here is thought about yourself. It’s been you, you, YOU. Sleeping with your little harlots and enjoying your booze, going to your rubbish little parties, and having a merry time while our families and our kingdoms are being torn apart by Gaia knows who!

  I am sick and tired of standing idly by, waiting patiently for my father’s call so I may return home. I may not have a home to return to and neither may you, Isaiah, Prince of Ice. You, for once your life, need to start thinking of someone besides yourself. Think of your people. Think of your family; your world—the Icer you will marry one day and have children with! Surely you must understand why I am so angry with you…why I am so disappointed. Do you not see why I am frustrated?”

  Isaiah was completely silent as he saw the tear sliding down Heidi’s cheek, watching the steam rise from the trail the salty water left behind as it dripped from her chin and fell against the carpet. He wasn’t sure he could find the words to even respond to her. No one had spoken to him like that before. He was entirely unprepared to retaliate.

  He blinked, standing slowly as he eyed her hands, seeing that they were completely engulfed in flames. She noticed it at the same time and she gasped, opening her palms. A small cry tore from her parched lips as the ashes began to trickle to the carpet and a billow of soft gray dust rose up into the air. The Fire fairy was gone.

  “Oh, no…” Heidi wept, “Oh no, Oh no!”

  “Heidi…” Isaiah started, reaching out towards her.

  “No!” She looked up at him, her voice loud enough to make the male nearly stumble backwards. “No, you have done enough.”

  “But, Heidi, I..”

  “No, get out, Isaiah,” She pointed towards the door, lowering her eyes as she turned her head away from him. “I do not wish to see you ever again.”

  To be the princess of Fire, her words were colder than Isaiah ever anticipated. He reluctantly obliged.

  14

  The trip back to his house was a silent one, in which Isaiah was left to think about what had just happened. Heidi’s words echoed in his mind, a loud thunderous roar of truth that smacked the front of his head in a painful way. So maybe he had been a little careless with his time on Earth. So what? Was he not entitled to deal with a serious situation in his own way? Was he not allowed to lose himself in a good time with a girl or two to try to ignore the fact his father obviously deemed him unfit as a warrior to fight for his kingdom?

  He didn’t have to deal with this. He didn’t have to deal with her. She wasn’t his responsibility! She wasn’t the girl he was to marry one day. She was not his sister, nor even his friend. Not really. Their parents were friends. They had merely tolerated each other for the sake of humoring their families up to this point.

  Well he had a limit. He wasn’t going to take any more of this nonsense. He was done being a part of this circus. He was moving forward. If Heidi wanted to burn sneaky little fairies that was her own business; he would be at home, drinking and waiting this out. And people would do good to know that once he returned home, he was giving his father a good talking to. He would not be put through this again. It would be understood that he was no babysitter for a girl child. He was a prince!

  He muttered beneath his breath as he pulled out the large metal keychain that was shaped as snowflake which happened to hold only one singular key upon it; his house key.

  As he pushed the key into the keyhole, he heard someone clearing their throat and he quickly turned his head to see that Edie was sitting on the porch swing. He straightened up, pulling the key from the doorknob as he tilted his head, glancing at the street before looking back at her.

  “Edie?” He started, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at work right now?”

  She shrugged, grinning a little. “It’s my day off,” She replied as she stood from the swing, approaching him slowly. She leaned against the dark blue siding, her eyes staying on his face as a smile played at her lips. “I thought we could spend the evening together.”

  “Now isn’t a
good time for me,” He replied, shaking his head as he fiddled with the snowflake keychain.

  “Are you sure?” She asked, lifting up a bottle in her hand.

  Had she really brought alcohol with her? How was he to say no to that? He could go for a drink right now. Or ten. He eyed the bottle for a few seconds before he let out a low breath. Why the hell not?

  “Fine. Come on in,” He put the key into the keyhole again, turning and unlocking the door before stepping inside. He wasn’t paying much attention to Edie eyeing the driver in the car that was parked across the street before she followed behind him.

  After shrugging out of his coat and tossing his key onto the table, Isaiah made his way into the kitchen to retrieve two glasses. It may have been extremely weird, but even though Isaiah had no problem with shoving his tongue down the throat of a woman, he couldn’t stand the idea of drinking after her.

  “Here we go,” Isaiah said upon re-entering the living room, only to stop mid-step when he saw that Edie had made herself more than comfortable, naked, upon the couch. She gave him a sly smile, curling her finger at him.

  At any other time, he probably would have been more than eager to join her in her nude festivities, but cruel fate was being a particular pain in his arse today, and in the form of guilt with Heidi’s name written all over it.

  “What are you doing, Love?” He asked, grinning a little as he walked over and eased himself down onto the couch, near her feet. He placed the glasses onto the table as he reached for the bottle that she’d seemingly already taken the honor of opening for him.

  “Just speeding up the process a little,” She replied, pushing herself up into a sitting position as she lifted her hand to trace her fingertips over the side of his neck. “You seem so tense, Zay. Why are you so tense?”

  As he poured the glasses with the dark orange liquid, he rolled his eyes. “Bird issues, I suppose you could say,” He replied, glancing at her as he offered the glass to her. “Got in a small tiff with Heidi.”