Flame Mistress

EMPEROR Gabrien Faberion's

harmonious and peaceful breakfast in

the empire's garden was ruined by the

news reported to him by General Adri,

one of the empire's war overlords. The

news came from Baron Arnott, the

overseer of the moonrite prison.

"Sollel, one of other's queens, the

Mistress of Flame, has escaped her

moonrite prison."

When the emperor heard the news, his

hand that was holding the cup of tea

trembled in anger.

"Imbeciles!" He angrily threw the cup

of tea on the general's leather boots.

The cup broke and scattered, but no

one moved to pick it up, afraid of the

emperor's anger to fall on them.

The emperor, known for his vicious

temper, Screamed, "Search all the land

and drag that woman back to prison!

I will not let that harlot or any of you

sully my name! For two generations,

that woman is our prisoner, and I will

not let her escape. Not in my reign, do

you hear me?"

The general who was kneeling on

one knee and looking at the ground

nodded. "Yes, Your Highness."

Calming himself so he could think of a

better plan to drag that woman back to

prison, Emperor Gabrien tooka deep

breath while his lips were twitching

in anger. "How did she escape? That

prison is made of moonrite their

weakness. And from the report I

received, that woman was weak and

immobile. How come she could escape

that prison?"

General Adri answered with a low

voice, hoping that his answer wouldn't

anger the emperor more. "We believe

that someone helped her."

"A traitor?!"

"We believe so, Your Highness," said

General Adri. "All the guards in the

moonrite chamber had been killed. No

one was left alive. And the door to the

prison was destroyed."

The emperor couldn't help his surprise

while anger still boiled inside him.

"The moonrite chamber has a hundred

guards! Who could kill them all?!

We have the strongest weapons, an

impenetrable stronghold!"

"We do not know, Your Highness."

General Adri was scared to say the

words I don't know in front of the

emperor, but there were really no

words to explain what happened.

"As of now, we are investigating and

looking for the traitor and the woman.

We believe that they are together."

"And?"

"Still no report, Your Highness."

In a fit of anger, the emperor's plate

made of porcelain was smashed in the

general's head, but the general did not

even flinch. "Useless fools! Without

the moonrite, that woman is powerful!

Make sure to find her while she's still

weak, or I will have your head together

with the baron's!"

The general's head remained low. "Yes,

Your Highness."

Letting out an angry breath, the

emperor ordered, "Alert the imperial

army on every station all throughout

the empire to be ready, just in case

that mad woman appears. Tell them to

ready a moonrite weapon to subdue

her. No one is allowed to kill her. Just

weaken her." Emperor Gabrien knew

how important that woman's blood

and presence to the empire were. He

couldn't afford to lose her. Not while he's the emperor.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Leave and don't come back without

that woman!"

General Adri lowered his head even

more before he got up to leave the

garden. On the other hand, the

emperor had already lost his appetite

and couldn't even take a single bite of

his breakfast.

"Sollel, the Mistress of Flame," Emperor

Gabrien whispered. His voice trembled

for a moment when he remembered

how his father warned him about her.

Fear consumed him for a second before

He discarded it. "What can that woman

do? She's nothing now but a slave to

the royal family, my slave."

The Infernal Empire and its citizens

were very proud of their indestructible

weapons: they had been the leading

kingdom when it came to farging

such tools.

The emperor did not

want to admit or believe it, but his

father and grandfather treasured

Sollel, the Mistress of Flame-the

reason she was captured instead of

executed, Her blood could make any

weapon stronger, more powerful,

and unbreakable. And not only that-

her presence alone could strengthen

the kingdom's defenses, making it

impenetrable.

Considering that, it was

understandable that the Infernal

Empire was the wealthiest of all the four human kingdoms reigning Azitera

Emperor Gabrien did not fully believe

the tales of Yther's queens. He believed

that their weapons were indestructible

because they were skilled in making

them, not because of some woman's

blood. Maybe because Emperor

Gabrien was a third-generation

emperor years since Sallel, the

Mistress of Flame, was capturedthat

he did nat believe such tales,

After all, he was just keeping her

because the nobility faction would

see him as incompetent if she died

or escaped during his reign; because

just like his father and grandfather,

they also believed that the Mistress of

Flame was the reason of the empire's

prosperity.

But Emperor Gabrien did not believe

that. The empire's prosperity and

Wealth was because of him, because of

his hard work, Because he was a good

emperor. A brilliant leader that even

deities would compliment. He would not accept that woman was the

reason.

It was because of him. Him and

him alone, And not someone else!

Overcome with resentment, Emperor

Gabrien threw al the food on the table

and even beat up the guard nearest

1o him to release his anger. And when

he finally calmed down, he left the

garden, leaving the half-dead guard on

the ground.

"WE HAVE TO KNOW who did this and

their location," said the baran after

hearing what General Adri reported to

the emperor, "If we couldn't find her,

the emperor will not hesitate to execute

Us."

General Adri nodded before looking

at the destroyed door to the prison.

"Whoever did this is strong and

capable."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

General Adri shook his head. "Only

a handful officials knew about the

existence of the Mistress of Flame,

and all of them could prove their

innocence."

"Maybe a member of their family?"

"We're still investigating," said the

general. "Based on the information

we have accumulated, the Mistress of

Flame is already outside the kingdom.

We asked the guard's gate if someone

left late last night, and they said a

gryphon flew fast the gate, but they

didn't give chase."

"A gryphon?" The baron was surprised because he knew someone who owned

one. "You think it's him who took the

Mistress of Flame?"

General Adri shook his head decisively.

"Aside from having no knowledge of

the Mistress of Flame, we have a peace

treaty with him. The warlord would

never break the treaty. He is, after all,

the emperor's nephew. And it was not

the first time he flew fast the imperial

gate with his gryphon."

The baron couldn't help agreeing. "If

the Mistress of Flame already left the

kingdom, where could she be now?"

"Do not fret, Baron Arnott." General

Adri sounded confident. "I already sent

a wanted poster all over the empire,

even to the small villages outside. We

will find her before she regains her

strength, and we will drag her back

where she belonged--a nutrient to the

empire."

The baron put his fist on his chest and

muttered solemnly, "Long live, Infernal Empire."

General Adri did the same, more

solemn than the baron. "Long live."

A HUNDRED kilometers from the City

of Faberion, in an apple woodland

next to the small village of Mistvale, a

woman with dark red hair was lying

on a wooden bed inside a shack, her

eyes were half-open, and a thick dark

red cloak was wrapped around her

body.

The woman was Sollel. Alone in the

shack, in the apple woodland.

It had been days since she was brought

there. The person who took her from

prison left her in the run-down shack

-alone. She didn't even see her freer,

given how weak she was.

After her freer left, no one entered

the shack. She was all alone, which

she preferred. She didn't need food

every day to live, so not eating for a

whole week since she was freed had no

effect on her body. What she's focused

on right now was getting back her

strength.

Now that there was no moonrite

near her, she's slowly recovering her

strength. But even after a week of

recovering, all she could conjure was

a small fire in her palm. If it couldn't

even light the whole shack, then all

the more was it not enough to burn

a trespasser to bring her back to her

moonrite prison.

And that made her feel tense and

anxious. If she couldn't fight, if she

couldn't unleash her destructive flame, she'd be dragged back to her prison

again. Back to that hell. Back to being

a nutrient to the empire. Her escape

would be useless!

Sollel knew that it would take time

to recover her previous strength and

power. And all she could do was wait

and hide until she got her strength

back.

Wait and hide. What a useless thing to

do after escaping prison and swearing

to get revenge. But Sollel knew that to

get her revenge, she had to wait and

hide to recover her strength.

Looking at the full moon through

the small crack on the roof of the

run-down shack, Sollel thought of her

comrades, her sisters-in-arms the

other queens who reigned with her

back when other was still a grand and

respected country. The last time they

spoke to one another was before they

were sieged at the Yther Primal Hill

Temple.

Even though it had been so many

years, Sollel could still feel their

presence. They're still alive, but weak

just like me, she thought. I'm too weak

to even pin down their eXact location.

How many years has it been? Sollel

had no idea. The only information she

knew that could help her calculate the

time was the current emperor now.

He was the third generation to rule

the Infernal Empire since her capture.

That means a century had passed.

I have to get stronger.

Pushing herself up to sit on the wooden

bed, Sollel looked around in the

darkness. It was silent, and only the

sound of insects at night can be heard.

Closing her eyes, concentrating, Sollel

thought of her freer. Who was it? Who

wants me out of prison? And it looks

like that person had been looking for

me. Why? It's been centuries, weI

have already been forgotten by time.

The only long-lived race were the

Elves, but Sollel was pretty sure that

they wouldn't rescue her. They care for

their sacred forest too much to leave

and sacrifice themselves for her.

Even when the Ytherians were sieged

and betrayed, no one came to help

them. No one stepped forward to save

them. After all the protection and help

they had given to every race, when

it was time for them to need their

protection, no one came.

No one.

Before, Sollel believed that kindness

could change the world. Oh, how maïve

she was. Their kindness was repaid

by betrayal. And now, there was no

kindness in her anymore. All she

wanted revenge. That's the only

way for her to live.

Revenge. I must have it, or I will die

trying.

Sollel's thoughts were interrupted

when she heard multiple footsteps

nearing the shack. And she instantly

felt her strength draining.

Sollel's eyes widened in panic when

she realized and felt that familiar

feeling. A moonrite is nearby!

Horrified even in her weakened state,

she hurriedly put the hood of her cloak

on to hide her face and left the shack,

and then she started running. She ran

away as fast as she could, but she was

still too weak too slow, but she didn't

give up.

No! I won't be captured again! No! I will

never be caged again! Sollel continued

running barefoot and strengthless.

Behind her, she could hear the soldiers

running with their torches, shouting

for her to stop or she will be harmed,

but Sollel did not listen.

She ran, uncaring if she was weak.

She pushed herself to flee while trying

to conjure a flame in her hand, but

nothing. The flame she could summon

couldn't even harm a fly.

But the soldiers would not let Sollel

escape. Never. Using their bows and

moonrite-tipped arrows, they shot at

the fleeing woman to weaken her.

Sollel immediately felt herself

weakening. She looked back over

her shoulder while running, her eyes

widening in panic when she saw a

dozen arrows with moonrite tips aimed

at her.