For Ember

The pitter-patter of little feet was the only warning Erin got. She sprang away from the cake she was decorating, almost taking it and the rest of the table with her. Reaching the door only seconds before the quickly approaching whirlwind, she held it shut and called out softly.

"Ember? Is that you, dear?"

"Yup!" The little girl said from outside. "Auntie Erin, can I come in?"

"Uh..." Erin glanced back at the spread laid out on the table behind her, "...not right now, sweetie. Auntie Erin is in the middle of working. Do you need something?"

"Auntie Erin." The girl's voice turned as serious as it could. "Are you hiding treats from me?" Erin was barely able to stifle her laugh at the girl's brazen accusation. Still, she kept the door closed.

"Hiding treats? Honey, I always share my treats with you! Why would I hide them?"

"Because!" Now the tiny voice was rife with indignation. "It's my birthday, but no one has given me my birthday treats! I ate breakfast and didn't get any treats. Then I ate lunch and didn't even complain, but nobody gave me any for eating my lunch either! Everyone keeps saying 'Happy Birthday, Ember' but won't give me treats! I think someone stole them all!

Erin's resolve wavered. That this little angel had been made to wait all day was surely a crime! She cracked the door open to see a girl of about five years standing outside, hands on her hips. Her flame-orange hair hung messily in loose curls around her head and shoulders, and her crimson-flecked eyes stared up at Erin suspiciously. She was certainly an odd little girl, some even described her as frightening, but to Erin, she was the picture of perfection.

"Well, we can't have that! Not on your birthday!" Erin dropped any pretense of secrecy, opening the door wide and sweeping Ember into her arms. "I'm going to show you something but you have to keep it a secret, ok?"

Ember's eyes went wide with excitement as Erin scooped her up, rushing to close the door behind them. Ember's sharp gasp at the table behind them brought another smile to her face. There, neatly arranged, sat a brilliant spread, dotted with all the treats Erin could conjure up. Tall pitchers of punch gleamed with condensation and finger foods of all kinds filled in the gaps. Despite all this, Erin knew Ember had eyes for only one thing; a large two-tiered chocolate cake, towering in the center over everything else.

"Oh, Auntie Erin!" Ember squeaked in delight. "You got me a cake! Can I have a bite? Pleeeaaase?" Ember looked at Erin, giving her best puppy eyes while fidgeting with Erin's long, black hair.

"Well, honey. No. You can't. That cake is for our guests." Ember's face immediately fell and - were those tears? The girl was pulling out all the stops today.

"But," Erin added hastily, "I did happen to make a small cake just for you, me, and Uncle Lucas to share. And I think that, since it is your birthday, you can have a small slice a bit early. What do you say?

"Yes!" Ember was literally bouncing with excitement, so much so that Erin had to set her down. She guided the exuberant girl over to a small table in the back of the room where a much smaller cake sat, covered in tin foil. She unveiled the cake and set to cutting a small slice, serving it on a plate, and handing it to Ember carefully. Erin only had a moment to enjoy the rapturous look on Ember's face before some commotion outside drew her attention. Erin strode over to the tall double windows set on one side of the room and peered out just in time to see Lucas returning from one of his assignments. He looked haggard and tired, but no worse for wear. Lucas had been through a lot lately, and it was good to see him home. Erin breathed a sigh of relief and almost choked on it when a voice, soft and droning, spoke from the doorway behind her.

"I thought I might find you here, Erin." The voice said, displeasure dripping from every word. Erin bit back a curse. This was the last man on earth she had wanted to deal with today. She turned around slowly, putting on the air of practiced elegance she wore when dealing with other members of The Intuition.

"Intuitor Simeon. What a surprise." Erin's face was a mask of neutrality, though she nodded her head towards the man in deference. A very slight nod though, it was. "What brings you to my study today, Intuitor?" She dared not call him Simeon. The man was a stickler for formality.

"Matters of The Intuition, in fact." Simeon paused, eyeing Erin suspiciously. "You were missed at our meeting today. We had much to discuss and your input is always valuable, even though it may be a bit... unorthodox, at times." Simeon was not an intimidating man, with his small, frail frame and balding head. Despite this, he always managed to give you the impressions he was staring down his nose at you through the small, circular glasses he perched on the end of it.

"I informed the Intuitors previously that I would be absent from the meeting. I have more pressing matters to attend to today, Intuitor. I'm sure the rest of you got on fine."

"Indeed." Simeon looked around the room, the very image of dry disappointment. He spotted Ember in the corner, face smeared with chocolate frosting. The corners of Simeon's mouth turned down even further, something Erin was sure had been impossible.

"Erin. I do not believe that attending to the feeding of your Changeling constitutes a 'pressing matter.' In fact, your attachment to this creature has turned from a necessity into an obsession. All I see before me," Simeon swung his arm wide to take in the table of birthday fare, "is wasted resources, taken from the good people of Cadence, in order to feed into this fantasy you insist on living out. Apparently, it has gone too far. I will be calling an emergency meeting of the Intuition tomorrow. This matter must be dealt with."

Erin stood bolt straight, wavering between pure shock and absolute fury. Simeon had never been shy about sharing his feelings on the city's decision to take Ember in, yet to voice his opinion so fully, and in front of the girl! Erin's clenched fists shook, knuckles white from the strain. Simeon nodded satisfactorily and turned to leave the room.

"Excuse me, Intuitor!" There would be consequences for this, but Erin could no longer control her words. "How dare you come to my study and intrude upon a private moment, only to spout your bigotry and ignorance! That is a little girl that you are slandering and today is her birthday, or at least as close to one as she is ever going to get, with people like you around! I would very much like to attend this "emergency meeting" tomorrow. I think it is time for The Intuition to discuss how one of its founding members can be allowed to have such a lack of judgment and character! In fact, I insist that you apologize! Both to me and to Ember! She has done nothing to deserve this from you!

"And I insist, Miss Spiras, that you and that idiot Cainswright wake up! You bring grave danger to the people, with your unhealthy proclivity to shelter every wounded bird you come across! We have enough monsters to deal with without you bringing more down on our heads!"

A new voice chimed in from the doorway, low and menacing.

"And what kind of monsters, pray tell, do you speak of?

Lucas Cainswright stood in the doorway, his dark eyes gleaming dangerously. Simeon whirled around, sizing up Lucas for a moment, and chose to ignore the way Lucas had mocked his proper manner of speech.

"Don't play coy with me, Cainswright." Simeon snapped. "We buried two good men last week thanks to you and your...pet!" Simeon spat out the last word. Erin gasped, knowing the kind of rage Simeon had just unleashed.

Lucas crossed the room faster than one would think possible, seizing Simeon's neck in one hand. Erin felt Lucas drawing power into himself and watched as he lifted the Intuitor off the ground with one arm, moving to slam his back up against the wall. Erin heard his fingers crack softly as the Intuitor choked and gasped for air.

Suddenly, the table in the middle of the room burst into flames. They all turned to see Ember huddled in the corner, sobbing. Fire danced along the table, engulfing it and the food in blistering heat. Erin rushed over to Ember as Lucas dropped the Intuitor. She heard Lucas mutter something to the man but paid it no mind. She reached out towards Ember, pulling the bawling child closer to her. Small flames danced in the girl's hair, seeming to intertwine with it, as if her hair was fire itself.

"It's ok, little one. It's ok. I'm here for you."

Erin reached out to Ember empathically, mind to mind, as she had done so many times before. Weaving a slight spell to calm the child, she continued to caress her hair and whisper quietly. After a short time, Erin felt Ember's sobs weaken, and the heatless flames in her hair died. Erin looked around. Simeon was nowhere to be seen. Lucas sat on the edge of the table, his back to the ruined meal. After a few moments of calming silence, Erin heard Ember pipe up.

"Auntie Erin? Why does Mr. Simeon hate me?"

Erin had no answer for her. She looked to Lucas for help. Lucas frowned, looking at the little girl cradled in Erin's arms. After a moment he answered, dropping down onto his heels to look Ember in her crimson-dotted eyes.

"Because he can, sweetheart. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes people hate simply because they can."

"And that's why we need to be better," Erin added, casting an admonishing look at Lucas, "and refuse to treat those people like they treat us. Because we don't want anyone to feel scared and upset like he made you feel, right?"

Ember shook her head slowly but didn't say more. Lucas and Erin looked at each other sadly. After a moment, Lucas held out his arms to Ember.

"Come here, little one." He said, picking her up and helping her wipe her face. "I'm sorry I lost my temper. How about, to make it up to you, I help find you some new treats? I hear Uncle Gideon has something special for you!"

Ember half-smiled, wiping tears from her eyes. She nodded and Lucas bounded off with her. Erin watched them leave, heart heavy. She sat on the floor for a while staring at the ruined piece of chocolate cake. Reluctantly, she stood, looking over the burnt remnants of Ember's party. It was an absolute mess. Everything seemed to be turning into a mess. Even so, Erin began to weave magic to dispose of the ashes. There's was nothing she could do besides try to clean it up.