The Fire

Lapis was sure of very little in her life, and as she got closer and closer to the new country that list of things dwindled. She knew for certain that it would be terrible. She knew for certain that they would be treated worse than they were in their home country. What she did not know was the extent of the treatment, and how far this new country would be willing to go.

At least, she was certain of that before. She was certain of those things before she saw the beauty of the lights. She thought that it would be dark and gloomy. Before they docked, she saw the beautiful architecture. She thought it was going to be dank, and ugly. As they unloaded from the boat, she smelled the amazing scent of food. The food they had been deprived of on their trip there. Her stomach grumbled, and she imagined the banquet of food ahead of them.

Quickly her hopes were extinguished when a wisp of her freakish hair floated in front of her face. It was blue. The deep, almost purple color of her hair had gotten her nothing but misfortune and pain. She knew it wouldn’t be any different here. She thought ahead to how she would feed herself. Perhaps she could steal. She had gotten quite good at pickpocketing, and her distractions had always worked to get herself a bread roll or two.

When she saw the crowd, and heard the people all cheering, she mourned the loss of what was never hers. Then, the strangest thing happened.

She and all the other ‘Unwanted’ were ushered up onto the large stage with an elegantly dressed woman. The woman was beautiful. She was pale and had a gorgeous black and purple dress. She smiled at them and waved them closer.

When Lapis and the ‘Unwanted’ were gathered where the woman had deemed close enough, she grabbed a rope from beside her and pulled. A very, very loud horn blew and the crowd was silenced.

“As you all know,” The woman began, “We celebrate this fine day as a day of welcoming, a day of new beginnings, and a day of joy!” The crowd cheered, clapped, and shouted affirmatives. The woman in purple silenced them in one motion. “Today we welcome new people into our home. We give them food, water, shelter, and a bed to sleep in. We make sure they are comfortable. We are compassionate to them, and we welcome them. After all, they are one of us now! So please, give it up for our new citizens!” The woman stepped to the side and gestured towards the group that Lapis had hidden in.

The cheering returned, and the woman turned to address them specifically.

“Now, my name is Celestia. We welcome you to our country with open arms. We are going to get you a group home to live in while you get your feet underneath you. Once that happens, you will be able to join the festivities of the Sun Festival. It happens four times a year, and it is the four times that we relish in the gift of the sun. I know this must be a lot, but it will all make sense after you adapt.

“Now that you are here, we will take care of you, as we take care of our own. Please do not hesitate to ask for help, or ask questions if there is any confusion.”

That smile. It was gorgeous and welcoming. As Celestia scanned the group of people in front of her, her eyes landed on Lapis for a split second longer than the others, then kept going. It wasn’t strange that Lapis had caught someone’s attention. What was weird was how quickly Celestia moved on.

Lapis didn’t ponder on it too long and walked down the steps that she came up from with everyone else. They were guided into a large building that she found out was a library. A large table was set up in the center with lots and lots of papers. The person that took over from Celestia introduced themself as Atlas Morrigan, the Librarian. They were the one that was going to help sort them into their new homes.

Atlas explained how they would get housed. On the table is a diagram of Ridinborough, and with each county is a stack of papers that they can use to apply to live in that county. Lapis scanned over the country. She knew she would probably live in Senchii, as it was the one that she was in, and it would mean minimal travel.

She headed over to that part of the diagram, and read the little plate describing Senchii.

“Senchii is the capital of our country, and where the castle resides. Our first settlers claimed this as the capital as it was where the port between us and the rest of the world takes place. We wanted it to be the connecting point as well as the humble beginning of what could have been.”

Lapis felt satisfied with that and put down her information. Strangely enough, there was only one other person who seemed to want to live in Senchii. Perhaps it wasn’t strange at all, and the others wanted to get as far away from the outside world as possible. Thinking it over in her head, it made sense. The rest of the world had always been… volatile.

Once everyone had confirmed their papers were filled out, they were brought out to a large table in what appeared to be the center of the town. The large looming castle was close. Black spires shot up into the sky, skeletal fingers reaching up, grasping at air. Maybe they did that on purpose, a defense mechanism? Either way, it was gorgeous. The architecture must have taken a while. She could see the details ingrained in the sides, even from a distance.

The noise seemed to have calmed down to a loud buzzing, excited people were talking amongst themselves. That was when Lapis first noticed it and felt like kicking herself for not noticing it sooner. Everyone was wearing black. Scanning the crowd, she couldn’t get a glimpse of color among them. Was it a custom? She made a mental note to ask someone about it, later.

“And it’s time for the feast!” Lapis recognized the voice as Celestia. Queen Celestia. She knew that no one knew much about Ridinborough, but she didn’t think that it would be this much different from the rest of the world. Oh, how wrong she was. Why did the queen introduce them herself? What was so important about them?

Lapis followed the rush of people towards the single largest banquet of food she had ever seen in her entire life. Meat, bread, soup, drinks, and anything else she could think of were sitting on one of the tables. Everyone rushed to situate themselves. Lapis stayed standing. She watched them eat, shoving the mashed potatoes and corn in their mouths with reckless abandon.

“You can eat, too, you know,” came a voice from beside her.

Lapis jumped half out of her skin. “You don’t need to pretend to be nice to me, My Lady, it’s okay.”

Queen Celestia’s face dropped, ever so slightly. “If you think we are going to discriminate against you because of your contact with the spirits, you are mistaken.”

“Wha- How’d you- How would you-?” Lapis attempted to form a coherent sentence, but couldn’t seem to be able to.

“I’m so sorry the world around you has decreed you unworthy. I am. The only thing I can do now is provide what everyone has neglected to. At Ridinborough, and in my castle, we work very closely together with the spirits. My advisor, Warlock, is working to get a human into the spirit world and is very close. I came to ask you if you would like to help?” Celestia asked.

Finally, Lapis was able to string together the words she was looking for.

“How’d you know?”

“Your hair, of course. Only someone who works with the spirits has such beautifully colored hair. Not to say natural hair isn’t beautiful, just… not quite as vibrant.”

Lapis processed this new information. Maybe she had always known why her hair was blue but didn’t want to believe it. She had always had blue hair, ever since she was born. That’s why her family left her in the first place. She had never thought to ask the spirits why her hair was blue, and they never said anything.

“Will you consider my offer, at least?” Celestia asked.

“Yes.” She was sure of it. If this place works with spirits, they must be good. The rest of the world had never even heard of the spirit world, let alone worked with them.

“Yes you’ll consider, or yes you’ll do it?”

“Yes, I’ll do it.”

Celestia smiled brightly. “I’ll let Warlock know. I’ll have you live in the castle. You’ll have full access to our full library, though I would watch out for the librarian, she can be a bit snippy.” Celestia chuckled lightly to herself. “Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah- yes. Yes, of course. I would love to.”

Celestia nodded. “I’ll leave you to eat your meal. When the celebrations are over, I’ll bring you to the castle with me. Have fun.” She was gone before Lapis could ask any more questions.

~

Lapis felt like she was ready to burst with all the food she had eaten. And, as promised, Celestia met up with her, Warlock trailing behind her. They all headed up to the castle and went to the North Tower. Honestly? The castle was a labyrinth, but Celestia promised Warlock would be able to guide her to the Library. The rest, she said, wasn’t that important.

“You’re welcome to explore, but make sure you can get back to your room, so remember the path you take.”

They bid each other goodnight and headed to bed. Turns out, Lapis’s bedroom was just down the hall from Celestia’s. Her room was also huge. It was bigger than any house she had ever lived in, and now it was hers. A maid brought her a nightgown and left with the promise that she would be measured for some clothes in the morning.

The bed was heavenly. Of course it was. The whole castle was perfect. Lapis still wasn’t sure if this was real. She had the urge to pinch herself but didn’t out of fear that it was just a dream. She wanted to relish in it for just a little bit longer. Let herself be comfortable for just one more moment.

Lapis fell asleep about an hour later, when exhaustion overtook her overactive mind.

~

Waking up to knocking was not expected. However, nothing was expected. Lapis was asleep, so she couldn’t expect anything.

“Lady Lapis, the tailor is here to take your measurements!” The voice of the maid carried through the door.

“One minute!” Lapis rolled over in bed and sighed. She pushed herself up onto the floor. It was cold against her bare feet. She found a pair of slippers next to her bed, so she put them on, and headed over to the door. Once it was pulled open, the tailor and maid both rushed in.

“You have a good day ahead of you, and you are going to be stuck in these for the moment. At least they’re clean.” Lapis’s clothes from before were shoved into her hands. This time, they smelled good. Clean. Had they snuck into her room to get her clothes? What else did they take?

“Stand here, please.”

It took Lapis a moment, but she stood where he told her.

“Is it okay if I touch you?” The tailor had a tape measure in his hand and already had stretched it out.

“Yeah, that’s okay.”

The tailor, Jericho, was gentle and tried to get the measurements as fast as he could.

“Would you like pants and shirts, dresses, or a mix of both?”

The question threw Lapis through a loop. She had a choice?

“I have a choice?”

Jericho nodded. “I’m sorry you didn’t before, but now you do. You can wear whatever you wish.”

Lapis smiled softly. “Is it okay if I have a mix of both?”

Jericho smiled in reply. “Of course, what color pattern should I be giving you?”

“Color pattern?”

“Yes. What style or type of colors do you like? For instance, Celestia prefers black and purple. She says she has an aesthetic. I, personally, prefer black and grey. Then Alvah here likes red and black. It is traditional, though, to have black somewhere in there. You are not forced to, however.”

Lapis nodded. “I like earthy tones. Brown, green, stuff like that.”

Jericho bowed lightly. “Right away.”

The maid, Alvah, and Jericho rushed out of the room just as quickly as they had come, and left Lapis to her own devices. She got dressed and headed towards where Warlock told her that he would be, for when she was ready.

She knocked gently on the door, and the door swung open.

“Ah, I was just about to come to see if you were up. Come on, I’ll take you to the Library.”

The Library, to understate it, was enormous. It was three stories, at least, and had too many books to count. Lapis didn’t have time to ponder the size too much, though. Warlock headed into a back room. This one had a large bookshelf against the wall. A table sat, waiting in the center. More books were sprawled out on it, as well as on the chairs, and some on the floor. Papers were, well, everywhere. Scribbled-out notes were contrasted with carefully written equations.

“Wow…”

“It’s a mess, I know, but this is where I do my research and studies.”

“It’s beautiful. I don’t know how to put it, it’s just… it feels right, you know?”

“Yes, I know what you mean. I have places like those, and I feel like you will have them, too. It’s just the energy, the vibrations of the place that you are. I’m used to it, because I’ve been here so often, but this is new to you. You are aware of it,” Warlock explained. “I’m glad this place can give you a form of comfort.”

~

Working with Warlock for the first week was just getting adapted to the new place of living. Her first “batch” of clothes came after the first day and compiled mainly of casual clothes- loungewear and such. As promised it was a mixture of outfits, all in earthy tones.

Lapis had run into Celestia a few times in the week, but overall, it was just Warlock and the maids.

The first month was even better. Lapis started to get comfortable using the Spirit world as a resource. She felt rude at first, but after much insistence from both the spirits and Warlock, she got used to it.

Well into the second month, it happened. She woke up to panicked screams. One of the maids rushed into the hall she, Celestia, and Warlock were sleeping in.

“FIRE! FIRE IN THE LIBRARY!” It was Luna, Lapis remembered. She could usually be found helping the Librarian shelf books.

The three of them rushed out, and in the direction of where the maid claimed the fire was. Lapis rushed into the Library first and went in the direction of the screams. Slowly, they were able to get the fire out, and all the people who were in the Library survived. The books, however, did not.

Warlock and Lapis stared at the small room of the Library in horror. All of their work, all their hard work, was gone.

And it would have remained gone if it weren’t for one of the survivors. “I saw someone. The person who did it, I think. They went into that room and walked out with a ton of books and papers and stuff. I thought it was one of the workers, but the fire stemmed from there, and started not long after they left.”

“Can you tell us where they went?”

“Over to the South Wing.”

Warlock and Lapis rushed out, following this thin lead in hopes of finding their research. The west wing was the “Panic Wing”. Warlock didn’t go into detail about what that meant, and Lapis didn’t ask any questions.

There were lots and lots of locked doors, and a straight hallway that Warlock said was the only way the intruder could have gone. At the end of the hall was an open door, and an open field.

The field had a very clear path that leads towards the dock. When they got there they were surprised to see the guards had caught the person. He had blonde hair and looked like he was waiting for something. When he saw the two of them approaching, he lashed out, pushing one of the guards into the water, and kicked the second one.

He sprinted away and ducked down behind one of the buildings.

In the bag were some of the most important things that they had written down. They could keep going. Staring into the bag, it hit her. Lapis figured out how to do it. And she knew exactly the person they needed to talk to.

~End