Violet Fire

Damon found me in the deserted training yard, mercilessly going at a dummy with my staff. He didn’t say anything, just wordlessly grabbed two training swords and offered one to me.

“Let’s try something new,” he suggested, his warm eyes never leaving mine.

“Thanks,” I traded my staff for one of the swords.

The weight of the sword didn’t bother me too much, thanks to my daily workouts in the training yard. Damon launched into instructor mode, and I was grateful that he didn’t say anything about my dummy beating. The lesson was proving a fitting distraction from my frustration. I got lost in the movements, only stopping when Damon and I stood with our swords crossed, breathing heavily. We both realized how close we were standing and took an awkward step back. I smiled to break the tension, wiping some sweat off of my face.

“I hope you didn’t tire her out too much,” Evanna called, striding across the training yard.

I caught her eye, probably looking like a deer in the headlights. She smiled as if to say, I saw enough. If Damon saw any of this, he didn’t say.

“I would never,” Damon told Evanna seriously, although his eyes danced.

Evanna gave him a knowing look before turning to me. “Juliet, I need to talk to you.”

“Um, okay,” I replied as Damon took the sword from my hand and motioned for me to go.

Evanna led me through the castle and out to a side I had never been on before. Evanna led me down to the stables to watch James with a black stallion. We sat in silence for a long couple of minutes as the sun set behind us.

“You went to talk to Claire this evening,” it wasn’t a question.

“How did you know?”

“She is upset, which means that you asked about Aleia,” sometimes, I really love Evanna’s blunt nature.

“I need the truth, Evanna,” I replied, turning so that I was facing her more fully. “This is all tangled up with my parents, and now I’m involved too. I deserve some answers.”

Evanna turned away from me to watch James, her clear blue eyes distant. “I agree, Juliet, but it is not my story to tell.”

I blew my breath out in exasperation, watching James and the stallion as well. The silence stretched on as Evanna let me calm down.

“How did you and Claire meet?” I finally asked.

One side of Evanna’s mouth quirked up in a half smile. “That was quite an adventure, actually,” she mused, her eyes following James. “The village where I grew up is right on the edge of the Great Forest. I lived among trappers and foresters, outlaws and bandits. The Great Forest is land claimed by no one, bordering each of the kingdoms. It is a dangerous place, and living right on its edge was no better. Under King Cedric’s rule we were commissioned to keep all creatures in the forest and out of Loridian. He set up the Reds,” Evanna glanced over at me and I was surprised to see that her eyes were shining. “My parents were among the first to volunteer to protect our village, and the other villages nearby from Forest creatures.”

Evanna had to pause, looking back over at James to steady herself. “When King Cedric died and Aleia took the throne, we were no longer allowed to harm the creatures. A Wolf pack found out and started to target our village. At first they only stole livestock, but then they started going after the Reds.”

“No,” I breathed, my heart dropping.

Evanna nodded grimly. “They killed every last one of them, including my parents,” Evanna had to stop for a long moment. “Weak and defenseless, my village decided it was time to take action. My grandmother was one of very few people brave enough to live in the woods, and although I didn’t want to make the journey, we needed her help. I was travelling to her house when I met Claire and Eoin. One of the Wolves had been stalking me without my knowledge. If Claire and Eoin hadn’t shown up, I wouldn’t have made it to my grandmother’s. Naturally, Granny scolded me for coming in the first place. She hadn’t heard about anything, bless her soul.”

“What kind of help were you hoping for from your grandmother?”

Evanna looked over at me, her sky blue eyes piercing. “When Granny was in her prime, she’s what your parents referred to as a monster hunter. If Aleia wasn’t going to rid us of the Pack, we were going to do it ourselves.”

“So what happened once you met Claire and Eoin?”

Evanna looked away again, her eyes distant. “I saw an opportunity,” her jaw clenched momentarily as a fire lit in her eyes. “What were the odds that the true heir to the throne would cross my path? I saw a way to not only rid my village of the Pack, but Loridian of a tyrant.”

“And Claire went along with it?” I asked skeptically.

Evanna nodded, a slow smile creeping across her lips. “Claire was different back then. She was angry, bitter, and rebellious,” Evanna sighed. “Unfortunately the only thing that has changed is her rebellious streak. She let her fire burn out.”

“So, what happened?”

Evanna stayed silent for a long time, waging a silent battle. “When Aleia saw how much everyone loved Claire, she became jealous. She started driving Claire away, turning her from a princess into a servant. Claire blamed Aleia for everything in her life that went wrong, let hared grow within her.”

We fell silent again as we both considered what Evanna had just said.

“Claire used to let her anger be a fire, used to let it drive her to do better than Aleia did,” Evanna continued. “But something happened once Claire became a mother. She was constantly afraid of becoming Aleia, always worrying that she wouldn’t be a good mother. Her fire turned to ashes, and she changed.” Evanna paused again. “Most say it was the apple that poisoned her years ago, but it was her fear.”

“Poisoned apple?” I repeated.

“That is a bit of a long story,” Evanna replied, her eyes darting to James as the horse he was working with whinnied loudly.

Evanna vaulted over the fence to help James, but I wasn’t watching them anymore. Not only had I gotten myself to a magical world, I had also ended up in the aftermath of Snow White.