The flare

A promise

              Ezra's eyes didn't move from Arias. He was in shock and confused on what to say or do.
He never thought that a childhood dream would become real. That... he would be face to face to her. It felt like a dream. The way her eyes burst red and the heat radiating off her body felt like so much anger.
"I uhm.. I came because my village, it has a disease and I need your help-"
The lights in the cave turn back on as Arias flames immediately disappear. "You can leave."
"What?-
"I will not help you."
"I don't understand? Why? Your our last hope and to find out that your still alive is astonishing everyone would be saved if you-"
Aria chuckled as she carefully ran her fingers through the candles flames. "Leave."
"I won't."
She took another glance at Ezra.
"I'm not here for just any wish I'm here for my village! All I ask of you is to save the people in it. And after you can come back to this cave and stay here for as long as you want but I need your help. They need your help."
Aria shook her head. "You wish to save hundreds of people and yet you have not one wish for yourself?"
"I don't care about myself. All I ask is for you to save my mother and all the innocent people in it."
"I'm sorry I won't do it." Aria tightly crossed her arms pulling them close to her chest as she walked further inside.
Ezra stood there puzzled by her reaction. He didn't know what to do, or how he could possibly convince her to change his mind.
*growling*
Ezra turned around to find benji soaked giving him the grumpiest look.
"To be fair I was going to come back for you."
*grumpy barking*
"Okay. Okay. Just follow me okay?"
Ezra decided to follow down the cave where Aria had went down to check on her.
He stumbled upon a larger part of the cave that he thought was a myth. It was a crystal cave.
"Tell me. What would the humans do if they found this place?" Aria approached.
"I-"
"Would they destroy it? Or for their own selfish desire would they destroy it until there was nothing?"
Ezra didn't know how to answer to that. She wasn't wrong but at the same time she wasn't right.
"Not all of them are bad.-"
"Yes they are!" Arias flames bursted around her. "They all think the same! If they weren't they wouldn't have chained me down forcing me to grant them their wishes! Until there was almost nothing left..."
Ezra stood there confused. He never heard this story from his mother. "I've only heard how you helped others, and in the end you burned down a village because you didn't want to help others-"
"That isn't true!"
"I know. So tell me, what happened. I'll listen."
Arias flames began to calm down.
"To understand you must see it."
Aria carefully placed a spark into the candles around making them burst up in flames. They were showing Aria chained to the ground.
"Please stop! You cannot do this!"
"Oh darling but we can. Isn't that right everyone?"
There was a line of people in front of Aria paying a large amount of money for her to grant their wishes.
"It wasn't just any wishes. It was wishes that were never meant to be tampered with." Aria explains.
"Make him fall in love with me."
"Kill Adrian he broke my heart."
"Give me beauty."
"Make me a millionaire."
"I was able to do whatever wish they granted without any consequences. They just took and took. But in the end I could not grant my own wish. I could not grant to escape. One day there wasn't a too bad of a line, when one of the captures approached me and had asked me for a wish that I begged him not to grant."
"I want you to grant me your power."
"What?-"
"I didn't know if it was possible but if it was what kind of monstrosity would he use it for?"
"You will do what I say! Give me your power!"
"No! I will not grant you such power!!"
"Fine."
He slapped Aria across the face as he pulled a sword out from behind his back. "I will kill you."
"Then I will die! I won't do it!"
Not knowing what Aria could do he un attached her from the cuffs that had kept her down. "I'll show you what happens when you disobey me!"
He grabbed Aria forcefully to the ground.
"What are you doing..?"
Aria froze frightened.
"I don't remember anything after that... I remember him getting closer but then the flames consumed me. I woke up the next morning to find the village destroyed.. and now, if I were to grant another wish after that it could be my last. My power will not let me use it to the full max any longer."
"I'm sorry Aria.. I didn't know that happened to you. We were only told what you caused. Not what they caused you."
Aria slowly placed her hand on a nearby wall as her vision got blurry again. "Your apology does not fix what was already done.. but, I admire your admiration. If you truly wish to save your village I will make a deal with you."
Ezra watched as she created a flare in her hands.
"I will grant you the power to heal your village and in exchange you would give your life for it."