Ember and Lilia: A Pool of Flames (Wattys 2016) The School for Good and Evil

Chapter 29: The Starry Night Skies

Two Steps from Hell- Welcome to Amaria

PLEASE READ THE A/N BELOW!

-Ember-

Ever thought about what that could have happened if you had never did something? To never did something that could erase all the wrongness in her heart, lashed tightly with pain and sorrow.

She didn't know what to think.

It was like she had been cut off from the rest of the world, not given a chance to protest. She looked back at the girl who walked behind them, silent after she had been taken over. A long time ago, she would have been the first to shout and cheer for her, to support her when she was sad. But now...

She looked at the gloomy forest, full of dangerous beasts that could attack them anytime, including the demons that seems to stalked them at all places.

Come to me...

Help us...

Whispers echoed into their ears, making them shivered. The others stopped in their tracks, straining their ears to hear the whispers again, but nothing. Shrugging it off, they continued their journey.

Ember stared off in the distance, her thought rallying with each and another. Now that The Headmasters were gone, where could they go now? 

Suddenly, Lilia snapped into concentration and roared out a warning: "Careful!"

James, who was taking the lead, disappeared into the air, the image of the forest rippled like water.

"James!" She cried out, running to the direction he disappeared only to be hold back by Lilia. She struggled. "Let me go!"

Lilia pointed at the forest infront of them. "Look."

She picked up a stone and threw it.

The forest immediately rippled, like water. It wavered for a few seconds before stablizing.

"Its a mirage." Sapphire said quietly. "An illusion to masked the real place."

Ember had a feeling that they were in a never-ending maze with no exit. When they thought that they were safe, something else happened. 

They were hellbound in this devilish place, never escaping, always fighting, trying to find an escape. A cycle, again and again. A seemingly harmless quest to find the Headmasters became a dangerous and lethal mission, haunting them at every turn.

Each of them were broken, no longer able to trust as easily as before. They were children who had fell to the ground, unable to get up to face the horrors infront of them.

"I'm going after him." Ember said quietly. Lilia released her hold from her wrist and nodded, a blank-like look on her face.

"If you're going, we're coming with you." Trisha said, her eyes staring at the image of a seemingly harmless trees and plants infront of them. 

But what they didn't know, was that what they would see, would be engraved into their minds forever, a nightmare haunting them when they thought about the dark days, the scene never escaping...

............................

-Sapphire-

Blood.

The smell of blood was heavy in the air the moment she stepped into the illusion, her eyes darting around to watch every dark corners where the demon could popped out from. She was starting to become delusional, she knew, but it was burned into her brain, the feeling of overpowering helplessness and fear.

James was standing there, his body swaying in the wind as if he would fall anytime soon. His body blocked their view of what was there,but yet the smell of burning and ash drifted, one with the wind.

"James?" Keith frowned. His instinct was in high alert. The cousin he knew was playful, yes, but he had never once lost his composure. His aura was always in a steady rhythm, letting those around him to feel safe, protected from harm. But now, his aura was largely disturbed, almost as if...

Beside him, Lilia's face flashed with a brief expression of deep pain and sorrow.

His eyes widened as he finally saw the bloody sight infront of him.

Bodies. Piled up after one and another into a small mountain, all of them heroes who had stood up against the demons when they had attacked, dying in vain. Among them, the bodies of helpless children and wives could be seen sprawled on the cold, hard ground, some of their necks angled in a horrendous way that made people disgusted at the cruel killing way.

The houses were burned down to ashes, some of the burning wood planks that was not burned completely could still be seen. All of them who were sacrificed in the attack were innocent, trapped to never see the light again. The once lively mood that might have been in this village was completely gone. The smell of ash and blood still lingered strongly even after a few days from the attack.

Ember's eyes lingered on a child's dead body that could have once played cheerfully, running around the village. Her heart was shattered into broken pieces as she dropped to her knees and cried out in sorrow. All of the girls were weeping except Lilia, as her eyes glistened from the tears that did not fell.

Where's my mummy?

The boys clenched their fists tightly, a deep look of sorrow flashed across their face as they reined in their temper. Keith punched the ground.

Did you see my mummy? She told me to stay in the cupboard, but then a nasty, horrible and dark thing found me. It slashed me.

Tears ran down Lilia's face as she put her hand to her mouth.

Do you know why is daddy lying in a pool of blood? The whispers echoed in their ears, as they grief for the little girl who had lost everything just before she died, for the innocemt and helpless villages that had all die.

They promised me they would be alright. The whispers said sadly.

And then, the whispers faded away.

But they knew that from that moment on, they would all be haunted by this terrifiying scene. Whenever they had nightmares, their thoughts would always go back to this time, cursing themselves because they were too late to do anything. Some of them would still wept for the lives that had been stolen on that day, their hearts aching silently.

Where's my mummy?

They grieve for them over the starry night skies as the sun dropped.

Hullo everyone! I'm so sorry for the lack of updating, but there are a few reasons for that:

1) This year is an especially important one, so I have been working hard and doing my best to catch up on all the homework.

2) I had a vague idea on how to write the chapter, but the words just wouldn't come, so I decided to prolong it.

If any of you saw my profile messages, you would know that I promised this chapter to be updated last week, but it didn't work. For that, I'm sorry.

On the BRIGHTER side, Thievery In The Shadows (previously known as Alone), has an official COVER! KYAAA IM SO HAPPY!! Many thanks to shadowsleek!

As an apology, I decided to update a filler for THITS! If you have time, please check it out and tell me what you think!

S'long!