The following morning I wake up very early up very early just as though crock crowed for the second time. I go to the kitchen and make a fire then I go to the well to fetch some water to wash my face. After washing my face I sit by the fire staring blankly into it. A short while later Chenai walks into the kitchen and I can tell she's wondering why I'm out so late.
"How did you manage to make a fire with those wet logs?" She asks instead, something I was not expecting. I look at the fire I made to see what she meant, but we both knew I have always been good at lighting a fire.
"I don't know, I just did." I shrug distracted.
"At times I think fire comes straight from your hands Grand Princess and I noticed the flames do not burn you, she says tentatively and I wonder at her bizarre speculation. Why would she think fire came from my hands and why would she think fire does not hurt me?
" Why would you think that Chenai? That is some imagination you have," I voice my disbelief out loud.
"Try it Grand Princess, put your hands into the flames," she says and I look at her to see if she's serious and her expression is full of anticipation. It suddenly dawns on me, she's trying to distract me from thoughts of Zororai. It warms my heart that she's concerned but she has chosen the most bizarre method. Why would she want me to put my hand in the flames and get burned?
"I know you mean well Chenai, but getting me burned will not distract me you know," I say patiently.
"No you will not get burned," she insists.
"And what makes you so sure?" I ask to humor her. She looks at me sheepishly like she has just been caught stealing peanut butter with a finger.
"Because I saw you once with your hands in the flames but you were unaware. They stayed like that for a long time and when you removed them, your hands were not burned at all. It was the most unsettling thing I had ever seen so I did not tell you because I knew you would make fun of me until I was convinced I had imagined it all," she says matter of factly. I stare at her and realize she believes she saw that. I'm curious to test this theory so I decide what could go wrong if I ended up getting burned then maybe the pain might be able to distract me. I tentatively put my hands into the flames and I can feel how warm it is. I keep my hands in the flames but surprisingly my hands do not get any more warmer than they already are. I wait for it but the pain does not come to prove Chenai wrong. My hands are in the flames but I'm not getting burned at all. I look at Chenai and notice she's not surprised at all by this. However I'm the opposite and I am totally panicked. What could this mean?
"How?" I ask to no one in particular paralyzed by the discovery.
"I have no idea princess, but I have heard that the Zvavahera people are born with extraordinary gifts of control over the elements and if it is true that your father came from there, it only further proves that you are indeed one of their descendants," she says in an animated voice, proud of her reasoning.
"Let's agree what you say is true and leave it at that."
