FIRAINTH Fire Water Wind Earth (FANTASY)

Chapter 40: Origins

'Where am I?... everything's so dark...'

She coughed strongly and vomited some blood. Her lungs cramped but healed at once. She was breathing normally. Her body wasn't dwelling in pain anymore. She was completely healed. 'I'm still alive?' She was lying on something hard, rough and hot. In fact, she wasn't even sure if she was lying. She opened her eyes. Not everything was dark. Before her was a dim, narrow red-orange light coming from somewhere.

She fell into confusion. She pushed herself forward... Something was wrong... She pushed herself again... She couldn't move her arms and legs... She was stuck. Her arms were stretched out and her legs were together. There was something rough, hard and warm around both her wrists and ankles. She couldn't feel her feet but she could move her toes and fingers.

She took a deep breath and pulled. Trying to pull her arm out from the thing that was holding her tight. That thing was so sharp around the edge. She groaned as she pulled. She stopped, catching her breath.

"It's no use trying."

The voice came from the darkness. Monica trembled... feeling the speed of the beat of her heart once more... hearing her breathing inside her ears.

Light beamed and gave life to the room, stinging. Several torches were hung around, all lit. Now she realized that she wasn't laying on anything but was hanging against the wall. What supported her was a strong, thick obsidian on both her wrists and ankles. She was hanging in the form of a crucifix. The outfit she wore was a short, sleeveless black dress. Her locket was still there, dangling around her neck.

She rolled her eyes, analyzing the room. It was a very small room with a window to her left that had a view of the full reddish moon and some dim light, probably from the lava. A few feet from her, she spotted a obsidian table with several kinds of knives and many others minor weapons. And at the end of the table, a large thick golden chalice.

And there stood Virginia, arms crossed, gazing at the window. "I have to admit. I'm quite surprised at how you healed yourself rapidly after the attack four days ago. Normally, it would take weeks for that to happen."

Monica did not speak. She watch Virginia turn and approach her. Terrified, Monica pushed herself back, though she was aware that it was useless. She turned her head, hiding her face with her closed eyes behind her shoulder, whimpering softly.

"Shh... shh..." Whispered Virginia, cupping Monica's cheek. "Everything is going to be alright."

Virginia's fingers crawled down through her neck and down onto her chest like a spider. Monica opened an eye. Virginia rubbed her chest, where the element mark was.

"I can feel it." Virginia murmured. And unexpectedly, she laid her head on Monica's chest. Monica gasped, held her breath. Virginia sighed strongly as if she had just ran a mile. "I can... hear it... dwelling in your heart... your fire is so strong. Stronger than a hundred offspring put together."

Monica exhaled and finally found her speech. "What do you mean?"

Virginia chuckled. "I believe my friends hadn't told you about the elements inside us." Said Virginia, raising Monica's head. "My darling, we are not the only living souls in the world with elements. Of course we are the element itself, the source of it, but all other humans and half-breads in Firainth and the people in the other world contain an element inside them." Virginia walked to the window and placed her arms on the windowsill. "It's what's keeping them alive for as long as possible. If one of them is missing..." She turned to Monica. "They would possibly die.

"For many white moons I've searched for a possible way to take the fire element inside them. Nineteen white moons ago, I've discovered it." She walked to the table of weapons, picked up a sharp dagger. "I have discovered a way to make me more powerful than any element in the world." She walked to Monica, pointed the weapon to her neck, making her hold her breath deeply. "However, no matter how much I have taken, it just wasn't enough to make me indestructible. More than three hundred children I've slain. More than three hundred children I've killed. But you. You have such great power inside you. Stronger than anyone else's. Even stronger than the queens' and king's. The last time we faced, you could have defeated... me."