The Glow of Flame in the Midst of Air

It should be a perfect night. Cold breeze, mist and fog; an ideal night in winter. I should be contented by it. I should gain my energy by it. It was perfect before he came. I was gaining my natural strength, until he came. I knew it. Heat shimmered from my fingers and toes, crawled to the rest of my body. I felt warm. Suddenly, I felt my powers fading. I felt the chill overcame by warm and heat that came from the unexpected source. I started to panic. This is wrong. Why does it happen everytime he came? Why does it happened everytime he was near? I felt the hairs of the back of my neck prickled. I felt him. I felt him staring at me. I spun around; shocked that he was so close. Surprised that he stared at me. I stiffened by the intensity of his gaze. I saw fire glow in his eyes. Red, blazing fire on his amber eyes. Something shows in his eyes. Not anger, not hatred, nor contempt. It was different. Looked at me differently. Sensual, intimate, desire. More heat shimmered in my veins. I felt weak. My powers are fading fast. I didn’t know what sort of dark arts he used on me to control me. I cannot even work a speech. My throat seemed locked with a lump of nervousness. My pulse pumps faster. My heart beats faster. He moved closer, until I can feel his breath in my face. Warm and wicked. My breath heavy. I took a step back, surprised and horrified my back touches the railing at the balcony. My heart already hammered in my chest, and I am damningly conscious of his constant nearing towards me. Now I am cornered. Felt more panic than I have felt before. This is really wrong. Excitement and anticipation with the mix of horror crept into my heart.  Suddenly, he snaked his arms behind me and pulled me closer to him. My body contacted with his. I felt my knees weakened. I tensed. Then he lowered his face. I cannot fight him. I wasn’t able to move. I seemed possessed by unknown power. A power that was so wicked, dark, dangerous, and very carnal. I was shocked when it excites me. But I was still frightened he controlled me, that he was able to control my powers. I am frightened he was changed. His lips were inches of mine. His embrace tightened and pulsed heat in my skin. Finally, his lips touched mine. Immediately, I felt my insides burn. Sensual burn. I felt my breathing stopped. He sucked my air, while caressing my lips. My powers already fading, gained by him. I surrendered. I succumbed to his sensual taking. Fires everywhere. Ferocious wind blows the blazing fire. He devoured my lips, and then lifted his face. He whispered something audible. But then I read his lips. ‘It is fulfilled; you are mine.’ It was then I saw different. My eyes saw red and flames dancing everywhere. I knew I was lost. Lost in the arms of fire…

Chill was gasping for air when she came around. There was that premonition again. Why was it happening to her even in broad daylight? The vision was very vivid and very clear now. The feeling was very real and she still almost felt the presence of him, the man who haunts her dreams at night, interrupted her mind at day, making her sweat even though she was not prone to sweating ever since she was born. But the biggest mystery is that she cannot remember the face of the man after she had these visions. She tried to remember his face, but all she sees were dark shadows in his face. But she can still remember the excitement, the anticipation, and even fear when he seduced her. It was surreal.

Luckily, no one seemed to notice her discomfort. The training was still on process. The High Mistress was caressing a silvery orb in mid air and instructing novices to follow. Some time later, they heard the bell on the center tower sounded and the class dismissed. Chill went to go to her dormitory in the North Tower. On her way to the tower, she passed the East Corridor in the fourth floor. She sometimes went this route to the North Tower; it was the short cut to her tower –she used it now to get into her dormitory immediately to rest– but she avoided it because of the novices of the East Tower, the Primes of Fire. They were cunning and sometimes bully. She hated the guys from that tower. They were arrogant. They teased and mocked some of the rest of the Primes in the Castle they usually avoided because most of the people where afraid they might be bullied. Well she wasn’t afraid though.  For her, they were just a bunch of stupid novices and they were still a beginner to the world of Four Seasons. She noticed the corridor was quite and disserted. She wondered why they weren’t people around when the bell was already sounded for break. She was passing the last room at the edge of another intersecting corridor when she collided with someone. She yelped when she was thrown sideways and she dropped her books. She cursed and turned to look whom she collided with and was surprised to see two amber eyes glaring at her. She gasped. She never saw eyes blazing like fire like those he has. Eyes that looked through her, eyes that were so perfect and sexy she was devastatingly mesmerized. Eyes that seemed oddly familiar. She was gawk smacked that she collided with one of the bullies of Prime of Fire. The well known gorgeous but so arrogant, Blaze.

            “What? Are you gonna stare dumb at me for the whole morning?” he said, tauntingly.

Chill frowned, and then felt cold surged in her veins. Anger replaced the shock she felt earlier. She straightened up and fixed herself calmly. Picked her books and faced the most devastating and loathsome guy she had ever met. She gave him her coldest smile and said,

            “You are so sure of yourself, Blaze. If I know, you are so stupid you don’t even apologize for colliding to someone. Well, I’m not apologizing to someone like you, though. I’ll be wasting my time.” 

Blaze was taken aback. It looked like he wasn’t used to someone answering him back. Then he advanced, took a couple of steps towards Chill. She didn’t back off a step. She was so determined to show this tough guy a piece of her mind.

            “What? You call me stupid? Who the hell are you to call me that?” he demanded angrily. Some ego seemed broken, Chill thought with amusement.

She was about to say some clever lines when suddenly without warning there was a painful throb in her head. She doubled, and clutching her head in agony. It was fierce and very intense that it was almost making her faint and brought tears to her eyes.

“What’s wrong? Are you alright?” said a voice that has an edge of concern, seemed very far away.

The pain was beginning to heat her head. She began to panic. This was unusual. A headache with a touch of fever on her head? She was unaware of Blaze kept asking questions about her. She forgot she was not alone in the corridor. All she thought was her head was about to split into two. She was screaming, and the sound was carried throughout the corridor where classes from the Primes of Fire. Blaze too was panicking of what was happening to her. He was hopeless and all he thought was this particularly girl was having a seizure and dying. He lifted her suddenly without even thinking what he was doing, and went to the stairs towards the top of the tower. When he glanced at her and saw her all pale and sweating, still moaning and crying in agony, he started to run.

“Hey! Don’t die on me, will you? For goodness sake!” he yelled, breathlessly.

Flashes of red were suddenly dominating in Chill’s vision. She tried to close her eyes, but then she saw silhouette of a man amidst in the field of fire. More piercing pain was nagging in her head. Now hot knives seemed stabbing in her brain. Air in her lungs started to run out of her body. She was suffocating for no reason.

Help! She cried in her thoughts. What’s happening to me? She was almost losing it. If this kept going on, she would succumb to unconsciousness.

Blaze banged open his room and hurried to the sofa. He laid Chill carefully in it, ran to the window, and sent a magical ball of fire towards the main castle. He summoned for help. Any minute now, someone or somebody will revive this dying figure in the sofa. He went to  examine her again.

To be continued…