Chapter 2

A few days had gone by, since Ember's exile, and all Era had done was sit outside her house, curled up in a ball and cry. She was lost without her brother. Hopelessly, utterly lost without her brother, and all she could do was cry. And of course, all that did was cause her pain, which made her cry more. It was an endless loop. The bullies from before had taken advantage of her pathetic state, and started bullying her, instead of the small albino they had picked on previously for all these years. And Era just let them.

She took all of their beatings, mean words and all around cruelty, in silence, while nobody did anything to stop them. Not even her parents, for they had hoped that the bullies would make her fight back and go back to her old self again.. But sadly, it wasn't happening.

Day after day, it was the same thing, like clockwork, she'd wake up, mindlessly eat breakfast, and then go outside to cry. Not long after she'd sit down, the bullies would come and pick on her for an hour or so before they'd get bored of her and go pick on somebody else, only to come back to her a few hours later, where she still laid in the dirt how they left her, and went back to messing with her.

Weeks had gone by, before anybody finally did anything.

"H-Hey!" A tiny voice yelled, "Leave her alone!"

"Eh?" The boys turned to see it was their other favorite toy, the albino pheonix.

"I-I said leave her alone!" The pheonix asserted, "Can't you see she's already in enough pain?! Just leave her be! She doesn't need you adding to her pain!"

"And I suppose you're gonna make us, small fry?" The leader smirked, "Just run along, shrimp. We'll be visiting you soon enough."

The girl growled, and shot a blast of ice cold air at them, freezing them solid. "I said leave her alone."

Era just watched from the dirt, eyes blank. Hollow. Lifeless. If there were a word to describe her state perfectly, it'd be "zombie". She was, in essence, just a mindless zombie at this point.

The albino frowned at her and yanked her into a sitting position. Era just stared at her blankly. "Get a grip!" The girl yelled in her face, "You can't let them treat you like this anymore! If you want your brother back so badly, DO something about it! Don't just sit around like a sack of potatoes! I'm done being helpless, and so are you! So get up, and go do something to get your brother back, already!"

Era blinked, and stared at her. She blinked, and then stared some more. The girl scowled and smacked her across the face. "Do you HEAR me?! Get up, and get your brother back! I can't take seeing you like this anymore!"

Era seemed to wake up a bit at this. "Snowbelle.." She whispered, and shook her head, before standing. "You're right. I gotta do something.. And I think I know exactly what to do."

"Get 'em, Eruption!"

"Please.. Just call me Era.."

For the next few weeks, she flew and flew and flew until she thought she couldn't fly anymore, and flew even past that. She had to do what her brother did. She knew she had to. It was the only way she'd be allowed to leave.

And then one day.. It happened. And destruction from it was greater than what Ember had caused. Nearly half the village had been destroyed, and the wreckage was on fire. Of course, she hadn't intended it to be nearly that bad. She only wanted maybe a house or two to be knocked down, just enough to get her exiled like her brother.. But this.. It was bad enough for the possibility of a death sentence.

"Eruption Pheonix.." The chieftain sighed, "I had a feeling you'd be next.. But I did not think you'd be this angry at us, to cause such damage."

Era didn't respond.

"By demand of the village, your punishment.. Is death."

At this, Era looked horrified. "N-No.. I-I didn't mean for it to be this bad!"

"I'm sorry, Eruption, but this is your punishment." The chieftain replied, arms crossed. He made a motion with his head, and before she knew it, Era was bound by the wrists and ankles, and her wings were tied down to her back. "Your death shall be swift."

The one charged with her execution stepped up, and stared down at the terrified, squirming pheonix. "I am sorry, but I must do this. I cannot defy the chieftain."

"I'm only 9!" Era cried, "This is just cruel! You already banished one fledgeling, and you're about to kill another! You're running out of fledgelings."

"The village demands it." The executioner replied, "I hate to do this, but.." "ENOUGH!" The chieftain growled, "Get it over with already."

The executioner sighed, nodding sadly, before raising a sword. It shone with the drops of water that clung to the blade like dewdrops. Era gasped and closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact. She knew she would not survive this.

Oh no! What will become of dear Era? Stay tuned for the next chapter, to find out!

Yes, this one is pretty short. I wanted to leave it at a cliffhangar. LOL

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