Chapter 3

"No! Stop!" Snowbelle cried, "Daddy, don't hurt her! She's my friend!"

"Snowbelle, turn around. Don't watch this!" Era said, "And if you see Ember again.. Tell him what happened.. And that I love him."

The executioner closed his eyes, trying to drown out the conversation between his daughter and Era. Trying desperately not to think "What if this was Snowbelle instead?". Era was only a year older than her, after all..

"Daddy, please! Don't do this! She just wanted to be exiled, so she could find her brother! She just wanted her brother!"

"Executioner." The chieftain said sternly, "Swing your sword."

Regretfully, he obeyed. And as Era's lifeless, headless body fell over and burned to ash, Snowbelle cried "NO!" while Era's parents simply held each other, her mother crying.

Snowbelle ran for the pile of ash, but her father grabbed her and picked her up. "Snowbelle.. She's gone.."

"She can't be!" Snowbelle cried, reaching out for the pile of ash as her father carried her away. "She can't be dead! Era!"

Despite the albino's cries, nothing happened for several minutes. Everybody just stood there, waiting to see if Era would revive like Snowbelle believed she would, or if she was truly dead. And after several excruciatingly long minutes, as if someone had dropped a Pheonix Down on the ashes – though nobody had – a swirl of fire popping with lightning rose from the ashes in a most spectacular fashion, and soon died out, showing a fully alive and well Era.

"She's alive!" Snowbelle cheered, and struggled out of her father's arms, barely flitting over to Era with her tiny, underdeveloped wings, right into the pheonix's arms. "I knew you wouldn't die from that!"

"Lucky for me you're right." Era smiled, and pet her crying friend. "Now.. Stop crying, okay..?"

Snowbelle sniffled, her tiny frame shaking from the upset of the event and the pain from her own tears. "I-I'm trying.. B-But th-they won't stop!"

Era sighed softly, hugging and holding her little friend. She looked to the chieftain. "Looks like your plan failed. What's next? A bucket of water?"

The chieftain sighed, "No. I don't think we'll be able to handle an angry pheonix who can kill us all.. So we'll simply do as you both wanted and exile you. Go find your brother." And he simply walked away.

Era blinked, and set Snowbelle down on her feet. "Hey.. I get to go be with Ember now." She said softly, smiling a little. "Be good, okay? I won't be here anymore to look out for you."

Snowbelle nodded a bit, wiping her tears away. "Right.. Be careful.. I'll see you again, someday." She hugged Era again, nuzzled her, and then stepped away, smiling sadly at her.

Era nodded. "Yeah. See you later." And then she was gone in the blink of an eye.

"I'll miss you.." Snowbelle whimpered and started crying again, father coming and picking her back up. "Hey, you flew!" He said with a small smile, trying to make his daughter smile again, though she didn't hear him. She simply buried her face in his shoulder and cried. Era and Ember were her only friends in the village. They were the only ones who liked her, aside from her father.. And now they were both gone.

A few days later.. All hell broke loose. The Kitsune tribe at the bottom of the volcano invaded the pheonix village, killing as many as they could. Snowbelle, among the other fledgelings of the village, had tried to hide, but soon every place in the village had been destroyed and went up in flame, and there was no-where left to hide. Many of the children were captured on the spot, while other still ran for their lives.

Among the ones who managed to keep running was Snowbelle. She had managed to evade all captures so far, and made in into the forest, where she saw a small Kitsune hiding in the bushes. She gasped and turned to run, but the Kitsune called to her in a childish voice. "I won't hurt you.. I don't even want to be here.."

Snowbelle stopped and turned to the Kitsune, before glancing at the village through the trees, and jumped into the bushes with him. "Why are you guys doing this?!" She asked, the Kitsune's ears lowering.

"Our chieftain and people believe we deserve to live up here.. But your people have forbid us from it.. And now that the threat is gone.. Our chieftain ordered us to kill the older phoenixes and take the younger ones as slaves.. As prizes." The Kitsune replied, to Snowbelle's horror.

"That's awful.. But.. What threat..?"

"The blue and orange phoenixes." The Kitsune replied, "The elder foretold a prophecy of twin blue and orange phoenixes being the downfall of our village."

"Ember and Era..? They were thing keeping you from invading?"

"Yes.. And now that they're gone.." He gestured to the village. "Your leader banished his only defences against us."

"Hey! What're you doing over there?!" An older Kitsune barked, heading over to the bushes. Snowbelle yelped and made a run for it, the older Kitsune drawing a sword with water encasing it like magic. He easily caught up to her, and swung.

Then there was a blood curdling scream.


Yay, chapter three is up! Sorry about the long wait, I've been busy with school. 12th grade ssssuuuuucks.

And, I recieved a comment about adding in another's character.. Allow me to answer it here: I will not be adding in anyone's characters, except for a friend of mine's. I'm sorry to say, but I doubt anyone else's characters will fit. I would LOVE to have other people's OCs in here, but because I doubt they will fit, I will not add them.

However.. If you have a fast character who loves to race(not on an extreme gear or anything - this story takes place over a thousand years ago, despite how they're talking. I just can't do ye old Shakespearean language. LOL), I may be able to fit them in with Era. I may also be able to fit in any mythical creatures as well.

Other than that, I will not be able to fit in anybody else, and they will not be re-occurring characters in the story.

I wanna know your thoughts, so speak to me, people!