Burning Flowers

Flames swirled around her, turning the night sky red. The fire licked at the ground, but did not devour the grass. The smell of smoke filled her nostrils.

Meggie drifted awake. The red light lingered, as well as the smell. Squinting against the light of the rising sun coming through her window, Meggie sniffed. Sure enough, the smell was still there.

Beginning to panic, Meggie jerked up into a sitting position. Her eyes swept the room, finally resting on her bedside table. There, glowing beside a small pile of books, was a fire flower.

Meggie reached toward it hesitantly. When she finally touched it, the flower did not burn her skin. She brought it toward her, holding it up to her face. In her hand, the flower faded until it was merely a dull red glow outlining the shape of a rose. The outline slowly disappeared until there was nothing but a speck of soot on her palm.

Meggie looked out her window. The light of the rising sun was the same color as the flower. And she knew exactly who had put it there.

Farid.

A smile stretched across Meggie's face. She looked at the ashes in her hand, imagining the blaze that had been there moments ago.

Even if he had not deliberately told her, even if he had not actually visited her, Meggie knew how Farid felt. He had left her a present, knowing she would understand it's meaning.

He really did love her.

Still smiling, Meggie hopped out of bed. After quickly throwing on some clothes, she bounded down the stairs. Resa looked up from the kitchen table as her daughter skipped by, but did not comment.

Mo looked up when Meggie hopped to a stop in front of him. "Happy today, are we?"

Meggie grinned. "Can I go to the market?"

"Meeting Doria?" Mo asked, raising an eyebrow. As a father, it was his job to make things awkward for his daughter.

Meggie blushed, as expected. "No, Mo. I just want to go."

Mo gave a half-smile. "Alright, go ahead." He dropped his gaze to the book in his lap. He could always be found with a book. Whether he was fixing it, or just reading, there was always within arm's reach.

Meggie's face broke into a huge smile. "Thanks, Mo!" She scampered off down the hall to find her cloak. She had decided to hide her face from Farid again. She thought it would be safer.

Once again, Meggie found Farid in the same spot as the day before. Once again, she watched from the back of the crowd. Once again, Meggie saw a longing in his eyes. Only this time, she knew why it was there, and who it was for.

She smiled to herself.

Once again, Meggie's applause was the loudest at the end of the show.

But this time she did not approach Farid. Instead, she retreated into the shadows to watch him from a distance. She grinned as Jink scurried up his leg and sat on his shoulder. She watched as Farid fed the marten a piece of bread.

The sun slowly rose, then fell, in the sky.

Meggie wandered through the market all day, alternatively watching Farid and meandering among the stalls.

The sky slowly darkened.

At last, the strolling players began packing up, the merchants trying to make last-minute deals with shoppers.

Meggie watched Farid's retreating figure as the boy left the market area. She was tempted to follow him, and she almost did.

Almost.

But she didn't. Instead, she turned and went back to her house. After a quick word with her parents, Meggie went up for bed. She moved slowly as she climbed the stairs to her room. She smiled as she remembered Farid's face.

Still smiling, Meggie undressed and slipped under the covers. Once again, her dreams were the colors of fire.

x x x x x x x x x x

Wow, sure has been a while, huh? Sorry about that, guys. And this isn't even a good chapter, either. I have to warn you, the next one's not terribly exciting either. I'm going to try to finish it later today and post it soon so I can move on to the more exciting chapter. Review, please?

-Ivy