MHS0501: It's mainly coincidence.

Antha1: Sorry, typo. I fixed it.

I am a burglar: How can you steal someone's powers?

The 379th Hero: Eh.

Al Drin Hoshizora: I did.

Strange and proud of it: That was the reaction I hoped you'd have.

Nlgirl17: Regarding your other review, I have deleted most of his reviews, but I may have let that one slip.

Korrasami 88: Oh?

Miaka: Well, here it is.

A Tale Woven in Fire (Part II)

A few days later, the King went off on a trip to discuss trade regulations.

Agni was confined the castle by her mother, not allowed to even set foot outside. It was dreadfully boring, constricted to her castle and not allowed to get any fresh air. Normally, she'd have sent a fire bird outside to see what was happening with the townspeople, but now that her powers had been exposed, she was much to scared to try something like that.

Worse, Willard absolutely refused to let his son visit Agni, not wishing for Finn to be hurt by the "monster". And most of the staff refused to acknowledge Agni's presence, though she figured it was probably for the best.

The young princess had never felt so alone, so isolated. The knowledge that she had been exposed for what she really was weighed heavily upon her shoulders, and it crushed her. How could she go on, knowing that everyone around her regarded her as a freak, a monster?

What would happen when she became queen? Would the people still accept her, or would they turn on her and dethrone her?

"Stop it," She whispered to herself. After all, powers or not, she was still the princess of Arcturus. Her parents would protect her if the people tried to harm her. . . wouldn't they?

During one of her silent moments by herself, she received a visit. She was surprised to see that it was her mother. She was holding a glass of water.

"Princess Agni," Reine whispered when she walked into the room. Her shadow engulfed Agni in darkness, and the young princess slowly pulled herself onto the bed, somewhat intimidated. What was her mother here for.

"The people are talking about you," She said, closing the door slowly. "They're saying really nasty things about you."

Agni's pupils shrunk, and her mouth slowly opened, but no sound came out. She looked to the floor in shame.

Unexpectedly, her mother said, "But regardless of what the people say, I just want you to know that you're my daughter, and I love you."

Agni's golden eyes widened, and she looked up at her mother. "Do you mean that?" She asked, a spark of optimism glowing in her heart. Could it be that her mother had come to accept her, powers or not.

"You haven't drunk anything all day, Agni," Reine whispered to her, and held out the glass drink. "Care to try something."

Agni paused for a moment, looking up at her mother. For a moment, she was dubious, but she shoved the thought out of her mind. It was just a glass of water, after all...

She took the glass and drank it.

A few moments later, her world faded into darkness.

When Agni awoke, she was instantly struck with the realization that her surroundings were different than usual.

The walls were dark and brown, the only source of light being the window that shed light in the darkness. The room was also tiny, with barely any room for Agni to move around in.

"Where. . . where am I?" The young princess whispered, and she stood up to try and move, only to be yanked back. It was only then that she realized that her hands were chained down, restraining her.

"What?" She asked, immediately panicking as she realized that she was no longer in the castle. "What's going on? Where am I?"

It was then she heard a splash of water, and she slowly turned to stare out the window. Her eyes widened in shock and horror when she saw that she was out to sea. Realization dawned upon her, and she knew instantly that she was confined within a ship.

Unbridled panic and rage overwhelmed the princess, and her chained arms slammed against the walls, trying to free herself. "Hey!" She shouted out as she banged on the walls. "What's going on? Where am I?!"

After a few minutes that seemed like an eternity, her cries were answered. The door to her cell creaked open, and a man that Agni faintly recognized strode into the room. It took a few moments for Agni to realize that he was a member of the kingdom's navy, though she didn't know his name.

"Where am I?" Agni asked frantically. "What's going on? Why am I in chains?"

The man shushed her. "Glad to see you're awake, princess," He said coolly. His sharp eyes were narrowed at her.

"What's going on?!" Agni cried out impatiently.

"We're out to sea, Agni," The captain explained to the young princess. "We're taking you away to somewhere else so you won't be a problem for us. You're banished, princess."

Agni's eyes widened in horror. "My parents will find out about this!" She cried out in an attempt to intimidate the man. "They'll find out it was you. You'll be-"

"The Queen ordered it."

Agni's next words caught in her throat. All at once, her blood became chilly, and she was paralyzed with shock. Slowly, she choked out, "W-What?"

"Queen Reine knew that the kingdom wouldn't stand for having a monster like you as the future ruler of this kingdom," The captain sneered at her. "So she knew she had to get rid of you. But supposedly, she couldn't find it in her heart to simply kill you, so she's simply sending you off to a far off place so you'll be forgotten. In my opinion, I don't know if I'd ever be so merciful."

The words struck Agni like a granite fist. The Queen, her mother, was the one who had commanded this. The words she had spoken to her in her room, right before she blacked out. . . were they all lies?

"But my mother said she loved me, for me," Agni said, and she could feel her eyes begin to water.

"She must've to let a creature like you live, knowing just what you are. . ." The captain said. "When this is all done though, perhaps she'll have a new child, one who isn't a-"

Shut up!" Agni shouted at him, and she lunged at him, but her chains held her back. Tears of anger began to stream down her cheeks as her emotions overtook her mind. The tears dropped onto the ground, and both Agni and the captain saw that the tears were the color of lava.

"Look at you!" The man shouted at her. "Even your tears are red! You're inhuman, child, the work of something demonic!"

"I-I'm not!" Agni shouted at him, struggling against her chains. "I want to go home!"

"What will you come back to?" The man asked her. "A mother who doesn't love you, a kingdom that doesn't want you. . . you have no home!"

Agni gritted her teeth. She could feel her hands begin to burn within her chains. For once, the fire hurt her. She looked to the floor, her eyes clenched shut "Release me!"

"Agni-"

"I. . . I said RELEASE ME!"

What happened next was a blur. Agni's head whipped up to stare at him, her eyes ablaze. Immediately, the man's cocky expression was changed to that of absolute terror as he saw fire in her eyes. Suddenly, the fire almost seemed to shoot out of her eyes, and engulfed the man. Within seconds, the man had been burned to a crisp.

Instantly, something within the core of Agni's heart exploded. All that had happened to her. . . her mother's betrayal, her exile. . . they had triggered something within the young princess.

With a scream of rage, Agni broke free of her chains, which were burned down by her flames. The young princess landed on all fours, and she could feel her skin begin to burn hot, so hot that she felt like she was on fire.

Her pain, coupled with her own anguish, released a wave of fire within the room. Instantly, the walls, ceilings, and floorboards caught on fire, and it only spread throughout the ship.

Agni could see some men coming, clearly alerted by the fire. "What's going on?" One man asked as he ran to the cell. The moment he and Agni made eye contact, the princess screamed and looked away from the man. Not being able to stand the man looking at her, Agni summoned a wall of fire, and the man was engulfed in flames.

Agni's nails bit into the wooden floors, and instantly, the fire expanded in size, quickly overtaking the entire ship itself. Agni could hear the screams of the crew from all around the ship as the fire overwhelmed them. Within her own cell, the walls and ceilings, severely damaged by the fire, began to collapse around the princess.

Before Agni could shield herself, she was buried under the rubble.

When Agni awoke, she was lying on a large piece of wood, floating through the sea. She could hear seagulls above her, flying in the sky.

Slowly, the former princess looked over behind her, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw the utter wreckage before her. The ship had completely collapsed from the fire, and the remains of the ship floated at sea, the water having put out the fire.

She saw no signs of the crew, and she figured that they had either perished in the fire or drowned at sea. Either way, she was completely alone.

Before Agni could properly access her chances of survival, she saw land nearby. She could vaguely sea a kingdom, and for a moment, she hoped it was Arcturus. However, after a moment, she realized that it was a different kingdom, and all hope of reaching her home vanished.

Nevertheless, she floated towards the land, using whatever strength she had left to swim to the best of her ability. She was severely weakened after her explosion of energy on the ship, and it was taking up much of her strength to stay conscious, let alone swim.

After several minutes that seemed like an eternity, she finally reached the shores of land, and a wave of relief flooded her mind. Slowly, she crawled onto land, and got to her feet after catching her breath.

Though she was relieved to be alive, she wasn't truly happy. As she looked back in the direction of the wreckage of the ship, she realized just how alone she was. Her parents, her home. . . they were all gone. She had been taken from everything she loved in less than a day.

As Agni trudged through the forest, she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Her mother, her mother, had banished her from her home and cast her off to an uncertain future. She had never lived outside the castle. . . how was she supposed to survive without a family to provide for her?

Not only that, but her response had been to destroy the ship and everyone on it. She hadn't meant to, but. . . they were dead because of her and her powers. Maybe the kingdom was right. Maybe her powers were destructive, and the work of something demonic.

Eventually, exhausted, Agni lay down against a tree, and hugged her knees. She buried her head in her hands, letting tears pour out. Unlike before, these tears weren't red. They were blue.

She cried. She cried for the home which she had now lost. She cried for the betrayal that had broken her heart, from which would never be repaired. She cried for the evil things she had done on the ship.

But most of all, she cried because she was alone.

Alone and unloved by a cruel world that didn't want her.

A man wandered through the forest, holding a lantern for him to sea.

He had faintly heard the sound of crying, and for a moment disregarded it as his own imagination. However, when the crying continued, he knew he had to investigate to see what was going on.

Slowly, the man crept through the forest as he neared the sounds of the sobbing. She found that the crying was coming from behind a tree.

Slowly, the man put away the lantern, and walked up towards the tree. As he looked around her, he was surprised to see a little girl, drenched in water and covered in mud, crouched against the tree, sobbing.

"What?" The man asked in shock. "Who are you?"

The girl sniffed, and slowly wiped her eyes clean before looking up at the man.

"Who are you?" The man asked, confused. The young girl paused for a moment, as if she was unsure how to answer. For a second, the man wondered if the girl had a name.

Finally, the girl responded.

"Agni."

End of Part II

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