Strange and proud of it: Indeed.

Al Drin Hoshizora: Yep.

The 379th Hero: You don't say.

Miaka: He is.

I am a burglar: *sigh*

Korrasami 88: Oh, really?

Nlgirl17: Great.

Antha1: Yeah...

Resilient Heart of a Queen: Uh-huh.

A Tale Woven in Fire (Part III)

When Christian's father Jonathan returned home that night, his family was shocked to see that he was not alone.

"Father, who's that?" The eight year old Christian asked as, right behind Jonathan, a young girl around his age trudged timidly behind him. Her dress was soaking wet and her hair was matted to her face and shoulders, slightly concealing her face.

"It's a child," Jonathan explained to Christian and his mother. "I found her, alone in the woods. She said she didn't know where she was. . . I couldn't just abandon her."

Christian, curious, walked up to the young girl. The girl avoided his eye contact, mud dripping from her hair. In spite of how dirty she was, Christian put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "What's your name?"

It took a few moments, but the girl finally replied with, "A-Agni."

"That's a beautiful name," Christian said to her, mainly in an attempt to brighten the girl's mood. Despite this, Agni simply frowned even more. Tears began to stream down her cheeks, and Christian backed up, not knowing if he'd offended the child.

As Christian's mother, Flora, approached the girl, Agni briefly hurried towards the fireplace. She let the fire warm her skin and allow the mud and water to dry away. She breathed deeply, and let out a sigh. Then, she sat down, not making a sound.

For a moment, the family simply stared at the little girl as she sat before the fire. Agni's golden eyes gazed at the fire, dully, almost as if the only things in the room were her and it. For a brief moment, Christian wondered if she'd forgotten they were even here.

"Um, hello," He said, mustering up the courage to approach Agni from behind.

Suddenly, Agni recoiled from the fire and turned to stare at him, her eyes filled with terror. Christian backed away.

"Where are you from?" Flora asked the young girl, helping her to her feet. "Are you from the kingdom nearby?"

Agni looked to the ground, and sniffed. "No," She confessed to them. "I'm from another kingdom. I was shipped here, by bad men."

"What happened to your parents?" Flora asked the girl.

Agni was about to open her mouth to respond, but then she closed it. Shutting her eyes tight, she eventually whispered, "I have no parents." She turned away from Flora, not wanting her to see the tears streaming from her eyes. She wiped them away quickly.

"Aw, you poor little girl," Flora said, wrapping her arms around Agni despite how dirty she was. "Don't worry. We'll take care of you."

Agni's eyes widened in shock. "W-What?" She stammered out in disbelief. She pulled herself out of Flora's grip, and said, "No. You don't want me, believe me. I don't deserve it-"

"No child deserves to be abandoned, Agni," Jonathan said to her, walking up to her. "If you have no parents, we'll gladly take you in."

Agni slowly turned to look at them. "You mean it?" She asked, her golden eyes almost glowing. Flora and Jonathan nodded.

Agni gave a weak smile. Deep down, her heart hadn't truly healed, and it never would, but a ray of light had been shown in the darkness.

For the next few weeks, the family entered a sort of routine. In the morning, Jonathan, Christian and their adopted daughter, Agni, would go out collecting wood for the cabin. Then, in the afternoon, when Jonathan went off to work, Christian and Agni would either work at home or play near the house.

The two children became close companions fairly quickly. Though Agni was initially timid in her new living conditions, she quickly opened up to having Christian as a playmate. In the afternoon, the two children would go out and play and laugh with each other.

Christian liked to tell Agni stories, though the girl rarely liked to talk about her own past. The family chalked it up to her simply being shy.

They had no idea the secrets Agni was truly concealing from them. Until one day where she inadvertently revealed it to them.

One day, Agni and Christian saw a wolf.

The two had been playing tag and had wandered away from the cabin when they saw the wild animal. The wolf appeared to have been separated from the rest of its pack, but that didn't stop it from being dangerous.

Agni and Christian hid behind a tree, out of sight from the wolf. "What do we do?" Christian asked nervously. Agni pressed herself against the tree, frightened herself.

The two could hear the sound of the wolf approaching, and they knew instantly that the animal knew it was there. If they didn't act quickly, they would be no doubt mauled or killed.

Agni closed her eyes, and inhaled. What she was about to do next was risky, but it may be the only way to save their lives. Concentrating, and not utilizing her hands, she summoned a small rabbit made out of fire a distance away, in view of the wolf. Distracted, the wolf turned away from the children and started to wander towards the orange rabbit.

Agni breathed heavily. Hopefully, Christian wouldn't notice that she had created the fire rabbit, and he wouldn't suspect it was her.

However, Christian saw the fire rabbit as well, and unwisely blurted out, "Hey, is that thing made out of fire! How is that-" Agni clamped a hand over his mouth to silence him, but it was too late.

The wolf's ear twitched, and it whirled upon the two children, forgetting about the fire rabbit. It lunged through the air, fangs and claws out, aiming for Christian's throat.

"No!" Agni shouted, and she jumped in front of Christian. As the wolf soared towards her, Agni threw her hands in the air, and a wall of fire expanded in front of her. The wolf was incinerated immediately, and crumbled into a pile of ashes on the snowy ground.

Christian gasped in shock at what had just happened. He scrambled away from Agni, who turned to stare at him. She realized in horror that he had seen what she had done.

"C-Christian," She said, walking up to him, her hands outstretched. Christian backed away from her, his mouth agape.

Behind her, Agni heard Jonathan shout out, "Children! What happened?!"

As he ran up to them, Christian jumped to his feet and said, "We got attacked by a wolf, but Agni threw fire out of her hands!"

Jonathan looked stunned, until he saw the pile of ashes on the ground. Then, he slowly turned to Agni, his face ghastly pale. As Agni looked into his eyes, she realized that she couldn't keep her new family in the dark any longer.

Once they returned to the house, Agni explained everything to her adoptive parents and sibling.

She told them about how she was the princess of Arcturus and how she was born with the ability to control fire, and how she was banished by her mother after the kingdom learned of her powers. Throughout it, her family listened intently.

Agni, secretly, almost felt relieved to have someone to explain her past to. After keeping it locked away in her heart, releasing it all to her new family felt like a weight being taken off her shoulders.

However, once she was finished, she felt a new fear. Now that her secret was out, how would her new family respond? Would they react with fear like so many before her. Would they outcast her, like her kingdom did?

Her own birth mother hadn't hesitated to exile her daughter, why would a family that wasn't even related to her accept her?

As Jonathan, Flora, and Christian all stared at Agni in awe, the former princess stood up. "I suppose I must go," She said, already feeling as if she knew how they would respond. "I guess you don't want a freak living among you."

She began to slowly trudge towards the door, but was stopped when Flora said, "Wait. Don't leave."

Agni stopped walking. Turning around, she said, "What?"

"We don't want you to leave," Jonathan said to her, standing up and walking up to her. "You're our daughter."

Agni's eyes widened in shock. "But I'm a freak," She reminded them, in utter disbelief. "I'm a monster. A demon. That's what my kingdom said I was."

"This isn't Arcturus, Agni," Flora said, taking the young princess' hands in her own. "This is Arendelle. What you possess may be something no one else does, but that doesn't make you any less human."

"But my mother told me-"

"If your mother thinks you're a monster, than she's not really your mother," Flora said, slowly pulling Agni into a hug. "A real mother loves and accepts her daughter, even if they're different."

Agni slowly rested her head against Flora's chest. As she did, she felt Christian and Jonathan embrace her tightly as well.

"Don't worry, Agni, your secret is safe with us," Christian whispered into her ear.

And for some time, Agni was truly happy.

End of III

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