Title: 100 Days, 100 Drabbles
Chapter Title: Strength (050/100)
Word count: 408 (quite longer than my usual XD) Warnings: none
Notes: DRABBLE 50 AND HALFWAY DONE, WOOT :D As for notes on the piece, I just got this idea from the ritual you sometimes see being done by people in churches, something that will make more sense when you read the drabble itself. :3
Strength
The darkness of the sanctuary is punctured suddenly by a small flame, a candle burning in the darkness. The candle flickers with light; the new flame wavering in the darkness. The flame burns bright and the wax drips down the sides, coming to pool at the bottom of the candle on the wood table. Look, I appreciate the effort, but the fact is each of you is so amazing and so special, and I'm not. I'm just the guy in the group who's regular.
There is a moment of silence before a ghost hand grabs the first candle, bringing it to a second candle and lighting that one as well. The second candle burns brighter before flickering, seeming to die before the watching eyes. The hand brings the first candle to the second again, bringing the flame closer and encouraging the second wick to light. I'm not going to make it. I failed. Everyone thinks I'm dead again. They think I've abandoned them, and I'm losing this war. I'm letting the whole world down.
A third candle is lit, and a fourth and a fifth, and soon the room is blazing with light. My parents don't understand. They've always treated me like I was helpless…I love you more than anything. You and your brother are my entire world. I thought about you every day I was gone, and every night when I went to sleep. I would lay awake missing you so much, it would ache…There's no time. Just go. We'll take care of him. He's our leader…
The hand takes the sixth candle before pausing on the seventh one, hesitating; remembering. After a brief pause, the soft hand grabs the candle (tightly) and lights it as well. You've got to get out of here! I'll hold them off as long as I can!… I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark…
"There is always hope," the phantom murmurs, watching the lit candles dance a moment before exiting the sanctuary as quietly as she entered it, a piece of blue cloth caught in the floor the only other sign that she had been there at all.
