Yo. I think the plot is really gonna get going with this chapter. I know ya'll have waited long enough.

Austin POV

I walked Ally to school that next morning, so that she didn't have to be alone.

Truth be told, I didn't like having to console her.

Er, that sounded bad. I meant that I didn't want to have her crying because of something that she couldn't control. I knew how much the embers affected her... I had gone through the same thing.

We continued walking side by side on our short commute to school as cars drove on beside us. A few of my buddies honked their car horns at me, which of course made Ally jump in fright. I chuckled, and she shoved me lightly with her warm hand.

For such a little fireball (pun intended), she was a total wuss when she was cooled down.

Every time we focused on training her embers, I felt bad. She deserved to know about the new realm that she was obviously apart of. I didn't know if her father or mother was apart of a Blaze… I'd never met either of them.

"Really? Is she the empress?" Dez's voice echoed in my mind.

"No way," I had replied. "I'm the only royal member in this part of Miami, Dez."

"Ally just moved here, right? She was probably a royal member in another part of Miami."

I glanced over at Ally, who was lost in her own little world again. What was she thinking about?

"Well, Moon, don't hurt her feelings. She'll be your wife eventually."

I cringed, sniffling and pulling up the hood of my sweatshirt over my head, putting my hands in my pockets. Just the very thought of being married to Ally… it gave me a weird feeling in my stomach. I didn't know what it was.

I reluctantly imagined us ruling over the Ember Empire, dressed in regal clothing from head to toe and looking down upon the ashen grounds of the city from our thrones upon the Ember Temple. Her gown would be golden and black, as would my suit.

We'd wear royal crowns upon our heads made of the finest flaxen that openly had fire blazing upon the top of each. A fire veil would fall from her crown and my cape made of the same material would surround my collar.

We would be noble and proud of our accomplishments of fending off the enemies that desperately attempted to overthrow us…

Wait.

What the fuck am I saying?

I'm glad I didn't say the curse out loud, since Ally would've chewed me out. (What else was new?)

I was still wincing as Ally glanced over at me. "You okay?" She asked, her feminine voice meek.

It's hard to believe that this was the same girl that stormed into my house just the day before and screamed, cursed, and berated her father at the top of her lungs, causing my best friend to bounce out.

Dez still hadn't replied to my text that I sent that morning, apologizing on Ally's behalf. Of course, I didn't tell her. I didn't want to worry her even more.

I nodded absent-mindedly at her, not offering her a verbal reply, causing her to stop walking altogether. I stopped when she had, and glanced back at her to see that she had that same stern look on her face.

"Seriously. What's going on?" She pressed, her eyebrows knitted together in a frown. I sighed, looking down at my hand and lighting little flames on all of my right finger tips, wiggling my fingers. We both watched the embers dance around. "Austin." She said, her voice firm in order to get my attention, yet it was still soft.

"Hm?" I grunted in response. She sighed, grabbing my wrist and blowing out the flames on my fingers impatiently. She let me go and I let my hand drop to my side.

We stood there facing each other for a good thirty seconds. Clearly, she wasn't gonna let this go.

I rolled my eyes, knowing I had to get through with this sooner or later. "Do you know about the EE?" I finally asked her, my voice making me sound more pissed off than I really was. The stern look on her face turned into complete confusion.

"W-what?" She asked, and I knew she found my question totally off-putting.

"The EE. The Ember Empire. The Empire of Immortal Embers. Do you know about it?" I asked monotonously.

She stood there, her mouth parted slightly as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't know what. "No…" she responded, which was what I expected.

"Come here for a sec." I told her, and I moved over to the edge of the sidewalk and sat down on the cement curb, patting the grass next to me for her to be at my side.

I knew we wouldn't be late for class considering it was a five minute walk and we were already ten minutes early, but I figured she would hesitate since she cares so much about her perfect attendance. Dork.

Without saying anything though, she sat down at my side, smoothing out her dress over her knees.

Ally POV

The EE? The Ember Empire? The Empire of Immortal Embers? What on earth was Austin talking about?

As I sat down beside him on the curb, being late for school didn't matter to me at that point, which is rare. The dewey grass felt nice and cool against my bare legs. I was still having spurts of "heat fever" (this is what Austin called it), and feeling utterly hot for no reason. It was late Autumn... there was no reason to feel warm.

Before he said anything, my thoughts started racing. An empire, hm? For people like me and Austin…? It made sense that there'd be a place for... for… "fire" people, in lack of a better term.

I guess it didn't click quite yet considering I was still processing that fire could come out of my body, for heaven's sake! It was too early in the morning to process so much information, even for me.

Austin turned himself to look at me. His light brown eyes were intense.

"Do you remember when I mentioned my royal embers?" His voice was calm and steady. Usually he talked with his usual boyish boldness but he sounded so mature and so sincere.

That's when I knew this conversation was serious.

I nodded, not yet processing where this was going. I recalled the science lesson that had taken place not two weeks before. It felt like two years.

"Ally, I tried to burn your shoulder. You claimed that it was freezing. Sure, I used a low level of my heat, but it would make the regular person's skin red. Like they burned it on a stove or something."

...

"I also lit one of my royal embers. You eased your finger through it like it was nothing," He paused. "You're... really confusing." He looked down at his chemical mix, which smelled awful. "And every time I try to figure out a reasonable solution, you go off and do something that overpowers the last thing."

...

"Royal embers?" I questioned, frowning.

"Yeah..." He whispered, his voice gruff. His tone gave me chills, bumps forming on my skin. From the feeling, I heated up with embarrassment. He glanced over at me, his eyes sharp. "Not… like it's my business." I squealed. "I-if you don't want to tell me..." Trailing off from my babbling, I noticed he was still giving me that sharp, striking look with his eyes.

...

My thoughts came clashing together.

Ember Empire… royal embers…

I gasped dramatically, making Austin widen his eyes and put his hand on his chest. "Don't fucking scare me like that." He scolded me. I was still in post-shock but I smacked him for his foul mouth. He was about to yell at me again before I grabbed both of his shoulders, shaking him slightly.

"Are you a prince or a king or something?" I questioned in a stage whisper. He released himself from my hold, shaking his head repeatedly. "Ally, please. Let me explain it." I sat on my hands and smiled sheepishly, attentively waiting for him to continue.

He directed his gaze at the ground now, not meeting my eyes. "I am a direct heir. An emperor." He said steadily, and before I could open my mouth again he held his palm up to tell me 'stop'. I popped my lips closed, and a familiar smile slowly made its way across his lips, somehow finding comedy in the situation.

"My mother wasn't an empress, but my father was emperor. They never married until they left the Empire since they were apart of enemy Blazes… enemy families, I mean."

I blinked. His mother and father had nearly the same story as Romeo and Juliet, it seemed. Before I could ask about his parents and where they were, he continued.

"When they left, the Empire took its downfall. It's practically in ruins." He explained, clenching the grass beneath him in his hands until his knuckles turned white. I didn't interrupt him, knowing it was hard for him to tell me.

"T-the Empire needs me…" He muttered. "They've been struggling for over a decade. I was always too young…" He peered up at me, and I could have sworn I could see tears welling up in the corner of his eyes.

"But now I need to serve my people." We were both silent.

I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Has this been what has been bothering him for over ten years? Is that why he's always so bittersweet?

"And you need to help me." He continued, and I swore I felt my heart drop.

"W-what!?" I yelled shrilly, and he put his finger to his lips, signalling for me to hush.

I closed my mouth once more despite feeling distraught. After some sharp inhaling and exhaling, I practically exploded.

"What does your Empire have anything to do with me!? Is it because I'm a fire person!?" I stood up from my spot on the curb, and Austin was quick to follow me. I began pacing nervously along the sidewalk.

"Ally, stop. I know you're confused—" I cut him off.

"Confused? Th-that doesn't even begin to describe it!" I pushed my hair back with both of my hands. "I have an Empire to save that I didn't even know about until just now!"

He stared at me, pursing his lips. "Ally…" He said cautiously.

"What?" I answered, my voice shrill.

"It's because you are the Ember Empress."

YouFrickingFricks. Nah, just kidding. I know this chapter was brief but Chapter 12 is going to be hella long and dramatic so it'll make up for it. x3

Thank you guys so much for being patient with me and my stories, not just Engulfed in Embers. It really means a lot and as fueled me to pursue a career in writing. Much love.

Credits:

[1]: I DO NOT OWN AUSTIN AND ALLY!

Hugs and Auslly;

Valerie x