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Erika's flame

Chapter 1: The red stone

By Mhairi Campbell Published about a year ago Updated about a year ago 24 min read
2

Ingrid:

The high priest's altar was one of the few structures in Skjult that wasn't crumbling to dust. It was a square structure with lined columns masquerading as Grecian. I wanted to smash it when I was younger, when I glimpsed the bowl of coloured stones for the third time. When my sister was choosing with me. But my mother had shushed me, her pale hands trembling and we had made the long walk up and took a stone.

I stared at it now. Basket in hand, food forgotten within. Skjult was a town built on traditions. I could feel the cold hard weight of them pressing down on my spine. The dull twisted iron of the town's broken gate reminded me. If I ever dared to question, my father would remind me that this was how it was done. That we had always lived on the edge of a dark forest. That this was how to survive.

"We do these things because we love our children and our town. Not because we hate them." His smile had been sympathetic, he had patted my hand. "I participated myself." This last part would always be said in a tone of pride. As if dumb luck were a skill.

I suppose in this town it is, I thought, returning to the moment. My back was to the forest. The square was empty. No doubt people were huddling at home, preparing their children. But the herd was thinning out. Not even Skjult had unlimited offspring. One day soon, there would be no more. I winced, thinking of Erika. My little girl. My heart. But this was how it was done. My husband would say the same. I gripped the basket tight. I could smell the forest, although it lurked behind me. The sharp scent of pine clashing with the distant aroma of smoke. There was always smoke. We never saw fire.

That was because...tradition kept us safe.

I took a breath and continued on my way. People would notice if I lingered. Dissent was not tolerated in Skjult. Already I could feel glances drifting from the open windows and hear the imagined whispers. They would say that I was causing trouble, that I was breaking tradition. My thoughts turned to Mikkel and I shivered. I remembered him as a boy, his chest puffed out in pride. Mischievious, funny, ultimately manipulative. His mop of blonde hair sticking up in every direction. Now his blue eyes hunted for treason instead of adventure. They peered into your soul for the stench of sedition. Mikkel, who had spurned tradition once upon a time, had become its fiercest protector. The high priest was not a man who forgave anymore. I refused to be questioned by him; he wasn't my friend any longer. So I gripped my basket and smiled serenely, as if I was excited.

"Mama! Mama!" Erika's happy shouts greeted me as I slunk in the door. Our home was small and softly crumbling like the rest. The door handle was broken and I had asked Nikolai to fix it so many times. But I wouldn't bring it up today. My little girl raced to the door, her hair a golden halo. It was so blonde it was almost white. She got that from her father. I smiled and dropped the basket onto the ground.

"Give me a hug, munchkin." I held out my arms and Erika's eyes went wide. She rarely got hugs from me. I was always too busy. She took full advantage and snuggled in my arms. I breathed in her baby scent, like soap and something else mysterious. I didn't want it to end. But eventually she wriggled away from me.

"Mama, I learned how to write my name today. Miss 'Ida taught me." Erika's brown eyes were alight and she grinned, a tooth missing.

"Miss Frida." I corrected gently. Nikolai stumbled into the hall and our eyes met. He was handsome, my husband, tall and blonde. He was also impossibly stubborn. But his eyes were shadowed today. He kissed me and swung Erika about. She squealed with joy; we never paid her this much attention. She snuck off and picked up her bear which she began speaking to.

I took the basket to the kitchen and tried to pretend the onions were making me cry. The knife almost nicked me as I chopped the vegetables.

"Damn." I swore and Nikolai's warm breath heated my neck.

"I know." He said quietly. I could hear the strain in his voice. "She's so...young."

"We were never that young." I whispered. Even speaking that truth was dangerous.

Nikolai tensed. The knife was angled in my hands. I wished I could use it to fend off the world. To fend of what tomorrow would bring.

"That's what the high priest has decreed." Nikolai said, his voice hollow. "I'm not saying I like it-"

"-she's only four!" The words exploded out of me. Loud and clear. My husband froze and the knife clattered out of my hands and onto the floor. We both stared at it. I swore even the birds went silent outside. Only Erika chattered on, oblivious to the world around her.

"Keep your voice down." He said. "It won't be her, Ingrid. You know it won't. There's so many others...she's the youngest. She'll be fine."

What a way to think, I thought angrily. To be happy that another child would be chosen. But I knew I would choose all of them. All of them instead of Erika. If I'd known Mikkel would lower the age...I thought back to a memory of us playing at a river close to the forest.He'd been daring and jumped in. He'd wobbled, afraid of being swept away by the current. I had pulled him to safety. Now...I would have shoved him in.

Mikkel:

I read the list of names for the third time. Heidi Nilsdatter, Noah Andersen, Erika Nikolaidatter...I winced. The four year old. But I reorganised my face into a neutral expression. I was protecting the town. There were not enough children to fufil this year's quota. It would not be fair. I had to follow tradition. My father's stern face flashed before my eyes. I could almost imagine what he would say.

"Your duty is to the town, Mikkel. You have to protect it. You have to be strong." Sometimes I wondered what was really going on beneath his bland mantras of strength. But I had come to depend on myself. Only my will would carry us through the fire. Only I was capable of holding off the destruction.

The little girl had golden hair. I tried to force her out of my mind. Ingrid's daughter. Ingrid and Nikolai. My fingers dug into the piece of paper, almost tearing it. Ingrid, who had dared to creep closer to the dark forest with me. Her brown eyes smiling into mine as she pulled me down so we could be quiet...I blinked, the names coming back into focus. That was years ago. Now we barely spoke. We never saw one another. She avoided as many ceremonies as she could. The warmth that had curdled in my chest was now an icy plane.

"Do you need anything, high priest?" Jonas bowed awkwardly. The man was middle-aged, plump and pale. He clutched a dragon amulet around his neck. Fool. As if a piece of metal could protect against melting flame. But I smiled and his eyes lit up. A foolish dog, I decided. Begging to be of use to his master.

"I want to see the bowl. I need to bless it properly." I said. Jonas nodded and backed away to fetch the bowl.

I glanced down at horned emblem on my robes. The God of the Forest. Born of the roots of the earth. The one who called me to this purpose. I held my hands out and swore I could feel his energy sizzling through me. Thoughts of Ingrid vanished and only that sense of power remained. Power twining in the darkness, whispering of scales of silver, a heart that burned so hot it was cold...a power borne to choose the right child.

Erika:

Niniane was a magic bear. I knew it was true because I had once seen her float midair. It was when I was three and Mama had put me to bed. She'd even read me a bedtime story and she never did that. I'd closed my eyes only for a second and when I opened them Niniane was flying. She didn't have wings though. She was old and brown and one of her sides had ripped a little. I always pushed the white fluff back inside. When I saw her flying she just...dropped back down.

"I've asked and you won't fly again! Please, Ninane." I begged but she ignored me. Her eyes flashed though and I swore she winked. Mama and Papa were standing in the kitchen, talking. I knew they were upset. "Ninane, what is wrong with my Mama? Is it the party tomorrow?"

That's what Miss 'Ida said it was. A party. Although she hadn't looked happy when she said it. None of the other kids did either. They were all older. But she said it was a...a elebration, I think. Which meant a party. I liked parties. Papa had one when he got really old last year.

"Is it a party we're going to tomorrow, Ninane?" I asked, hoping that she would tell me. But the bear never actually spoke. She just gave me looks and I knew what she meant. Right then, she gave me a sad look. Hmm. I walked over to Mama and she and Papa stopped talking. Dinner wasn't made yet which was strange.

"Mama, I don't want to go to the party tomorrow. It's a sad party." I announced. Mama's eyes went really big and they started to shine. Papa was shaking. Was this really all about a party?

"I...I can't." Mama gasped and she ran into the garden. I stared, feeling twisted up inside. What was wrong?

"You have to go the party, sweetie." Papa said, his voice really low. I tried to grab his hand and he took mine, his grip really tight.

"Ow!" I shouted, trying to pull my hand back. Papa relaxed his grip but it still hurt! "I'll go but I won't like it!"

I glared at Papa and pulled my hand away. He and Mama were making me go! I didn't want to. Niniane shot me a sympathetic look.

"Fly me away, Niniane." I commanded but she just looked at me. I started to cry because I was so angry. I didn't want to go now and they were making me. I put Ninane on a chair and glared at her, making it clear that we were in a FIGHT. She was magic but she didn't do anything. It wasn't fair.

Mama came in later, after Papa finished dinner and gave me a hug again. I told her to go away. I didn't want a story tonight. Niniane was still on the chair. I wanted to be alone. Even when both my parents came in and gave me a kiss I pretended to be sleeping. I imagined I was on a magical horse exploring a kingdom far away and there were mermaids....and maybe even...dragons...

Ingrid:

Erika was still angry at us in the morning. I had forced her into the white dress, my white dress from years ago, which was frayed at the bottom. I liked it that way. Let it go to rot and ruin. Her eyes were scrunched up in anger. She was the most stubborn child in the world.

"I thought you mended the dress." Nikolai said softly. I could hear the judgement in his voice.

"I didn't see the need to." I snapped. Nikolai's eyes darkened.

"You'll give them every reason..." He muttered. This town loved its trials and accusations. But today I didn't care. My daughter was being offered up like...like...I shuddered. I hated it here. I hated Skjult. I never knew how Nikolai could stand it. But he was more practical than me. He moved around Mikkel and his lackeys like a wary cat. When he and my old friend interacted it was a sleek battle of words...both slashing the other and masking it with smiles. I just said nothing at all.

"Stupid party." Erika murmured and I tried to untangle her hair. She was so small...she didn't understand that this wasn't a party, not really. It wasn't a choice. I managed to comb her hair and tied it up with a pretty ribbon.

"It's time to go." Nikolai said and he looked empty. My hands were trembling but I forced them to be still. I could hear the Andersens leaving. I wondered if Vera was feeling the same about her child. I hugged Erika fiercely even as she struggled against it and took her hand. But at the last second, she darted back inside and grabbed her bear. Her Niniane.

The crowd filled the square and surrounded the high priest's altar in a chaotic mass. The sky was grey and filled with billowing clouds. I thought it looked like smoke. As if that awful creature was reminding us...that the clock was ticking. That it was waiting. Erika clung to me and I to her. I could see our neighbours and their children. They all looked deathly pale.

"Your Erika looks lovely." Vera said, her jolly tone not matching up to her face. Her son Noah was sixteen and played with an amulet around his neck nervously. He must wonder if this is it. If he'll be chosen. I could remember the same nervousness, the same dread. One year gone but there was always another. There was always next time.

"Thank you." I whispered but another voice drowned out my own. Mikkel called for silence and the crowd hushed. He was standing above us all on a podium, his hair burning gold in the dim light. His arms were outstretched. Disdain knifed me in the gut.

"People of Skjult, welcome to the Summoning. The debt we owe must be paid today, as it is every year, in order to sate the mighty Asger. The God of the Forest blesses this ritual." Not a ritual, a sacrifice. I held onto Erika's hand and he continued. "The child is chosen at random. There are thirty here today, up to the age of eighteen. First, they choose the order of the day. The number indicates when they take a stone. This ensures fairness." He paused and let his magnanimity soak in. My husband stood tense at my side. I gnashed my teeth, knowing that he changed the age. It was seven to eighteen before. He had lowered it to four. Only Erika fell into that category. Others nodded and smiled at Mikkel. I eyed their children and pitied them. I would never beg death for my Erika. Not for a high priest's favour.

"After the numbers come the stones. The child who picks the red stone fufils the debt." Silence fell after this. No one wanted the red stone. No one wanted to see their child's life torn away. I used to have nightmares about choosing it; used to see my mother's face morphing into that of a dragon...but it was one in thirty. Good odds. Not as good as my own were when I was younger but still good enough. Erika would be fine. She was messing around with her bear, making faces at it, ignoring Mikkel completely. As my gaze moved over him again, he raised his head. Our eyes connected and I froze. The blue that used to mirror a summer's sky was now icy. But there was something under it; a yearning, almost. It reminded me of when he picked flowers on my birthday...that was before Nikolai. Before he sentenced my daughter to possible death. I broke the eye contact and turned away.

I watched as Erika put her grubby little hand into the first bowl to pick her number. We tensed as she rummaged around the bowl. Please don't be last...please. Because somehow, the final children seemed to be the ones who chose the red stone. Some twisted form of destiny. She finally emerged and Jonas opened the paper.

"12th." I gasped, the relief audible in my voice. Nikolai relaxed. Jonas wrote it down on his annoying list and moved away without a word. A toad of a man. Nikolai always said he was as dull as a lump of dough and resembled one too.

"Is that good?" Erika asked, yawning. She was completely unconcerned about the whole thing. Her bear hung limply in her other hand.

"Very good. You did great, munchkin." I said, cuddling her again.

"So can we go home?" She asked.

"Not yet." I said, my voice wavering. Because even those in the middle could get the red stone. I still remembered the year when...no. Not here. I wouldn't curse Erika by thinking about it.

Erika:

"It's time to choose the stone." The high priest was talking up on his big table. He was holding out another bowl. Mama was hurting my hand she was holding so tight. Papa's hand was on my back. Niniane was saying something with her eyes but I had to concentrate. I had to be good because Mama said this morning that I was a part of the 'elebration. The sky was weird today; it was full of puffs of smoke.

I saw Noah and he looked all white. He was before me. I didn't have a brother but Noah always called me little sister and messed up my hair. Sometimes I liked it but when I didn't I pushed him. The high priest was talking so much and I didn't really like him. His eyes were angry and he looked at Mama a lot. Was he angry with her?

Heidi was over there too and Linnea. They were big girls. They braided their hair and danced with boys sometimes. I wanted to be like them when I was older. I watched as Heidi took a stone and she started crying before she looked at it. It was all very dramatic! Granny used to say that before she went up into the sky. But the stone was white and Heidi was happy. I yawned again, wanting my bed. I didn't sleep a lot last night. Linnea was still waiting, her hands twitching.

I stopped watching and got bored, spinning Niniane around. She was a witch, flying through the air, she was-

-I stopped when the high priest said my name.

"Erika." He said, looking at me and I felt like a bug about to be squashed. "It's your turn."

He looked at Mama again and held out the bowl. She was shaking and she let go of my hand. I sighed, annoyed that I was interrupted. The bowl was horrible and covered in a cloth so I couldn't see. Ugh. Niniane twitched in my hand but I couldn't play right now!

"Go on, sweetie." Papa said, patting me on the back. I stared at the dark cloth and stuck my hand under it. The high priest smiled at me and I glared at him. This was his fault.

I rummaged in the bowl for a while just to annoy him. I could see his face getting all scrunched up. And then...one stone was hotter than the others. Wow. Like it had been sitting near a fire. I touched the others and they all felt cool and boring. But this one...I locked my fingers around it. My stone.

I pulled my hand out, the stone hidden in my fist.

"Let us see, munchkin." Mama said. The high priest watched me. The crowd was very silent. I opened my palm.

It was a red stone. My red stone. I spun Niniane around and made her chase the stone. Mama started wailing and everyone started talking at once.

Mikkel:

"Ingrid-" I began but she exploded. Her hair hung in limp strands around her face.

"-this is your fault! She's not going! She's not..." She slumped, sobbing. Nikolai had been restrained by some of the men. He had tried to grab his daughter. Ingrid had almost collapsed. I wanted to touch her, to make it all okay...but the ritual was done. The dragon would accept no other now. Erika had been chosen.

I leaned towards her, pushed her hair from her eyes. Her brown eyes, which swam with tears. My finger trailed down her cheek. If only her daughter was ours and then...this would never have happened. She jerked back and the illusion faded.

"Where is she?" Ingrid asked, her hands curling into fists.

"She's fine. She's getting ready to...to go into the forest." I found it hard to finish the sentence. Perhaps this was my fault. But the God of the Forest had decided, not I. This was his will. It was his will that there should be thirty. That Nikolai's and Ingrid's daughter should be chosen. Acid coated my tongue when I thought of Nikolai. His arrogance, his charm that she fell for...his daughter, who looked like him. Like them both.

"I need to see her." Ingrid gasped. I nodded. I owed her this, at least.

Asger:

I was slumbering in the daffodil valley. Slumbering, dreaming of the sky when I heard a call to wake up. Her dark eyes glinting through the clouds calling me to action. My oldest friend telling me to stir. Wake, wake. You must wake. Someone is coming. Someone is coming.

My ancient scales clinked against one another as I stretched, freeing myself from roots that had taken years to cage me. The call of the wind faded into my dreams and I opened one great fiery eye.

The daffodil field was ruined! Desecrated! It was now overrun by weeds. Even as I was lifting my great form and contemplating this, a strange announcement reverbated through the forest.

"Oh mighty Asger, here is your sacrifice! As decreed by the Horned God of the Forest! A child for every year we live in peace! Here she is!"

What was this nonsense?! I, ask for a sacrifice? I, ask to devour a human child? I was not the sort of dragon who has that level of insecurity. Only nasty show-offs like Emil resorted to such terrifying theatrics. Speaking of Emil...my eyes narrowed. Where was the silver dragon? He spoke of slumbering when I did. That trickster. I scowled, unease sinking beneath my scales. I moved towards the human announcer, breaking trees as I went.

Erika:

Mama was calling out to me but I couldn't look at her. I was off on an adventure! The high priest told me I was looking for a dragon. Mama would stop me. But Niniane was here so it was okay. Papa hadn't come, though. Maybe he didn't care enough. I sniffled and then wiped the tear. I was on an adventure!

"Let's go find a dragon, Niniane!" I started walking into the trees and Mama was shouting, men were holding her and I looked back into her eyes. They were all red. I smiled and kept going. The trees were really green. I could hear a bubbling sound and Niniane said I should go there. Her eyes did that thing they always do.

At the river there was silver smoke. It was everywhere, like a big silver blanket. Even the water looked different. Something was drinking there. It was like a man but it wasn't, he had pointy ears and big teeth-

-I screamed and the wolf nearly fell into the water.

"I know this story." I said to him. He stared at me, his teeth showing. "You're a bad wolf but a man with an axe will get you."

"Little girl, that's a very hurtful thing to say." He seemed genuinely upset. His ears drooped down. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I'm on an adventure." I replied grandly. He laughed and I was annoyed. "To find a dragon."

His laughter stopped abruptly. He looked nervous, his eyes twitching. He was wearing a fancy blue jacket, as if he was at a party. I was sick of parties.

"You're very young to look for a dragon." He whispered. The silver smoke was getting thicker. It was hanging like clouds now. "I should tell you to go left through the trees that curve into arches, he wants me to tell you but...but even this old wolf has a conscience. Don't you dare go that way. Go right, little bear. Go right and if you see silver smoke run away from it. Do you understand?"

I watched him with big eyes. He looked scared but he was trying to help me. Niniane winked and that meant listen to the wolf.

"Okay, mister wolf. I'll go right. And thank you for helping me. When I find something good, I'll give you a present." I smiled at him and he nodded, no answering smile on his face.

I went right and the wolf faded away behind me. So did the silver smoke. But as I was thinking and thinking about finding a dragon...I walked right into a wall.

Asger:

I was going to kill Emil. Or grievously wound him. What in the name of the gods was going on here? Since when was this forest considered dark? My scales cut through bushes and horrid plants I dreaded knowing the name of. My brother loved his games but this was completely other.

I also wasn't the biggest fan of humans. But surely I had to set them straight. They couldn't be sending sacrifices in here all the time to look for me. I mean, honestly, I was part of a hill until about half an hour ago. The dark hue of the trees leached at the light in my irises and I felt ill. This place was toxic. How long had it been?

A strange smell danced through my nose and I frowned. It was like...milk? Not something I had tried in centuries. I swung my head left and right, searching for the source. I put my face into a plant with soft deadly flowers and took a sniff. Nope. Definitely not. Gah, that one smelled like dirt. I was searching and searching, attempting to make myself smaller. But my powers were still half asleep and I couldn't shift. Irritating. No doubt Emil was prancing through the trees disguised as a fox or something. That was very much his forte. As I was thinking this, something walked into me.

"Hey!" An annoying voice shouted. It made my head hurt. "Get out of the way, wall!"

I whirled around slowly, trying not to hit whoever it was and stared. A tiny little girl glowered at me and then beamed, her eyes lighting up. A bear hung from her hand and it glowed softly, a strange blue fire.

"Niniane!" She gasped, her hair bringing light back into the forest. "We did it! We found the dragon!"

I looked at her and couldn't believe the humans were this crazy. This girl was barely even a child. She was a baby.

"Where's your mother, little thing?" I asked quietly, trying not to scare her.

"Where's yours?" She shot back. "I'm on an adventure to find a dragon. You're that Asger, right?"

My most noble name, spoken in such an undignified tone. I glared at the human baby.

"I am. But I have never asked for a human child to be sent." I replied. Her brow furrowed. I eyed the bear with curiosity. Something about it was familiar.

"They said you did. We do it every year." I went still. Every year?! This...this stunk of Emil. The baby touched my leg and I tensed. She picked up a vine off the forest floor and started wrapping it around my foot.

"Now you're coming with me or else, dragon." She held up her fist and I sighed. The bear pulsed with magic and I could feel the chains of fate tying us together more securely than her pathetic vine.

"No, human. You're coming with me."

FantasyAdventure
2

About the Creator

Mhairi Campbell

Just looking for a place to tell my stories.

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Comments (3)

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  • Donna Fox (HKB)about a year ago

    I like the perspectives you took on this piece, very well written.

  • Amy Hallabout a year ago

    Well written, great peice

  • Gal Muxabout a year ago

    The stories from different perspectives were great to read.

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