Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Hokkyokusei: The North Star ❯ Firey Nightmares ( Chapter 12 )

Fiery Nightmares

The light-hearted giggles of children resounded clearly and Cala blinked. She stood on a firm, but aged stone path, surrounded by sprigs of brightly colored blossoms dotting out of lush, artful greenery. Brilliant sunlight gilded the gardens with gold. The graceful lines of an elegant fairy-tale-like palace stood in the distance, while the soothing swish of the tides sweeping in and out trickled through the air.

The peaceful scene was familiar. Too familiar.

Exhaling softly, Cala looked down the stone path, toward the source of laughter, already knowing what she would see. On a perfectly manicured lawn beyond a white-washed trellis twined with pale-petaled roses, a small silver-haired boy playfully chased a tiny, doll-like dark-haired girl. Though her heart ached at the sight, Cala couldn't help the bittersweet smile that twitched her lips at their carefree innocence.

The girl glanced behind her as she darted to and fro, her feet bare. Cala knew that her lost shoes had been tossed into the ocean upon the girl's first chance. The once snow-white lacy, party dress had contracted several stains and tears. Curls were struggling to survive in her wild black hair, where a wrinkled silk ribbon, in matching colors with her dress, had lost its grip of the lengthy mane, hanging awkwardly to the side by a few strands. The boy that doggedly pursued the girl was in better condition. His shoes remained intact, though the shiny leather was slightly scuffed. A grass stain punctuated his white, linen breeches and one of the silk stockings that were supposed to hit just under his knees had slipped to his ankle, but the rest of his boy-sized formal wear remained untouched.

"Get back here, Cally!"

The boy's frustrated tone echoed strangely to Cala's ears and she swallowed tears as they headed in her direction. Their faces were so clearly defined. The girl's filled with unrestrained laughter and mischief, the boy's with unwanted amusement and determination. Their eyes, Cala thought sadly, their eyes were the same. Royally blue and deeply expressive. Just like Cala's own.

"Get back here and tell me where you put my brand new foil!"

The girl giggled again, exposing pearly white teeth, and gleefully dodged his grab for her. "Nope! It's hidded, Millie! And you can't have it back 'till you teach me how to foil fight with it!"

"You can at least say it right, Cally," the boy sighed, feigning left and leaning right, missing the girl by only a hair. "It's not 'foil fighting', it's fencing."

"Foil fighting or fencing, you still hafta teach it to me, before you get it back," she retorted tartly, whirling to stick out her tongue at the boy. Swiftly taking advantage of her pause, he lunged for her again and they both tumbled to the ground. Cala had to stifle a giggle as the frantic boy scrambled up, frightened at the thought of his counterpart hurt. The unharmed girl began to laugh at the boy's reaction. "That was fun, Millie! Let's do it again!" Startled, but relieved, 'Millie' sat back and shook his head.

"Cally, you are so weird sometimes."

An explosion ripped through the air and Cala started, turning away from the two children to see the black smoke billowing steadily up from the flames licking hungrily at the white walls of the palace. A heat haze filled the air and trailed down the clear lines of the gardens. Sirens wailed. The ground shook and rumbled with further explosions that boomed in the distance and looming shadows in the suddenly harsh sunlight scattered themselves across the summery skyline. The chaotic sounds of battle drowned out the rhythmic beat of the tides. Alarmed, Cala looked back to where the children stood, to see only the girl remaining, her dress now blackened with soot, dirt streaking across her face, shock etched into every its every line.

"Mama?" It was a whisper, but Cala could hear it loud as day. "Papa?"

The tiny rosebud lips trembled as the girl took a hesitant step forward towards the burning building. Blue eyes, the color and depth of the sea, wavered, realization registering behind them. And suddenly Cala was seeing through those eyes. Once again. Once again feeling the bottom of her stomach drop out and disappear. And once again, Cala felt her voice crack as it ripped through the simmering heat. "Mama!" Her feet began to stumble down the debris littered stone path, bits of smoking wood cutting into the soft calluses on the soles of her feet as she began to build speed. "Papa! No!"

Salty warm water seeped onto her tongue as unnoticed tears streamed down her cheeks; her eyes watering and spilling over from the thick, blinding smoke as well as shock and disbelief. Several panes of the stately windows of the palace had shattered upon the initial explosion, leaving one with a gap wide enough to admit her small body. The shaky adrenaline of panic and rush made her limbs like blocks of wood, encumbering her as she levered herself through and a shard of glass slicing through her palm and forearm. But the heat and pain that seared the scratches were nothing compared to the choking heat that broke over her like a flood. Flames danced and raced over the smooth lines of the interior, charring the pristine white of the graceful moldings that decorated the walls to a harsh black, while cackling evilly, snapping at the soft skin of her chubby baby cheeks. The air, thick with heat and dense smoke, made her gasp for breath as it scratched at her throat and stifled her lungs.

Slipping on the waxed marble tiles, scattered with blackened plaster, beneath her feet, she lumbered blindly through the dark smoke, throwing out her hands to try to navigate her way. Something hard hit her feet and with a yelp as pain shot up her leg, Cala lurched and fell, hitting the floor with a smack. Gulping in the suddenly clearer, purer air, she glanced back at the broken leg of an elegantly carved side-table that she had tripped over before scrambling forward on her hands and knees, coughing every now and then as she caught a whiff of the suffocating smoke.

Screams marked her way as a wall crumbled nearby and a muddied workman's boot almost crushed one of her fingers as it crunched hurriedly by, followed by the fluttering sooty and tattered hem of a once-white brocade gown.

And still, Cala pushed on.

Following landmarks that she had once known. An oil portrait of a fat lady with white hair, knocked askew to her right. Then the finely etched lines of an Oriental vase fallen and in pieces on the pink, marble floor. All of it darkened and yellowed by the ever constant flames. Until Cala reached the wide, elegantly shaped doorways that she'd known to push out into an arena, clear and beautiful of light and sound. Crystallized laughter touched by cool palm fronds on the edges and fanning over a high dais that held warm embraces and low, loving murmurs.

And a girl, like herself, except light where she was shadow. But whose wide blue eyes matched hers in hue if not in shape and curve. And whose shy, warm smile accompanied her own in laughter and play.

But, now, in the midst of the burning flames, the thick doors were the blockade of a prison gate. Cala shrunk back in horror as loud thumps echoed from them into the air, muffled shouting and cursing, along with anguished moans and cries, heard from behind. Devilish flames danced gleefully along the frames, but the doorway seemed otherwise unblocked. The glint of a burnished gold key turned in the door's lock caught her eye. But before she could move, the fire surged, roaring in triumph as the columns guarding the sides of the entrance toppled in front of the doors, flames leaping up to race up and over the elegant engravings marking the door. And the screams and sobs behind it increased tenfold.

A pair of strong hands and arms closed in on her from behind and she let out a strangled yell as she was lifted up in the air. Her panic subsided a bit as the grip was familiar and she looked up, expecting to see the dark hair and bronzed skin, wrinkles worn by weather and worry, of the one person who'd been beside her from the very beginning. But the face of Azim was replaced by that of one, faceless blonde-haired man whose lab-coated arms dragged her, imprisoning her, much like those twin, locked doors.

She noticed absently that her limbs were longer now, more capable, as they writhed, striking out at whoever it was that held her. The smell around her, too, was different. Accompanying the familiar scent of burning plaster and wood was the direly acrid odor of chemicals going up in flames. Gone was the blazing scene of ruptured serenity, replaced by that of a once-orderly hospital ward.

Afire.

The fire was the same.

It had always been the same.

A uniformed nurse rushed by, the huddled form of a patient in his arms. And still, Cala kicked and screamed at the man whose binding grip was preventing her from moving on and finding the ones she loved.

"Let me go!" Snarling, she stomped her foot down and rammed her elbow into the man's ribcage. With an 'oof' of pain, the man stumbled and Cala took her chance to break free of his grip and run forward into the thickening smoke. Once again.

Behind her, she heard the man curse and leave her to her insanity and the raging fire. Running flat out, Cala didn't bother to crawl this time, merely lifting her arm to shield her eyes and mouth from the worst of the smoke. Coughing and hacking into her sleeves, she looked frantically around her, the burning beams surrounding her, but little else.

Where was she?!

"Auntie Shar-"

Cala's call was interrupted as a light fixture crashed to the floor two feet away from her and she jumped back. Frustrated and coughing, still, she pushed on. A voice, thin and strained, called back, weak and softened with distance. Gasping, Cala drove on, calling out once more.

"Where are you?!"

The voice replied, interrupted by coughing of its own and Cala desperately followed it. But suddenly, the fire had surrounded her. Yellow and orange flames leaping out at her on all sides and Cala whirled in panic. No way out. The voice cried again. This time in pain. Her fingers shook with fear and she could feel the dismay beginning to rise in her throat. The groaning creak of a beam sounded as it collapsed and Cala felt the floor beneath her shift. The voice's shout became a shrill, aching scream.

And just before the floor gave way, Cala let the panic overcome her, for the first time in her life.

She'd failed.

In more ways than one.

Because, this time, the fire had been hers.

And like failure often does, the floor buckled beneath her and she fell into an empty pit of darkness, surrounded by flames. The soft cushion of her bed seemed to catch her and Cala woke up with a jolt, throwing her sweat-soaked and tossed bed-sheets off of her to sit up, panting for breath. It had been a dream. Just a dream.

A scarily accurate dream in many ways. But still, just a dream.

Cupping her face in her hands, Cala choked back tears for the child she'd once been. The one who'd lost her family, her life, and her hope in one day, when the Castle by the Sea, capital of the country known as the Sanc Kingdom, had fallen, burned to ashes by those whose hearts were filled with hate. She'd thought it had taken the little girl Cally along with it. But she'd been mistaken. The little girl Cally, that Cala had once been, had not died in the fires of hate until she'd been consumed by her own, killing the woman who had loved her like a daughter.

Author's Note

Hey all!

YES, I'm still alive. Finally (hopefully ::knocks on wood::) got over my dry spout and am pumping out "stuff" once again. Sorry if this chappie's a little confusing, but it is kinda meant to be that way ><". Dreams and whatnot. But in case you were wondering, the dream's a mixture of Cala's own imagination and real events, as some dreams happen to be for some ppl. Also, pay attention to the 'little things' (ie. the locked doors, the voice Cala was looking for, etc.), they're pretty important (::wink, wink::), but that's all I'm gonna say :P.

Now onto dedications… This one goes out to (drumroll, please): Mystic Jade, Valtaz13, and my one and only jie Xinsei (better known as Megs). Thanks for all your support (aka bugging me via IM/email :P) and general wonderfulness. And to the rest of my dearly beloved readers, I'd probably never bother to sit down and stare at the blinking cursor on that empty page if it weren't for you :P.

Anyhoo, enough mush. I've got the next three chaps outlined and started already, so hopefully I'll be chuggin' 'em out more than the town drunk can down beer bottles. Also, if you can, check out my new site at: www.angelfire.lycos.com/anime3/ursa_minor23/lilrabbithole.html if you can. It's basically the same as the old one (for now) but I've fixed up the html for the stories over there so it looks perdy now :P. So check it out and leave me a message ^.^.

-w.r