The Broken Flame

Darkness surrounded her on all sides, nothing but the magenta glow surrounding young Queen Celina and the glow of her sword lit the black. Her black hair was a mess, her gray eyes shining from her face. Her tanned skin was bruised and battered, covered in cuts and splotches of red from her wounds. Celina was clad in her usual mageta shirt with yellow ribbons, white gloves, a yellow belt, an indigo floor-length skirt, and pink mary-janes. Her golden crown with its heart shaped magenta gem had long since fallen off her head. 

All around her was the darkness that had clouded her vision. Her eyes narrowed in anger and her mouth curved down into deep sneer. She turned on her heels over and over. The queen was looking for the source of her wounds, the source of her pain. But the one she was looking for was more than that.

She was the source of the torment that her best friend had gone through. 

Celina growled and raised her sword above her head. “Show yourself!” she shouted into the black. “Face me like an Enderman!”

As if on command, a pair of purple eyes appeared, a purple glow surrounding them. Celina kept her defensive stance, knowing that this being could pull any kind of stunt or spell to try and take her out. She glared with deep contempt into those purple eyes.

Celina let her fall a bit so she held it out at her side. She then pointed to the Enderman in accusation. “You monster! You lied to him! You ruined his life! You’re gonna pay for what you did to my friend!” She huffed out in aggravation when those eyes did nothing but narrow at her without a word. The girl was about to yell again when two words were spoken. The voice came forward and she found her bravery crumbling away. 

“Kill her.”

It was then that the eyes faded into the darkness, lost to the black. Celina found herself looking to where they once were with terror. She didn’t know who the Enderman was commanding to take her life, but that couldn’t have been good for her.

A dark and malevolent energy fell over the queen in an instant, and she found herself trembling in fear. It was a dark and strong energy, definitely not human. But, most of all?

It was familiar.

Celina turned on her heels, only to find two white eyes narrowing and watching her from the deep darkness, surrounded by an orange glow. The eyes looked to her with pure rage and she let out a sharp gasp. “Wait, no! Stop! She’s--she’s lying!” She held her free hand up and spoke again, begging for mercy. “Don’t--”

The queen’s words were stopped by an arm shooting out and a hand wrapping around her neck. Her oxygen instantly began to thin out and she tried to take in what she could. Celina was lifted a few inches off the ground, dropping her sword as she reached for the fingers slowly crushing her jugular. 

The human managed to open her now watering eyes to see her friend, her dearest friend, glaring at her with those eyes. Those eyes she had once seen hope and fear in were now staring her down with the most anger she had seen.

Celina winced and reached hand towards him. “Please,” she strained out, hoping to plead with him once more. “I--I thought… I was… your fri--friend.”

His voice came forth, silky and beautiful, but terrifying in this moment. “Well, I suppose that was for naught, wasn’t it? Goodbye, Celina.”

*****

“No… no… no, NO, NOOOOO!”

Celina’s eyes snapped open and she shot up from her spot on the bed, letting out a loud gasp. She panted as she moved a hand up to her chest, her heart beating so hard she was sure it was slamming into her ribcage. She took several moments to catch her breath, her eyes staring straight ahead but not actually seeing anything.

Celina put both hands to her neck and felt it, realizing the hand that had grabbed her was not there. Once she was able to focus and slow her breathing, she took a second to look around herself. 

The walls that surrounded her bed were made of gray stone bricks, with paintings and item frames decorating them and torches shining with their soft glow. Red and yellow stained glass windows showed her the kingdom outside the walls, the kingdom that she and her husband were rulers of. A colorful wool floor was below her, with bookshelves, chests, a table, and several flowers decorating the space surrounding her.

Celina looked for a moment more. “Oh… it was… it wasn’t--real?” She then put a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes. “Ugh… what in the Nether…”

Tough still frightened from the dream--no, nightmare--that she had just had, Celina was more confused and tired. She didn’t know the names of who either of those sets of eyes had belonged to. And she didn’t know why they both wanted her dead. It was strange though… because the white pair seemed so familiar…

Like an old friend.

Shaking her head, Celina looked to her right to see her husband sleeping soundly, his eyes closed and his expression soft. She then turned her head to the left, looking at the door to her room. The moon was high above from what she could see. The queen really shouldn’t be wasting her time to sleep, but she didn’t want to sleep after such a chilling dream. She sighed again. “Maybe I should go outside. Some fresh air might help.”

Swinging her legs to dangle over the side of the bed, Celina plopped to the floor and grabbed her mint colored robe and crown from a wooden black that served as her bedside table. She then put her slippers on and made her way towards the birch doors.

The coolness of the night rushed in and swept over Celina as she pushed one door open, seeing the moon bathing the land in an ashen glow. It was peaceful, and to her surprise, there were very few mobs out. Then again, the kingdom was well lit and rarely any monsters spawned within its bounds.

The queen made her way down the stairs from her and her husband’s room, down to the grand room and out the doors. She barely made a sound as she made her way down and out the doors. One could have mistaken her for a small animal moving around.

Celina walked out the doors and made sure to shut them behind her. She then walked down the steps, and made her way to the edge of the kingdom’s river. Her reflection stared back at her with half-lidded eyes, the gray in them seeming to sparkle with moonlight bouncing off the water. The queen sat down in her spot, putting hands on her knees as she sat cross-legged. 

Behind the girl, a tall being of iron and plants made her way to the corner of the castle. She had silvery skin, red eyes, pink cheeks, and bronze hair down to her chest. She wore a grey dress covered in vines, flowers in her hair, and high heels made of vines. A flower sat on her face in the place of a nose.

The iron golem heard a small noise as she walked closer to the corner of the stone structure, and when she peeked around the corner, she spotted a human shape sitting on the ground. She easily recognized her queen, her master, and she noticed her posture. She looked very conflicted about something. The lady golem frowned and furrowed her brows. Was Queen Celina okay? She had to be sure.

Celina’s thoughts still wandered to the dream, even though she tried to get them not to. She had seen those white eyes on only one person, one being of power and terror she had come face to face with once before. She knew who it was, though her mind kept saying it wasn’t. Her heart told her otherwise. But there were still things she was wondering.

If that was really who she thought it was in her dream, why did she call him, “friend?” What was he trying to kill her for? And who was the Enderman? She knew for a fact that they were an Ender, she could tell from just their eyes. But who were they?

All these questions stopped when a small tap was felt on her shoulder. She turned and looked up to see an iron golem looking down at her with concern. She stood up and looked into those red eyes. “Oh… hello, Irona. Did you just finish your patrol with the knights?”

Irona didn’t say a word in response to her question. But then again, it wasn’t like she could. She was mute, afterall. She could only make small clicking and metal moving noises with her mouth. Irona had been mute when Celina first found her a few years ago, but it didn’t surprise her since golems usually didn’t talk.

Irona tilted her head, asking without a word why her queen was up so late. She should be resting. Celina sighed again. “It’s… it’s nothing, Irona,” she answered with a dismissive wave.

Irona knitted her brows again, putting hands on her hips. She knew the girl all too well to know that she was lying. She gave Celina a slight glare, asking her again.

The queen pouted back at the golem, trying to match her narrowed eyes, but lost that fight as let out a small sigh. “Okay, okay. I… I had a nightmare. And…” Her voice trembled a bit in the next sentence. “I think it was about… Him.”

Irona’s expression fell to terror and her eyes went wide. She let out a tiny gasp. She knew who Celina was talking about. Everyone who had been in Minecraftia long enough knew who He was. He was a legend that had terrified the land for thousands of years. And everyone with a brain knew he was to be feared.

Irona’s reaction struck a chord in Celina, as her body began to shake the more she thought about it. “I know, Irona. The thing about this dream though… it felt so real. It was like some kind of… of a sign. I just… I don’t know how to feel about it. I came out here to try and get my mind off it. But… I can’t help but think that maybe--maybe it was a sign…”

The human girl’s voice trailed off in that last sentence. Irona’s heart clenched. She could tell her ruler was conflicted about this. She thought for a moment, before pulling something from her inventory.

Celina watched the iron being, blinking in surprise when she pulled a few cookies from her inventory. She hesitated when the cookies were held out to her, then realized what the treats being held out to her were for. She took them and chuckled. “Thank you, Irona.”

Irona smiled and ruffled the human’s hair.

As the two sat outside, letting the cool night envelope them, a few words echoed from Celina, out across the plains and into the wind.

“I mean… it was just a dream, right?”