The Broken Flame

The sun began to rise over the horizon the next morning, the skies clear and painted in soft pastel colors. A few passive mobs had spawned in and began to walk around in the forests surrounding Celina’s home and kingdom. Pigs and sheep ate at the grass and a few chickens walked around as well. A soft breeze blew past the tree leaves and flowers, making them sway and tremble the tiniest bit. 

Celina pushed open the doors to the grand room of her castle, clad in her magenta shirt with purple shoulder puffs, yellow ribbons, and a diamond on the front, yellow belt, violet skirt, pink mary-janes, white gloves, and golden crown with its magenta gem. Her diamond sword, Old Faithful, hung from her belt as she moved her gaze over the kingdom. 

It was still pretty early with the sun still coming up over the horizon, but a few of the citizens of Creatoria were up and out of their homes. They waved to the queen as she saw them, and she waved back.

Celina smiled and took a deep breath of the fresh air. “Looks like another beautiful day,” she spoke as she moved her eyes to the sky in its pastel shades. She began to step forward as she said, “Well, let’s get--”

And that was when her foot bumped into something. Celina’s face turned to confusion and she moved her gray gaze down to the stone steps of her castle. A Redstone torch had been placed on the steps. With a brow raised, she leaned down and picked up the torch. “Huh? A Redstone torch,” she thought aloud. She turned the torch over a couple of times, examining it closely. Nothing was different about this torch. 

“Where did this come from,” the queen mused. “I don’t remember this being here last night.” This was indeed odd, as she had never been one to dabble in Redstone. A few of her citizens did, but they wouldn’t just leave a random torch on her steps. “Where did this…” Celina’s voice trailed off as a thought struck her.

He often left Redstone torches behind in random places. Often, these meant that it wouldn’t be the only time he would visit that area.

Celina’s blood suddenly ran cold and everything seemed to freeze. She stiffened and her eyes went wide. There was that dream she had. The one with a set of white eyes and a deep, silky, yet dark echoing voice. It had to be more than a coincidence that both of these things had happened at the queen’s castle.

She was so stuck in her trance of fear, Celina didn’t even notice when a hand landed on her shoulder. And when it did, her whole body twitched in surprise.

Celina quickly drew her sword and turned on her heels, shutting her eyes and wildly swinging her blade around. “AHHHBLABLABLANANANA!” she shouted, complete nonsense but just panicked noises.

“Whoa, whoa! Celina, calm down, it’s me!”

Celina opened her eyes and stopped her flailing. She looked up and blinked when she saw not Him , but a different person. They were very masculine looking. They had short brown hair, violet eyes, fair skin, and freckles dotting their cheeks. They wore a cyan long-sleeve with a brown belt on their chest, a brown belt on their waist, blue jeans, and gray boots. An iron pickaxe was hanging from their back.

The person had their hands held up and wide eyes. Celina let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, Steve, it’s just you. Sorry about that, man.” Steve was a young miner, only a few years older than the eighteen year old queen. The two had met a few years ago and he lived in a small village only a mile to the south, in a nearby forest. He was one of her best friends and someone she considered very close to her.

Holstering her sword back into her belt, Celina looked to the miner, her gray eyes meeting his violet eyes. “I didn’t mean to almost hit you like that. Sorry,” she apologized.

Steve let his surprise fall and a smile curve onto his face. He put a hand on one hip. “Apology accepted, kiddo.” He chuckled. The miner knew that Celina had a natural warrior’s instinct, and her family was a long line of fighters. He didn’t mean to scare her, but then again, his steps were very quiet. She had also seemed to be in some kind of trance when he found her.

Speaking of which…

Steve’s expression shifted and his head tilted. “Are you okay, Celina? You seemed really zoned out when I walked up to you. Something wrong?”

Celina tensed greatly as those words were spoken. She was still thinking about that dream she had and the torch on her doorstep. She wanted so badly to tell someone, anyone, and her husband had left for royal duties this morning. The queen let out a tiny sigh. She might as well tell the miner. He was like a brother to her, after all.

Celina shifted on her feet and looked into his violet eyes. “I… I had a bad dream last night. A really bad nightmare.”

Steve furrowed his brows. That was definitely out of the ordinary for her. “What about?”

“About… about… Him. ”

Steve let a sharp gasp escape his lips. He knew all too well who she was talking about. He had haunted the miner for most of his life and was constantly trying to kill him or terrify him. Everyone knew his legend and many had died by his hands. And yet, the young man had survived many small attacks by Him.

Steve took a small step back. “Wait.. him? As--as in… Iraura’s brother… him?”

Celina nodded and she blinked, feeling tears beginning to form in her eyes. She hadn’t meant to frighten her friend, but she knew she had to tell him the truth. “Yes. Yes, Steve. I had a dream that someone… an Ender… commanded him to kill me. And just a few minutes ago, I found this on my doorstep.” She held out the torch to the miner as she let a few tears roll down her face.

Steve took the Redstone device into his hands and examined it with caution. It didn’t look any different from any other one, but hearing the fright in Celina’s voice was hard. It showed how this dream truly terrified her. This had to be more than a coincidence.

Celina let out a tiny whimper and Steve looked up at her, a frown on concern on his features. “Are you okay, kiddo?”

She shook her head. “No,” she answered with a strained voice. “Steve, I… I don’t--don’t…” She hesitated, not wanting to cry in front of her friend. She knew how out of her chipper demeanor that was. And she didn’t want to worry him.

Steve saw this as she bit her lip and he held out his arms to her. She quickly took it and embraced him tightly. Steve held her close and let the girl sniffle into his shirt as she spoke.

“Steve… I’m scared. I’ve only ever--seen him--once. Only once. But… I’m so scared he’s--he’s gonna… gonna come after me. I didn’t do anything wrong. I just… I don’t know if that--that dream was a sign or something… I’m so scared…”

The miner’s heart broke at her words. Celina was like a younger sister to him and he hated to see her unhappy or scared. And her fear was completely understandable from his viewpoint. He knew that fear of an attack or visit from Him all too well.

The queen had begun to sob and cough from her crying and she tried to talk. But her words were ragged and barely audible. Steve moved a hand to gently pet Celina’s hair and he held her in a loving embrace, the kind he only gave those who meant the most to him. “Celina, it’s okay. You need to try and calm a bit, you’re going to make yourself sick.”

Celina nodded and did her best, eventually her sobs turning into soft sniffles and tiny whimpers. She soon turned her head to the side as she held onto Steve, her head lying against his chest. She was grateful to have a brother figure like him in her life. She was grateful for everything Steve did for her.

Steve spoke and made her lightly flinch from the broken silence. “Have you talked to Cenlar about this?”

The queen shook her head. “He woke me up very early this morning to say he was going to be away for a few months on royal business. I woke up, told him bye, and went back to sleep until the sun rose. I didn’t even think to tell him while I was awake because I didn’t want to stall him.”

Steve nodded in understanding. “Stephanie’s gonna be away for a while, too. She left a couple days ago to go take care of her mom for a while.”

“Really?”

“Yep… looks like it’s just you and me for a while, kiddo.” He pet her hair as she looked up at him, her gray eyes still very teary. “Look, Celina, I’ve been face-to-face with him before. I know it’s a scary prospect, to see him or have him visit you, but you know what? I know you’re from a strong line of warriors. I feel that, if he ever did try to fight you, you’d win. He’s strong, but you’re stronger. I’ve seen what you can do. You’re a fighter, and I know you’ll keep fighting until you’ve defeated him. What did my mom always say?”

Celina blinked, before quoting, “‘Fight a good fight… until the very end.’” It was the old saying that Steve’s mother used to tell him in the toughest of times. And he had told it to her and she followed it to the letter, just as he did.

The miner nodded. “That’s right. You’ve always done that, and if you ever have to come face-to-face with him, I know you’ll be at your strongest. You have nothing to be afraid of, Celina. Trust me: you’ll win.”

The queen felt herself smile and a few happy tears fell down her cheeks. She hugged Steve again and held him tightly. “Thank you, Steve,” she whispered. “You always know how to make me feel better. Thank you, my friend.”

He chuckled and patted her back. “It’s no problem, kiddo.” He watched her pull away and look up at him with the biggest grin. “Say, what were you heading out for before I showed up?”

“I was gonna go mining,” she answered. “I was actually gonna invite you to go with me. You up for it?”

He let out a laugh. “You know I’m always up for mining!” He smirked and suddenly turned in the direction of the path to the Creatoria mines. Steve took off in a sprint, shouting back to her, “First one there gets all the diamonds!”

Celina blinked, before a determined smile crossed her face and she ran after the miner, “Oh, no, you don’t, Stevie! Those diamonds are mine!” She shouted. She caught up with the man and he grinned.

“We’ll see about that!” he replied. The two laughed loudly as they ran past several citizens and to the mines. When they had reached the entrance to the underground tunnels, they high-fived and said in unison, “Mining time!” They then descended down, pickaxes pulled from their inventories, ready for anything.