The Broken Flame

“There you go, Steve,” Celina said as Herobrine finished wrapping the large wound on Steve’s chest and back. She smiled softly and took the wrappings from the Demi-God when he was done. “That should be all of them!” 

Steve smiled as he looked down at the cyan bandages. He looked up at the queen at the Demi-God. “Thank you, guys. Your wrapping work is really nice, Herobrine. Thank you.”

The being seemed to tense as the miner thanked him, but he said nothing. He simply took a few steps back.

Celina looked down at her friend. “Well, Steve, I need to do something. How about you get a little more rest so you can give your wounds some time to heal? I’ll let Irona know I’m heading out so she can watch you, okay?”

Steve nodded. “Okay! Thank you, Celina, I appreciate it.” He chuckled as the queen placed a kiss on his forehead.

“Okay, Steve, I’ll be back soon.” She saw him smile, before the miner moved  to lay down. He was out within a few minutes. Celina looked at him with a peaceful smile, before turning to look at Herobrine. He was standing and watching the miner, seeming lost in thought. Celina carefully spoke to him. “Herobrine?”

The man turned to look at her. “What?”

“Can you follow me for a bit?”

Herobrine frowned. “What do you need me for?”

“I want to show you something. Something in my garden. I want you to follow me, okay?”

The being seemed to not want to do as she asked, but he tilted his head down in a soft nod. Celina then made her way to the front doors of the castle with Herobrine following close in step. She opened the door and found Irona standing against the wall, seeming to be deep in thought. “Irona?”

The golem looked down at her queen. After having awoken for a bit, Irona had gone to the knight house to see how the guards that had been attacked last night were doing, and now she didn’t know what to do. She was still very conflicted over Herobrine’s presence in the castle, but she knew Celina could handle this herself.

“I’m gonna take Herobrine to the garden. Can you watch over here and make sure to watch Steve? Please?”

Irona pursed her lips for a moment. She didn’t want her queen to be alone with Herobrine of all people, but maybe she had a plan. She nodded.

“Thank you. Herobrine, follow me.”

Herobrine did so, following the queen down the same path they had gone down to get the wheat for the miner’s meal earlier. He couldn’t help but glance at the rose bushes again as they walked, seeing the brightly colored petals shining in the sunlight. He was surprised, no one saw him as he walked with the queen. But then again, they were probably all out doing whatever humans did during the day.

Celina led Herobrine to a secluded area of trees and flowers, hiding the clearing within with plants. She carefully walked to its center and stood before Herobrine, turning to look at him with only a block between them. 

Herobrine folded his arms again. “So… why did you lead me out here, gi--Celina,” he asked, correcting himself on her name.

Celina kept that note in her mind. Perhaps that was some kind of sign of progress? She smiled and kneeled. She gestured for him to do the same, and he did. “Well, I want to teach you a lesson. Something important.” She pulled an iron shovel from her inventory and handed it to him. “Can you dig up this block in front of us?”

Herobrine looked at her with confusion as he held the shovel. But he did so anyways, taking the dirt block that popped up into his hand. He then handed the shovel to her.

“Good. Now, hold out your other hand to me and close your eyes.”

Herobrine didn’t move at first, but did as she asked. Celina pulled a small seed from her inventory and placed it in his hand, closing his hand around it.

Herobrine opened his hand and pulled his hand back to see what was in it. “...A seed?”

“Yes. I want you to put it in that dirt block, then place it back in the hole you made.”

Herobrine huffed. He still wasn’t sure what the point of this was, but the sooner he did it, the sooner they could go back inside. He carefully put the seed into the small block, before throwing it into the hole and seeing the block pop back to its normal size.

“Good.” Celina pulled a water bucket from her inventory, holding it out the Herobrine. He flinched for a second, almost backing away. She blinked in surprise.

Herobrine caught her look, his expression falling back to one of slight anger as he snatched the bucket from her. “What do you want me to do with this?”

“Water the seed, please.”

Herobrine frowned. “That’s it?”

“Yes.”

Herobrine didn’t know why, but he did, tilting the bucket to let some water flow onto the ground. When he was done, he handed the bucket back to her.

Celina put the bucket into her inventory and pulled out a small poppy, placing it on the ground. “Herobrine, flowers are delicate things. They can grow and thrive if you treat them well, or wither away into nothing if you don’t show them the care they need. If you show them the treatment they need, they’ll share their beauty and true self when they bloom and show off their petals from inside the closed bud. However, if you don’t take care of them, they will crumble and shrivel.” 

Celina carefully ran a hand along the petals of the poppy. “People are much the same way. If you treat them with respect and show kindness to them, they’ll open up like a flower to you. They’ll confide in you and show you the same kindness. However, just like a flower…” She carefully plucked a petal off of the poppy. “They’ll wither and die. They won’t be able to thrive and grow, and they just may not make it out. So if you show that flower a little kindness, a little care, a little love… they may just call you a friend.”

Celina stood from her place, as did Herobrine, and she looked up at him. “I want you to come here everyday, water this flower, make sure it’s getting enough light, and take care of it. Okay?”

Herobrine nodded, so she nodded back. “C’mon, let’s head back inside.” Celina then made her way back towards the entrance to the castle.

The Nether Prince watched her for a moment, before frowning and tilting his head. “Why is this human being so kind to me? All I’ve done is try to kill her or hurt her, and yet she still shows me a hand of mercy and a kind heart. What have I done that she’s going to keep trying to be nice to me?” He sighed and put a hand to his now aching temples. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand this human,” he murmured. “I don’t know if I even want to…”

*****

Herobrine stayed thinking for a few more moments before following the way Celina had led him back inside to the castle. He stopped after closing the door to see Celina standing at a crafting table, seeming to be working on making some food. 

Celina turned her head when she heard the door shut. “Oh, there you are. I was just about to start making lunch. Do you want something to eat?”

“I don’t need to eat, mor--Celina.” Herobrine huffed a bit when he corrected himself. “I don’t need to eat, nor am I hungry. I don’t need food to live like you humans do.”

Celina tilted her head and found herself with a little frown. “Well, you’re a guest in my castle, so it’s in my nature to make food for guests. You can at least try a little something, you look like you could use it.” She didn’t even see Herobrine give her an offended frown as she looked down with a chin on her hand. “Oh!” Celina snapped her fingers. “I have a little something I made yesterday. It’s been in my inventory, so it should still be good.”

Herobrine folded his arms and furrowed his brows when she reached into her pockets. “What are you…” His face suddenly fell when she pulled an orange and yellow pie from her inventory. 

“I made this yesterday! It’s still nice and warm too,” Celina spoke. “You seem like the kinda guy who would like this, so I saved it for you.”

Herobrine’s heart was racing, his mind in a fog and he found himself unable to move. He could practically see her standing there. Standing there as if she was here.

Celina could see Herobrine beginning to tremble and she frowned deeply. “Herobrine, are you oka--”

The being suddenly surged forward and slapped the pie from her hand, sending it to the floor. Celina looked down at the now ruined food. “What the--” She furrowed her brows in anger and held out her arms. “Dude, what is your damage?!”

“What are you playing at here, girl?!” Herobrine demanded.

“What in the End are you talking about?!” she shouted back. “All I did was offer you a freakin’ pie! And you slapped it out of my hand! What is up with you, dude?!”

Herobrine glared at the girl for a moment, clenched fists shaking. He looked for any kind of deceit within the human’s eyes, but all she did was glare at him with equal contempt. He then made a small, “Hmmph,” and folded his arms again, keeping his defensive stance.

Celina’s anger seemed to fall. The fact that Herobrine didn’t attack her on the spot was something, but it was how he just seemed to hold back his anger that concerned her. “...Are you okay,” she asked softly.

Herobrine turned his head away. “No… no, I’m not.”

“Well, if you need someone to talk to, I’m all ears.”

Herobrine’s head snapped to her with anger on his face. “What did you just say to me?”

“I said that… if you need someone to vent to, I am here to listen.”

Herobrine didn’t say a word. Celina watched him disappear, before he reappeared in front of her. Before she could say a word, he began to speak to her. “Tell me, Celina… what do you know about me?”

Celina found herself suddenly feeling very small with the slight rage that was clear on his face. He began to pace around her in a circle, and though she was suddenly scared, Celina knew it would be better to answer. “Well, all I know is legends and stories. I’ve heard that… you’re the ruler of the mobs of this world, prince and ruler of the Nether, and that… you’re probably one of the most powerful beings in the Overworld, if not the most powerful one. I’ve heard that catching your attention is a fate worse than looking into the eyes of an Enderman. I’ve heard that you show no mercy to humans whatsoever, and that… you hate them with everything in your being.”

Herobrine was surprised. Seems like this girl had studied up on her history. “You are fairly correct, Celina. And knowing all that…” He suddenly moved so he was inches away from her face. “Do you really think I would confide in a mortal like you?”

Celina found herself trembling and unable to speak. She was terrified with those narrowed white eyes staring into her gray ones. She didn’t say a word.

“That’s what I thought,” The Nether Prince said, backing away from her.

“...Geez, you--you really… know how to make your point,” Celina stuttered out.

Herobrine scoffed. “Let this be a lesson to you, girl.” He then turned on his heels, facing away from the human.

Celina felt her mouth moving faster than her mind, because something struck her and made her wonder. “Hey, Herobrine… how old are you?”

The being visibly tensed under her words and turned his head to look over his shoulder. “Why do you want to know,” he asked quietly.

“Well, I’ve heard you’ve been around a long time. And there’s lots of stories about you. I suppose I’m just… curious.”

Herobrine narrowed his eyes, but turned back away. “If you must know… I’m 160,000 years old.”

Celina’s mouth went agape and her eyes went wide. That would explain a lot. “Wow… you’ve probably seen a lot here in Minecraftia then.”

“...Why does it matter to you what I’ve seen,” Herobrine spoke after a beat of silence. He began to visibly tremble once more. “Why does it matter to you what I know, or where I’ve been? I don’t have to tell you anything about what I’ve seen. You have no… no right to invade my privacy.”

She watched the Demi-God speak, and that was when she saw something. A small cyan colored droplet fell from his cheek and hit the rug he stood on, soaking into the fabric. It was only there for a moment, but she saw it. Celina felt a twinge of guilt in her chest. She didn’t mean to upset him in any way, she was just curious. But then again, they did say curiosity killed the ocelot.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” she told him, hearing him taking shaky breaths. “I was just… trying to help. But if you need someone to talk to, or need anything at all, please, let me know. I am here to talk if you need to.”

Herobrine closed his eyes and tilted his head down. “...I want to talk so much,” he whispered. “But you would never understand.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing,” Herobrine answered while turning to face the queen. “Just leave me be for a while.”

Celina furrowed her brows in worry, but nodded. Herobrine then turned away again, moving to sit on the floor with his knees close to his chest.

“There’s something bothering him,” Celina thought. “Something he’s not telling me. But… I shouldn’t force him to tell me. I might just upset him more if I do. And… I don’t want to hurt him. Maybe he just needs some time to think.”