The Broken Flame

Brine opened his eyes as he heard the noise of a door opening. He had been sitting in the throne room, trying to meditate a bit to ease his mind before their journey would begin. He knew this might not be quick, or easy, but he also knew they had no other choice if they wanted to get Steve back safe and sound. 

The Demi-God lifted his head to see Celina closing the front doors to the throne room. She still wore her usual crown and long white gloves, but had changed her outfit. She was now wearing a magenta shirt with elbow length sleeves, purple shorts with a yellow belt, and pink ballet flats with white socks. The crest of her kingdom stood proud on her shirt, the crest of a rose with a piece of coal behind it. She also had a backpack on that had the appearance of a chest. That must have been for anything that wouldn’t fit into her inventory. She also had her enchanted Diamond Sword hanging from her belt.

Brine stood and looked at the queen, seeing determination on her face once more. She walked up to him as he asked, “Are you ready, Celina? Have everything you need packed?”

Celina nodded. “I have everything we might need. I made sure to pack some of my Regen-Healing potions, so those should come in handy. I also packed up food, my pick, a few ores, and some other stuff.” She sighed softly. “Now all that’s left to do is tell Irona that we’ll be gone for a while.” She tilted her head. “How long did you say it’ll take us to get to the cave on foot?”

“It’ll be at least a few days,” Brine answered her. “I would teleport us there, but, as I’ve said, I don’t want Glistenia to know we’re coming if she’s really behind this.” He closed his eyes for a second before looking at the queen again. “We should go tell Irona. The sooner we do that, the sooner we get going.”

“Agreed.” Celina gestured for the Demi-God to follow her and they made their way down the front steps and onto the gravel streets. After a little asking around, they made their way into the town square and found the lady golem at one of the nearby stands. “Irona,” Celina called to her.

The golem turned on her heels, putting the blocks she had just bought into her inventory. She saw Celina and Brine in front of her and she smiled softly. “Hello, Your Highness, Lord Brine.” She noticed the pack on her master’s shoulders and her change of clothes. “Are you two headed off somewhere?”

Celina nodded and gently took Irona’s hands into hers. “Irona, we were able to get an Ender to tell us who led that attack against the kingdom and where Steve is. Glistenia, the Enderwoman who offered her throne to Brine? She ordered the mobs to take Steve. We don’t know what she’s planning to do with him, but the Enderman also told us where to find her and Steve. Now that we know that, Brine and I are going to go save Steve.”

Irona let a light gasp escape her lips. “But… Your Highness, that was a whole army of mobs that came here yesterday. You saw how strong they were. If all of them are really as strong as those with her control…”

Celina sighed. “Irona, I know what we’re doing is dangerous. I know this. I don’t know how powerful those mobs are going to be, nor do I know the full extent of Glistenia’s powers. But what I do know is that she messed with my people, my kingdom, and with Brine. And she took someone who I call a brother. The moment you mess with my people and my friends, I won’t back down.”

Irona listened intently to the queen’s words, knowing everything that was said was done so with a pure heart. Celina may have seemed too caring for her own good to some, but to her people and her friends, she was a brave and kind person who would do anything for those she cares about. Celina was a good person and everyone knew how true that was. Once she was determined to help someone, the queen would see it through.

Irona sighed softly, but smiled. “I will watch over the kingdom while you’re away, Your Majesty. Please, be careful out there, and… come back safe.”

Celina nodded. “I will, Irona. And I can promise you that.” She gently let go of Irona’s hands before nodding to her and turning to Brine. “You ready, Brine?”

Brine nodded. “I am. Let’s go, Celina.”

The queen and the Nether Prince began to make their way to the gates of the kingdom, knowing that there was a long journey ahead of them. And no matter how long it took, they’d get Steve back and make Glistenia pay.

*****

It was a few hours after leaving the kingdom that Brine and Celina decided to stop for a few moments to sit. After making their way outside the gates, Brine directed Celina towards the eastern birch forest that could be seen from the kingdom. Brine knew this area by heart and knew where the cave was in relation to the kingdom. It was more than a few biomes away, but Celina was willing to travel however far they had to in order to save the miner.

As they sat down, Celina reached into her inventory and pulled out a few apples for Brine and herself. Brine took the ones handed to him, thanking the queen. 

Celina took a bite from one of her apples then turned her head to look at Brine. He seemed to be debating whether or not to eat one of his apples, tossing it back and forth in his hands. “You okay, Brine,” she asked.

Brine sighed. “I’m just… worried. I’m worried about Steve.” He took a slow bite from the one he chose. “I…” he spoke after swallowing the bit. “I have no idea what Glistenia is doing to Steve, and it worries me. She’s’ merciless, she’ll kill without hesitation. I don’t know if she’s just holding Steve prisoner, or… or worse.”

Celina shuddered at the thought of what, “worse” meant. She didn’t want to imagine what kind of pain that Ender was putting her friend through, and she silently prayed to the Gods that he would still be alive when they got there. She nodded to Brine. “I feel the same way. I’m worried about him. I want him to be okay, I want him to be alive so we can bring him home… but it seems like she’s… unpredictable.”

Brine nodded. “She truly is. I never knew what she’d suggest for me to do to take out my anger or exact my revenge on humans when I ruled the monsters. She seemed to only want to fuel my destructive behavior, and I let her because of how angry I was.” He frowned as he took another bite from his apple. “I’ve… always had a temper, it’s in my nature as a fire Demi-God. We Demi-Deities tend to have temperaments to match our powers, and I was one of few with fire powers. But it always seemed like no one could match my temper.”

Celina noticed Brine’s free hand clawing at the grass below him. She watched his body language as she ate, noticing him tensing and his brows knitting. He looked slightly heated all of a sudden. “Brine?”

Brine suddenly crushed the apple in his hand, making Celina flinch. “I… I should have had more control of myself,” he whispered. “I should have never taken Glistenia’s offer. I should have just… just--wandered off. I should have never taken her hand… I never wanted to be a monster.”

Celina frowned and gave him a concerned gaze. “You’re not a monster, Brine.”

“What makes you say that?”

The question surprised her, but the queen spoke to him. “I say this because I know you, Brine. You’ve shown me who you truly are, how kind you are, how wonderfully loyal and sweet you can be. You’re kind, you’re loving, you’re gentle, and you’re so understanding, Brine.” She gently took one of his hands. “You may not think it after so long of hunting humans down, but, damn it, Brine, you’re the sweetest person I’ve ever known. You’re my best friend. I love you and I can tell you that you’re not a monster. You’ve changed a lot from who you were, Brine. You’ve become the person you were when you came to the Overworld once more. You’re more meek, Brine. Someone more… human.”

Brine blinked in surprise, before a very gentle smile formed on his face. He nodded. “Thank you, Celina. I guess I just needed to be reminded about who I am. Who I really am.”

Celina grinned. “I think so too. But I love you, Brine. I care about you.” She gently kissed his knuckles. “If you need anything else, let me know, okay?”

Brine nodded back to her. “I will.”

“Okay. How about we finish these, then get going again?”

“I think we can do that.”

*****

Soft footsteps broke the silence of the swamp past the birch forest. The moist grass made a small noise as Celina and Brine stepped through it, but they didn’t let that deter them as the two made their way around a large lake. They had rested for a bit more in the birch forest before deciding to continue on, knowing that they had to get as close as they could to the cave before nightfall. It wasn’t going to be quick, but if they kept a steady pace, the journey wouldn’t take too long.

Celina hopped over a couple of lily pads, using them to get across  part of the lake. She could see Brine floating his way over, then plopping back into his feet when he reached the other side. “Hey, Brine,” she asked.

Brine turned his head to look at her. “Yes?”

“What powers did you not have until Glistenia gave you new ones?”

Brine looked ahead, making sure he wouldn’t trip over something, but still spoke to Celina. “Well, before I met her, I had my fire powers, super strength, speed, and being able to sense energy signatures. I also had some floating and summoning abilities.” He took a step over a small hole in the dirt. “After her… restoration… I could float a little more, I could hear heartbeats, I had teleportation, stronger summoning powers, and I could understand mobs. I can also release my anger in bursts of energy that work like shockwaves.”

Celina blinked. “Is that what happened when you got angry at her, in your memories? When you shouted out and knocked all the mobs off their feet?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what happened. It used to happen a lot when I first became the ruler of the mobs, because I didn’t quite know how to control my anger yet.” He looked at the queen as she walked by his side. “I learned to control many of my powers over time, and I even gained a few over the thousands of years I’ve ruled the monsters. I honestly think that  I gain new powers over time.”

Celina tilted her head. “Do you know why that would be? Does that happen with other Demi-Deities?”

Brine shook his head. “As far as I know, I was a very unique case in that aspect. But I think part of it is because Steve and I were the only Demi-Deities created from Iraura’s powers.”

“So… will you ever stop gaining new powers,” the queen asked curiously.

“...That’s something I don’t know the answer to.”

Celina raised a brow in surprise. Usually, Brine had answers to everything. But the fact that not even he knew that about himself was… strange. But then again, Brine was still very young for a Demi-God, that much she knew since Brine had said his sister was about 320,000 years old. He was still very young for his age and she knew he was still learning. But if he had someone to help him, learning new things would be no problem.

And she would be that someone.