I'm Back

Hello. I'm alright now. There are some pretty significant scars running around my back, but I'm doing alright. I've been back to dancing for a couple of days. It feels great! I missed it so much. The Fire Lord seemed like he was in a fairly good mood as well, so that helped.

I saw Coal in the hallway. He asked how I was doing, but I completely ignored him. He's so smug about this whole thing. It's like he feels as though he's got some sort of control over me. I hate it and I hate him right now. Not for turning me in, just the way he's acting about it...Maybe that doesn't make any sense.

Anyway, I'm able to post now, so you should be hearing from me again soon. Thanks for your thoughts over the past few weeks.

P.S. Gee, Flare (I just read the last post). Thanks for the heartfelt sympathies. I'm really not as bad as she makes me out to be. I don't brag THAT much and, really, is it such a crime to be the best kachina?

Shockingly Lucky

We are leaving for Jules today! I'm so excited! But also extremely nervous. On top of having to please the Fire Lord constantly these next weeks, we'll also have to please the Julese Emperor. I've heard he is a strict and harsh man. Although, I don't think he could possibly be more so than the Fire Lord. Not that the Fire Lord is too strict or harsh, just very so.

Yesterday, Flare and Firefly and I dithered outside the door to the throne room for half a shadowmark trying to decide how to ask the Fire Lord for the material for new kachina costumes. Finally, they voted me to be the one to ask him. I wasn't sure whether to be flattered or upset.

I knocked, and Flame stuck his head out the door. When he saw us, his expressioned turned sour.

"What do you want?" he snapped impatiently. "Go away. You've not been summoned." I drew myself up, trying to make myself as tall as Flame. (Not even close.)

"We--I'm here to ask him a favor," I retorted. "One that could mean the difference between making a good impression on the Emperor and a bad one. The Fire Lord will want to see me." I wasn't at all sure about that last part, but I decided that there was nothing wrong with showing a little confidence. Flame snorted.

"If you say so," he said. "We'll see, won't we?" I frowned suspiciously. It wasn't like him to give in so easily. He stepped aside and pulled the double doors open. I swallowed hard as I saw the Fire Lord sitting on his throne. He was talking to someone--Coal--in a low, serious tone. My heart stopped and I whirled to glare at Flame, whose eyes sparkled blue. He could have warned me that the Fire Lord was in an audience with one of his spies!

They both looked up when they heard me gasp. The Fire Lord looked furious, Coal looked irritated.

"Why have you interrupted us?" the Fire Lord demanded. "Who called you here?"

"N-no one, my lord," I answered. "I only came to ask--to beg a favor of you. it's important. It could mean the difference between making a good impression and a bad one on the Emperor." The Fire Lord's expression did not change.

"It doesn't matter why you came," he said coldly. "You came. And without being summoned." I was starting to get very afraid until Coal spoke up quietly.

"That rule does not apply, my lord, in emergencies," he pointed out. He looked at me with one eyebrow raised. "Any chance this could be an emercency?"

"Um...i-in a way," I said. "It could be. If...yes?" Coal gave me an unamused look before turning to the Fire Lord. The Fire Lord narrowed his eyes.

"Tell me what you are here for and I will decide if it is an emergency," he said dismissively. "Be quick, kachina."

I took a deep breath. "Our kachina costumes are sadly worn and if we showed ourselves to the Emperor in such a fashion, he might very well be offended or at least get a bad impression of what Furier is like. It's an emergency because it takes time to make good kachinas costumes, and we leave for Jules in only a day. And the seamstresses don't have the material to make the costumes, which is why I'm here. If you can't grant me the material for six elaborate costumes very soon, the Emperor of Jules will be displeased."

The Fire Lord and Coal looked at me with almost identical expressions of disbelief and disgust.

"You came here about your costumes?" the Fire Lord said. I blinked.

"Well, yes, my lord...It could be sort of an emergency...or at least urgent, my lord..."

Then something amazing happened.

The Fire Lord chuckled.

He chuckled.

HE LAUGHED!

He said he respected my coming to see him, and that he would send the material to the seamstresses within the hour.

I was convinced I was dreaming for a full hour until Firefly called me in to see the gorgeous fabric the Fire Lord had sent for our costumes. Not even I could dream up something as beautiful as the silk and tassels and jewels he provided.

The seamstresses managed to make our costumes, and the finishing touches are being put on now. We're going to be leaving right after the midday meal. I'm so excited and nervous! (I know, I'm saying that a lot, but it's so true.)

I'll post whenever I can. Thanks for reading!
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Firefly's Mistake

Hello! This is my first time blogging. Some of the words I use might not be familiar to you because they're fire fairy words, so I suggest reading the Words and Terms to Learn thing on the side. Then you can start looking at the list of my friends and family if you want to. That might help you avoid being confused.

I suppose you'll want to know a little about myself and my blog before you decide whether or not you want to follow it.

My name is Ember and I'm fourteen years old. I'm a kachina for the Fire Lord. My sparktresslings are Flare and Firefly. We live in the Palace of Furier with the Fire Lord. I talk a lot and sometimes say things that I regret, though I'm trying to work on that. I always have a plan (whether it's good or not), and I hate it when people use incorrect grammar.

I'll be using this blog to vent and record what goes on during a typical Furierite day. Happy reading!

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Nothing terribly big and exciting happened today, but several humorous little things happened. Well, I thought so. Firefly wasn't too happy.

Firefly is my older sparktressling. She's the sort of person who LOVES organization. If things are disorganized or don't go according to the plan or schedule, she gets cross. I'm like that about some things (like kachina practice and getting dance routines right), but not about everything the way Firefly is. Well, today something definitely didn't go according to plan.

During kachina practice today, Flare and I made up a new move. All of us loved it except Firefly. I think she only hated it because she couldn't do it as well as I could, but I suppose that's beside the point. Anyway, we voted to add the move to our of our routines. The move was added on a vote of five to one.

No sooner had we perfected the Move when Star Dancer stuck her head in the room and told us that the Fire Lord was calling for us. We kachinas ran to the throne room as quickly as we could to begin entertaining the Fire Lord.

I just want to say right now how much I love to dance. Something about it just resonates with me. I love the eerie music we dance to, I love the tight costumes we wear to dance, I love the feeling I get when I execute an especially difficult move perfectly. Everything about dancing is what I love. It's just the fact that we have to do it for the Fire Lord that I don't like. He terrifies me to no end.

But I digress. Back to the story.

After we marched into the throne room and bowed and went through the formalities, the windows were covered, the candles lit, and the music began to play. Firefly whispered that we would do routine nine, which is the one we had added the Move to. She counted off, and we began.

We danced fine until the part came when we should have slipped in the new Move. Well, we forgot. At least, most of us did. Actually, everyone but Firefly did. Unfortunately instead of looking like she was the only one doing the right thing, it looked like Firefly was the only one messing up. The look on her face was priceless. She was first shocked, then horrified, and then angry at me and Flare for giggling at her.

The Fire Lord wasn't pleased with her either. He reprimanded her and teased her after the routine was over, which she hated. Firefly is a favorite of the Fire Lord's because she never does anything wrong. Everything about her is perfect, so whenever she messed up, everyone likes to give her a hard time.

Luckily the Fire Lord was in a fairly light mood or he might have beaten her. That wouldn't have been funny at all, but since he didn't, I found the whole situation quite funny. Hope you did, too.

Well, I guess I should stop blogging now before I bore you to absolute tears. I'll probably post a little something tomorrow. Hopefully it will be good news again, but I doubt it. Good things rarely happen two days in a row in the Palace of Furier.