Firefly's Hurt Too

If the situation weren't so unfortunate, this might be humorous.

This is Flare, Ember's twin sparktressling. Firefly would be posting, but...Well, may I tell you a short story?

Ember is a very good kachina. I'm sure she's bragged about it before on here. She's really quite arrogant about it, you know. (Sorry, Em, just being honest.) She is talented, though. The Fire Lord always watches her more than any of us. So lately, he's been missing her. You can tell he doesn't get as much entertainment out of us. Today he snapped. Flicker accidentally hit Sparkle in the eye, and Sparkle fell into me, and I tripped and brought Firefly down. The Fire Lord was unbelievably angry and shouted that Ember wouldn't have fallen. He stood up and started throwing fireballs at Firefly. She's the oldest and supposed to be the lead kachina (although Ember's quite bossy so it's really more like her), so whenever we do something wrong she gets blamed. I felt terrible and tried to help her, but Comet and Sparkle told me not to move. The Fire Lord was going to beat Firefly anyway, it would make no sense to get beaten myself. I didn't want to listen to them, but I was very upset and afraid and so I did.

Firefly is in a pretty bad way and she's upset with Ember, seeing how this is all sort of her fault. If she had just followed the rules she wouldn't be lying in bed with a raw back. And if she weren't such a bossy peacock all the time, it'd be easier to feel sorry for her.

I do feel sorry for her though. She's in a lot of pain and I do love her. I feel worse for Firefly though. This wasn't Firefly's fault and she's still being blamed.

The worst part is that now we don't have a lead kachina. Firefly counts beats and decides what routine we'll do. I guess, being the oldest of us four left, it'll be me now, but I've never been confident about all this. I hate our costumes, they make me feel...exposed. I'm not comfortably with the whole thing. I don't know what we'll do.

Keep Ember and Firefly in your thoughts.

Ember Update

This is Firefly, Ember's older sparktressling.

Don't be upset, Ember is not dead, but she can't post because of the pain.

She'd like me to tell you that the Fire Lord had her flogged with fire ropes. She'd also like me to tell you that she is quite lucky. The Fire Lord would have killed her without a doubt if he had heard the entire story. Coal did not tell him everything. He merely reported seeing Ember leaving her room, not that she overheard anything from the spies.

I just want to say how upsetting this entire situation is. Ember is in more pain than I've ever seen her in. She is not even speaking, just tears running down her cheeks sometimes. The Fire Lord did not even send any sort of medicine to ward off infection. I know this is justice, Ember disobeyed the rules, but it's very difficult to watch. I hope to the Fire Lord she recovers swiftly.

Today

I feel absolutely sick to my stomach. I think I'm going to be sick. I'm shaking, I'm cold, and I've barely said a word this past hour.

The strangers are gone; the Fire Lord has announced that everyone is free to move about the Palace again.

Which means Coal has had his chance to report me.

I've never been so afraid in my whole life. What was I thinking?? How could I have been so foolish as to disobey the Fire Lord? And get caught, too! Of all the stupid things to do, spying on the spies must be at the top of the list.

My eyes are bright green and I'm breaking out into a cold sweat.

Will the Fire Lord kill me? Or only have me flogged? Or branded! I've heard of him doing that. There used to be a page sparker around who had all sorts of brand scars on his back, marking his shame. He was a complete rebel for who-knows-why and he was executed two springs ago.

Surely the Fire Lord won't kill me! I've never done anything like this before! But his temper has been so short of late, and with the talk of rebellion last month or so, I'm sure he's more likely to kill than ever.

But under all this fear there are other feelings. Feelings not timid at all. There are feelings of determination and still curiosity. If the Fire Lord does not have me executed, will I try this again?

...

I can't say. The fear of death is too close now. But I'm still somehow curious, so painfully curious. Coal knows so much, and I know so little. It's too unfair to be borne! I want to know things! I hate being blinded!

Who knows what's to come. Not me.

I do not know of any gods to pray to, but if you do, please pray for me.

And pray also that those words never come back to the Fire Lord. To pray to or worship anything but him would lead to death without question.

Waiting...

I haven't been out of the room today. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm terrified. The Fire Lord's already in a terrible mood. Spying on the spies would be bad enough a crime, but actually overhearing some secrets...

Readers, the Fire Lord could kill me for this. And unfortunately I mean that quite literally. Slaves have been killed for less around here.

The only thing standing between me and certain death is my skill as a kachina. I am quite serious. All of Jeolotoe knows how much pride the Fire Lord takes in his kachinas. We are the finest in the world. Furier has always been home to the finest kachinas in the world. I am particularly fine. Out of the six of us, I'm the best.

Maybe I'm being prideful. Maybe I'm just being realistic.

Either way, I honestly cannot imagine what will become of me. None of us kachinas are saying much. An hour ago a frightened deaf and mute sparktress brought in some bread. Firefly keeps giving me terrified glances. Flare won't look at me at all. Flicker just stares constantly. Sparkle's eyes dart from face to face. Comet stares out the window.

We are all afraid. Afraid for me.

What am I to do?

Commands, Coal, and Caught! A Very Long Post, But Worth Your Time, I Think

I spied.

I may never do it again.

We awoke the sound of the alarm gong, loud and clear.

You know those certain sounds that make your skin crawl, your stomach jump, and something at the back of your mind just flinch? The warning gong is one of those sounds. It means one of three things:

1. The Palace is under attack.
2. Someone inside the Palace has been arrested.
3. The Fire Lord wants to see everyone front and center.

There are different patterns for different emergencies. After flying awake in a mild panic, my first response was deadly quiet, listening for the gong sequence...

The Fire Lord was summoning all Palace slaves.

If you don't know this already, when the Fire Lord calls you to do something, you do it before he's even finished his command. Of course, this command was a bit harder to fulfill on the part of us kachinas; we not only have to react quickly with the rest of the slaves, we're expected to look good while we do.

I've never dressed and combed my hair that quickly. I opted to omit the makeup, which still takes us five minutes at least, even with years of practice. (For all you who are interested in what our daily makeup looks like, click HERE and HERE. Of course, it's more elaborate for special occasions: HERE and HERE.)

After throwing on some clothes, we ran down the hall and into the dining hall. Most of the other slaves were already there. So was the Fire Lord. He so rarely comes into the slave areas; everyone's eyes were green (except the spies', of course).

I won't bore you with the details; in short, the Fire Lord forbade anyone from leaving their quarters until further notice. No one dared to ask how we were to eat, though I'm sure we were all wondering. The Fire Lord didn't even make an exception for spies. That surprised everyone, especially the spies. Their usually unreadable faces held hints of irritations and suspicion.

The Fire Lord dismissed us, and we all hurried back to our rooms.

"Do you think this has anything to do with the strangers?" Sparkle asked, the moment we were back in the kachina keep.

"Of course it does!" I cried impatiently, sitting on the bed. I glanced at myself in the mirror and made a face. I hate how I look without makeup. I've worn it everyday for so long I feel naked without it. I got up and began applying eyeliners and paint.

Firefly rolled her eyes. "Ember, we aren't going to see anyone for goodness-knows-how-long. Your pretty face will be quite wasted."

"Yes, we won't be seeing Coal," Flare said, her voice taunting. I snarled at her and went back to tracing my eyes.

"How are we supposed to get food?" Sparkle grumbled. "I'm already hungry."

"You don't suppose there's any danger, do you?" Flicker asked nervously.

"I expect there's some," Firefly answered, eying my makeup with a frown. "Ember, really, you're using up valuable paint."

I ignored her. I suddenly realized why I was putting on makeup.

I was going out, of course.

I did not intend to follow the Fire Lord's command for once in my life. I was curious, too curious to bear, and I was not going to miss whatever excitement was out there.

"I bet the strangers are..." Sparkle murmured. She didn't really have an answer, we all knew that. She thinks out loud a good deal. We've all learned to ignore her. If she wants us to acknowledge her, she has no problem screaming so in our ears.

"Long-lost relatives," Flare suggested, a gleam in her eye. "The Fire Lord has family!"

We all stared at her with incredulous expressions.

"Really, Flare, everyone knows what happened to the Fire Lord's family," I said with disgust. Flare frowned and shrugged.

"I was only speculating," she insisted. "Where's your sense of fun?"

I smiled inwardly. Oh, I planned to have some fun.

Before long, I finished applying my daily makeup and eyed the window causally. Our room is on the ground floor. The Palace is only one floor except the dungeons below and a tower on either end of the building. The curtains fluttered in the light breeze. (We have shutters, but we only use them in the rain.)

"I have to...um...you know what I mean," I said awkwardly, looking at the window pointedly. Firefly saw through that right away.

"What are you talking about, Ember? We've been here all of a quarter shadowmark," she said. I shrugged.

"My body doesn't tell time," I retorted simply, walking over to the window. "I'll only be a minute."

"Ember!" cried Flare, her eyes gleaming. "What if someone sees you?" She giggled. "What if Coal sees you?"

For a moment, my eyes actually flashed to green.

Oh, really, Ember, I scolded myself. You know very well you aren't really planning to "relieve yourself". I shrugged. "I'll have to risk it."

I leaped easily over the sill (it comes to about my waist) and dropped the yard or so to the ground.

"What if you get caught?" I heard Flicker hiss. Without replying, I took off at a dead run. I didn't know where I was going exactly, but I ended up under the spies' window.

I'm not sure how long I expected that to last. Definitely not as long as it did...

Asher: "I don't know why the Fire Lord's restricted us as well. We already know everything that's happening anyway."

Blaze: *snort* "Keep your mouth shut, Asher. You only know what we want you to."

Coal: (sharply) "Hi! Are we all spies together or aren't we? Leave him be, Blaze, we're all disappointed."

Blaze: (bitter) "You leave me be."

Silence.

Asher: "Do you suppose this has got anything to do with--"

Coal: "Asher, you've got to start connecting the dots for yourself."

Silence.

Asher: "Well, do you??"

Blaze and Coal: (sharp) "YES."

Silence.

Blaze: "Stop fidgeting, Asher, by the Fire Lord, you've got to learn to hide your feelings. In a real situation you'd be discovered faster than a kachina in a barnyard!"

Coal: "Can you really blame him? Waiting on the outside is awfully difficult."

Blaze: "I don't mean to speak unchecked, but I believe this may have something to do with..."

Coal: "The Pale One."

The Pale One??

Blaze: "Yes."

Coal: "Yes."

Blaze: "You know?"

Coal: "I presume."

Blaze: "Dangerous."

Coal: "What isn't?"

Asher: "What?"

Silence.

Blaze: "So those sparkers and man must be...after all this time..."

Coal: "...they found what they were looking for."

Blaze: "So I presume."

Coal: "Are we to stay here?"

Blaze: "Is that question in honest?"

Asher: "What are you talking about??"

Coal: *snickers* "I say--"

He stopped. My blood ran cold.

I heard the sound of a small spark popping. I swallowed. The spies sometimes use some sort of spark-code to communicate when words will not do.

A few spark-pops answered. I pressed myself against the outside wall. I would have run, but living around Coal had taught me one thing: when in doubt, stay still.

My heart pounded. My eyes pulsed bright green. My palms chilled.

Suddenly I was aware of the shadow moving across my head. Swallowing hard, I could take the suspense no longer. I looked up into Coal's face, staring at me from the window. Anger would have been easier to take; the perfect stoniness was worse. He disappeared for a moment and then jumped the windowsill, landing lightly right in front of me. Blaze was right behind him. I tried to stare back at them with the same coldness they mastered, but I knew my eyes were still green.

Coal spoke, "What. The devil. Are. You. Doing here."

Just like that, I felt foolish.

"There are too many questions and not enough answers of late. I wanted to fix that."

"By directly defying the Fire Lord," Coal finished. I shuddered. Yes, that was obvious. And now Coal would turn me in. Of course he would. It was his duty.

"Well, what were you plotting to do?" I snapped. Coal's face was unreadable.

"I don't know what you mean."

My lip curled. "Of course you don't. The injustice of this entire situation. You will report me to the Fire Lord for doing precisely what you were intending to do. Of course, if I were to attempt to turn you in, the Fire Lord wouldn't believe me."

A hint of humor crept into Coal's eyes. "Yes. Now forget everything you heard about our sweethearts and go back to your room. I'll tell the Fire Lord about your little misdemeanor when all this is over."

"Sweethearts!" I scoffed. "Unless one of your sparktressfriends' name is 'the Pale One' I--"

Me and my big mouth. Coal's eyebrow shot up as he heard exactly what he was fishing for. He nodded slowly.

"So that's where you came in." Even with all his spy training, a hint of anger tinted his tone. "We'll be sure to mention that to our Lord as well. I'm sure he'll have some way of making certain you don't forget your place next time. Go."

I swallowed my pride as much as I could and ran.

What a truly horrible day this has been. I had to tell the other kachinas what happened, but I kept the information about "the Pale One" to myself. I'm not completely suicidal, you know.

I do not even want to think about what will happen when Coal tells the Fire Lord about all this. Coal is wonderful, but unfailingly loyal to the Fire Lord in every way. When he is in spy mode, there is little I fear more.

Visitors!

Visitors!

I'm so surprised! There are three sparkers and a man here, and none of us slaves know why.

In the middle of dinner, a page ran into the dining hall and said the Fire Lord wanted us (kachinas). This wasn't particularly unexpected; the Fire Lord had been calling for us at odd hours lately.

So, we went in to entertain him.

He was extremely difficult to please. Every routine we began, he snapped that he had just seen that one. More than a few fire strands were wielded. Comet and I have welts to prove it.

We entertained the Fire Lord for a couple of hours at least. In the middle of a routine, the throne room doors flew open. They slammed against the wall with an earsplitting sound. I know I jumped a foot. My eyes flashed briefly to a frightened green.

Four figures strode quickly up the aisle. My eyes widened. I looked at Firefly and Flare. What in Jeolotoe...? No one comes into the Fire Lord's throne room uninvited.

Three of the figures were obviously fire fairies. Their wings were absolutely huge and all the same shades of red and oranges. The patterns were all quite different, as were their faces. Still, I think they must be related.

The fourth figure was tall and blonde and human.

The Fire Lord seemed surprised to see them, but not alarmed. The strangers came and stood side by side, a few feet before the steps to the throne. They did not bow. They did not speak.

Suddenly the Fire Lord remembered us kachinas.

"Kachinas! Leave us at once."

Bowing hastily, we ran out of the room.

Once in the hall, we broke into a flurry of whispers.

"What in Jeolotoe just happened?"
"Who were they??"
"How could they just intrude that way? Don't they have any manners?"
"Did you see the size of their wings?"
"What's a piece of human like him doing with three sparkers?"
"I think the brunette fire fairy was awfully good-looking, don't you?"

*clears throat* The last comment was from me...

So many more questions! Even than before! I'm sorry for posting twice in a day, but this just had to be written down. I absolutely have to get to the bottom of this...

I know this was probably a very disorganized post, so if you have any questions I'll try to answer them. Also, any suggestions on not getting caught as I try to figure things out?

Determined

It's been a long time yet again. I'm sorry.

Coal and Blaze not back yet, but they should be back within the week. Hooray! I haven't gotten used to his not being around. I miss him.

There is a growing sense of discontent in the Palace. Everyone can feel it, no one can pin-point why or when it started. Executions of peasants are coming at an absolutely alarming rate. Every couple of weeks someone is executed. The spies are poking into everything, in the Palace as well as the village. I've completely given up on keeping a journal, this blog is all I have now. Nothing is secret, nothing is safe.

I can't figure it out. I haven't heard any talk against the Fire Lord lately any more than I have before. Everyone respects and fears him as always. There doesn't seem to be a reason for all the sneaking around and knotting stomachs.

I must assume then that the Fire Lord is doing a remarkable job of keeping the issue secret. Something must be wrong. Unease, executions, and unexplain arrests don't just happen, there's a reason. What's going on?

I know it isn't my business.
I know I should pry into the Fire Lord's affairs.
I know these things are best left to spies and soldiers.
I know good sparktresses don't meddle in things like this.
I know I've been raised better than this.
I know.
I know.
I KNOW.

But I'm curious. Maybe that's a bad thing, maybe it's a good thing, maybe it's just a thing. But I'm going to get to the bottom of all this ridiculous strife if it kills me.

I Miss Coal

I.

Miss.

Coal.

Blazings.

Is it too much to expect him to send a letter to the poor kachinas stuck in the Palace with nothing to do except dance for the Fire Lord who is always ungrateful and in a bad mood?

*looks horrified*

Did I just say that?

The Fire Lord isn't really ungrateful or in a bad mood, he's just under tremendous pressures lately. I'm guessing. No one will tell the poor ignorant kachinas anything. We're just here to dance and look good and keep quiet and out of the way.

*looks horrified again*

Not that I don't love being a kachina. I really, truly, honestly do. Dancing is the most wonderful thing in the world. It fills me with adrenaline, joy and helps me think deeper thoughts. Moving with the music is like feeling my heart beat. The feeling when I preform a difficult move is like no other. I love being a kachina. I do. I DO.

I just don't like dancing for the Fire Lord.

No, I do. I love the Fire Lord. I guess. I don't know. He just hasn't been very lovable lately. Maybe I would understand if someone would tell us things, but no one tells us anything around here. I hate being uninformed. At least Coal would tell us the general idea of what was going on.

I miss him so much. So much. It's the first thing I realize when I wake up in the morning, the last thing I think about at night. We haven't seen him since the middle of August. That's three weeks! You can't possibly understand how awful it is without him. It's terrible.

And NO, I am NOT in love with him. I am not.

I know this post wasn't anything new, but I felt like I ought to say something.

If you read this, do you have any advice? How can I stop missing Coal so much? How can I get to accept the fact that we're just kachinas for the Fire Lord and no one tells us anything?

(I don't think I will ever accept that, actually. Never. I don't think I even want to try. We're fire fairies, too, even though we're just slave kachinas! We have just as much right to speak up as anyone! Don't we? Do we?)

Terrible

Sorry, SAge, for not posting! *laughs* I can't believe anyone actually likes reading about my life.

I didn't have much to say until a couple of days ago, but now I think I can think up enough for a post.

Well, it's beginning to cool off a bit in Furier. I've been spending a lot more time outside; the weather does feel nice, although I still prefer summertime, and I hate to see it leave.

Unfortunately, aside from the weather, things have not been going well in the Palace at all. The Fire Lord is so on edge of late that no one dares distrurb him for anything.

The sickness that was sweeping through Furier has not gotten worse, but it hasn't gotten better either. Flicker and Firefly got it last week, so now I'm the only one who hasn't gotten it. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

*moan* I'm sorry, but this is going to be a long, complaining post, I think.

Back to the Fire Lord being on edge. I think it's still because of the rebel peasants, but that was weeks ago! The Fire Lord has never seemed this upset about peasants before. And he took care of the resistance, right? So what is there to worry about? I haven't heard anything more about peasants wanting to rebel, so he ought to just relax. No one would dare oppose him, not seriously. It would be pure suicide! And he's not that bad, really. Strict, yes, but a ruler of such a great city MUST be strict. Mustn't they?

Blaze and Coal are still in Brightwood. Reports from them come every few days. As far as I can tell from snatches of conversations and gossip, the woodland elves in Brightwood are living and acting just as they always have been. They're supposed to be very small, rosy and cheerful and not like to make trouble. I haven't actually met one before, though, so I can't tell you first hand.

I do miss Coal. And Blaze, too, although I'm not sure I've completely forgiven him for reading my diary. I hope he hasn't told Coal that I used to think I was in love with him...Anyway, not having Coal around really is just terrible. The other kachinas don't seem to understand me when I say I miss him. I miss him coming around to talk to us; I miss being able to ask him questions about what's going on, or what something means; I miss knowing that as long as he's around, nothing will get past him (he knows everything about everyone. I don't see how it's possible); I miss him chasing us off when we try to spy on him; I miss everything about him!

And I am NOT in love with him! Don't even think that!

We also have a bunch of new kachinas. *rolls eyes* Like they can ever hope to replace us! We're getting better all the time, and that's not even possible. They are terrible! They can barely do a straddle leap, and they can't even make firestrands the right way. Who in the world put them into kachina training? They will never be as good as us.

So, over all, my life is not going well. The summer is ending, the Fire Lord is in a terrible mood, Coal is gone, I just keep waiting to get sick, and we have a bunch of new little kachinas-in-training. Things can't get worse, they have to get better.

Right?

Chaos! Catastrophe!

This is exactly what Flame looks like, only he's obviously not in an iceland, but more like fireland and he doesn't wield a giant snow ax...

I apologize for not posting recently, but Palace life has just been one catastrophe after another.

Catastrophes:

1. Comet got very sick (she's doing alright now).
2. Three more peasants (two humans, one fire fairy) were executed.
3. The Fire Lord got sick.
4. Star Dancer got sick.
5. Flare got sick.
6. A stable sparker asked Flicker if she would court him (we had to say no on her behalf because she was speechless).
7. I got beaten twice in one day, first by the Fire Lord, then by Flame. I might have deserved Flame hurling fireballs at me, though. I did tell his sparktress-friend some things best left unsaid...*grins mischeivously*
8. Coal and Blaze got deported to Brightwood to spy for a while.
9. Life without Coal is horrible.
10. Asher got sick.

Some sort of plague is breaking lose in Furier. It's not deadly, just makes its victim bedridden for a couple of days. So far Flicker, Firefly and I are the only sparktresses in the Palace that haven't contracted it.

Having Coal gone is worse than we all thought it would be. I miss him just coming by and joking with us, and I especially missed him when Flame was chasing me through the halls of the Palace...

So, over all, life is not doing me any favors. Everyone is either in a bad mood or getting sick.

Thanks for reading, hope your lives are going better than mine.

Ideas, Please!

Things have been both usual, and unusual of late.

Sparkle has been too energetic and irritating, Flicker has been spineless and irritating, Comet has been basically invisible, Flare has been getting louder and louder, Firefly has been fine, and I've been restless and paranoid about being the perfect kachina. Basically, things have been perfectly normal.

The Fire Lord told us he fears we've been growing slack in our kachina practices and he wants to see improvement within the week. Never mind that we're the best kachinas out there (as far as we know), he wants better. How can we get better than the best? We're all in perfect shape and look it, too, except Sparkle, who always looks like she could be thinner. Just the other day we took a run around the Palace and through the village. We didn't tire out but once and that was because we were so thirsty. The weather has been unbearably hot lately.

I just don't know what the Fire Lord wants. He's been so irritable lately it doesn't seem like anything will please him! We tried making our style a little different, more like the Julese, but he didn't like that. We tried having new costumes with different colors made, he didn't like that. We tried adding a singer to the music, he didn't like that. We tried adding some new moves, he didn't like that either. He doesn't like anything, yet he insists on "better"! What *is* better? Please, share your ideas!!

Sparkanniversaries

Coal's sparkanniversary is in 12 days. *smiles* We kachinas are trying to think of a way to celebrate it. I don't know if the Fire Lord will do anything special for him. Sometimes the Fire Lord will honor his slaves' sparkanniversaries if they're a favorite of his, or if they've done something noteworthy lately.

The Fire Lord usually celebrates Coal's sparkanniversary for both reasons. Coal is so ridiculously charismatic that everyone likes him, and he's almost always uncovering something secret for the Fire Lord.

On the other hand, the Fire Lord has been in a funny mood ever since the execution a week or so ago. No one knows why he had the peasant executed except for a few important slaves. The Fire Lord has been edgy and distracted this week. He beat Flicker yesterday, and Flare the day before. I'm more frightened of him than ever. I don't know what I'll do to set him off.

Back on the lighter note, if you have any suggestions of ways to celebrate Coal's special day on the 14th, let me know!

Furier

This is what the Palace of Furier looks like, only it's gold instead of...clay.

Bangles are very popular in Furier.

This is what the Fire Lord's throne looks like, only it's much bigger and more solidly gold.

This is what some of the inside of the Palace of Furier looks like: http://www.lynx-travel.com/Vacations/HAL%20Wester%20Aug05/St%20Petersburg/Gold-Gilded-Door-In-Catherines-Palace.jpg

Furier is a busy and slightly exotic city. It's located in the south-eastern part of Jeolotoe.

Weather: Furier is hot almost all the time. During the winter months, it gets to be a trifle chilly, chilly enough to wear long sleeves and shoes, but that's as cold as it gets. Rain doesn't happen terrible often, either, which is one reason why most fire fairies live here. You see, fire fairies can't be exposed to untreated water.

Culture: Furierite culture mostly centers around the Fire Lord. Everyone respects and fears him. More so the Palace inhabitants than just the peasants. The Fire Lord doesn't venture out into the city very much, so many peasants have never even seen him up close.

Furierite culture has a lot to do with dancing. Everyone dances. It's a big thing. Of course, only Palace kachinas are trained in the art, but everyone knows the traditional Furierite dancing.

I've been told that Furierite culture greatly resembles that of Persia.

Inhabitants: Primarily fire fairies, but there are plenty of humans living in Furier, too. I believe we have a couple of woodland elf families as well.

Government: I've been through this before. The Fire Lord is lord over everything.

Main export: Treated water. Our smokers ship it to all the cities that fire fairies live in.

Main import: Fish. Furier is land-locked.

If you have any questions, or if I was unclear about anything, let me know. I do love questions. *smiles*

How the Palace Works

Today I'll talk about the way the Palace opperates.

The Fire Lord is lord over everything. If he makes a law, you follow it. If he doesn't like your outfit, you change it. If he thinks you eat to much, go on a diet. That's the surest way to live to be an old sparktress (or sparker). At freshly fifteen, I think I'm going quite well. *smiles*

Next we have any royal family. The current Fire Lord is not married and doesn't have any sparklets. (At least none he's claimed. I have a sneaking suspicion that he has a few.) He has some distant relations, though that live in the area near the Palace, but outside the wall. They don't have an political standing, but they're rich and not taxed as heavily as the commoners are (which makes no sense to me).

The highest authority would be the military leaders. I really don't know much about this. The rankings of the military personal are beyond me. The Fire Lord's army isn't anything enormous, but no one has been foolish enough to attack. Yet.

Next we have the spies. The Fire Lord is quite proud of his spies, almost as proud as he is of his kachinas. *grins* The Fire Lord's pride in his spies is mostly because of Coal. Coal really is an exceptional spy. He's clever and sneaky and everyone likes him and he's the most amazing liar. He can trick you into saying something, charm you into giving something away, sneak into your house and find out what he needs to know, or just sneak up behind you and put a knife to your throat. He can do it all.

The guards are next. Actually, the guards probably tie with the spies in official rank. Flame is the head guard, and he's quite good. He knows the Palace and the Palace schedule like the back of his own hand, and he has the intimidation thing down to a science.

Kachinas are probably next. We have absolutely no royal standing whatsoever, but we're treated better than any of the other slaves or servants. The Fire Lord is proud of us and likes to show us off. We're quite good at what we do, but a lof people dislike us. That's mostly due the label put on kachinas. We're apparently supposed to be selfish and spoiled and sleezy. Well, we aren't. Especially not sleezy. Can we help it if we're talented and everyone else isn't?

Next we have the Fire Lord's personal slaves. They're treated fine, just not as highly praised as we kachinas.

Then come the cooks and kitchen staff. We Furierites do love a good feast.

Here are were the peasants, commoners, and household slaves/servants are put. They have no royal or political standing whatsoever and are treated like nothing.

Lastly, the outlaws, prisoners, and rebels. All are eventually executed, so their low standing doesn't stick around much anyway.

I guess this is the time to explain executions to you. Executions in Furier are conducted by burning at the stake. It's both extremely painful and extremely sad to us fire fairies to be killed by the element that we are so close to. Since our bodies are somewhat resistant to fire, it is a long death. Humans die quicker by burning than we do.

Rebels are perhaps killed in the worst ways. I can't really go into detail about that because I've never seen a rebel execution, but I hear they're something horrible. Coal's told us all about them, but who knows how much of it is true.

That's all for now, I guess! Thanks for reading!

Our First Full Day in Jules (long post)

The next morning, we awoke at the 5am morning bell. I'm usually not at all a morning person, but my eyes popped right open that day. I was too excited to stay in bed. I was surprisingly the first one to shoot out of bed and run to the giant window.

Most of the windows in the Palace of Furier are floor-to-ceiling and they have glass in them. The windows in the Julese Palace (that I had seen anyway) were all shaped like arches, and they were open, no glass. They were large, but they didn't go all the way from the ceiling to the floor. They started just below my shoulders (I'm fairly tall), and then arched up a good ten feet.

"Wow," I said, gazing out the window. "Look, the sun is rising." The red-golden rays soaked the Palace in a sunny glow. The window looked out to a piece of the courtyard garden, so we got to see the sun on all the flowers and sparkle in the fountains, too.

At home, all our windows face south, so wer never really get to see either the sunrise from there.

After a few minutes of taking in the beautfy, Firefly decided to be practical and said,

"Alright, we should be getting dressed now. You know we have to look perfect for the Emperor."

"And the Empress," Sparkle protested. "It's not all about the men, you know."

"You mean it shouldn't be," Firefly corrected indignantly. "Because it is whether it's right or not."

"What should we wear?" Flicker asked, frowning. "Our kachina costumes or our clothes?" Firefly frowned.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Why don't we put on some good clothes, and then see if we need to change. As long as we look like true kachinas, I don't think it matters what we wear."

"I think you're wrong about that," I put in. "But I still agree about what to wear."

We all got dressed in outfits that looked something like this: http://www.chowskates.com/images/a3ba_12.jpg with our tights, of course.

Then, we waited. Especially when one is a guest, it is proper not to do anything until called.

Shortly, someone came and led us to the dining room for the servants and slaves. The food was much like it is in Furier, only not quite as spicy and there was more fruit.

As we were finishing our breakfast, a well-dressed servant woman scurried up to us and whispered,

"If you would come with me, the Princess Sadira would like to see you." Of course, our first thought was, "What have we done wrong already?", but then the servant went on:

"And dress in your dancing clothes. She wants to see you dance."

That was odd, but not bad. We all wondered why she didn't just get her own kachinas to entertain her. Perhaps she was tired of their routines.

We hurried back to our room and changed into our costumes, and then the servant led us out into the coutyard.

"She's over there," she said, pointing. The princess was sitting on the edge of a fountain on the far side of the garden. I smiled. She couldn't have been more than eight years old. She was dressed strangly, though. Not like a princess. More like...a kachina.

The servant left us and we went over to the princess. She was dressed like a kachina, but not a Furierite one, a Julese one. The difference in style was obvious. (The skirts of Julese kachinas are much longer and more flowing.)

"Good morning, your majesty," Firefly spoke for us all as we curtsied, Furierite style.

"Good morning," the princess responded politely. She seemed kind, but almost nervous. She did not smile.

"We were told you wanted to see us dance," I said. Princess Sadira shook her head.

"That's not quite true," she said, looking over her shoulder. She leaned in toward us. "I want to learn how to dance."

We kachinas exchanged nervous glances. Apparently, teaching the princess to dance like a kachina was an unapproved activity, hence her anxiety. We would surely get into trouble if we did. But would the princess be angry if we refused?

"Why don't you ask one of your own kachinas to teach you, your majesty?" I asked, curious. The princess sighed and trailed her finger through the fountain water.

"They won't," she said sadly. "The tivas* here have been specifically told not to teach me. But you have not. You have not been forbidden to teach me."

"Why do you want to learn so badly, majesty?" Sparkle asked. The princess smiled, her eyes lit up.

"Because the way tivas dance is beautiful!" she cried. "Traditional Julese dancing is just dancing, but dancing like tivas is something else. It's like singing with your body."

Right then and there, I was willing to teach the little princess. She felt about dancing the same way I did. It wasn't just dancing; it was art.

"I will teach you, Princess," I said quickly. The other kachinas glared at me.

"Ember," Firefly snapped. "What are you thinking? If the Emperor were to find out, it could compromise this entire diplomatic visit."

"Firefly is right," Flare said. I was surprised; she usually sides with me in these things.

"It's like the princess said," I began. "We haven't been told not to teach her. If the Emperor finds out, we can just say we didn't know we weren't supposed to."

"But then the princess would get in trouble," Firefly pointed out. "That's hardly fair."

"No, what's hardly fair is depriving someone of what they're passionate about," I retorted. "I know I love dancing more than the rest of you, so it's possible that you just don't understand. If the princess loves dancing like I do, keeping it from her now won't make a difference. She'll just find some other way later on, and perhaps not the best way."

"Well, at least we won't be involved," Firefly said hotly. "I know you won't think about the rest of our skins, but think about the princess's. If her father were to find out she learned kachina dancing behind his back, he would surely be very angry with her! And who knows what would become of us! The Emperor would probably have us punished, but even if he didn't, the Fire Lord most certainly would. No, you teach the princess if you want to, but I, for one, will NOT." She curtsied to the princess and hurried out of the courtyard. Flicker and Comet followed.

I turned to watch them, frowning.

"Wait!" I called desperately. As much as I they irritate me, it always feels wrong to do things without all of us. Firefly didn't wait, though. She kept going. Flicker and Comet waited. I went on. "What if we just dance for the princess? Do the same routine over and over. Sooner or later, she'll pick it up. Maybe we can just tell her a few tips. She'll never actually have to dance. If anyone comes by or sees us, they'll just see us entertaining the princess like good guest kachinas should." I looked back at the princess. "Does that sound alright?" She nodded eagerly.

"Yes, thank you," she said. "It's more than my own tivas would ever do for me. Thank you!" I smiled. I really liked the princess. She was kind to us. The Fire Lord would never dream of thanking a slave.

I looked back at Comet and Flicker. Flicker was shaking her head. She turned and ran after Firefly. Comet came back, though. Flare and Sparkle agreed as well.

For amateur kachinas, dancing in perfect unison while keeping the same tempo without music would be next to impossible, but we, of course, are no amateurs. We entertained the princess for a couple of shadowmarks before someone came to fetch us. We were wanted in the throne room. It was time to entertain the Emperor.

The only problem was, Firefly and Flicker were still not with us, so we had to go back to our room to get them.

They weren't there.

We began to panic. It wouldn't do to keep the Emperor waiting while we searched, but several of best our routines required all six of us. Not to mention the fact that if Firefly and Flicker didn't dance, the Fire Lord would be extremely displeased.

We were beginning to get truly worried when Firefly and Flicker waltzed into the room.

"Where have you been?!" I cried angrily, marching over. "It's time for us to entertain the Emperor, and if he's angry at being kept waiting, it'll be all your fault!" I grabbed Firefly's hand and Flare grabbed Flicker and we raced through the halls to the throne room.

But we couldn't find it.

The Palace was so huge, and with all the complicated designs on the walls, it was impossible to tell one hallway from another. Where were all the servants and slaves, anyway? We kept hoping we would run into someone who could point us in the right direction, but no one was to be seen.

Then it occured to us: they were all in the throne room, waiting for us.

This was horrible. Punctuality is so important for guests, and even more imporant for slaves! The Fire Lord has a low tolerance for tardiness, so I doubted the harsh Emperor of Jules would be any different.

By the time we finally found the throne room doors, Flicker was crying, Firefly and I were nearly screaming at each other, Flare had gone completely silent, Sparkle was muttering to herself, and Comet kept repeating, "Just stay calm, we have to stay calm."

The sight of the huge double doors of a throne room was beautiful to us.

"For mercy's sake, Flicker!" I snapped, shaking the little blonde sparktress. "Stop crying and pull yourself together! If you go into the throne room looking like a sobbing beggar, they'll be hell to pay."

"As if there won't already be hell to pay," Firefly snapped. "We must be half a shadowmark late at the earliest!"

The guards standing at the throne room doors were ignoring us while we tried to gain composure.

"Alright, listen to me," I hissed angrily. "We're already in trouble. Now, it's possible that we can salvage this catastrophe if we put our best foot forward and behave like the brilliant kachinas we are. We are going to walk into this throne room with apologetic yet confident expressions. We are going to position ourselves in the center of the room. We are going to hear the music and surrender all control to our love dancing. We are going to shock and awe the people of Jules like no kachina has ever done before. By the time we're finished with our performance, our tardiness will be long forgotten and the Emperor will tell the Fire Lord that he has the best kachinas Jeolotoe has ever seen. Alright? Good. Let's go. Guards, if you would open the doors, please..."

It didn't go quite like that.

It went even better.

The Emperor did not even notice our being late because his daughter was even later. Yes, the Princess Sadira was not yet present, and that's who everyone was thinking about. Well, everyone except the Fire Lord. He most certainly did notice our tardiness and by the look he threw at us, he intended to teach us a lesson after our performance.

I know this isn't a very important detail, but I have a picture of the Empress Nala I'd like to show you: http://z.about.com/d/hinduism/1/0/2/V/1.jpg Isn't she lovely?

Princess Sadira arrived a quarter shadowmark after we did, and then the Julese kachinas (tivas) were called into the center of the room.

The way this sort of thing works, I'm told is this: when a royal family or person is a guest and has brought his kachinas with him, there is an air of competition about the room. In this case, the Emperor wanted to show the Fire Lord how great his city was by showing him that his tivas were beyond compare. The Fire Lord wanted to do the same. It's quite odd to me that the grandeur of a city is measured by its dancers.

The tivas took their places in the center of the room and waited for the music. They all looked nervous. Flute music suddenly floated into the air, and the tivas prepared to begin. On the next one count, they timidly flew into action. The flute music trilled around them. The tivas' movements were fluid and graceful but in a weak way. It wasn’t like they were controlling their movements, it was like they didn’t have the energy to move any different. Something about the way they danced was almost desperate.

They performed maybe five routines before the Emperor dismissed them with a wave of his hand. They bowed, Julese style, and went to their place agasint the wall. Apparently that was the same in every city.

The Emperor looked proud of what his tivas had just done, but it was all we kachinas could do to keep from grinning. We could out dance them in our sleep.

The Emperor motioned for us to come to the center of the room, and we did. Firefly whispered that we would perform routine nineteen, and we took out beginning poses.

There's nothing quite like the tingling sensation I get when I'm about to perform for someone new. Standing in the center of the fresh, blue and golden throne room, I felt like I could do anything.

The eerie music began. Firefly breathed,

“Five, six, seven, eight.” We suddenly snapped into action, all at precisely the same moment. Our movements were sharp and exact. We twisted and twirled effortlessly, making the art of dance look almost easy, smiling all the while. The dance was alluring instead of disappointing.

The crowd actually gasped as we danced our hearts out. They were shocked at our skill. I caught the Fire Lord's eye once. He actually looked proud of us. I've never felt so good in my entire life. In my whole life as a kachina, I don't think I've ever once felt like I had pleased my Lord.

When we finished, we stopped abruptly, whirled to face the Emperor, and executed a dramatic Furierite curtsy--in perfect unison, of course. We had done well. The Emperor seemed shocked, slightly dismayed, and yet thrilled at our performance. He told us we were excellent, and we were all dismissed.

The Fire Lord was so pleased that he never punished us for being late. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, but well. I was really enjoying my stay in Jules.

Sorry for the long post! If you got this far, I'm impressed, and thank you. *smiles*

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!
:

Daily Schedule

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a long time. Nothing interesting has happened. Everything has been perfectly typical every day.

But then I got to thinking: you probably don't know what a typical day for a kachina is anyway!

So, I'm going to tell you what a typical day looks like in the Palace of Furier.

5:00am: The morning bell tolls and everyone gets up. We kachinas usually just dress in our kachina costumes because the Fire Lord usually wants entertainment fairly soon after breakfast.

I also just occured to me that you might not know what kachina costumes look like. If you want to know, click the following links. Firefly might not be pleased with me for sharing the pictures. She hates the costumes; thinks they're too "revealing". They probably are, but I've known them all my life so it's hard to suddenly be ashamed of wearing them.

Links:
1. https://secure.isisexchange.com/images/03190909.jpg
2. http://www.worldtrendz.com/bellydancingoutfitspics/orange-goldbellydancingoutfit.jpg
3. http://www.security-b2b.com/b2b/pics/Belly_Dance_Costume.jpg

They are the closest things I could find. They're actually quite authentic. Hopefully you won't think badly of me for having to wear those to dance in. It's no choice of my own, believe me.

5:30am: Usually this is when breakfast is served in the main hall.

6:00am: Everyone must report to the throne room for any announcments.

6:30am: Everyone is dismissed. We kachinas usually go back to our room and try to sleep a little before kachina training/practice.

7:30am: Kachina practice. Ruthless training where we have to do things to strengthen our bodies, perfect our tecniques, become more flexible, work on our endurance, etc. etc. etc.

The Fire Lord usually calls us in to entertain him.

9:30am: Often, we go out into the city and visit various friends. Usually that's Torchess. Sometimes we just sit at her house and talk, or sometimes she makes us help with chores.

10:00am: We rush back to the Palace. Sometimes, the Fire Lord has been looking for us, and we're in a lot of trouble. If he is, we go into the throne room and the curtains are drawn over the floor-to-ceiling windows and any candles are blown out. The musicians play their eerie-sounding music, and we six kachinas dance. Sometimes we us firestrands as streams. If the Fire Lord hasn't called us, we usually go and do things with Coal or Star Dancer until he does call us in to entertain him. Usually we do thing with Coal, though. Star Dancer can be...unpleasant company.

12:00noon: The midday meal is served in the main hall.

1:00pm: Nothing happens much. Usually it takes a while to clear up and wash all the meal dishes, so sometime we help the kitchen maids with that.

2:30pm: The Fire Lord calls all the official types (guards, spies, generals, etc.) to the meeting room and they discuss peasant rebellion, surrounding kingdoms, and other boring things like that. We kachinas either go back to Torchess's house or help Star Dancer with her chores. Once we listened at the door to the meeting room, but Coal, with his uncanny ability to sense whenever we're around, came out and ran us off.

4:00pm: The Fire Lord calls us in for entertainment again.

5:30pm: We clean up for dinner, which is a very solemn occasion. The Fire Lord dines with us, and the spies are always around, making sure non of the slaves are talking rebelliously (they never are).

7:00pm: Finish with dinner. Any new announcments are made.

7:30pm: If it's a Friday, the Fire Lord's ceremony begins with announcments and then mingling time. If it isn't Friday...I actually don't know what everyone else does. We kachinas are usually called in to entertain.

9:00pm: If it's a Friday, the mingling part of the ceremony ends and the entertainment portion begins. First the village entertainers put on a show. If it isn't Friday, we finish entertaining the Fire Lord and go a large room in the far wing of the Palace where most of the slaves gather after all their work is done. We all talk and do things together like playing games. There's always at least one game of sparks (see the middle-end part of the post A Terrible Night).

10:00pm: If Friday, the kachina portion of the entertainment begins. This is everyone's favorite part if I do say so myself. If it isn't a Friday, the slaves' little gathering continues unless someone is called to the Fire Lord. Sometimes one of the spies is, or we kachinas, and often the guards come and go as they switch posts.

11:30: Friday: the ceremony ends with a drawn-out Thank You speech by the Fire Lord. If anyone has gotten in trouble over the course of the ceremony, their stomach tightens painfully in anticipation of receiving their punishment after everyone has left. Not Friday: the slaves' gatherhing disperses and everyone goes to bed.

12:00pm: Most everyone is in bed except the guards on duty, any snooping spies, and any slaves being punished. Sometimes the Fire Lord will demand entertainment at this ungodly hour as well and we'll have to stay up and dance for him.

1:00pm: The Palace is dark and quiet and filled with sleeping fire fairies, stealthy spies, and bored guards.

Then the day begins again.

I hope this wasn't too terribly boring to you! At least now you have a better grasp of what it means to be a slave in the Palace of Furier. Thank you for reading! I appreciate you all. All four of you...*smiles*

A Bad Day

Today was horrible. Sparkle tripped while we were entertaining the Fire Lord, and he threw a fireball at her.

That isn't even the bad part.

The Fire Lord was in a terrible mood (Coal told us it had something to do with the unruly peasant), and he took it out on Sparkle. After he threw the fireball at her, she crumpled to the ground, instinctively pressing her fingertips (that's where our cooling shields are) to her arm where the fireball had hit. The rest of us went on dancing, because that's what we're trained to do. I couldn't help but watch Sparkle though. She was in so much pain, the kind of pain only a fireball thrown by the Fire Lord can cause.

It would have been okay if that had been the end of it, but the Fire Lord started yelling at Sparkle to get back up and keep dancing. When she tried and couldn't very well because of her arm, the Fire Lord threw more fireballs at her. She just curled into a ball on the floor and threw up her fireshield. Of course, the Fire Lord's power was too great and the fireballs went right through her shield.

He stood up and continued shouting at her and shooting little fire strands at her. We kept on dancing, but after a few more seconds of watching and hearing the Fire Lord torture Sparkle, I couldn't take it any more.

Before I knew what I was doing, I whirled around and put myself between Sparkle and the Fire Lord.

"Stay away from her!" I shouted. "She didn't do anything wrong!" I knew that wasn't true even as I said it. Sparkle had fallen, which demonstrates imperfection. The Fire Lord doesn't put up with imperfection, which is perfectly right and natural. I just wasn't thinking about that when I stood up to him. I was only thinking of Sparkle's screaming and how horrible it seemed for the Fire Lord to keep burning her.

Well, saying what I did was probably the worst thing for me to do. The Fire Lord did stay away from Sparkle; he came after me. Very slowly and almost calmly, but he came after me.

He burned me for much longer than he had Sparkle. In fact by the time he left me alone, the rest of the kachinas were gone and the throne room candles had been relit. The Fire Lord didn't order me to get up for another long while, for which I was grateful. I wouldn't have been able to make my legs support me, and that might have earned me another beating.

There is nothing quite like the pain of being tormented with fire. It's an excruciating feeling for so many reasons. Fire is a precious part of us fire fairies, so to have it used against us is like having your best friend betray you. It's also just a very painful way to be punished. I suppose even you humans can understand that, though I've never heard of your rulers using fire as a disciplinary method.

When I was able, the Fire Lord allowed me to nurse my wounds with my fireshield. That's when he asked me to stand. Then he explained why he'd punished Sparkle, and why he'd punished me: he has to maintain perfect discipline in the Palace. It's a Fire Lord's chief duty to protect his subjects, and the most effective way to do that is to ensure that every rule is always followed. If the Fire Lord were to allow some mistakes and defiances to go unpunished, pretty soon he'd be allowing the soldiers to take vacations and pillage the village at will.

It all made perfect sense to me when the Fire Lord was finished. I even agree with him. That doesn't mean I like feeling like I've been roasted alive, but I understand why the Fire Lord did it. He isn't cruel, he's just practical.

But I'm still lying on my bed with Sparkle wishing I felt good enough to go to the party a bunch of slaves are throwing.

A Terrible Night

Being Friday, tonight was the Fire Lord's weekly ceremony to bring all the members of the Palace and high-ranking Furierite citizens together for "drinking and merriment". Of course, by that the Fire Lord means an excuse to force his slaves to bring him gifts, and then give them wine to loosen their tongues to see if they'll spill any secrets about rebel plots.

As if there were any!

The Fire Lord is a bit paranoid if you ask me, though no one ever does. No one would attempt to plot rebellion against the Fire Lord. The very idea is suicidal. And anyway, the Fire Lord isn't such a terrible ruler. Just a bit controlling is all.

Anyway, back to the evening.

It began much like any other Friday night: my fellow kachinas and I selling everything in sight and begging the spies for a few coins with which to buy the Fire Lord some sort of gift. I can never understand how it's fair for the Fire Lord to demand expensive gifts when we aren't even paid. Where does he expect us to get money to buy him gifts? And on a weekly basis, too!

As usual, we weren't able to get enough coins to buy a suitable gift, so we were forced to steal some fruit and bread from the kitchen. Out of the six of us kachinas, we voted that Comet should be the one to steal the food. Out of all of us, she's the most nondescript. She's not very tall nor very short, not too thin but not fat either. And she has red hair, which is very common among fire fairies. Unfortunately, she's the clumsiest and the most apt to be late, too.

Which brings me to the first problem of the evening.

With only a quarter shadowmark until the ceremony is to begin, Comet was still no where to be seen. The other five of us were all ready for the ceremony and waiting for her in our little kachina chamber. It grew later and later and still Comet did not come. It was a terrible scrape indeed, and we all took the stress out on each other.

Flicker made some inane little comment about the Fire Lord being upset with us if we were late, and I snapped at her, telling her if she couldn't say anything intelligent not to speak at all. The Firefly told me that I had no right telling anyone when they could speak or not. Then Sparkle piped up and pointed out that Flicker's comment had been both unnecissary and untimely. Pretty soon we were bickering something dreadful, and even a couple of fireballs were thrown. We barely noticed when Comet rushed in, long after the ceremony was due to start.

Problem two insued when we burst into the throne room a quarter shadowmark late. Everyone else was already there, and the ceremony was fully underway. The kitchen maids were just presenting their gifts.

When the Fire Lord saw us, his eyes slid briefly from contented blue to irritated red, but he controlled his eyes and the moment passed. We kachinas knew that his rath was far from avoided, though. Casting an anxious glance at Coal, who was standing against the wall with the other high-ranked spies, we took our spots next to the Fire Lord and waited our turn to present him our stolen fruit gift.

Things actually went quite well for a while. We presented our gift, the Fire Lord spoke his cold appreciation, and then after all the gifts were presented, the Fire Lord called for everyone to enjoy themselves for a while. The food and wine was brought out, and everyone began milling around and talking and such.

But just as we kachinas were about to leave the Fire Lord's throneside and join the party, he leaned over to us and said the worst thing imaginable, "You six will remain after the ceremony. I wish to discuss your punctuality." The very sound of his eerily calm voice made my eyes go from their usual blue to the fearful green the Fire Lord always brings out.

"Yes, my Lord," we whispered in unison. The Fire Lord nodded.

"Very good. Feel free to join the party until I desire your entertainment."

We needed no further prodding. With hasty bows, the six of us ran off in different directions, exchanging horrified glances as we split up. Flare and I found our ways to each other within minutes, though, and we stayed together for a while, talking to Star Dancer and hearing the latest gossip. Star Dancer was spreading the most awful story concerning the chief guard, Flame, and a young sparktress maid. Of course, Star Dancer was already quite drunk, which made her tales even more far-fetched than usual. If anything is Star Dancer's true friend, it's wine.

The next "good" thing that happened was an especially exciting game of sparks.

Sparks is a game many of the teenaged sparkers like to play--especially around sparktresses. Two sparkers face each other and each create a spark on his fingertip. On the count of three, both press their sparks to their opponent’s forearm. The goal is to make your opponent surrendered or cry before you do by making your spark as hot as you can while enduring the pain of the spark upon your own arm.

I think it's interesting to watch the sparkers play, and so do Flare and Sparkle and Comet, but Firefly and Flicker think the game is barbaric.

The stakes of this particular game were raised because many of the slaves and villagers were betting on the winners of each round. The round Flare and I caught was between Coal and his best friend, Blaze. I think anyone who bets against Coal in a game of sparks is a fool. He's as resilient as his spark skill is hot.

“Are you ready?” Blaze said, his eyes blue. Coal grinned, eyes equally cerulean.

“Of course.”

Of course, both sparkers could have been terribly afraid and their eyes would never have betrayed them. They're spies, and all the Fire Lord’s spies are trained to be able to control their mood ring eyes so as not to give away their feelings at an inopportune moment.

“Go.”

The sparkers pressed their sparks to each other’s forearms and the contest had begun. The two sparkers’ faces turned stoic.

Flare and I watched intently as Blaze gritted his teeth. His eyes waved for a moment, turning green with pain. Coal’s face was unreadable, as usual.

It was only a few seconds later that Blaze jerked away his arm with a frustrated hiss.

“You win,” he muttered. He pressed his fingertips to the small scarlet spot on his arm. His fingertips glowed blue as he activated his cooling shield. Coal nodded, his usual mischievous gleam shining in his eyes. However, he, too, quickly pressed a shielded fingertip to his forearm.

“You did well,” he complimented before walking out of the crowd and toward the food tables. Blaze jogged off in the opposite direction. Although the two were best friends, Blaze was needing to nurse his ego a bit before joining up with Coal.

The rest of the ceremony was equally light-hearted and typical, so I won't bore you with more detail about that. I will say, though, that our entertainment was one of our best preformances yet.

After the ceremony was over and everyone had left, we six kachinas went before the Fire Lord to hear what he had to say, or endure whatever it was he meant to do to us.

"I noted that you came in a bit late, kachinas," he said coldly, staring us down. "Care to offer any explanation?"

"Flicker wasn't feeling well," I said after just enough silence had passed. I'm the best liar out of all of us, though that really isn't saying much. Unfortunately, everyone knows that, including the Fire Lord. Fortunately, Flicker always looks like she might be feeling unwell, so it's a completely plausible explanation.

"I see," the Fire Lord said. "Well, still being late is not exceptable, you understand. How can you expect me to be a good Lord if I don't enforce my rules? A Lord who ignores even the smallest matters cannot be trusted to keep his citizens safe, can he?"

We all answered no, as was expected.

"Well, then I must find a way to discourage you from being untimely again, must I?"

Our response of "yes" was a bit quieter and much more delayed this time.

"Very well," the Fire Lord said, as if that sealed the deal. "Since you were late in coming here, I must insist that you be early for all your duties tomorrow. I plan on wanting entertainment early in the morning, so to avoid being late, you six may stay here all night and wait for me. I'll post alternating gaurds to make sure you don't fall asleep or anything unacceptable like that. Good night."

And he left the throne room to go to his large and comfortable bedchamber. Or at least I suppose it's large and comfortable. Being a lowly kachina, we aren't allowed to enter the Fire Lord's personal living quarters save for his throne room.

And that's why I'm sitting in the throne room on the cold marble floor, writing this down after midnight. We are not to get any sleep tonight, and right now Flame is making sure of that, taunting and threatening us like he always does, the only difference being that this time he has formal permission to do so.

This shall be a long night, and tomorrow will be dreadful I know. I probably won't post tomorrow because I'll be too tired. And if I'm not too tired, I'll probably be in too much pain from the punishment the Fire Lord will likely give me for doing something wrong in my exhausted state.

Sorry. That was a big dramatic, I suppose. Firefly is always telling me to stop being so dramatic.

At any rate, I'm out of room here, and I've posted far too long a post already. I hope you get some sleep.