Flames of Yearning Pt. 01

Clara had finally arrived to Riverdale, the capital of Amaria. The four gruelling years of getting degraded and treated like an animal were finally over. The last fifteen coins she'd saved rattled in her coin purse as the overcrowded stagecoach continued on the cobbled street. What an amazing feeling, starting a new life. Hopefully one day she could tell her parents why she'd done so. Hopefully.

The stagecoach finally stopped, releasing Clara and five other strangers into the busy streets of this prospering kingdom.

"Sorry, my lady!" A kid said as it bumped into her, immediately stumbling away.

Clara gasped and took a quick few steps towards the dirty-looking boy. "Are you alright?"

The kid, without a single glance back, started running for his life. Clara frowned, unsure what to think of the whole deal. Was she scary-looking to people from here? She turned around, looking for anything reflective, only to find an actual glass in the windows of people's houses. This progress did not reach her homeland Ravaria. At least not outside the noble estates. She took a few steps closer to see her reflection. Yes, she was dirty. Yes, her curly hair was disheveled and greasy. And yes, her simple dress was far from the norm of even the poorest looking commoners around, but she still didn't think she'd be scary to a kid.

"You know," a woman's voice said from behind, "it's quite rude to look into someone's house like this."

Clara immediately straightened, goosebumps appearing on her skin. Was she already in trouble? She turned slowly, expecting a guard in shining armour. Instead, she found a creature that made her gasp. She instinctively took a step back, bumping into the house she just stared into. The woman in front of her grinned a wide smile, revealing her sharp teeth. Weirdly enough, that was the least worrisome thing about her. Her skin was dark. Not like Clara's, but dark red like blood. Her mostly white dress, of the most expensive silks Clara had ever seen, accentuated the surprising colour of her skin. But that was not all. It was only now that Clara had realised there was something moving inside her grey eyes. A flame of some sort.

Clara quickly reached with her hands to the side to grab onto something real as she shuffled away from the woman. She looked exactly like the devils in the stories her grandma used to tell her about. Clara had even noticed horns now, partially hidden by her wide brim hat.

"Oh you poor soul." The woman said, leaning in and offering her hand. "Are you well?"

Clara stared at the hand, seeing the sharp nails that looked sharp enough to cut through steel. "Go away! Please, I don't taste good! I'm pretty sure I taste horrible! I'm sure of it!" Clara let out, pushing herself against the wall.

"Oh..." The woman said, covering her mouth. There was a slight chuckle visible behind her fingers. "What an interesting accent. Don't worry, my dear. I already ate one woman this week. I must say I'm quite satisfied for now."

Clara froze. The devil's careless chuckle made her want to look for the easiest way to escape, but she couldn't look away from her. Why was no one doing anything? Why was-- Her eyes widened. How could she not notice? There were so many men, women and children with similar tone of skin to the woman. And not only that, there were also people walking around with blue skin and wings folded behind their backs. Clara thought she'd seen it all when a tall elven teacher moved to their village, but this...

"I take it you're not from here, are you?" The woman said.

Clara looked back at her, only now realising the woman is standing in a very non-threatening pose. If anything, now that Clara had a proper look at her and not only her singular features, the woman was surprisingly beautiful. She even looked to be around the same age as her.

"I take that as a no?" The woman asked again with a kind smile.

Clara shook her head. "N-no. I'm not." She stuttered out.

"Ah. I might've guessed." She reached into her handbag, pulling out a black fan decorated with a silver thread. "Especially after you let the kid steal from you so easily."

"What?" Clara asked, taking a moment to understand what she'd just heard.

The woman pointed with her fan to Clara's hip. "The purse, sweetie."

Clara gasped as her hand reached down and found nothing but air. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no!" She frantically kept patting her hip and turning around in hopes the purse would appear somewhere, but, as always, she had no luck. "Where is it?" She finally approached the lady, her fear seemingly gone. "Please, have you seen it? Have you seen the kid? Where did it go!"

"Oh dear." The woman said, a smell of burnt wood strong from her mouth. "I'm afraid you'd have more luck finding a needle in a haystack. As much as this pains me to say, consider your purse gone."

"What!" Clara gasped. "That's all I had! My life's work. Gone!"

"Oh dear." The woman said again, waving her fan rapidly. "What a crisis!"

"I need to tell the guards! They have to find the kid!" She kept looking around for any armoured figure, but there were just too many people walking around for her small stature to see anything.

"Calm down, dear. It's just money."

"Just money?!" Clara shouted in disbelief. "I went through hell to get it!"

"Oh believe me, my dear." The woman sighed. "I know what hell looks like and I assure you whatever you've been through, it does not compare."

"Is that supposed to calm me down?"

"Well, sort of. You could always look at the bright side."

"And that is?" Clara said, burying her hands in her curly hair in frustration.

"You're not kidnapped or in jail for example. There are way worse things than losing some coin or two."

"I lost fifteen!" Clara shouted. "I lost fif... I... I lost..." The overwhelming feeling in her chest started building up, making it difficult to speak.

"Sweetie. I'm sure we can do something about that." The woman sighed, closing her fan and spreading her arms. "But first, come here."

Clara began to cry. She didn't want to hear any words of reason. She just wanted to start a new life and it was already shaping to be worse than the last. Without thinking, she took a step towards the woman's inviting arms before stopping immediately. "I'm sorry." She wiped off her tears. "I can't."

"What? Why?"

"I would... I would ruin your dress." Clara sniffed. "I can't afford paying for it."

"Oh you silly, come here." The woman insisted, her arms still apart.

"No... I can't."

Sighing, the woman took her dress skirt and pressed it against her fingers. Then, her nails extended, piercing through. With a swipe of her hand, she ripped open the skirt, revealing her dark red thigh in front of everyone. Countless people turned to the two as they passed by. "Whoops. I suppose this dress is already ruined."

Clara froze. Just the fabric for the skirt alone would take her years of field work to afford. And that did not account the basic needs she'd have to pay for anyway.

"You sweet, silly pie." The woman said and stepped up to Clara, hugging her.

At first she thought of resisting, but the warmth of this embrace was simply overwhelming. Instead of pushing her away, Clara buried her face in the woman's shoulder and started crying.

"That's it." The woman said, rubbing Clara's back. "Let it all out."

Not even an hour in her new life and she was already unable to afford food or shelter. She embraced the devil hard, crying her eyes out. The woman showing more care for her than her husband ever did.

"There you go." The woman whispered, stroking Clara's hair, humming lightly as Clara continued to sob.

"I'm so sorry." Clara eventually said, letting go of the embrace and retreating back into the cold reality around her. "I don't know what took over me." She sobbed, wiping her tears

"It's mighty fine, my dear." The woman smiled, paying no attention to the wet spots on her shoulder. "Now, tell me, dear. Where do you come from?"

"Ravaria." Clara sniffed.

"Oh, so you're a neighbour. That explains a lot. Does the king there still not allow anyone other than humans and elves in?"

Clara nodded.

"Ah, I see. And what brought you here, if I may ask?"

"I..." Clara looked at the cobbled ground. "I wanted to start a new life."

The woman smiled knowingly. "Don't we all? Do you have any friends around here? I can help you reach them."

Clara shook her head. Perhaps it was not the wisest thing to get into a place with no connections and tell people about but... "I don't, no."

"I see. Well, now you do."

"I'm sorry?" Clara asked, lifting her head.

"I'll be your friend, dear. Gods know the world is difficult enough as it is for us women. No need to face it alone."

"But... why?"

"Because I've been in your shoes, darling." The woman said, looking down at Clara's barely held-together shoes. "Well, maybe not literally." She swiped her skirt to the side, showing off her leg through the exposed part. Clara's eyes went wide as she noticed the hooves at the end instead of feet.

Clara gasped. "Those are-"

"Oh, you're so beautifully cute." The woman tittered. "There's a whole wide world of things you haven't witnessed yet. I assure you this is the least weirdest thing you'll see around here."

Clara nodded slowly as the woman covered her leg once more by her skirt. "I'm sorry," Clara said, "I must've come across as incredibly rude."

"Ah, to hell with it." The woman grinned. "Now, come dear, I invite you to a dinner at my house. You must be starving. What's your name, poor thing?"

"Clara. But I shouldn't really bother you with-"

"Oh what a beautiful name. My name's Dolores, but you can call me Do. Now, come. My carriage awaits nearby." The devil offered her hand and Clara, after a single moment of thought, took it. If she was going to start a new life, she might as well do things she'd have never done.

The carriage ride was not what Clara had expected. Compared to the stagecoach she took to arrive here, this carriage was almost magical. The cushioned seats and walls made her feel as if she'd been a doll in an incredibly expensive box. Until prompted, she didn't even dare to lean back in fear of staining the seats with some of the dirt that gathered on her dress.

While Clara took her time to look at the surrounding city full of diverse people and creatures, she couldn't not notice that Dolores kept looking straight at her with the softest of smiles. Her horns were now clearly showing in her straight black hair as she held her hat on her knees. As uncomfortable as it felt, Clara couldn't really find the strength in her to start a conversation.

"Aren't you cold, dear?" Dolores asked eventually. "You must be freezing. I'd heard you humans don't have a way to warm yourself up like we do."

"Oh," Clara said, looking away from the window straight at Dolores, whose leg was now exposed from underneath the torn skirt. "I'm good. Thank you. I've been through worse. While I can still feel the toes, it's not cold enough." She chuckled lightly at her attempt for some light humour.

Dolores didn't seem to find the joke funny. Instead, a worry shown on her expression. "Dear, Clara, come here." She pat the seat next to her. "Please. I won't have my guest cold if I can help it."

"Oh, I'm not cold, seriously." Clara smiled uncomfortably.

"I insist, dear. Come. If not for you, do it for me."

"I..." Clara tried to avoid the eye contact.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." The woman said in a soft, understanding voice. "Such days are over for you."

"I'm sorry?" What a weird thing to say.

"You are here to start a new life, correct?"

Clara nodded, unsure where the conversation was going.

"I want to make sure it's worth it. It's important to me. Young women like us have to stay together. Only that way we are strong. Now, come, sit next to me."

Clara wanted to argue, but she couldn't fight the curious side of her for much longer. It was true the embrace felt... beautiful, for the lack of better word. Something in her yearned for it again. Before she knew it, she already sat up. A badly timed bump in the road made the whole carriage jump, causing Clara to fall directly on Dolores.

"Oh gods! I'm so sorry!" Clara let out as she swiftly pushed herself off the surprised woman.

"No worries, dear." Dolores laughed. "It's not the worst thing that happened in this carriage by far."

Clara quickly made her way to sit next to Dolores, giving her an uncertain laugh as well. "What was the worst thing that happened here?"

"Oh, let's not talk about that. We should focus only on the good things from now on. Speaking of..." Dolores closed her eyes and, gradually, her skin became much brighter hue of red as her temperature increased on command. The heat that radiated off of her made Clara feel almost as if she was next to a nice hearth. "Is this better?" She asked eventually, the flame behind her dark pupils more visible than ever before.

"Whoa!" Clara let out, looking the woman up and down. "How do you..." She reached in to touch the woman's exposed hand to feel the heat. It was almost painfully hot. Almost.

"It's just a thing we do." Dolores smiled. "Our ancestors wouldn't really survive in hell without it."

"That's incredible." Clara said, gawking at the woman before realising she was holding her hand. "I'm sorry!" She let go immediately. "I should've asked first."

"Oh, don't be silly, dear." Dolores said, placing her hand on Clara's, right on top of her thigh. "It's very cute of you."

It might've been the heat or the weight of the situation but Clara couldn't help but blush as she looked into Dolores' eyes. For some reason it was suddenly so difficult to look away. The heat itself was spreading to places Clara thought inappropriate. Yet, she didn't dislike the strange feeling.

"Has anyone ever said to you that the brown hue of your eyes is very beautiful?" Dolores asked with a casual smile. "Almost like two stunning gems."

Clara avoided the eye contact, suddenly finding the cushion way more interesting. The heat of the situation suddenly replaced with cold memories. "My husband did once, during our wedding night. Before he..." Her breathing quickened as she remembered that night.

"Oh, dear." Dolores sighed. Was Clara so easy to read? "Come here." She wrapped her warm arms around Clara, stroking her hair. "You shouldn't have bad things connected to stuff that makes you beautiful."

Clara didn't return the hug, only closed her eyes, letting the warmth of Dolores' body take the pain away. "I can't help it."

"Hopefully I can." Dolores whispered softly.

The carriage jerked to a stop, breaking their little moment. Clara opened her eyes, slowly moving away from Dolores to look out the window. A steel gate is all she could see from here with two male guards in full armour standing at each side.

"We're home, my dear." Dolores said, getting out of the carriage and offering Clara her warm hand, holding her hat in the other.

Clara accepted, stepping out of the carriage, suddenly feeling shame at the state of her dress as she noticed a big estate behind the gate. They were just at the outskirts of the city. She could still see some of the buildings between the branches of the trees. In the distance, she could see the king's castle perched on a hill. It almost seemed the more important one was, the higher they lived.

Dolores led Clara in, greeting her gardener and three more people, who seemed to be her servants, as she put her wide-brimmed hat back on once more. Everyone here was so beautiful. Clara had never seen so many well groomed people around her. She felt unworthy of stepping on the same ground as them. If it wasn't for Dolores practically dragging her through, she'd turn away and ran. Finally, they got to the main door. The heavy wood creaked as Dolores pushed it open, a servant already waiting in a decorated greeting hall. The place was full of expensive flowers and paintings decorating the walls. A beautiful ornamented carpet spread out across the whole length of the room. Clara gasped, immediately trying to take her shoes off as to not stain it.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I didn't know. I'd leave my shoes outside."

"What? Dear, no." Dolores stopped her. "Keep the shoes on, we can always clean the carpet. Right, Ensen?"

The servant, a tall elven man bowed. His long blond hair was kept in a bun as to not obscure his face during similar movements. "Indeed, lady Dolores" The man said. "Should I prepare a room for our new guest?"

"Yes, that would be great, darling." She came closer and kissed the bowing elf on his cheek. "That and a bath with the usual stuff. Oh, and let the cook know that me and my guest are starving."

"Consider it done."

"Perfect!" Dolores smiled. "And Ensen?"

"Yes, my lady?"

"Is my husband home?"

"Lord Valamir has arrived during your absence. He's currently in his study, I believe. Should I let him know of your presence?"

"No need, thank you, dear." She took Clara's hand once more. Weirdly enough, Clara found herself disappointed by the lack of the excess heat. "We'll go visit him ourselves."

"As you wish."

Dolores spread her arms and took in a deep breath. "Ah, it's so good to be back home. Come, Clara. I need to introduce you to my beautiful, lovely man."

"Is that necessary? I really don't want to bother you."

"Oh, don't be silly. Come." Dolores said, heading out to a room further down the estate. Without knocking, Dolores opened the door and entered with a swiftness of a cat. A small room full of parchments and books opened up to them. A pleasant light from the sunset turned the entire room full of dark wood into beautiful shades of orange. Then, in the furthest part of the room with a big window in front of his table, a young man kept writing with a goose feather, not even turning around. He had short, black hair, cut in a style that left almost none at the back and the sides. The top still had enough though for one to grab onto. Clara blushed at the inappropriate thought. Other than that, she noticed the expensive-looking blue suit the man wore. It almost seemed as a military uniform. It was hard to tell from this angle.

"Seriously, Valamir?" Dolores said, her hands on her hips. She stomped the wooden floor with her hoof as she said the man's name. "Not even a greeting?"

Now the man finally turned, revealing a well trimmed beard and tired eyes. Instead of saying anything, he only gave a tired smile and went back to his writing.

Dolores sighed, turning to Clara, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, dear. He's not usually like this. Just give me a moment." Dolores grabbed her skirt, slightly lifting it up to make sure she wouldn't trip and stomped her way to the man. "Valamir! Seriously? In front of a guest?"

"A new stray?" Valamir said, not even lifting his head.

"That stray has a name, you know? I wanted to introduce you to her."

"I see." He said, continuing to write.

"Val!" Dolores shouted, slamming her hand on the paper. "Focus."

The man sighed. "You smeared my ink, love."

"I don't care. I need you to pay attention."

"I am." The man said in a tired tone.

She leaned in hard enough to be between him and the paper. "Your full attention."

"Very well." He placed the feather in its stand next to the ink bottle and finally looked at Dolores properly. "What happened to your dress?"

"I've been ravished." Dolores let out, making Clara freeze, covering her mouth. What a weird thing to say.

"I see." Valamir said with a light nod. "Did you have fun?"

Dolores sighed, shaking her head. She leaned in and whispered something in Valamir's ear. The tired man looked her in the eye and then turned and stood up, slowly walking to Clara. The tension was uncomfortably awkward as the man inspected her from head to toe.