She stopped all attempts to get to Killian, and concentrated. She remembered--what it was like to be so close to fire, to be burning, wishing for a way out that seemed like it would never come.
Like the earth, she was steady. Like the wind, she was everywhere. Like water, she was versatile. Like fire...she burned.
Answering her call, the wave of fire took the shape of a bird. Instead of hitting the chandelier, it circled around it. Colette, sensing that she had lost control of it, looked up, just to find a creature with burning red eyes diving straight for her.
A phoenix, borne from the fire, attacked her with a cry. No matter what Colette did, she couldn't control fire in this particular form--because it was no longer just fire, but a beast.
Colette screamed in pain as the bird clawed into her. She instinctively tried to push the phoenix away, but only ended up in more pain as the phoenix's fire burned into her skin.
After all, there was no rule saying fire elementalists didn't burn.
~*~
In the end, Julien didn't know how they did it.
Neither him nor Lili knew the layout of the palace, much less sneak in without anyone noticing. To both of their surprise, Lili actually remembered the way to Clovis's study. From there, with Julien hidden and waiting for her at the corner, Lili acted surprised when they told her Clovis wasn't in his study. She asked the guard where he was, and luckily for her, the guard had probably seen her together with Clovis before, and led her to his bedroom without question.
Julien followed Lili and the guard quietly, wondering why he wasn't caught yet. One would think that security around the crown prince's bedchambers would be tighter, but they didn't see a shadow of other guards on their way.
He watched as Lili thanked the guard who left her at the prince's door and knocked on the door herself. At the affirmative she got from Clovis, she beckoned Julien to the door.
"Thanks," her voice was low so only he could hear her. "I'll leave the rest up to you."
Julien didn't understand what exactly it was that she was planning, but knew better than to argue, especially since he'd already agreed to her "plan", half of which he didn't even know about. With a deep breath and a nod to the departing Lili, he steeled himself and pushed open the door with a creak.
Clovis was alone in the darkness of the room. He was sitting on the sofa, dressed in what he supposed were his casual clothes. Honestly, they were more like dress clothes, but they were probably casual for a prince. He wouldn't be surprised if he actually slept in them. They were very, very different men with different lifestyles.
All Lili told Julien to do was distract him. When he looked at that face, partly shrouded by the dark, a familiar sense of animosity welled up and twisted within him. Even though it'd been quite some time, he still remembered that face--the privileged face of a man who strongly believed in the law, never questioning the cards laid out before him by someone else. His dislike wasn't personal--he barely knew him--but he represented the "good" side of society, which he bitterly resented.
The Clovis that greeted him was quiet and brooding, and for a second, the moonlight in his hair created a picture of tranquility. It was no wonder he was the male protagonist of this story--he definitely had the status and the looks.
"You--" The moment was broken when Clovis spoke, eyeing him warily. Upon seeing Julien, he immediately tensed, in contrast to his previous relaxed form, breaking the picture-perfect moment. "...What are you doing here?"
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The Atonement of a Writer
काल्पनिकLilianne Marineau, aka Lili, a struggling writer like you and me, wakes up to find herself in the body of Arielle Dumont, the female protagonist in her own, half-written novel. What would happen next? She sure as hell doesn't know. At first, all Lil...
