Heir to the Empire

34. The Fool - Loldirr

"Fýrcynn!"

Sat in a dark, dank, smelly room deep in the underworld of Lionmane, Loldirr had spent the last hour attempting to make fire.

"Onbærnan"

She knew the wax candle was somewhere in front of her, but despite all her attempts, it remained lifeless.

Continuing to try and create the fire, it briefly took her mind off where she was. The smell of faeces, stale water and death were too much for her to attempt sleep and it had taken her a while not to spew up the little contents of her stomach when she initially met the ragtag 'free people of Lionmane'.

It was not a resistance; more like a refugee camp.

"Sinder"

Meeting her people for the first time had been an experience of mixed emotion. The pure joy they experienced when they met her for the first time, like some messiah from heaven, had simply melted her heart. The news that the last remaining member of house Aex-Igh had given these people hope, and when they heard the tale of her walking out of the fire, they wanted to worship her.

Then she spoke to them. Men, women and children of all ages from the streets of Lionmane, brought to a level of poverty and desperation that they had to hide in the sewerage tunnels to conceal themselves from the city guard. Her heart broke as they told stories of their need to steal to eat. Anguish tore at her when she heard that their numbers were twice as many until disease culled their flock drastically and a third had been captured or executed by order of the Emperor himself.

Loldirr recalled the traumatising journey she had harrowed her way through, but never at any time had she been without food or water. She pitied these people but also knew that it would be some time before she could give them the life that they deserved.

What tore her up so much, was despite their state of poverty, they all smiled and greeted her enthusiastically. She was immediately offered what little they had, and despite her initially refusing, they insisted that she eat to keep up her strength.

As her emotions started to tear her apart inside, she excused herself to the pitch-black space where she had spent the last hour trying to ignore their suffering and harness her power. A task she was failing at miserably.

"There you are!" a cheeky, slightly cracking voice splurted from the only entrance in the room.

Ioco, stepped in, his candle causing Loldirr to squint her eyes as a result. He immediately bounced up before sitting beside her with his cheeky, dirty smile. "We were wondering where you got to."

Despite the intrusion, Loldirr was happy to have the company. It had become more apparent to her, recently, that she perhaps didn't know exactly what she needed for her sanity. Despite wanting to be alone, she also wanted the company, despite wanting an adventure, she knew now that she just wanted a little break from it all.

Looking towards the candle Loldirr had placed at her feet, Ioco chuckled as it sat there lifeless. "Did your candle go out and you got lost?"

Loldirr smiled at his simplicity and naivety. "No, I wanted to see if I could do what I did earlier, with the fire."

"Oh, the bwoom" Ioco made the sound of the explosion, his arms extending dramatically to increase the impact.

Loldirr chuckled. "Yes, but I don't know how I did it, and I can't seem to do it now."

"It was pretty amazing, though!" Ioco replied with excitement.

Loldirr took a look at the candle Ioco had in his hand. She watched how it danced around the room, painting their silhouettes on the wall, as Ioco continued to talk to her about the events of her execution, his voice drowned out as she focused solely on the flame.