FSE

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A loud slam filled the chamber as an older looking wolf slammed his hands on the table a large group sat. This caused the younger fox girl to jolt awake as her eyes darted around the room. Everyone at the table just glared at her as the older wolf sat back down into his seat.

"Lady Ash, if you would be so kind as to stay awake during the meeting. It would allow us to finish in a more timely manner." The wolf looked around at the others and signaled to a middle-aged dragon. The dragon cleared his throat and went on about something to do with farming or something. Lady Ash had tuned out once more and thought about what she would have for a meal that night. There was another loud cough and when she looked back it was the wolf again glaring at her.

"If you wish not to pay attention, please answer me one thing. How did you lose your noble title and your left arm?" There was a small grin on his face as she glared back at him. She knew this was a challenge to see if she would back down.

"If your memory is that feeble then I have no choice but to recount the events. I lost my first noble title when I tried to murder my... the head of the Livingbreed family. And for my left arm, he took it off when I tried to murder him. Does that refresh your memory?" She looked down and saw that she was now sitting on the edge of her seat. With a little cough, she sat back in her seat and waited on the wolf to say something.

"Ah, it is all coming back to me now. With that lovely show and tell, I think our meeting is over for the now. Please remember to stay safe during your travels home." The wolf smiled as everyone else at the table stood and moved out of the room. After everyone else had gone, only Lady Ash and the wolf remained.

"Lord Stone, I do wish you would just let me nap during these boring meetings. We both know I am only here by the king's grace, as he has given me a title of nobility and a new name to go with it." Lady Ash rose from her seat and moved toward Lord Stone. He stood a few feet taller and still had a strong build for a man of his age. He just looked down at her and gave her a smile that made a chill run down her spine.

"My dear Lady Ash, as much as I would enjoy watching you sleep during these meetings, you are part of this court by the king's wishes. And so you should put in some effort to act like you are a member of this court." His tone was that of a parent scolding a child. Lady Ash just looked him in the eyes before she turned away and let a huff.

"I know this and so I show up as is my duty. I hold only a small section of land and have no goals or plans to gain beyond that. I see no reason for me to act in these gods-awful meetings." She started to walk away when a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Just remember that even a fire mutt like you must follow orders when given. And those orders are to be part of this court." The hand let go and she held out a hand as her guard moved to deal with Lord Stone. She just nodded her head and made her way out of the room. She moved through the hallways and it wasn't long before she made it outside to her carriage. Her guard helped her in and Lady Ash pulled into herself once the door was closed and her guard sat in the seat in front of her.

"Are you alright my lady?" Her guard was a young female wolf around the same age as her. She had been Lady Ash's friend for many years and knew her better than anyone. Isabell was a strong woman with an even stronger sense of honor and so she went off to become a knight. And not long after that things went to hell for Lady Ash.

"I am fine. He was just rubbing my fur the wrong way is all. And please don't call me that. We have known each other for far too long for you to call me that." Lady Ash smiled as Isabell relaxed a bit. She didn't care for how formal her friend could be after coming back into her life.

"I do not know what to call you." Isabell looked at Lady Ash like a lost pup trying to find her mother. Lady Ash just sighed and placed a hand on one of Isabell's knees.

"My first name has not changed you, silly girl. But it is Jessica Ash now. I have gained that much freedom." Jessica looked up into Isabell's eyes and gave a warm smile. The man she tried to kill was her father John Livingbreed, the head of the Livingbreed family, and the person who let her mother die. Isabell placed a hand over Jessica's and gave a gentle squeeze. She blinked as she didn't realize that she had been squeezing Isabell's knees tightly.

"As you wish Lady... I mean Jessica." Isabell looked a little worried. This was the first time since she became Jessica's guard that she made this request. Jessica turned and looked out the window and she saw some children. The children were singing a little song and it caused Jessica's blood to run cold.

Lady of Ash

Lady of Ash

Where she goes, Ash will fall

Lady of Ash

Lady of Ash

All she has is Ash

Something inside her wanted to let those kids learn how she became the lady of ash. It wanted to show them the fire that will create the ash they speak of. 'Burn burn,' filled her head as she glared at the kids.

"Hide creature. You are not welcome free from your cage." Isabell grabbed Jessica's shoulder with great force. Jessica froze with her hand on the window as a small crack moved from her hand. She blinked a few times as she came back.

"Thank you, Isabell. It would destroy my soul more if their blood was on my hands. Damn thing looks for any chance to have a taste of freedom still," She looked down at the charm she wore around her neck and held it closer to her chest. It was the only thing keeping the being she bound to her soul locked away. "Have I told you how this thing came to be within me?"

"You have not. I just know that you have this thing inside of you that is dangerous and to keep you in check at all times." She sounded like a knight repeating orders. It in a way hurt Jessica. Isabell was a knight first and foremost and would follow any order given. And that included killing her if it was called for. So Jessica took a deep breath.

"It was not long after I lost my arm to Lord Livingbreed. My pride was wounded more than my body. And I felt so weak that I was angry at myself for it. So my master and a person I held feelings that I never shared found a ritual to make my pyromancy stronger. What we didn't know was that the ritual was in a way a curse, one that would bind the essence of fire to one's soul." She felt her body shake at the memories of the events and she just wished to forget they had ever happened.

"Do you call it a curse cause the essence was evil?" Her question was one that just made Jessica giggle a bit.

"Fire is not an evil thing by its nature. It doesn't care for good or evil. You could say it is like life itself. Wanting to live and so it eats to keep alive. Be it trees, houses, people, or whatever, they are food and will become ash when the time comes. But no, it was a blessing when I first had it for the first minute or so." Jessica closed her eyes as she remembered the feeling of having her memories replay over and over again in a very short time. The pain was beyond anything she had felt including losing her arm.

"You don't have to continue if it hurts you to go on." Isabell moved to the seat next to her and pulled her close. This surprised the young fox. It took her a few seconds to pull herself together before she went on with the story.

"I am fine, just bad memories coming back again. It used my memories to learn about the world it was now in and about me. At that moment it wanted to do two things. First was to help me kill Lord Livingbreed and the second was to start things from the beginnings again by burning the world to the ground. So you could say that it did learn about good and evil, but from my messed up point of view at the time. And so it took control of my body and went to a village and started to burn it to the ground. One person did come to stop me." A wave of emotions washed over and she could feel Isabell holder her tighter.

"Your master." And with that, the wall that she had been putting up came crashing down.

"Yes," Was all that she could get out. Her master was a person she loved with the damaged heart she had. "And I killed her." Jessica couldn't stop the tears and spent a few minutes crying into Isabell's embrace. She didn't know how long she spent in Isabell's arms, but it made her feel safe.

It was another hour before they turned down a long road that led to a large two-story house with a snow leopard butler that waited near the carriage stop so that he may help a person out. This was something that Jessica wasn't used to when she was still part of the other family, her father made sure that none of the servants helped her. His touch was gentle and guided her out.

"Welcome home, Lady Ash. I hope your visit was a pleasant one." He gave a bow and looked up at her with a warm smile. Jessica had picked the servants for her place personally. She wanted those that were kind-hearted and passed over by the other nobles.

"It went as well as you would expect. It was boarding and so I tried to take a nap. Have any messages come for me?" She started to make her way to the house with Isabell and the snow leopard followed behind her.

"Just one my lady. It is a message from the king," He pulled out a scroll with the seal of the king sealing it close. "For your eyes only." Jessica reached for the scroll and as she did the seal started to melt away. She read over the now open scroll and gave a heavy sigh. It was an order by the king for her to head out to a village on the border of the kingdom to deal with a claiming dispute from the kingdom of Aigido.

"It seems that I won't be able to enjoy some time at home. James, can you please ready the carriage for a trip to the edge of the kingdom. It seems the king has ordered me to take care of an issue of his." James bows and quickly walks toward the house as Isabell stood next to her.

"The king seems to always have orders ready for you. I shall go and ready my things for the trip. Please rest till things are ready. You were very tired at the meeting today." Isabell gave a little chuckle and walked toward the house leaving Jessica with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"Was she making a joke?" Jessica shrugged and made her way into the house and into a sitting room she liked to use for reading. On the little table between the two chairs in the room, she found the book. The weight of the order she was given made her stomach twist with unease. Normally the king would send one of the other nobles to work out the dispute, but sending her meant only one thing. The king wanted war.

"So he wants to start the war off with a bang does he?" The voice filled her head, it almost sounded like her, but it was off. She grabbed the amulet around her neck and held it tight.

"Sorry sweetie, you can't silence me. I may be stuck deep down because of that little charm of yours, but I can still speak." She could hear the anger in its tone. Jessica slowly removed her hand from the amulet. This wasn't the first it had talked to her, but it still freaked her out.

"I don't want to hear your words. You only bring ill." Jessica closed her eyes and tried to visualize a wall that she used to block out the thing. It took some effort as the thing tried to beat against the walls.

"You can't keep me silent for long, Jessica. I don't care what you do, but your body is mine too and I will do what I must to keep it alive." The thing lets out a growl as the walls stand behind the thing and Jessica. She sighs as the voice fades away. When she opened her eyes and had a look around, she noticed that her hand had a tight grip on her chair and there was a little burnt mark. She hated having to replace her armchair every time the thing tried to talk to her. There was a knock on the door and the door opened a crack.

"My lady, your things, and your carriage for your trip." James' voice was muffled from keeping himself out of the room. Jessica stayed in her chair for a bit trying to gather herself before heading out of the room.

The hallways of the place she now called home felt empty. As no picture hung anywhere or anything that showed that the house had anyone living in it. It was too clean. But Jessica didn't care, what need for a place she spent so little time in. By the time she made it outside, the carriage was pulled up to. It had a large suitcase and some other bags and Isabell stood by the door of the carriage.

"Are you ready to leave my lady?" Isabell gave a bow as Jessica walked up.

"I am ready as I'll ever be for a task like this. And I told you before, call me Jessica."