The noise of the explosions become more ferocious. My body can't help but jump in shock each time it hits, even as I grief. I look at Nola, and I couldn't let her go. I pick her up and like a baby hold her lifeless body in my arms. I can hardly see anything becasue of my tears clouding my vision. Everything is fuzzy, including my mind. My little furball is no more. Is this why Nola behaved strangely today? Did she somehow sense that something was going to happen to the village? I don't know. I will never know.

I leave our home, holding Nola in my arms. I see a shower of fire falling on the village in the distance. Due to our house being on a hill, beyond the outskirts of the village, I was able to see everything clearly from far. I see a large army of soldiers, all in formation. The magicians are launching their fire spells at our defenseless village. And strangely to me, I can see everything clearly as daylight, even though it is far away. I notice the flags carried by those soldiers. A golden sun with simple lines depicting a side profile of a face. The symbol of the sun king. They are the soldiers of the sun.

I have never seen it in person, but I recognize the symbol and the armor of the soldiers from my father's stories. Why are we being punished by the sun king? I could escape into the forest and survive, but how can I just leave. The village folk always treated me as an outcast. But I still have people there who I think cared for me. Who showed me kindness. The traders at the market, the priests and Geurd, the herbalist, who always paid me for anything I brought him. Even though I knew for a fact that he was just giving me money for nothing.

I return to the tree and place Nola at the root. My tears keep flowing, but I can't stay here any longer. I wish she would wake up. I wish my village wasn't burning and that this was all a drea,. I dry my tears one last time and I run down the path to the village.

The magicians stopped hurling thier fire to the village. And it was then I heard the light noise of trumpets. The ground shook as I ran. They sent their vanguard to the village after burning it to a crisp from afar. I notice that running felt different. My body was lighter than usual. I was afraid that if I jumped to high, the wind would've swept me away. And I was fast. Too fast. I felt strange energy in my legs with every step I took. My body felt foreign, as if it wasn't mine.

It took me only a few minutes to reach the village, which normally would take me much longer. I was at the burning gates. Everything was engulfed in red flames. the black smoke was thicker here, but my ees adapted quickly. I entered the gates, and my ears heard the ries and screams of many people, all around me. I could tell who each voice belonged to. The old women who chased me away. The craftsmen, the guards and the lumberjacks who gave me dirty looks. The nice lady of the well who let me draw water from her.

What my eyes see was something I hadn't even witnessed in my nightmares. The wooden buildings were ablaze. The poles and bridges, and the trees were all on fire. It was like I was in hell. I walked towards the closest screams I heard. A boy and his mother. One of the three bullies who harassed me this morning. They were trapped inside their burning home. Only their upper halves were visible, the rest was buried under a broken beam. His mother has her arms wrapped around her son, but she was unconscious. The boy was the one crying for help.

He sees me and calls out my name, "Hestia! Please! Help... us. Please...". He coughs with every word he says as he breathes in the smoke. I stand there relishing the fact that he knew my name as he always gave me hurtful names, but I don't care right now. The smoke doesn't bother me, so I jump into their burning home and go to the mother and son. I know I can't possibly lift this beam, but I want to show him that I am trying to save them.

I slide my hands under the beam and say loudly, "Stay still, I will get you both out of here."

"...Please, Hestia. I'm sorry, please help... us." His voice is fainter than before.

I flex my arms and use my back and start lifting the damned thing up. I feel myself rising with the beam in my hands. I lifting it! I surprised myself that I almost let go, but I catch myself.

I lifted it up until I was standing straight, and I pushed the beam to the back of the house. The impact almost caused the rest of the house to collapse on us, but luckily nothing happend. Then I heard his voice. A voice that screamed in terror.

"Mom! Mother... No! Open... your eyes! Mo...ther." The boy sobbed. I look at my side and see his mother's lower half. It was completely flattened by the ground. Like a water splash, her inner stuff was a stain on the ground. I stand there, frozen, as the boy's scream become hoarse. I see that with every scream, his lungs struggled to breathe as he keeps inhaling the smog from the flames.

I watched him breathe his last, and he was gon. He followed his mother. He's no longer here.