The morning sun draped Holloway's fields in gold. Aiden darted through tall grass with his wooden sword, his laughter scattering birds into the air. Serenya trailed behind, her apron still dusted with flour, shaking her head as she tried to keep up.
"You're going to trip one day running like that!" she called, though her smile betrayed her worry.
"Not today!" Aiden shouted back. His ember eyes gleamed, brighter than the morning itself.
Ahead, Kale leaned against the fence, practice blade slung over his shoulder. He straightened when the boy bounded up, bouncing on his toes like a coiled spring.
"Im here!" Aiden shouted slow of breath.
"Ready?" Kale asked, twirling his heavier practice blade with ease.
"I was born ready," Aiden declared, puffing his chest.
"Ha! Born clumsy, more like," Kale said before lunging forward.
Serenya sat by a tree, "be careful you two".
"Yes mom"
"Aye madam"
Serenya slowly,
"Ready...set...Begin"
The spar began.
At first it was the same as always — Kale's blade sweeping heavy arcs, Aiden darting and weaving, laughing even when he stumbled. Wooden swords cracked together, Aiden's smaller frame pushed back again and again.
"Keep your feet under you!" Kale barked, shoving him to the side.
"I am!" Aiden yelped, stumbling, then swinging wide.
"Too loose!"
"Too boring!" Aiden shouted back, his ember eyes glittering with mischief.
Kale chuckled, pressing him harder. "Come on, little one, show me what you've got!"
And then something in Aiden's gaze shifted.
The laughter faltered, his grin froze — his eyes widened. The deep ember red seemed to catch the sunlight, and then… something golden bloomed inside them.
Thin, impossibly delicate clock-hands appeared in his pupils, faint and gleaming, ticking slowly at first. One turned, then the other, spinning until they aligned — and suddenly, Aiden saw.
Kale's next strike wasn't a surprise — it was already there, written before the blade even moved. The angle, the speed, the follow-up — all of it stretched out before him like faint threads of light.
Aiden gasped, exhilarated.
He ducked, laughing, and his wooden blade snapped upward, smacking against Kale's ribs before the man could even adjust.
Kale stumbled back, eyes wide. "What—?!"
But Aiden was already moving again, his laughter bubbling up uncontrollably. "hehe, your too slow"
The clock-hands in his eyes spun again, quicker now. He darted to the side before Kale even shifted his stance, his small blade tapping the guard's leg, then his shoulder. Every time Kale lifted his weapon, Aiden was already there, one step ahead.
Kale shocked,
"what is going o-"
Then came the blood.
Not much — just a thin trickle from the corner of Aiden's right eye, sliding down his cheek. He wiped at it with his sleeve, smearing red across his skin, but he only laughed harder.
"Did you see that?!" he shouted, turning toward Serenya, who stood frozen by the fence. "I'm amazing!"
But Serenya wasn't smiling. She was already running, skirts gathering in her fists, her heart in her throat. She dropped to her knees beside him, grabbing his face with flour-stained hands.
"No, Aiden. Not again. You can't keep doing this!"
Kale lowered his blade, face pale, his voice rough. "He used it again…" His hand hits the top of his forehead, sharp and worried. "Boy, your body can't take that yet."
Aiden blinked at them, still laughing, though his chest rose and fell with quick, breathless gasps. The clock-hands in his pupils slowed, their golden gleam fading until only the ember-red remained.
"Why not?" he asked, his grin stubborn, playful even through the streak of blood. "If I can do it, why shouldn't I? It's mine."
Serenya's voice cracked, tears threatening. "Because you're not strong enough yet. Your body can't carry it. You have to wait, Aiden — promise me you'll wait."
Aiden wriggled free of her hands, brushing his sleeve across his face again, unconcerned by the smear of red. His grin widened, reckless and unshakable.
"But it's fun!" he insisted, bouncing back to his feet. "I can beat Kale if I use it. I can beat anyone!" He spun his wooden sword in a sloppy circle, laughing as if it were all a game.
Serenya rose slowly, her heart aching. "Not everything you can do should be done," she whispered, more to herself than to him.
But Aiden wasn't listening. He was already back in a stance, sword lifted high, his ember eyes dancing in the sunlight.
"Come on, Kale!" he shouted. "Let's go again! I'll win for real this time!"
Kale stared at him, silent for a long moment. Then he sighed, resting his practice blade on his shoulder. "You've got a gift, boy. But one day, you'll learn gifts like that come with a price."
Aiden tilted his head, confused, but shrugged. "Then I'll pay it. Easy."
Serenya's heart clenched. She turned away, her hands trembling, hiding her tears before Aiden could see them.
And beneath the summer sun, the three of them stood together — the laughing boy, the worried guard, and the mother whose love was already shadowed by fear.
---
"Did you see me, Mom?" Aiden asked for the tenth time that day, hopping in front of her, his ember eyes alive with joy. "Kale couldn't touch me! Not even once at the end!"
Serenya smiled faintly, though her heart was still heavy. "I saw you, little one. You were brilliant."
"I told you! I'll be the best in the world!" he declared, spinning on his heel and striking a mock pose in the middle of the road, earning a laugh from a passing farmer.
Serenya shook her head, but the smile she gave him was real this time. "The best swordsman and the worst dough kneader. Truly, Holloway will never recover."
Aiden laughed, racing ahead a few steps before looping back to her side. But as they entered the village square, Serenya suddenly slowed.
Her eyes darted to the rooftops, then to the woods beyond the fields. A chill rippled down her spine, though the air was still warm. Her hand tightened on the handle of her basket.
Aiden noticed instantly. "What's wrong?"
Serenya forced her lips into a smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Nothing, love."
She paused, kneeling in front of him. Her hands smoothed his messy black hair as her green eyes searched his face, memorizing every detail. The heaviness in her chest grew heavier still.
"Listen," she said softly. "Run to the market and fetch soy for supper. Old Master Darrel should have some left."
Aiden blinked. "Soy? Now? That's a long walk."
Serenya brushed her thumb across his cheek. "Please, Aiden. Humor your mother."
He tilted his head, suspicious. "You're acting weird."
She smiled faintly, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Then go quickly, so I don't have time to worry."
He groaned dramatically but grabbed the basket anyway. "Fine! But when I'm the best swordsman in the world, I won't have time for errands."
"Even the best swordsman needs supper," Serenya called after him, her voice trembling despite her best efforts.
----
The path to the market wound through fields and past the river. Aiden hummed to himself, balancing the basket on his arm, replaying the spar in his head. He imagined Kale's face when he struck his ribs — priceless. He laughed aloud, swinging his sword at the air, startling a crow into flight.
By the time he bought the soy and started back, the sky had begun to tint orange. He whistled, juggling the wrapped bundle in one hand, wooden sword in the other.
"What a pretty sky. Mom and I should walk here tomorrow"
"hehe"
his face remembering his Mom when he helped her cook last time with soy and he spilled it all over her.
Then he remembered her rage.
"Lets not do it again.."
But then… his steps faltered.
The ember-red of his eyes flickered. The world blurred.
And without meaning to, his vision shifted.
The golden clock-hands bloomed again in his pupils, turning wildly, spinning faster than before. His breath hitched as his knees buckled. He dropped the food, clutching his face, a cry tearing from his throat.
"Ah—!"
Blood streaked from his eyes, running hot down his cheeks. His body shook, but what he saw froze him to the bone.
The village — Holloway. His home. His mother.
He saw flames.
He saw Serenya, apron torn, clutching a knife in the bakery doorway, her face twisted with fear. He saw Kale drawing steel, shouting, pushing children behind him as dark figures rushed into the streets. He heard screams, the clash of metal, the roar of fire consuming wood.
And then… Serenya's green eyes, wide and terrified, searching the smoke.
"Mom!"
Aiden screamed, but the vision collapsed. The golden hands in his eyes spun one last time before vanishing.
The world returned — the quiet path, the evening air, the soy spilled in the dirt. His chest heaved, his small body trembling with panic.
"Wh-"
He didn't even think. He ran.
His bare feet pounded the road, his heart slamming against his ribs with every step. The basket fell behind him, forgotten. Branches whipped his arms as he cut through the trees, breath ragged, eyes burning from more than just blood.
Please. No. Please.
When he broke through the final stretch of brush, his world shattered.
The village was already aflame.
Holloway burned, smoke black against the dying sky. Screams carried on the wind, twisted with the roar of fire. The crack of steel clashing rang out, sharp and merciless.
Aiden froze at the treeline, his chest heaving, his heart pounding so loud it drowned the world.
Before him, everything he loved was swallowed in fire.