Closing her eyes, Princess Marina let herself go as her energy flowed into an ore. Diving into pleasant memories, Princess Marina's energy came out as a soft hum.
Flashback
Estania and Gale, Age 14.
"Why do they let me train with you, when they always keep me in the safe house?" Estania said as she threw a punch into Gale's right palm.
"Ouch!" Gale said, placing his hand on his chest.
"I thought we were having a swell time." Gale said with a smile as he threw a punch and Estania easily dodged it.
"Shut up, cry baby." Estania said with a laugh as she threw a punch into Gale's other palm.
Chuckling Gale said "You know how everyone in the village sees you."
"You're our little pride and joy." Gale said with a teasing but gentle smile as he turned her around and trapped her hands behind her back.
Chuckling, Estania hit Gale with the back of her head and used her elbow to push him back and with smiles on their faces, Estania and Gale circled each other.
Moving fast, Estania tried to strike Gale in the jaw but Gale easily sidestepped Estania and stepped behind her.
"You enjoy this type of play don't you?" Estania asked with a chuckle as she turned around and he followed suit, maintaining his distance behind her.
"I believe the best type of way to fight is letting your opponent exhaust themselves." Gale said as he dodged the elbow Estania threw backwards.
"Not very wolf like." Estania said with a grin.
"Not very wolf like." Gale repeated with a smile.
Estania and Gale, Age 16.
"Don't you think the pack will notice that their Princess is away from the Lunar Eclipse ball?" Gale said as he and Estania snuck out of the townhouse.
"It's fine." Estania said whispering.
"The Lunar Eclipse ball is a way to distract them from the moon being blocked by the earth, I am sure that they will be too drunk to notice." Estania said as her and Gale ran into the forest.
Estania and Gale, Age 19.
"The Malovian soldiers are here." screamed a man as he ran back to inform the village.
"Go to the safe house." Gale said as he ran forward but Estania caught his hand.
"Come with me." Estania said pleadingly.
"The war with Malvonia is different this time." Estania said as she held Gale's hand.
"You know I can't do that." Gale said as he slowly let go of her hand and ran towards the danger.
Estania, Age 21
"Ahhh!" Estania yelled in panic as she saw the state of her village.
Not brothering to protect her nose from the fumes coming off from the smoke, Estania ran towards her village and broke down door after door in search for any survivors.
Present
Lorraine watched with interest as Princess Marina's energy seeped into the ore. No bestiae had the same powers as those blessed by fire so Lorraine was very entertained by the display.
At first, Princess Marina's energy came out in soft hums but in the next second her energy became a furnace and the ore began to shake.
Noticing that something was off, Lorraine urgently said "Princess Marina!" but her comment fell on deaf ears.
"Princess Marina!" Lorraine said, more urgently as some parts of the ore began to melt.
Giving up on talking, Lorraine ran towards Princess Marina to shake her awake but the minute she touched her, Lorraine swore that she touched fire.
Jumping back in pain, Lorraine shook her hand vigorously to cool it.
"Princess Marina!" Lorraine shouted as the room became hotter.
"Princess Marina!" Lorraine called one more time but Princess Marina didn't respond.
"Princess Estania!" Lorraine yelled desperately and Princess Marina's eyes snapped open.
Seeing the ruined core in her hands and taking in the state of the room, Princess Marina said "I am sorry." quietly.
"I just wanted to remove some impurities from the ore," Princess Marina said breathlessly.
"I didn't expect-" Princess Marina said as she collapsed into her chair.
"It's okay." Lorraine said, coming close to hug Princess Marina.
"I saw him again." Princess Marina said with a pained chuckle.
"I mean of course I saw him, I think about him every day after all." Princess Marina said with tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips.
"I thought back to when we would train and spar with each other." Princess Marina said as she chuckled sadly.
"I also thought of when we snuck out of a ball together." Princess Marina said as she clapped her hands and Lorraine looked at her with sadness.
"Oh to be young and clueless again in Valaria once more." Princess Marina said as she broke down in tears.