Ashes

The chaos on the street was unlike any she had ever seen. There were shouts, people running about in circles trying to put out the fire. Some lay limp, struggling to remove the wood that impaled them. Emberline lay on the stone, her mind gone numb. She could only think of Nicholas, her eyes wide in horror. She looked around; the excessive struggles made her gasp for air. There was dust and ash everywhere, making it difficult to see. The last thing Emberline saw before she stood on her feet and stumbled away, was a man. The fire consumed him, he ran out in the street before tumbling on his knees to accept his death.

Emberline breathed into her skirt, her mind slipping between Nicholas and the sight she had just witnessed. Her heart burned in her body; there was nothing she could do to cure the pain. Instead, her chest tightened the more she breathed.