Chapter 3 THE MARK OF FIRE

Haven woke up from sleep the next morning and the first thing she noticed was, the rain had stopped. The sun was shining bright once more, its warm rays escaping to her room through the window.

She got down from the bed and stared out the window. Edenvale was back to being Edenvale. Children were running out in the sun, vendors preparing for another day and parents dragging reluctant children to study houses.

She quickly got ready for the day, humming a melodious tune.

By the time she got downstairs, Lyra was already in the kitchen with a large cup of warm milk before her. Mira was already at work, looking rather disoriented.

She couldn't stop thinking about last night. She knew that was just the beginning and tonight they would surely come for her.

Haven on the other hand busied herself with preparing breakfast and listening to her sister's endless chatter. Though the events of last night left her a bit shaken, she just shook it off as one of the strange things that happen in their village.

The warmth brought by the sun sent a wave of excitement down her spine. She would get to deliver bread to her customers without any hurdle.

She lifted the lid of the pot and felt her wrist burn. She instantly dropped the lid and clutched her wrist. She stared at her wrist and was surprised to see a red mark on the inside of her wrist. It was red, tiny and looked like a dragon's eye surrounded with flames.

“Let me have a look," Mira said, stooping beside her. She took hold of her niece's wrist. Her eyes widened as she stared at the mark that seemed to slightly glow. “Where did you get this?"

Haven shrugged. “It's never been there. Probably an allergic rash or something." She stood up, pulled the sleeve of her dress to cover the mark and carry on with the breakfast. “It'll heal on its own, no need to beat yourself up for this. It's just a rash "

Mira shook her head, as she slowly rose to her feet. It was not just a scar and she knew it too well. She remembered her sister's words before she left the house years ago.

“When they come for their own, their mark will shine on her wrist. You won't be able to stop them from taking her."

She stared at Haven with eyes full of sadness and deep regret. How she wished she could stop them from taking her. How she wished she could hide her somewhere far away, somewhere beyond the monster's reach.

How she wished!

“Breakfast is ready, Mom," Lyra called, causing her to snap out of her mind.

She followed the girls to the dining table where Haven had set the table for breakfast. The bread smelled warm and the porridge looked tasty. But somehow she couldn't bring herself to focus on the meal.

Lyra filled her mouth with a spoonful of porridge and closed her eyes in satisfaction. “Mmmmh," she moaned. “The dragon king will be doing himself a favor if he chooses you…”

" Lyra!” Her mother snapped. " Don't joke with something like that!”

Lyra rolled her eyes and swallowed the porridge in her mouth. “It's just a joke, Mom. It's not like the dragon king will pop out in our living room and take her away.”

A glare from her mother and Lyra focused her entire attention on the plate. Seeing this, Haven decided to change a topic and ease the tension.

“I have my dress ready for the market festival," she announced. “I just have to get some ribbons from the market and ‘ Viola!”

“Can I see?" Lyra leaned towards her. She shook her head with a smile.

The rest of the breakfast passed in a blur of conversation and laughter between both girls.

Mira however was lost in her own world. Every now and then, her gaze would shift to the mark on Haven's wrist. There was absolutely nothing she could do, yet she couldn't help but worry.

An hour and a half later, Mira had gone out to buy some more flour for tomorrow's baking. Haven packed up the bread that needed delivering and carefully stacked them in a basket.

“You're going out?" Lyra asked from the doorway of the kitchen.

“Well, these breads need to be delivered, and I'm sure as hell your lazy ass won't be doing that," she replied, shutting the basket and stepping past her cousin.

She moved out of the house and out in the sunlight. The warm feel of the sun's rays against her face caused her face to loosen in a bright smile.

Edenvale was Edenvale once again. No more cold showers, people staring from their windows and empty streets and market stalls.

Once more, everywhere was lively and everyone was bubbling with enthusiasm. Vendors shouted for customers from their stalls, hawkers called out their wares to the hearing of the whole market.

Children ran through the streets squealing and laughing while their mothers chased after them for a shower.

This was Edenvale.

But amidst all the joy and excitement, people still whispered about what happened last night.

“I saw them from my window," one woman said. “The dragon king has found his bride, and he'll not leave till he finds her."

" I pity whoever gets picked,” Ms Jones, a regular customer of Haven's said, voice edged with sadness. " They took my sister last time and I've never heard from her since then.”

" What happened to her?” Haven asked before she could stop herself.

Ms Jones shook her head. " No one knows. When the emissaries take a bride and fly off, that's the last time anyone sets eyes on her. They just return twenty eight years later for a new bride.

Whose life could they have decided to ruin this time, Haven wondered as she walked towards the temple.

The sage there took a loaf everyday and had not received any bread lately since the rain started. She couldn't stomach not going to deliver him any bread today.

As she rounded the corner leading to the temple, the once bright and sunny weather changed to dull and cloudy. A harsh gust of wind blew past her almost knocking her off her feet. She held her basket closer and hastened assuming it was just another bad weather.

Lightening cracked in the clouds, then the sound of thunder, followed by a loud, angry ro

ar that shook the earth beneath her feet, sending her sprawling to the ground.