In a beautiful sunrise, with birds singing and the morning light emerging and illuminating the room, Blackfire wakes up. She sits up in bed while stretching to wake herself, still struggling to open her eyes, she turns to the mattress beside the bed.
"Good mor— Ah? Clark?"
Confused and not knowing where he could have gone, Blackfire gets up and heads toward the kitchen. Elara is tidying the kitchen, cleaning the table, and placing some fruits and crackers in the center while humming. She lifts her head toward Blackfire and speaks.
"Good morning! Did you manage to sleep well? I didn't imagine you'd wake up so early," says Elara with a big smile on her face, welcoming Blackfire with a very tight hug.
"Oh, g-good morning! I slept a bit too well, actually. I feel embarrassed waking up so late..." Blackfire responds, surprised by the hug and the warm way Elara received her.
"Oh no, no, don't worry about that. In fact, it's still quite early, you definitely don't need to worry. We in the Village wake up earlier than usual," Elara completes as she brings Blackfire to the kitchen table.
"There are some fruits and crackers on the table, you can help yourself while I finish breakfast," Elara says.
"Oh no, I'll wait for everyone to have breakfast. By the way, where is Clark? I woke up and didn't see him," says Blackfire.
"Clark went to the market with Ronan to buy some things for you to eat," Elara replied while serving breakfast on the table.
"What? You d-don't need to worry so much about me!!" Blackfire replied with surprise.
"How could we not? You are our guest, the princess of Tamaran!" says Elara.
"I understand, but..." before Blackfire could finish her sentence, Ronan and Clark arrive in the kitchen saying "Good morning!" very excitedly, almost shouting.
"Boys, what is all this excitement? Speak softer, please," says Elara as soon as she notices them.
"Sorry mom, it's just that we managed to get some discounts on the bread and cake because we were the first ones there!" Clark replied.
"And besides that, I finally found my favorite sweet..." Ronan says immediately after, emotional, with his head down and eyes filling with tears.
"TA-DA!!!" say Ronan and Clark, kneeling on the floor and showing the sweet as if it were something celestial.
"THE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH SPRINKLES, HANDMADE AND CHILLED IN THE FRIDGE!!!" the two boys shout, emotional over a dessert.
Blackfire and Elara look at them without reaction, not understanding why they are so emotional over a... cold cake.
"Right, right, put that thing aside and come have breakfast," says Elara, completely cutting the mood of excitement and conquest from Ronan and Clark while pushing them toward the table.
"You'll never understand the emotion of getting to eat one of these, it's basically a treasure because people buy them so much..." Ronan adds, still emotional.
While Ronan still tries to demonstrate the importance of the cold cake to Elara, Clark pulls up a chair and sits next to Blackfire, who was laughing at the situation.
"Are you happy?" Clark asks with a smile on his face, glad for his friend's happiness.
"Your family is funny, you guys are so cute and happy together. I feel very comfortable here," says Blackfire.
"Hehe, we really are. We like to play around a lot to entertain ourselves here. Usually, the house isn't quiet all day long. I mean, only when we have nothing to do and we're together. We make the most of the time we have together," Clark responds.
"That's very beautiful... Your family is lovely," Blackfire completes.
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT... THAT'S ENOUGH!!!" says Elara, preventing Ronan from continuing the conversation about the cold cake. "It's time for us to start eating breakfast, otherwise it'll be lunchtime if we keep this up."
"But... But..." says Ronan.
"No 'buts,' Ronan! Our guest is waiting for us," Elara responds as she turns to Blackfire.
"D-don't worry about me..." Blackfire responds shyly.
Everyone sits at the table and begins to eat.
The sound of birds singing and the wind over the small creek nearby bring a calming soundtrack to the meal which—even though it was just bread, cake, fruit, and crackers—brought a real and unique family moment. To Blackfire at that moment, it was far from the enormous banquet the castle exaggeratedly prepared as a first meal, there were no guards waiting for her to finish eating, much less chefs waiting attentively for feedback on the dish of the day. This was unique, humble, and sincere—not something fake, sad, and melancholic like it used to be at the castle.
"Listen Blackfire, do you want to go train with me later?" Clark asks, completely cutting through Blackfire's thoughts.
"H-huh?... train?" Blackfire asks, confused.
"Yes! Usually on weekends, I train at the old quarry near the mountains. It's huge and has been abandoned for years, so I use that space as a 'battlefield' to perfect my skills," says Clark excitedly.
"Clark, I've already told you not to go to that quarry. It might be abandoned, but the owner might show up someday," says Elara.
"Not at all, mom, I don't destroy much there. I make my own obstacles with the debris that's already there, so I'm not destroying anything," Clark responds.
"I understand, but it's still dangerous," says Elara.
"Don't worry, Dad let me and said it was no problem at all," Clark completes while looking at his father.
Elara turns to Ronan with a death stare and a forced smile while saying: "Ahh... Dad let you?..." Ronan, afraid, pretends to be reading the newspaper... upside down.
"So, Blackfire? Want to go?" Clark turns back to his friend.
"Hmmm, I-I don't know... I don't have that many skills, I would only get in the way of your training," says Blackfire, looking down.
"D-don't worry! You won't get in the way at all! I usually train alone, so just having company makes it more fun," Clark responds quickly to cheer Blackfire up.
"Besides..." Clark says while taking both of Blackfire's hands and interlacing them with his fingers. "I can teach you too," Clark completes while holding Blackfire's hand and offering a sincere smile.
Blackfire, in turn, lifts her head and opens her eyes, enchanted and surprised by Clark's kindness. She stays paralyzed for a few seconds, unable to think of anything, just observing the humble and gentle boy in front of her.
She gets excited too and closes her fingers, finishing the interlace with Clark's hands.
"Alright! Let's go then," says Blackfire, excited for her training.
Ronan and Elara just look at the two with an expression of happiness seeing the joy of the two together.
"You know... we were just like that when we met," says Ronan, almost whispering to Elara.
Elara hugs Ronan, who pulls her to his chest, and she replies:
"I was thinking the same thing," Elara responds while being hugged by Ronan.
After a few hours of breakfast, the two were just about to head out the front door.
"Bye Dad, bye Mom!" Clark shouts while running outside.
"Bye Mrs. Elara and Mr.—" before Blackfire could finish speaking, Ronan appears in front of the door, blocking Clark and Blackfire's path.
He is standing with his arms crossed and a serious face. His physical build practically closes off the door, and an air of seriousness dominates the mood at that moment.
"Clark..." Ronan says with a harsh voice, lifting his head and opening his eyes to a point of superiority.
The two freeze, not knowing what Ronan is about to do. Blackfire hides behind Clark, who responds: "Y-yes?..."
"Where is..." Ronan says, taking a step forward while the two take a step back.
"WHERE IS THE HALF OF THE COLD CAKE THAT I SAVED???" Ronan falls to his knees on the floor while starting to cry.
Blackfire and Clark fall onto their backs, completely confused and shocked by the scene.
"I HAVE NO IDEA!! I DIDN'T EVEN SEE THAT HALF!" Clark screams.
"There was some left over, so I saved it to eat later..." Ronan says emotionally.
"Uh... M-mr. Ronan..." Blackfire begins to say, embarrassed.
"I-it was me who ate it..." she finishes, lowering her head and twiddling her fingers shyly.
"Ronan, stop that, you need to grow up," Elara appears in the room.
"And I was the one who gave the cake to Blackfire. I saw the half, and since there was no note or owner, I gave it to her to try," Elara explained.
"sniff sniff I understand..." Ronan finishes.
"Geez... what madness," says Clark, still surprised.
"Let's go, Blackfire, we need to go before it gets dark," Clark added as he left the house.
"Let's go!" Blackfire responds right behind him.
Clark leaves the house and Blackfire follows right after. Blackfire comes back and says, "I'm sorry about the cake," then leaves again.
Ronan just gives an "OK" sign with his hands.
Elara sighs and tells Ronan to get up.
At the Quarry
Clark led the way, going down the small dirt trail that led to the stone road. Blackfire followed right behind, still thinking about the dramatic cake scene.
"Your family is... intense," she commented.
"You haven't seen anything yet," Clark replied, laughing. "My dad takes dessert very seriously."
The path to the old quarry wasn't short. They crossed a part of the village, passed through open fields, and followed a trail that climbed slightly toward the mountains. The wind was colder there, but the sun still illuminated everything with a clear and vibrant light.
"So... do you come here often?" Blackfire asked.
"Almost every weekend," Clark replied. "It's quiet, nobody bothers me... and I can make as many mistakes as I want."
"Mistakes?"
"Yeah. Falling, tripping, hitting rocks... it's all part of it."
After a few minutes of climbing, the quarry finally appeared before them. It was huge. High rocks surrounded the space like natural walls. The ground was uneven, full of smaller stones and remains of old structures. But in the middle of it all, there was organization.
Blackfire widened her eyes.
"You... made this?"
Clark smiled, proud.
There were small obstacles made with boards resting on stone blocks. Ropes fastened between rocks for balance. A sequence of jumps marked with white paint. Further back, a circular space delimited with stones—clearly a type of improvised ring.
"Welcome to my battlefield," Clark said, opening his arms.
Blackfire walked slowly through the site, touching one of the boards.
"This looks... serious."
"It is serious!" Clark replied. "Here I train jumping, speed, balance... and there," he pointed to the stone circle, "is where I train hand-to-hand combat."
"By yourself?"
"Yes. Sometimes I imagine I'm facing demons. Or legendary warriors."
Blackfire looked around, impressed.
"You really dedicate yourself."
Clark climbed onto one of the highest stones with ease.
"And today... you're going to train with me."
He held out his hand to her. Blackfire hesitated for a second. Then she took a deep breath. She took his hand and climbed up.
The wind blew harder at that moment, slightly lifting her hair. Clark jumped into the small stone ring and took an exaggeratedly dramatic fighting stance.
"First rule," he said. "Never underestimate your opponent."
Blackfire stepped down into the circle too, facing him.
"Second rule?" she asked.
Clark offered a confident smile.
"Don't go easy on me."
Blackfire clenched her fists. The wind passed through the rocks again. And there, in the middle of the old abandoned quarry...
The two stood face to face. Ready to begin.