The Lores of Lyra - Rising Star
Burning

A terrifying scream rang through the whole house. Everybody stopped what they were doing and rushed to the source of the high-pitched cry of pain.

Veronica Hertz forced her way between all the servants, rudely pushing them aside, and rushed to her daughter’s bedside. Miriam had a pained look on her face, her nails pressed deep into her skull. Sweat appeared on her forehead as the screaming continued. The noise made everyone cringe and attempt to cover their ears.

She had to jump away from the bed. The heat radiating from her daughter was literally scalding her bare hands as she tried to touch the girl.

“Get some ice and fetch Dr. Johansson!” she barked to the servants that stood in silence around them. Some of them couldn’t tear their eyes from the screaming girl while others wouldn’t dare to look. This was the most fascinating and terrifying thing they had ever seen in their lives, and that said something since most of them had watched Miriam’s random attacks for years. Fear, interest, sympathy, and worry masked each of their faces.

A few of the maids reacted, and Gustavo stepped in, sending most of them back to what they were doing prior to Miriam’s outburst. He bowed slightly to Veronica and, with eyes filled with worry, he stepped towards Miriam with two buckets of ice.

The ice was laid around Miriam, almost instantly melting away. At least it stopped her screaming, though it didn’t seem to do much to her body temperature. She was still too hot to touch.

Dr. Johansson came rushing in, staring at the melting ice. He walked to the opposite site from Veronica, and started to examine Miriam.

“Her temperature is out of this world! I’ve never seen anything like this,” he mumbled to himself and started pacing, stopping once in a while to look over the still girl. Without her screams, the silence was almost deafening.

Veronica feared for her daughter, and she had a hard time swallowing the lump in her throat that had formed almost immediately as she stepped into the room. This had never happened before, and she hoped Miriam could be helped this time. If she couldn’t save her daughter, she didn’t know what she would do, how she could go on.

“Keep cooling her down. That’s the only thing I can recommend, and it seems to work,” Dr. Johansson directed and ordered the servants to go out to get more ice.

“Ma …” Miriam whispered, her eyes all over the place, unable to focus on anything.

“I’m here, darling. I’m here…” Veronica answered, her voice barely coming out. She had to be strong for her daughter, so she gave her a reassuring smile. “Is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable?”

“It burns… inside,” Miriam whispered as servants kept rushing by with buckets of ice, mops and towels to clean up the growing stream of warm water on the floor.

“Miss, we are low on ice,” Gustavo interrupted, looking over at Miriam with a pained expression on his face. Veronica cringed and looked to Steven for an answer.

“Fill the tub with cold water. We have to move her there,” Dr. Johansson commanded, and everyone set to work. Servants ran to the bathroom to fill the tub with cold water while others ran to get more buckets of ice. Gustavo smiled briefly and curtly walked out of the room, leaving the doctor, Miriam and her mother by themselves.

-

Miriam didn’t notice when several servants reappeared, nor did she hear the groan of the man who lifted her up. His hands were ice-cold, and they stung deeper than the ice had. She wanted to scream, but her throat clamped together.

She let out a hiss when she was lowered into the tub. The water stung her burning, sensitive skin. She looked up to meet Dr. Johansson’s serious eyes. Her mother once again sat at her side and stroked her forehead gently, careful to dip her fist in and out of water to refrain from scalding the hand. Miriam was way too hot, and she could see the pained expression her mother gave when her fingertips brushed against her skin. The water was freezing, and after a few moments, Miriam relaxed and felt her mind become clearer.

The memory of her mother’s betrayal came rushing back to haunt her once again. The servants were sent off, and as soon as she was alone with her mother, she looked at her with glassy eyes. Their relationship had changed, and she felt the shift now more than ever before.

“What’s wrong, dear?” Veronica asked. Miriam didn’t answer. Her blue eyes searched for something in her mother’s green ones, seemingly lost.

“Who am I?” Miriam asked in a monotone voice. She felt as if she was about to shatter from all the bottled up hurt she held inside. Veronica first looked surprised and then confused. She probably didn’t understand what had happened between this morning and now. Obviously, something had…

“What do you mean? Can’t you remember? I am your mother,” she answered in a panicked voice, clutching her white pearls tightly.

“I saw the letter, who’s Jason Mallock?” Miriam continued, watching her mother look away with something that seemed like a shameful expression. Veronica’s hands covered her mouth, and she heard a faint gasp. They sat in silence, only the occasionally drop of water echoing inside the bathroom.

“How do you know?” her mother whispered, refusing to meet her daughter’s eyes.

“I found the letter, along with my death certificate.” Miriam’s voice shook with rage, venom in her words.

“I met a man many years ago, he was a soldier. In a short amount of time, we became close friends, and his name was Jason Mallock,” Veronica started with a deep sigh. Miriam’s eyes filled with wonder instead of disgust. She wanted to hear every detail if Veronica was willing to talk.

“My sister was pregnant with a child, and after she fell ill a few days before the birth, she died right. The day after, her newborn daughter joined her in the afterlife. When Jason contacted me, I found the means to keep you safe, just like he had asked me,” she explained slowly and looked up.

Miriam felt tears run down her cheeks, but she didn’t care.

“So I am merely a favor to a friend for you?” she sobbed. The pain inside her couldn’t be stopped now. Warm and salty tears were flowing freely now, landing on her burning skin harshly, digging into her like sores.

“You were never a favor, dear. I loved you from the moment I laid my eyes on you the first time,” Veronica disputed and caressed her daughter’s face, catching a few tears and drying them off. She gently forced Miriam to meet her eyes. “I love you Miriam. You are my daughter,” she said, each word empathized by the warm and loving look she gave. Slowly, Miriam nodded. “Are you better?” Veronica asked.

“The water is a little warm now,” Miriam answered, and shifted uncomfortably. The water was irritating now and didn’t help her at all.

Veronica touched the tepid water and decided to fill it once again. As she drained the tub, she noticed Miriam’s hands. They were burned, white with discolored blisters covering her palms.

“Ma, why is this happening to me? Who am I truly?” Miriam asked as she followed her mother’s stunned expression. She hadn’t felt anything on her hands, only the unbearable fire inside her, but she could see it.

“To be honest, Jason didn’t tell me a whole lot about where you came from and after the first couple of days, I just didn’t care. I tried getting a hold of him when you had your first attack, though. I didn’t succeed,” she explained and turned on the cold water.

“So you know nothing of my real mother and father?”

Veronica gave out a horrified gasp.

“I am your real mother! I might not have given birth to you, or carried you around for nine months, but I’m the one who gave you a home, raised you, and loved you. Don’t ever use those words against me again!” Her voice was just above a loud whisper.

Towering over Miriam, she gave a sad look and with no further words, she left the bathroom. Miriam turned off the water and winced slightly when the facility stung her hands. The burning inside her had decreased, but it was still there. Leaning back, she wondered, once again, why this was happening. Lately, they had been so much worse. At this pace, she wasn’t sure she would survive many more attacks.

Looking down, she studied her hands. The burns already looked less life threatening. She was relieved to see that her healing had increased along with the many attacks lately. So many things were going on right now. How am I supposed to keep up with all this?

There was the odd letter concerning her past and the fact that the more she found out, the more she was sure her mother kept something from her. Miriam had never heard of her mother even having a sister before. As far as she had known, Veronica Hertz was an only child.

Then there were also the missing pages from the book she had found in the guest room. She still needed to find those, to know what someone tried to hide from not only her, but apparently a lot of others too.

And to top it all, Blake seemed more and more fantastic. The only thing she knew about love so far was from her romance books. The butterflies she felt in her stomach every time he smiled at her wasn’t something she had ever experienced before. She was sure they meant something.

With a sigh, she lowered herself down, so her head was covered underneath the water. Enjoying the chill all over, she slowly tipped herself over the water to breathe.

When the water was lukewarm again, and her fingers resembled raisins, she called for a maid to help her up. She was happy to see that Beatrice didn’t burn herself when touching her - that meant that the water had helped. She still felt the burning inside, but at least she didn’t hurt others anymore.

Her finest white nightgown was the only thing she could stand to wear, the smooth silk caressing her burning skin. Lying down, she saw that someone must have found several electric fans. The room was cold, and it wasn’t until she noticed Beatrice shivering that she thought to send her away. In her opinion, there was no need for Beatrice to catch a cold, just by watching over her. With a promise to call for help if anything happened, she finally convinced Beatrice to leave the room.

Alone in the silence, her thoughts caught up. The betrayal she felt from her mother wasn’t forgotten, nor did she think it ever would be. The fans made the gown rustle, and she looked down at the marvelous, white silk.

At last, she relaxed enough to fall asleep.

When she passed out, her dreams were filled with the wondrous Star Lion. It talked to her, telling her to be ready. Then she ran. She couldn’t see who was chasing her; she just knew she had to get away. A blinding light stopped her when she came to a clearing. A girl with brown hair screamed, and a light erupted from her hands. On the ground, she saw a boy—a young man—shielding his eyes from the light. Miriam watched as the girl dropped down to her knees. No sound reached her ears, but she knew they were talking from the way their mouths moved.

Something nudged her gently in the side, and there stood the Star Lion. Be prepared Miriam. The dark is rising, she heard inside her head as she stared into the beast’s eyes.

Then she was on the run again. She was afraid, fear running through every one of her veins. She didn’t dare look back. It wasn’t until something cold as ice touched her hand that she woke up.

“Miriam?” Blake’s voice sounded from above her. She felt his cold hands shaking her slightly.

“Where …? What?” she asked and opened her eyes slowly, blinking rapidly to wake up and focus.

“You were whimpering in your sleep. Is everything okay?” he asked and sat back once he managed to wake her.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a bad dream, that’s all,” she said and sat up.

“What happened to your hands?” Blake took her right hand. His hands were so cold. However, as he touched the raw, open sores, the burning gradually faded away. He traced the lines of her hand with his fingertips. Before her eyes, she watched her hand heal over.

“How do you do that?” she asked with her eyes and mouth wide open. Looking up, she saw that his eyes were entirely black. She couldn’t tell his iris from the pupils. A shiver ran down her spine as she saw him arch his head back, moaning slightly in pleasure. “Blake?”

He met her eyes for a moment before looking away.

“Can we… Can we please not talk about that?” he asked and met her questioning eyes. He took a deep breath and laid his hand on her cheek. The burning disappeared from there, and she let out a relieved breath as she felt the fire inside her disappear from the spots he touched.

Can you please do it to my whole body? That feels so good. Miriam blushed at the idea of letting him touch everywhere to get the burning away. She hadn’t thought that one through.

“Lie back,” he commanded. She looked at him with surprise. Has he read my thoughts? He wasn’t about to do anything inappropriate now, was he? She opened her mouth to protest, but with a gentle nudge to her chest, she found herself on her pillow again.

He took her arm and started making his way up to her shoulder. With every new touch, he took a sharp in breath.

“Does it hurt you?” Miriam asked with concern. He looked up.

“No. Actually it feels incredible,” he answered with a small smile. Miriam stared at the smile. Something was wrong with it, though she couldn’t point out what. His eyes were once again black, and his hair made shadows bounce on his face with his movements. Every breath caused goose bumps to appear all over his smooth skin.

Shaking her thoughts about Blake away as paranoia, she tried to relax.

His fingers were doing wonders to her skin, and she gave out a slight moan every time he touched somewhere new. He kept it appropriate though, which she silently thanked the stars for.

“Does it help?” he asked, his voice sounding groggy. She didn’t think more of it, but just hummed a satisfied yes. She closed her eyes, and it didn’t take long for Blake to lie down beside her.

“Will you stay a bit until I fall sleep again?” she asked, not daring to open up her eyes to meet his. He didn’t answer, but she could feel him relax and lay his arm over her.

With a relieved sigh, she edged closer to him and in his arms, she felt the rest of the burning fade until it was all gone, only bliss left in its place.

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