The Fire God's Bride

Thomas POV:
Weaving through the throngs of people, I silently followed her. Her name was Alessandra and she was the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on. I should know better than anyone about beauty; I was the God of Fire after all. It had been my luck to find such a vivacious and fiery young woman in the Spanish town of Cabrils. I had been searching for eons in my territories; from Northern Italy to the very south of Spain.

In my search, I had often overlooked the small towns such as this, but something drew me to Cabrils around a year ago. That was when I had first seen Alessandra and when I had realized that an eternity of searching was finally over. My first sighting of her had been when she and her friends were swimming in the tranquil waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Her friends were beautiful, but she was absolutely stunning. Copper skin, long coal black hair, a slender, yet shapely body, large, expressive eyes, and a face too beautiful to describe left me wondering whether I was gazing upon a mortal or some unknown goddess.

I had watched over her since that day, waiting for the right moment to spirit her away from this town by the sea to my palace in Madrid. Tonight was the night that the people in all of my territories celebrated me. It was also Alessandra’s 16th birthday, which made this all even more perfect. This was the night when I would take Alessandra as my wife. All I had to do was enchant her and present the twin to the necklace her parents gave her. It was simple enough but I also had to win Alessandra’s heart in the process. Unlike many of the girls who shared with her this birthday, she wasn’t assuring herself that I would make an appearance at her ball and whisk her away to become a goddess and my wife. No, she was more interested in having a wonderful time at her celebration with her family and friends.

As I followed Alessandra down the stone streets, I briefly glanced up at the sky. Daylight was fading and night was slowly encroaching upon the Spanish town. I grinned as I watched Alessandra walk into her home and close the door behind her. She was going to get ready for the festival. Looking around cautiously, I made sure no living soul was around before I unfurled my wings. Flames of gold encased the delicate spindles and danced as I stretched them slightly. I took off for my palace in Madrid at a speed any sane mortal would find hard to comprehend. After all, I needed to look perfect for my bride.

Alessandra’s POV:
I couldn’t wait to get home and get changed into my new outfit that Mama had made for me. It was a beautiful white cotton gown embroidered with crystals and an ornate red sash tied around the waist. Papa had proclaimed that I was sure to be the princess of the ball when he had seen me try it on Friday. Tonight’s festival and ball were held in the honor of the Fire God. He was supposed to be very handsome as well as charming and young girls were often warned to be wary of men that fit his description unless they wanted to end up pregnant and alone.

Today was Sunday and it was not only the Fire God’s day of celebration, but it was also my 16th birthday. The elder ladies of the village had been handing me white roses all day today as part of a very old tradition. The tradition was that all of the elder women in the town would hand a girl a single white rose on the day of her 16th birthday. The white roses symbolized purity and beauty. Once the young girl had collected all of the roses, they were to be tied by the girl’s mother with a cord of gold. For the girls like me who had been born on the day of the celebration of the Fire God, the gold cord was to have a ruby charm on it in hopes that the birthday girl would be chosen to become the wife of the Fire God. A ball would be held in the girl’s honor the night of her birthday and the entire village would attend. Suitors would try their luck with the girl and then present a red rose to the girl’s father. If the girl favored the boy’s attentions and the father accepted the boy’s gift of a red rose, the boy and girl would become betrothed to one another.

If a man arrived at the ball and was able to produce a gold necklace with the exact ruby charm to the girl’s father, he automatically won the girl’s hand. This was because only the Fire God would be able to duplicate the necklace flawlessly. Many other villages, cities, and towns in Spain and Italy had been hoping for centuries that a young girl born on this special day would be chosen, but the Fire God had never appeared. “I just know you’ll be the one,” my papa had always proclaimed, “the Fire God would have to be an idiot not to choose you as his bride.”

I smiled to myself as I buried my face in the white roses; inhaling their light scent deeply. Maybe Papa was right; maybe I would be the lucky girl that the Fire God chose. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing if the portrait painted in his temple was exact. The portrait had been painted nearly 2,000 years ago by a woman who had claimed to have met him at a festival in our very village. The painting showed a man so handsome he couldn’t be mistaken for a human. Bronze skin, carefully chiseled features, fiery, dark eyes, a muscular body that would put any Greek Olympian to shame, and black hair that looked like thin ropes pulled away from his face were what the painting depicted. Every girl in the village clung to the hope that she would be chosen as his bride and whisked away to his palace that was rumored to exist somewhere in Madrid. However, I was thinking of how much fun I would have tonight with all of my family and friends. I almost skipped along as I made my way towards my home.

Suddenly, I got the strange feeling that someone was following me. Alessandra, my conscience scolded, stop that. You’re not the only one walking in this direction. I shook off the feeling and smiled as I finally reached my home. I was greeted by my family as I entered the house. “Feliz cumpleaños, Alessandra,” my abuela said with a smile as I rushed into her waiting arms, “I trust you’re excited to see if the Fire God will make an appearance at your ball tonight, si?” My mother laughed and put away the dishes she had just finished cleaning. “Mama,” she scolded gently, “stop filling Alessandra’s head with that nonsense!” Abuela laughed as she released me from the hug. “Well,” she replied, wagging a finger at my mother, “he would have to be a real idiota not to, wouldn’t he?” I giggled. Suddenly Papa came in the back door followed by a very familiar old man. “Abuelo,” I cried out, running to him. “Feliz cumpleaños, Alessandra,” he replied, embracing me, “my, my, 16 already. It seems like only yesterday I was holding you for the first time!” I watched as Papa set a small wooden box on the dining room table and smiled at me. “It’s almost 7 o’clock,” my mother said gently, “Alessandra, you need to be getting ready.” I looked up at my grandfather, smiling. “Go child,” he said, walking over to stand by my father, “don’t keep your mother and grandmother waiting.” I bounded up the stairs, followed by my mother and grandmother. I couldn’t wait for my party!

Thomas POV:
Dressing down as a mortal was pretty difficult. It had been almost two hours since I had arrived home and I was just now finishing my outfit selection. I had to keep my outfit simple and close to the style of Cabrils. I had a pristine white tunic as a top, black pants, and black leather shoes on. It looked as good as any of my more regal garbs on me and I smiled. It was Alessandra’s privilege to dress up today and outshine all others. “You look good,” came a familiar voice from the doorway. I grinned as I spun around and there stood my twin brother, the Water God, Wilhelm. “You think so?” I wanted to look perfect for my mortal subjects and my bride’s family. “I rather like its simplicity,” Wilhelm replied, “that was how I was able to collect my bride without causing too much of a disturbance, remember?” I smiled.

Wilhelm had found his bride 4 years ago in a small town in Sweden. Annika made Wilhelm so happy; she sang for him, her soprano voice echoing throughout his palace in Berlin, always knowing the right thing to say, and her ability to make people laugh made her a joy to have around. When she had first been chosen and taken, however, she had refused to sing for my brother stating that no matter how beautiful a cage the palace was, it was just that; a cage. Wilhelm, pained by how his beloved bride suffered, agreed to let her leave for two days a month to see her family. Once that had happened, she began singing again and the two had been happy ever since. Hopefully Alessandra wouldn't react the same way. I don't think I could bear to see her unhappy. “You had better get going,” Wilhelm said with a smile, “her ball starts at 8 o’clock and it’s already 7:45.” I nodded and grabbed the perfect red rose off of the dresser top and headed out the door. As I flew past numerous cities and towns, all I could think of was Alessandra.

Alessandra’s POV:
“You look beautiful,” my mother said, a tear escaping her eye, “Papa was right; you do look like a princess!” I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. The dress looked just as amazing as ever and made me feel like royalty. My grandmother had slipped in a pair of simple golden hoop earrings into my ears as she finished my hair. “You look beautiful, cara,” she murmured, slipping a red rose into my hair, “don’t forget your roses now.” I smiled at her. “I know, Abuela,” I responded, giving her a big hug, “thank you both for making me look beautiful.” My mother handed me the bouquet of white roses. I inspected the necklace holding them all together and gasped. “Mama, this is your engagement necklace,” I said breathlessly, “are you sure?” She nodded. “Now it’s yours,” she replied, embracing me, “that necklace has been passed through our family for 200 years, mother to daughter.” I hugged her tight, so overwhelmed I couldn’t voice my thanks. I knew that she knew how thankful I was.

I walked downstairs and my father and grandfather were waiting by the door. “Te ves hermosa novia,” my grandfather exclaimed, “you look breath taking!” I blushed and looked over at my father. Tears were welling up in his eyes as he watched me walk down the stairs. “Papa,” I exclaimed, rushing over to hug him, “don’t cry.” He wrapped his arms around me. “I’m not sad, cara,” he said softly, “I just can’t believe how beautiful my baby girl has become and that she’s all grown up.” I smiled and stifled tears. “We better hurry,” my mother said, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, “it’s 7:50.” My father moved towards the door and opened it. I walked outside and there were all my friends. They were on me in an instant; exclaiming how beautiful I looked, how gorgeous the dress was, and how excited they were for me. I was in my own world however, imagining myself dancing with the boys and even the small chance that maybe the Fire God would choose me. As we walked to the town square, all I could think of was him.