Hah! Having not read any previous work, this is a very interesting place to step in on! As far as I know Alexia is dead and you're writing a story about her mother coping with all of it, which is fascinating in and of itself. I only really get that this isn't the case because there is so much spoiling happening from other comments and your disclaimers...

Pretty poignant moment. I like that there are a lot of those cropping up in everyone's writing here, lately.

I'm curious about Alexia's story, now -- if she isn't dead, what happened? Is she part fire elemental or something of some equivalent? What's the end of the world about? What's with the drastic costume change that I assume happens when Alexia is older?

Lots of questions. Good stuff!