The Six of Us

Chapter One

17 YEARS AGO

The village of Eirivion was peaceful under the black, unclouded sky. The streets were silent and vacant, excusing the sound of faint rustling leaves from the surrounding woodland and its magical creatures. Small wooden houses lined a cobble road running through the middle of the village, accompanied by gardens with bushes and flowers. The low roofs were thatched and made from rye straw. The magical aura of the village surrounded Eirivion like a cloud as the people slept soundly in their beds- all but one. A baby girl with flaming red hair.

Inside a house nearer the end of the cobble road, she lay awake in her small bed - made of a basket and cloth. The magic inside of the baby girl traveled through her restlessly as she tried to sleep, almost like a pulse behind her emerald eyes. It felt as if the magic she possessed wanted to completely take over, to rid the baby girl of all control - and it succeeded. Unable to cope with the energy any longer, the baby began to scream. The screams were piercing and loud as the magical levels in the young baby’s blood started to rise. And rise. And rise. It rose and her once beautiful green eyes flickered like a candle to a mix of orange and red - like a flame. It rose until the windows shattered, opening up the room to the harsh wind of the outside world. It rose until two adults, a man with blonde hair and a woman with the same red hair as her daughter, stood helplessly and shocked at the door of the bedroom as their baby girl possessed more and more magic - more power - than they’d ever seen before in a person, let alone a mere baby.

The girl screamed and screamed until a flame erupted from her small hand. It danced in her palm as it grew in size, the emitted light of the flame growing in the dark room. The parents marveled at the flame, both terrified but amazed. The flames kept getting bigger - soon too big for her small hands to control. A roaring sound echoed throughout the house. The sound shook the wooden walls, which were littered with happy photos of the small family, and pictures of dragons drawn by the little girl. Both parents, who were still standing at the door of the room and scared to come any closer, snapped out of their amazement and ducked at the loud roaring noise. When they rose again and looked across the room toward their daughter, her bed was engulfed in bright orange flames. A worried gasp came from the mother, but no more screams could be heard from the baby. She wasn’t in any pain. The woman edged closer to the baby to find her face etched with concentration and her eyes still that strong mix of orange and red, as she let out a string of bright fire from her hands. It traveled like a snake onto the planked floor, weaving through the small cracks of each piece of wood, and the floor promptly set afire. The woman stumbled back as the flames traveled towards her quickly. She grabbed her husband's hand as they attempted to run out the house, out of the bedroom and through the small hallway towards the front door, but found that the door was locked, or something was blocking it. That’s when they started to panic. The fire was getting closer. Spreading up the wooden walls and down the hallway to where they stood. The young couple, now drenched in panic, didn't know what spiked this suprised outburst from their daughter, but they knew they wouldn't survive it - and they didn’t.

The baby was still sitting on her makeshift bed, the flames leaving her hands like tears, fast and continuous, slowly making the house a box of fire. She didn’t seem to hear the deafening cries of her parents, or the crackling and roar of the flames. She sat oblivious and watched as each flame touched a surface and torched it.

But somehow, almost like a button had been pressed, the firery colour left her eyes, now returning to that shining green, and she fell asleep, even amongst the large box of fire that was now her bedroom.

If she had stayed awake for mere seconds more, the young girl would’ve heard the sounds of a man laughing and his footsteps outside the house towords her, or that a cloaked woman had entered the room silently and quickly, almost like she didn't want to be seen, and walked through the puddles of fire with a confusing ease.

The woman picked up the sleeping girl and wrapped her in a black blanket, bringing the small bundle to her chest. She ran out of the house and into the woodland, without looking back at the man screaming in rage into the night, or being noticed at all, with the baby ball of fire in her arms.

Inside the house, the fire inside split into three strands, then, six, then eight. And soon, the entirety of the same small house near the end of the cobble road eairlier that evening was no more - including both the father and mother, now bathing in red hot flames.