Raging Fire

One

The dark forest loomed eerily, unknown animals prowling in the blackness. Branches creaked, sending odd noises throughout the silence. An owl hooted in the distance, hunting mice and other rodents. Dead leaves fluttered in little spirals when the wind picked them up, the brown grass ruffled silently in the cold breeze.

Suddenly, the silence was broken. Footsteps pounded, almost too quiet to hear at first, but then became louder. A twig cracked underfoot as Calantha Ravensthorne ran through the darkness. Through the black, Calantha's fiery red hair swirled around her head, and her ice blue eyes shone brightly. She panted as she ran, her long legs gaining distance on her attacker every second. She looked behind her. The dark, shadowy shape of the assassin was falling behind. An arrow whistled past her head, and Calantha sprinted faster. She tripped on a tree root, and went sprawling towards the ground. She picked herself up again, and ran. A thorny bush caught her elbow, scratching her arm and ripping her dress. She closed her eyes as she pushed through the bushes, twigs and thorns scratching her freckled cheeks. The footsteps of her attacker faded, and Calantha stopped behind a large oak tree to catch her breath. Suddenly, a hand caught her ankle. She opened her mouth to scream, but another hand clamped down on her face, restricting any sound. She struggled, clawing and kicking. The hands pulled her towards the ground, and she sunk into the dirt like it was quicksand, and the more she struggled, the deeper she sank. The hand on her ankle pulled her down, and Calantha disappeared into the earth.

Calantha woke up with a start. She was drenched in sweat, her body hot and sticky. She wiped her forehead. Her sister's cot creaked beside her, and Calantha jumped.
It was just a dream. She told herself. It was only a dream. There's no need to be afraid. Over and over she repeated this, but finally, the sun rose over the mountains. Calantha's sister groaned from beside her.
“ Calla? Are you alright?”
“ I just had a bad dream, Briony.” She answered shakily. Briony got out of her bed, and sat on the end of her younger sisters. Her long, wavy, auburn hair flowed down her back, her green eyes glittering with worry.
“ It was that dream again, wasn't it?” Briony asked. Calla nodded feebly. “ We're safe, you know that. There's nothing to worry about.” Briony reassured her.
“ I know.” Calla said. She hugged her knees. “ It doesn't make it any less scary, though.” Briony stood up, and pulled Calla to her feet.
“ Come on, I'll make breakfast.” Calla smiled at her.

Calla and her sister entered the tiny kitchen, a stove, counter, and washing tub stood against the wall. A small table holding only two chairs lay in the corner. There were only two rooms in their cottage, they had no need for more. Briony handed Calla a pail.
“ Go to the well, won't you?” Calla took the bucket, and opened the wooden front door. The frost covered grass crunched beneath her feet, her breath freezing inside the air. It was late November, and it was due to snow soon. The oak trees surrounding the cottage  had all lost their leaves, revealing bare branches. A golden feathered, elegant bird, with a dark red ring around its neck, called a celestial ringneck, flew past, and a small, golden tail feather floated to the ground. Calla picked it up, examining the beautiful shine to it. She held it up to one of her eyes, and looked through it. The small meadow with its frozen stands of grass turned rainbow. Calla gently stowed the feather away in her dress pocket. She headed towards the middle of the meadow, where the small well was buried into the ground. A small flock of sunset capped curassows with their magnificent reg and orange plumage took off from the meadow where they were snacking on bugs. Calla placed the handle of the pail on the hook, and then lowered the pail down. A gentle splash followed, and then a gurgle. Calla brought the pail back up again, and unhooked it. She started to walk back towards the cottage.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of hoofsteps coming from the small pathway leading away from the cottage. Calla sprinted towards the cottage, and locked the door. Briony looked at her with a confused face.
“ Calla, what's wro—”
“ Soldiers, coming!” She panted. She had dropped the pail outside, and now her dress was covered in water. Briony remained calm. She grabbed a satchel off the hook by the door, and started filling it with bread and butter, and as much food as she could fit.
“ Climb out the bedroom window!” She ordered. “ I'll hold them off for as long as I can.” Calla grabbed the satchel, and hurried into the bedroom, which luckily faced away from the pathway. She opened the window, and climbed out. She shut it closed.
“ Are you Briony Ravensthorne?” A soldier with a deep voice asked.
“ Yes, I am.”
“ Is Calantha Ravensthorne in the presence?”
“ No, sir. She is dead.”
“ Who was that redheaded girl running from the well?” The soldier questioned.
“ That was me, sir.”
“ Your hair is different.”
“ My hair gets lighter in the sun.” Briony lied.
“ If that was you, then why did you run?”
“ I did not know who you were, sir. I had every right to be afraid.”
“ I heard a noise coming from the window back there.” The soldier said. “ When we entered.”
“ The window sometimes clatters when the door is opened or closed. It is not very strong.” Briony said, her chin raised defiantly.
“ Very well.” The soldier paused, and Calla let out a sigh of relief.
“ I still have to search your house.” The soldier barged in. Calla gasped, and peeked through the glass. The soldier was browsing through Briony's clothes and looking under the beds.
“ May I ask why there are two beds?”
“ One is an extra, if there are ever any guests.” Briony answered, still calm, her face a mask of lies.
“ Why are both of the bedsheets rumpled?”
“ I slept in one of them half the night, but I switched to the other.”
“ Why would you do that?”
“ The sheets of Calantha's old bed still have the faint scent of her. It calms me.”
“ Hmm.” The soldier murmured.  “ I will perform a search around the house, around the property.” Briony caught sight of Calla peeking in through the window. While the soldiers back was turned, she mouthed,
“ Go, now!” Calla sprinted towards the edge of the forest, and ducked behind a tree. Nobody had spotted her. She sprinted through the light trees, thankful for the heavy undergrowth, even if it was late fall. She heard the two soldiers heading out the door, and the loud slam. She ran faster, her long legs hurdling over a fallen tree in the path. It was lucky there was no snow, or the soldiers could easily follow her tracks through the forest. Calla planned her journey. She knew there was a large town over the foothill, all she had to do was climb over it.

An hour later, Calla gasped as she climbed a cold, slick boulder. If anyone could even see her from down below, they would mistaken her for a fox. It was starting to get dark out, and the air was steadily chilling, sending shivers through Calla as she ran. Nearing the top of the mountain, she found a sheltered grove of cedar trees, and leaned against one to rest, panting. After she had regained her breath, she climbed the tallest tree with the widest branches, and sat down. She opened her brown satchel, and pulled out a piece of bread. She covered it with a thin layer of butter, and munched on it greedily. She rummaged through the satchel after she finished, surprised when she found a few gold Ryapia, the main currency of Suthria. The few coins were Briony's life savings. Briony would have to work a full time job for several years to earn what she had given to Calla. She smiled. Her sister loved her.

Suddenly, a branch cracked on the ground below her. Calla looked down warily. A red fox stood sniffing the ground, followed by three others. The first fox was bigger than the others, still long legged and lean, but of a bigger scale. They circled the tree, Calla holding her breath, careful not to make a noise. The big fox looked up, and seemed to not see anything besides thick tree branches. They turned away, and trotted back from the way they came, their long tails tipped with white swishing behind them. Calla let out a gasp of air. She shakily took another piece of bread out of the bag, and chewed on it, not very hungry anymore. She took her hands together after she finished, and focused on her breathing. Slowly, her hands turned from numb to warm, and from warm to unexpectedly hot. Calla opened her eyes swiftly. Her hands glowed like embers of a fire, sending off heat and warmth everywhere. Her body turned warm also, and she turned the same golden color as her hands. Her red hair flowed out behind her unnaturally, swirling, like there was a light breeze. She opened her eyes, and they turned golden also. Suddenly, Calla gasped, and slumped down. She knew what those foxes were, they were guardians of the Sunstone, the most powerful crystal in the realm, making all fire magic stronger. Calla knew what she was. She was the only known fire mage left in the realm, searched for by Queen Adonia, ruler of the realm. She possessed the unique magic of Ember, she could control fire, not set things ablaze like some others who possessed normal fire, but tame it, letting it flow like water, move like air, strike like lightning.

Yaay! First chapter is posted! It turned out longer too! I hope you like it, so please stay tuned!
— chaoselephant