FIRAINTH Fire Water Wind Earth (FANTASY)

Chapter 1: A Help From a Friend

In a small village called Iffley in Oxford, past midnight, Private Brown, an English soldier, was escorting two hooded girls to Mr. Sarebary's orphanage. Each girl carried a small suitcase. It was difficult to see the path, as there were no street lights, only the full moon. They stopped in front of a large iron gate to rest. Private Brown was afraid they'd gotten lost. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket with the address scribbled on it. Fortunately, the moon was bright enough for him to read it, so he looked back at the sign on the gate and realized it had the same name as the one on the paper in his hand. He opened the gate and walked in but the girls stood their place, staring at the giant building in front of them. They could see a faint light issuing from each window, going off one at a time.

"Hey! You two come on. I haven't got all night." Private Brown demanded.

The girls obeyed and followed him to the door. Private Brown knocked a couple of times but no one answered. Then he tried the doorbell twice but still no answer. A few seconds later, a young man in his mid twenties opened the door.

"Good evening." said Private Brown. "Is this Mr. Sarebary's orphanage?"

"Yes. What do you want?" The young man asked directly.

"I need to speak with Mr. Sarebary, it's urgent."

"Come in then." The young man replied, opening the door wider.

The Private and the girls followed him through the hallway to Mr. Sarebary's office. The young man knocked on the door.

"Come in." Said a voice from inside.

"Mr. Sarebary?"

Mr. Sarebary was sitting on his desk, smoking a pipe while doing paper work.

He was in his mid fifties and most of his face was hidden under a dark-silvery, thick beard.

"Yes, what is it?" His voice was sharp.

"There's a soldier who would like to see you, sir."

"Bring him in," he said, gesturing with his hand without glancing up from his desk.

The boy nodded and turned back to Private Brown. "You can go in now."

Private Brown thanked the man then turned to face the hooded girls. "You stay here," he snapped at them. "until I call you to come in."

For the following half hour the girls waited patiently on a wooden bench. They had the feeling they were being watched by someone. It was very quiet in the hallway and the light was flickering from the wall lamps, irritating one of the girls eyes. For a second, they looked at each before pinning their eyes elsewhere. The door opened and Private Brown finally called them in.

The girls went inside and stood in front of Mr. Sarebary, who was still smoking his pipe while giving them a stern unfriendly look. Both girls removed their hoods to reveal their faces. One had damp long brown hair, an innocent face, and lovely, albeit mysterious, green eyes. The other girl's hair was long and raven black. She had enthralling brown eyes that made her look even more dashing. But the girls' beauty didn't show because they were covered in dirt from head to toe.

"So these are the girls," Said Mr. Sarebary. "You," Pointing his pencil at the brunette, "Name, last name and date of birth."

She answered immediately with a soft voice. "My name is Monica Crestmer. I was born January first 1932."

"1932," he repeated while writing in his notebook. "So you must be fifteen years old then?"

"Yes." She nodded. Private Brown cleared his throat and nudged Monica's shoulder. "Sir." She added quickly.