Endowed - The Four Elements

Chapter One : The Unexpected Attack

 This story will no longer be continued, but check out my other story! http://www.wattpad.com/story/7451474-fear-me

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Clarrisa was just like the rest of the ten year old girls in the village, but she had something inside of her she didn't knew. She was disliked to be called by her actual name for some reason, she just preferred her nickname - Clare. She was the only child, having to do chores, but her help was greatly appreciated, especially her mother. Without her assistance, her mum would be as busy as a bee, working in the kitchen all day, harvesting wheat, feeding the cows, it would a never ending routine. Thanks to her, she could sometimes smell the fresh air outside, enjoy a cool glass of tea sometimes.

Clarrisa had ginger brown hair, pale skin with freckles on her bright red cheeks, her golden brown eyes matched the colour of her hair. She wore just a white torso and beige leggings everyday, sometimes a small leather jacket if she planned to go out.

 Their family's background was quite better and luckier than the rest of the villagers of Hemshire. They had big plots of land to grow wheat, it was their main source of money, followed by linen and milk. Clare's father, Mr. Aiden that is, used to work in the mines, earning plenty of money for the household every week. They needed not to worry of starvation. In fact, they were the first ever family to move in to Hemshire, ever since their old village had been attacked by strangers. They ran into the forest, passed trough mazes, and even survived in the woods for five months. After months and months of continuous adventure, they saw what looked like a village wall from the peaks of a mountain, they managed, at the end, to find the Hidden Village of Hemshire. Slowly, more people started moving in, and Hemshire is what it is today.

 After years of mining, he accidentaly hurt his right arm, which resulted in a permanent damamge to the bone structure of his hand. Ever since, he needed  to wear a piece of cloth over his right arm, the cloth rubbed by a kind of magical liquid called - Janjruis. A traditional medicine for pain relif made from fresh herbs and mint, with a touch of magic of course. He then needed to help the family by selling their crops at the market square with help from Clare, the reward was not as much as mining, but less risky.

"Would you come and have your breakfast already, Clarissa, it's getting cold." Sophia Brans shouted , while carefully stirring a cabbage stew at the kitchen, preparing dinner already.

"I'll be there in a jiffy, Mom. I still have a couple more plants to water. And I prefer to be called Clare, like a said a thousand times before." Clarissa responded, her voice as rough as ever from the sore throat she had yesterday. She quickly titled the bucket and sent splashes of water everywhere over the flowerbed, it was a common mistake she does everyday, but never bothers to correct it. She trudged in and placed the pail in the sink, giving it a good rinse with soap and water.

"I see you're still having that awful sore throat of yours, I'll go get some medicene at Uncle Jim's this afternoon." Sophia said.

"I'ts alright, we can use the money for better things, like better shoes, better clothes, and maybe a better house!" Clare said while flapping her hands in the air. The house was indeed cramped and messy, with books all over, bags of wheat pilled up everywhere, with pieces of paper scattering all over the floor. Clare was a cheerful sport, but she longed to marry someone rich, perhaps a prince if possible. She was grateful of what she already had, but once you have a farm outside with a cramp house, you start to get claustrophobic, Clare obviously disliked that feeling.

 Clare was more than a helpful daughter, she was independent, selling their crops at the trading square from dawn to dusk. She never once complained of fatigue or muscle aching, she was one of a kind.

"Well don't get your hopes up, we still need to purchase coal for the furnace, hay for sheep and much much more, but yet the price of these items just keep increasing." Sophia giggled, as she poured the stew into three bowls and placed it near the stove. " Hurry and eat up already, I have other things to do rather than to just stand here all day and wait for you."

 Hearing what her mother had said, she immediately took a seat, and began consuming her porridge. As she took a spoonful of porridge down her throat she gazed at the view at the backyard through the windowpane, cows grazing the grass, chicken panicking to try whatever they can to escape the coop, with birds gathering by the bird-fountain sipping water from their sharp shiny beaks. This was more than an ordinary village, a magical one she thought.
 
 She hastily gulped down her bowl of porridge and dashed to the living room to get her jacket that hanged from the coat rack. As she reached for the garment, she said, "I'm going out to help dad with the shop, is there anything you request, mom?". She placed on her jacket and stood there awkwardly, waiting for a response.

"Indeed I do have one, would you come in the kitchen for a moment please?" Sophia called, with what sounded like food in her mouth. Clare took quick steps and reached the kitchen, while her mother carried out two buckets of milk from the backyard. "These are for Mr Alex, tell him these are freshly squeezed, you'll probably get a good treat." she winked. "Now you better be off now, father doesn't like people who show up late," she went trough the hallway, and opened the door.
 
 Clare paced trough the door, bid her mother goodbye, and raced to Mr Alex's house. On the way, she saw children playing by the streets, hopscotch, jumping jacks and hide and seek. Adults busy wandering the gravel paths, carrying goods on their hands, trying every way to earn money. As she walked along the cramped path, people were starting to crash Clare, which resulted in minor spills of milk. She reached the market square and saw her father, busy selling bags of wheat and rolls of linen to his customers. Mr. Aiden didn't noticed her daughter passing by, Clare took the advantage and stealthily crept trough the square into a narrow walkway, a shortcut she known long ago to Mr Alex's house. Thanks to the shortcut she had reached infront of his doorway in an instant, she gently knocked the oak door and waited for someone to open it.

 Moments later, an elderly man stood in front of her, plump with patches of white fluffy hair on both sides of his head, with golden framed spectacles in front of his eyes, her head reaching his neck. He wore a checked velvet red coat, with a white garment inside, and a neck tie encrusted with a ruby in the middle. He wore shoes that were so shiny it blinded Clare's eyes under the fiery sun, she realised it was especially hot and damp today. She cheerfully handed the two buckets of milk, and by the time it reached his house, the bucket was already half empty. She then embarrassingly said, "Our weekly delivery of milk. Unfortunately..", she stared at the ridiculous amount of milk in the buckets.

"It's not a problem at all my dear, Clarissa. Hold on, I might have something you need." He said in a heavy British accent, leaving the door and climbing up the stairs so ever slowly. She placed the buckets on the floor and waited, and waited. After a full minute had passed, Mr Alex handed Clare a small bag of coins, copper or gold, she was unsure, but with such a bag of money, either of them would be lots already.

"Is it enough?", he asked kindly, still talking in a fancy tone, picking up the buckets.

"It's more than enough," Clare smiled, her cheeks reddening, still thinking about the spilled milk. "I hope the spilt  milk won't be a bother," she said softly, almost whispering.

"It's just fine, accidents happen, don't they?"

Oh snap, she thought, father is going to be outraged at me! She took action in an instant and passed trough the narrow paths once more, as she gazed up, she noticed the sun was getting dimmer all of a sudden. Weird, wasn't it just bright and sunny a moment ago? soon there would be a heavy downpour. As she approached her father's store, her father looked at her, a  disappointed look on his face, not angry, Clare was surprised.

"I'm sorry, Papa. I had to deliver milk to the Mr Alex," she acknowledged her father, her voice trembling.

"It's alright, you can help Mrs Rosie with the linen, she's having trouble picking the right one for her dress." Mr John said, while giving out a bag of rice to a customer.

The sun was slowly dimming, crows started to squawk all over the village, rainclouds gathered around the sun, completely obscuring it. At the same moment, people started scattering all over the village, returning to their homes for shelter, it was gonna be a bad storm. Vendors quickly kept their items and dashed home, avoiding more inconvenience. Clare quickly did the same but it was too late, the clouds started rumbling, flashed of thunder could be heard, drizzling, then continued with a disastrous thunderstorm.

"Hurry up, and get the rolls of linen back home, I'll follow you." Mr Aiden said, placing bags of what on a wooden cart. Clare quickly did what her father had told her to. Then storm was getting worse, rain droplets landing on the slate roofs of the houses, and to Clare's surprise a tiny hailstone landed on her head, with a call of pain she said, "Ouch! It's a hailstorm, Papa. We better hurry!"

After minutes of packing, they managed to lift the items and just began to advance towards their house, something unbelievable and the unexpected happened.

 Just as they were about to leave the square, the sturdy stone wall in front of them blasted into a million pieces. One of the boulders ended up crashing on someone's roof, destroying the slate lining. A group of seven magicians stood before them, evil ones most likely, their long patterned and colorful robes, with wands on their hands. One advanced, and started chanting, waving his wand. Clare and her dad just stood there like stiff mannequins. Their jaws dropped, they froze, somehow unable to move.

A spark slowly began to form infront of the magician's wand, still turning it in circles infront of him, aiming at Clare and her father. Soon, a head of a dragon began to take shape from the sparks, illuminating the dim and eerie enviroment in a vast radius. The 2-Dimmensional dragon began to turn its head towards them. It's mouth opened, creating some sort of a mini vortex inside. Clare and her father was struck with fear, not knowing what to do, they tried to move their legs, but failed, as if something engulfed their legs. The next second, a devastating twister was created at the middle of the market square, Clare's father was immediately sucked in.

"Father, No!", she screamed in fear," Catch my hand, Papa. Don't let go! You won't want to leave me us alone!", she gripped his father hand firm, trying everything to pull him out of the twister, pulling and pulling, never letting go. Spirits began to circle the twister, singing a horrid tune. They raced towards her father and entered his body, before she knew it her father was fading into pieces, his soul sucked by the unusual twister. Right after, the twister vanished in mid-air. Nothing else more.

"Father, I.. I..", she stood there, thinking of her father just gone like that, in seconds, Impossible.. She looked back, she saw one of the magicians flying towards her saying cruely, "Give up, little girl, your father is gone and there is nothing you can do about it," she panicked. She ran out of the square, anything to escape from the magician. As she ran, she saw the houses beside of her, beginning to fade like her father. Plants wilting, animals dying. She then tought of her mother who was still inside the house, "Mother, please be safe." she whispered to herself. She took a glance back and saw the magician still chasing after her.

"If you have magic and you can't catch me, then whats the use of your magic!" She shouted. Setting her vision back on the road, she started to loose her breath, panting, taking frequent pauses, and resumed her running. The magician slowly caught up with her. He nearly caught the collar of her torso, but was not succesful. With a dead end infront, she quickly took a right turn, leaving the magician crashing against the stone wall in front. The mage gave a call of pain, then laid on the floor, hands wrapping his left leg. Clare managed a half-hearted smile and continued to run, just then she saw what looked like a mine, The Hemshire Mine! 

She ran towards the mines, avoiding the uneven gaps on the path. She took another look back, the houses were completely gone and still no sight of her mom, but just random strangers running in fear, the magicians destroying Hemshire. She sighed of despair and jogged into the caves, catching her breath, and continuing her escape.