		The Chronicles of Time
	     Chapter 3: the calm before the storm


The world is in a dull black nothing going on at all. The white hooded fox says as he appears from thin air, “how are you enjoying the story so far?” he looks behind him then says looking back as young Alex in the grassy field suddenly appears.  He asks looking at the forth wall, “you must be wondering what’s going to happen, well I’m not going to tell you, you’ll just have to watch this little guy some more and see how things turn up.” He snaps his fingers, the world slowly fading in around his younger self. He smiles then vanishes without another word.

The young Alex says looking around for more, “maybe I should find a bit more, Mr. Miller might be willing to give me a few more medalins for my efforts. He walks down a path leading deeper into the valley looking for more of the herbs when suddenly he hears the sound of a young fox girls scream. He turns to see where the scream came from he says, “What was that?” Alex goes to the edge of the cliff and looks around to see where the scream came from. He continues to look at which point he hears what seems to be laughter followed by someone talking in a language he does not understand. He looks in the direction it came from where he finds a camp of hunters all wearing black hooded cloaks. After a few minuets of spying on them he sees a young blue fox girl in a cage. 

He sees this and says, “Wow” He trails off of his train of though as he looks at the girl, but a passing hunter snaps him out of it as he rocks her cage. Alex says as he stands, “I cant leave her there, who knows what they plan to do with her.” He kneels down checking out the area where he spots a path he could use to get down there, He slowly makes his way over to and then down the path. The smell of cooking food and the sound of more of the hunters laughing fills the air forcing Alex to duck behind a tent as a hunter passes by. 

He takes a peek around the corner to take a closer look seeing at least five hunters as they sit around a fire, eating and talking in a language he doesn’t understand. He continues to look around where he spots the cage the fox girl is locked in which is far from the fire. She shivers as she tries to pull her tattered clothes closer together trying her best to keep warm. Alex knowing he has to get her out of there quietly works his way to the cage, hiding behind tents to avoid being seen. He gets closer to the cage as the girl sighs, a few tears filling her eyes. A passing hunter rattles her cage then laughs as she cowers in the corner of it and as the hunter walks away she spots Alex. She hurries to the side closest to him and makes several hushed sounds trying to get his attention. He says as he quietly hurries to the cage, “hush they’ll hear you” 

She nods as he works on the lock, He says as he tries to force it open, “damn cant get it open, I’ll have to melt it.” He holds the lock in his hands then as a blue flame fills his closed fist. She looks on as molten pieces of the lock spill out of his hands onto the ground. A look of amazement fills her face as he tosses the now molten lock to the ground. He opens the door and gets her out then rips the ropes off of her arms and tosses it off behind a tent. Alex says as he grabs her hand, “ok lets get out of here.”

She nods and follows him as they try to sneak out of the camp but a hunter walks past her cage and instantly realizes that it is empty. The man yells out to the other hunters who all jump to there feet, several hunters instantly start to look around the camp as Alex and the girl hide behind a tent. A Hunter spots them and sound the alarm, and as they try to run away several hunters toss a net at them. They get caught in the net which several hunters surround. Alex looking at them as several hunters grab the net while a tall hunter with his face hidden in his hood grins at them. He tries to talk as Alex scowls at him. 

The man watches as Alex grabs the net then Alex with a grin of his own sets the net up in a burst of flames. He then throws a handful of the burning net at a tent causing it goes up in flame then grabs the girls hand and takes off. Several of the hunters chase after them as several others try to put out the fire before It could spread. Alex tries to get away, looking back at the girl as she struggles to keep up. He stops and says as he kneels down, “quick get on my back and hold on.”

She nods slightly then once on his back looks down at his feet noticing that a bright red glow has engulfed them.  Alex looks back as Several hunters get close, As one throws a dagger at them, Alex looks up at the terrified girl and says, “hold on tight.” She gently wraps her hands around his neck as he looks back at all the Hunters who are now tossing throwing knives at them; one of them catching Alex in the arm. He starts to lose his grip on her which she makes her ask, “are you ok?? 

He nods as he starts to run, quickly picking up speed. She looks around amazed as he starts to go faster. He looks back as several hunters attempt to chase after them but to no avail. Alex with a grin on his face speeds up once again quickly losing the hunters behind them. She looks down at his legs, a flame now covering them, which seems to be propelling him to an unreal speed. The girl now hanging on to Alex for her life says as he starts to blindly pick up speed, “I’m starting lose my grip, can you please stop.”

Alex nods and stops at a lake his feet digging into the ground as he stops. She gets off his back and slowly walks over to the water as she tries to regain herself. Alex who is trying to catch his breath walks over to her holding his arm and says as he huffs and puffs, “that’s the first time. . . I’ve ever . . .carried someone . . . At that . . Speed.”

He falls to the ground as he tries to catch his breath, She walks over to him and looks at his arm noticing that it is starting to bleed quiet badly. She grabs his arm which he says, “ouch, take it easy.” She says as she takes a bit of her tattered pants and tears it off, “we cant leave it like this you’ll get an infection.” 

She dunks it in the water letting it get nice and wet. He looks on as she uses it to clean his wound then taking a bit of her sleeve and wrapping it around his arm. He says as he notices that it doesn’t hurt as much as it did, “thanks . .” They both sit there for a few moments, Alex who is still breathing heavily as the fox girl starts to shiver next to him. He notices this and as he sits up he takes off the old jacket he had on and puts it on her shoulders. She quickly uses it to cover herself at which point she yawns then leans on him and as he looks at her she quickly falls asleep. He then says brushing some hair out of her eyes, “She must have been exhausted.”

He continues to watch her as she sleeps on his shoulder and then leans over to her nuzzles her muzzle but backs off as she start to say something in her language which is followed with a few tears. He says as he watches her, “She sure is pretty. I can’t leave her here, I’ll take her home with me. We can find a way to get her home tomorrow.” He looks up at the sky which is starting to get dark and says, “ok lets get home it’s starting to get cold.” He gently picks her up and puts her on his back which she cuddles into his fur.

~some time later~

Mr. Miller sits at the table adding a tablet to his water the water quickly turning a light blue, he takes a drink afterward. Sara asks as she walks into the room with a broom in her hands, “Hey Mr. Miller what’s that?” He says with a smile as he turns to the cub, setting his glass on the table, “It’s for my arthritis.” They both look over as Alex suddenly walks into the house and as he walks in, Miller notices that Alex is carrying the sleeping girl on his back and says, “Alex put her on my bed.” Alex sets her gently down on the bed then sits down next to Mr. Miller who notices his arm and says, “Maybe you should start at the beginning”

It doesn’t take long for Alex to explain what happened and as he finishes up The young girl wakes and looks over at Alex who is finishing telling Miller and Sara what happened and how he found her but as she sits up and notices every one in the room now looking at her, Mr. Miller says, “Hello there, my name is Daniel Miller I believe you already know Alex and this is,” Before he can say it Sara has plopped herself next to her and says, “My name is Sara, I’m Alex’s little sister.”

Miller walks over to her and takes a look at what’s left of her clothes and says, “I’ve seen that kind of clothing at least once in my life but where.” he scratches his head trying hard to rember then places his left fist into his right palm. “I remember now those are garments of the royal Arctic fox family but how on earth did the hunters manage to get there hands on you?”

Alex walks over to and sits next to her as she pulls his jacket over her shoulders as she shivers. Alex trying to help her warm up puts his arm around her. He starts to get closer to her as Sara leans closer to him and gives him a little grin “I'm Alex I live here in this village, I was up in the canyon looking for herbs for Mr. Miller here, when I herd you scream. I went to see what was going on then I saw you and had to save you.” Sara sits next to the girl on the bed and says “wow your cute, brother do you like her? Is that why you saved her?” Alex now red turns away from the girl. Sara now giggling says, “Ha I knew it” She walks over to Alex and tries to get him to look at her again, he tries to fight it but she turns him toward her and he turns red again. Miller asks as he offers her a glass of water, “So missy can an old man ask your name?”

She tilts her head towards Alex and slightly blushes then replies, “yes my name is Crystal.” Alex felling the bag at his waist remembers and says, “Oh yeah Mr. Miller I forgot here are your herbs.” Miller says as he too remembers, “oh yes I forgot about them as well here hand them over.” Alex hands the bag over to Mr. Miller and he in turn gives a small bag of coins to Alex who says, “Thanks Mr. Miller” He replies, “Oh its no problem Alex you earned it. now why don’t you and your sister go on home I’ll take care of Crystal.”

Sara runs over to the old fox and whispers something in his ear then giggles; Mr. Miller then says, “actually I’m felling a bit tired can you take her to your house?” Alex says as he starts blushing, a tone of nervousness in his words, “uh sure.” Alex looks over at Crystal and smiles which makes her smile back at him. Miller smiles having lived long enough to know love at first sight when he saw it, but then Sara stands in the door way and giggles some more then sings, “Alex and Crystal sitting in a tree K. I. S. S. I. N. G. First come love then comes.” Alex jumps up and cups his hands around her Muzzle forcing her mouth shut. he says quietly to her, “will you cut it out? your embarrassing me.”

As they leave they look back and wave at Mr. Miller who is standing on his porch. Alex leading the way takes them down a dirt path, Sara skipping next to his side and Crystal walking next to him on his right. Crystal asks as she covers herself with Alex’s jacket, “do you live very far?” Alex says as they reach the river “no not much further.” She nods then looks over at Alex who is trying to hide his own shivering. She grabs his arm and covers him with some of the jacket. Tey smile at each other which Sara giggles then makes her hands kiss each other. Alex bops her on the head then gives her a dirty look. As they reach the small lot where there small shack like house sits Crystal asks, “is this it??” Alex nods and says, “I know it doesn’t look like much but it does the job well enough.”

Crystal nods slightly wondering why they would live in a shack. They walk into the house where Crystal notices a lack of furniture as well as much of anything else; Sara runs over to the old two person bed. Alex says as he pulls out a chair for her, “I know we don’t have much but please have a seat and I’ll get a fire going.” She nods then sits on the chair as Alex heads outside to get wood.
She looks over at Sara who sets the pot on the wire frame. Crystal watches as Alex walks back in with several logs in his arms and sets them in the fire pit then smiles as a flame burns in his hand which he tosses in the pit with the wood. The fire starts as soon as the flame hit’s the wood, Alex turns to Crystal and asks, “are you hungry?” She nods as Alex smiles and looks over at Sara who says, “me and Mr. Miller went shopping so don’t worry we have food for dinner.” She Gets up and hands him a large bag of different food stuffs which was in a makeshift cupboard. Alex says as he notices, “this is the good stuff, Sara why did you let him spend this much?”

The young cub says as she lays back down on the bed, “He insisted and wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Alex nods and turns to the table where he brushes off a bit of it and sets the food on it. He then takes the knife and starts to cut vegetables and meat for a soup. He looks over at Sara who nods grabbing the empty buckets. Crystal asks as Sara walks past her, “you need help?” She replies with a nod, “sure, come with me.” She hands Crystal a bucket then walks outside, Crystal following after her leaving Alex to get the food chopped up and ready. Sara leads Crystal over to the river not to far from the shack. Sara dunks one of the buckets in and lets it fill as Crystal asks, “so what is your brother making?” She says with a smile, “Soup maybe stew I’m not to sure which, but its all he really knows how to make, dad taught him how to make it.”

Crystal helps her bring the bucket up the edge of the river and both girls lower the last bucket bucket into the water. Once filled they carry the buckets back into the little shack. Both Girls take a bucket inside as Alex sets the pot on the metal frame which sits over the fire. Sara with help from Alex pores her bucket of water in the pot followed by Crystal who empties hers into the pot. Alex goes on making the soup putting all of the vegetables and meat in the pot, adding some spices that Miller had purchased for them. Sara walks over and hands her brother a can of beef based soup broth. He looks at her and asks, “Sara where did you get this?” She says with a smile, “I used some of the money I earned helping Mr. Miller and bought it when we went shopping.”

He smiles and pats her head, then takes the knife and stabs a hole in the top of the can then makes another smaller hole. He then takes it over to the pot and pours the broth into the soup, the water instantly turning a deep dark brown. He then walks over to his herb bag and grabs it, removing several herbs and putting them in the soup. He says as he takes a wooden spoon and stirs it all, “Shouldn’t take to long, just need enough time for the water to cook the meat.” Crystal asks as Alex continues to stir, “If you don’t mind me asking where are your parents? Shouldn’t they be home by now” Alex drops the spoon in the soup and Sara sits up on the bed. Alex responds with a painfully obvious fake smile, “Our mother passed away giving birth to Sara, and our father killed defending the village from hunters. Its been just me and Sara ever since.” He picks up the chain off the hook that sits on the table and shows this to her and says, “this is all we have left of them, our mother gave this to my dad the day before he joined the guard. She told him that it was for good luck and to remind him of her. We use it to make sure that we never forget about them.”

She nods as he puts the chain with its pendant back on the hook. She then asks, “is that why you guys live here?” He responds as he sits next to his sister on the bed, “No that’s my fault.” She looks at him with a confused look on her face. He then makes a fire ball in his hand and says, “Its because I can do this, contrary to popular us fire foxes can stand fire any better then anyone else. This power of mine is unnatural and the Villagers fear that I would burn the village down or that I’m some kind of monster I’m not sure which. It all started one day”

~Flash back~

A Very young Alex can be seen sitting next to a fire place in a large room. His father who face is hidden in shadow is seen drinking a cup of tea and reading the morning paper. Alex says as he remembers, “the very first time I discovered I could control fire I was four years old. I was fascinated by it but I had no clue why.”
The little cubby Alex walks next to the fire place across from his father, Alex says once again, “One day I got to close to the fire place and a bit of the soot got in my nose and I sneezed. The next thing I know, is the fire place exploding and my father jumping across the coffee table to grab me. Then I’m in my fathers arms as he carries me out of the house as the fire spreads out of control. O had only enough time to see that the only spot not burnt was where I fell back on my butt at.” In another instance of the flash back Alex is in his mothers arms as she coddles him as his father talks with a member of the fire squad, “It took the fire squad an hour to put out the fire, it was only after that that I realize that it was me who had caused it.”
~end of flash back~


Alex says as he gets up to check on the now bubbling soup a warm delicious smell filling the air, “The day my father was killed the villagers tried to run me and my sister out of town, Its like they didn’t care that we were now orphaned. We had no choice but to leave our house behind. Can you imagine a seven year old boy trying to get his two year old sister away from an angry mob.” He sits back down next to his sister Crystal asks as she joins them, “they chased you away just because you can control fire?” He nods then says as he remembers

~Another Flash Back~

Young Seven year old Alex stands with his two year old sister as they are backed up to the river by an angry mob. little Alex says as he stands in front of his sister, “Fine, if it will make you all feel better, then hurt me but leave my sister alone she has done nothing to any of you.” From somewhere in the large group of foxes a rock is thrown at Alex which strikes him on the head just above his left eye. He falls to the ground and as he starts to bleed his little sister with tears in her eyes hurries over to him and says, “leave my brother alone you big meanies!“ she wraps her arms around his chest but someone tries to strike them with a club only to have it caught be an older looking Fox in a guard uniform. He says as he shoves the armed man  hard to the ground, “THAT’S ENOUGH!”

He takes off his helmet to show that it is a much younger Daniel Miller. He says as he draws his sword and walks in front of the two children as Sara cowers next to her brother, “these children just lost there father or did you already forget about the man who just gave his life to protect all of yours, And how do you honor his sacrifice?” He goes on as he stabs his sword in the ground, “by attacking his children! You all should be ashamed yourselves! Attacking a defenseless seven year old and his two year old sister."

As his voice fades away he continues to yell at then force the crowd to disperse at the threat of jail time. Alex says as the flash back fades back into the room, “Mr. Miller saved our lives that day it was only after that event that we found out that he was my fathers best friend and our De’nom*.” Alex starts to pore the soup in several bowls which all look brand new, clearly purchased by Mr. Miller. He sets them on the table and says, “alright girls who’s hungry?” Both girls get up and join Alex at the table and begin eating their dinner.

~ End of Chapter~


Author notes*

De'Nom
Pronounced day-nom
The Fire Fox equivalent of a god father/mother though they have no leagal right now claim kids they are named too


