Chapter 1: Prologue
Flashback:
"Wha-what happened to me?!" a young girl exclaimed as she found herself covered by clothes that were far too big for her to wear, "Hohohohoh~!" she heard a very young woman laughing, "How does it feel to be five again, Stella?" she looked towards the voice, snarling trying to be scary, only for it to come out cute, "Turn me back to normal!" the young girl now known as Stella demanded, flinging the sleeves around.
"Hm... I can't do that." she heard the woman say, "Not until I find my one true love, cause you, you're a naughty little shit." she said tauntingly however Stella only smirked, "Cursing in front of a child, how mature." she retorted with sarcasm dripping in her tone, "Now listen here, little girl, I'll keep you like that so you won't take away my chances of finding my one true love!" the woman said with anger at the start, "You bitch! You'd keep me like this anyways!" Stella swore with fury in her eyes, "Exactly, you won't be able to hurt me anyways, not with that cute and tiny body of yours~ and little girls like you shouldn't curse like that~!"
The woman began pointing at her dangerously close to her face and~, "Ow! Ow! Ow!" the woman exclaimed as Stella bit her finger, "That's it, you'll die now!" the woman exclaimed as purple glowing orbs began to appear out of thin air, every single orbs crackling with unstable energy as it loomed ominously over Stella, fear took over her as she beelines her way to the nearest exit of the abandoned building they were in, leaving the big clothes behind and luckily for her, she was magically given a white dress to compensate.
The orbs flew very quickly and narrowly missed Stella, taking a few locks of her long hair in the process, "I need to get out of here!" she thought to herself as she tries to head towards the street, the sky was very dark due to night time in full effect, not even the moon's light would shine through the alleyway she was in, "You're not escaping!" she heard her pursuer and tried to ran even faster but with her new body, she would stumble and almost fall, tears threaten to escape her eyes.
"Almost there!" she said as a few of the tears fell down, her life flashing before her very eyes as she knew the orbs were about to hit her. When she finally took a step on the street's side walk she closed her eyes and fell as she heard the explosions. A few moments passed as she opened her eyes, acknowledging she didn't feel anything. She looked back up and saw somebody in between her and the alleyway. This is happening in the middle of the night, where everyone but a few were sound asleep in their own homes.
Her pursuer saw the unknown figure snarling at her, "Crap! I'm not prepared to fight something like that!" she thought to herself as she ran back to the shadows, disappearing in sight, "Are you alright?" Stella heard a soft and concerned voice of a male as she saw the shadow, and when the moon's light finally reached the shadow's face, she saw a very young man whom she doesn't recognize, "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" she heard him say.
She continued to look at him, taking note of his appearance, he had raven black hair, she would assume to be black or dark brown eyes, and he wore a pair of black framed glasses, "This sounds so much like a fairy tale..." Stella thought, trying to find out what to do, "Where's your home, little lady?" she then heard him ask as she thought things through, "As much as I want to tell him that I do have a home but, I was kicked out of my apartment room because I kept on 'forgetting' to pay my rent."
"N-no, I don't have one..." she tried to sound as scared and lonely as possible, "Oh dear... but I can't just leave you out here..." she then heard him say, sounding like he's having a dilemma, "How about you come with me and find somebody to adopt you?" he suggested to her as she gasp mentally, being very perceptive, to the point she can see intentions and emotions, she have never heard or saw anybody who have so much selflessness, "T-thank you!" she said as she continued and hugged his left leg to make it even more convincing.
"Alright." he said with a smile, "Come on follow me." he added as Stella followed surprised he hasn't held his hands out for her to grab, "He's an odd one, as far as I've read, people would normally hold a child's hand when they guide them." Stella thought as she continued to follow him, "Will I get a papa and a mama?" she asked trying to keep her facade, "Yes, yes you will." he said with a reassuring smile.
End of Flashback:
"How did I end up with him?!" Stella felt dread coiling around her bandaged body as she's still with the young man, "The day after that he left me at an orphanage and I was adopted, only for me to find out the married couple were abusive! I ran away and found myself face to face with him, again!" she thought to herself as she saw the young man muttering angrily, "Hello? Hello?! Is this the Golden Birch Orphanage? No, I'm not calling to adopt a child; I'm here to report of the recent adoption!"
She saw that he was wearing a pair of black framed glasses, dark green t-shirt, black slacks, and a shark-tooth necklace. To which she found odd as they were nowhere close to sea to be able to buy the necklace in this region, so she assumed that he hailed far to the east where the sea was abundant.
"The child who was adopted ran away and I found her with bruises and scratches!" he said as Stella tried to know the other half of the conversation, "What am I implying? I'm implying the married couple who adopted Stella, is a child abusing pair!" he shouted as Stella was a bit touched that a stranger that he didn't know that much besides his name would go to such lengths just to give her justice, "Serious accusations? You're defending the perpetrators instead of the victim? Why I oughta... Just because she is just a kid doesn't mean that she's insignificant!"
Stella then saw that a smirk grew on his face, "Ah, I assume you're his boss?" he said through the phone, "Well the problem here is about the recent adoption of a child named, Stella Aracia, who is under this very orphanage was abused by her adoptive parents." he said as a grim feature crept on his face, worrying Stella a bit, "Really? Those parents are from a long line of warriors? Well screw 'em bud, tell them that for me!" he said as she knew the person on the other side of the phone gasp.
"What's my name? It's Chrome Leonardo Donovan! Make sure the message is sent!" he hanged up as he found the nearest chair and sat down, sighing and wiping his face with his hand slowly, "I shouldn't have left you in that orphanage..." he said feeling a bit tired, "Chrome?" she said as she already knew that he cooled down a bit, trying to push herself up to sit down, "Hm?" he looked towards her, "Oh, no, no! Don't you dare get up, young lady!"
"Lie down, and take a much needed rest." he continued as he placed the back of his hand on her forehead, "At least you didn't get a fever from your wounds." he sighed as he placed his chair near her and sat down, but heard a tiny grumbling noise as Chrome looked at her with an amused smirk, Stella blushed embarrassed even more so when he began chuckling, "You haven't had breakfast yet... Well, wait here while I make your breakfast. Hope you like pancakes."
He stated as the only answer he heard was her grumbling tummy and blushing face, "Odd..." he thought as he continued into the kitchen getting ready to cook, "I think, I'm better off with him..." she thought considering the possibilities. She then looked at Chrome who was busy making the pancakes he mentioned. Due to them being in an apartment, there were no walls to hide him inside the kitchen. The scent wafted around the entire apartment room making her stomach grumble even more.
"Alright, alright, just stay right there." he said as he placed the stack of pancakes on the dining table, Chrome walked closer to her and then picks her up gently, "Wh-wh-what are you doing?!" Stella screamed in her mind as she was flailing about, "Whoa, whoa, calm down. You're still hurt!" he said trying to calm her down but to no avail she kept on flailing about, "I said stop!" he shouted loud enough that it shocked Stella, surprise evident on her face, "There."
He placed her down on a sit and placed the stack of pancakes in front of her, a few seconds past as the shocked expression turned into a hungry one as she immediately took the fork and stabbed it in the pancakes. She began eating with a fast pace as Chrome resorted to just drinking milk and toasted bread. Chrome was reading the newspaper's classified ads, looking for a job that he'll be able to provide for himself and Stella, if she ever wanted to stay with him.
"How about we both have a walk in the park? Today's weather is lovely today, and the temperature is quite alright..." he started grabbing the hungry girl's attention who was just about a quarter away to an empty plate, "We might even be able to find you a parent who cares for you and is kind." he continued once he saw Stella paying full attention, "What do you say?" he asked as she swallowed the food in her mouth, a few seconds later she looked away with a hmph, "I guess that's a no."
"I can't afford to so trusting, if he really does care for me, he'll be able to put up with this facade." Stella thought, as she saw him sigh, "I need to go look for a job, I trust you well enough that I can leave you here alone." he said as he stood up, "Huh?!" Stella exclaimed in shock, "You're leaving me here alone?!" she said eliciting a sigh from Chrome once more, "I can't afford to get you a baby sitter, budget is already tight enough as it is." he said as Stella was now conflicted.
On one hand, she doesn't trust Chrome well enough to even join him outside, and on the other hand, if she were to stay alone in his place, that 'witch' might find and track her here... she wouldn't be able to fend for herself. She pondered about her choice, "C-c-can I come with you?" she asked as cutely as possible, "I'll give him a chance!" she thought as Chrome placed his right hand on her head, "Alright, however, I'll need to buy you shoes and new clothes..." he checked his wallet containing 25,000 gilt, "I can only spend at most, 20k on her..."
He sweat dropped but smiled nonetheless, "Alright, let's go to the shopping center first." he said as he went closer to Stella, "I'll need to carry you until I get you some shoes, after that I'll let you walk." with that he took the plates and empty glasses on the sink basin, opening the tap and let the water fill the basin. Once that was finished he took his backpack slinging it on his shoulders as he carries Stella who this time didn't flail around. Once they were out of the apartment room, he closed and locked the door, pulling the handle, double checking to see if it was truly locked.
When they were going down the apartment block, they received stares as Stella paid no heed to them, however, Chrome on the other hand paid attention to how were they looking. To say the least he got annoyed when he saw two young women whispering to each other while looking at him, "Stella, for now I can only buy you three pairs of clothes and a pair of shoes, is that alright to you?" he asked and was hoping for her to say yes but he sweat dropped upon noticing she was shaking her head left and right, "Is is that hard to satisfy you?"
He then saw her nod yes, "Well, if that happens, we'll run out of tasty snacks and meals if I were to buy you more than I mentioned." he stated, "Also, we will be kicked out of the house as soon as I can't pay the rent." he said which made Stella widen her eyes, not because of the realization of what he said, but how he said it. He wasn't threatening her; he wasn't making her feel guilty. He said it like it was just facts that can be read on a book. She began to shake her head left and right as quickly as possible, "Is that an 'alright, I give up'?" he asked raising a left brow, he received an answer by vigorous nodding, and with that they finally reached the streets and headed towards the shopping mall.
Chrome looked around trying to see any help wanted posters or hiring posters, to which he haven't found any yet. They've reach the park's entrance and when he stepped two more times, a ball infused with magic went straight towards Chrome who didn't notice, however, Stella did, "Watc-" she was cut off when she was too late, as the ball hit him on the head. The impact caused his head to abruptly and quickly tilt to the right, Stella was about to call out his name but was shocked, "Ouch!"
He held his head, "That stings!" he exclaimed as he looked at the ball and threw it back, she heard him mumbling something horrible pitching arms as she giggled, surprisingly glad that he was okay, "Will you stay with me?" she then snapped out of her thoughts as she looked at Chrome, with her situation she could just find another person to take care of her, though it'll be difficult considering what she first experienced with the warrior couple who adopted her.
Was there anybody else willing to take her in, her friends of course, but she didn't want to know what they can do to her, the mere thought of it already made her cross it out from the list possible caregivers, she can't think of anything else so why not stick with him? She nodded to which elicits a gentle smile on his face, "Alright, we're almost at our destination and your dress is slightly climbing up your body." he stated to which Stella looked down and saw that her upper thighs is already bare.
She blushed as Chrome raised both his brows now, "Huh? Something's telling me that she's not a regular kid." he thought to himself as he placed her down first and dusting her clothes, after that he carried her once more, now making sure her dress won't start climbing, "And here we are." he said as Stella saw the same shopping center she have been visiting for the last couple of years, however, now that she's in a five year old's perspective, everything looked gigantic.
"Haven't seen a place like this before?" he asked seeing Stella's wide eyes, though she didn't answer because she was still deep in thought, "Let's get you a pair of shoes first." he said snapping Stella out of her thoughts, they've went to the children's apparel store, looking for the footwear section. They finally find the section and began browsing the wide array of girl's footwear; Stella however was fixated with one particular pair of shoes. She was fixated to the point that when they passed by it, she would still look at it.
Stella tugged on Chrome's clothes to which he looked, he then followed her gaze and saw a gray doll shoes, "You want that pair?" he asked as he waits for a reaction, however, Stella was just fixated on that one pair of shoes, "Stella, answer you idiot!" she thought to herself, "Well, aren't you adorable." he giggled as Stella sighed mentally, glad that she has all her concentration on a pair of shoes and not blushing from his compliment, "Alright, now for your clothes." he said as he took the shoes and placed it in the shopping basket.
Chrome thought they would take their time in buying clothes but no, Stella did the same thing with the shoes, to which he chuckled, seeing she only wants three pairs of identical clothing, he discovered that she's a simple girl and thus wants simple things. Chrome bought her the necessities and went towards the changing room soon after, so that Stella can wear her new clothes now. She now wore a gray vest and gray shorts alongside her new gray doll shoes.
"Much better now?" he asked as he placed the shopping bag in his backpack, now holding hands with Stella whom is already in terms with it. They were now heading towards the exit of the mall only for them to encounter a group of men with ski masks on, "What the?!" Chrome exclaimed as one of them forcefully took Stella from his grasp, "Give her back, you fuck boy!" he swore as he went after them, slowly gaining on them, upon closer inspection one of them was carrying a large duffel bag, "Robbers AND kidnappers?!"
They ran on the side walk, the robbers pushing anybody to the side, Chrome noticed this and basically took advantage. Giving him leeway was a big mistake as he's gaining distance between them even faster. One of the robbers saw that Chrome was and indeed getting closer to them decided to warn his comrades, "There's a punk, hot on our heels!" he shouted, "Then shoot him!" one of them, possibly the leader said as they indeed so, channeling electricity or fire on the tips of their fingers.
They then began shooting streams of energy or fire at him, to which he responds by dodging the electricity and taking the flames head on, losing a slight amount of distance and the process, however this difference in distance made his task a whole lot difficult as they locked themselves in an abandoned building, "Damn it!" he swore as he tried to bust through the doors down only to noticed it was magically enforced, as of the rest of the building, "Pussies!"
He shouted loud enough to mock the robbers inside the building, however, they didn't react, "Tch!" he looked around trying to see how he can get inside, "The roof." he thought as his hand quickly turned into claws and began climbing the building with enough speed that in a minute, he's already on the roof of the building. His claws returning back to normal hands and he saw a door on the roof, seeing this as a sign of entering the building he rushed forward and body slammed it, his skin developing into a leathery hide of a rhinoceros.
With this action he managed to destroy the door and body slammed one of the robbers, "They weren't quick enough to magically enforce everything in this building." Chrome though as he can taste sweet victory, however it can only happen if he doesn't get caught. He's entire skin turned back to normal and became transparent as his entire body blends to his surroundings. In this world, magic is everything, a part of life, everyone can attain and use magic at the age of eight.
Just like breathing air, mana goes in and out of our body, resupplying the mana gate with new and alive mana and getting rid of the used up mana. The used up mana then floats towards inanimate objects to absorb the sunlight or moonlight, restoring itself back to normal, and with this cycle it now allows wizards, humans who utilizes magics, to change the mana's properties and turn it into powerful spells. Wizards with enough mana pool and control can even bend their surroundings to their will.
Now there are two types of magic in this world, the active and the inactive magic. Active magic are spells, where they use mana to turn it into another element, it is the most common type of magic. Inactive magic on the other hand are very rare in humans, and it contradicts the essence of mana as it goes in but never comes out. Instead mana incorporates itself in the host's body, becoming a part of the host, the mana particles survive just the same as cells in the host's body.
Which means they can turn their body parts into powerful elements, however, changing body parts into beast's is a special case, to which scientists have not yet to figure out, "Just stay strong, Stella." Chrome thought as he went down the stairs but only for him to bump one of the robbers, "What? There's something here!" the robber whom Chrome bumped into exclaimed, "Shoot 'em!" one of the robbers replied immediately as Chrome swore in his head, "Crap!"
"I got kidnapped..." Stella thought to herself, head hung low, "Why me?!" she despaired tears threatening to drop, "Why am I so unfortunate?!" she asked herself once more, "Screw this, I got to get out of here!' she thought as she closed her eyes and decided to tap into her mana gate, she immediately opened her eyes, it was there! Now she only needs to summon her bow and arrows, she closed her eyes once more. An explosion then occurred as she opened her eyes, noticing one particular thing.
She grew big! (lenny face), Literally thought, she turned back to normal, however her clothes didn't and, well, her clothing had a hard time as the zipper went up, exposing her cleavage and her toned stomach, her shorts became even more short, she basically look like an exhibitionist, "Eep!" she tried to cover her chest as best as she could, when she finally took the time to look at her surroundings he saw the robbers guarding him were knocked out thanks to the explosion.
However, the rest wasn't knocked out, "Our hostage is free!' one of them shouted, "Capture her!" another said as the robbers made lewd faces underneath their ski masks, "Perverts!" she shouted as she looked for her bow and arrow and found it, she immediately took both and started shooting the robbers with electric arrows, with deadly and frightening precision, knocking all of them out, she sighed, "What am I gonna do with this?! I can't just go running around like this!"
She thought to herself, she sighed, "I need to get out first." she thought as she made her bow and arrows disappear, and then with a poof, her body went back to a five year old's, "Huh?" she said as she felt relieved, her clothes no longer tight around the chest and hips, "I better go out. What? Its lock!" she tried to open the door, closely inspecting it, she saw it was magically reinforced as well. With a heavy sigh she decided to climb up the stairs, see if she can find a way to get out.
She then heard lighting strikes and smelled burning wood as she rushed upwards, once she reached where the sound and smell came from, which was the second floor, she ducked immediately seeing a body fly towards her, "Eep!" she exclaimed dodged the body which was falling down the stairs, "What's going on, who's doing this?!" she thought as she wants to find out, "Where is she?!" she heard a familiar voice, "Chrome?" she asked to no one in particular as she saw him mauling every enemy in sight.
It was terrifying to her, was he doing this because of her or was he doing this because he enjoys it? "She must be at the first floor." she heard him say as he began walking towards the stairs, only to stop and notice herself, "There you are, you're safe!" he began as he dashed towards her and in a blink of an eye, he was there, hugging her close, "Are you alright? Did they do anything horrible to you?" he said as she slowly shook her head left and right, saying she was fine.
She was slowly processing what she is witnessing from start to finish, "Alright, let's go back home." he said as he carried her, slowly walking up the stairs, she looked and saw all the robbers in an unconscious state, did he really just beat them all up just for her, she felt warmness bubble inside of her and she couldn't help but smile, "He truly cares for me, someone that he doesn't even know." she thought to herself as she then hugged his neck tighter unbeknownst to her elicits a gentle smile from him.
"Is your decision, final? Will you stay with me?" he said which made Stella hug his neck tighter, "Careful, careful, you might choke me to death." he said chuckling, he felt her grip loosen a bit but still tight enough that she wouldn't get dragged away again.
End of Chapter 1
Author's Note:
I know, I know I did say I wouldn't do any more Minecraft Stories, but that's subjected to change with three major factors: Reviews, Inspiration, and Motivation. FYI, stems out to one another as if I don't get reviews, I would lose inspiration to think of ideas, and I would lose motivation to write those ideas in the story. So, I'll be relieved if I can at least read what you all think about this new story of mine.
Well anyways, have a pleasant Day/Night!