Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that you might recognize. Some themes from the TV show Charmed can be seen in this story, but that doesn't mean that I own them. I only own the plot, and the characters that you don't recognize.

Normally, the story will not be written in first person, but in order for the reader to get a feel for the main character, I feel that this chapter being in first person helps.

Also, since this is my first time posting in about five years, I'm a little rusty, and I'm hoping to find an awesome Beta, so if you would like to help me with this, it would be amazing.

Please review with constructive criticism, I hope that with your help I can improve my writing!


Chapter One: The Power of the Past

I bet you're really confused right now, you're asking yourself: Who is this chick? What's going on?

Let me tell you about my childhood, and maybe you'll be able to understand what has led me to this point.

My name is Calida Bridgett Alexander, but I go by Callie. I turned eighteen not even three months ago, about a month before I graduated from high school. Originally, I'm from Sacramento, California, but for the last two years I had been living in New York City with my older sister, Kendra. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I lived a good life, my father started a chain of five star hotels that were doing really well, and once Kendra and I were old enough, we would take over the business. Although in all intents and purposes, my family was beyond wealthy, we didn't let it change us. We lived in a moderately sized house in a nice suburban neighborhood; I attended public school and so on. The only thing that really showed that we were wealthy was the fact that we drove nice cars. I for one got a fire engine red Ferrari for my sixteenth birthday.

I've always known that my family was different. I knew that my mom and her sister, my Aunt Gina, had some sort of magical powers. My mom would have these visions about the future, which made it hard for Kendra and I to rebel, and she was able to look into people's auras. This allowed her to know the soul of the person. Aunt Gina could move things with her mind. It was actually because of her powers that Aunt Gina's husband left her and her two kids. My father knew about my mom's powers, and he accepted them.

I had been born with powers of my own, as had my sister and two cousins. Our powers hadn't really started to grow until we hit puberty, meaning that we all had powers, but we didn't have their full potential until we hit puberty.

My powers were always a little crazy. I had inherited telekinesis from my aunt, which drove my mother crazy. As a child I would accidentally make things move when I was feeling a particularly strong emotion, but I didn't get to control my ability until I hit puberty. As if puberty wasn't already difficult enough.

Kendra's power was a bit more difficult to hide. She could become invisible, which sounds amazing, but it had its drawbacks. She tended to become invisible at the most inopportune moments, but we won't get into that.

Aria, one of my cousins, like my mother, had premonitions. As a child she would get them randomly, but now that she's older she is able to get them if she tries hard enough. Demi, my other cousin and Aria's younger sister, could heal herself when she was little, and when she hit puberty she learned how to heal others.

It was around the time that I got my powers that my mother and Aunt Gina sat us all down and gave us a long talk, mainly about what having these types of powers meant.

They explained that since we had all gotten our full powers, we would be bigger targets for the forces of evil.

"You guys know that the only thing Evil ever truly wants is to kill all the Good in the world. Since you guys are good witches with very strong powers, you will be a magnet of sorts for evil, because killing a strong witch like yourselves would bring them glory in the underworld," my mother explained darkly.

"Not to mention the Alexander witches have never been on good terms with Evil, given that the ones that are brave enough to face us, end up a pile of dust," Aunt Gina explained smugly. My mom rolled her eyes, but I could see that she was trying to fight a smile from emerging on her face.

"This means that we will have to train you, teach you how to use your powers to your fullest potential. Since Aria and Demi have more passive powers, we'll teach you guys how to excel at hand-to-hand combat," my mom continued.

And we were trained. Although it took a lot of time and energy, we all eventually got in complete control of our powers, so when the forces of evil, mainly demons and warlocks, came knocking on our door, we were always ready.

This is something that Kendra and I really bonded over. I think this was mainly because we were always together when a demon or warlock decided to attack. It made us learn to work together and it brought us closer than we ever thought possible, we became each others best friends. You actually couldn't tell that Kendra and I were sister's just by looking at us, our physical looks couldn't have been more different. I had the fire red hair that I inherited from my mother, while Kendra had black hair that she got from our father. The only thing we shared was our mother's blue-gray eyes and pale skin. That's where the similarities ended though.

When I was fifteen Kendra became pregnant with her daughter, Brook, my parent's were livid. Kendra had just turned nineteen and she was pregnant, not to mention she wouldn't tell us who the father was! This especially hurt me because I thought we told each other everything. Eventually, my parents accepted it and even became excited at the thought that they would be grandparents.

It was about a month after that that Kendra and I went to visit my cousins Demi and Aria up in Washington, we hadn't seen each other in years. But something weird happened after the taxi dropped Kendra and I off at their house and we all went in for a big group hug.

The minute our arms all wrapped each other it felt as if a spark had shot through us and this bright white glow began to emit from our bodies. I also felt a small tingle on my left wrist, but I was too overwhelmed by what was going on to care.

When my Aunt Gina walked out and saw us all covered in a bright white light, her eyes widened and she placed her hand over her heart.

All she was able to mutter was: "The Circle."

We were all confused by what she had said, but she ushered us into the house and up to the attic where she had the family's Book of Shadows. That's when she sat us down and read us the prophecy that a powerful witch had made during the Salem Witch Trials, as she was being burnt at the stake:

Four defender's of mankind will unite,

Made of the same blood,

Bathed in the element's white light.

Water will bear Spirit,

And Spirit will carry Water within,

Earth will heal the past,

Air will protect the four in the present,

Fire will fight for the future of Spirit.

Together they make the Circle,

Bound by Blood and Magic.

"This prophecy was made many years ago, about our family. The only part that has been deciphered over the years is that it applies to our family. Our surname, Alexander means 'defenders of mankind'. What could also be deciphered was that they would each have the power over one of the four elements: Water, Earth, Wind, and Fire, and when Water eventually has a child of her own, the element of Spirit will be born."

"What about the rest of it?" I asked.

"We're not sure, only time will tell," Aunt Gina explained.

"What does this mean?" Aria asked her mother.

"It means that the age of the prophecy is finally upon us. You four were bathed in the white light of the elements, you are the personification of the elements!" Aunt Gina exclaimed.

Kendra, always the level headed one of us asked: "Then what are our elements?"

Her eyes seemed to light up when she saw Demi tuck a piece of hair behind her ear with her left hand.

"Look at your left wrist," she commanded.

Curious, I did as she asked and gasped at what I saw. Apparently that tingling that I had felt while I was bathed in the white light had been something after all. On the inside of my left wrist sat a fire engine red pentagram. I heard gasps from around the room and I tore my eyes away from my wrist and saw that upon each of our wrists lay a pentagram, just in different colors.

"Have any of you ever wondered why you were given the name you were given?" she asked us.

We all shook our heads, no. Although I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the fact that my mother had given me the name 'Calida', I mean, that name is just an invitation for bullies to come beat you up.

"On the day that Kendra was born your mother had a premonition. She saw four figures bathed in white lights, each with a pentagram of a different color adjourning their wrists. She didn't see your faces exactly, but she always told me she had a feeling that they would be our children. What she did get a good look at were your auras, and with that we were able to name you guys with your element. So when each of you were born, your mother would look at your aura and tell us which element she thought you would be," Aunt Gina continued.

"Of course, we weren't completely sure that you guys would end up being the personification of the elements, but each of your auras seemed to fit one of the elements so well that we couldn't help ourselves, call it wishful thinking."

"Demi, When Anna looked at you she saw the soul of a reliable, patient, balanced and harmonious individual, all qualities associated with the Earth, which is why I named you Demetria. Demetria means: loves the Earth, and your middle name, Ginette, means Earth workers. Demi, you personify the element of Earth," Aunt Gina explained as we all took a quick look at Demi's emerald green pentagram.

"Aria when Anna looked at you she saw a loving, intellectual, and a very accepting soul, which are the qualities of Air. That's why I named you Aria, which literally means: Air. Your middle name is Rain, for obvious reasons. Aria, this means that you are the personification of Air," she continued as we once again, all glanced at Aria's wrist, only to see a bright yellow pentagram.

"Kendra, when your mother looked at you she saw a sensitive and nurturing soul, both qualities that exemplify Water. She named you Kendra because it means 'water baby' and she gave you the middle name Lynna because it means waterfall. You are Water, and when you have a child, they will become Spirit and complete the circle," Aunt Gina smiled at a wide-eyed Kendra and her dark blue pentagram.

"And you, Callie, when your mother looked at you she saw a soul filled with warmth, courage, enthusiasm and adventure. She gave you the name Callida because it means hot, and she made your middle name that of an Irish Fire Goddess named Bridgett. You are Fire, feisty and forever burning," she said, motioning to my red pentagram.

"What does this mean?" Kendra asked in a soft voice, still stunned by the appearance of the pentagram on her wrist.

Aunt Gina's expression become a bit worried, "It means that you are in grave danger."

"What? Why?" I asked quickly.

"As you know, you are already wanted by many forces of evil, with this new development, you are even more coveted."

"So what do we do?" Aria asked, always level headed in these types of situations.

"We train you," she answered simply.

"What are our powers?" Demi asked excitedly.

"My guess is that your powers are based in your element. We won't know for sure until they manifest themselves. But as we wait I will train you, and Anna will train Kendra and Callie," Aunt Gina explained.

However, Aunt Gina or my mom wouldn't get a chance to train Kendra's powers, or mine for that matter, because a few months after we got home everything seemed to go to hell.

It all started a few months after my sixteenth birthday.

My parents and I were driving back from a charity even that my mother supported religiously, when out of nowhere a car came flying at us. I remember shutting my eyes and bracing for the impact when I heard a deafening crunch and felt cool air on my face.

After a few seconds I opened my eyes and found myself standing on the side of the road, about twenty feet from my parent's totaled car. I screamed and ran to the car trying to see if I could reach them, as I got closer the flames surrounding the vehicle seemed to magically go out, but I barely registered it. Once I got close enough to the car I realized that it was too late, they had died instantly.

The next few weeks were a blur. When I told Aunt Gina what I remembered, she explained to me that in my time of need, two of my powers had manifested themselves. My first power was teleportation, which Aunt Gina assumed all of us would get. It's what got me out of the car only seconds before it crashed.

The second power was control over fire; the reason that the flames around my parent's car magically disappeared.

I had never felt so guilty in my entire life. What good were my powers if I couldn't save the people that I loved? My conclusion: they weren't. So I told Aunt Gina that I didn't want her to train me because I would never use them again.

A month after the accident, little Brooklyn was born, and things seemed to be looking up for Kendra and I. But when Brook was three months old a man came to our house, one that Kendra seemed to know very well.

I later found out that it was the man that had fathered her child, the one she wouldn't tell me about. Apparently she got drunk one night while she was still going to college in New York, and she slept with him, in the morning he was gone. So when he showed up at our door Kendra was more than surprised.

"How did you find me?" she asked him as he stood in the doorway.

He smiled cynically, "I've always known where you were, I was just waiting for the brat to be born so that I could take her."

"W-what?" Kendra asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"You think I didn't know about you and your little circle of Elemental witches? You think I didn't know about the prophecy? Please! I've spent centuries waiting for you so that I could father your child and take her!"

"C-centuries? W-what are y-you?" she asked him, her voice growing louder.

"Let's just say that if you are the personification of water, then I'm the personification of Evil."

"Why do you want her?" she demanded.

"If you live long enough, you might find out," he whispered in her ear.

I felt the blood roaring in my veins as my fury built. I felt the fire coursing through my veins as I narrowed my eyes at him. I suddenly felt warmth on my right hand and I glanced down at it. I was surprised to find a perfect ball of fire sitting in the palm of my hands. Without thinking I threw it at him and it hit him in the chest, sending him flying into the wall behind him.

Kendra looked at me in surprise for a moment before running to me and grabbing my wrist, dragging me to Brook's bedroom. She picked Brook up and pulled me a bit closer to her, and suddenly I felt like cool water was covering me, and I shut my eyes. When I opened them a few seconds later I found myself standing outside of my Uncle Steve's house.

"What happened?" I asked Kendra.

"I've been practicing teleportation," she answered as we walked to the front door.

"Why are we here?" I questioned as I hurried to keep up with her long strides.

"Uncle Steve will help us. We'll tell him we feel like someone is after us and we need a place to stay."

I knew Uncle Steve was a good option. He was my dad's best friend and until Kendra and I had the college degrees needed, he was running my dad's business.

From there things seemed to settle down, we got an apartment and got our cars and personal belongings to New York, Kendra started her college classes back up, while I was enrolled in a local school. We hadn't heard from him since the confrontation, and things seemed to be looking up once more, but one dark night, that all changed.