The gentle chirping of crickets filled the night air as Chip and Cogsworth approached a house in a moonlight clearing in the Black Forest. Light shined through the house's windows, proving that someone was awake inside. A river entered the clearing from amidst the trees.

A woman sat on the river bank with her feet in the river's cold waters. She had brown hair and wore a knee-length blue dress. Her gaze was focused on the rippling water as if she was staring into space. This left her completely unaware that Cogsworth and Chip were standing behind her.

"Brooke?" Cogsworth said, getting the woman's attention.

In her surprise, she whirled around to face him, but her shock soon gave way to joy and relief. "Cogsworth!" she exclaimed, racing to his side and pulling him into a friendly embrace. "I was so worried that something had happened to you. After all, you were gone for ten years. I was so afraid that you had been found out and were exiled or imprisoned or even executed." A few tears ran down her cheeks as she thought of what could've been.

"Calm down, Brooke, I'm fine; everything's fine." Cogsworth assured her. "There were just some 'mishaps' at the castle. Nothing bad has happened."

It wasn't until then that Brooke noticed Chip's presence. "Who is this?" she asked gesturing towards Chip.

"This is Chip. He's also from the castle." Cogsworth explained vaguely.

"Is he-" Brooke began to ask.

"Yes," Cogsworth replied before she could finish.

"Which is it?"

"I believe that it's air."

"How long have you known?"

"I've known for quite a while now."

"Have you explained any of it to him?"

"No, not yet."

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Chip asked, interrupting Brooke and Cogsworth's continuous cycle of question and answer. Both of them turned to face him. They shared a quick, knowing glance before returning their gazes to the child.

"Chip, there's something that I have been waiting to tell you for a while now." Cogsworth said. He kneeled down in front of the boy. "There are certain people in this world with special abilities. They have the power to harness the magic of the elements: fire, water, earth, air, ice, time, lightning, darkness, and light. Brooke and I have been mentoring these people for years now on how to use their powers. You are one of those special people, Chip. That's why I brought you here."

Chip struggled to take in all of the information he had just been told. He had element magic (probably air magic based on what he had gathered from Cogsworth's earlier conversation with Brooke.) Also, Cogsworth had clearly known for years yet had refused to tell Chip all of this until now. What else was going on that he didn't know about?

Then, the door to the house opened and two people stepped out. Both seemed to be around the age of fifteen. One was a girl in dark clothing. Her black hair was tied into a ponytail, and a necklace with a crescent moon charm hung around her neck. On the contrary, her male companion was dressed mostly in shades of gold and white. He wore a sun necklace around his neck that looked rather similar to the one the girl was wearing.

"Brooke, is something wrong? Joseph thought he heard someone scream." the girl said as she stepped outside. She had not yet noticed who stood in the clearing.

"Cogsworth?" the boy, Joseph, asked. He seemed to be questioning if the scene in front of him was real and not just a dream.

"I'm really here," Cogsworth promised him, smiling at his old friend.

"I can't believe that you're actually back!" the girl exclaimed before repeating the same process as Brooke and pulling Cogsworth into an embrace.

"Be gentle, Shyla. I'm sure that he's been squeezed enough already by Brooke." Joseph laughed. Brooke became bright red for a brief moment.

"Are they mentors like you?" Chip whispered to Brooke after she had recovered from her embarrassment.

"No, Shyla and Joseph are two of my and Cogsworth's students. The twins are orphans though, so I decided that they could stay with me." Brooke answered.

"Do you all meet here at night often?" Chip wondered.

"We use to get together almost every other night, but then Cogsworth stopped coming. What exactly happened at the castle?" Brooke asked him.

"It's a long story," Chip trailed off. He shuffled his feet nervously.

"They deserve to know what happened." Cogsworth said as he and the twins joined the two of them.

Okay, so that's that! I would love to hear everyone's opinions on this chapter or even just the story in general.

Also, try and guess which elements Cogsworth, Brooke, Shyla, and Joseph have the power to use. Remember, the elements are fire, water, earth, air, ice, time, lightning, darkness, and light.

I'll see you all in chapter 3!