Brooke smiled as she watched Chip and the twins by the riverbank. Joseph and Shyla were instructing Chip on how to unearth his magic. A part of Brooke was grateful to Joseph and Shyla for offering to teach Chip how to do the first elemental skill, being one with your element and its magic.

"He's a fast learner," Brooke commented as Cogsworth sat down beside her. Cogsworth did not reply, but instead, stared off into space. His green eyes were misty and seemed to be looking at something far away.

Shyla made a gesture with her hand, signaling to Brooke that she and Joseph had finished helping Chip with the first part of his training. Brooke nudged her elbow hard into Cogsworth's shoulder, snapping him from his memories. "Come on, Father Time, we have an apprentice to teach," she teased him.

Just as Brooke was beginning to stand up, Cogsworth pushed her back down in a playful manner. He chuckled as he pulled himself to his feet. Brooke smirked. She wasn't going to let him win that easily. Cogsworth screeched in surprise as a wave of water came crashing over him. When the water receded back to the river, Brooke and the others were nice and dry, but Cogsworth was drenched in river water.

The clearing roared with laughter. Joseph tried to hide his amusement and stay respectful and composed toward his mentor, though he was clearly struggling. Brooke was shaking with laughter and ended up falling backwards onto the soft grass. Even Cogsworth was laughing at his own, wet misfortune.

Chip was, in all honesty, somewhat surprised by Cogsworth's more relaxed behavior. If something like that had happened back at the castle, Cogsworth would've lost himself in a fit of rage (especially if it was Lumiere's fault). Maybe it was true that some people acted differently when they were among friends.

"Come on, Mistress of Tsunamis, we have an apprentice to teach." Cogsworth echoed Brooke's words in the same teasing tone she had used earlier.

Chip really was a fast learner. The moon had climbed higher and then lower into the night as time and teaching went on. By now, Chip knew the basics of using his magic and could perform a few elemental feats.

"Can you show me some of your elemental powers too?" Chip suggested excitedly. While it had not been part of the original plan, the other four elementals agreed. Somehow, they devised an order to which they would show their own skills through hand gestures and head nods: Cogsworth, Brooke, Shyla, Joseph.

Cogsworth moved towards a small patch of light blue flowers at the riverbank. He kneeled down next to them and, with a flick of his hand, signaled for Chip to join him. The eight year old boy hurried to his mentor's side. Chip followed Cogsworth's gaze to one of the little, blue flowers. He watched intently, waiting to see what would happen. Then, somewhat slowly, the flower's delicate petals curled back towards one another before meeting up in the center. The flower looked as if it had never bloomed in the first place. So that is one of the things that time elementals can do, Chip thought as he stared at the enclosed flower.

Then, Chip turned towards Brooke who was already sitting at the water's edge. "You already got to see one of the things that I'm capable of," Brooke said, "but to show you something more elegant-" Brooke raised her hand upward, and a spire of water followed it. When her hand stopped moving, the water took a shape. Chip watched in awe as the water moved into a shape that strongly resembled a butterfly. With a swift but powerful downward movement of her hand, Brook sent the water butterfly plummeting back into the river.

Mere seconds after that, Chip saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Shyla holding two ribbon-like strands of dark magic, one in each hand. He thought he heard Joseph mumble something about how Shyla had always been impatient. The magic seemed to dance in the air as Shyla maneuvered it above her head. Faster than Chip could realized what was happening, the dark magic seemed to become more like whips than ribbons. They cut through the air so quickly that Chip could hear a slashing sound, almost as if Shyla was slicing through the wind itself.

Lastly, it was Joseph's turn to display one of his elemental abilities. He simply began to glow. Light formed around him as if he were a miniature sun. Of course, he didn't shine to brightly, for none of the four experienced elementals wanted anyone to know that they were there.

Then, a million things began to happen at once. There was the sound of a gunshot. Shyla's sobbing screams filled the night. The light was gone. Chip had no idea what was happening because it was all happening too fast.

Amidst the chaos, Chip heard Cogsworth's fearful voice, "Chip, go behind the house and hide." Chip still didn't understand the situation, but he obeyed. He ran, as fast as his legs would carry him, behind the single house in the clearing. His heart was pounding in his chest as he stopped.

Chip peered around the edge of the house, and the whole event slowly came into view as Chip realized what was happening. Shyla was sitting on her knees, holding Joseph close to her. From where he was, Chip could hear her whispering soft words of encouragement though he couldn't hear exactly what she was saying.

He crept closer, trying to hear what Shyla was saying. Her words were still indecipherable, but it sounded as if she was singing now. A sad, broken melody filled the air even though its lyrics could not be heard. Now that he was closer, Chip saw that Joseph's clothing, especially around his stomach, was stained with dark, crimson blood. As he crept closer still, Chip heard the last four lines of Shyla's mourning song.

"Brother, I don't want to say goodbye, so please do not leave me alone. Stay strong an open up your eyes. Then you and I can go home." Everything after that was lost in choking sobs that shook Shyla's body.

In the trees and underbrush surrounding the clearing stood a hunter. He was visibly shaking, and he clutched his gun close to him. Then, the shadows around him seemed to tremble slightly before leaping from where they perched. They crowded around the hunter who tried to swat them away but to no avail. The shadows circled him before finally settling into a cocoon shape. Chip had no idea what would happen to the hunter now, but that was the least of his concerns.

When Chip looked back towards the twins, Joseph was not moving. He hung limply in Shyla's arms, and his twin sister was crying her very heart out. It was then that Chip saw Cogsworth and Brooke for the first time since everything happened. The two teachers were slowly approaching their heartbroken student.

"Shyla," Cogsworth began to whisper, attempting to console her.

"Leave me alone!" Shyla screeched.

A wave of dark magic flew from Shyla and slammed into Brooke and Cogsworth, sending them flying backwards. Cogsworth collapsed to the ground a couple yards away from where he had originally been standing. All of the plants within a one foot radius of where Cogsworth landed withered and died in a matter of seconds. Brooke was flung slightly farther back, and her upper body landed in the water.

Every instinct in Chip's body told him to race out from his hiding place to help, but he knew better. Instead, he continued to watch the scene unfolding before him.

For a little while, Shyla continued to sit in the middle of the clearing, mourning for her lost brother. After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably a couple minutes), Shyla stood and raced from the clearing.

At that very moment, Chip raced to Cogsworth's side. He was clearly in pain. However, there were no physical injuries that Chip could see.

"I'll…be fine, Chip. Go… help Brooke… She was hit with… the full force of the blow." Cogsworth managed to say between breaths.

Knowing better than to argue with Cogsworth, Chip hurried towards Brooke. She was conscious, though barely. Chip tried to pull her half drenched body from the river, but he wasn't strong enough to move her far. He stole a glance over his shoulder at Cogsworth, who had managed to sit up but was literally shaking with the exhaustion and pain. Helping both of his mentors at once was impossible, and despite anything Cogsworth and his stubbornness might insist, they both needed help. Chip didn't know what he should do, didn't know what he could do.

It was then that two humanoid figures made of mist materialized in the clearing. One leaned down and lifted Brooke into its arms. The other helped Cogsworth to his feet. Cogsworth glanced at the misty figure and then at Chip who was standing there, stunned. He really is a fast learner, Cogsworth thought proudly.

The entry hall was silent with the exception of Mrs. Potts's footsteps. She had woken up in the middle of the night and decided to get a quick glass of water before going back to sleep.

Then, there was a knock on the large double doors that lead outside. "Who could be at the front door at this time of night?" Mrs. Potts wondered aloud. She pulled open the door to see a shocking sight.

Chip was standing there, refusing to meet her gaze. Cogsworth sat on the stone pathway, and an unfamiliar woman lay in his lap.

For a second, Mrs. Potts just stood there and stared, dumbfounded. With a shake of her head, Mrs. Potts took action. "Chip, find Lumiere," she instructed her son. Lumiere would be able to help with the girl.

"Cogsworth, what is going on?" Mrs. Potts asked.

"I'll explain everything in the morning, so everyone can hear. They all deserve to know." Cogsworth replied.

That took a while to do. *long sigh* I would like to thank Babetteisawesome for two reasons. First, she has been really supportive and helpful so far. Second, she was one of the authors who inspired me to make this account in the first place. She really is an awesome author. Well, I will see you all in chapter four.