Twelve Gates: Book 1: The First Gate

Chapter 1
BAM! CRASH!
For the fifth time this month, the roof of my miniscule “hut”, as I called it, came collapsing on top of my head. I heard my neighbors emerging from their houses, and passersby, who were unaccustomed to the routine, calling for help. I chuckled softly to myself. It wasn’t unusual that this happened, but there were always some traveling alchemists who had no idea what was going on, and completely panicked. It was rather humorous, to tell the truth.
“I’m okay!” I yelled out, “Just give me a minute to get out of here!”
I started pushing chunks of wood and shingle off my head, when I saw a hand reach through the small hole I had made.
”Need some help?” I heard a light, airy female voice say to me.
I instinctively reached for her hand. It was soft, and young, and contrasted quite a bit to mine, rough and hard, weathered from all the work I did. Surprisingly though, she seemed to pull me out with ease.
When I emerged from the pile of rubble, I finally saw the girl that had pulled me out. And, oh, what a girl she was! She was probably the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, not a twig, but not too fat, just right in between. Her cascading, strawberry brown hair fell in luscious curls around her round, soft face. She wore a lavender floral printed sundress that complimented her freckle-spangled ivory skin. A violet was gently tucked behind her ear, making her sparkling blue-grey eyes stand out even more. She looked like a goddess standing next me, bulky, with cargo jeans, a button-up plaid shirt over a dirty white tank top, may brown-with-blonde-highlights hair strewn in every direction and covered with dust. And it was like that before the roof fell in. For a couple of seconds I gawked in awe.
“Excuse me?” she interrupted, “Are you all right? Is there something wrong?”
“Huh? What? Oh, sorry,” I apologized, snapping back to reality, “Thanks for the help.”
“Oh, no problem! My name is Mariella, by the way!” she curtsied to me politely.
“Nice to meet you, Mariella. I’m Theo. Are you new in town? I’ve never seen you here before.”
“Yes, actually, I just came into town today. I’ve been searching around for an Alchemy Master. Do you know where I can find one who would be willing to take me up?”
That was an easy question. There were only two Alchemy Masters in this region. Crehedor, who lived two villages over, didn’t take apprentices, since he worked for the government, and his brother, Corso, took in everybody, even a failure like me.
“I’m sure my master would be glad to take you in. He’s already got five, including me, and he’s taught every alchemist in the Masasshian Region.” I said, “Do you want me to take you to him?”
She accepted my offer graciously. I stumbled out onto the street curb from the pile, assuring the people around me that I’d clean it up later. I turned back to Mariella to see if she needed help getting down. Instead, she was softly gliding down, her feet moving quickly and smoothly.
“How did you do that so easily?” I asked her as she hopped down onto the street next to me.
She smiled sweetly, “Mother always said there was something special about me!”
“I don’t get it…”
“You’ll figure it out when you get to know me better.”
We walked along, each telling one about the other, asking questions and such. Mariella didn’t reveal much about herself, only that she was from the Izmael Region.
“So why did your roof fall in?” she asked me.
“Oh, my roof’s always falling in! I’ve been trying to master cooling and compressing the carbon dioxide in the air to a solid, but think I’ve been doing something wrong, because I keep losing control of the matter and-“
“The molecules decompressed and caused a powerful explosion of air pressure, right? Maybe that’s happened because you’ve got a rip in the seam of your glove…” She finished my sentence.
“Oh, you’re right…you’re a pretty smart alchemist!” I exclaimed.
“Book smart, maybe, but my skills are horrendous, and if I don’t improve them then…”
“Then what?”
“Nothing, never mind, it’s not important. Anyways, I think we’re at you master’s home.”
She was correct. We were standing in front of Master Corso’s door, a sign reading “Alchemy Master” hanging over their heads. I carefully knocked on the wood and iron door and it swung open. A tall, handsome, slightly aged man opened the door, his eyes tired and groggy, his long, black hair slung back in a sloppy ponytail. He wore holey pajama pants and no shirt, exposing his smooth, muscular torso. I saw Mariella blush with embarrassment.
“Damnit, Theo! I was sleeping! What the hell do you want?!” he roared.
“I’m very sorry to wake you, sir, but I have someone who’s come from the Izmael region to see you!” I stated quickly, bowing deeply. “This is Mariella. She’s looking for an apprenticeship and was hoping that you’d accept her! She’s come a very long way, being that far from the western regions and-“
“Boy, I know how far she’s come!” Corso snapped, and then turned to Mariella, “Are you really from Izmael? It’s an…unusual…origin for an alchemist.”
Mariella curtsied politely and said, “Please take me in, sir. I promise to work hard in my studies and in the house, and to be the best student possible!”
“Oh, I have no doubt you’ll do that! Just come in and we’ll talk it all over.”
He allowed Mariella in, and just as he was about to shut the door in my face, threw a wad of money at me, as if he were psychic.
“I take it this young lady helped you out of a pile of rubble?” he asked me.
I nodded my head in shame.
“Just go get yourself a new pair of gloves.” and he slammed the door shut.
“’Just go get yourself a new pair of gloves’…stupid, big fat…”I mumbled to myself, kicking a pebble down the cobblestone road, searching for the alchemy shop.
I looked up at the clouds above my head. They were deep and dark and heavy with rain.