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Chapter Text

Thunder boomed overhead and rain pelted down hard. It was like a hurricane was forming on the little island of Cairnholm. 

Everyone was taking shelter indoors, shielding themselves from the horrendous storm brewing.

There was only one person braving the weather, trenching their way down the rocky pathways in heeled boots with a blonde girl in their arms.

Miss Raven shook her head to throw her wet, raven hair back out of her eyes and used her free hand to shield her daughter’s face from the harsh rain.

“It should be around here somewhere,” she told Aurora. “It won’t be long. We’ll be safe, dear Aurora, I promise.”

Aurora rapidly nodded and buried her face into Miss Raven’s nape, clinging on tightly to her ymbryne.

It felt like an eternity despite Miss Raven’s words as they wandered around the island, searching for the loop entrance the ymbryne knew was there.

A long time ago, Miss Avocet had told her where the famous Miss Peregrine’s loop was as they’d discussed the other ymbryne. But that was then, and now Miss Raven was searching her memory for its whereabous.

When she finally found it, both she and her ward were soaked to the bone, shivering with cold, and desperate for shelter.

“There,” Miss Raven breathed, rain dripping from her head, “this is it.”

Before she could enter with Aurora, she turned back and searched with her eyes, praying she hadn’t been followed. When she was certain, she looked back at the cave entrance and took the plunge.

It was as cold as ice inside the cave and a shiver immediately ran up her spine. She felt Aurora trembling in her arms too, but pushed onwards.

Twice she almost tripped, her heeled boots wet inside and out, and the cave uneven and rocky. She soon reached a point where she heard the telltale ticking of a clock in her ears, and she sighed deeply with relief. 

She’d finally made it to Miss Peregrine’s loop.

After an entire of travelling with just herself and Aurora, having to patch up their injuries on the ferry with a borrowed first aid kit, and constantly looking over their shoulders, Miss Raven was more than relieved to finally know she was safe.

There were only a handful of people in the world who knew where Miss Peregrine’s loop was, it was so well hidden. Miss Raven was just glad Miss Avocet had entrusted her with the information all those years ago.

As she stumbled out of the cave entrance, holding Aurora tightly, she looked around with wonder. In stark contrast to the present outside of the loop, Miss Peregrine’s loop was sunny, bright, warm, and pleasant. It truly was the perfect day.

Down the lengthy pathway, Miss Raven could see a large house with plenty windows and plants. She could find Miss Peregrine there.

“Are you okay?” She directed her attention to Aurora who was looking at her surroundings too.

Aurora met her eyes and nodded.

“I’m okay, Miss,” she confirmed, her voice deep and gravelly. It matched that of a much older man before she coughed heavily. When she spoke again, her voice was back to normal, “sorry.”

“Don’t apologise,” Miss Raven said, “when we get inside, you can get some rest and recuperate. We’ve had a… long couple of days.”

At that, Aurora rested her head on Miss Raven’s chest and closed her eyes. Miss Raven mentally chastised herself for her choice of wording before shaking her head and beginning to make her way up the pathway to the front door of the children’s home.

She stepped up to it and brought her hand up to the wood. She knocked three times before letting it drop. As she waited, she breathed shakily. Just in case, she looked back and scanned the pathway she’d just walked up.

Still no one. Just her and Aurora.

It took only ten seconds for the door to open and when it did, Miss Raven looked down to see a short girl in a white dress with curly brown hair.

The girl frowned as they locked eyes.

“Um, can I help you?” She asked, visibly confused.

Miss Raven wasn’t surprised. It probably wasn’t very often they got visitors that weren’t a part of the loop.

“I hope so,” Miss Raven said sincerely. “Is your ymbryne here?”

The girl’s eyes widened and then she rushed off, leaving Miss Raven and Aurora on the doorstep. Approximately five seconds later, a familiar woman stepped into the doorway.

It had been probably twenty years now since Miss Raven had seen Miss Peregrine, and the last time had been at Miss Avocet’s loop. She looked exactly the same as she had back then.

Dark eyes, dark hair, sharp features and wide eyes. Her same dark blue clothes and tights, and. Well, Miss Raven’s heart warmed at the sight of her. She was familiar and beautiful, and a sight for sore eyes.

“Ophelia,” Miss Peregrine removed the pipe from her mouth with surprise, her eyes widening.

“Alma,” Miss Raven replied.

Her voice held a hint of hope as her throat tightened. Instinctively, her arms tightened on Aurora too.

“Dear, you’re both soaked to the bone. Come inside immediately. We’ll get you dried off and warmed up,” Miss Peregrine ushered them inside and quickly shut the door behind them.

Just like Miss Raven recalled, Miss Peregrine was instantly on the move and she led them through the house as quickly as she could walk. Miss Raven kept up with ease, maintaining her hold on Aurora who now seemed to be dozing off if her evened breaths were anything to go by. 

Miss Peregrine led them into the living room and a red haired girl, who had been sitting in there with a dark haired boy, lit the fireplace with her bare hand at her ymbryne’s nod. Then she and the boy left the room.

“Please, take a seat on the couch. I’ll fetch some towels and spare clothes whilst you warm up by the fire,” Miss Peregrine said.

Before she could leave, Miss Raven took her hand and stopped her.

“Thank you, Alma,” she said, hoping her gratefulness could be seen and heard.

Miss Peregrine smiled gently back and her and nodded. Miss Raven let go of her hand then watched as the other woman left the room.

Once she was gone, Miss Raven turned to the fireplace and approached it with Aurora. She crouched down in front of it and gently roused her ward again and a hand on her arm.

“Come on, darling, let’s get you warmed up.”

Chapter Text

“You’re okay now, dear Aurora,” Ophelia murmured to her ward, “you’re safe.”

“Everyone else… is gone,” Aurora whimpered against Miss Raven’s sternum.

Ophelia had been trying hard not to think about her wards, all but one killed at the hands of the hollows. If she did, she would only be able to see Charlie’s body in her mind, his eyes stolen.

But Aurora was only six, and she herself was trying to come to terms with the fact that the people she’d lived with for several decades were now gone. She would never see them again.

So Miss Raven swallowed the welling lump in her throat and blinked back her hot tears to press a kiss to Aurora’s sandy brown hair.

“I know, darling, I know,” Miss Raven sniffled.

There wasn’t much she could do other than let her ward cry and try to comfort her. There was no bringing back their lost ones, regardless of how much they willed it.

And then Aurora broke down. The girl sobbed into Miss Raven’s chest with all her heart, clinging onto the woman as if she were her lifeline. Perhaps to Aurora, that was how it felt right now. Miss Raven was the only person she had left.

With these thoughts, Ophelia held her ward tighter and ran her fingers through the girl’s hair.

There was a quiet knock on the door mere seconds later to which Ophelia blinked back her tears and looked up.

“Come in,” she called. She already knew it was Alma.

The door opened and as expected, Alma stepped inside, quietly closing the door behind her. In her arms she carried a towel and some clothes. Ophelia spotted a pink dress which she knew was for Aurora.

Alma approached them and crouched down.

“I have some towels and dry clothes for you both,” she announced. “My ward will be bringing you some tea in a moment.”

“Thank you, Alma,” Ophelia breathed, eternally grateful. She averted her gaze to Aurora’s wavy hair and continued to comb through it with her fingers. “I’m so sorry to barge in on you like this, but-“

“Enough of that,” Alma stopped her. “It’s my pleasure.”

Ophelia lifted her eyes to meet Alma’s again and saw the complete and utter sincerity in them. They were swimming with emotion.

A lump welled in Ophelia’s throat that caused her to look away from Alma once more. Her eyes fell to the fire place that crackled quietly over their sudden silence.

Before either Ophelia or Alma could say another word, there was a second knock on the door. Alma rose to her feet once more and strode over to it to speak to the person on the other side. Ophelia presumed it was the one bringing them tea.

“Thank you, Olive,” Ophelia heard Alma quietly thank her ward. “Would you mind helping Emma and Enoch with supper?”

The door clicked shut after that and the sound of porcelain clinking met Ophelia’s ears. She glanced over in time to see Alma reaching them with the aforementioned tea.

“This should help you both warm up,” Alma said.

Ophelia gratefully took one of the mugs and began to sip at it, grateful for the immediate warmth that settled in her belly.

She silently nudged Aurora who slowly lifted her head and met Miss Peregrine’s eyes. The woman smiled gently at the peculiar girl.

“Here you are, darling,” Alma said then handed Aurora a cup of tea. “Be sure to blow on it- it’s still hot.”

“Thank you,” Aurora mumbled, and for a moment, Ophelia thought she heard Ruth’s Irish lilt. Aurora bowed her head and dutifully blew on the hot tea.

Ophelia looked to the side to hide the tears gathering on her waterline.

Ruth… Ophelia’s first ward. They’d been together for so long, ever since Ophelia found her wandering the streets at only thirteen. The ymbryne knew the girl was peculiar when she saw Ruth using her peculiarity to summon water, her thirst ever prominent.

Ophelia would never hear Ruth laughing wildly as she splashed her friends with water. She would never again hear her squabbling with Charlie over who got to feed the chickens. Never hear her reading Daisy and Aurora to sleep at night.

She would never see any of her other children again. They were gone.

Suddenly, Ophelia’s tea was taken from her hands. The woman startled slightly and looked up to see Alma kneeling beside her.

“Let’s get you and your ward into some dry clothes,” she suggested, wiping tears from Ophelia’s cheeks. The woman could only nod.

Swallowing the insistent lump in her throat, Ophelia picked Aurora up and moved her to the couch.

As Ophelia changed into the clothed Alma had loaned her, the other ymbryne went about changing Aurora into the prink dress that clearly belonged to one of her other wards.

“My youngest ward, Claire, has let you have her favourite dress,” Miss Peregrine told Aurora has she dressed her. “Pink is her favourite colour of all. Do you have a favourite colour?”

There was a beat. Ophelia was sure Aurora wasn’t going to answer as she buttoned up the borrowed dress, but then the girl spoke, albeit quietly.

“Blue,” Aurora murmured. “I really like blue.”

“Blue is my favourite colour too,” Alma told her, “I even have blue hair.”

Ophelia allowed herself a small smile.

“It’s really pretty.”

Soon, Miss Raven had redressed herself in the dress Miss Peregrine had loaned her and Aurora was wearing the pink dress given to her by Alma’s ward.

Alma gathered their discarded clothes and put them over the clothes horse by the fireplace whilst her guests finished their tea.

Once her mug was empty, Aurora’s eyes slowly began to drift shut. Ophelia knew the girl was tired. They’d been on the move non-stop since the attack on their home, and their emotions had been high.

Quietly, she moved to the couch where Aurora was dozing off and leaned the girl’s head on her shoulder.

“I have a spare bedroom where she can get some sleep,” Alma mentioned.

“That would be perfect,” Ophelia smiled lightly, “thank you. For all of this.”

Alma tutted.

“Nonsense,” she said then rose to her feet. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to the bedroom.”

Ophelia did just that. Carefully taking Aurora into her arms, she followed Miss Peregrine out of the living room and through the hallway where she spotted a girl in a pink dress and two children wearing masks.

The girl with the pink dress was clearly the one who’d given Aurora her dress. Ophelia made sure to give her a grateful smile. The girl grinned back then went back to playing with her friends.

Miss Peregrine led Ophelia up the stairs to the second floor then down the hallway, and up a final flight of stairs to the third floor where there was a door on their right.

Alma opened it and held her arm out to gesture Ophelia inside. The ymbryne entered the small bedroom with Aurora and walked over to the bed to lay the girl down.

Briefly, Aurora stirred at being moved but then she settled down again, falling back asleep. Ophelia sighed and pulled the blanket over her ward to ensure she stayed warm.

For a moment after tucking Aurora in, Ophelia remained rooted to the spot, staring at the girl. Her only surviving ward. She didn’t want to leave. After all, they were on the third floor and there were monsters out there.

She’d thought they were safe in her own loop and, when she least expected it, a hollow and wight had attacked. Slaughtered all but one of her children and stolen their eyes in the hopes of regaining their humanity.

Ophelia knew that was impossible because any shred of humanity they’d ever possessed had vanished when they chose to kidnap an ymbryne for immortality.

And now, Ophelia didn’t want to leave Aurora because what if the monster who’d attacked her loop found them again? She couldn’t bear to lose another child.

“Miss Raven?” Alma prompted.

Ophelia blinked and looked back at the other ymbryne.

“You know you can call me Ophelia,” she muttered.

Alma smiled a little at that with amusement, but then she returned to seriousness.

“She’ll be safe here,” she said. “You both will. I promise.”

“I thought the same of my loop,” Ophelia replied.

It seemed Alma didn’t have an response for that as she didn’t say anything for a couple of beats.

Then she pushed away from the door and stepped closer to Ophelia.

“My chambers are just down the hall,” she said. “Why don’t we talk in there?”

Down the hall… that wasn’t too far, Ophelia reasoned with herself, looking away from her ward to meet Miss Peregrine’s eyes.

She gave the other woman a nod, and Alma led the way once more.

Chapter Text

Alma guided Ophelia down the hallway to the door at the end. She opened it up, stepped aside, and gestured the other woman inside.

Ophelia walked slowly into the well-lit, but comfortably decorated bedroom that belonged to Alma. There was a four poster bed, windows with white, net curtains, and dark wood furniture. The walls were covered in green wallpaper.

The door clicked shut behind the two ymbrynes before Alma approached and put a hand on Ophelia’s arm. She guided her to the bed then they both sat down on its edge.

Now alone, away from the eyes of either of their wards, Ophelia’s tears came full force. She buried her face in her hands, bowing her head as her shoulders trembled.

“Shh,” Alma cooed quietly, immediately putting her arms around Ophelia and pulling her into her.

Ophelia could do nothing more than sob, letting out all the pent up emotions from the past couple of days- the heartbreak; the grief; the guilt; the regret.

For Aurora, she had, had to stay strong. To be her ward’s rock, her light in the darkness. She couldn’t afford to break down and lose herself over what had happened, not when Aurora needed her.

But now, with Alma, she could let it all out. She knew that Alma wouldn’t chastise her or tell her to pull it together- not like some of the older ymbrynes used to back at the Academy. They used to call her weak - a crybaby.

But Alma would always swoop in and hold her tight. Just as she did now as Ophelia weeped over the loss of her children.

“There, there,” Alma murmured, rubbing circles over Ophelia’s back.

“My children are all gone,” Ophelia choked.

Flashes of her precious children’s lifeless bodies invaded her mind. Daisy, all four eyes wide open, but the sockets empty- her eyes stolen by the disgusting monsters called hollowgast. The image of her girl lying discarded by the monster would forever stick with Ophelia.

“They killed them!”

Ophelia trembled with both despair and anger. How could this have happened? She demanded of herself. Why had she not been able to save them all? She was an ymbryne- was it not her sole purpose to protect her children? To keep them safe and out of harm’s way?

How could she have failed so miserably?

“I’m so sorry,” Alma whispered. Then, as if she had read Ophelia’s mind, she added, “it  wasn’t your fault.”

For what felt like an eternity (and Ophelia was very familiar with eternity), the woman cried into Alma’s shoulder, silently berating herself for what had happened but letting it all out through her tears in the other woman’s arms. It had probably only been ten minutes, however, when she finally pulled away, her tears slowing to a stop.

Ophelia silently pulled a handkerchief out from her pocket and blindly dabbed under her eyes in the hopes of wiping away any evidence of her breakdown. Her white handkerchief came away with black splotches from her mascara.

“Let me,” Alma said, and gently took the handkerchief from Ophelia’s hand to start cleaning her up.

She worked quickly but carefully, and Ophelia couldn’t stop staring at her as she did so. The concentration on her face was admirable and attractive, it almost stole Ophelia’s breath.

Alma had always been gorgeous, she’d known that ever since they met at the Ymbryne Academy as teenagers. Though Alma shared a room with Isobel Cuckoo, she and Ophelia spent a lot of time together. Ophelia considered the girl her best friend.

As they’d gotten older, Alma had only grown more into her beauty. Though formerly a mildly timid girl thanks to her vicious brothers, she’d eventually become a much more confident young woman which only seemed to enhance her beauty, Ophelia decided.

To this day, she was still as breathtaking as she was back then. She was timeless. Literally.

“There,” Alma smiled, and Ophelia returned the gesture.

She handed back the handkerchief and Ophelia tucked it back safely in her pocket. Alma’s look then turned serious.

“Now, I know this is an uncomfortable subject and still sore, but you must tell me more about this attack,” she said. “Who did this?”

Ophelia took a deep breath and steeled herself to explain further.

“At first I didn’t know what was going on,” she began, recalling the attack as if it were only yesterday. The memories were still fresh in her mind. “I was with Noah and Alice in the greenhouse. Then Michael came running through the wall, shouting about our loop being attacked by a monster. Something that none of them could see. Ruth was already dead. Charlie and Daisy too…”

A fierce lump grew in Ophelia’s throat, the tears returning to her eyes. She looked down for a moment in an effort to collect herself so she could tell Alma what had happened. The woman put a hand over Ophelia’s in a display of comfort.

Once she’d gathered herself, blinking back tears and sniffling, Ophelia continued.

“I made a mistake,” she admitted. “A stupid mistake… I needed to fetch my weapon so that I could fight the monster attacking my loop, killing my children, but it was upstairs in my bedroom. I kept it there because I didn’t want my children getting hold of it and hurting themselves…” she took a deep, shuddering breath. “So I left them down there. Told them to hide and stay safe. I told them that I would be back as quickly as I could and I would put an end to it.”

Ophelia shook her head, wiping away the tear that had slipped down her cheek with a trembling hand.

“But I was too late. By the time I had my shotgun, the hollow had torn through my home and slaughtered my children. Their eyes were missing- that’s all it was after, but it killed them all!” Ophelia scoffed with anger.

“I saw it moving through the house. One of my children had stabbed it in the back- probably Ruth or Charlie- but I could see its movement, so I shot it with my gun. I heard it squeal and saw it crashing to the ground, but it just wasn’t enough. I’d only angered it further… I- I was prepared to die. I thought that was my end. But then I heard a voice. Blair. Well, I knew Blair was dead because… I could see…”  Ophelia took in a deep breath before continuing, shaking away the image of Blair’s body lifeless in the living room.

”I knew it was Aurora speaking. She can mimic voices. Any voice. She merely has to see the person to be able to do it. When she’s scared, or stressed, or angry, she can’t control it and, well… the poor girl was cowering at the top of the stairs, and so I knew I couldn’t just give up. Not yet. I raced up the stairs, grabbed Aurora and ran away. I hardly know how we managed to escape, but we did. I’m sure the hollow is still out there somewhere, but for now me and my ward are alive.”

Alma pulled Ophelia in for another hug, and the woman closed her eyes for a moment, sighing. She subtly wiped away her tears once more, basking in the comfort her old friend was providing. 

For a couple more minutes, Alma rubbed circles on Ophelia’s back until she pulled away and held her by her arms.

“I’m so terribly sorry for what you’ve experienced, Ophelia,” she said, “neither you nor your wards deserved what has happened. But I’m eternally grateful that you and Aurora made it safely to my loop.”

“As am I.”

Alma’s words were of some comfort to Ophelia. She sighed softly before ultimately pulling away from the hug.

Ophelia glanced at the clock sitting on top of Alma’s chest of drawers. It was 4.15pm.

“I had best let you get on,” she said to Alma, “it’s already four pm.”

“Birds,” Alma muttered, looking to the clock. “You’re right. Will you be joining us for supper?”

“Perhaps not tonight,” Ophelia decided. She didn’t think she could eat a single morsel today. She was much too emotional.

Alma rose to her feet and nodded.

“Understood. I’ll save you something in case you change your mind,” she said. “Now come along, dear, I think it’s time I introduced you to my wards.”

Ah, yes, Ophelia realised. She’d been here for at least two hours by now and she still hadn’t met Alma’s children. It would be highly rude to hide away for any longer.

Getting up, Ophelia quickly crossed the room and checked in the vanity mirror that she looked presentable.

“You look wonderful,” Alma said.

With her back to the other woman, Ophelia’s eyes widened slightly, her heart skipping a beat. She was sure Alma could see her surprise in the mirror but the woman didn’t comment on it.

“Thank you,” Ophelia returned, then she schooled her expression and turned around. “With how much I’ve cried, it’s a wonder I have any mascara left.”

Alma smiled with amusement before she opened the door and they left the bedroom.

…

On the way back downstairs, Ophelia momentarily stopped to check on Aurora. She needed to ensure the girl was still there, safe and sound. That she hadn’t somehow met the same untimely fate as her friends.

To Ophelia’s great relief, Aurora was still in the bed, soundly asleep and letting out deep breaths every few seconds. A weight lifted from Ophelia’s shoulders.

A hand on her shoulder reminded her of her destination and she nodded at Alma, the two ymbrynes quietly slipping away so as to not disturb Aurora.

They made it down the stairs moments later and immediately the sound of children’s joyous laughter met their ears. Ophelia’s lips lifted into a smile that was more sad than she intended.

Oh, how she missed her own children’s laughter. It had only been days without hearing it, but she felt as if a part of her was missing.

She and Alma passed by the living room where they’d gotten dressed and drank tea, making their way through the hallway towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen was the girl who’d answered the door to Ophelia, and a boy with blond hair who was wearing a suit clearly tailor made.

“Bronwyn, Horace, I’d like you to meet Miss Raven,” Alma immediately introduced them.

Horace stepped forward and extended a hand which Ophelia quickly took.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said. “It’s nice to have someone new in the house, and it’s been a long time since we met another ymbryne.”

“Delighted to meet you,” Ophelia smiled as she shook the boy’s hand.

Bronwyn hurried forward and wrapped her arms around Ophelia. She was much smaller than the ymbryne but her strength was clearly ten times as her embrace felt like being squeezed by a boa constrictor.

“Welcome to our home, Miss Raven,” the girl exclaimed. “Are you going to be staying forever?”

“That’s enough now, Bronwyn,” Alma chuckled.

Bronwyn swiftly let go of Ophelia much to the woman’s relief as the feeling in her legs started to return. She didn’t have an answer for her question, but thankfully Alma got there first.

“Miss Raven and her ward will be staying for as long as they need,” she said, and that was that.

It was enough for now, until Ophelia had come up with a plan of action herself.

After telling her children to stay out of trouble, Alma led the way out of the kitchen into the spacious garden filled with intricately grown hedges.

“I presume you have a dead riser in the house,” Ophelia mentioned as they made their way further into the garden.

She’d seen the many organ jars in the hallway as they’d left the house, and could recall meeting another dead riser several years ago on a visit to another loop.

“Yes. Enoch O’Connor,” Alma smiled, “he mainly practices on his homunculi, though. I find it improper for him to raise the dead. The trouble he used to cause…”

“I can only imagine,” Ophelia chuckled.

As they ventured further into the garden, they came to an open patch of grass with animal shaped hedges, a seesaw, a large pond on the right, and, at the very bottom of the garden, a huge oak tree.

This seemed to be where most of Alma’s children were playing as Ophelia immediately spotted at least four or five out there.

They stopped at the seesaw where three younger children were. Two boys wearing white, circus type outfits which covered their entire faces, and a girl with blonde ringlets wearing a pink, frilly dress. She looked, strikingly, like Alice. Ophelia’s heart clenched just by the sight of her.

“This is Claire and the Twins,” Alma introduced them.

“Hello!” Claire exclaimed, and the Twins chittered something Ophelia couldn’t decipher.

If only Alice truly were here, Ophelia thought solemnly. She would be able to understand. There wasn’t a language out there that her daughter couldn’t speak.

“Hello,” Ophelia smiled gently. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

They moved on after that, heading further down the garden to find two boys and a girl playing football with another girl watching them, presumably the referee.

When Alma and Ophelia approached them, they stopped what they were doing.

“This is Hugh, Millard, Fiona, and Olive,” Alma pointed them all out.

Hugh seemed to have bees living inside of him as they filter out of his mouth and clung to his body as he spoke whereas Millard was completely invisible, only seen via his clothes.

Olive wore a pair of sleek, black gloves as she shook Ophelia’s hand. And judging by the dirt smudged on Fiona’s cheek, and the grass stains on her knees, Ophelia deduced that Fiona had been the one to grow the t-rex shaped bush.

“Are you just visiting our loop?” Millard asked to which Olive quietly chastised him.

“I shall explain more later, children,” Alma said. “But for now, please go inside and begin tidying up for supper.”

“Yes, Miss Peregrine,” the children choruses then they rushed off to make their way inside.

Now, there were only two children left who Ophelia could see at the end of the garden by the aforementioned oak tree. A girl in a blue dress with blonde hair and large, clunky shoes, and a boy with dark hair, wearing a green sweater.

There was a rope tied around the blonde girl’s waist which the boy was pulling on, dragging her back down to Earth lest she float away. As she got to the bottom, she held onto her shoes and buckled herself in. Then, she untied the rope and handed it to the boy.

“Emma, Enoch, I’d like for you to meet Miss Raven,” Alma said once the children weren’t preoccupied with the rope and the tree. 

Enoch stepped forward and shook Ophelia’s hand.

“Olive mentioned another ymbryne was here,” he said with an Irish lilt that reminded Ophelia of Ruth. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s been a while since we met another ymbryne,” Emma said, unknowingly repeating Horace’s words. “Will you be staying a while?”

“I haven’t yet decided,” Ophelia admitted.

“Well, whatever you decide, you’re more than welcome here.”

“Thank you, Emma, that’s very kind of you,” Ophelia smiled, extremely grateful for the girl’s welcoming nature. But of course, she expected nothing less of Alma’s wards- after all, Ophelia always knew that Alma would make an excellent ymbryne who would raise compassionate and polite children.

“Now, I think you’ve met everyone, why don’t we catch up with the others and prepare for supper?” Alma suggested.

Ophelia tilted her head in a nod and followed the other ymbryne back down the garden to the large house.

…

Twenty minutes later found Miss Peregrine setting the table whilst Miss Raven headed back up the stairs to fetch Aurora. She felt awful that her ward hadn’t managed to get much sleep yet but she also hadn’t eaten much and Ophelia wouldn’t let her go hungry for much longer so she’d decided to wake her. Besides, now would be the perfect time for Aurora to meet the others.

Entering the bedroom, Ophelia carefully called out Aurora’s name. She approached the bed as the girl’s face scrunched in response to Miss Raven’s voice.

“Aurora, dear, it’s time for supper.”

“I’m tired, Miss,” Aurora grumbled, burying her face further into the pillow.

It seemed that the girl had forgotten where she was or the events of the past couple of days as she’d gone right back to her usual self. Aurora had never been a morning person.

Ophelia felt somewhat guilty for being the person about to burst her bubble and remind her where she was.

“I know, dear, but you must eat. Besides, don’t you want to meet Miss Peregrine’s wards? They really want to meet you.”

It was then that Aurora opened her eyes and looked up at Ophelia. She glanced around momentarily before her shoulders sagged.

“It wasn’t a dream?” She asked, her voice thick with despair, but also hope.

Ophelia sadly shook her head and regretfully shattered that hope.

“Unfortunately not,” she whispered.

Aurora looked down as Ophelia brushed some hair out of her face.

“Come on. Let’s get you something to eat. It may make you feel better. Miss Peregrine has even made dessert. Lemon cake, your favourite.”

“Really?” Aurora seemed to perk up a little at that.

“Mhm,” Ophelia confirmed. “And if you eat all of your supper, you can have some.”

“Okay,” Aurora agreed, tossing the covers back and getting out of bed.

A smile spread across Ophelia’s face, relieved to see happiness returning to Aurora.

The girl took hold of her ymbryne’s hand and, together, they headed downstairs to the dining room.

Although Ophelia had previously decided she wasn’t hungry and wouldn’t be joining them for supper, a plate was set out for her by Alma right next to Aurora’s seat.

Aurora practically dragged Ophelia into the seat beside her and, well, the woman could hardly say no.

The conversation kicked up immediately as everyone got seated, curious questions flying from left and right as everyone wished to know more about Aurora and Miss Raven.

It barely took more than one word from Alma for the children to quieten down enough for Ophelia and Aurora to be able to breathe.

“How come you’re coming to stay with us?” Hugh asked, then quickly backtracked with wide eyes. “Not that it’s a bad thing, of course!”

Ophelia glanced away for a brief second while Aurora stared at her plate, suddenly sullen.

“Unfortunately circumstances meant that our home was no longer safe,” Ophelia explained, “so we had to flee our loop… I recalled that Miss Peregrine’s loop was one of the more hidden loops nearby so we came here.”

The room was suddenly quiet aside from the buzzing of Hugh’s bees. Whether Miss Peregrine’s children knew about the existence of wights and hollows, Ophelia didn’t know nor did she dare to ask, but it did seem that they knew something terrible had happened thanks to her words therefore they chose not to push further.

“Miss Raven and her ward, Aurora, will be staying with us for the foreseeable future,” Alma added. “I expect you all to be welcoming towards our guests and make them feel at home.”

There were hasty nods from the children around the table who all looked to once again be bursting with questions. Before anyone could get a word out, however, Claire shot a question to Aurora.

“Do you like dolls?” She asked, a hint of excited desperation in her tone.

Aurora looked away from the plate she’d been staring at for the past minute since Hugh had asked his question, and met Claire’s eyes across the table. She nodded quickly, her brunette waves bouncing slightly.

“I hav- had loads of dolls!” She beamed.

“Do you want to play after supper?”

Ophelia smiled gently at the interaction. She knew the other children had questions they were dying to ask, but she was glad of Claire’s innocent one regarding dolls.

As the two girls began chatting about what games they liked to play and the other children reluctantly returned to their supper, seeing they wouldn’t be getting any more out of Ophelia or Aurora, Ophelia turned her eyes to Alma only to find the other ymbryne was already watching her.

The woman’s lips quirked up a touch as they made eye contact to which Ophelia had to stifle her own smile before she turned back to her plate. She didn’t eat very much, still not feeling hungry, but she stayed until everyone else was done out of politeness, keeping up conversation with Alma or her children.

Once supper was over, Ophelia watched Aurora run off with Claire, Bronwyn, and the Twins to play. She had to tell herself not to follow her ward just so she could watch from the distance and ‘protect’ her, instead distracting herself with helping Alma wash up.

Aurora would be fine, she chastised herself. No one other than herself and Miss Avocet knew the location of Alma’s loop. A wight couldn’t find it if they tried.

Still, Ophelia couldn’t help but glancing through the kitchen window every so often, a nagging feeling building in the pit of her stomach…