Hi! This was written by me and beta'd by R. I hope you enjoy!
E
Chapter 1
On the last day of October, it was already dark outside and a light mist was settling as a tall girl with long blond locks - which were now pinned up and hidden underneath a cap as part of her costume - walked down the abandoned streets. The road was lined with street lamps, but only a few were alight, and even those were flickering accompanied by a light crackling sound.
Considering how eerie this was, combined with the cold temperature and what night it was, she really would have been expected to feel scared and alert. However, this was not the case. Lucie was looking forward to the Halloween party she was on her way to from archery practice, and also extremely pleased with herself - for the second time in her life she had split an arrow. To be fair, it was a bamboo arrow, intended specifically for this feat, but it still took a ridiculous amount of accuracy to accomplish.
She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she had thought to bring a coat. She hadn't, because she didn't own a coat which could pass as being nineteenth century, like the rest of her costume. This was another reason why she was excited about the party - its theme was her favourite book and musical: Les Misérables.
Still, she was relieved when she got to the area where the townhouse her friend lived in was. All she had to do was cut through the park and she would reach her street.
She stuck to the path she knew and glanced up at the sky. There were only a few stars visible - there would have been more if she had been in the countryside, but the vast amount of light pollution coming from the city of Paris made it nearly impossible to see anything at all.
She squinted, trying to make out some constellations and suddenly, she was blinded by a flash of green light. It only lasted a split second, but it spread across the whole horizon.
Lucie ran. She didn't know why, but she was terrified of what had just happened; all she knew was that she wanted to get to safety as soon as possible. She sprinted a few hundred metres, but she couldn't see where she was going, her eyes still fixed on the once again dark firmament.
When she started choking, she was forced to stop, instead ducking round a corner and pressing her back to the wall. She squeezed her eyes shut and shivered, although her lungs were burning.
Eventually, her breathing steadied and she opened her eyes hesitantly. Her cap had fallen off while she was running, but she really did not care about it at that moment. She wandered back into the main street and was prepared to walk straight to where she was headed, but then she realised she didn't know where she was.
She shook her head. That was impossible. Whatever trauma she had just been through, she was absolutely certain she should be right next to her destination.
But the whole street looked foreign. In fact, the pavement underneath her feet was different. All the buildings were different. There were fewer street lights and they were not electric - they were gas lamps. The sky had more stars and even the air felt different.
Was it possible that she was lost? That must have been the case; how else could you explain it?
A few people passed her. They all seemed to be minding their own business and avoiding all the other pedestrians, but every one of them stared at Lucie.
She, on the other hand, stared at them. It appeared that she was not the only one dressed up in nineteenth century clothing for Halloween. Although she was confused as to why so many adults would be dressed up, and why they all looked so serious.
She tried to retrace her footsteps, but she was still lost. She considered asking someone where she was, but everyone avoided her gaze and rushed away when she approached them.
She jumped when she heard a rustle underneath her foot. Upon further inspection she found it to be a newspaper. She looked at the top left corner and blinked in surprise. It was from today, but then it was not: although there was now a muddy footprint across the page, there was no mistaking it.
The date read: Monday, October 31st, 1831.
Just then the door of a nearby tavern opened and a man staggered out. A friendly voice shouted out after him.
"Goodnight, Grantaire!"