How Long Was I Lost?
Disclaimer: I don't own Fablehaven
AN: Hey guys! So, this is my very first fanfiction, and I really hope you all like it! Lets begin...
A large Samoan man drove down the street in a black SUV, on his way back to the magical preserve he was currently staying at. He was headed back to Fablehaven after visiting relatives and gathering ingredients for potions he was going to leave in the care of the Sorenson's. As he pulled in the gates he saw a slumped figure, hooded from the fast-falling snow, snuggled against the fence. The shape looked like that of a child, harmless and vulnerable. He stopped the car and got out and to investigate the figure. It was a girl, young and petite, seemingly unconscious. She was soaking wet, her hair was ratted, and though it was freezing cold outside, the only thing the girl had on under her thick hoodie was a white camisole, which Tanu noticed after he had scooped her off the ground. No wonder she was shaking. She snuggled up to his chest as he held her, desperate for warmth. He grabbed the backpack she had with her off the ground and laid her in the backseat of the car. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and tried to contact the Sorenson's inside the house. It rang for a few seconds before Grandma Sorenson's voice called over. "Yes?"
"Ruth, I need you to add a name to the register. I found a little girl outside against the fence. I think we should take her in."
"All right, Dear. Describe her to me," Ruth said.
"Okay, she has dark brown hair, but I can't see her eyes, so I'm not sure about color. She's wearing a white camisole under a white and green hoodie. She's also got on blue skinny jeans and gray boots."
"Alright. She should be good to go. Come on in." The phone clicked and went silent.
Tanu got back in the car and drove down the drive, glancing at the mysterious figure in the backseat whenever she moved.
Dale and Grandpa Sorenson were there to greet Tanu at the door. They were wearing thick winter clothes and puzzled expressions as they gazed upon the odd contrast of the hulking man holding the fragile little girl, carefully in his arms. Dale, after a short while, stopped staring and went out to the SUV to get the rest of Tanu's bags. Stan began asking Tanu questions.
"Where did you find her?" he asked as he touched the figure's tiny hand. It was so cold it almost burned.
"Against the fence outside the gate," Tanu replied. "She didn't seem to want to get inside. Just..." he stopped. "Just to get near something warm, maybe. The magic protecting the fence and gate gives off faint heat."
"Yes, and we would have been notified if there was a breach in the gate, which is nearly impossible," Stan replied sullenly. "But, I can't help wondering, why wouldn't the distractor spell work on her?"
"I'm not sure, but we need to get her inside and near the fire before she turns to ice."
They went inside where the rest of the family was waiting. Kendra and Seth were on the couch, Seth trying to wrestle the book Kendra was reading away from her. Warren and Vanessa, the alleged couple, were sitting in matching chairs by the window. Ruth was walking down the stairs, apparently just finishing up with the register. Everyone turned to the door and smiled, but those smiles soon faded when they saw the body that Tanu was carrying. As soon as she had gotten a clear look at the child, Vanessa was up in an instant and had shot towards Tanu, tears welling in her eyes.
"Lore! Oh my God, Loralie!" she started to sob. Warren jumped up and was at Vanessa's side in no time at all. He tried holding her by the shoulders, calming her down but she wouldn't have it. She held out her hands to Tanu, insinuating that he should give the girl to her.
At that point the girl's eyelids began to flutter. She could hear voices, but they were underwater. She squirmed a little but soon gave up, so she opened her eyes and saw Vanessa. She screamed and almost rolled out of Tanu's arms. She struggled at first but he righted her, and stood her up carefully. Her teeth were chattering and she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her head. She almost fell over, she was so dizzy, but Tanu caught her and helped her back to her feet.
"Van! I thought you were dead! You never came back, and you never wrote. I was... Worried." Loralie said, choking back sobs. It was her turn to cry. She flung her arms around Vanessa's neck, leaving the rest of the occupants of the room utterly speechless.
Vanessa held her tight and led her to the fireplace. "I wanted to write. Really, I did. But, I promised everyone," she gestured around the room," that I wouldn't control anyone any more. I screwed things up big-time a long while back, and I knew they would never trust me again if I started controlling, and I didn't want that to happen. I care about these people, like I care about you. Vanessa talked to this girl like they were old pals, sisters even.
"I guess I should have known you'd go and get yourself in trouble," Loralie smiled half-heartedly, "So where am I?"
Everyone looked at each other skeptically. What harm could this little girl do? "You're at Fablehaven," came the answer from Grandpa Sorenson. At that word, Loralie eyes went wide.
"So Chrissy's here!" She yelled excitedly. She was almost bouncing up and down she was so happy. "It's been so long since I've seen him, I thought he was dead, too!"
Vanessa wrung her hands and shuffled a little. Vanessa had never acted like this before. Vanessa Santoro was always so calm and suave. "No, Lore, he's not here anymore," Vanessa said. Loralie looked so heartbroken everyone began to wonder if she would just shrivel away.
"W-where did he go then?" She asked her voice shaking and cracking. Everyone could see that she was trying not to cry again. She already seemed embarrassed that she had cried before. "Why would he leave if you stayed?" Tears began streaming from her eyes. Vanessa began to get teary, also.
"He didn't leave by choice," Vanessa said slowly. Loralie made a sound, somewhere between a gasp and a squeak. Apparently she knew just what Vanessa was going to say. She sobbed. "Chris... Is dead," Vanessa said slowly.
She hugged Loralie tight and started humming softly. When she had calmed down, Loralie pushed away from Vanessa. "I've got to get outta' here," she said and started to rise.
"No!" Vanessa looked frantically at Loralie. "You're staying here, if Stan and Ruth are alright with that?"
"That's just fine Dear," said Ruth, "We wouldn't want to take you in here just to send you back out in the cold," she said looking at a dripping Loralie. At this, Seth looked at Kendra. The two of them were so engulfed in the current situation; they hadn't let go of the book. Seth gave Kendra a pleading look. I'll talk to them about it, Kendra mouthed silently.
"Well, has anyone asked me if I'm okay with this? Because I'm not," Loralie huffed, "I'm sorry if I sound ungrateful and all, but I'm really uncomfortable with this whole situation..." she trailed off.
"It doesn't matter if you want to or not you're staying. I lost you once, I'm not losing you again," Vanessa said sternly. Loralie sat down again, defeated.
For the first time she looked around the room and observed the bewildered faces. There were so many. How could she stay here when there were so many people? "Fine" she said at last. She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.
Warren broke the silence from the other side of the room, "So, what's all this about? I mean you two clearly know each other. " Both Vanessa and Loralie opened their mouths to say something, but were cut off by Mrs. Sorenson suggesting they all have dinner before any explanations were given. Loralie kindly declined any and all offers of food. She thanked everyone for letting her stay and told them all that she would wait where she was while they ate. Stan, at Vanessa's request, told Hugo and Mendigo to guard the doors in case Loralie tried to leave. Maybe if she weren't so tired she would have tried to escape.
"I could take on two guys if I wanted, that is, if they even caught me," she said under her breath, when everyone else had left the room. They had failed to mention that Hugo was a golem.
Holding true to her word, Loralie had stayed where she was in front of the fire, but had fallen asleep. Had she been awake she would have heard the voices coming from the kitchen. Vanessa's had been trying, and failing, to explain who Loralie was, and everyone else's asking the questions. When they had finished dinner, the troop moved back into the living room, where they found the mysterious girl asleep on the floor. "I have an idea," Warren said as he went back to the kitchen the grab a cold water bottle from the fridge,
"This is how Dale used to wake me up for school when we were younger." He moved her hair and placed the cold bottle against the back of Loralie's neck. She shot up and spun her leg around, swiftly knocking Warren off his feet.
"Whoa, sorry," said Loralie, "I'm kind of edgy right now. My bad," she apologized as she helped Warren back to his feet. Over on one of the couches, Seth and Vanessa were stifling laughter.
"A little warning would've been nice," Warren huffed, brushing himself off.
"I could say the same to you." Loralie smiled a real smile for the first time since she'd been there. Warren went to sit down, and Loralie began to tell her story.
"I guess I'll start from the beginning." Loralie looked around the room, at each individual person, and then began. "When I was around four years old the Society of the Evening Star tricked me into leaving home to work with them. There, they started teaching me all sorts of martial arts and gymnastics, combat training, and survival. So, technically I have ten years worth of training. And, when they found out I had a gift they started training me to use it, even though they don't even know what it is. Heck, I don't even know what it is."
"Gift?" It was Kendra who piped up after staying quiet through the whole story.
"Yeah, I can-" Loralie paused, looked up, and her eyes met Seth's. She quickly averted them. "I can transfer my memories to other people."
Ooo… What does this mean for the Fablehaven gang? Who is this mysterious girl who has such close ties to Vanessa, and what secret is she harboring? If people like this, I'll definitely keep going. I'll probably keep going anyway, but reviews would be helpful!