Train rides were dreadfully boring.
All Elizabeth Andrews could do was grimace as she stared at the countryside passing by her. She longed to read her new book, but knew if she tried she would have a horrible headache before she finished the first chapter.
With nothing to distract her from her thoughts, she kept remembering her mum's tearful goodbyes at the train station.
"Oh, my poor Elizabeth! It feels like I'm losing you to this blasted war too." She clung to her daughter, on the verge of becoming hysterical. Said girl sighed, biting her lip. "It'll be alright mum, we'll see each other again soon enough." She replied, patting her mum on the back trying to calm her down.
Lizzy tried to stay angry at her mum for making her leave, but it was getting increasingly difficult. She knew it had to be hard on her mother, who already had to see her dad and older brother leave to fight.
"Wars don't last forever." She said, pulling away from her mother. Her mum smiled down at her, dabbing her eyes, "You're right dear. I'm just being silly. A mother can't help but worry though. Are you sure you have everything?" Lizzy looked down, going through her mental checklist again.
"Yes, I checked, then double-checked." She said picking up her suitcase. She took her ticket out of her coat pocket, ready to board the train.
"I should have known. You have certainly grown up into a sensible young lady. I expect you will be on your best behavior? Don't give the people any trouble during your stay. Also, remember your manners." Her mum was rattling off things she knew a mother should say to their child, even though she knew it wasn't needed.
Her Elizabeth was turning out to be such a mature little girl. Often she would find her up in her room reading while the other children were outside playing.
A child any parent would ask for, but she only wished her little lady would enjoy her youth more, and act more like she did before this war started. Ever since Lizzy's father and older brother left to fight, she became a very serious, well behaved girl, trying to make it easier on her mother. She could only hope that being away from it all would help her become a child once more.
Her mother was torn from her musings when she heard the train whistle. "Time for me to go." Elizabeth said, trying to keep her composure. With one last hug she turned away from her mother, following the rest of the children towards the train.
She gave the man her ticket and climbed in, quickly making her way through to look for an empty compartment. Finally finding one towards the back, she went in, closing the door behind her. She set her suit case down and stuck her head out the window, looking for her mother's face in the sea of parents waving goodbye to their children. She spotted her and waved when the train gave a sudden jolt and started moving.
"Goodbye mum! I love you!" She called, starting to lose it as a few tears fell. "Love you too sweetie! I'll see you soon!" She heard her mother reply as the train pulled out of the station. With one last look, she stuck her head back in, plopping down on her seat with a heavy sigh.
She wiped the tears off her face, trying to collect herself. 'I'll be fine,' she thought to herself, 'I'll be home before I know it! Who knows, maybe this will be fun.' She couldn't help but doubt her own thoughts though. Lizzy never thought the countryside to be much fun, preferring the hustle and bustle of the city.
'I wonder if any other kids will be there too. Maybe they're on this train.' She thought, looking out the compartment door window. She could see other kids running back and forth in front of it. She just hoped they wouldn't try to sit with her, she would rather be alone.
It wasn't that she didn't like other children, she was just terribly shy. Her shyness often caused her to be very quiet, and she remembered how the kids back home reacted to it. They thought her uptight and snobbish. She just hoped she could stay away from such reputations while she was gone.
Eventually, it calmed down out there and once she was certain no one else would be joining her she sat back, relaxing. She looked out the window, watching the city disappear and country fields take its place.
She just hoped this war would be over soon.
And that's how she found herself a few hours later, sitting there dying from boredom. The train stopped a few times, letting kids off, but so far they had not reached her stop. She tried sleeping, but she was too restless, wondering how her temporary home would be. Lizzy could only hope they would be nice.
About another hour dragged by, and they finally came to her stop. She hastily scrambled up, grabbing her suitcase. Lizzy was just happy she could stretch her legs out. She got to the door and the man kindly helped her down. She turned and grabbed her suitcase making sure to say thank-you. "It's quite alright dearie. Good luck." He said to her, giving her a sympathetic smile. She smiled politely back and turned toward the platform, disappointed when she didn't see any other kids get off.
She quickly noticed an older looking woman standing off to the side, next to a wagon being carried by two horses. Lizzy hesitantly walked over, gripping tightly onto her only suitcase. "Mrs. Macready?" She asked, surprised to hear her voice come out so steady. "Correct child, is this it?" The woman asked, staring down her pointed nose at the much shorter young girl. "Yes ma'am." Lizzy replied, remembering her manners "Come along then, I would like to get back so I can start preparing supper." She said, grabbing the girl's suitcase and putting it inside before climbing in the front herself.
Lizzy stumbled in behind her, blushing at her sudden lack of grace. Luckily, the woman ignored it, and started moving the two toward the house.
It was in no way a pleasant carriage ride. The wheels and horses were noisy, and the wagon kept running over big rocks. A little bit later, lizzy spotted what could only be called a mansion. Her eyes widened in surprise. 'We definitely aren't poor back home, but I don't think I've ever seen a house this big!' Seeing the old lady watching her from the corner of her eye, lizzy immediately tried to compose herself, like it was normal to see a house this big everyday.
They finally came to a stop in front of the big double doors. Elizabeth grabbed her suitcase and climbed out, thankful the ride was over. She waited for the woman to climb out before she started towards the doors.
The older woman seemed to effortlessly open the big wooden doors and the two walked through into the foyer. As the old woman closed the doors behind them with a resounding thud, lizzy couldn't help but gape at the huge entryway. It looked more like a museum then a house someone lived in! The old woman started going on about the house rules, "No touching the historical artifacts, no improper use of the dumbwaiter…"
Lizzy quickly became bored listening to the rules and looked around at all the antiques. She noticed some menacing looking suits of armor along the wall. 'Definitely don't want to be wondering around at night.' She thought to herself. "And absolutely NO disturbing the professor!" She heard the woman finish. "Absolutely ma'am." She replied, even though she didn't her half of what the old woman said.
They finally reached a parlor area which had a door on either side. The woman led her to the one on the right and opened it. The first thing she noticed was that it surprisingly seemed comfy. Almost immediately after she noticed there were not one, but three beds in the room. "Um, Mrs.? Why are there three beds?" Lizzy asked. "You will have more children joining you in a couple days." She replied, "Supper will be ready in a few hours. You should use this time to rest." With that, the woman quickly left now that she was done with her task. Lizzy wasn't sure how to feel about the news of more children.
Not wanting to think about it at the moment, she walked over to the lone bed on the other side of the room from the other two. Lizzy put her suitcase beside it, and when she was sure the old woman was gone, she threw herself on the bed, forgetting her manners. 'As I thought, it's going to be dreadfully boring.' She thought in dismay.
Now left alone with her thoughts, she couldn't help but wonder how her mum was doing. Elizabeth was still mad at her mother for sending her away, even if it was to keep her safe.
Who would keep her mother safe? The air raids were getting worse, and now her mum was alone without anyone there to protect her.
Angry tears rolled down her cheeks while she thought up the many different scenarios that could happen. It all seemed to pour out in that moment. She thought of her dad walking out the door, with his uniform on after giving her a pat on the head. Her brother, saying it was now her job to take care of mum. Would she ever see any of them again? They could be fighting, dying, at this very moment.
'No! I'm not going to do this to myself!' She thought, sitting up and angrily wiping at her face. 'They're going to be fine, they have to be.' She quickly got out her new book, trying to get her mind off of everything.
She immersed herself in the words of the story while the hours flew by. The woman came up and gave her supper, but Lizzy barely spared her a glance, too caught up in another world. One with mythical creatures, knights in shining armor, and no matter how bad things got, you knew there would be a happily ever after.
She was a little over halfway done when her eyes became too heavy to focus on the words anymore. Reluctantly, she put the book down, grabbing a night dress from her suitcase before going to draw a bath. She stripped off her clothes and climbed in, humming happily at the feel of the water. She made sure to take her time washing herself, and waited till the water became room temperature before dragging herself out.
She dried off, getting dressed quickly so she wouldn't become too cold. She looked at herself in the mirror while brushing her hair.
Elizabeth considered herself pretty, but wouldn't go much further than that. Dark brown curly hair that on most days couldn't be tamed. Grey eyes, pale skin, and the normal body of a developing girl, if not a bit shorter than normal. She quickly put her hair in a braid, not wanting to deal with it tonight, and left the bathroom, walking back towards her room.
However, on her way back, she passed a room where she noticed a light on, coming from the crack at the bottom of the door.
She could hear shuffling from the other side and, now curious; put her ear against the door. Try as she might, lizzy couldn't hear anything but the occasional muttering from what sounded like an old man. 'It's the professor.' She quickly realized.
Suddenly, the sound stopped and it became very quiet. She froze when she heard footsteps start heading for the door and, panicking, backed off and dashed to her room as fast as she could without making a sound. She thanked herself for being so light on her feet, knowing how she had a knack for sneaking up on people without them being aware. She was quite fast and often wished she could join the track team at her school, but of course her being a girl, no one would approve. It upset her, but that's just the way it was.
After what seemed like a lifetime, Lizzy made it to her room and quickly closed the door. She listened for a few minutes for any sign that she'd been caught. When she was sure she was in the clear, she made her way to her bed, tiredly getting under the covers. It didn't take her long to start drifting off to sleep.
Her last thoughts being on what she thought the other children would be like.
Hello!
This is my first time writing a story, so if i could get some feedback i would really appreciate it.
If people seem to like this story i will try my best to update weekly. This will be an EdmundOC, but i am telling you now she will not be some mary-sue. I'm going to try my best not to make this some typical OC story. It will go with the original plot, so don't be expecting any big romance until almost the end of this story. The real romance probably won't start until the sequal. So if you're still reading i hope you enjoy this! Ciao!
Disclamer: Nothing is mine! I only own my OC Elizabeth.