Prologue
"Daddy, are you done yet!" 7 year old me whined as I danced around my dad's work desk, pigtails bouncing around with my bright blue dress up outfit.
"Blakely, go play with your dolls, I won't be done for another hour or so." He gave a stern look, and then turned back to his studies.
"Hmph!" I frowned and crossed my arms, refusing to leave his side. When he ignored me I reached my hand to his cheek, without even understanding what I was doing, and asked him again. Except I hadn't said a word out loud.
A faint gold glow appeared on my hand as I thought the word please over and over. That was when I knew I'd really done something wrong, but my child self didn't know just what it was. I just wanted daddy to stop working and play tea party with me!
"What the hell was that!" he roared; towering over me as I hugged Mr. Teddybear for support.
"Millie!" he shouted for mum, and when she came running he yanked one of my hands to her cheek, pulling me right off the ground.
I was bawling my eyes out by now, I knew what daddy was yelling at me to do, but I couldn't focus with all the yelling. Instead I closed my eyes and pictured I wasn't here, that I was somewhere happy, like at a tea party with Mr. Teddybear and Mrs. Bunny.
At the same time as I started to picture it I heard mummy gasp and daddy finally let go of my hands, letting me fall to the ground which only made me cry harder.
Something weird was happening, I could feel vibrations in my chest coming from my rapidly beating heart, and the pretty gold glow from before was engulfing my body. All of a sudden my skin felt as if it was being shrink-wrapped to my body, and I screamed bloody murder. Daddy shouted at me to shut up, and when he looked down to see the golden light covering my body he jumped back, eyes wide.
When the light died down I was still crying, but it sounded different, lighter and softer than my wails. I tried to move but found it suddenly impossible to stand up. Speaking proved to be just as useless a pursuit as the only sound I could make were senseless babbles.
Both my mum and dad had stopped to stare in absolute silence, until my dad's anger flared up again. He menacingly stepped closer, a firm scowl planted on his face.
"Devil child!" he screamed as his foot slammed into my now tiny body.
I heard a crack and started screaming wildly, but my lungs felt as if they were on fire so my breath came out in awkward gasps for air. Mum seemed to snap out of her trance and ran over just before dad kicked me again, easily scooping me up in her arms.
"She's just a baby!" mum yelled, curling me into her body as I continued to cry because of the pain.
"Just a baby?! Only a minute ago she was seven years old, and suddenly she can make us see her thoughts like the devil!" he shouted back, but retreated all the way out the house, slamming the door behind him.
August 1, 1946
"Can I go around and explore the island for a while?" I asked as the worn-down rocking chair Dad sat on momentarily paused, and then returned to its creaking mantra of back and forth, back and forth.
About an hour ago we arrived on the tiny island of Cairnholm, and had checked in to the only place to stay on the entire island. The walls were freshly painted and curtains newly hung up, due to the fact that this was a new addition. According to Mr. McGually, the owner of the inn and tavern downstairs, we were the very first visitors.
"Be back before dark, and don't go too far out into the woods." he absentmindedly responded, clearly focused on the brochure full of information on Cairnholm shipwrecks. It was rather different from his chatty demeanor on the way here, talking to me about his thesis for another doctorate, this time in history. By some kind of "bizarre luck" nobody had ever written about this (in a scholarly acceptable form) and so I had seen nothing but the truest form of Dr. Coleman all week in preparation.
I jumped off my bed and went treading down the stairs leading back to a rundown pub, mum's pocket watch bouncing off my chest for a moment and almost slipping off as I did.
The downstairs pub was filled with men who, despite the morning hour, were already throwing back drinks by the dozen in celebration of the war that ended a year ago.
I hoisted myself onto the worn leather bar stool, my height, or lack thereof, making it an awkward struggle for a minute. By now my nose had adjusted to the strong smell of fish, but I nearly had to plug my nose as the stench piled together in the mass of men hanging on the other side, loudly playing darts.
I fished a toonie of my 'emergency' money that dad gave me out of my pocket and handed it to Mr. McGually, "Do you have pancakes?" I asked.
"Of course we do" McGually winked at me, a rather odd look considering he seemed unable to only close one eye at a time.
"I'll have water with that please, keep the change" I smiled back at him.
He walked back to the kitchen, turning sideways so his beer belly to fit though, smiling all the way with rosy cheeks as I could tell was his usual demeanor.
"Another while your back there Cringle!" an elderly man shouted, a couple others asking for another as well.
I had to bite my lip to keep from snorting in an unladylike manner at the joke; Mr. McGually really did bear resemblance to Santa Claus, that is if Santa quit his regular job to run a pub on the scarcely populated island of Cairnholm, where the stench of beer was nearly as prominent as smell of fish.
I hoped off the bar stool and made a beeline for the man who'd kept fairly quiet, sitting alone, and much to his apparent disdain I sat right across from him.
"Sorry to bother you sir, but I was wondering if you've lived on the island long?" I smiled sweetly, to compensate for the look he was currently giving me.
He looked up from the empty drink, almost offended that I asked him the question, "I've lived 'ere me whole life, what of it?" the man spoke in a heavy accent.
"I'm only wondering if there are any interesting places to visit on the island, other than the shipwrecks?" I listened intently for his answer.
"None that a young lady such as yourself should be wandering round looking for, but on the mainland there's a nice shopping district." He replied, scoffing.
"Please sir! I'm not planning to go anywhere without an escort." I reasoned with a lie. He seemed content with the response, or just wanted to be rid of me. It didn't matter, besides, I don't see how walking around with one of Mr. McGually's drunks could make me much safer than if I wandered around alone.
"Alright alright, you young people are always in such a bloody hurry! If you want to see something really strange, go and check out the old children's home on the 'ore side of the island" my eyes lit up at the thought of there being other children, but my hopes were fast crushed as he finished his sentence "it's been unrecognizable since the bomb dropped on it in 1940, I believe the exact date was Sept 3.
Not one survivor too, but you seem like the type who'd find it of interest." The man shook his head, fiddling with the sunglasses he shimmied back up his face.
There's also the Cairnholm caves, most are just small damp little things, so there ain't any tourists. Be careful now." He finished as Mr. McGually handed him a drink.
I followed him back to my previous spot, where he fixed me with a solemn expression and spoke lowly "I heard Arthur talking to ya about the children's home; don't go there with or without an escort, it's only a rundown house that could cause ya all kinds of injuries. When a group of us went looking around the house, shortly after the bomb hit, well… let's just say it gave us the creeps. Nothing but trouble can come from visiting the other side of the island." To say the least I wasn't fazed in the slightest.
My adventurous habits always seemed to land me in trouble some way or another, but it was always worth it, so hell would freeze over before I listened to a warning from anyone. None the less I bobbed my head up and down in between bites, assuring him I'd stick to the town or the main beach.
Once I finished my breakfast I promised Mr. McGually once again that I wouldn't go to the other side of the island, and he seemed convinced.
On my way out the door I nearly tripped on a loose nail, catching myself just in time to avoid knocking into a teenage boy on his way in. His hands immediately reached out to steady me, and thank goodness to, because I lost my balance again the second my eyes came in contact with his steady blue orbs.
He looked to be about 16 or so, wearing a crisp suit in contrast to all the other men on the island who dressed to spend hours in a fishing boat or on a sheep farm.
I gathered myself, mumbling "Sorry" and continued even faster onto the main street with a bright red blush creeping its way to my cheeks.
"Splendid dress!" I heard him mutter excitedly a second before I was out of earshot.
The atmosphere was wonderfully grey outside, with wisps of fog poking around the beach and just enough cool mist in the air to catch on your tongue. The first thing I noticed was the extremely old looking piece of wood sticking from the water, 'The Burnham wreck, WW1' I recalled from my dad's gushing over it on the ferry here.
The wrecks didn't interest me though, I had after all asked to go out in order to avoid spending an entire hour just 'getting a feel' for the wrecks as I knew dad planned to. Really what had caught my eye were the dark, mysterious caves lining the part on the beach empty of the tourists or townspeople out and about.
As for Mr. McGually, I decided as a compromise I would only explore the caves today, and leave the more interesting prospect of the abandoned children's home for tomorrow.
I swiftly abandoned the water's edge and skipped over to the caves, humming a tune along the way.
Miss Peregrine's POV
It felt quite unusual to need a coat, as I've long since grown used to the endlessly sunny days that my loop provided. About once a month I'd check out the present day, and worriedly I realized my outfit was just starting to look slightly out of place with the current fashions, but because of the island's seclusion from the outside world, I knew they were behind as well, and therefore hadn't caught a second glance my way.
I took out my pocket watch to examine the time; 9:27 and 42 seconds, just enough to get back to the younger children for their English lesson if I flew. With that in mind, I retreated back to the treeline and readily abandoned my human form, transforming into the Peregrine falcon. With a shake of my head I remembered how my children had taken to calling me 'the bird' when they think I can't hear them, but still became anxious to see them as quickly as possible to know they were safe.
My paranoia that somebody or something would up and take them away hadn't let up since Victor was killed. My children still don't know, but it wasn't just them coming in contact with a hollow for the first time that night. I shuddered at the thought.
There it was, another bright and sunny day when that thing came crawling right from the ocean. Its shadow was of course visible, but everyone knew the island to be safe so even I hadn't been on the lookout. By the time we knew what was going on everything was a blur of shouting and screaming as I yelled for the children to run, grabbing a garden tool beside me just as the monster swooped Victor up.
My heart nearly stopped right then, but I knew he needed me now and so with a powerful swing of the spiked rake I impaled the monster. It let out a raging shriek before flinging Victor though the open air, and landing to the ground with a thud.
We were there for hours, Bronwyn crying the most, screaming and shouting so loudly that I eventually let go of Victor and cradled her.
It was the only time I'd let even a single tear drop in the presence of my children.
I stopped to perch for a minute on a tree branch near the path to the house as I spotted a girl wandering along the part I knew to be typically abandoned by townsfolk and tourists.
My instincts were screaming at me, there was quite simply something peculiar about her I noticed right away. It wasn't a beehive living in her upper half, or a ball of flame floating from her hands like some of my other children, but a quality that I outright knew, yet couldn't see. Who is she?
The girl looked to be around 16, but with childlike features at the same time; large brown eyes which seemed to swallow in every detail of the world around her with a great hunger, and a porcelain face with a couple of elegantly dotted freckles around her nose. Her thick, brown hair was wrapped into an elegant bun with tendrils of hair left out to frame her face.
The most noticeable thing about her was the magnificent dress she wore; grey but glittering as if it were catching rays of light and corseted on the top only to boldly flare out at the waist. The dress hit around her calves, and the short sleeves and conservative neckline seemed like something belonging on royalty, once again bringing about the question of who this strange girl was.
After another few seconds of skipping along the beach the girl turned in my direction, looking directly in my eyes and mouthing the words 'Peregrine falcon,' stepping closer, until she was nearly underneath me. It was when she tripped and took a tumble down the sanded walkway that I remembered I needed to lose her before entering the loop.
I circled back to the more popular part of the beach, but she didn't chase me like many of the foolish townsfolk would, only looked out into the distance and dusted the remaining pieces of sand off her dress. I was only thinking of my children's safety, but my instincts again indicated that this time it wasn't them who needed help.
My internal debate was won when she went exploring into a different cave, giving me the opportunity to easily swoop into the loop entrance. Though I kept it on my mental to do list that I should come back out and check on the girl tomorrow.
Hey Guys! I have been so obsessed with the new movie that cam out and wrote this just after seeing it! I've read the book too but keep in mind that I will be using most things from the movie (children's ages, powers, Miss Peregrine in general) but I've changed Horace's age to 16. Hope you like it! Please review!