Chapter 2: One Lump or Two
England led them down the streets, to a gate, and beyond the gate was a large Victorian style house. It was very old, parts of the walls and roofs were chipped, and it needed a new paint job, and it looked like the lawn needed to be mowed.
"Here we are," he opened the gate and led them down the cobbled pathway to the front door, where he unlocked it with a key. He turned on the lights, then hung up his coat and put his umbrella in the holder, and took off his boots. "You can take off your shoes and leave them next to the door." He said. They did so, and then he led them into his well-kept home. There were pictures on the walls, through the entryway. The main room had two large sofas and a coffee table and there were a couple of hallways leading to various rooms. There was a flight of stairs as well, off to the side of the large main room.
"Now stay there, I'll be back with towels." He walked down one of the hallways and fetched three towels from the linen closet, bringing them back for the trio. He handed them over, and the girls began to towel dry their hair. Three thank you's followed.
"You should probably get out of those wet clothes too." England said.
"We would but we don't have anything else to wear." Aeris said.
"There's plenty of old clothes in my guest room closets and in my spare room. Come on, I'll take you upstairs." Wrapping the towels around their shoulders, the trio followed the man up the steps. These three doors side-by-side on the left here are your guest rooms. You can each have your own. There should be plenty of clothes. Pick whatever you want. Now, I'm going to go make us all some tea. What kind would you like?"
"Earl Grey, please." Alexi was the first to answer.
"I think I'll have that too." Aeris added.
"I'd also like some Earl Grey, please."
"One lump or two?"
"Two, please." said Alexi.
"No sugar for me, please." Aeris added.
"What about you, dearie?" England asked Anika.
"Uhh…" she began shyly, "I'd like a spoonful of brown sugar, if…you have any." She said quietly, and then started to blush, fiddling with a brown pigtail.
"Brown sugar? That's an interesting request, but then again, I have always been one for putting strange ingredients in what I make." He giggled, "Anyway, tea will be ready for you soon. Happy clothes hunting!" and he headed back down the stairs with a skip in his step.
-xXx-
Anika waited for him to have completely vanished down the stairs, to turn and speak to her friends.
"Well, he's…nice?" Anika commented.
"Sure! But he kinda freaks me out." Alexi replied. "I have this strange feeling…"
"True, he may be nice now," Aeris further elaborated, "But, I do sense something a little odd."
Anika nodded, "He does seem…off. I mean, the England on the TV seems sharp-tongued, unfriendly, and sometimes vulgar in language. This England is much nicer and less…sweary."
Aeris chuckled, "You're right. Less "sweary", that's a good one Anika."
"Indeed, excellent grammar use." Alexi added.
They laughed and Anika briefly stuck out her tongue at them.
"Anyway," Aeris continued, "You're right about that."
"Yeah, he's definitely much different than the England I know of." Alexi said, "I watch BBC all the time, and that is definitely not the England I'm used to."
"Are we sure that it's England though?" Anika asked, "For all we know he could be impersonating the real England."
"That's very well possible Anika." Aeris replied, "But I don't know. He looks way too similar."
"Twins?"
"I doubt it."
While they discussed different possibilities, Alexi remained silent. She was immersed in her thoughts, trying to figure it out. Was he England? Or was he not? She tried to piece together the evidence she had.
"Guys?"
The other two stopped talking.
"I'm pretty sure that's the real England. Why else would he have been so excited when I remembered his name? No way could someone who was faking an identity have produced such an authentic reaction. He looks a lot like him too. Think about it, we're in the future. Times change, years progress, and so do people. Maybe he just changed?" she suggested.
"You could be right, Alex. But it doesn't make sense. If this is England, he should be very old…even dead. Humans don't live forever..." ...If he's even human. For all we know he could be an alien, or an immortal. There are so many possibilities…I can't help but wonder about the men and women who call themselves by country names anyway.
Alexi let out a deep sigh. "None of this makes sense—Achoo!"
Anika sneezed after Alexi.
"We should discuss this later." Aeris cut in, "Right now we need to get out of these wet clothes."
The other two nodded in agreement and then dispersed to each room.
-xXx-
They began to search through the closets. They found very old clothes that were well out of style, and well out of time, clothes dating as far back and the 16 and 17 hundreds all the way up to present day.
"How old is this house?" Anika wondered aloud.
"Old." Alex replied, "It's Victorian because that's when it was built. That's what the architecture and the cracks in some of the walls tell me. Since then it's been upgraded several times." She had joined Anika in her guest room, since she hadn't found anything that she wanted in the first one she looked through.
"History major!" Aeris chimed, poking her head through the door. Alexi beamed.
"Did you find something to wear?" Anika asked.
"Yeah, I found a pair of sweats and a Hogwarts t-shirt." She had the clothes folded in her arms.
"Found something!" Alexi produced an old Victorian nightgown.
"Out of all the things in the closet, of course you chose that." Anika chuckled.
"What? I've always wanted one of these. And it's so soft."
Aeris shrugged.
"Have you found something yet, Anika?"
She shook her head, "I want something comfortable. All of these dresses and suits are going to be incredibly uncomfortable. Where did you find those?"
"In the dresser in one of the guest rooms, the one I was in has more modern styles. There's plenty to choose from."
"Okay." She departed.
"Are you still going to wear that Victorian nightgown Alex?" Aeris asked.
"Of course I am."
"Shall we change? I'm cold and uncomfortable."
"Indeed."
They closed the door and began to peel off their wet summer clothes. They dried off their bodies and undergarments as much as they could, before putting on the new clothes. Anika knocked on the door and joined them as well. She had found a pair of light green, designer male pajamas.
"Guys, I just thought of something that kinda scares me." She said softly.
"What is that?" Alex asked.
"It's raining. We have to stay here until it stops, we can't leave. We're stuck in a house with someone we don't trust, and who seems a little crazy. What if tries to kill us in our sleep?"
"True." Alexi answered, "As nice as he is, I am a pretty nervous."
"So am I." Aeris added, "But, we really have no other choice. So, we should appreciate the hospitality we're given. Anyway, he's so nice we could probably get some information out of him. And, on the bright side, we have each other. And we're armed if we have to defend ourselves. Also, I can go a couple of days without sleeping. So I can keep guard."
"We're armed with pepper spray and a pocket knife. How effective is that?" Alexi asked.
"Effective enough to hurt him if he tries to hurt us." Aeris replied.
"True."
"I don't want to sleep alone…" Anika said softly.
"We can share a room. I'm sure he won't mind, right?" Alexi suggested.
They nodded.
"Dearies, tea is ready~!" England's voice chimed.
They squeezed one another's hands before walking downstairs to join him.