I noticed Charles's blond figure. As annoying as he could be, I have to admit that he did look rather dashing. He wore brown clothes that matched with mine.

He was chatting to the old man that was transporting us to the get together. As I got closer, he spotted me and immediately stopped talking; a surprised expression was glued to his face.

"I have no idea why you're so surprised Charles. It's not like you haven't see me in a dress before." I said.

He recovered himself and smiled. "Why who is this? What have you done with Deryn? The Deryn who disguised as a boy and fooled us?"

"Stop your nonsense and let's get going."

"No but seriously, who are you? You can't be Deryn. Look at you, you are splendidly beautiful. Your red dress and brown hat bring out your most stunning features. "

I glared at him. "Don't we have a mission to get to?"

He was really starting to annoy me. He does this every time we go on a mission together. It's always a routine. He makes fun of me in some way, and then somehow manages to compliment me, and later realizes that I'm getting angry and finally stops.

He gets to the final stage of the routine and laughs. "You're quite impatient, aren't you Deryn?"

We stepped into the carriage and told our driver that we were ready, and when I thought that he was finally being serious, he sits close to me. Way too close.

"You know Charles," I said, "there's something called personal space."

Instead of being a regular person that moved away and said 'Sorry', he being Charles, did the opposite. He got even closer to me to the point that I could feel his breathe. I shivered, closed my hand into a fist, and started to mentally count to 5.

"Deryn, my dear, as your brother," One. "it's only natural to want to protect my little sister." Two. "In my case the best way to protect her is to stay close." Three. "And being one year your senior." Four. "I have to watch over you." Five!

Before my fist could make contact with his face, he scooted away from me and blocked himself with his arms after realizing that I was about to hit him.

"You know Deryn," he said, "you're quite scary when you're mad."

I turned to him.

He smiled.

And I glared.

This was going to be a long ride.

After hours, we finally arrived at the get together. It was being hosted at a brown mansion and the night somehow made it look extravagant.

"Shall we?" Charles asked.

After finally getting down to business out in the carriage, we agreed to stick close and stay until it ended. I decided to be the shy sister, and after a long time of convincing, Charles would be the one who would do the talking. He was very clever at getting information after all; even I have to admit that.

I nodded in response to his question and hooked my arm with his, the kind of shy and weak sisterly style. I recognized a few people that were beginning to arrive as we walked toward the mansion.

One I really noticed, he was walking with his wife Emmeline Pethick. I wasn't really surprised that he was here; after all he is a pacifist. I pointed him out to Charles. "Look, there's Frederick Pethick-Lawrence."

"Ah yes," Charles said, "the great owner of a big building company. Isn't he the treasurer of the Union of Democratic Control?"

I thought for a moment. "Aye, a political organization that opposes the war."

"I know that," he said.

I ignored him.

We were already at the entrance until something horrifying struck my mind. "Wait!" I said.

Charles stopped. "What?"

I can't believe I forgot to ask earlier! "Who are the hosts?"

Charles stared at me. "The hosts? Didn't Dr. Barlow tell you?"

I shook my head.

"Well dear sister, I guess that you're about to find out!"

"What? Wait no! Charles!" Before I could stop him, Charles was already dragging us both into the mansion. Once we were in, we had to get into our characters. No Deryn, no Charles. Only two siblings, Alena and Mathew Peterson. That was the rules.

It was time to act.

We greeted and chatted (mostly Charles), and I barged as much as information into my head as I could. It was rare for me to talk in this mission; it was only when they directed their conversation toward me that I spoke.

"Ha-ha-ha! Mathew, you're quite charming you know that?" A lady that way older than she told us was talking. "You know," she said, "I've noticed that your darling sister has very short hair. If you don't mind me asking, why is that?"

"It's quite a funny story, Madam," Charles began, "You see-"

"You see, it burned." I interrupted, "In a fire."

Charles was glaring at me. I bet that he wanted to make a hilarious story.

"Oh! How horrifying!" The lady exclaimed. "Oh, my dear! I'm so sorry that I had to remind you of your terrible accident!" I, acting as a weak shy sister, sniffed. "Yes Madam, it was quite horrifying."

After a moment of boring small talk, we excused each other. The music was playing, and people were starting to dance. Deciding that I wasn't going to dance, I told Charles that I would be sitting down at one of the tables and he could go without me. Of course being the womanizer that he is, agreed, but was still close enough that I could see him.

I watched them dance for a couple of minutes until I got hungry and decided to get something to eat. I walked to the corner where they held the food and started to shove random stuff into my plate. I hadn't noticed that someone was behind me. "Same as always, aren't you?"

I turned around and my face met something with a thump. "Oh excuse me, sorry." I took a step back and looked up. "I didn'-"

My plate of food crashed into the ground as I realized who had talked. I stood there stunned. My mind was racing a million times a minute as I tried to figure out if what I was seeing wasn't a dream.

The same reddish-brown curly hair that I loved so much. The same sparkling green eyes that I always seemed to get lost in. No, no, no, no, no, no, I thought, this can't be. But I knew that it washim.

It was Alek.

Fact: Frederick Pethick-Lawrence was a real person. He was born in London and did marry Emmeline Pethick. A day after the war had been declared, the Union of Democratic Control (UDC) was formed and he became its treasurer. He lived from the 28th of December, 1871 to the 10th September, 1961.

Author's note: Please review and tell me what you thought. Also, correct me if I made any mistakes (I want to learn from them ;) and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter!