"Lily!" shouted a girl as she ran barefoot through the garden. It was around two in the afternoon. The May spring breeze was refreshing and the grass was cool beneath her feet. It was a beautiful day and it had been since 1901.
"Lily!" the girl repeated. She kept running until she tripped on a stray rock. She fell down and bruised her knee. Now her white dress was stained with grass.
"Alice?" called another girl out from behind the hedge. When she turned the corner, she saw the girl sprawled out on the grass holding her knee. "Come on now, don't be so dramatic." she sighed, crouching down next to her. She brushed the light brown hair out of her younger sister's face. "Now, now. Just look at what you've done to your dress. Elizabeth will not be pleased."
Alice sat up and crossed her arms. She looked to only be about fifteen or so years old, but she was far older than that.
"Don't act like you care what Elizabeth thinks." said Alice. Lily smiled at her comment and was about to say something before Alice cut her off. "Have you seen Miss Swan? I checked by the pond and the house earlier but she wasn't there. Where is everyone anyway? The garden looks remarkably empty."
"I haven't actually." said Lily.
"Where's Elizabeth? I haven't seen her either." said Alice. All of a sudden, a girl's voice called out their names.
"Speak of the devil and she shall appear." grumbled Lily. She stood up and faced the girl standing behind them.
"What are you two doing, sitting on the ground like that? Have you not notice the complete lack of peculiars in this garden? Including our own ymbryne, Miss Swan? Get up!" said Elizabeth sternly. She was a formidable sight, with her short dark hair and cold blue eyes.
"Alright, alright." said Lily, helping her sister up off the grass.
"What is it that you were saying, Elizabeth?" asked Alice. Elizabeth looked directly at the rather large grass stain on her dress.
"Look at the mess you've made of yourself!" said Elizabeth. She sighed and touched her forehead, as if to prevent a headache. "I don't even have the time to deal with that." she said. The two girls looked at their older sister in silence, waiting for her to speak. "Miss Swan has been taken." she said solemnly.
The two girls gasped, their eyes wide. Alice tugged on her dress nervously.
"Taken? But where? By whom?" she asked.
"I asked Pidgeon before he left-" she was cut off by Lily.
"Well where did he go?" she asked.
"Pidgeon is gone?" frowned Alice. She looked as if she was about to cry, with her big blue eyes all tearful.
"You two are insufferable! Let me finish, won't you?" snapped Elizabeth. The girls were silent again.
"Good. Now Pidgeon got word that the Hollows and Wights are snatching up all the ymbrynes for some sort of project. They're taking Peculiars too. Miss Swan and everyone was taken last night." explained Elizabeth.
"Quit lying!" said Lily, looking very angry. Alice began to cry.
"That's not fair!" wailed Alice, big tears streaming down her soft face.
"We were safe because of Lily. Since we were up high, they didn't notice us. We got very lucky last night." continued Elizabeth. Lily had the peculiar ability to manipulate trees and other plants. She could make flowers grow, move tree branches and do all sorts of cool things just by concentrating and touching a plant. Every night Lily and her sisters slept in the trees, branches curled around them. They found it more comfortable and relaxing than sleeping in the grass, since all the beds in the house were already taken.
"I don't believe you." said Lily. Elizabeth ignored her.
"Now I don't know if everyone who was taken is alright, but we need to leave. Now. I don't want to be here when the loop collapses. Go get your things." ordered Elizabeth.
"Where did Pidgeon go?" asked Alice.
"He fled. He told me he would send word once he found a safe place." she answered.
"How could he possibly know where you are if you leave?" Lily said pessimistically.
"He'll figure it out. He's very smart, you know." she said. Elizabeth said this with a sort of soft smile. Her and Pidgeon were very close. "Now, now. Get to it. My things are already packed so you must make haste. Go on." she ushered Alice back towards where their things were. Lily stood there, staring at her sister.
"What are you looking at me for? I told you to do something, now go do it." said Elizabeth. She stepped forward to match Lily's cold green glare. Elizabeth was taller than Lily, standing at about 5'6". Lily was only around 5'4" or so and Alice was even smaller.
"I don't believe you." she said stubbornly. Elizabeth moved closer silently until they were inches apart. She stared at her unblinkingly.
"Listen to me, Lily. I'm going to say this only once and you'd best heed my words. We are in grave danger. Our very lives hinge on you and your sister's ability to do as I say. If you do not follow my directions, we will die. We got lucky last night. We won't get lucky again." whispered Elizabeth. Lily continued standing there, trying to maintain her cool exterior.
"Okay." she said and turned to go pack her things. Elizabeth sighed, fixing her hair. She hated acting so coldly to her sisters, but it had to be done. If she wasn't careful, they'd fall right into the Hollows' grasp. She had a plan, of course. She always has a plan. Before Pidgeon left, he told her of something he read right out of Miss Swan's personal secret library. He had a habit for getting in and out of trouble. He told her that when a loop collapsed, if they could get out at the right time there was a chance they would survive.
Night fell and the crisp breeze ruffled the girls' hair. The three of them looked right out of another era, in their Victoria-age dresses and their wooden suitcases. They stood at the gate of their loop. There were only thirty left before they had to try to escape. If they failed, they would die. They looked to the side in surprise as a certain boy with gills splashed in the stream adjacent to then.
"Dae ye min' if ah come wi'ye?" he asked, offering them a smile. He was charming, in an awkward sort of way. His hair was a mess of perpetually wet ginger curls and his eyes were a striking green. He looked like a normal boy except for the blue tint to his skin and gills on the side of his neck. He had a healthy dose of freckles splashed across his face.
"Douglas!" shouted Elizabeth, a hint of disdain to her voice. She didn't like Douglas very much, actually she found him annoying. "What are you doing here?! How did you know we were still alive? Why didn't you come say something?"
"Weel, it's hard nae tae whin yer aw sae loud!" he replied. His accent was heavy and confusing, some sort of mix of Scottish and English. No one could really understand him but Alice.
"We shouldn't be arguing, we haven't the time for it!" Alice interjected. "Douglas, how did you stay out of the Hollows' way?"
"Thank ye, Alice." he replied with a satisfied smile. At least someone was on his side. "As ye mey know, ah sleep underwatah. They cannae smell me underwatah. Ah saw everythin'."
"God, I can't understand a word out of his mouth!" said Elizabeth rather aggressively. They didn't have the time to sit and chat.
"I don't know." Lily shrugged.
"What did you see, Douglas?" Alice said patiently.
"Th'Hollows snatched a'body. Ah' saw Pidgeon tae." he said.
"You saw Pidgeon? Is everyone okay?" said Alice. Elizabeth's attention was captured at the mention of Pidgeon.
"Where is he?" she demanded.
"Ah dinnae ken. Ah saw him pack his stuff 'n git oot th' nicht afore. Wi'oot tellin' Miss Swan a thin." he said, his eyes narrowed.
"Why would he do that?" Alice frowned. "That's not very nice."
"Coz' he's a lyin' cheater!" he raised his voice. Elizabeth was beginning to grow impatient.
"What's he saying?" she asked.
"He said that he saw Pidgeon leave the night before without telling anyone anything." she answered.
"I'm sure he's waiting for us outside the loop." said Elizabeth, fidgeting with her blue dress. She was lying, of course. She always got fidgety when she was lying. Lily noticed but wisely chose to remain silent.
"He dinnae care aboot ye! He dinnae care aboot a'body bit his-sel. He left wi'oot a secoint thought." he said angrily. "Cannae ye see? He isnae waitin' fur ye." he said softly.
"He said that Pidgeon doesn't care about us and that he's not waiting for us." said Alice, her eyes welling up with tears again. She always thought Pidgeon was a very nice boy and would never leave them all alone like that.
"Well that's just not true." scoffed Elizabeth.
"How do you figure that?" said Lily, sarcasm dripping from her voice. She never really trusted Pidgeon much, but they were all close to him. Elizabeth was by far the closest. Elizabeth hesitated.
"I know so!" she raised her voice.
"Prove it!" hollered Douglas. He absolutely hated Pidgeon and the fact that Elizabeth was defending him so stubbornly angered him. He had a rather short temper and looked different than all the other peculiars in the garden. That's probably why his only friend was Alice. Everyone else just tolerated him.
"He told me! He offered to take me with him the night before. I would have accepted but he told me I couldn't bring my sisters, so I had to refuse!" she said breathlessly. It was obvious that this secret had been weighing on her greatly. Oh, how she wished she could run away with him. She had entertained the idea for years but knew she could never abandon her sisters.
Alice looked shocked. Lily was not.
"What? Why wouldn't you tell us?" said Alice, turning to face her. Elizabeth couldn't meet her eyes and instead focused on counting every blade of grass beneath her feet. Everyone was silent for a moment.
"If he wouldn't lit ye tak' yer sisters, he's worse than ah thought." he said softly. Elizabeth forced herself to meet his green eyes.
"Enough of this. We're leaving." she said coldly.
"A'm comin' wi' ye." he stepped out of the water.
"No, you're not." she turned away from him.
"Aye, a'm. Ah hae a'mah stuff ready." he said, trying to dry himself off. He stood taller than Elizabeth, almost at about six feet tall. He reached into the hedge adjacent to the river, right next to the gate. It was a small suitcase with all his things. He didn't have many things. It was obvious that he'd been planning this.
"I'm not even going to ask why you're all packed. It doesn't matter. Get out of here." she ordered.
"Ye need protectin'." he stepped forward, luggage in hand.
"No, I don't." said Elizabeth. Lily stared at her, pointing at the pocket watch in her hand. They didn't have much time left.
"Mebbe naw, bit ye cannae protect baith o'thaim." he pointed to her sisters standing behind her. Elizabeth could barely decipher his words but she was a smart girl so she got the gist of it. Elizabeth paused, considering it. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right.
"Only Alice needs protecting. Lily can fight for herself." she replied coolly. Lily stood a little taller at the compliment. Her sister rarely complimented her and when she did, Lily took it to heart. Douglas gave her a tired look. He only wanted to help.
"We dinnae ken whit's oot thare." he said softly. Elizabeth looked at Alice expectantly.
"Oh, you two were having a conversation so I didn't know." Alice jolted, surprise. "Um, he said that we don't know what's out there."
"He does have a point and besides, we have three minutes." said Lily, hoping to stop their meaningless arguing.
"Fine. But I don't want him anywhere near me." Elizabeth relented.
"Fine by me." he huffed.
"And learn how to speak correct English, please." she said coldly.
"Yie'll git used tae it." he smirked. They watched in silence until the clock hit midnight and stepped through the gate of the collapsing loop. They journeyed to a place changed by time. They'd have no idea what was waiting for them, or that they'd just stepped in the midst of a world war.