Chapter 5
It is often unsettling and uncomfortable to find oneself in a new environment. Such a feeling can also grow stronger if one has been put into such an environment especially quickly. However, this was not the case for the children. Their rooms were comfortable and tailored to their needs and interests. Sarah had a few small pots that she soon began to grow plants in. Lemony found that his room had an extra plush armchair for late-night reading and he often fell asleep in it. They all felt right at home there at V.F.D. headquarters, where they could spend their time with their friends, as well as many friendly and well read adults.
Sarah and Dorian soon became fast friends and ended up spending most of their time together, while Daniel and Samantha were often seen together in one of the writing rooms. Kit, after she recovered, did indeed spend her time learning to build and repair submarines and ships at the wing of the building near the stream.
Jacques, however, was often mysteriously absent from meals and no amount of begging would make Bridget, who seemed most knowledgeable, tell them where he was. However, he was always back in a day or two.
Lemony spent most of his training reading historical books in the library, where a girl about his age was also working. Her name was Beatrice Tyler. She was training to be a librarian, so she spent her time sitting next to him while studying the card catalogs. She had been taken from an orphanage to the headquarters shortly before Lemony and his friends.
The months passed, and the friends began to grow up. Their training gradually changed from book learning to field assignments until it wasn't just Jacques that was often gone. Lemony and Daniel often went out to investigate fires and other activities, while Sarah and Dorian would go to many remote areas and study the terrain and botany. Kit often left to test submarines. Beatrice, however, continued working at the fantastic V.F.D. library. After a while, their training was nearly over and Beatrice and lemony were taking a walk outside the headquarters before the initiation ceremony and masquerade ball.
"It feels as if it was only yesterday that I first met you in the Library. How long ago was that?" asked Lemony of Beatrice after a few minutes of silence. Beatrice was dressed in an elegant white and silver dress with silver eyes beaded on the bottom edge. She had delicate silk roses in her loosely braided hair and even her thin silver glasses made her look angelic in the beginning of the moonlight. She wore a thin crocheted shall to keep away the approaching cold and her beaded mask was already on.
"Five years, I think," she replied, her breath barely visible in the cold night air.
"I'm really going to miss you and everybody. Once we finish our initiation, we won't see much of each other. What about my sister and brother? I'm worried." Lemony was dressed in an eighteenth century costume with a red vest over a long sleeved white shirt, breeches, and a long, dark cloak. His mask was thin and black, but he wasn't wearing it yet.
"Don't worry," comforted Beatrice. "I'm sure you'll see them often, and you'll se me every time you return to the headquarters." She saw that he still felt uneasy, so she said, "Don't let it worry you at the party, it'll be fine."