A/N: Shout out to crow for making both mine and my sister's entire week!
Hope you enjoy! (;
Chapter 3 - This Isn't Exactly a Hotel [Keeper POV]
"Well, since you'll be here a while, go on and drink your tea," Miss Peregrine instructed. "And have a few biscuits while you're at it."
Sophie relayed Miss Peregrine's words to Fitz and Tam. The latter picked up a biscuit and nibbled at it. He made a face. "Why is it so dry?"
Sophie shrugged. "That's just how it was made, I guess."
Fitz, seeing Tam's reaction, didn't bother with the biscuits. Instead, he took a long sip from his teacup. His eyes watered and he had to actively struggle not to spit the tea out all over the sofa. "Why is it so hot?" Fitz rasped.
Sophie let out a giggle. "It's supposed to be. And you're not supposed to drink it all at once! You should take small sips at a time." Sophie picked up her teacup and took a small sip as an example, her pink held out customarily and everything.
Fitz rolled his eyes. "Humans are weird," He grumbled.
"Tell me about it," Tam agreed, trying to choke through another bite of biscuit.
Eventually Olive, Claire and even Millard joined them, having a lively conversation about how strange humans are.
After all, the three elves had long figured out that Miss Peregrine's peculiar children are not completely human.
**PAGE BREAK**
Too soon, the storm had passed, and Sophie, Fitz and Tam were getting ready to head back to the Lost Cities.
Olive, who had been attached at the hip to Sophie, was trying to convince her to stay. "I'm sorry, Olive, but we really must be going," Sophie was saying.
Fitz, who had been in the bathroom, walked back into the living room and told Sophie he was all set.
Sophie said her last goodbyes, hugged Olive for a long while, and then the trio walked out the door.
Deciding that this neighborhood was pretty vacant, the three walked a few houses down until they were positive Miss Peregrine and her wards couldn't see them through the windows.
Sophie took off running, dragging Fitz and Tam with her.
Before Sophie was completely immersed in the void, she saw a peregrine falcon flying in circles above them. Huh, she thought. What a coincidence.
**PAGE BREAK**
Sophie purposely crash-landed her, Fitz and Tam near Calla's Panakes tree at the edge of Havenfield.
"I thought you knew how to not crash-land us, Sophie," Fitz grumbled from his position underneath Tam.
"I can. But why would I when you stole the gelato from those innocent children?"
"I, uh–"
"Didn't think I would notice? Well, I did." Sophie snarked.
Fitz didn't answer, instead opting to pull the stolen gelato out from underneath his shirt.
"Fitz, why did you take it from them?"
"I wouldn't be a good boyfriend if I didn't." He said, looking down in shame.
Sophie sighed. "Well, it's too late now. Let's just get inside."
The trio walked along the Havenfield pastures, heading towards the house. When they came upon a sleeping alicorn family, they had to stop. Especially when they realized Silveny was awake.
SOPHIE! FRIEND! HI! Silveny transmitted as soon as she saw Sophie at the edge of the alicorn enclosure. She then took a closer look at Sophie. SOPHIE MAD? SOPHIE MAD? SOPHIE MAD?
"Just a little annoyed at a certain someone," Sophie admitted, throwing a pointed look at Fitz, who did manage to look sheepish.
SILVENY STOMP? SILVENY STOMP? SILVENY STOMP? Sophie found herself picturing Silveny trampling Fitz with her glittery hooves, Wynn and Luna stomping the grass in the background.
Sophie looked at Fitz, then back to Silveny. "Let's give him the benefit of the doubt." She paused. "This time."
Silveny wasn't satisfied. She transmitted to Sophie a flash of her taking Fitz high up into the sky on her back and then dropping him.
Sophie couldn't help but let out a giggle. She wasn't very opposed to that idea. Still she said firmly, "No, Silveny."
Tam cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt this – whatever this is, but... the gelato is melting."
Sophie sighed. "I suppose it is." She patted Silveny on the muzzle as a goodbye, then turned to continue the trek up to the house, pointedly avoiding even looking at Fitz.
**PAGE BREAK**
Sophie, Fitz and Tam entered Sophie's bedroom after stopping in the kitchen to say hi to Edaline and grab enough bowls and spoons for the horde of elves congregated there.
All three of them were unsurprised to find Sandor wearing down Sophie's flower petal carpet with his pacing. Everyone else in the room didn't seem at all bothered by how long the three had been gone.
When he realized that Sophie, Fitz and Tam were standing in the doorway, he stopped his pacing and immediately started scolding them on their reckless behavior without even waiting to hear what they had to say.
"...you should have been much quicker than you were! And Mr. Song! How dare you leave when I specifically said only Miss Foster and Mr. Vacker could go!" He was saying.
Sophie, Fitz and Tam patiently waited him out. When he was done, Tam asked, "Can we serve the gelato, please?"
Sandor, looking baffled, relented.
Everyone had been served their portion of gelato and was about to dig in when there was a loud knocking on the Havenfield grand doors.
All of Sophie's friends looked at each other and rushed downstairs to see who was at the door. After all, no one in the Lost Cities ever shows up uninvited. They have imparters.
Grady had beaten them there, however. They watched him as he pulled on the handles and slowly inched open the heavy grand doors.
When the door was fully open everyone saw an older looking Victorian lady in a black dress.
Only three elves recognized this woman.
It was silent for a beat before Sophie broke the silence. "Miss Peregrine?" She gasped, automatically switching from the Enlightened Language to English.
Grady looked at Sophie, confused. He knew what English sounded like and recognized that it was indeed the language Sophie was speaking.
Sophie ignored him, instead staring intimidatingly at Miss Peregrine until she answered.
Miss Peregrine cleared her throat. "This isn't exactly a hotel, Miss Sophie."
"No, it isn't." Sophie ignored Grady when he started making gestures at her to talk to him. "How did you get here?"
"I followed you and your friends through that... empty space room... that you all took off through."
Sophie gaped at her, confused. Then she realized. "Wait! You were that peregrine falcon I saw!"
Miss Peregrine nodded.
"Huh," Sophie said.
A tense silence followed. And Grady, of course, had to break it. "Sophie! Who is this woman? How do you know her? Explain, now!" Grady fired off questions like he was a police interrogator trying to solve a murder.
"Calm down, Dad!" Sophie silenced him in the Enlightened Language. "Just give me a minute to explain!"
And she did. She told Grady, and inadvertently everyone else in the room, how she and her friends decided she and Fitz would go to the Forbidden Cities for gelato – a human dessert – and how they ran into Miss Peregrine's wards, how they found out Tam had snuck along, how they followed Miss Peregrine's wards to their home, and how Miss Peregrine had invited them to stay and wait out the storm that just happened to hit while they were there.
Miss Peregrine herself, thankfully, stayed quiet in the Havenfield doorway.
Sophie looked up at Grady timidly, afraid to see his reaction.
His face was as red as a tomato.
Grady took a deep breath in to calm himself, let it out, and, to everyone's surprise, turned to Sandor, who was half hidden in shadows in the corner of the room.
"HOWCOULDYOUBESOIRRESPONSIBLE! ITHOUGHTSHEWASYOURCHARGE! ITISYOURJOBTOPROTECTHER! HOWCOULDYOU!" He ranted.
Sandor, who almost never showed any emotion besides anger, looked flustered. Then he exploded. "I didn't think she would be gone that long! I gave her strict orders! IT WAS SHE WHO DIDN'T LISTEN!"
Both Grady and Sandor turned to Sophie, red in the face and fuming.
Grady opened his mouth to start laying into Sophie, but she cut him off by blurting, "I don't think she's human."
"Think? Her wards definitely weren't, so why would she be?" Fitz interjected.
"Good point," Sophie told him.
Grady sighed, temporarily forgetting his anger. "I'm going to go hail Forkle so I can talk to this woman myself."
And just like that, Grady walked off.
About half an hour later, Mr. Forkle strolled through Havenfield's grand doors.
Miss Peregrine had already been moved to a seat at the small round kitchen table.
Mr. Forkle was then told all the events of the day.
He scratched his bloated chin. "I see we have a peculiar problem on our hands."
A/N: So this chapter is fun! A bit more serious than the first two, but it has its funny moments! Drama to ensue in Chapter 4!