Madeline woke up in the morning, in a state of confusion - a regular occurrence for her these days. The sunlight peeked through the curtains of the bedroom's windows, indicating that the sun had already risen. Soon, she would have to do the same.
She recollected what had happened in her dream last night. After she had met "Arthur", he had taken her to a place far away...on a ship that rode the waves of the seas...
Except for her magical creature friends, Madeline had never told anyone about her dreams. There was Alfred, who had helped her calm down after a nightmare, but even he did not know the specific contents of that nightmare. She had briefly entertained the thought of visiting a psychic, or a medium, any manner of person who could possibly explain to her why she was having these dreams. But she had quickly given up on that idea. Many things could happen in that scenario, not the least of which being Madeline would be scammed out of her money.
Still, she wished that there was someone in the world she could talk to about all of this.
With a sigh, Madeline got out of bed. Kumarie and Scone were already awake. She remembered that Kumarie got along quite well with Bucky the cat. Scone, while less playful than Bucky, liked Kumarie too. Scone was licking Kumarie with his tongue. Unless she's mistaken, Madeline thinks that this is a sign of affection from cats. How adorable!
She was honestly surprised at how Kumarie had gotten along with Bucky and Scone so far. She thought that Kumarie would be more aloof towards them, considering Kumarie would sometimes get jealous of her other magical creature friends.
And speaking of her friends, she had not seen them since she left Canada. Madeline was used to them following her around, so it was odd she had neither glimpsed nor heard a sound from them since she arrived in London.
Madeline heard a knock on the door.
"Come in!"
It was Arthur. He was holding Scone's food and water bowls in his hands.
"Ah, Miss Madeline, you're awake. I've come to feed the little bugger. It's his morning meal time after all. I came by earlier to see if you were up yet, but you weren't, so I decided to let you sleep in longer."
"That's thoughtful of you, Arthur. Thank you - Wait, did you say you came by earlier? How long ago was that?"
"Oh, just enough time for me to make breakfast. I know you said you wanted to cook the meals, but I figured you wouldn't mind this one time."
"Yes, that's quite…generous of you Arthur…"
Madeline was already regretting waking up late, and when she later saw the state of the pancakes on her plate, she almost cried in distress.
o - o - o - o - o
After a thoroughly dismaying breakfast (for her, not Arthur), Madeline was all too eager to start her day, so she could forget what she had just eaten.
"So, Miss Madeline, do you have any plans for today?"
"Well, I figured it'd be nice to start off the month with something simple. Maybe ice skating? I hear London has some amazing rinks this time of year."
"I see you've done your research! You're quite right. We have ice rinks at Hampton Court Palace, Somerset House, and Canary Wharf, just to name a few."
"Hampton Court Palace? That is King Henry VIII's former palace, right?"
"Right again! Could it be, you want to go there today?"
"Now that you mention it, I'd love to! It'd be really cool to explore the palace while we're there as well."
"You're in luck! It just so happens that I have a lifetime membership to Hampton Court Palace, and many other historic palaces, and I can bring a guest along with me."
"Wow, that is lucky! I figured you were an avid history lover, considering your home, but I didn't know you had a lifetime membership too."
"A history lover…yes, you could say that."
Arthur had a thoughtful look on his face that Madeline could not quite decipher.
"Um…let's hurry and head over to the palace!"
Madeline quickly redirected their conversation back to its original topic. She followed Arthur out of his home, stopping at the entryway when she heard a meow. Madeline turned and found Scone sitting on the ground, looking up at her sadly.
"Aw, Scone, don't worry. Your owner and I will be back soon!"
She scooped up the cat into her arms, petting him gently, while whispering into his ear softly, "You'll keep Kumarie company while I'm gone, right?"
Scone meowed again, in what she believed to be an affirmative tone. Behind her, Madeline could hear Arthur muttering angrily.
"You traitorous cat…"
Placing Scone down on the floor again, Madeline left with a final goodbye and then got into Arthur's car. The ride to the palace, much like yesterday's car ride, was silent between the two of them, with the sound of music in the background. Madeline liked having more time alone with her thoughts though. Alfred is a great friend, but she knew when she was driving with him for example, he'd be striking up a conversation every other minute.
Meanwhile, Arthur's calm contrasted greatly with Alfred's exuberance.
Once in a while, Madeline would steal glances at Arthur. He was too focused on the road to notice when she would do so. She was glad, because it'd be hard to explain her actions. In fact, she was doing this to confirm a suspicion she had.
In the dream last night, it seemed like she was meeting Arthur for the first time. This doesn't make sense though, because Arthur looked exactly the same as he does in real life. When it came to Alfred's situation, she saw him as he grew up in her dreams. She met him when he was a child! Madeline rationalized that maybe she had encountered Alfred when they were both young, and she forgot about him for some reason, so her mind made up dreams instead.
For Arthur, there was no such explanation. How could Arthur have not changed at all? He was not that much older than Madeline and Alfred, and in his early twenties.
Her head was spinning trying to come up with a plausible theory. The problem was that she didn't know what was real in her dreams, and what was fake.
The forty minute car ride passed in the blink of an eye, and Arthur and Madeline arrived at the palace.
o - o - o - o - o
They spent all day there. Arthur had so much knowledge that Madeline didn't even need to ask the tour guides to answer her questions. Arthur could answer them just as easily. The sun had set by the time they finished exploring the palace, and the sky was dark.
Madeline and Arthur walked to the gardens, where the ice rink was located. The palace was now illuminated in red, yellow, and blue light. It was a beautiful sight, one that Madeline was sure to take a picture of. They rented skates, and Madeline eagerly stepped onto the ice. Her recent stint teaching hockey at the ice rink back home had made her yearn for the ice again. She waited for Arthur to step onto the ice with her.
"About that…ah, I'm ashamed to admit this, but…I'm not actually good at ice skating….quite abysmal, really…"
"Is that so? You don't have to worry Arthur! You have nothing to be ashamed of. There's lots of people who don't know how to ice skate!"
She gestured around her to emphasize her point. There were indeed plenty of skaters on the ice who were just beginners. From young children being accompanied by their parents, to brave individuals who were falling on the ice repeatedly.
"Come on! I'll teach you! But you need to get on the ice first!"
Arthur was still hesitant, but with some more coaxing and encouragement from Madeline, he got over his fear, put on his skates, and wobbled onto the ice unsteadily.
"Great! Now try taking small steps towards me. Lift your foot, put it down, and then lift the other foot. Remember to bend your knees and keep your hands out for balance!"
He attempted to do as she instructed…the key word being "attempted". Arthur was bending his knees and holding out his hands, but it was clear that balancing himself on the ice was easier said than done. Madeline could predict his fall right before it happened, and she speeded forward to catch him.
"Are you alright?"
Arthur's face was flushed - from embarrassment, exertion, or both. He covered his red face with his gloved hands.
"Yes, I…I'm fine. Thank you for catching me."
"Well, I wouldn't be a very good teacher if I let you hurt yourself before I taught you how to properly fall on ice, now would I?"
Madeline switched her hold to grasp Arthur's hands in hers.
"Try the small steps again…except this time, let yourself fall, and do exactly as I do."
Arthur did as he was told, as he resumed his arduous quest to become an ice skater. Against all odds, he managed to succeed, if being able to no longer trip on ice was the threshold.
"I knew you could do it, Arthur! High five!"
They high fived. Arthur was dangerously close to toppling afterwards, but he steadied himself and resumed his stance.
Checking the hour on her phone, Madeline decided that they should call it a day and return to Arthur's home.
"Let's head back now! Good job, Arthur!"
In the midst of congratulating Arthur, Madeline was genuinely proud of him. She didn't expect Arthur to have learned the basics in such a short period of time.
"I…I couldn't have done it without your help…"
His face was flushed again, but certainly not from exertion.
"Would you like something sweet as a reward after dinner? I think I saw in your recipe book a bunch of recipes for desserts? Something called an 'arctic roll' sounds really delicious!"
"I'd…like that."
The night was cold, but there was only warmth in their hearts.