The car pulled up to the old house, the breaks squeaking to a stop. The house was more of a manor by the size of it and the gravel stone driveway led to the cobble stone path to the front door. It was brown on the outside, with cloudy windows and vines winding their way up the guttering and across the roof. A circle window was right at the top of the house, with three sets of windows leading down, displaying the different levels of the house. Bushes ran along the outside and led to the large field behind the house.
The four children stepped out of the car, staring up at the old place. This was their new home. The driver didn't say a word to them and drove off, leaving the four of them to stand awkwardly. Each one held a suitcase of their own, holding on to the little memories they had. There were two girls and two boys. They were all the same age, going on at seventeen but the oldest was Mal. He was a tall boy, head shaven and muscles adorning his chest. He was a fighter and the leader of the group. The next was Genya. She was the smartest and most vain out of the four. Her hair was fiery red and her blue eyes were bright and sparkled in the sun. She often had a way of making others look unintelligent compared to her. the third was Fedyor. He was the joker of the group, always finding the best out of the situation and finding fun. His dark hair was neatly cut and he always had a smile on his face. Finally, the last was Alina. She was the kindest and most curious. She had a skill for drawing and her caring nature made her the easiest to talk to. Her long black hair was wavy and her dark eyes were beautiful.
The group called themselves brothers and sisters but they were not blood related. They met each other at the orphanage in London and had become the best of friends that they felt as if they were family. The two older ones, Mal and Genya, always took control when they discussing something, fighting most of the time because they didn't get their way. Fedyor was the little brother who was always playing pranks on them, winding them up and causing havoc. Alina was carefree one, always wanting to explore and seek adventure.
They were glad they were still together. The war in England was becoming frightening and the orphanage could no longer keep all the children say. They have grouped the children together to send off to different locations, giving them a better chance of surviving. The group were grateful however. Ana Kuya was a strict and harsh lady of the orphanage. She was often telling off one of them for their behaviour. There was always something she wasn't happy with and it seemed every week one of the four was getting a telling off.
Ana Kuya hadn't said much to the group about where they were going, only that it was somewhere in the countryside away from the bombings and raids. They'd be safer here and have a better chance of surviving this war. Every night the sirens went off and the children would cuddle up together, holding their ears to drown the sound out. Ana Kuya had sent the four of the together. Even though she was harsh on them, she knew their bond and didn't want them to be separated. They had been this way for over ten years now and it would break them if they were pulled apart.
The four of them stood looking over the house, the car now vanished and Mal turned to look at the group.
"Well come on then" he nodded and made his way to the front door. Genya followed behind and so did Fedyor, leaving Alina to stand on her own. She was so use to the busy streets of London. The quietness was scary and the birds tweeting made her head turn every way, looking for them. It was all so new to her and she was a little frightened to be honest. The house was four times the size of the orphanage and she had never seen a field so large for a garden.
"Come on Alina" Genya called, pulling Alina out of her trance. She ran up to them, her feet crunching the stones below and stood at the back of the group. The others were much taller than her and she was hidden behind them.
"You knock" Mal nodded to Genya who huffed and rolled her eyes.
"You knock" she argued and the two were about to enter another competition of who could back down first but Fedyor stepped forward, knocking hard on the door. Mal and Genya looked back at him and shrugged, forgetting the row they were about to have.
The door opened to reveal an older woman, dressed in a blue dress with a white apron wrapped around her, short curly grey hair and wrinkles marking her face, her grey eyes sullen and depressed.
"What" she snapped and the children were surprised by her greeting. They looked amongst each other, silently debating who should speak before Mal coughed, clearing his throat and spoke.
"Um, we've been sent to live here, we are from the orphanage in London, the one on baker street" Mal said and reached into his jacket to pull out a document. The woman reached forward and took it, scanning before meeting the eyes of the children and softened her expression.
"Of course, they did send word that you were arriving, come in then, take your shoes off when you get in, I don't want a muddy floor" she said rather sternly and walked back in the house, the children taking another glance between them and followed inside.
The door creaked shut and the children each slipped off their shoes at the front, placing them neatly beside each other as to copy the other shoes. There was a wooden rack with many pairs of smart, polished dress shoes and a coat rack beside it with thick coats and hats hanging on hooks.
The house was cold and rickety. The hardwood floor squeaked as the woman walked along it to a room down the hall. A large stair case led upstairs, the same wood but with a brown runner along the stairs, probably to stop accidents. There was a room to the left and a room to the right, one of which looked like a sitting room, the other a dining room. It was certainty large on the inside and there were many decorative items furnishing.
"Well come on then" the woman called behind her shoulder as the group had stayed still after removing their shoes, unsure of where to go or what to do. Mal went first, followed by Genya then Fedyor and finally Alina. Alina glanced around, her eyes wondering around the open space. Pictures were hung on the walls in gold frames. They looked to be works of oil, acrylic and watercolour. Alina always had a love for paintings. She hoped one day she'd be able to buy her own set to use to create pictures that would hopefully last her a lifetime. The only thing she could use at the orphanage was the charcoal used for the fire and even then, Ana Kuya often scolded her for taking it for improper use, telling her she was wasting essentials they needed. The orphanage was always low on funds and they were given the essentials by the government to keep the children alive.
Alina smiled to herself, thinking to the small clumps of coal she had snuck into her bag before leaving the orphanage. She wasn't going to see Ana Kuya again and so she didn't care much about 'wasting' the necessary things they needed. All the children were being vacated and therefore there was no need for the orphanage to have all that.
The group were led to a kitchen. There was a wooden table in the centre and a stove and grill to the right. The sink was a large silver tank with a tap that looked like it never seemed to stop dripping. The floor was white and black alternating tiles and the kitchen surfaces were stone grey. A small black fireplace was in the corner and pantry on the other side. The windows were covered by thin curtains but you could still make out the outside.
The group stood awkwardly as the woman flustered around grabbing a metal kettle, filling it with water and placing it on the stove. She struck a match and a small blue flame lit underneath the kettle, starting its boil. Their attention was brought away however when the patter of feet came running in to the kitchen, soft barks escaping and a black and white dog came bounding in, tongue hanging out its mouth and tail wagging crazily. It bounced up to Mal, giving adorable eyes and Mal smiled, crouching down to the dog and gave it a scratch on the head.
"Hey there boy" he whispered but the woman had heard him.
"Be careful with him, the vet says he might have flees" she warned and Mal stopped petting immediately, wiping his hand on his trouser and stood back up. The dog sniffed the ground where their feet were and then plodded along to its water bowl.
"The professor is in his study, I'll fetch him, wait here" she ordered and brushed past them, stomping along the hall and climbing up the stairs.
"She's friendly" Fedyor grinned and Genya smacked his shoulder.
"Oww, what was that for?" he whined, rubbing his shoulder.
"Quiet, she'll hear you, we need to be respectful, these people are taking us in and I'm sure they don't want to hear you cracking jokes already" she scolded him and Fedyor rolled his eyes.
"Just trying to lighten the mood" he grumbled.
"Who do you think the professor is?" Alina asked.
"Probably some grumpy old man who never leaves this place" Mal said and he furrowed his brows as the three others gave him a wide eyed look of shock. Mal slowly turned around and he stepped back as a man was now stood behind him.
He was indeed old, with grey hair on top and small circle glasses perching on his nose, hiding his blue eyes. He wore a light brown suede suit with a dark green shirt underneath and dark brown dress shoes polished so the light bounced off them. The older woman stood behind with a scowl on her face and hands on her hips and the awkward silence came back.
"You must be the children from London, Professor Isaac James" he smiled, holding his hand out to greet them and the group were a little stunned, Mal especially. A few seconds past with no one moving before Genya stepped forward and shook his hand.
"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Genya" she smiled and Fedyor was next.
"Fedyor" he gave a boy grin and stepped out the way for Alina to greet herself.
"Alina" she gave a sweet smile and finally it was Mal's turn, who was looking nervously, sweat starting to drip from his forehead.
"Mal… sorry I didn't mean to-" professor James chuckled and shook his head.
"Not to worry, these things happen and I'm all for having a little joke. I see you've met Mary, she's my housekeeper here. She takes care of the cleaning and cooking here" he introduced the old woman who they now knew as Mary who rolled her eyes silently.
"Not to mention keeping you in check" she brushed past to see to the boiling kettle that was now blowing out steam and professor James whispered to the group.
"She says that all the time but I think you'll find I'm perfectly able to keep myself in check" he said cheekily and the group laughed softly, hoping to not attract the attention of Mary.
"Well, welcome to your new home, shall we start with a tour and then you can unpack, I'm sure you've have a long journey and would like some rest before lunch" he clapped his hands and led the way down the hall. The group picked up their luggage and followed the professor.
The professor showed them the downstairs first which had the kitchen, the sitting room and the dining room and also a library. They were then led up the stairs to the first floor which held a bathroom and a laundry room with a sink and drying rack. The next floor held a study which was the professors and another bathroom. There was also another door leading to a room which the professor said was just a cloak room. Finally, the top floor held the bedrooms. There were four bedrooms, one belonging to professor James, one belonging to Mary and the other two now belonging to the group. They were large bedrooms, with two beds beside each other, separated by a small table.
"You girls can stay in this one, it's a little bit nicer than the other room" Professor James said cheekily as he opened the bedroom door and the girls grinned to each other.
"How comes they get the nice room" Mal huffed and the professor turned to him.
"Because a lady should always be treated with the upmost respect" he said.
"Not these two" Fedyor laughed and Genya went to smack him again but he hid away behind the professor.
"Let me guess, you are the joker of the group" professor James pointed to Fedyor who grinned nodding.
"Why thank you, old man" he gave a wink to professor James who laughed.
"I can tell I'm going to like you, well I'll let you get settled in and when you are ready you can come down for lunch, I believe it's ham sandwiches" he smiled and turned on his heel to walk down the stairs, leaving the four to settle in to their new home.
Hey, so I decided on writing another story, I thought this would be really cool idea to mix the storyline of the the lion, the witch and the wardrobe with shadow and bone. Here is the first chapter, let me know what you think in the reviews, I hope you enjoy :)