Horace was very sweet as he carried my bags for me on the way up to my quarters. As we ascended the stairs, he chatted away about what Miss Peregrine expected of her wards. For instance, no filth was allowed on the furniture whatsoever. If one was to be seen with even a few specks of filth, they were to bathe immediately. Also, breakfast was a seven am sharp, school lessons began at nine am, ended at two pm, and dinner was at precisely five pm. Horace never mentioned a bedtime.

"We don't have a specific time for slumber," he explained when I asked him. "We do, in fact, have a curfew, though. No one is to leave the house after eight pm unless they have Headmistress' permission. And believe me when I say that retrieving permission is harder than trying to alter an opinion of the Bird's- which is hard on its own level."

Horace led me to the very end of the hall of the second floor. He swung open the light blue door and we stepped into the most beautiful bedroom I had ever seen. It had a tremendous four-poster bed, accented with a white lace comforter and matching pillow shams. Two French doors opened out onto a second-story balcony. Before the doors was a beautiful red velvet Victorian chair. There was a hearth next to the entrance, and atop of it sat an iron candelabrum. There was also a writing desk in the corner by the exit to the balcony. The French doors were propped open and the white curtains blew gracefully in the faint breeze.

"Oh, Horace, it's beautiful!" I exclaimed. I clasped my hand together. Although there was not a stich of black in the room, it was elegant beyond anything I had ever seen in my life.

He set my bags on the bed for me. "Headmistress figured that since you're the oldest ward, you could have the second biggest bedroom in the house. Hers is larger, of course. She is, after all, our ymbryne."

"Excuse me? She's what?" I asked.

"Our ymbryne- our Peculiar loop mother. Every loop has its own ymbryne."

I looked at him, puzzled.

"Headmistress failed to explain loops to you, didn't she?" he asked, annoyed.

I nodded slowly.

"Let's just say that there's no tomorrow or yesterday." He clapped his hands together happily. "Now, I suggest you wash up before dinner. Headmistress despises latecomers."

And with that, he left.

I took a moment to explore. I took in every beautiful detail of every piece of furniture in the room. It was even better than being in a Victorian furniture store in the mall. The essence of it was so amazing. I ran my fingers over the smooth cherry wood of the writing desk, and then moved to trace the patterns carved into the wood of the bedposts. For however long I was to stay here, I'd be happy, I knew that right away.

As I dug into my backpack for my makeup case, I set my camera on the writing desk, along with the lenses and the seven rolls of film I had purchased at the airport. I had the key to my Jetta in my pocket. I tossed it on the desk. It was utterly useless, for I had a feeling that Miss Peregrine did not own a vehicle.

I chose my Victorian gown for my dinner attire. I loved it so much because it had a cameo attached the center of the collar. It fit my slender figure nicely. I completed my outfit by pinning my hair up in a neat chignon. I gazed at myself in the mirror over the hearth. I looked like I had come from the times. It was an appearance I rather liked, for I had always thought that I had a Victorian essence to my facial features.

On my descend down the stairs to the main floor, I was greeted by the sound of Claire laughing as a girl I had not yet introduced myself to tickled her playfully. I stood on the stairway as they romped around.

The girl performing the tickling had long strands of stringy-looking hair. She looked to be around fourteen years of age.

"Fiona, stop!" cried Claire between fits of laughter. "I cannot breathe!"

Fiona. The girl with stringy hair. Got it.

I made my way past them unnoticed.

I found Miss Peregrine in the dining room; she was wearing a gray apron over her black gown. There was an immense oak table, lace tablecloth, with twelve places set upon it. Candles burned brightly in the center.

She paused when she noticed me enter. She placed both hands on the table and leaned onto it. "Why, Miss Stonington, you look lovely! The details on that gown are most precise."

I blushed. "I thank you, Headmistress, but my childish appearance is nothing compared to your unique radiance," I replied smoothly. No, I was not being a suck-up. I meant every word I had spoken to Miss Peregrine.

She pressed a hand to her bosom. "I thank you kindly, but I'm just 'the old Bird,' remember?" she laughed. "And childish appearance? Don't be daft! You are hardly a child, Miss Stonington. I was very ecstatic to learn that I'd be taking on not a child as a new ward, but a young woman."

The smell of some kind of cooked meat began to fill the entire house. I was famished and had not eaten since my take off in Rochester, New York.

"May I assist you in the kitchen?" I asked politely.

"Such manners!" Miss Peregrine cooed. "But I must respectfully decline. I have all the help I require at the moment." She strode over, and held open the kitchen door. Inside, Emma was roasting a turkey with her flame hands. A pudgy boy who I had not met yet was busy peeling potatoes and Horace was chopping onions. Near the cookstove, a wooden spoon was levitating above a steaming pot. It remained still for a moment, then, dropped into it.

"Oh!" I squeaked.

"Don't be alarmed, that is Mr. Nullings, he's an invisible." Miss Peregrine leaned into the kitchen a bit. "Do be careful, Mr. Nullings! That pot is treacherous when it's hot!"

"Will do, Headmistress," replied an unfamiliar voice.

When the dinner was served, I was sitting at the table alone. Miss Peregrine entered the room, a small silver bell in her hand. She grinned at me oddly, then, began to ring it.

"Children!" she hollered. "Dinner!"

All of the children swarmed into the room. Horace approached me, took my hand, and led me to the seat closest to the head. "You shall sit here, from now on. Headmistress likes to have the eldest at her side." As I sat down, all of the children took their seats. All 0f them were filled accept for one, which Mr. Nullings was sitting in, I did not know his first name. Miss Peregrine joined us at the table. She was no longer wearing her apron.

"Children. For those of you who do not know, this is Miss Stonington. Please treat her kindly, for she shall be residing here for quite a while."

It felt like I was standing on a stage in front of the whole world. All eyes were on me.

I smiled. "Hello, everyone."

All of the children muttered some type of greeting. Miss Peregrine took her seat. "Eat up, children," she said calmly. "The changeover is soon."

"The changeover?" I asked Miss Peregrine softly.

She nodded. "Yes, dear. I shall explain after we take our supper." And with that, she picked up her silverware and began slicing her meat in a very lady-like fashion. I did the same. It made me think of when I actually used my silverware at home whenever we ate rotisserie chicken. My family would all use their hands.

"You're such a freak!" Claire would exclaim whenever I used my fork and knife.

"Well, I do not want to get grease all of over my skin," I would retort.

When Miss Peregrine noticed me using my silverware, she gave me an approving nod. I did not understand. I took a look down the table, why, all of the children- including all of the young girls- were using their hands to stuff meat in their mouths. Miss Peregrine shot all of them a disapproving look, but they ignored her. Even Jacob, the one Horace had told me was American like me. The food was delicious and tasted way better than any crappy rotisserie chicken from the Food Mart. I bet it was twice as healthy, too.

I practically choked on a piece of turkey as a loud boom sounded from outside the house, it rattled the china and the chandelier above the table began to sway. I swallowed the turkey and shot Miss Peregrine a worried glance. The children fell silent.

"The changeover!" a floating-girl named Olive said excitedly. She had to be strapped in a chair so she could successfully eat her supper.

"Miss Peregrine, may we watch the changeover outside this evening?" asked Claire. I was appalled. She had not referred to her as "Headmistress."

Miss Peregrine nodded. "So long as you wear your masks."

With a huge hooray, the children all scurried out of the room. I watched them as they all ran past the dining room doors, gas masks strapped to their faces. I made no notion to move.

"Would you like to go out with the children, Miss Stonington?" Miss Peregrine asked. "I have more masks."

I shook my head. "I'm alright, thank you." I wiped my mouth tenderly with my lapkin. "What exactly is the changeover?"

Miss Peregrine grinned. She arose. "Come," she beckoned. I got up and followed her into the front sitting room. Outside, the children stood in a group, heads raised. All of a sudden two bomber planes flew overhead.

I gasped loudly. "My goodness!" I shouted. The children didn't as much as move. "Headmistress!" I exclaimed.

Miss Peregrine laughed lowly. "It's alright, Miss Stonington, this is a daily event. It's the foundation of my loop." She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She took a seat on the arm of the nearest chair. "I refuse to be so close to those things, however, the children find great amusement from it."

I noticed that Jacob had Emma is his arms. Were they together?

The sky lit up an amazing mixture of orange, pink and purple. Miss Peregrine remained silent as she watched intently. The children began to dance. Watching them whirl one another around was better than watching television. Although they had those huge masks on, I could tell they were happy. I could hear their laughter through the glass.

Then something spilt through the sky, and headed right for us. It was a bomb! I didn't understand! Was Wales in some kind of nuclear war? Miss Peregrine did not react, she sat as still as a statue. As the bomb drew closer, I threw my face into my palms and began to wail in fright. I was sure that I was seconds away from my demise.

Everything stopped.

I heard no explosion. I didn't feel anything hit me. My body was trembling awfully. I felt a hand grasp my shoulder.

"It is all right," came the soft voice of Miss Peregrine. "You can open your eyes."

I slowly raised my head from my hands. My eyes were blurry from squinting them too hard.

Miss Peregrine tucked my hair behind my ear gingerly. "My apologies, Miss Stonington, I failed to explain loops to you."

As I looked outside, what I saw amazed me.

The planes and bomb had disappeared into thin air. There was nothing. Everything was still. The sky was a brilliant dark blue and bright stars were visible. A brilliant full moon hung above. The children all stripped their masks off and began to dance once more. Emma and Jacob kissed. It was confirmation that they were indeed together. I wondered what my family was doing at that very moment, back in America. Then I wondered that if I indeed had been hit by a bomb, if they'd even shed a tear.

"I'm sure all of this is rather peculiar to you." She said "peculiar" in an odd fashion.

Miss Peregrine looked at me with admiration. "You are destined for great things." She paused and shut her eyes quickly. "Please excuse my ignorance but I have forgotten your first name!" she hissed. She seemed irritated with herself.

"Minnette."

"Minnette. Ah, yes! A lovely name, very unique." She sighed as she glanced out the window once more. "This life wears on a person like myself." A cloud of serious tone came over her then. "Allow me to clean up the remnants from supper, then, I'd like to see you in the study."

She remained quiet as she left. I could tell that she didn't want any help cleaning up, so I didn't offer. From then on I knew deep down that Miss Peregrine knew something that I didn't.