The next morning I awoke in time for breakfast. All of the children were already seated at the table, most of them wiping sleep from their eyes or yawning. I took my regular seat and stretched.

"Good morning, Children!" Miss Peregrine sang as she entered the room, carrying a platter full of fresh flapjacks. To me, she acted as if we had not had that discussion last night. As she set the platter down, she winked at me.

She took her seat at the edge of the table. "Now, children, before we consume our nourishment, I'm afraid that I must provide you with a set of new regulations, concerning most recent events." She folded her hands and placed them on the table. "No one will be leaving the property. You may wander around the terrace if you'd like, but you must stay within my sight at all times."

A groan went up in unison.

Miss Peregrine meant business, and to show how serious she was, she slammed a fist into the surface of the table. Everyone jumped. "I will not have any of you wander off and be harmed- or worse- by those monsters!" she hissed stiffly. She turned to me, Emma, Fiona and Bronwyn. "You ladies are my eldest- and most trusted- wards. I am counting on you to watch over the young ones at all times. If you must leave the house, I would like you to travel in the company of at least one other person." She held up a finger.

Next she victimized Jacob. "Mr. Portman, I would ask you to perform thorough sweep-throughs of the property. Your ability to pinpoint the locations of nearby enemies is far too useful to allow to go to waste."

Jacob nodded, "Of course, Miss Peregrine."

She let out a sigh of relief. "You may eat."

The remainder of breakfast was awkward. We all ate in silence. Only quick glances were exchanged between myself and the rest of the children. When Miss Peregrine excused us, instead of leaving, I stayed put. Miss Peregrine asked me what was on my mind, and I simply told her that I hadn't slept well and that I was tired. She muttered something to me about learning how to retire earlier, then, collected the dirty platters and headed into the kitchen. While she was busy scrubbing away at pots, I collected the dirty china and took it to her. I set it by the sink.

"I should have known your Peculiar status just by your mannerisms, Miss Stonington," she said as she wiped away the wetness on a pot. She began placing all of the clean pots on the stovetop in a neat fashion. She was always known for her ambition to keep her home spic and span. "You act like an ymbryne of my years would." She then set the dirty china down in the soapy water. She rolled up her sleeves and began to go at them. "Not to mention your hygiene is impeccable."

"I thank you, Headmistress."

She laughed a little. "You do realize that you do not have to address me as 'Headmistress' anymore, do you not?" She put some elbow grease into her scrubbing. "You're to be an ymbryne, not only by blood, but by status. You're my equal."

"That may be, but I am still a resident in your household- one of your wards, no less- and I feel it only proper to address you as everyone else addresses you."

Giving in to my stubborn, yet proper, reply, Miss Peregrine withdrew her hands from the water. She wiped them on her apron, turned around, and leaned backwards onto the front of the sink. "As much as I enjoy you as a ward, I'm afraid that I will have to let you leave my nest someday." Alright, now she was just being punny, considered we were both birds now. "You will be requiring proper instruction. Most of which, I cannot provide you with. However, I have some basic tricks up my sleeve."

"Can you teach me to fly?" I asked teasingly.

"Indeed I can. We must work on summoning out your alternate form, first. I can't shake this feeling that I am knowledgeable to what species of bird you are."

"And that would be?"

"A Nightingale."

That was a surprise. I loved music, but I could not sing a tune on key if my life depended on it. "But, Headmistress, I do not sing," I replied suavely.

"Nor do I." She turned back to the sink. "Forgive me, Miss Stonington by I am most tired. We shall begin your lessons later this evening. You may run along and play with the children."

I cleared my throat. "Actually, Headmistress, I was wondering if I may use your darkroom."

She twitched. "Have some negatives to develop, do you? Absolutely! It's up on the third floor, second door to the left. I will summon you when I am ready to begin your lessons."

I thanked her and headed up to retrieve my camera.

I spent nearly the entire day in Miss Peregrine's darkroom. As I developed my negatives into endless copies of perfect black and white photographs, I sang to myself. The certain type of old-fashioned photo fixture burned my skin at first, but I got used to it quickly. Another interesting thing I discovered was that the photo developer chemicals she used had a sweet scent to it- nothing like the nasty sensation that burned your nostrils that the photo developer I used in Photography 101 emitted. This chemical was sweet smelling and I got so used to smelling it that by the time I had been in there almost six hours I couldn't smell it any longer.

Other than the darkroom and a few empty closets the third floor was empty so I had quite a peaceful developing experience. Once I emerged into the sunlit part of the house again my eyes took time adjusting. I carried my stack of photographs down into my bedroom so I could enjoy them.

I had almost one hundred pictures when I was done.

I had taken photos of the children at play; there was one of Horace on the stoop, the one I took of Bronwyn and Claire and one I had snapped of Miss Peregrine's house. They were all perfectly shot, I had used the right ISO and everything and none of the hardly came out blurry. I felt accomplished as I sat on my bed cross-legged and shuffled through them many times. I found a photo of Jacob I had taken that I knew I just had to give to Emma.

I found her in her room, her face buried in an old romance novel.

"There you are," she remarked when I went in. "We thought Miss Peregrine had banished you."

I smiled and shook my head. "Nope. I've been developing pictures. In fact, I have one that I'd like you to have."

It must have peaked her interest because she plopped the novel on the bed and slid off. "Well, let's see then!" she chirped.

I walked over to her and handed it to her.

As she held onto it, she fell silent. She stared at it in admiration and ran her fingers over the smooth surface. "My Jacob," she whispered. She took a few moments to herself. "Oh, Minnette! I've never seen anything so beautiful! Thank you." She froze. "Are you sure you don't want to keep it?"

"Nope. It's for you."

I left Emma squalling over the picture of her boyfriend and returned to my own room.

I had pictures of Cairnholm Island in the present, a picture of the airplane I had flown in on, one of the cairn on the other side which the loop resides, a picture of Enoch and Olive. There was one I had taken from Miss Peregrine's seat at the head of the table; it showed all of the children seated. There were some of the children at the beach that one day. Claire had taken one of herself. She was lying on the ground and held the camera above her. I had so many more than I had realized. I took a few moments to admire each photograph.

There at the bottom of the pile it was.

The picture I had taken of Miss Peregrine as she perched in my windowsill. It had come out perfectly. Clear, with pure blacks and radiant whites. It was a phenomenon all to itself; luckily, I had enough sense to create two copies. I would give one to Miss Peregrine for her photo album. I was stifled at just what an amazing shot it had been.

Feeling quite grand inside, I opened the doors to the balcony and stepped out. I could see the Welsh countryside. It was a beautiful view. The air was warm and delightful. I saw Jacob, Bronwyn, Enoch, Hugh and Fiona walking the perimeter of the terrace. They were just walking along, chatting and laughing every once in a while. I noticed Miss Peregrine as well, standing on the porch, pipe in hand. She had her favorite black hat on. This place, Miss Peregrine, the children… it was all so amazing. My life seemed perfect. Like we didn't have a care in the world.

Only we did.

Hollows and Wights were ghastly, evil creatures. I knew deep down that somewhere out in the world, some of them were plotting another attack on Miss Peregrine at that very moment. Taking a moment just to admire Miss Peregrine as she smoked, I leaned on the balcony railing and laid my face in my palm. Even in my worst nightmare, I could never contemplate someone ever wanting to harm that amazing woman. Being an ymbryne was the most difficult job in existence, Miss Peregrine had said. Knowing that someday I would have my own house within a loop, full of Peculiar children, made me perceive Miss Peregrine in a whole new way. I was beginning to look up to her not only as a headmistress, but also, a mentor.

I grabbed the picture of Miss Peregrine and headed down to the main floor. I opened the front door gingerly and stepped out on the porch.

"Are you enjoying the day so far, Miss Stonington?" asked the headmistress.

"Yes, Headmistress. I got heaps of photographs developed."

She nodded approvingly. "I'd like to see your work someday."

I smiled. "How about right now?" I asked lightly, holding up the photograph.

"Have at it, then!" She replied with a smile.

I walked up to her and held out the photograph. "I made this one for you. I hope you're not offended by it."

"Oh my!" she said stridently when she took a good look at it. She had exclaimed it so loud that the children in the yard peered over their shoulders. "This is an extraordinary photograph!" She was flabbergasted. "Is this myself?" she asked, pressing a hand to her bosom.

I nodded. "Yes. On the day you looked though my window, back in America."

She pulled her glasses down from her eyes for a split second, and then placed them back before her eyes. "I had not realized that you had a camera at the very moment." She then looked up and squinted her eyes. "I believe I am losing my touch."

I remembered it like it was yesterday, raising my Pentax to snap a shot of the falcon. I had been skeptical about the quality of the photograph until I actually had developed it.

I stood with Miss Peregrine a minute as she studied the picture.

"It's lovely, thank you, Minnette!" she cheered. "I shall place it in my most recent album." She tucked it away in her pocket and looked out across the lawn. "You do not seem so affected by the recent events. Come," she nudged me with her arm, "tell me what's on that mind of yours."

"What if they take me, too?" I asked.

She sighed. "You're in too much young a state for them to sense you. Even if they did, they'd take me again, too."

The she turned her undivided attention to young Jacob. "He shall tell us when they are near."

The group that had been circling the yard came up on the porch. "All clear, Headmistress," said Jacob assuringly.

"Thank you, Jacob," replied Miss Peregrine. "Please tell the others that I shall have supper severed within the hour."

"Will do."

Then they disappeared into the house.

Miss Peregrine turned to me. "Would you like to assist me in preparing supper?" she asked.

I smiled and nodded, then, we both headed into the house to get lost in the world of cooking.