Everyone knows the rumors about a place known to the locals as "the offices down below" but very few take it as truth. "No darling, there's no such thing as magical creatures and enchanted objects," the mothers will tell their children as they drag them along the storefronts. Most believe it's a secret government ruse made up to keep people distracted if they even believe in it at all. The children in their early teen years often search for this mysterious place, more often using it as an excuse to flirt and flaunt their bravery. But Mattie knows better.

At the young age of eight, having just moved to Ballarat, she discovered it while walking to school. She took quite a tumble while chasing what appeared to be an injured cat and somehow landed herself in the "offices down below", as is their common name in the stories. After uprighting herself, she opened her eyes to strange creatures and her ears were spooked by voices carrying from a different room. Her knee had found itself scraped and sore so running was not her best option. Terrified and alone she hid herself in the nearest closet and hugged her knees to her chest hoping that would give her some form of protection. So this place was real, she thought, a thought who's reality left her feeling uncertain. After all it was the first thing the other children whispered about at school. What were those creatures and what kind of people would be in charge of them?

That's when she heard them clearly for the first time.

"Oh Lucien I wish you would be more careful. The shirts I can mend but you -"

"Oh now Jean I was fine. I just startled him is all, see? -she heard a rustling sound- "we're all squared away."

The woman's voice, Jean, made a sound like she was not convinced but wasn't going to argue about it.

"Now just let me grab a new coat and -"

The door to Mattie's hiding place swung open and the woman gasped.

"Lucien"

"What?" He looked over to the the women still reaching for his coat.

The woman was beautiful. Her brown hair curled to perfection, lips sporting a bright red and the eyes that caught Mattie were a sharp gray. Those eyes gave him a more pointed look as she nodded her head towards Mattie but then softened once they landed on her. These people didn't seem awful but they worked in the offices down below, she saw the weird creatures for herself. How could Mattie really know who or what they were?
The man knelt down towards her and she tried her best not to flinch. There was nothing necessarily wrong with him. Aside from the torn shirt and jacket. He had a soft look about him but a strong, broad build which Mattie thought was odd for a man.

"And who are you?" He questioned with a soft voice, often directed at fragile children.

"Mattie. Mattie O'Brien."

"Well I'm Lucien and this is Jean" he said gesturing at the woman who gave a reassuring smile.

"Would you like to come out of that old closet and maybe have some lunch and chat? It's much less crowded out here."

She shook her head vigorously. No. The closet was safe.

He looked down and saw her knee clearly now. It was worse for wear.

"Mattie, I see your knee may be hurt. I'm a Doctor, can I look at it?"

Well it did hurt. Slowly she pushed her leg towards him, wincing when he prodded at it. Realizing it could use a proper look, she allowed them to take her into his surgery to get a proper look.

She stared at the woman in the room, Jean, she felt safe. Jean gave Mattie a sympathetic smile as Lucien began cleaning Mattie's knee.
She sucked air in sharply as the antiseptic stung her wound and suddenly a creature resembling a sloth with an owls face and shorter nails, only it was a dark fuchsia and brown color, climbed into the room at a pace much faster than the sloths Mattie had seen at the zoo. Her eyes grew wide as it approached her and she looked to Jean for an answer.

"It's alright darling, that's just Asa. He just wants to make you feel better."

Mattie watched wide eyed as Asa approached her and reached out an arm to her forehead. Upon contact her knee stopped hurting and Mattie looked up at Lucien in confusion. He nearly chuckled as he reached up for Asa to wrap around him.

"He heard your scream and wanted to make sure you were okay. He doesn't like to hear children in pain and he has the ability to take it away. Of course your knee is still scraped, now you just don't have to feel it."

Mattie was now full of wonder as she reached to pat Asa's head.

"Thank you" she muttered dreamily as Asa squinted his eyes in contentment.

Once that was settled and Mattie was fully bandaged, Lucien began asking about her parents and where she came from. She tried to answer as best as she could but she was afraid and couldn't remember much. She wasn't even sure how she got down here in the first place. With that Lucien asked to speak with Jean outside but Mattie could still hear them behind the wall.

"Lucien this poor girl is scared half to death."

"I know, I'm going to speak to Matthew to see what he can do. Will you stay with her?"

"Yes of course"

The voices lowered and Mattie could no longer hear them until they returned to the room informing Mattie of what she already heard.

After bidding Lucien goodbye, Mattie and Jean made their way upstairs (upstairs? How did I even get downstairs? Mattie silently asked herself) to a kitchen. Sitting down as Jean put food in front of her, Mattie took a moment to consider Jean. Jean was warm and had a patient, loving nature about her that Mattie often wished her own mother had. Her own mother. Just like that Mattie had forgotten about her sandwich and began to cry again, a fierce cry that often lead to uncomfortable hiccups later. When Jean saw the child's distress she was instantly kneeling at her side and the child was in her arms.

"Shh, it's alright darling. You're okay." She cooed while smoothing down the girls hair and rubbing her back. Mattie wasn't sure how long she had been there, wrapped in this strangers embrace, an embrace that felt like home. She suddenly pulled back embarrassed, wiping her tears roughly with the back of her fist.

"I'm sorry" she choked out, eyes concentrating on the floor instead of Jean. She felt a hand softly lift her head, bring her eyes toward Jean whose own eyes carried a soft expression.

"Don't be sorry" she spoke in a gentle voice, using the backs of her fingers to brush away Mattie's tears. "I want to show you something, would that be alright?"

Mattie nodded, not trusting her own voice and took Jean's outstretched hand. She guided her back the way they came and into a room that reminded Mattie of a pet store if it had been drawn by a four year old. There were strange creatures unlike any she had seen or heard before, all different colors and textures. If it wasn't for the steady weight of Jean's hand that remained from the kitchen to her present location, Mattie would have thought she was dreaming, or had hit her head during her tumble.

"Where am I?" Mattie questioned, eyes never leaving the strange moving creatures but squeezing Jean's hand a little harder.

"You, my love, are in the Center for mystical beings and mythical objects."

Before she had any time to act or consider an action, Mattie heard a new voice coming from across the room.

"Now Frank you should know better by now. I don't want to have to fix you up every week."

This voice shook Mattie out of her awestruck wonder.

"Now if you want to instigate bar fights between men that's your business but you can't keep getting caught." She paused for a moment as if listening to someone Mattie couldn't hear. "Yes I know you're a grown telepanzee but Jean and Lucien have a hard enough time as is without having to get you out of trouble too. You're just lucky the superintendent is on our side."

The voice sounded proper and no nonsense as if the woman it belonged to was a tired doctor talking to an unruly patient. Mattie looked over to find a woman in a doctors coat talking to what appeared to be some kind of ape with shaggy long hair and a stripe of blue lining his eyes and knuckles. It's head was down and it's waddle gave off an air of shame which made Mattie giggle. How strange to see her scolding this creature.
Upon hearing Mattie the woman stopped short.

"Oh goodness, Jean who is this?" The woman inquired, eyes shifting from Jean to Mattie. Mattie was too busy staring at the peculiar creature known as Frank to notice the woman's hesitation.

"This is Mattie," Jean chimed, smiling down at the girl and giving her hand a reassuring shake.

"Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Alice Harvey." The woman said, a hint of pride at claiming her title.

"Dr. Harvey is our Doctor here, in charge of all mystical patients," Jean explained.

"Speaking of which I must be going, Frank, here needs to finish his check up. Lovely meeting you Mattie."

She started to walk away but stopped short once again.

"Now I said no"

Frank's shoulders slouched and he shifted his gaze from Dr. Harvey to Jean, who let out a heavy sigh.

"Okay but let me talk to her first." She addressed the ape and then turned to Mattie, kneeling down to her level.

"Mattie," she began, brushing Mattie's hair behind her ear. Mattie determined that Jean must be a mother. No one else fussed over her quite like a mother did. "Frank wants to talk to you but he doesn't communicate like us, alright? Don't be scared, love."

She straightened up and Mattie once again took her hand, worried yet intrigued at the mystery of this creature. Jean nodded at the ape and he looked at her.

Well hello Miss Mattie.

Mattie jumped and looked at Jean, who was smiling at her, then back to Frank. She heard the words in her head but his mouth didn't move.
"Frank is a telepath" Dr. Harvey explained, "he speaks with his mind and can read your thoughts."

Mattie was too awestruck to speak but couldn't help enormous grin that grew on her face.

"Well" Dr Harvey began a bit awkwardly after a brief pause, "we really need to be going now."

Don't worry kid, you're safe here.

Frank gave her a wink and headed off in front of the Doctor.

Upon her exit, Alice gave Jean a questioning look which was countered with an "I'll explain later" look.

Mattie wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed,quite a bit she would imagine, but she was just starting to settle down when the phone rang. Jean informed her that it was Lucien at the police station and it was time for them to go in hopes of reuniting her with her parents. She felt instant relief but a tiny hint of disappointment that she had to leave this magical place.

"Now Mattie you can't tell anyone about what's down here. I know that's asking a lot but it's our secrecy that keeps everyone safe."
Mattie suddenly grew very serious and nodded her head.

"Yes of course, I understand," she said with a sincerity that both surprised and endeared Jean. "Will I be able to come back and visit?" She inquired somewhat desperately.

Jean smirked.

"Oh I think we'll be able to work something out."

She had the feeling she would have a hard time withholding anything Mattie wanted from her.

Mattie willingly kept up with Jean's pace making their way down a familiar hall towards the same closet she had first hid herself in but when they got toward the end she furrowed her brow and frowned. It seemed that Jean opened a door that lead them directly into a wall. Mattie halted instantly before getting too close and looked at Jean as if she had taken leave of her senses. This elicited a chuckle from Jean. She had gotten so used to walking this way that she forgot it wasn't seemingly conventional.

"I promise this is the way out. One of our friends here puts up what we like to call a 'glimmer'. It makes you think you're seeing something that actually isn't there. It's actually how you got here. Lucien had left the door open, on his way out, and you must have tumbled right through it."
Seeing the incredulous look the girl was giving her, Jean reached out her hand.

"You can trust me."

Mattie hesitated but took her hand anyway. After everything she has seen so far, an imaginary wall seemed to be the least of her worries. She allowed Jean to lead her and let her travel a bit ahead of her. Approaching the wall she held her breath and closed her eyes, allowing Jean to pull her the rest of the way through. Feeling relatively unscathed she opened her eyes which instantly grew wider. This was the street she had been on before she tripped. Well she was more-so in someone's garden but the street wasn't far off. She remembered that name plate that was a few feet from them. The one that said "Dr. Blake's surgery."

"But I thought the offices were down below?" Mattie questioned, half to Jean, half to herself.

"They are darling, right under the house" she pointed to the house to which the garden belonged, "I would have taken you through the house but I thought you would like to see how you got through the first time."

Mattie blushed, slightly embarrassed at the prospect of Jean thinking she had run through her garden without permission.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to run through your garden. I know I shouldn't have but there was a cat and he looked hurt and so I tried to get him to help him but then I tripped and the I ended up here." It all came out quickly and all at once as she fought the tears brimming, worried Jean would be upset with her.

Jean just smiled softly instead.

"Ah you must have seen Jerry. He likes to run in and out of here. He's still recovering but that's a story for another day."

Giving her hand a squeeze, she started forward, "Now come along we've got get you to the station to find your parents."
Mattie felt her head spin but one thing she knew for sure was that she wanted to come back as soon as she could.

(Note: Okay, this was my first attempt at a fic so I was a little nervous. I'm hoping to improve on my upcoming chapters! Also shout out to City Homicide fans with Jerry the cat. I could talk about him more if anyone's interested. Thanks for reading my little attempt, I hope you liked it!)