Hellooooo…

I'm sorry it's been so long! school is steppin it up a notch. It was kinda rough but I feel much more settled in now. I also kind of procrastinated with this chapter because I knew it was going to be a challenge. But here we are! Pleeeease feel free to review if you have anything to ask, or compliments or criticism or whatever.

Thanks!- SoG

OMG that reminds me! I changed my name haha. Long story. Also there's another reason this took a while. I kind of made this chapter too long and had to split it up a bit. I just wanted to be confident in my writing and make sure the chapters are just right.

Chapter 3. Old Friends

Meggie found herself feeling very apprehensive, sitting there in Eleanor's kitchen. They had been in her house for a day now, just long enough for Eleanor to convey exactly how much she loves children. Between how Mortimer and Dustfinger were acting towards each other lately, and how Eleanor was treating her, she wasn't very excited about her time in this sprawling manor, despite it being filled to the brim with books. The the attention her father was paying to a particular book was also disconcerting. While she was contemplating retreating to her room and into a book from her box, Mortimer and Eleanor entered the kitchen, clearly deep in conversation. Upon noticing Meggie's presence, they both stopped talking and awkwardly separated, Eleanor glancing into the fridge and Mortimer suddenly taking an interest to the potted plant in the corner. The three of them awkwardly sat in silence, until the old woman's face suddenly lit up.

"Oh! Mortimer! I almost forgot to tell you, silly me, I'm having a friend over to visit. She works at the little bookshop in town and she'll be dropping off some old volumes I've ordered. I'm sure she'd love to meet you"

Meggie's ears perked up at this. A friend of Eleanor's? She could only imagine how stuffy and old this friend must be.

"Ah, yes, I nearly stopped at that little shop, but I didn't want to be late. Does it have a good selection?" Mortimer asked, a familiar look of interest on his face at the prospect of visiting a new book store.

"Not really, to be quite honest, but the girl works there all by herself and I think she likes to get away on occasion. And I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy her company once in a while. She's a bit...different. But she's very intelligent, and pretty too." Eleanor trailed off, realizing she was beginning to sound like she was trying to set the two up.

The two fell back into conversation about books, recalling their favorite old shops and wonderful stories they've encountered over the years. Just as Meggie was about to escape to her room, there was a firm knock at the door.

"Eleanor? Oh, Eleanor?" A musical voice called from the door,

"I see a car here, do you have company? I can always come back later if you'd like".

Meggie immediately determined that this was not a stuffy old woman like Eleanor. She also took notice of Mo's strange reaction to the voice. As Eleanor turned and scurried down the hall to get the door, his brow furrowed ever so slightly, like he was thinking. As she opened the door to let her friend inside, his eyes widened and he slowly turned his glance toward the hall.

Two sets of footsteps trailed back down the hall, talking quietly.

"Nooo no no, you have company! Surely you'd like to entertain your guests; I can stop by another time! I promise!"

"Sweetheart, you are staying here, and that's final. In fact, it's wonderful that you've come just now, you can meet Mo and Meggie!"

"Oh, but…er?…did you say…"

Eleanor reached the kitchen, old friend in tow.

"Mortimer, this is my friend Luna! Luna, this is Mortimer, and there is his daughter Meggie. And there's another one, Dustfinger, but he's…..well he's somewhere.

Meggie and Mo both stared in silence at this new guest for completely different reasons. Standing there, clad in skinny jeans and a light sweater, was a goddess. She had long, flowing dirty-blonde hair, tanned skin, bright silvery blue eyes and a slender, but muscular body, along with a look of profound surprise on her face. Meggie had decided immediately that this "Luna" was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, and damn if she wasn't a little jealous.

"um….M..Mortimer!….it is so very..nice to see you... again…" Luna stuttered, sounding confused but sincere.

He seemed almost stunned.

"Luna…" his expression changed from shock to trepidation.

"Its lovely to see you, too. Its been quite a while, hasn't it…."

They stared at each other for in incredibly awkward amount of time when Luna's gaze suddenly switched to Meggie.

"And Meggie! My goodness, did you know that we've met, too? You were quite young, though…you don't remember, do you?"

Meggie thought this was bizarre, considering the woman didn't look a day over 20, but talked like she was older. Her light, almost musical voice was young, but her mannerisms and speech were old fashioned. And she was not the first person to mention meeting her that she didn't remember...did she know Dustfinger, too?

"No, I don't think I do remember you, but it's nice to meet you."

Meggie was polite, but after Dustfinger she decided she needed to be careful about new people now. She also noticed that Luna wouldn't look directly at Mortimer while they were talking. She seemed instead to stare off into space, like she was thinking hard. Her face lightened up again and she burst out

"Oh! Eleanor, did you say…Dustfinger? He's here?"

…Really? So she does know him. How on earth did they meet? They don't even look like they're from the same planet…

"You know him?" Eleanor asked incredulously

"Er, yes, I do! Dustfinger and I are very old friends, I'd love to see him again" Luna sounded….tense. Like she was suddenly very nervous. Meggie had decided that she was a strange person. Between her mannerisms and her different facial expressions, she seemed a bit spacey. She also appeared to be the most sincere person in the world. Meggie made a giant list of mental notes in her head. But at least she had someone new to talk to around here, as long as everyone else was keeping their secrets.

"Er, well it's alright that he's not here. I'll just, leave..and you can tell him I stopped by…"

Luna mumbled, awkwardly grabbing her elbow and looking toward the floor. Almost as if on cue, the aforementioned "old friend" ducked into the room from the hall. He clearly didn't want to draw too much attention to himself, but Eleanor wasn't having that.

"Oh, well speak of the devil. Dustfinger, my friend has come to visit and what would you know, she says you two have met! What a bizarre coincidence."

She firmly put an arm around Luna's shoulder and the two met each others' eyes. For a split second Meggie thought she saw guilt flash on his face, but just as quickly it was gone and replaced with his trademark half-smile. Luna looked nervous, but still genuinely happy to see him.

"Oh Dustfinger, how are you? It's good to see you again! It's been what, six years? Oh my goodness." Luna immediately shed her apprehensive demeanor and pounced on Dustfinger, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"ahem…" He cleared his throat, settling his hands on her back.

"It has been about six since we last saw each other, hasn't it. You're….different. I like your…. hhhhair."

She laughed and flipped it over her shoulder.

"Why thank you, Dusty! I think it suits me." She added a smile that was suspiciously similar to Dustfinger's. Now they both looked mysterious and guarded. Maybe this Luna girl wasn't as genuine and transparent as she seemed at first….How does Mo know these strange people?

"And just how did you and Luna come to meet each other? The bookstore, I'm guessing?" Mortimer asked, his expression morphing into curiosity with just a hint of suspicion.

Eleanor frowned and Luna looked away, blushing profusely.

"Well, let's just say I'm not a very good driver is all…"

"Ahem, on that note I think I'll go out to the car and pick up the rest of my books and the catalogs. Mortimer, would you like to help me carry them in?"

She gave him a look that said a lot more than just "come help me carry boxes". He nodded and they both silently walked back down the hall towards the door.

It was at this point that a quote from a book came to Meggies mind,

"Curiouser and curiouser….."

…

alright, 2 things again

1. That quote is from Lewis Carroll's "Alice and Wonderland", if you didn't already know. Love that book, you should go read it if you haven't.

2. im sorry again about the delay in posting this! If i ever decide to end this i promise i will tell you and not just leave it alone forever. i hate reading a good story and realizing it hasn't been updated in like a million years.

Thank youuuuu, kind readers!