Chapter 5
The weeks passed by and at the same day every day Alice Haven walked into the Kings Room and sat next to Zelda. She showed no emotion of care or enthusiasm. She cared less for the others across the table or even those next to her. Tancred had tried to approach her multiple times but she had just kept on rejecting him. The funny thing about the whole situation was Manfred was trying hard as well to get her attention. It was obvious to everyone, and it specifically bothered Zelda the most.
Charlie had come home to find Paton gone yet again. He sighed and looked around the house to see if his Uncle had left him a note hoping it would give him permission to head over to Ingledew's Bookshop. When he had found nothing he sighed and sat down in the kitchen and wrote up another note.
Uncle P,
We have more info on Alice… we need your help and advice. Going to Pet's Café with Tanc and waiting for you there.
C.
Paton was busy with his own dealings. Julia had helped him find information about Alice Haven. There was something different about this girl, and Julia's hunch was right, she had recognized the name somewhere. That's why Paton was preoccupied at her place looking through the books. Alice Haven was a famous person.
Julia propped herself up on the arm of the chair he sat in and asked "so…what have you found so far?" she asked a slight blush on her face. Paton managed to looked up from the book, smile at her, blush as well, and then looked back into the book as he cleared his throat as he started to read:
Alice Haven, a famous noble lady from England. Mysteriously everywhere she goes someone is always left dead. Yes, dead but also burnt to the crisp. The only person who has every survived was a little girl we know nothing about. This girl was left with a scar across her stomach. Her whole family except for herself and her younger sister had perished in the fire. How this girl survived is still a complete mystery. Haven took serious interest in this girl who had saved herself and her sister. For how could someone survive such a fire? In result we know that both the girls disappeared with Alice Haven and haven't been seen since. The only clue left behind about these girls is the fact that the child with the scar had apparently been given the honor to be named after Alice, therefore adopting the name Alice Haven along with her younger sister becoming a Haven. We have unknown sources about the younger sister's name. These girls were kidnapped and never seen since. But of course, this is only a myth and no one knows for sure if it's true or not.
Paton snorted as he read the last bit. He looked up at Julia "I think we've found out who our little Miss Alice Haven is. Plus, she has a little sister somewhere. We'll have to find her as well." He got up and pocketed the book. Looking back at Julia he realized she looked worried. "Is…everything alright Julia?" he asked her taking a step forward to comfort her. She shrugged as she looked up at him. "I'm just worried for these girls, I mean what if…what if the passage was right, and these girls were kidnapped. What if that Alice Haven the first really is manipulating the girls?" she sighed as Paton put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes "well, we'll find that out won't we, and when we do, we'll try to help these girls. Obviously they haven't had the right influence. We need to find out more about these girls before we can do anything. For all we know this might not even be the right Alice Haven." Julia sighed in relief as a response and nodded her head. "If those girls need a place to stay, this place is open okay?" she said looking at Paton sternly. Paton smiled and nodded.
The two stood there for a few minutes unsure about what to do next. Breaking the silence, Paton stepped back and grabbed his coat "I'd better get back; Charlie might need me for something." He said not looking Julia in the eye as he quickly fled the awkward silence they had just shared. Julia sighed in regret and nodded "bye Paton." She managed to say but he was already gone.
Paton had opened the door to the house and greeted Amy with a smile "Has Charlie come home yet?" he asked looking around. Amy shook her head "I just got home from work so I haven't seen him. No note either." She said stirring a pot on the stove. Paton nodded but didn't believe the story. How could Charlie come home and not have anything to say? Something wasn't straight here.
As he passed through the kitchen to the refrigerator he passed by the trashcan and stopped short. A crumbled piece of paper was there. He raised an eyebrow curiously and picked it up to find the note from Charlie. He chuckled shaking his head knowing this was the doing of his sister. He sighed and threw the note back into the trash. "Amy, I'm going…out for a while. I'll back." He smiled and hurried out the door.
Charlie sat at a table with Tancred, Lysander, Gabriel, and Ben. Fido was off tutoring someone else and couldn't make it and the girls were helping Ms. Ingledew with the shop. They were all waiting impatiently for Paton. "What if he doesn't show?" Ben asked worried. "I mean this Alice girl doesn't sound so great. She's scary isn't she?" he asked the boys. Tancred shrugged "I mean she is a bit scary and all gothic but I don't think she's a threat. " Lysander nodded "Ya, she's in our class and all so nothing too scary just a bit different." He shrugged agreeing with Tancred.
Charlie's face lit up as the doors opened and in came Paton. "Uncle P! I thought you'd never show!" Paton shrugged "My sister is to blame." He replied and sat down. "So…what is it you guys have to tell me." He asked his jacket completely covering him so he wouldn't focus on the lights around him. Charlie pointed to the table not too far from them. There sat Zelda, Joshua, the twins, and some of the other kids in their class. "We think she's going to come today." He said taking a bite of his meal. Everyone nodded and watched intently but tried not to make it obvious.
The doors opened to the Pet's Café and in came Manfred a sly grin across his face as two girls came in after him. Zelda's face grew red in anger and jealousy. It was obvious she didn't like the looks of the girls. One of the two girls was obviously Alice Haven due to her black attire and black makeup that allowed her orange hair and blue eyes to stand out. She looked at her black painted nails as she followed Manfred who slowly wrapped an arm around her waist.
Alice's glare wasn't something anyone else wanted to see. She looked up from her nails to Manfred with a dagger attacking glare that made him quickly move his arm as he introduced her. "Well everyone, you already know Alice, this is her sister-"he looked at her. The girl with bright blue eyes to match her sisters grinned at Manfred "Well everyone I know calls me Imp." She shrugged and sat down next to where her sister sat. Everyone stared her long brown hair didn't match her sister's bright orange at all, but the resemblance between the two sisters was outstanding. Even though the two dressed completely different they could have passed as twins except for the fact that Alice acted a few years older.
Manfred was still standing, looking at Alice as if he had something to say to her, but sighed and looked at everyone at the table. "Imp is coming to school this next week. She'll be joining us in the Kings Room as well." Imp giggled "but of course! Being Alice's sister I just have to watch on her. Otherwise Mother won't be very happy." Alice looked up at that comment and looked at her sister "don't mention Mother." She said as if she despised the lady. Imp sighed "ignore her. Mother and her had a slight argument today which explains why we were late, right Ali?" Alice shrugged and glanced towards Manfred a slight blush creeping up her face. As their eyes met he too went red.
………………..to be continued………………
Did Manfred have something to do with what had happened with Alice and her Mother?
What has Imp have to do with anything and why is she coming in now?
Are Alice and Imp good…or bad?
What about Manfred?
What are Charlie and gang going to do now?
More will be revealed in Chapter 6...!!