The trio trotted on through the forest, the doctor leading the way, as if he had any idea where he was going in the first place. Emma was the only one in the party who had had any clue as to where the mysterious house full of peculiar children lied, however. Yet it was a useless endeavor to keep pace with the doctor's lengthy strides, so Tess and Emma hung back, presuming a normally paced path to the house.
"So, who exactly is Miss Peregrine?" Tess wondered curiously.
"She's our Ymbryne," Emma answered, unaware that the term sounded unfamiliar to an outsider like Tess. Tess, befuddled by Emma's response, asked inquiringly what in the world an 'Ymbryne' was. Emma smiled, clearly forgetting her mistake. "An Ymbryne is a peculiar, like the rest of our kind, except they are so much more. They are intellectual peculiars, ones who can shape shift into birds, and even control the fabrics of time and space."
"Wow. That's pretty cool," Tess gasped. She still could not fathom the things she was hearing. First it was the doctor, taking her to a place she dared only dream about, and now Emma Bloom, this small, fragile-looking girl, who, ironically wasn't so fragile, talking to her about birds controlling time. Next there was a bout of silence between the two girls, neither of them knowing what to say next. Therefore, they continued their awkward descent into the wild forest filled with a multitude of vines and leaves catching and nipping at their apparel. However, it didn't take long, surprisingly, for it seemed he was in his own little world, for the doctor to suddenly take notice of the absence of his two companions.
"Tess? Emma? Where have you gone?" Upon hearing their names called, slightly thankful for the break of silence, the two girls called out to him in reply.
"We're here, Doctor," came Emma's voice as they ran to catch up with him.
"Ah, good," the doctor smiled. "We should be nearly there. My sonic screwdriver is picking up all sorts of timey-wimey signals around this area." He frowned next. "However, it is hard to tell. I don't see any sort of house in sight for miles." He cupped his right hand over his eyes narrowly to block out the pale light streaming through the grey clouds, trying to spot the house from where he stood.
"We're nearly there, just keep walking," Emma sighed. "You'll have to look closely, though. It is neatly hidden among the trees, so that wights can't spot us so easily." As they walked a few paces farther, the doctor's sonic screwdriver began to buzz, emitting a flashing blue light. Apparently, this insinuated that they were very close to a time loop.
As soon as the Doctor saw his screwdriver flashing animatedly, he jumped up into the air immediately, scrambling towards the direction that caused it to buzz the loudest.
"Hey, Doctor! Wait for us!" Screamed Tess and Emma from behind, running to catch up with the mad man yet again.
"Does he always do this sort of thing? Emma asked, partially out of breath. Tess, running alongside her, merely shrugged her shoulders. She had only just met the doctor, although she had a pretty good idea that much of his time was spent performing such acts as these.
"I'm not sure, I barley know him," she replied. They heard the doctor's voice up ahead, ringing giddily with excitement.
"A-ha! There it is!" Emma and Tess had finally caught up with him, Tess staring in awe at the magnificent mansion that stood before the three of them. It was an old, dilapidated house, green mold caked into the cracks. There were many windows that could be seen from the exterior. However, many were shattered and encrusted with grim and rust. The entire house looked as if it were no less than seventy years old, and looked as if its three stories would collapse onto each other with one slight rap on the front door.
Tess then gave Emma a questioning stare. "You children live here?" Emma, realizing her company's uneasiness at the thought of young children living in such a dump, attempted to put their minds at ease.
"What you're seeing is a mirage. It isn't real."
"Yeah, she's right. It looked the same to me when I first saw it." A boy who appeared to be about sixteen years old strode towards them, appearing as if out of thin air. The doctor, nor Tess or Emma had heard him lurking about until now. When Emma laid her brown eyes on the boy's dark head of hair, they widened into two large brown dots. She forcefully smacked him in the head, the boy falling back, wincing in pain.
"Jacob!" She screamed fiercely.
"Oh, what did I do this time, Emma?" It had seemed that ever since Jacob had arrived at the Peculiar Children's house, all Emma could do was find fault with every move he made. Shaking her head, Emma uttered, "You're not supposed to wander about the grounds unsupervised!" She whirled around sternly, as if looking for someone. "Where's Miss Peregrine? Or any of the others? Someone should be out here with you."
"Ah, still think I'm a Wight, Em?" Jacob teased, although he knew that remark would land him a stab in the chest from her, which he probably would regret.
"Oh, so we're not the only ones," the doctor chimed in, sarcastically. However, Tess secretly was slightly assuaged by this information, having felt slightly like an intruder back in the woods. She didn't like the feeling of being in places that she was not wanted, especially when its inhabitants thought you to be some sort of blood thirsty creature. Although Emma wanted to be annoyed with the doctor after his remark, she couldn't stop a grin from forming along the edges of her mouth any better than a novice at poker could.
Emma putting her anger at Jacob aside, the group of four walked up to the entrance of the magnificent house. However, upon the stride up to the front door, Tess became befuddled as she spotted a clear dome forming amongst the clouds, seeming to cover the entirety of the peculiar house before them. She watched in amazement as the dome appeared to wash away the ancient rust and cracks throughout, replacing its windows with new, bright shining glass that seemed to glint off the lazy sun's beams; the old bricks which had barely held the fortress together now swapped for sturdier ones. Additionally, the color of the mansion overall had brightened from a fading pale beige to a dazzling pearl.
"How. How is this possible?" Tess whispered to herself aloud, completely taken by surprise. Emma answered her, nonetheless.
"It's how the loop helps conceal us. While outside the loop, you can only see what the house would look like in modern times, since it is nearly seventy years old. However, once inside, you can see how Miss Peregrine has preserved our home to look exactly as it did those many years ago."
"Wait, so how old are you exactly?" Tess wondered, suddenly realizing that Emma, if stuck in this loop for years, probably would not have physically aged. However, her question went unanswered, as the doctor marveled at the newly refurbished house in an excited tone.
"Wow, this is amazing!" He exclaimed. And it was a most peculiar exclamation, for the Doctor was not one to become so surprised so easily. He had been alive for a little over 900 years, and little flabbergasted him these days in such a way that the loop's magical qualities did so effortlessly.
Jacob, Emma, Tess and the doctor all ventured into the enormous mansion. The inside was even more beautiful than the exterior. The interior was decorated in a 1940s vintage styled theme. The walls were a light green with light yellow patterns etched throughout in a checkered pattern. A long staircase stood before the lot of them, winding up to the highest floors in the house.
Just then, as the doctor and Tess stood in awe marveling at the magnificence of the inside of the Peculiar Children's home, an elderly woman appeared as if by magic before them.
"Oh, Miss Peregrine! We didn't see you there," Emma squeaked, seeming surprised to see her caretaker materialize before them so mysteriously. Miss Peregrine was cloaked in long black robes, and her face seemed old and tired. Nevertheless, she greeted both her current refugees and new guests with a warm welcome.
"Hello, Jacob, Emma," She greeted them, and then surprised Tess and the doctor by addressing them by name as well. Sensing their confusion, the old Ymbryne smiled, uttering "I assume you're wondering how it is that I could possibly know who you are? Well, let's just say that I have heard a great deal about you, Doctor." She then turned to Tess. "And as for you, Miss Romanov, I think you'll find that you possess a greater popularity among much of the world than you may have realized."
Although the remark that Miss Peregrine uttered sent Tess's mind into a whirlwind of confusion, she was unable to ask what she meant, as the woman continued her speech to the group of people standing before her. The old woman then turned to Emma.
"Emma, why don't you take Tess to meet the others?" Miss Peregrine smiled, although it seemed forced, as if she was hiding something. However, if she was, she did not bother to share it with anyone. Emma, nevertheless, hadn't seemed to notice anything unusual, and took Tess obediently by the arm, showing her about the house. Jacob, feeling awkward standing with both the doctor and Miss Peregrine, followed the two girls.
As the pair of young girls and Jacob dissented farther into the house out of ear shot, Miss Peregrine's face changed abruptly from happy to stern with a sense of warning in her eyes.
"Doctor, you must take that girl away from this place." The doctor peered at the elderly woman in a strange fashion, clearly befuddled.
"Whatever do you mean, Miss Peregrine? " She lowered her voice to a threatening whisper then.
"That girl being here alters the space time continuum. Not to mention her presence here creates a black hole in my loop, which would ultimately allow the wights to come through undetected. I am sorry, doctor, but I cannot risk the safety of all my children here for the refuge of a young girl that was supposed to have died nearly a century ago." Although Miss Peregrine had stated her preferences clearly, the doctor still had had no idea why Tess could be a threat. Furthermore, he was beginning to think Miss Peregrine was quite mad, thinking that Tess was supposed to be dead a century ago.
"What on Earth are you talking about? Are you mad? Tess is a perfectly normal girl, and I'll not have your false accusations permeating about the air." He was becoming quite angry; whether it was because a stranger was insulting his companion or because he didn't understand what she was going on about, he was not sure. Miss Peregrine, however, kept calm.
"Surely you know who that young woman is? Surely you know what became of her in earlier years, and why her being here disrupts my loop?" However, despite Miss Peregrine's attempts to refresh the doctor's memory, he remained dumbfounded.
The doctor looked over at Tess, thoroughly examining her closely. She seemed quite normal for a modern American teenager. Her apparel seemed ordinary—in fact everything seemed so about the girl. So what was it, he wondered, that he was not seeing about her that proved that she was from another dimension or time?
He continued to ponder to himself what it could be. Tess Romanov, the girl who he had founded lying on the cold stoned pavement of a London alleyway. He remembered that she couldn't remember much about her past, and at first it had never occurred to him why that had been. Maybe because she hadn't had a past? Well, of course she did, everyone did. But perhaps her past wasn't very long, possibly cut shot by a bullet pricing her young heart so many years ago.
"How. How the hell is this possible?" The doctor whispered, anger and confusion ringing through his voice. It was her last name, Romanov, which determined that his conclusions were not elusive in the slightest. Miss Peregrine, seeing the doctor distraught with rage, attempted to console him.
"I am so very sorry, doctor. You know who she is?" He nodded slowly, his eyes fused in terror; bile gathering in his throat. At that very moment, both his hearts increased their speed, and the palms of his hands were glazed with cold, icy sweat.
"She's a Romanov, isn't she?" He asked, hoping desperately that he was wrong. Miss Peregrine nodded slowly, confirming the answer to his question.
"Tatiana Romanov, second oldest daughter of the Czar Nicholas II. And, as I'm sure you are no novice when it comes to a history book, I'll take it you remember quite well what became of the Romanov Dynasty in 1918?" The Doctor attempted to swallow the bile rising in his throat before mustering a response.
"They were executed," he said in a small voice.
"I know it is hard for you, Doctor. You come across so many people in your long life, and sometimes, you just want someone to be able to stay with you. But you can't save everyone." At this, the doctor cocked an eyebrow in surprise.
"And just how do you know so much about me?"
"Forgive me," The old Ymbryne apologized, "but you are quite a legend, especially among many of the Ymbrynes on the Peculiar consul." The doctor smiled at this, clearly happy to know that he was well thought of, despite the current disposition at hand.
"Well, it is nice to know that I have admirers." However, his demeanor turned serious yet again, contemplating what they were to do about the current situation at hand.
"So," he wondered aloud, "why would the T.A.R.D.I.S have taken me here? Surely it wouldn't want to cause any harm to innocent Peculiars, much less create a rift in the space time continuum?" Although Miss Peregrine knew very little about the doctor's blue box that allowed him to travel through time and space, she offered up her views on the matter.
"Perhaps your T.A.R.D.I.S, as you call it, became confused with Tess, being from a different time period, being inside. Her presence could have cause a malfunctioning, bringing you here by accident." The doctor shook his head vigorously at this notion.
"No, that's impossible. I've had many companions travel with me before who were from many different time periods before." He then stopped in his tracks, suddenly bewildered. "However, my companions never were expected to have died in a fixed point in time." He exhaled, knowing what would have to happen next. Why, he wondered, did this always happen to him? Why did they always have to leave? However, he knew what he had to do to make everything, including the normal progression of time itself, right again.
"Goodbye, Tess Romanov. The girl who is supposed to be dead."