May 20th, 2014 - The Reluctant Zookeeper

AUTHOR: justa-fangirl

May 20th, 2014 - The Reluctant Zookeeper

Children were not the only ones evacuated from London during the Second World War. The inhabitants of Epping Zoo needed protection, too.

They couldn't very well keep a menagerie of rare and semi-dangerous animals in London during the Blitz. The animals could be killed (a devastating blow to national morale, apart from being a tragedy in itself), or the zoo buildings might be damaged and a hoard of wild beasts would be set loose upon the city. The people of London already had enough problems without the added worry of frightened, lost lions rampaging about the rubble.

Arthur Kirkland couldn't decide if he were lucky to be able to help, or whether the zoo's curator had tricked him into the messiest decision of his life. He'd made generous donations to the zoo ever since he became a successful writer, but opening up his estate in Yorkshire to house animals and zookeepers for an indefinite period of time was entirely different. He'd almost thought about turning them down.

But the poor animals' safety was more important than his own desire for privacy. And since he couldn't fight with his lame leg, this was the least he could do for his country.

Besides, it wasn't the animals Arthur was worried about – it was the people. Along with the zoo creatures there would have to come people to look after them. The kind of people who had enough boisterous energy to work with monkeys and lions. Not Arthur's sort of people at all.

Sure enough, once the enclosures had all been built on his Yorkshire estate, and the animals were moved in, a cacophony of zookeepers arrived, and proved far more trouble than the beasts themselves. The whole lot of them moved into his manor house and promptly began acting as if they owned the place. Arthur actually took to hiding out around the zoo enclosures to get some peace and quiet.

Of course it wasn't long before he was interrupted there, too.

"Mr. Kirkland! Fancy seeing you here!"

Arthur spared a glance over his shoulder and saw Alfred, a young American zookeeper, heading towards him with a bucket under one arm.

"You like the ring-tailed lemurs? These fellas are my responsibility," he said proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Yes, I'm aware," replied Arthur, coolly. "What with the way you prattle on about them at the dinner table."

Alfred ignored the snarky comment (well used to his landlord's antisocial ways by now) and opened the door into the lemur enclosure. But something made the boy pause, halfway through the doorway, and slowly he turned to look at Arthur. "Hey…I don't suppose you want to come help me feed them? You've been really great letting us all come and invade your home, you should at least get to play with the animals as a thank you."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's appropriate? They're not really toys are they."

Alfred smiled. "Come on, lemurs are fun! I wouldn't let you go jump in with the bears or nothin', but these guys are a real treat."

Arthur didn't take much convincing – he adored the playful ring-tailed lemurs, and had been hoping somebody would offer him a chance to get close like this. So he joined Alfred in the lemurs' enclosure, holding out fruit and delighting in the way the lemurs' little human-like hands took the food gently from his fingers. Alfred smiled to see the dour Englishman light up like this, and when Arthur turned towards him, positively beaming, Alfred decided that Mr. Kirkland really wasn't as scary as he seemed.

Feeding the lemurs with Alfred quickly became a daily ritual, and from there the American introduced Arthur to more of the zoo's inhabitants (both animal and human). The boy's enthusiasm and friendliness even proved to be slightly infectious, for Arthur was soon opening up, and found himself settling into his new, wild life rather than fighting it.

It was odd. They were such different creatures, he and Alfred, but somehow they got along like it was natural. Perhaps Arthur had changed, or perhaps Alfred was just special, but either way, they grew closer than Arthur had ever felt towards another human being. And Arthur found it surprisingly wonderful.

Even as Alfred inched frighteningly closer into his heart.

"Hey, Arthur? I'm sorry if this is rude, but…I was wondering about your leg?"

Arthur looked up at Alfred over the vegetables they were chopping for the lemurs' lunch.

It wasn't really an unexpected question – Alfred was a curious boy, after all. What surprised Arthur was that he didn't mind being asked something so personal. Not by Alfred.

"Yes, I'm afraid it's kept me out of the war. I…got hurt in the last one. I'd only been there five minutes it seemed before I was sent right back home with a mangled leg. Suppose I wasn't a very good soldier."

"I'm sure that's not true," Alfred insisted immediately. "But…how old were you? I mean…if you don't mind my asking?" he added apologetically.

"I lied to get enlisted," Arthur explained. "Said I was nineteen, though I was only sixteen at the time."

"Wow! Only a year younger than me!" Alfred exclaimed, looking genuinely awestruck. "I can't imagine being in a war that young. Dad says I have to wait till I'm eighteen to enlist. You must have been really brave!"

"I was just angry by that point," Arthur said, waving off the praise. "I'm sure I looked far too young, but it was 1918 and they were desperate at that point."

"So…" Arthur watched as Alfred did some very obvious mental calculations. "You're thirty-eight?"

Arthur nodded, and couldn't help the grin that twitched at the corner of his mouth as Alfred blushed and look away busily.

"Younger than I thought," was all Alfred said.

Arthur said nothing, just happy in the knowledge that he was inching his way further into Alfred's heart, too.