A/N Here is the fanciful chapter of action...kind of :)
Actually the next one will be more action-ish, but this one is cool. So enjoy!
Remember to leave a review if you haven't already, I love them so very much!
A long trip later, having managed to survive Emily's driving speed, transport their car through the Chunnel, and somehow convince Arthur to get a quick dinner at McDonald's, Arthur was driving the last stretch while Emily and Alice slept in the back seats. They had all had an extremely tense and weird day, and they had somehow ended up in a whole different country altogether. Even Arthur, who was immortal and the personification of a country had to admit that this day would be put under the 'strange' category. Arthur drove on through the darkness of the French countryside. He could see that they were nearing Nice, the city where the girl, Maria, was located; lights twinkled in the distance, though not nearly as abundant as the stars visible in the sky. It really is quite beautiful in Francis' country, Arthur admitted to himself.
He glanced in the rear view mirror and saw the two sleeping girls. Emily's head was resting on Alice's shoulder. Alice, who had been awake when Emily had first fallen asleep, hadn't seemed to mind. They both shared a blanket that they had found in the trunk of the car. They both seemed fairly comfortable with each other for having just met each other less than twenty-four hours ago. Arthur turned his attention back to the empty road. They would be at the city soon.
Deciding that the girls should be given a few minutes to wake up before they would sneak into someone's house, he said, "It's time to wake up. We're nearly there."
Alice immediately stirred at the sound of a voice, but she had to shake Emily for a few seconds before she woke up. Emily blinked and said something along the lines of, "Whajameh...wherarewenoww?"
Moments later, they were surrounded by the lights of the city, which streamed through the car. Street lamps and shop lights illuminated the faces of Emily and Alice as they stared, enthralled, out their separate windows.
"All these lights remind me of New York City!" Emily excitedly said. Wait a second, Alice though, wasn't she being kept in England?
"Emily, have you even been to America?"
"Of course I have! I'm-." Emily whirled around to face Alice. "I...I haven't though. I haven't been to New York. What was I even about to say? What the heck?!" Arthur listened to this conversation with worry.
"Well have you, or have you not been there?" Arthur asked.
"That's the thing. I have...and I haven't. I have this memory of being in New York. Just being there, not doing anything specific. And yet, I know for a fact that my m-, I mean, umm...Patricia," she quickly corrected, "and my foster dad have never taken me to America."
"What about before you lost your memory?"
Emily was already shaking her head. "I was told that we had never really been anywhere except for where I was born, which was South Carolina."
Arthur looked at the little digital clock. It read 3:17 a.m. "How about we talk about this later?" He asked them. "It's past three in the morning, so if we are going to find out information tonight, and possibly talk to the girl, we need to figure out a plan now because we are nearly at the house." After figuring out what they were going to do, they stayed silent and hoped that the mission would go as planned. Ten minutes later, Arthur pulled the car up to the curb in a small subdivision and killed the engine and shut of all power. Turning around in the darkness to fce the passengers, he asked, "Shall we?"
"We shall," was Alice's response.
Emily smiled and loudly whispered, "Secret spy mission!" Before they could stop her, she swung the car door open and hopped out. She wildly beckoned for the other two to follow. Arthur sighed and got out, followed by Alice.
"Alright, here's a recap of the plan," she whispered, (or at least tried to whisper). "I'll go first to the house to make sure its safe, then I'll tell you when to follow. Once you reach the house, we'll split up to find the window to Maria's bedroom, then take her with us and interrogate her in the car! That's the plan!"
Both Arthur and Alice looked unconvinced.
"What about what we talked about in the car? This doesn't seem too foolproof..." Alice started.
"Oh come on!" Emily grabbed Alice's arm and took of up the lawn, leaving Arthur racing after them. They stopped a few feet from the house and sized it up. It was one one-story brick building with a perfectly slanted white roof. The french flag waved from its perch atop the railing of the front porch. The three tiptoed around the house, being sure to keep to the shadows. They soon found a small window which Alice peeked in.
"What do you see?" Arthur whispered.
"It's the kitchen, I think," she answered. "I see a hallway leading away leading away from it that might be where the bedrooms are." She stepped away and walked further around the house until she same to a second window, this one large enough to enter. She looked inside. This one resembled a messy bedroom, though it appeared to be empty; the bed was uninhabited.
Turning back to Arthur and Emily, she said, "I think we can get in through here. No one is in the bedroom."
"Let's see if it's open, anyway," Arthur replied. He walked up to the window and tried his luck.
"It isn't locked, it's just stuck."
"Here, lemme help!" Emily said, taking a place beside Arthur. Together, they managed to yank the window up in one big tug. Unfortunately, when it hit the top, it sounded a large thump. They all waited tensely and waited for a light to flick on somewhere, but a minute passed and nothing happened.
"Okay, I don't think we were heard," Arthur said.
"I'll go first just to make sure," Alice said.
"No way, I will, It's too dangerous," Arthur immediately replied, blocking the window with his arm.
"Oh, come on, it's obvious she wants adventure!" Emily said. "Just let her go, it'll be fine!"
Arthur hesitated, but he removed his blockade of the entrance to the house, though not without telling her to be careful.
"I will," Alice replied before slipping easily into the room. She crept over to the hallway and poked her head out into the darkness. After looking both ways, she decided that it was probably safe for the others to come in. She motioned for them to enter and they silently followed suit.
"We should be looking for a file room, or a safe," Arthur whispered to the others.
Emily and Alice nodded and turned toward the door, right as a figure came to block their way. She had long, white hair that practically glowed in the darkness and red eyes that widened in surprise. She was carrying a small bag and was dressed all in black. Everyone stood there tensely until the girl broke the silence.
"I don't even know what to ask. Just fill me in or get out of my way."