AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hey everyone! I'm finally gotten back to working on this story! I know this series isn't much unlike Book 1: Escaping the Big Top, but I wanted this series to be happy and to show the challenges Aurora faces as she lives on Sodor without the fear of the Circus chasing her. There are three more books in her Saga that will have a lot more dark and mature themes like in Book 1. So until Book 2 is released, please enjoy these chapters for some of them will play a key part in the next three books.

Also, I would love to give a huge shoutout to my friend and online sister Goldsaddletank for helping me edit this chapter and for adding her ideas to it as well ^^ Thank you so much!

DISCLAIMER: Thomas and Friends belong to Mattel, Dean and his sisters belong to Goldsaddletank, Aurora and the crews for BoCo, Duck, Douglas, and Oliver belong to me

Enjoy!~

Aurora smiled as she took a deep breath, always enjoying the smell of salt water every time she was in Arlesburgh. Her golden hair whipped around her as she rode on top of BoCo before laying down on her back. BoCo chuckled softly as he felt her before slowing to a stop.

"Enjoying ourselves, are we?" BoCo asked with a smile.

"I am." Aurora purred happily as she stretched. "The smell of salt water, fish, and the bakeries is so relaxing and calming." She hummed before staring up at the bright blue sky. "But I am confused about something…"

"What's that, my dear?" BoCo asked, confused. He felt her moving around before she jumped onto his left buffer.

"Why are there a lot of stalls and stuff in the road?" Aurora asked, pointing to various vendors setting stuff up.

A familiar low beep echoed around them before Duck stopped next to them, the Slip Coaches coupled up to him.

"It's Arlesburgh's Summer Market." Duck smiled warmly as he looked at his niece. "People all over town set up stalls to sell various items."

"Like what?" Aurora asked curiously, adjusting her cloak and putting the hood over her head.

Duck tutted. Though he knew why Aurora wore her cloak, he was worried about her passing out from the heat and maybe getting heatstroke.

"Food, artwork and paintings, bags, a bit of everything." Jerry Smith, BoCo's driver, smiled as he poked his head out of an open window. "A lot of stuff the people made themselves. And they have live music performed here. Nothing fancy, but the vibe is always very welcoming."

"...Do they have sweets?" Aurora asked quietly, her eyes not leaving the vendors.

Both BoCo and Duck smiled warmly as they looked at her, knowing that she had developed a sweet tooth since arriving on Sodor.

"They might…" Duck grinned, "though there would only be one way to find out."

Aurora, grasping his meaning, shrunk back. "Never mind…"

Duck sighed.

"I'm sure she'll get there, love," BoCo mouthed to Duck.

Aurora glowered at them.

As fond as she was of her newfound family, they all seemed to try to 'encourage' her out of her comfort zone.

Skarloey had attempted to suggest Aurora reach out to one of their young volunteers, who also happened to be Geoffrey's daughter.

Now Duck was suggesting this?

"Look, we know you love us and want to be with us all the time," Duck continued. "As much as the feeling is… mutual, we just want you to broaden your horizons a little. Live the life you never got to lead. You'll need friends your own age, if only for someone to relate to. And if you get to a point where you're looking back and wishing you did more, that's when it's too late."

"Must you be so droll?" BoCo grumbled.

But Aurora could see a point in Duck's argument.

"OK… I just… I just feel scared if I step in and can't get out again, then…" she trailed off.

"So you need metaphorical stabilizers," Jerry mused. "Someone to support you till you get the hang of being in public."

Aurora remained silent by nodding her head a bit, the points of her ears disappearing under her hood as they flattened against her head. Looking at the vendors, she slowly climbed off of BoCo's buffer and stood on the brick road. Her tail wrapped around her leg as she walked in front of Duck before stopping. Aden Long, Duck's fireman, climbed out of Duck's cab and walked over to her.

"Want me to walk with you?" Aden smiled as he pets her head. "We can go at your pace and you can grab onto my arm if you get scared."

"What about your job?" Aurora asked, pointing her tail at the Slip Coaches. "Duck is pulling the Slippies."

"We aren't needed for half an hour." Clover, the only female slip coach smiled brightly.

"She has a point." Duck pointed out with a smile. "None of us will leave you alone."

Looking back at them, Aurora looked at her uncles/stepfathers and saw their reassuring smiles. Nodding at them, she looked back at the vendors and grabbed onto Aden's arm. Taking a deep breath, Aurora swallowed quietly as she slowly took a step forward, followed by another step. Aden smiled warmly as he walked next to her, following her pace. With every step, Aurora felt her heart start to race as her breathing increased drastically. When Aden took another step, he felt himself being pulled back a bit and looked behind him.

"Shit!" Aden thought, looking at Aurora's face.

Aurora's eyes were wide and unfocused as her chest heaved up and down rapidly. Her mouth was wide as she panted hard and quickly. Letting go of Aden's arm, she shakily took a few steps back, her back pressing against Duck's buffer.

"Ro?" Duck asked worriedly, watching as her left hand grabbed his buffer beam tightly.

"Aurora?" BoCo called out as well, a look of worry on his face.

"Aurora? Aurora, look at me." Aden said as he knelt in front of her, gently placing his hand on her cheek.

Every voice sounded muffled as the pounding sound of her racing heart was the only thing she could hear clearly. Aden appeared blurry in her vision as old iron bars seemed to rise up in front of her. The calming music that was playing around her was slowly turning into that music that she grew to hate and fear. Hot tears slowly fell down her cheeks as she clenched her eyes. The loud sounds of crowds, animals, alarms, and cheering seemed to surround her as she shook uncontrollably. She grabbed her chest tightly as she continued to hyperventilate.

Aden quickly held her close, gently rubbing her back and talking soothingly in her ears. He had expected something like this to happen but he also saw that she wanted to try, even just a little. BoCo and Duck bit their lips as they watched Aurora have a panic attack, wishing they could do something to help her.

Aurora tightly grabbed Aden's back, her claws digging into his body as her mind fought against itself. After what felt like an eternity, Aden's words started to become clear in her ears as her heart started to slow down, along with her breathing. She soon started to take deep breaths as her eyes started to open once again.

"Sorry…" Aurora muttered quietly as she looked at the ground.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Aden reassured her. "It was a big step and you did great."

"How…?" Aurora asked quietly, keeping her gaze on the ground. "I just ended up panicking again…"

"You were the one who made the first step." Aden reassured her happily. "It was your own choice when before, we were the ones who brought you."

"Still…" Aurora sighed sadly before slowly sitting on the ground.

"Hey," Aden hummed softly, sitting next to her. "It will take time, the best thing to do is to take baby steps."

"Aden's right." Vincent Alexander, Duck's fireman, confirmed. "Dr. Forest said to take it slow and easy, so next time, we'll start with a very small crowd."

Aurora nodded.

"Duck! BoCo!" A boy with unkempt brown hair and a black T-shirt with the Solar System printed on it jogged over. His jeans were intact; at least.

"Dean," Duck sounded surprised; Aurora tensed.

"I just wanted to come to say hi," Dean caught sight of Aurora's pale face and winced sympathetically. He could tell what she'd been through.

Aurora, misinterpreting this, turned away.

"Did I… come at a bad time?"

"Could be better, but don't blame yourself," Duck answered kindly.

Dean turned to Aurora. "Forgive me if I'm imposing, but were you participating or just visiting?"

"... visiting." Aurora bristled, wanting Dean to go away. But she kept quiet, seeing as Duck seemed to know him. "I'm not… not good with large crowds…"

"Nor am I," Dean said.

Aurora felt cross; this boy didn't get it! Hissing an anger, she walked over to BoCo before leaning against his cheek, keeping her back towards the teen.

BoCo looked down at Aurora sadly before looking at Dean sympathetically. "What brings you here, Dean?"

"I'm here selling paintings and sketches." Added Dean. "My sister is watching my stall for me. Well, it's our stall, we're sharing."

"What are they selling?" Duck asked.

Dean took out his phone and showed them a black and white beaded phone charm with a skull bead on the end.

"Ella's doing stuff like this. Little metal bookmark things and jewelry. We're sharing the stall as we couldn't get the space for individual ones. Phoebe is making dresses and T-shirts."

"Impressive." Duck said.

"Better go," Dean added awkwardly. "Hope you feel better soon…"

"...Aurora."

At the mention of her name, Dean paled. He read about her in the newspapers but was never expecting her to be here. But, he added, "Name's Dean. Dean Skinner. If we run into one another again."

Aurora nodded reluctantly, keeping her back towards the boy.

She was no longer in the mood for sweets, so Duck took her away.

….

It was later that night when Donald came in.

"Where have you been?" Oliver asked.

"Losh sakes, Oliver, I was only chatting tae a sweet lass who'd been helpin' at the Market today. Phoebe Skinner, her name was."

"Donald," Duck said warningly.

Ewen Taylor, Donald's driver, stepped out of the cab and handed Aurora a carrier bag. "For you," he said.

Aurora blinked in confusion.

"Phoebe said she and her siblings put this together for you. She also said Dean was sorry if… he left a note."

Aurora rummaged in the bag and found the note.

Dear Aurora,

I was worried I might have upset you today, or at least made you feel worse at a trying time. I wanted to help you feel better, as well as show you what the market has to offer.

My sisters found out, (Sorry!) so they contributed as well.

Hope these brighten your day;

Dean (and Phoebe & Ella Skinner)

Aurora blinked, surprised and shocked.

"Have a look," Donald encouraged.

The first thing Aurora pulled out was a wrapped watercolor painting of the market, with Donald puffing along nearby.

Throngs of people bustled about the stalls, happily laughing and chatting away.

Aurora smiled wistfully as she stared at the painting.

The next thing to come out of the bag was a pretty blue hooded cape with silver ribbons at the neck.

"A bonnie thing," Douglas remarked. "It will suit ye,"

"Doesn't cover my tail though…," Aurora hissed. Though she couldn't deny how nice it was. She thought that she might wear it in her house, or at the engine sheds, for now.

Next was a little beaded phone charm, of blue and green which contained a cute little clownfish charm. Aurora took to it immediately and put the phone charm on.

Also in the bag was a dream catcher, a card (it had been made by Robyn Skinner, the paternal cousin of the three siblings), a seashell-shaped tray, and two sticks of rock candy, with 'Arlesburgh' printed on the sugary candy.

Aurora was delighted.

"I got my candy!" She exclaimed, her tail twitching excitedly.

"So you did, kid," Aden beamed.

"The Skinners are a good sort," Duck said. "Dean's often dotting about sketching or taking photos of us for painting. His sisters are really friendly as well but they don't come here as much."

Aurora looked at her charm.

"I'll pass on your thanks, if you like…"

"Wait."

Aurora held up her hand. "I'll write a note. Just a short one. But I want to take the first step."

The engines and their crew smiled at her, every one of them feeling ecstatic at seeing her taking these steps. Pulling out the blue rock candy, Aurora put it in her mouth before grabbing a piece of paper out of her bag along with a pen. Thinking a bit, she quickly wrote something down before handing it to Aden.

"I'll make sure the lad gets it." Aden smiled as he petted her head.

Purring loudly, walked over to Oliver before jumping on top of his boiler. Soft crunching sounds came from her as she gently gnawed on her candy, knowing what was about to happen.

"It's too late in the evening to eat candy, Ro."

There it is.

"I'm just eating one, Duck." Aurora hummed softly, biting a piece off. "I didn't get to enjoy any sweets earlier."

"I know you didn't, duckling, but you won't get any sleep tonight." Duck pointed out.

"I will get to sleep tonight." Aurora purred before crunching on the candy. "If I don't, you can leave me to suffer from my actions."

"I'm not going to let you suffer." Duck huffed.

"Yer lectures make everyone suffer." Douglas teased, causing him and Donald to chuckle. Duck grumbled at this.

"You two are something else." Oliver laughed softly.

"Very something else." Duck grumbled softly.

"You know they mean well, love." BoCo smiled warmly at him.

"I know they do." Duck sighed before smiling warmly. "They always do."

…

"Well, Ro?" Duck asked as he puffed into Arlesburg, a small smile on his face.

"…two things of doing things…The wrong way and the Great Western Way…" Aurora yawned as she lays on her side on top of his boiler. "And I choose the wrong way…"

"I'm glad that you do know." Duck chuckled softly as he slowed to a stop near the market.

"Yeah yeah…" Aurora yawned again as she stretched, looking up at the sky. "I won't eat sweets so late next time." She grumbled before rolling off of his boiler, easily landing on her feet. "I thought you had to pull coaches today?"

"Not for a little bit." Duck hummed softly, enjoying the summer breeze. "So I'm just spending time at the market again."

"Joy…" Aurora muttered as she put her cloak back on, followed by the hood.

Even though it was made of silk, the cloak still trapped the heat under it , much to Aurora's distaste. She knows the engines and their crew don't like her wearing something like this under the sun, but Aurora wasn't ready to fully reveal herself to other humans.

Not yet at least.

Walking next to Duck, she tiredly moved her hand over his running plate. The heat from the morning sun and the scent of the salty air were slowly lulling her to sleep.

Smiling, she looked toward the lighthouse, her sapphire eyes staring at the stunning blue surface of the sea.

Duck smiled happily as he looked at her, though he still doesn't like the way she risks her health with her cloak. But seeing her looking so calm, so relaxed, made his heart swell happily. At times she acts mature and other times she acts like a child, but seeing her like this, just shows how far she came from who she was only months ago.

"Duck!" A cheery voice called out, said engine easily noticing Aurora flinch next to him.

Looking over, Duck smiled as he sees Dean running toward them but also noticed Aurora walking back to hide behind him. A small frown etched itself onto his face as he looked at her. She was a tiny bit more friendly when Dean showed up yesterday, but he figured that due to her tiredness, she wasn't in the mood to interact with the boy.

Even though he wanted to let her try some more, he decided to let her take it easy for the day.

"Hello, Dean." Duck smiled as he looked at him. "I hope today goes well for you and your sisters at the market."

"Thank you, Duck!" Dean smiled brightly. "Yesterday was pretty successful as well."

"Well, we're all glad to hear that." Aden chuckled as he climbed out of Duck's cab.

Aurora's ears twitched under her hood as she listened to their conversation, uninterested in what they were talking about. Going back to looking at the sea, a small smile appeared on her face as she enjoyed the warmth of the sun getting absorbed by her cloak, closing her eyes in bliss.

It brought a strange sense of comfort to her, much to her confusion since there have been days when she didn't want to be in the sun due to the heat.

Her eyes snapped open as her ears twitched under her hood, turning her head as she looked around.

A sound echoed in the air, dulling every other sound in the air.

She couldn't describe it, but she could feel what it was saying. It was loud, yet deep and powerful and full of emotion; ranging from happiness to yearning, and a little bit of sadness, it sounded like a voice singing without any words.

Pinpointing the direction of the sound using her ears, Aurora slowly walked in the direction behind Duck in a trance.

That specific sound seemed to call out to her, bringing a variety of emotions to her brain.

Keeping her hood on, her ears kept twitching in the direction of the sound as she followed it toward the market.

…

"Oh! Before I forget, here you go, Aden." Aden smiled as he climbed out of Duck's cab, handing the boy a folded piece of paper. "It's a thank you note from Aurora."

Smiling brightly, Dean took the paper and opened it. Aden looked over at the paper and felt a sweatdrop form on his forehead as he read the one single word on the paper.

Thanks.

Sighing loudly, Aden ran his hand through his hair. "She could've at least written 'thank you.'"

"What does it say?" Vincent asked as he looked out of Duck's cab.

"Thanks." Aden said in a deadpanned voice.

"Aurora knows that she could've worded that differently to not sound rude." Duck tsk disapprovingly.

"It's fine, really!" Dean smiled as he looked at them. "I heard from Lexi's dad that she doesn't trust humans, outside of you guys at least, but this proves that she's getting better!" He said happily.

Aden stared at him before chuckling softly. "You do have a point there."

"Is Aurora here with you guys today?" Dean asked as he looked at them. "I want to try to introduce myself to her again."

"Yeah, she's on the other side of Duck." Vincent chuckled as he disappeared into Duck's cab. "I know you already heard this, Aurora, but Dean wants to introd-" He stopped his sentence, seeing a lack of said cat-girl. "Uhh…" He muttered before climbing onto Duck's bunker.

"What are you doing?" Duck questioned, hearing the coal crunch under Vincent's shoes.

Looking behind Duck, Vincent felt his heart start racing when he still doesn't see Aurora. "Is Aurora in front of you, Duck?"

"No, why?" Duck asked worriedly, feeling his own heart start to race.

"She's gone." Vincent said in a panicked voice as he climbed off of Duck.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Aden asked worriedly, walking over to his friend.

"It's just as I said, she's gone." Vincent confirmed, his eyes widening.

"Fuck!" Aden cursed under his breath, looking around. He feared that something had happened to her or worse. "S-She couldn't have gone far!" He said before looking at Vincent. "Go search around the lighthouse, she enjoys going there. Dean and I will search the market."

"I highly doubt she would've gone into the market…" Vincent muttered softly. "But good luck." He said before running off.

"Dean, go ask your sisters to help you."

"Right." Dean nodded before running off.

"Please find her." Duck said softly, his heart pounding with anxiety.

"We will." Aden reassured him before running off.

Aden bit his lip as he made his way through the market, searching for that specific blue and green cloak amongst the crowd. He was worried that something happened for she NEVER leaves an engine's side, at least not until she tells them and even then she stays within their sight.

He could only imagine how Henry and Edward would react if they can't find her. He shivered as he remembered the rage Edward displayed when they thought Aurora died on that fateful day. Clearing his thoughts, Aden continued to search for the cat-girl, vowing to not stop until he found her.

After what felt like hours, which was only around twenty minutes, he caught a glimpse of said cloak that he was searching for. Sighing in relief, he walked over to her and started to talk.

"There you are." Aden said softly as he stood next to her. "You had all of us worried."

"I'm sorry, Aden, but I wanted to find this sound." Aurora hummed softly, her eyes focused on something.

Blinking in confusion, Aden looked in the direction Aurora was staring at and saw a middle age woman playing the violin. She stood on a small crate, acting as a stage, as she gracefully played a soft melody on the string instrument.

Looking at Aurora, he followed her gaze and noticed that she was more focused on the violin instead of the woman. Looking back at the cat girl, he saw how her eyes seemed to light up with each note, creating a look of innocence and wonder that brought a small smile to his face.

"She is playing it beautifully." Aden agreed as he petted her head.

…

"She's not near the lighthouse…" Vincent sighed dejectedly as he stood in front of Duck. "They haven't even seen anyone who looked like her."

"My sisters are searching the market for her right now." Dean said softly, biting his lip in anticipation.

"This isn't like Aurora at all…" Duck muttered softly, worried about his niece. "She couldn't be that far…"

"I found her!" Aden called out, walking towards them with Aurora following behind him, holding a long black case.

"Where was she?" Vincent asked as he looked at them, watching Aurora walk in front of Duck.

"In the market," Aden hummed softly, seeing Vincent's eyes widen. "She wanted to find the music coming from someone playing the violin."

"Do you have any idea how worried we were, Ro?" Duck asked in a disapproving voice, though extremely relieved to see his niece is safe. "You can't just walk off without telling any of us. Something could've happened to you and we wouldn't of known!" He sighed anxiously, millions of thoughts running through his mind. "You know that there are two ways of doing things. The wrong way or the Great Western Way - and what you did was definitely the wrong way."

"I know, Duck, and I'm sorry that I did." Aurora apologized as she looked down, holding the black case close to her. "I just heard this sound and I just wanted to find it before it stopped…"

"You could've told me, Aden, or Vincent instead of just wandering off." Duck said softly. "Just, don't do it again, please."

"I promise I won't do it again, Duck." Aurora purred as she jumped onto his footplate, nuzzling his face.

Duck smiled as he nuzzled her back, kissing her head happily. "What do you have there?" He asked, looking at the case in her arms.

Aurora's eyes sparkled as she opened the case, pulling out a beautiful violin. Unlike the normal brown color violins have, this one was a brilliant sapphire with some black blended into it.

"That looks like the one that was in the music shop." Dean said, eyes wide as he looked at it. "High dollar too."

"Tell me about it…" Aden sighed dejectedly.

"How much?" Vincent quietly asked as he looked at his friend.

"Actually, it was given to her." Aden chuckled softly.

Both Vincent and Dean blinked before their eyes widen. "Huh?!"

"The owner of the shop told us how no one was ever interested in that violin so she just gave it to Aurora." Aden said as he looked over, watching Aurora happily tell Duck about the violin.

"I'm glad it worked out." Dean smiled, causing the two to look at him. "Aurora is learning new things and is opening up to different people. Slowly but surely."

Aden and Vincent smiled as they looked at the boy before looking over at Aurora, silently agreeing with him.

"Well, we have one thing left to do," said Vincent.

"What's that?"

"Alert Dean and his sisters."

Duck rolled his eyes. "Blow my whistle three times."

…

Nighttime came to the island as the moon shone brightly in the dark sky, casting a silvery blanket over the land. The engines at Tidmouth sighed happily as they rested after having a long day, all of them watching Aurora on Henry's running plate.

Aurora held her violin as she read a book, slowly playing the strings with the bow. Her ears flinched when she accidentally played a wrong note or didn't press her fingers down on the string correctly.

"Ro, I'm glad you found a new hobby to try, but I'm also disappointed about what you did earlier." Edward said sternly.

"I know what I did was wrong earlier, dad." Aurora hummed as she continued to practice her violin. "And Duck gave me one of his speeches when he was bringing me back here." She said before looking at him. "But, it was also weird…"

"Weird how?" Percy asked in confusion.

"It was like I was in a trance of some sort." Aurora said softly before looking down. "I don't know how to describe it, but I do promise not to wander off like that without telling anyone." She added quickly.

"I'm glad to hear that." Henry smiled as he kissed her head. "But now it's time for bed."

"Yes, Father." Aurora purred as she kissed his cheek, putting the violin back into its case. "I'll be back." She purred as she grabbed the case and book, jumping off of his footplate before running towards her house.

"I'm glad that she opened up a bit more." Emily smiled as she watched her.

"So am I." Thomas said happily.

"And yet she still wandered off." Gordon hummed, letting out some steam as he relaxed.

"Sounds like some engines I know." Edward chuckled softly, looking at Thomas, James, Percy, and Emily.

"Hey!" Percy pouted as he looked at them.

"We don't wander off without asking!" James protested with a huff.

"None of us do!" Thomas agreed with his boyfriend.

"Says the engine who left Sodor without telling anyone because he wanted to deliver a goods train in the morning instead of James." Edward reminded him.

Thomas blushed as he looked down in embarrassment, causing Gordon to laugh.

"H does have a point, Little Thomas." Gordon teased with a sly smirk on his face.

"Be quiet, Gordon." Thomas huffed in annoyance, causing the other engines to laugh softly.

…

Back in Arlesburgh, an elderly woman hummed softly as she closed up her music shop. "I kept your promise to you." She said softly, looking down at the note in her hand.

~~Flashback~~

An elderly woman hummed softly as she was busy closing up her shop, dusting off some of the instruments. As she cleaned, she heard the bell over her shop's door ring as someone walked inside.

"I'm sorry, but we're closed for the night." The woman said softly as she turned around, only to freeze when she sees a hooded figure standing in the doorway. "P-Please leave before I call the police." She said in a shaky voice.

"Please, I mean you no harm." The figure said softly in an angelic female voice. "I'm only here to ask you to do something for me."

"W-What do you want me to do?" The woman asked quietly, quickly getting behind the counter as the figure walked closer.

Standing in front of the counter, the figure lifted up a violin case and gently placed it on the counter. "In nineteen years, a girl by the name of Aurora will come in here. When she does, please give her this." She said softly, her voice full of sadness.

Confused, the woman hesitantly opened the case, only to widen them. Inside the case lay a beautiful violin with a sapphire and a black-marbled color scheme going on. Gently picking it up, the woman marveled at the beauty of the instrument before gently placing it back into its case.

"It's so beautiful, but… how will I know who she is? And why do you wa-" The woman stopped as she noticed the figure no longer in the shop, only a note resting on the counter next to the case.

~~End Flashback~~

"I can't believe nineteen years had already gone by." The woman said quietly as she looked down at the note in her hand, reading the only two words on it.

Thank you.