3 - Grey and Gold
Tornado came barreling into the National Railway Museum with an excited squeal as she noticed Flying Scotsman sitting outside of the Great Hall alongside another engine that looked extremely similar to Emily.
Flying Scotsman burst out laughing while the Stirling Single watched on amused at the excited young engine as she pulled up in front of them..
"Excited about something are we young madam?" Scotsman greeted her as she squared with him to give him a playful bump on his buffers.
"I just made a friend!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"Oh, that's good to hear!" Scotsman laughed, Tornado's enthusiasm rubbing off onto him. "Anyone I would know?"
"Do you remember that Azuma that called you a boomer?"
Flying Scotsman's face fell and he immediately looked displeased to which Tornado burst into giggles at him. Flying Scotsman sighed and looked to the engine at his side who was watching the interaction with a bemused expression.
"Do you see what I have to deal with?" Scotsman muttered to her and the Stirling Single chuckled, extremely delighted by the young engine's energy.
"Oh to be young again!" She remarked before turning her attention to Tornado. "Hello there Tornado. It's lovely to meet you at last. Scotsman talks of you endlessly. I'm Amelia."
"Hello, Amelia! It's nice to meet you too!" Tornado's grin widened and she puffed herself up on her frames with great confidence. "You look like Emily on Sodor!"
Amelia giggled. "Of course I do! She's my sister!"
Tornado gasped, "Emily has a sister?!"
Amelia and Scotsman laughed at Tornado's bewildered face which quickly turned red with embarrassment.
"We haven't seen each other in many decades although we do send letters to each other every month," Amelia smiled at her.
"Letters?"
"We're old farts Tornado, we like our snail mail," The Stirling Single smiled at the young Peppercorn.
"In a way, Emily and Amelia are your Great Aunts," Scotsman explained. "They're both from a railway that proceeded the LNER."
"That makes me your Aunt too young man!" Amelia declared sternly to Scotsman who just grinned at her.
"Of course, I'm your favourite nephew!" He retorted but Amelia frowned.
"No, Sir Nigel is my favourite nephew," she remarked and Scotsman made the loudest and most offended gasp.
"You're lying!"
"Perhaps I am."
Scotsman glared at Amelia with an offended look on his face while the Stirling Single simply had a sly grin on her face. She quickly turned her attention to Tornado.
"What brings you to the museum Tornado? You don't have any rail tours or business here sweetheart," Amelia asked of the Peppercorn sweetly and Scotsman stopped his glaring and immediately returned his attention to his young ward.
"Yes Tornado, as much as I love having you around, you should be touring for the Trust to help get Charlie finished," Scotsman mused. "Unless the museum is paying you for some work?"
"Well actually no, I don't have any tours for the next month so I decided to come here and meet Evening Star," Tornado explained and Scotsman and Amelia glanced at each other.
"Evening Star? The 9F?" Amelia asked.
"Yes, I made a promise to one of her brothers when I went to visit the royal engine," Tornado explained. "He was worried about her and asked me if there was anything I could do and I want to help."
Scotsman gave a thoughtful hum as he thought over Tornado's words.
"It's noble of you to want to help her Tornado, but some words of advice," he hesitantly explained. "Evening Star suffered years of abuse. She was involved in an accident that almost stripped her of her place in preservation which made her very untrusting of other engines."
"Yes, she's unfortunately quite paranoid because of it and likes to keep to herself," Amelia added. "She doesn't like it when others get in her space and tends to get angry if you push her boundaries. But treat her with respect and over time she will slowly open up."
"What are you saying? That I shouldn't even talk to her!" Tornado asked incredulously.
"No, of course not!" Scotsman quickly clarified. "What we're saying is you can't force your help or friendship on her. If she feels like you're trying to hurt her she will snap at you. She doesn't like it when people force things on her. She's a big engine and could hurt you even if she doesn't want to."
Tornado frowned. "I want to be her friend, I don't want to hurt her!"
"She may not see it that way," Amelia warned. "We're just saying, if she doesn't respond to you there is a reason for it and you should respect that."
Tornado frowned. "I just want to help, Isaac sounded so sad when he spoke about his sister."
"I know Tornado," Scotsman assured her. "Truro and I have tried to help her for many years, but she's made it clear that she prefers her own company and wants to be left alone."
"Maybe Tornado will have a different perspective," Amelia pointed out. "She is a new engine after all."
"Perhaps," Scotsman agreed. "But be respectful to her Tornado, alright?"
"Okay, Mr Scott!" Tornado assured the famous engine brightly. "You know me!"
Scotsman chuckled, "I do indeed."
Braunton wasn't often found at Didcot. However, he had to visit Didcot to deliver a spare boiler to them and had happily embarked upon the goods run in hopes of seeing his friend Pendennis Castle or Trojan.
Although one of the more prevalent reasons he didn't visit his friends was because of those nasty King Edward's who snootily puffed about as if they owned the place. He preferred not to be shouted at for 'being a filthy Southern Engine'.
"About time yer came to visit!" A loud voice with a Welsh accent shouted at him. "Where've you been yer bloody great bulldog."
"Avoiding those snivelling halfwit Kings!" Braunton huffed at him annoyed. "You know I don't really appreciate being called names and mocked for being a working-class engine!"
Trojan snorted in reply.
"Like yer don't do that to others," the little green saddletank shot back at him. "Yer absolute horror."
"I'm not that bad!"
"Yes, yer are!"
"No I'm not!"
"Oi!"
Braunton and Trojan looked over and saw Pendennis Castle coming towards them all flustered.
"Look out it's the Aussie, he's here to steal our coal ay?" Braunton teased with great humour and Pendennis just grinned at him.
"Rumour has it I'm not the only Aussie in the UK," Pendennis claimed without hesitation. "Heard that some were visiting to give Scott a surprise."
"Funny because I came here to ask you if you knew anything," Braunton joked.
"Really?" Trojan asked looking at the large boiler sitting on the flatbed behind Braunton. "I thought yer came 'ere to deliver that boiler."
Braunton glared at the little saddletank but there was humour in his eyes.
"Oh shut up you annoying little bug," Braunton said with a look of annoyance. Trojan just laughed at him.
"Just take the boiler out back to the yard will ya?" Trojan laughed at him. "And don't mind the big blue bastard there too."
Trojan gave a peep and trundled off to return to his work.
"Right, right, don't want King Edward II to yell at me now do I?" Braunton laughed but Pendennis hummed thoughtfully as he followed his friend.
Braunton thought it strange that Pendennis was being quiet but ignored it nonetheless. It wasn't until they arrived at the yard that Braunton realised that Trojan hadn't been talking about King Edward II.
"Wait a second, that ain't King Eddie the 2nd," he scoffed. "What's the Peppercorn doing here?"
"Blue Peter got kicked out of Darlington for starting a fight with Tornado," Pendennis explained and Blue Peter glared at him annoyed.
"Come on!" Braunton cried out exasperated. "Give it a rest Peter! Nobody cares about Tornado not being built by the original designers anymore! She's a swell girl!"
"If Saint Mungo were still here, Tornado wouldn't even exist!" Blue Peter seethed angrily at Braunton. "He should be here, not her!"
Braunton looked taken aback by the A2 Peppercorn's statement and glanced at Pendennis who looked frustrated beyond belief.
"He's been constantly repeating that over and over," Pendennis muttered. "Blue Peter, you need to let go and accept that your hopes that Saint Mungo would come back are gone. He's gone! Tornado is a bright new soul! You sound like King Edward the First and his obsessive desire to bring Maindy back!"
"This is different! Saint Mungo was murdered and no one cares!" Blue Peter shouted furiously at them. "My best friend was murdered and every time I look at that damn replica I'm reminded of what I lost!"
Braunton and Pendennis fell silent and stared at Blue Peter sadly.
"Blue Peter-"
"Shut up! You both have family members left!" Blue Peter snarled. "I don't have anyone!"
"No! You listen here, you ridiculous square-wheeled git!" Braunton shouted angrily at the A2 Peppercorn. "Do you know how many engines would give anything to have a new member of their class built? Do you have any idea how lucky you are?! And yet here you are being an ungrateful piece of shit!"
Blue Peter said nothing. He just stared at the huge West Country Engine now loomed over him menacingly.
"Tornado's a wonderful engine who does her best. Now you can either accept her, or you can shut the hell up and leave her alone!" Braunton finished before hissing steam at Blue Peter and quickly moving off to deliver the spare boiler, without even a glance back at the Peppercorn.
Pendennis stared at Blue Peter for a long while before following the big engine to help him unload his delivery.
Blue Peter just stubbornly sat there, his face hardened and stoic, his eyes staring into nothingness as he turned his thoughts over and over in his mind. His driver had left him here to visit some old friends and find a shed for him.
The Peppercorn paid no mind to Pendennis and Braunton laughing in the distance.
Saint Mungo was supposed to have been saved. He was supposed to be here, enjoying preservation with him. Laughing with him about the olden days, making fun of the coronations and the sad state of British Railways.
He sighed to himself and looked up as he heard another engine approaching him. He frowned as he realised it was a King Class.
"I have no energy to play your little games today Blue," he ground out quietly.
"Blue? I'm not blue old chap," a kind warm voice spoke to him and the corners of Blue Peter's mouth turned up slightly.
The King Class in front of him was green and had a large golden bell mounted on top of his buffer beam. His face was worn and wrinkled, a friendly and endearing expression upon it.
"Hello King George," Blue Peter smiled warmly at the engine.
"Blue Peter please, we know each other too well, how many times have I told you to call me Eurion?" King George V laughed.
Blue Peter shook his frames slightly.
"I feel like I lost that privilege when you cut things off with me," he explained and the Great Western engine gave him a sympathetic look.
"I gave you an open invitation if you wanted to try and restart things," King George assured him. "I still hold great affection for you, Blue Peter. But your actions and beliefs made it hard to stand by you."
Blue Peter looked away from the King Class.
"I just, have a lot of conflicting feelings about Tornado," he muttered annoyed. "Nobody wants to even bother listening to my side of the story. They'd rather just shunt me into a siding and continue to ignore me."
King George V gave a deep sigh and gazed at his former flame.
"I understand that, but you are also completely unwilling to make a compromise for her. She's young and is only now coming into her own," he told Blue Peter bluntly. "It's after all why you are here and not at Darlington or the Royal Yard."
Blue Peter hissed some steam from his valves in response, giving King George a glare.
"You can glare and be grumpy all you want, but it's not going to change the fact of the matter," King George firmly stated.
Blue Peter relinquished his gaze and looked sadly at King George.
He really did miss being with the Great Western King. His comforting voice, his blunt nature and his dry and dark humour at times.
"I really do miss you Eurion," he proclaimed sadly. "You got me through one of the hardest times in my life."
"I know Peter," Eurion answered. "But I can't stand by and watch you treat your own cousin like that. Abandoning her during her Ebor accident? Don't you remember how horrifying your accident was? I have my morals and I will stand by them."
Blue Peter felt selfish. He wanted Eurion to put them aside for him, for only him but the Great Western was steadfast in his beliefs as most Great Westerns were.
He did have a point though. He completely refused to visit or look after Tornado when she had been damaged in her run. King George had been furious with his negligent attitude towards Torando, who at the time barely had any friends and was an outcast in the same way Evening Star was.
Blue Peter had refused to see her and was frustrated at his partner's selfishness and callous actions King George had broken up with him, telling him to rethink his choices.
After all, if Blue Peter couldn't give his poor lonely cousin a simple visit to check if she was okay, how could Eurion trust him if something happened to him?
"I want to help her," Blue Peter finally admitted to Eurion who looked at him surprised. "But every time I look at her… she."
Blue Peter paused, not sure how to explain herself.
"She looks like Kestrel," he finally explained. "Her face looks exactly like hers, but how she acts is like Marmion. And each time I see her, I can't help but feel angry that it should be Saint Mungo standing there. Not her."
The bitterness in Blue Peter's voice was clear.
"Blue Peter-"
"I tried to be nice to her at the start! But then I just…" Blue Peter suddenly glared at his old flame. "Why am I telling you this? You don't care about me anymore!"
King George V was shocked at the Peppercorn's sudden outburst.
"That's not true, you know that," King George V insisted but Blue Peter was having none of it. "I still want the best for you."
"Then keep your nose out of my business Eurion," he hissed deeply annoyed.
Any sympathy the King class had had in his eyes simply vanished and King George glared at him.
"You were always like this!" He snapped, frustrated. "Whenever I tried to help you or give you genuine advice you shut me out and remain stubborn! You never budged! I couldn't deal with it anymore!"
Blue Peter just glared back at the King Class who was backing away from him.
"You should never have involved yourself in my family affairs!" The Peppercorn shouted at him.
"Sit in your self-pity then you selfish twat!" King George V shouted at him drawing the attention of several engines, including Braunton and Pendennis.
Hissing a cloud of steam at Blue Peter, King George left to busy himself elsewhere at the railway, leaving Blue Peter to sit in the yard a glower at his former partner.
"Oooo lover's spat!" Came the taunting voice of Braunton. Blue Peter ignored the big engine as he and Pendennis started laughing to themselves and sat in the yard, hissing steam in a quiet fury.
Tidmouth sheds was a muted affair despite the fact that three visiting engines had arrived, the little mountain engine joining her engineers at Ulfstead. Word had quickly spread of Green Arrow's accident and an air of tension hung around what should have been a joyous occasion.
Edward had decided to stay with Green Arrow to make sure he was okay but there was no idea of what would happen to Lady of Legend.
Nevertheless, the engines tried their best to make the visiting engines feel welcome as they went to greet them at Tidmouth.
As the huge green engine made its way onto the turn table, Gordon found himself slightly threatened.
She looked bigger than he was despite being a Pacific herself and her streamlining looked extremely similar to his own Streamlined shell.
"G'day! G'day!" The engine exclaimed cheerily as she rolled to a stop on the turntable as her friend, a very large gold and green diesel sat behind her on of the tracks. "Mah name's Grey, I'm an express engine and this here is Gold, my emotional support diesel. We're from Down Under!"
James scoffed.
"Grey? You're not grey!" He pointed out and the engine laughed.
"Course I'm not!" Grey exclaimed amused. "Short for me nickname, 'The Grey Nurse'. They used to call me that back in the war. Gold's name's short for "Golden Daylight."
The golden diesel gave an affirmative grunt.
"Oh," James was taken aback by how straightforward the engine was and its strange accent.
"Don't mind James, It's lovely to meet you both," Emily cheered the Australian engines enthusiastically. "We've never seen an engine that looks quite like you before."
"Except for Gordon when he was streamlined," Henry teased and Gordon glared at his friend grumpily.
"It's quite nifty ay?" Grey exclaimed enthusiastically. "Scotsman thought it was ridiculous but I told him to shove it out his tender."
Gordon looked like he wanted to respond but he was quickly overtaken by Thomas.
"Well, Gordon did look kind of ridiculous in his streamlining but it looks so good in green!" He enthused.
"Thomas was the one who actually wanted to get streamlined because he thought he could beat the Flying Scotsman!" James laughed and Thomas glared at him.
Grey burst out laughing. "Oh! You're a little small for that Tommy, Sorry mate!" She said with great humour. She turned her attention to Gordon.
"Can you actually get up hills, unlike your brother?" Grey asked humorously and Gordon found his attention caught.
"Unlike my brother?" He asked curiously.
"Yeah, the damn fool could barely manage to get up one of our banks with me," Grey laughed. "Took the ribbing like a champ though!"
Gordon was unsure what the Australian Pacific meant but he didn't have time to answer as the Fat Controller and Lady Olivia appeared, their expressions gloomy and did not entertain good tidings.
"I'd hate to bring the mood down but we have some serious things to discuss," Lady Olivia announced.
"What is it, sir?" Thomas asked worriedly. "Is this about Green Arrow? Is he okay?"
"He suffered a lot of damage," Sir Topham explained. "None to his boiler thankfully. He's been taken to Crovan's Gate and is being repaired as fast as we can."
"Crovan's Gate?" Henry asked concerned. "Was his accident that serious?"
"Green Arrow is the last of his class, there are no spare parts or another engine we can work from," Lady Olivia explained. "We only have my grandfather's original designs to work from and Crovan's Gate is exceptionally good at such things."
The Sudrian engines seemed to accept this.
"However with Green Arrow and Tydfil gone and a serious investigation underway, we now have two fewer engines," Sir Topham explained. "Which means until I can get another engine, you'll all have an increased workload."
"Not that Tydfil ever did anything," Duck muttered to himself but no one heard him.
A unanimous groan echoed around the sheds.
"I will not pull goods trains, sir!" Gordon fumed. "I am an express engine!"
"If yer ask me, pulling goods is a good way to show off your power," Grey cut in and Gordon threw the engine a glare but she was entirely unbothered. "You need a couple of engines, Top Hat? Well, there's two right here!"
Sir Topham Hatt turned to look at the big Australian Engines curiously.
"I couldn't possibly allow a visiting engine to pull trucks," he insisted but Grey was having none of it.
"Yeah Nah, don't you worry mate," She assured the man who just stared at her confused. "I might be an express engine but I'm bloody good at doing goods. Me and my class are the reason diesels struggled to take over from steam engines. We always outperformed them and remained many times faster than them. No offence ay Gold?"
"None taken mate," the Gold diesel retorted dismissively, completely unbothered by her words.
"Why would an express engine demean themselves by willingly pulling trucks instead of coaches?" Gordon huffed and the Fat Controller gave him a very nasty look.
"Gordon!" He said warningly but Grey puffed off his bravado.
"I dunno how it is here but in Australia, we work in some of the harshest climates on Earth, it doesn't matter what you pull as long as you pulled it," Grey explained to the indignant blue engine. "You derailed or stopped working then you'd just get shunted aside and someone else would take ya job. Some were even left to rust in the desert."
"That's horrifying!" Emily gasped but Grey seemed very dismissive of it.
"That's just Australia," she seemed to shrug. "Is it any surprise our animals turned out so deadly or weird? It's a dingo-eat-dingo world out there."
"You're forgetting the Dropbears," Gold grunted and a look of fear crossed Grey's face.
"We don't talk about the Dropbears Gold!" Grey scolded her diesel, but the diesel just gave a low chuckle.
"What's a dropbear?" Percy asked innocently but he was ignored.
"I cannot possibly allow some visiting engines to work on my railway," Sir Topham refused but Grey just chuckled.
"At least until you get your replacement engines then, Gold and I want to show you lot what we can do, not sit in a museum all day," Grey tried to compromise.
Sir Topham looked thoughtful. He then looked over to Olivia who looked equally as curious.
"It's ultimately up to their boss, but if he says yes I don't see why not," she shrugged and Grey grinned widely.
"Champion!" She exclaimed excitedly and the Sudrian engines laughed.
All of them that is, except Gordon. Gold noticed and narrowed his eyes.
"What's the matter big fella?" He suddenly called out to the big blue express engine. "You got a problem with us?"
Gordon was taken aback, not expecting to be called out so bluntly by the diesel.
Grey looked at Gordon curiously.
"Scotsman said you were a very proud engine, do you perhaps feel threatened by me?" She mused and Gordon looked offended.
"Threatened? By you? Pah!" Gordon snorted.
"Oh, I think he is!" James teased Gordon who glared at him.
"That's enough!" Sir Topham ordered. "That said, it wouldn't be courteous to have visiting engines pull goods trains especially when they came from so far away. I will have Grey and Gold take over passenger services and have the rest of you changed over to fit the schedule. That means I need you to do goods work, Gordon. That's all."
"What!" Gordon thundered but he was quickly ignored as the other engines began bombarding the Australian engines with questions.
Gordon humphed and refused to talk to anyone for the rest of the night.
Green Arrow felt nauseous, he felt sick and he felt numb. His frames had no feeling and neither did his buffers. He felt paralysed, not able to feel his wheels.
His boiler had been purged of water and his firebox was now cold and empty. He couldn't feel anything, just a persistent numbness, a deep incessant throbbing resonating deep in his smoke box as if it had had something hit it, hard.
He groaned as he heard voices near and far from him, he felt completely confused.
What had happened to him? Why was he in pain? Why couldn't he feel anything?
He was supposed to be in the Claypits with those two twin terrors.
Had they played a joke on him?
Was this a part of their little game?
This must be part of their little games.
But, as troublesome as they were, they never actually harmed him.
Why had he blacked out? What had happened to him?
"Arrow?" A voice called to him. "Arrow, can you hear me?"
"Alright, Bill and Ben you can stop it with the tricks now," Arrow croaked out, his voice sounding strained and weak. "This isn't funny."
"No Arrow, Bill and Ben didn't-" the voice came again, sounding deeply worried and concerned. "Oh, Arrow!"
This time he recognised the voice as Edward.
"Edward?" He asked and he heard a steam engine shifting somewhere in front of him.
"Yes Arrow, it's me," Arrow heard a warm smile in Furness's voice and he immediately felt comforted. "How are you feeling?"
Arrow paused, unsure of how to answer.
"I don't know Edward…" he mumbled to herself weakly. "What happened to me?"
The was an uncomfortable pause. Arrow tried to rouse himself into a more alert state but he was struggling, his mind wanting to drift back into unconsciousness.
"You had an accident," Edward explained. "You were badly mangled but your boiler was thankfully untouched."
"An accident?" Arrow muttered, confused. "What… what accident-"
He stopped as he suddenly remembered.
The new Great Western Engine.
That annoying, bratty, insufferable little Saint class had been stopped on the line in front of him as he had rounded a corner.
"That stupid selfish bitch!" Green Arrow loudly swore as he suddenly found himself wide awake, startling a few mechanics and engineers who were assessing his damage nearby.
"Arrow, please! Language!" Edward chided him and Arrow glared at him.
"Given the circumstances, I believe that I am entitled to swear Furness!" Green Arrow snapped angrily at the blue engine.
Edward flinched slightly, surprised at being called a Furness. No one had called him that in a very long time. The Furness Railway was long since gone and barely any engines remembered the old Railway. He chose to ignore Green Arrow's comment and focus on the welfare of the now-angry Gresley V2 who was staring down at his mangled buffers, upset and stressed.
"What a mess, what a mess!" He shouted furiously. "I'd just begun getting into a good rhythm here and now the brat has ruined me! I'll probably have to wait a year or more to be fixed!"
"Arrow please," Edward begged the enraged engine. "You need to calm down!"
"Don't tell me to calm down Furness!" Arrow snapped, his voice raising as he began to work himself into a frenzy and panic. "I won't be stuck in the works for another year again! I won't!"
"Arrow," a calm voice suddenly called to the V2 and Arrow looked over to find the offending engine that had caused his accident.
He was about to lay into the young girl but he saw the engine in front of her.
"Truro?" Green Arrow asked and almost immediately he became respectful. Although he saw Truro as a good friend, there was still an almost father-like quality that Truro would take on if Arrow needed guidance.
And right now Arrow really needed some guidance.
"Yes, hello Arrow," the elder Great Western smiled at him. "Your damage looks and may certainly feel bad, but Crovan's Gate has said that you will probably be out of service for a few months at best."
"A few months?" He asked. That was a lot sooner given how he currently felt.
"Yes, Crovan's Gate has some of the best engineers in the entire UK," Edward assured Green Arrow. "You will be fixed in no time. We want one of our best and most reliable engines back on the rails as soon as possible. We know how much you love your work and want to get back to it."
Arrow paused, still a bit heated from his initial fury at the accident, Lady of Legend looking somewhat guilty but he eventually smiled at Edward.
"Thank you, Edward," the Green Arrow thanked the blue engine before looking over at City of Truro.
The elder Great Western engine looked guilty.
"Truro?" Green Arrow asked. "Are you okay?"
"I need to apologise to you my friend, had I not done my job… this would have never happened," Truro admitted quietly.
Green Arrow stared at him shocked.
"Truro… you did not block the line, this sad excuse of an engine did," Arrow spat as he glared at Tydfil who glared back at him. "This isn't your fault Truro."
"Lady of Legend is my ward, my responsibility," Truro stated. "She has failed to learn anything and she has become more of a hazard under my teachings."
"Forgive me for intruding," Edward suddenly spoke out. "But Green Arrow is right, you are not responsible for another engine's actions, City of Truro."
Truro looked between the Blue Sudrian Engine and his friend before returning his gaze to Lady of Legend. The young engine stared back at him, a pouty and annoyed look on her face. There was guilt in her eyes but it didn't hide the fact she looked annoyed, despite the fact that the accident had been her fault.
"What did I do wrong?" Truro muttered to himself. "Tornado wasn't even half as troublesome as you are Ms Tydfil."
Lady of Legend looked deeply hurt at City of Truro's words.
"I wish everyone would stop comparing me to that fat, ugly engine!" Tydfil hissed angrily. "I keep trying to tell you that I keep hearing voices in my smokebox but no one will listen to me!"
"Tornado is not fat or ugly! She's leagues above you in every aspect!" Green Arrow angrily defended his friend. "She at least has never caused a nearly fatal accident!"
"Arrow!" Edward admonished. "That's very unkind!"
"It's true though!"
"I wish I had caused a fatal accident and gotten rid of you, you stupid Green sausage!" Tydfil suddenly snapped, immediately regretting her words harsh words. "I-I- didn't mean-"
"Tydfil!" Truro gasped horrified and Green Arrow looked enraged.
"I think I've heard quite enough!" A female voice suddenly echoed through the shed.
An elder woman who looked to be in her late 60s, stern face and piercing eyes and with a very displeased look on her face, strolled through the Steamworks towards them, Lady Gresley and Sir Topham Hatt at her heels. Behind them, Sir Topham's assistants followed their employer while Great Northern noticeably avoided eye contact with all of the engines present.
Tydfil went pale as a ghost when she saw the elder woman.
"Mrs Parsons!" She squeaked, sounding terrified. "I didn't mean what I said! It just came out! Please!"
"Enough!" The woman, Mrs Parsons shouted at Tydfil and the young engine immediately went quiet and stared at her buffers shamefully. She strode right up to the Saint class and gave her a critical and distasteful gaze.
"Lady of Legend," Mrs Parson said sternly. "Please explain to me why an engine of the National Collection collided with you on what should have been a clear track?"
"I uh," Tydfil stammered at a loss for words. "I- um."
Mrs Parsons glared at her.
"Um is not an answer Lady of Legend," Mrs Parsons stated coldly. "Why were you stopped on a busy track without permission?"
"I kept hearing voices in my smokebox," she mumbled and Mrs Parsons glared at her. "Please ma'am, they won't stop. The King's used to encourage it whenever I told them! Please, ma'am, I don't know what's wrong with me!"
"That's not an answer and that does not explain why you almost caused a fatal accident," the woman said coldly. Olivia looked worried. Truro looked extremely concerned for the young engine.
"Jocasta, maybe you should listen to what she has to say," Olivia tried to reason with the woman but Mrs Parson's shook her head.
"We expect much more from the engines of the Great Western, unlike your flashy and ridiculous engines, Gresley!" Mrs Parsons snapped at Olivia who glared at the older woman but she was ignored as Mrs Parsons turned back to Tydfil who looked terrified. "Since City of Truro has done such an appalling job of keeping our newest engine in line I will be sending another to oversee Lady of Legend and straighten her out!"
Mrs Parsons spoke with an air of finality, turned heel and left as Sir Topham and Olivia glanced at each other worried.
City of Truro looked completely devastated and hurt while Green Arrow was glaring daggers at the woman's back. Edward just stared, completely shocked.
After a whispered word to Olivia, Sir Topham quickly ran after Mrs Parsons while Olivia went to speak to one of Crovan's Gates engines, with a sad gesture to all engines present.
Green Arrow and Edward shared a look as City of Truro slowly backed out of the Steamworks.
"Truro, wait!" Green Arrow called to him but the Great Western engine ignored him and disappeared into the distance.
In a lonely shed at the back of the museum at York, a single engine with large smoke deflectors and high frames sat quietly as she wound day for the day,
It had been a peaceful day of work.
No other engine had spoken to her, just as she liked and she could do her jobs and demonstrate her abilities to the curious humans who came to see her.
She like impressing them, especially the small ones.
Even though she didn't speak to them, a lot of them found her pleasant and took photos of her. It had been widely accepted by now that Evening Star did not speak to others. Not even her own crew.
"That was a grand day today wasn't it Venus?" Her driver, Merrick spoke to her softly as he finished his inspection for the day.
Evening Star gave him a slight smile of appreciation. She liked her driver Merrick. Himself and her fireman, Harley, were always so patient, so understanding of her despite that face she never spoke once to them,
They worked with her so well that they knew what every single creak, hiss of steam or slight movement of her engine meant. She did speak, just not with words but with every stroke of her gear and every push of her pistons.
Certainly she could use her lamps to communicate but she never needed to. Not with her wonderful crew, who understood her ever need.
It seemed impossible to the other crews and the other engines but the little team and their supporters prided themselves of being the most efficient and cohesive team on the mainland.
No one worked better than Lady Evening Star and her little crew.
"You sleep well now Lady Venus," Merrick touched her buffer with affection as Harley finished cleaning out her firebox.
Evening Star gave him a slight, barely noticeable nudge.
'I will, thank you.'
Her fireman waved a cheery goodbye to her and Evening Star smiled to herself as they closed the doors to her shed.
Finally, some peace and quiet.
Gordon: "I will NOT pull goods!"
Grey: "Pathetic. Die then."
~For updates, extra lore or to ask questions or discuss the fic, you can find me on tornadoyoungiron tumblr
There is also a Tumblr where you can directly ask the characters of this story at Ask Young Iron