Chapter 4

"Abe did things his own way. Our world has changed a lot since then." {Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine, pg 129 book 4}

When they returned to Jake's home the sun was just starting to dip below the trees. Everyone else loudly complained about them being gone so long but when they explained why, and what they'd found, they forgot their anger and hung on Millard's every word as he recounted the story.

Jake's parents were gone, they had packed their bags and left for a trip to Asia – Aurora saw the note Jacob's mother had left on the kitchen counter. But what struck Aurora as odd was Miss Peregrine wasn't there either. Horace told her the Bird had left just after she, Millard, Jacob and the others had and she'd been gone all day.

"Did she say where she was going?"

"She only said that we were to meet her at precisely seven fifteen at the potting shed in Jacob's backyard."

"The potting shed?"

He nodded.

Aurora turned to the clock on the wall, they still had plenty of time and as she walked into the open doorway between the kitchen and the living room she leaned on the frame and listened as Millard continued telling the others his tale. His sleeves moved about as he stood in front of the television, the others all sat listening hyper-fixated on him. For a moment Aurora pretended that Millard was teaching a classroom. He'd always wanted to teach and his thirst for knowledge and passion for it would have made him the perfect candidate to shape young minds and engross a new generation in the history of the past. She sighed, if only, she thought as she turned from the living room and returned to Horace who was at the island prepping supper for that night.

"Need any help?" she asked rolling up her sleeves.

Horace turned to her with a smile, "That would be excellent, thank you."

He passed her an apron and they both got to work washing vegetables and kneading dough.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Chicken marengo." he said as he was seasoning the chicken thighs, "And we can use those if you could put together a ratatouille."

She smiled, "I made it all the time with my mother before the war. Before rationing took a toll on our meals."

Horace nodded as she continued with the vegetables, now focused on slicing them in thin and identical rounds. It was simple work but simple was what she liked. It reminded her of life on Cairnholm, helping Fiona with her giant vegetables between their usual chores, cleaning the house, doing laundry, getting baby squirrels back into their tree.

After a moment of working in silence, and Aurora reminiscing to herself, Horace cleared his throat, "I'm. . .um, sorry for what I said earlier about normals. I'd forgotten about your brother."

Aurora felt her heart sink but mustered up a smile as she turned to him, "It's okay. I accept your apology." she looked back down to her work, "I know it's uncommon for a peculiar to have any positive contact with their family."

"It is." he said pouring some oil in a pan with the garlic and tomatoes. "But in a good way." he looked to her, "A lot of us would give an arm or a leg to have a moment with our families like the kind you had with Noah."

She gave him a more genuine smile this time, the ache in her chest was still there, but it was nice to have a fresh perspective, the reminder that she still had more then most others like her, that she should try to be grateful for that - even if it hurt sometimes.

Together she and Horace worked alongside pleasant conversation, since he wasn't getting Millard's intricate storytelling Aurora took it upon herself to catch him up on what they'd found in Abe's house. Horace was relieved that they had been derailed from clothes shopping, since he had such a distaste for current fashion. He was glad he wasn't going to be surrounded by people in jeans just yet.

When the meal was ready they shouted to the others who were quick to grab plates, fill them with food, and return to eating in the living room just as they had done the night they ordered pizza. Had that really only been yesterday? Things were moving so fast and they were cramming so much into their days. But she knew -thankfully - it couldn't last, soon enough things would settle and her whirlwind of a life would calm back down. As they ate she thought about her and Millard's conversation about getting their own place, he'd asked her to let him think about it, and she was certain that after everything with Jacob's parents and finding Abe's war room that he likely hadn't had a spare moment to dwell on their future. In contrast she couldn't stop thinking about it. It filled her with excitement to be so close to the life she'd dreamed about when she was a little girl. Perfect husband, lovely house, children of her own. And if they were going to stay near Jake in Florida there would be plenty of time for trips to the beach, splashing in the ocean, building sandcastles, all while Millard pointed out birds and fish and taught their children about each breed and species.

"Darling?" Millard's voice broke through her fantasizing, "What are you smiling about?"

She hadn't realized it and blushing she looked to her lap, "Nothing."

"It's almost seven fifteen." Emma said as she stood with her dirty plate and the others looked to the box on top of the television that told the time. They all hurried to put their dishes in the sink as they filed out through the kitchen and into the backyard.

The sun had begun to set and the light had mostly gone out of the sky. Aurora looked to the potting shed, it was a little neglected shack made from latticed wood that stood against the hedges and had weeds sprouting up around it and spiderwebs hanging from the corners of the roof.

Then, at precisely seven fifteen, there was a snap of static electricity in the air that they all felt, and then the shed lit up from the inside. It was a brief bright flash, the hundreds of holes in the lattice walls turned white before fading to shadow.

"Here we are!" Miss Peregrine's voice called from the inside as she strode out onto the grass, "Ahh, yes, I much prefer this weather. Sorry I'm late."

"Only by thirty seconds." Hugh shrugged.

"Mr. Portman you look a bit confused." the headmistress noted.

"I'm not super clear on what just happened." Jake admitted, "Or where you were. Or, anything?"

"That." she said pointing to the shed, "Is a loop."

"There was a loop in my backyard?"

She smirked, "There is now. I made it this afternoon."

"It's a pocket loop." Millard said with a snap of his fingers, "Miss P that's brilliant! I didn't think the council had approved any yet."

She grinned with pride, "Only this one, and just today."

"Why would you want a loop of this afternoon?" Jacob asked.

Aurora shook her head with a smile, "A loop can have more purposes then just repeating time Jake."

"Precisely." the Bird nodded, "The point of a pocket loop, it's wonderful advantage, is their extremely small size, which makes them a snap to maintain. Unlike a normal loop, these only need to be reset once or twice a month, as opposed to daily."

"But what good is a loop the size of a potting shed?"

"None as a place of refuge, but they are extraordinarily useful as a portal." Miss Peregrine explained as she reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a slim brass object that looked like an oversized bullet with veins cut into it. "With the shuttle - another of my brother Bentham's ingenious inventions - I can stitch this loop back into his Panloopticon. And voila! We have a door to Devil's Acre. But you don't have to take my word for it, go and see for yourself."

She had a smile that Aurora had only seen when she looked at her charges and saw them happy. Ymbrynes could be strict and stern but their hearts were in the right place, and nothing brought them more joy then seeing their peculiar children happy.

It took forty seconds for each of them to pass through, to be transported from Jacob's present-day backyard to nineteenth century London. From the back of a potting shed into a broom closet. The sensation left one dizzy, no matter how often you traveled via loop but Aurora felt comfort as well from the familiar lurch.

They all stepped out of the broom closet into the familiar halls of Bentham's house, lushly carpeted and lined with identical doors each bearing a small plaque. The one across the hall from them read: DEN HAAG, NETHERLANDS, APRIL 8, 1937. Beside their broom closet was a piece of paper fixed to the wall: JACOB PORTMAN HOME, FLORIDA, PRESENT DAY. A. PEREGRINE AND WARDS ONLY.

"This means we don't have to sleep in Devil's Acre ever again, if we don't want to." Bronwyn said smiling ear to ear.

"Or make that long drive to the swamp just to reach Jacob's house." Claire added as she clung to Aurora's skirt, "I get carsick."

"The best part is the food." Olive said clapping her hands together and sparks flew out from between them like when someone struck together flint and steel. "Just think, we can have a proper English breakfast, pizza at Jacob's house for lunch, and mutton chops fresh from Smithfield market for supper!"

"Who knew you could eat so much." Horace replied looking grateful he wouldn't have to do all the cooking to sate Olive's appetite.

"It's the perfect go between." Miss Peregrine said taking the lead and starting off down the hall, "You can all learn normalling and return to the Acre to help with the reconstruction effort. The Ymbryne Council has told me they have very engaging work for you all."

Aurora began to feel nervous, but, she supposed, this could function much like a day job. Work from nine to five and all that. It wasn't like she and Millard would be able to get jobs in the normal world to support themselves. Well. . . perhaps she could but working for twenty years and then retiring was not something she looked forward too. She'd rather leave that to her husband, Millard would enjoy it more than she would anyhow.

"Good." Emma nodded, seemingly feeling the exact opposite of Aurora.

"We want assignments of consequence." Millard spoke up, "Not just busywork."

"Or cleaning up." Bronwyn added.

"You'll have important work to do, I promise."

But Enoch rolled his eyes, "Its politics. Someone high up on the food chain decided it doesn't look good, us hanging around Jacob's house in the present while everyone else is stuck here, living like refugees and cleaning up the wights' mess. But I don't care what anybody else thinks about it. We deserve a holiday damn it!"

Aurora never would have said it aloud like Enoch, even though part of her mind had been thinking along the same lines. Besides not being pleased about reconstruction work she didn't know if she could plunge headfirst into rebuilding the peculiar world. Of course she wanted to help other peculiars and those in need. But at the same time she felt so burnt out she was unsure what good she would do anyone. She remembered Mother Dust and for a grim second wondered if healers were doomed to chip away at themselves for the good of others until there was nothing left. She wasn't an ymbryne, she wasn't someone who could dedicate her entire life to service, she had dreams too.

She held tight to Millard's hand in hers but it didn't bring the comfort she hoped for. He seemed gung-ho for the assignments the council was going to assign them, 'assignments of consequence' and all that. Could she voice her desire for a calm life to him? An easy daily routine like they'd had for seventy years? She wanted a life with Millard, a real one, one where they could grow old together. She supposed though, that it could wait just a tad longer. There were more important things at the moment then her happily ever after.

"Everyone here deserves a holiday Enoch." Miss Peregrine said wagging a finger, "Think of it this way, it will be inspiring to the other children to see you, the heroes of the Battle for Devil's Acre, working alongside them for the common good."

"Well, I'm exited." Bronwyn said as she skipped along, "I always wanted a real job with real responsibilities, even if it means cutting into our normalling lessons a bit."

"Young Portman!" they heard a bellowing shout as they turned the next corner and what Aurora saw boggled her mind. The Ymbryne Council had been hard at work.

The shout came from the boatman, Sharon, as the seven foot tall man approached them and shook Jacob's hand. Behind him were a variety of serious looking people who looked very busy as they came and went through the Panloopticon's many doors. They all wore vastly different outfits suited to very different purposes. There was a lady in a blue bustle dress that ballooned around her so widely that others had to squeeze against the wall to get by her. There was a man in a heavy white snowsuit and round fur hat and another man in boots that reached his mid thigh and a naval coat that shone with gold buckles.

"Finally come to greet your fans have you?" Sharon laughed.

"Yeah right." Jake laughed like it was a joke.

Miss Peregrine only smiled, "He isn't joking. You're all a bit famous now, after what happened in the Library of Souls." then she cleared her throat, "In any case, the children are to receive their reconstruction assignments from the council today. Would you mind escorting us to the ministries building?"

"Of course. For esteemed guests like yourselves, I'm happy to carve some time out of my busy schedule." he grabbed the lapels of his trench coat proudly as they walked and he bragged, "You see, I'm the majordome of this house, as well as the general overseer of the Panloopticon and its many portals. No one knows this place better then me."

Each hall they turned down became busier and more crowded. Aurora plucked Claire off her skirt and held her to her side so she was less likely to get trampled, and she rested some of the girl's weight on her hip. Claire hung tight to her, burying her face in the crook between Aurora's shoulder and her neck. Travelers were laden with heavy bags and long lines trailed away from podiums at each door along the walls. Uniformed clerks and border guards kept watch over everyone and checked and rechecked documents.

On the ground floor they passed Bentham's grand library where the furniture had been cleared away to make room for a hundred or more cots. Aurora felt a small pinch of guilt that while she had been off having her dream wedding and a honeymoon other peculiars had continued to live like this. Passing the kitchen she caught just a glimpse of a battalion of cooks chopping and stirring pots. But when they got to the main doors that's when the real chaos began, street noise and daylight flooded in and Miss Peregrine shouted, "Stay together!"

Devil's Acre was hardly recognizable. It was still a hellhole with buildings caked with grime and the sky was a poisonous yellow but there were no longer any riots, no smoke pluming into the sky from Caul's collapsed tower and prison, debris was being cleared away and there were uniformed peculiars directing horse and buggy traffic in the crowded street. She didn't see a hollow-eyed addict in sight, no prowlers in the shadows, and the peculiars who remained pushed on with a determined energy.

That halted momentarily however when Aurora noticed as they walked block by block that people were staring, one did a double take, someone else pointed, and others whispered to each other. A boy selling newspapers was shouting, "Jacob Portman to visit the Acre today! Hero returns to Devil's Acre for first time since victory over the wights!"

Aurora caught Jacob's face go red hot before there was a flash that made him jolt and next thing they knew a reporter was there talking a mile a minute.

"Farish Obwelo from the Evening Muckraker. How about a quick photo?" he asked regardless of the fact he'd already taken one without permission. "So Jake, what was it like to command an army of hollowgast? How did it feel to win a battle against so many wights? What were Caul's last words before you struck the blow that killed him?"

Fear spiked in Aurora's heart, she was never one to be the center of attention and she repositioned Claire on her hip so she could partially hide behind the girl and hopefully dodge the reporter. She'd never been more envious of Millard's ability in her life.

Thankfully, Miss Peregrine grabbed Jake by the arm and shooed Obwelo away.

Sharon, thanks to his height was able to clear a path that took them to the ministries building. Behind a guarded iron gate stood the menacing building made of black stone. But to Aurora it looked like a safe haven, a tall, formidable building that could keep out the unsympathetic, money-grubbing press along with the staring public.

"You handled yourself splendidly." Miss Peregrine complimented as she pressed down the front of her dress jacket ridding it of wrinkles, "And it will get easier. Once people become accustomed to seeing you they won't make such a fuss. You've been gone for some time Jacob, and your legend has grown quite a bit in your absence."

"I'll say it's grown. But what was that about me killing Caul?"

"A necessary fiction." She said with a lowered voice as they crossed the courtyard, "The ymbrynes decided it was best that everyone believe him dead."

"Well isn't he?"

"Very likely." she said in a tone too casual to be believable. "But the truth is, we don't know what happens inside a collapsed loop. No one's ever escaped one to tell. Caul and Bentham may be dead, or they may just be. . . elsewhere."

"Extra dimensionally inaccessible." Millard concurred.

"Permanently of course." Miss Peregrine hastened to add. "But we don't want the public - or the few wights who have managed to evade us - to have any doubt. Or to get any strange ideas about resurrecting him."

"So congratulations, you killed Caul too." Enoch said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"So," Jake replied looking desperate to change the subject. "What is this place?"

"It's the heart of peculiar government, for the time being. Where the ymbryne council now holds its meetings and where the various ministries conduct their business."

"It's where we get our work assignments." Bronwyn simplified. "Peculiars turn up here in the mornings and they tell us what needs doing."

"St. Barnabus' Asylum for Lunatics." Jacob read the writing carved into the stone above the iron doors.

"There wasn't a lot of vacant real estate to choose from."

"Once more into the breach dear friends." Millard said grabbing the door and holding out his arm for Aurora to pass him like a gentleman.

Miss Peregrine explained that St. Barnabas' Asylum for Lunatics, Mountebanks and the Criminally Mischievous was empty due to the inmates running away in the chaos that followed the wights defeat. The asylum had sat empty until the ymbrynes requisitioned it as a replacement for the building that had been encased in ice during the hollowgast raids. The dungeons, padded cells and dank corridors had been stocked with desks, meeting tables and filing cabinets and it made Aurora wonder: was there much difference between an office and a torture chamber?

The entrance hall was gloomy but buzzing with bureaucrats and office workers most loaded down with papers and books. Built into the walls were several windows each with a receptionist marked with a department name: Temporal Affairs, Anachronisms, Normal Relations, Phono- and Photographic Records, Micro-management and Pedantry, Reconstruction Department.

Miss Peregrine marched her wards past all of them and down the hall. And it wasn't long before a woman came striding toward their headmistress with her arms outstretched. She had shining dark skin and wore a dazzling suit of blue velvet with wide wing like shoulders that narrowed to a fitted waist and was trimmed with bright gold buttons. Her hair was short, parted and metallic silver. When she spoke Aurora detected a smooth French accent. "Alma, you're back!"

They traded kisses on the cheek.

"Children, this is Miss Isabel Cuckoo. She's an old dear friend of mine and she also happens to be the ymbryne in charge of high-level reconstruction assignments."

"I've so looked forward to meeting you all." she greeted warmly, "Alma has been telling me about you for so long."

She went around and shook all their hands and seemed to know each of them by name. "And you're Jacob Portman. Your reputation precedes you!"

"So I've heard."

"He does not sound thrilled." She turned to Miss Peregrine.

"He was caught off guard by all the attention. My wards have just come off a rather quiet time in the present."

"Well the days of quiet are over now! If you're willing to do a bit of work for a good cause that is."

"I want to help however I can." Jake said looking eager.

And he wasn't the only one, "I'd like to request something more then just day labor." Millard spoke up, his hands in his pants pockets, "I think my voluminous talents are better suited elsewhere."

"Braggart." Enoch grumbled rolling his eyes.

Miss Cuckoo smiled, "You're all in luck. There are no unimportant assignments here, and there is no peculiar talent, however unusual, that cannot be made useful to the cause."

She linked arms with Miss Peregrine and the two of them headed for a stairwell and descended a level. The corridors became gloomier if that was possible, the light from flickering gas lamps on the walls illuminating their way. Aurora still held Claire to her side, unintentionally using the girl like a security blanket, and a shield. It was easier, she found, to step aside and watch interactions, process them and then decide whether or not to include yourself. It wasn't easy however, when it seemed the decisions were being made for you and with each step Aurora felt dragged more and more into the situation rather then their group pausing and discussing what was to come.

Especially since they were in an asylum – former asylum – and the signs above the doors were becoming less and less welcoming. 'Miscreants' 'Perverts' 'Malicious Intent' 'Cannibals'

"Now, as you can imagine, there is plenty of reconstruction work right here in London." Miss Cuckoo was saying, "And in this peculiar labor market of ours, you are all very hot commodities. We need cooks, guards, people who can lift heavy things. There are several departments clamoring for Miss Bruntley's help. Salvage and Demolition, the Wardening and Guardening Force. . ."

A quick glance at Bronwyn and Aurora could see her smile fading as Miss Cuckoo turned to the seemingly empty shirt and trousers beside her.

"Mr. Nullings, you have a plum job offer from Peculiar Intelligence – invisibles always make top field agents."

Aurora felt her heart turn to ice. They wanted to send Millard away? Where? For how long?

"Wouldn't the Ministry of Mapping be a better fit?" Millard replied, obviously trying to choose his words carefully. Conveying his disappointment at the assignment while also not giving an outright refusal. Clinging to the hope that the ymbrynes picked up on it and he'd be saved by their mercy. "Any invisible can sneak around and overhear secrets, but I'd wager my cartographic expertise is equal to anyone's."

Aurora had never been happier that Millard could tend to brag about himself. Especially if it kept him home. She just hoped the ymbrynes saw the value in his mind over his body.

"It may be, but Intelligence is understaffed and Mapping is full up. I'm sorry. Now, please go report to Mr. Kimble in Intelligence, room three-oh-one."

"Yes ma'am." Millard replied, the excitement in his voice gone. He turned to Aurora and gave her a peck on the cheek, since they were in public, then continued back down the hall.

Miss Cuckoo however, was not the least bit dismayed about it and simply continued speaking, "Mr. O'Connor, I'm sure the Dead Letters Office would appreciate your help."

"Sorting undeliverable mail?" he asked looking crestfallen, "What about my talent?"

"Our Dead Letters Office doesn't handle undeliverable mail. It deals with correspondence to and from the dead. Their handwriting is rubbish and now and then it's been mentioned how nice it would be to go back and ask them who the letters are for – but none of them can dead-rise."

"The dead write letters to each other?" Jacob asked turning to Enoch.

He was already pinching the bridge of his nose, "They're always asking after people and wanting to send news to old friends. They're right gossips, half of them. If I have time, sometimes I'll let 'em write a postcard before they go back in the ground."

"Miss Bloom, I could easily place you in the Warden's office. Miss Peregrine's told me all about how well you used your abilities offensively. You would make an excellent prison guard for our most dangerous wights."

Emma wore a resigned look, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Mrs. Nullings." Miss Cuckoo addressed her and Aurora's heart felt a bit less chilled. It was the first time anyone had used her new surname. She tried not to get her hopes up, knowing how discouraging this entire conversation had become. She tried to muster up her best fake smile, remembering she was still being addressed by an ymbryne and all ymbrynes demanded respect and manners. However, from just behind Miss Cuckoo's shoulder Miss Peregrine had a sharp fixed look on Aurora. She was nothing if not detail oriented and nothing escaped her – especially when it came to her wards. Aurora had clearly been in and out of the entire conversation since they'd crossed into the loop. While she had no way to read the young lady's thoughts she knew her own desire to keep Aurora out of the medic ward. Her ability was finite and she understood how Isabel might overlook that in her excitement about the reconstruction.

"There's a lovely opening in –"

"Actually Isabel, I've just had a thought." Miss Peregrine intervened drawing Aurora's attention. Miss Cuckoo leaned closer to her ymbryne sister and Miss P. whispered into her ear. When Miss Cuckoo pulled away smiling the pair shared a nod and Miss Peregrine addressed Aurora.

"Aurora, if you'd follow me. The rest of you can head to your assigned ministries. Jacob, you may go with Isabel." She then grasped the twins hands and headed down a different hall as Aurora followed behind still carrying Claire.

"Miss Peregrine?" she asked after they'd taken a few turns and climbed a small flight of stairs. "What was it you said to Miss Cuckoo?"

The headmistress turned and smiled at her. "I simply suggested the benefits of making you a YA."

Aurora's confusion grew. "What's a YA?"

"It stands for Ymbryne Assistant. They are few and far between, but seeing how many ymbrynes we lost during my brother's tirade we could use a helping hand." She looked over her shoulder and smiled at her, "As you know, and have experienced, ymbrynes spend the majority of our time tending to our children, with the reconstruction this task is in danger of being forgotten – especially in terms of the youngest among us."

"You want me to babysit?" she asked now smiling back. She hadn't had the chance to sit and care for a child since Noah was a baby. And even in their loop she was often invited to Claire and Bronwyn's tea parties. Having that be her assigned work was a dream come true.

"I thought you might enjoy it." The Bird smiled back.

"But wasn't it difficult to convince her to let someone with my skills take this up?"

"Not really. Children often get bumps on the head, scrapped knees, etcetera. Having you able to heal the children instantaneously is quite an advantage – and helps put our minds well at ease so we can focus on getting peculiardom back on track."

They arrived at a room with double doors that Miss Peregrine swung open. Inside the room was easily the brightest part of the asylum she'd seen so far, though that didn't mean it wasn't still off putting. The walls were white, too white and there was a lingering smell of chemicals. Aurora put together that this must be the medical ward where the inmates had been treated. Unlike the peculiar's being tended to there was no care about making the inmates comfortable and Aurora could practically picture rows of cots with straps lined up against the far wall. Thankfully, all that had been removed and instead a long table took up one side where some peculiar children were coloring on the back of the asylum's documents. Other children across the room were playing with toys that looked like they'd been made from wood pulled from debris piles. A wooden horse with wheels on its feet was being tugged around by one child, while another played with a wooden train. Some children were napping in a corner under soot stained blankets and at least two other peculiars who looked a bit older then her were tending to the fifteen or so children in their charge.

"Aurora this is Elise and Marblemaw." Miss Peregrine introduced. Marblemaw was a young man who looked about twenty five and when he waved at her she noticed his limbs were irregularly long. When he turned away from her she saw him return to coloring with the children, reaching down the long table to stop a couple of crayons that had started rolling toward the edge.

Elise looked older, perhaps in her later forties and Aurora could not tell her peculiarity right off the bat.

"They are the other two YA's we've been able to appoint thus far." Miss Peregrine finished explaining. Then she walked over to Elise and began explaining that Aurora would be joining them and what her gift was.

Aurora noticed that Claire looked rather shy as she clung to her and the twins hadn't moved since Miss Peregrine let go of their hands.

"Come on." Aurora encouraged, hoping getting them to play would help distract her from her own shyness. "It's been awhile since we've made new friends."

She stepped into the room and over to the children in the corner with the toys. One little boy waved the twins over and started sharing his building blocks which the three of them started to stack into small houses like a little town. Aurora put Claire down and her little hand went right back to her skirt, holding on with a firm grip. Aurora spotted a couple fabric stitched dolls that looked like they'd been through a tornado and grabbed them before sitting on the floor and passing one to Claire.

"We should name them, don't you think?" she asked and Claire smiled and nodded her head, her shyness starting to slowly melt away. Aurora felt a tap on her shoulder and saw Miss Peregrine point to herself then the door. Aurora nodded at her and the headmistress left, presumably to rejoin Miss Cuckoo and Jake.

Aurora felt eyes on her and noticed Elise was still standing not far and was looking down at her. "Your eem-breen sayz zat you can heel ze children?"

Aurora nodded and that seemed enough to please Elise.

"D'où es-tu en France?" (Where in France are you from?) she asked regaining the older woman's attention.

Elise lit up and smiled down at her, "Versailles. 1919. Tu es aussi de France?" (You are from France as well?)

"D'Angleterre mais ma mère était française." (from England but my mother was French) she explained, "Nous avons vécu en Angleterre jusqu'à la guerre." (we lived in England until the war) she looked back down at the doll in her hands and played with her disheveled yarn hair. "Puis a déménagé en France pour se rapprocher de sa famille." (then moved to France to be closer to family)

Elise pulled over a small chair meant for a child and took a seat, "War is not easy."

Aurora met her gaze and nodded, knowing that since her loop had been in 1919 that Elise would have lived through the first world war. Then Elise was distracted by another child who ran over with a book and asked to be read to.

AN: Elise and Marblemaw are my own invented characters, but the children in the daycare are all inspired by the photos and captions of the peculiars in the book "Miss Peregrine's Museum of Wonders"