The Defender of Time

Thirty-Two

Sweetville was nowhere near as intimidating as Alessia imagined. Standing outside its gates, with Oliver in a covered basket and Madame Vastra peeking over her shoulder, it felt for a moment like she was just a schoolgirl stopping by the rich side of town before her aunt-- her lizard aunt-- dropped her off at the schoolhouse.

"Do you think they're in there?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

The madame hummed and took a step closer to the gates. "I don't see why they wouldn't be."

It looked like a neighborhood, Sweetville. It was unassuming and plain, with a large strip of well-trimmed grass in the center of two long rows of houses, all made of stripped grey-brown brick. Directly parallel to the gate was a large building of four stories which was centered by a tall, thin chimney. There were elegant arches of stone and tall, dirty windows on the building in the back, and the houses had contrastingly bright red doors. The gate read the town's name in tall, brass letters, and that was perhaps the only notable sight; everything else could be realistically found anywhere around the city.

August went up and poked at the gate; his finger passed straight through it. "Want me to go in?" He asked. He beckoned for Amaryllis to follow him, and she rose above the gate. "Ryllis could fly right over and we'd be right in."

Alessia shrugged. "I don't know. Don't you think it'll be odd? Doors will be moving on their own."

She instantly regretted even responding, because it suddenly came to mind that she'd never mentioned August or Amaryllis to Madame Vastra; to her, Alessia was speaking to a brick column. "Sorry," she said hurriedly. "I didn't mean to alarm you. I'm a bit clairvoyant." Alessia forced a pathetic smile on her face while she waited for Vastra's response.

"Well," the madame finally said. "I must admit, that's something I've never heard before."

August, excited by the situation, ran forward and passed his right hand through hers. "Pleasure to meet you," He said in his phoniest accent, dipping into a bow.

"That's August," Alessia translated. "He says it's good to meet you. He tried to shake your hand."

Madame Vastra still seemed entirely confused, but Alessia pushed on. "They want to go in without us. August and Amaryllis, that is. Amaryllis is the other one. I'm worried about them attracting attention."

"We won't be opening any doors!" August protested. "We'll just go right through."

"I can't pass through solid objects!" Whined Amaryllis. "You're being awfully exclusive."

"Big word, Thumbelina. Where'd you learn that one?"

"Oh, stop it!" Alessia groaned. She pointed forward and rolled her eyes. "You two can go in, but if I hear a single peep about strange happenings around town, I'll have both of your heads."

August scoffed. "Big deal. We're dead already." He stuck his tongue out and did a sort of skip-jump through the gate. Amaryllis took the overhead route and met him back at the ground, and they walked off toward the back building.

Alessia watched them for a moment before sighing. "Alright. They went in."

"I'm not sure I entirely believe you."

There was a hint of a smile on Alessia's face before she turned to leave. "I know. I don't expect you to." She waited for a moment for Madame Vastra to speak, but when she didn't, followed with, "Do we have a plan?"

The change in subject seemed to comfort Vastra, and she narrowed her eyes, as if envisioning the threats she was going to take care of. "We wait until nightfall, sneak into Sweetville from the back, and meet Jenny inside."