When Omara King finally left Leadworth, she left a trail of ash.
It's been three years since it all fell apart, and Amelia Pond's wedding is the first time the town has really come back to life.
But a ghostlike Omara shows up on the night before the...
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Three years before it all fell apart.
They told me Sharon's minivan had enough room for all five of the kids, but only the three of them ever rode in it. The other two had a personal driver and several modes of private air travel, as well as four bodyguards assigned to accompany us outside of Leadworth.
Jetlagged, I woke up suddenly as the helicopter landed.
She was shaking my arm gently and pulling her headphones off. I stumbled to my feet and remembered retroactively to grab the phone I'd left in my seat, and didn't bother to turn off the seat heater. Someone else would do that.
The door was opened for us, and the air immediately bit into our skin as we descended to the helipad.
We could see Big Ben from here, the clockface staring over the city below us like a watchful guard.
I pulled my scarf over my nose and mouth to hide from the cold and put my arm around her shoulders.
I hardly remembered my life before moving to England - when I was born, I was raised on a beach in India until I was five and she was two, and I can only remember bits of it - mostly the warmth and the light. I couldn't remember any of my nannies, though I'm told that my behavior sent several running for the proverbial hills.
"Are you okay?" She was looking up at me.
I nodded. "Mhm, fine. C'mon."
Howard was waiting for us inside at the stairs.
"Good evening, ladies. How was the trip, Omara?"
"You have to stop asking me that, the answer will never be positive," I chuckled.
"Oh, what happened?" He asked with a chastising smile.
I returned with a dazzling grin. "I can't tell you. Plausible deniability."
"Ah, I see. And you, miss King? How was school?"
My sister only smiled and took my hand.
Father often wondered aloud if she would ever grow out of her shyness. I didn't imagine she would.
Howard looked after the penthouse while we were in the city. He lived in-house, but was technically a housekeeper. I had never asked if Howard was his first name or last name.
"Well, it's good to see you," he said genially.
She nodded again, smiling.
"Well, ladies, what can I do for you?"
"Just put a limousine out front, please. We're going shopping."
"Right away. Have a lovely time out." He briefly glanced at the guards behind us. A strange look flittered past his face that I saw on most people we encountered with our entourage. "If you're planning to eat while you're out, I have been hearing good things about Hedone. Very cozy, five-star of course. It's very cozy, I thought about you when I saw it." He smiled at my sister.
