Perekoo One-shots

The Charming Woman She Didn't Know

The silver-haired woman threw her head back in laughter. She looked beautiful, truly. Her short hair shinned in the light of the chandeliers; her golden earring swayed together with her body to the rhythm; the red lipstick she wore matched her dress perfectly. The woman looked perfect. Leaning into one of her companions, she whispered something into their ear.

Alma made herself look away and take a sip of her wine. As soon as the cold liquid hit her tongue, she shivered with disgust. Red wine was never her favourite. The sweetness of the drink was what discouraged her the most. However, the mysterious woman seemed to enjoy drinking it so she's decided to give the beverage one more try, which was a mistake. Now she stood in the corner of the ballroom with a glass of expensive wine she didn't like at an annual ball she usually wouldn't want to attend. It was only after she heard someone talk about the silver-haired woman's likely presence at the ball that she considered showing up. Alma's tried to approach the woman on multiple occasions, but without much luck. She thought tonight would be different.

Her first plan was to appear at the woman's side when she went to refill her drink, ask what wine she preferred, make a witty joke, and introduce herself. Her plan had failed.

Before the peregrine managed to get the woman's attention, a man approached her and asked her to dance. The woman froze for a moment before agreeing, "I hope you're a good dancer, darling." Then she pulled him to the dance floor.

Alma watched them dance together to a couple of modern songs. She found that the peculiar (and only) thing she actually enjoyed about gatherings, such as this one, was the mixing of the different the time-periods and cultures. Attending a ball, for example, became more to her than dancing to loud music and drinking. The music and variety of drinks on such occasions were as diverse as the peculiar participants themselves, which, in Alma's case, offered an interesting insight into the society she was a part of.

The woman danced to a wide range of diverse songs, but Alma noticed that sometimes her eyes sparked in recognition and her face lit up. That made the peregrine smile.

Her second plan of battle was to simply walk up to the woman and ask her to have a drink with her. The ballroom was quite crowded, and as the peregrine tried to make her way to the other side of the room, someone bumped into her which made her spill most of the wine on her blazer. Plan B had failed too.

After two unsuccessful attempts and one ruined blazer, Miss Peregrine decided that enough is enough and resumed to standing by one of the decorative planters in the corner of the ballroom.

She reached out and fixed her dark hair in an attempt to recollect and organise her thoughts. This went terribly. Maybe she isn't meant to meet that woman. Maybe it's destiny. She cringed at her use of words. Her final plan was to finish her drink (or what remained of it) and leave.

"Oh, if it isn't Alma LeFay Peregrine!" Exclaimed suddenly a voice in the crowd. It took Alma a minute to locate the person calling her, but the moment she did her face lit up.

"Andrew, hello, I didn't know you'd be here! What a nice surprise!" She put her ruined blazer away to pull her friend for a hug. "How are you? How is Mandy?"

"She is wonderful, as always," Alma smiled at the dreaminess in his voice, "Apart from the world almost falling on our heads, we're doing great. David's just started school and I help him with his homework so for once I feel like I know what's happening again," he chuckled. "Yourself?" His eyes met het her gaze.

"Well you know how it is, all work and responsibilities," said Alma, her eyes scanning the purplish liquid in her glass, "the children are wonderful, of course." She smiled. "I couldn't wish for better." A moment of silence passed between them; Miss Peregrine could see Andrew was a little dissatisfied with her answer.