"Dinner's ready" Grace called out, ringing her little bell and beckoning the children to the dinner table.
All eight Hargreeves siblings walked into the room in a single file, quickly standing by their seats, the room filled with tense silence as they waited for their father to arrive.
An old man dressed in a sharp pinstripe suit finally walked into the room and made his way to his place at the end of the table. His eyes scanned the room as the sunlight reflected off of his signature monocle, which was tucked securely under his wild grey brow.
"Sit," he ordered, and the meal began.
Number Eight was staring at her plate blankly while her mind wandered. The harsh voice of Herr Carlson playing faintly in the background as she suddenly felt someone's steady gaze burning through her skull.
She looked up to meet Number One's furious glare. He was always getting mad at her for for the oddest reason, trying to assert his 'authority' over the rest of his siblings seeing as he was 'Number One' and all.
Eight scoffed and rolled her eyes, wondering what she had done wrong this time. Had he gone through her drawers? The big blonde bastard, she knew Klaus should've hidden the contraband in a better place.
BAM!!
All of his sibling's heads snapped towards him as Five sent a determined glare towards their father. His grip on the knife, which was now stuck halfway through the dinner table, loosened as he laced his fingers together.
"Number Five?" asked Reginald dismissively, not even looking up from his plate.
"I have a question" replied Five with an irritated fake smile.
"Knowledge is an admirable goal, but you know the rules. No talking during mealtimes, you are interrupting Herr Carlson" his father replied.
"I want to time travel" the boy shot back, to which Reginald simply replied:
"No"
"Five, shut up" Eight hissed through gritted teeth. She knew arguing with their father during his quiet time would only lead to some form of collective punishment later on.
Five shoved his plate away and angrily stood from his chair, "But I'm ready. I've been practising my spatial jumps, just like you said." the boy shouted ignoring Eight and blinking to where Reginald was sitting. "See?!"
"A spatial jump is trivial when compared with the unknowns of time travel. One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of the freezing water and reappearing as an acorn," replied the man, continuing to stare down at his plate while he spoke.
