Travel Through Time // a MPHFPC fanfiction

A life to live

This was it. After all this time living in the wild and always hiding away from the curious eyes of people who would harm her the second they figured out what Ethel was -- this was it. Ethel was standing in front of her new home, her new life. And the door to her new life was right here, ready to open and welcome her.

But was Ethel truly ready?

After all this time, was she ready? Ready to move on, to leave her old live, to leave her brother forever behind? Ethel hadn't thought of James in a while. It hurt too much. And with everything and every change her life currently held, Ethel had simply forgotten about thinking and worrying over him. But now as she stood in front of the door with the number 217 beautiful engraved, it all came back.

Truth be told, Ethel wanted nothing more than to be accepted for once. She wanted to live her life fully and happy despite being different or peculiar as she now knew. Ethel wanted to turn that doorknob in front of her and move on.

Was she being selfish? Perhaps. But Ethel had made her decision. She had chosen. And she had chosen herself for once. But with that decision came a prize and Ethel knew it. If she truly wanted to live her new life the fullest, she would have to make a vow. She vowed to never speak of James again. That vow hurt, but speaking of him, remembering that he was gone, hurt more. More than anything. Leaving her old life behind meant leaving James behind. Otherwise Ethel could never be happy.

And with that she opened the door to room 217.

The room wasn't big at all. In fact it was rather small. The room Ethel had lived in ages ago had been the complete opposite. It had been massive, but it had never felt quite right, more like Ethel had been a guest in her own house.
But the room in front of her felt perfect in its simplicity. On each sides were a bed, a closet and a nightstand, all made of dark, heavy wood. There was one table with two chairs and one mirror. In the middle of the wall opposite to Ethel was a large window. On the windowsill were some pillows so one could sit on it.

Ethel walked over to the window and looked outside. The view was breathtaking. One could see the whole lands of the Academy, even the lake. The children that had been playing there earlier were now gone.
In the distance Ethel could even make out the little village she and Miss Bunting had been walking through. Everything was perfect and Ethel admired her new home. Home. What a beautiful strange word to say.

"It's quite the view, isn't it?", a voice suddenly said. Ethel abruptly turned around and was met with a girl, maybe her age, maybe a bit older, Ethel couldn't tell.

"It is", Ethel replied rather dumbstruck and after a short silence she added: "You must be Alma, I assume?"

The girl smiled.

"I sure am, Alma LeFay Bentham to be precise, soon to be Miss Peregrine after I finish my ymbryne training. And you are Ethel, am I right?"

"Yes, I'm Ethel, Ethel Barrinson. Nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to welcome you to the wonderful world of the syndrigasti, Ethel. Your bed is on the left and if you want, I can lend you some dresses."

Seeing that Ethel still wore what she had worn when she had run away, she gladly accepted the offer.

A while and a bath (finally) later -- the bathroom was just as nice as their other room -- Ethel sat on her new bed. The dress Alma had given her was beautiful. It was beige with some stripes in a darker brown that matched Ethels hair. It looked so nice on Ethel that Alma decided to gift it to her.

Currently Alma questioned Ethel about everything, but mostly about her peculiarity. Alma was quite a curious character without being intrusive or even pushy at all, but being rather nice and temperate.

Ethel liked that. In fact she and Alma were some harmonising roommates so far, despite being literally a bird and a cat. Perhaps they could even be friends in the future.

Two hours later, it was now early evening, Alma abruptly stopped telling Ethel about the one time, where she was accidentally stuck in the crown of an apple tree because she had been in her peregrine form and everything seemed so big.

"Oh goodness, look what time it is already! I promised Miss Avocet to bring you to her office by now so that she can welcome you as well and she can tell you about the different courses you can take at the Academy! I'm sorry, Ethel, I will show you your way."

And with that they left room 217 for now. Ethel was happy. Her roommate was nice, she had a wonderful home and most importantly: a life to live.

Hello again, dearest reader!
It's update-day, yay
Sorry I kept you waiting so long, but I hope you enjoyed the new chapter 😊
Feel free to comment, it really makes my day to read your kind words, thanks!
Have a most peculiar day!