Iris Blue, Am I In Love With You? (Childhood/Teens)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 (April 1866)

The world stood still. No one even noticed the flames around them, or the crackling of the rampant fire they simply stared at the figures that were in front of them. For Stella, that meant she was staring at Louis. Not through a glass screen, not blurred by a bad internet connection, but fully stared into the crimson eyes of the terrified orphan boy with burnt flesh on his cheek.

"Who- Who are-"

Stella panicked as she heard Albert's voice behind her. Her senses went to alert, her body and mind caught up to each other, realizing the position she was in. This was bad. Very bad. There was no room for her in a reasonable explanation of the house fire, and more than likely she would be the one to blame.

A brush of fingertips on her arm brought her to action. She grabbed the wood from Louis's limp hand, his face showing his confusion and fear as he watched the girl swing behind her. A flash of blonde hair brought her relief, knowing well that William was out of her way. Now she could surely get past Albert.

Her muscles tensed, and she took off in a sprint. Albert stumbled backward as she tossed her weapon in his direction, merely trying to scare him off as she found her way out.

"Watch out!"

William's cry came too late. Stella never really saw what hit her, but she almost immediately felt it's painful affects searing into her skin. Whatever it was seemed large enough to hold her down for a moment, knocking her onto her knees, slowing her escape. One of the boys must've come to her rescue, the weight lifted almost as quickly as it had fallen. But Stella still ran.

Her heart pounded in fear as she glanced back at the boys, before darting off in another direction. The house indeed was coming down around her ears, but she couldn't run out the front into the awaiting fire brigade. Too many questions, not enough answers. She felt shocks of pain in her feet and she slowed, glancing down at the scorched socks that she had brought from her world, now disintegrating around her toes.

Gingerly, she began to tip toe her way through the burning rubble, careful now of where she put her feet. Her brown eyes scanned around her as debris continued to fall, and she heard the creaking of the supporting walls beginning to give way. It was all she could do to scramble out of the nearest window before a hallway collapsed, the shouts of the fire brigade not far behind her.

"Leave it! Get to this side!"

Stella grimaced as gravel crunched beneath her feet, worried of someone overhearing her. Luckily, the men of the city were too concerned with the fire, and probably the three boys walking out, labeled as the survivors of the dreadful "accident".

If only they knew.

Stella pushed her thoughts aside as she scanned the area for a way out. There had to be another escape from this dreadful scene, some way to get out of this area without being pinned with causing the fire. Her only hope seemed to be the gates up ahead, possibly a rear entrance or a servants gate. She hoped they were unlocked.

Men's shouts and the rushing of water filled her ears as she glanced back, barely catching a glimpse of the three brothers as they were ushered away from the fire. Their brightly colored robes caught her attention among the men, as she caught herself, half in the shadow of the wall, watching them. These were the things that were never shown in the stories. Little moments, back story that didn't make a difference. She could hardly keep herself from falling into the abyss that was the reality of her being in this world, possibly for good.

But a scarlet pair of eyes pulled her from her musings. They were lucky enough to catch the small face hidden in the shadow, but it was enough for a bit of revelation to flash across his face. Stella pulled herself into the darkness, stumbling into the street behind her.

There she froze. What was she to do? Where was she to go? Shouts behind her made her jump, pushing her feet into a sprint, heading for any way to put distance between her and the burning Moriarty estate. Would William and the others tell their 'rescuers' about the mysterious girl? Stella doubted it. Their story would make less sense if they didn't find her. She doubted they would risk their innocence on a simple curiosity. Though they might attempt to track her down later...

An uneven stone tripped her up, sending her sprawling onto the cold street. She grimaced. Letting out a low moan of pain as her toes throbbed from the impact, her neck stretched into new pain. Pushing herself up, she ran a hand up to her neck, gingerly touching the burnt skin on her neck.

That's going to leave a nasty mess... I need to get it cleaned.

That's when it struck her. How?

The world she knew was long gone, nothing was familiar to her here. No one knew her, no one cared for her- how could she find help? Her eyes roved over the shadows of the alleys, finding bits of moonlight and street lamps, a few lighted windows, various boxes and trash bins piled around her. But nothing and no one for her to go to.

She suddenly thought of her notebook. A groan escaped her as she realized it was still laying on the desk, back in her world. Any info she had on this world was there, or locked away in her brain. Hopefully she would be able to recall it when the need arose.

If the need arose? Will I even last that long here?

The Victorian era was notorious for death and poverty, the situation worsened in the story to show it's horrors among the lower class. Stella shivered a little as she began to journey on. Any other place would be better than the scene of an arson, or a "dreadful accident" as everyone believed, but she began to formulate good places for her to go to. She should lay low for a while with the burn on her neck, making her an obvious target for suspicion, but she needed it treated soon. Where should she go? Where could she go? Suddenly, in the small dark alleys, she realized just how large London was.

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Author's Note:

Hello all! Just popping in to say thank you so much for all the support so far, and to give you a heads up on this story.

I don't know how often I'll be posting, I have quite a bit written but I'm also busy with other projects and don't want to run out of material and leave you all hanging, so I'll try my best to keep this going! These chapters are quite small, I know, but this was originally one chapter that seemed to fit better broken into two. Do not worry, I have longer chapters to come.

Editing might be rough, honestly. I have gotten sick of editing this so I'm just YOLOing it at this point. Sorry in advnace if it's rough in spots.

I'm looking forward to more of this story, and your reactions as I bring Stella through the world!