Eloise x OC / penelope x collin

Thrown towards the light

Eloise looked around. On the left were stalls selling all kinds of items: jewelry, decorations, clothes and much more, but they had one thing in common, they were expensive. The entry price had probably not been cheap either. On the left was a big open room with countless chandeliers lighting it up since there were no big open windows as you would normally expect. It was filled with elegant tables and chairs, most of which were being used to enjoy the drinks this hall had to offer. This building even had its own orchestra. The opening of this hall had been hyped up for weeks and it most certainly did not underperform.

It was fun and all, but Eloise had hoped she could have used this time to visit Thomas. Instead mama insisted they would look around as a family, so Eloise had quickly written a letter and sent it with haste to Thomas to let him. She did not want him to worry that something had happened.

Penelope hooked her elbow around Eloise's. 'You seem to be somewhere else. You wanted to visit him again, did you not?'

Eloise laughed. 'Is it that obvious? Well it does not matter, it is no big deal.' She could probably visit him somewhere the next two days, although she had to be careful. Mama had gotten suspicious.

'I believe they are selling books somewhere at the stalls. Perhaps some of them may interest you. This hall is built very close to the poorer parts of town so it might have gotten some of its books from there.'

'And I am sure you want a new romance book. We can check it out. About romance, have you had any suitors visit you?'

'Of course not. Mama seems to have already given me up.' Something was wrong.

'Given you up? What do you mean?' Eloise turned around and held Penelope's arms.

Penelope scanned the room, then whispered with a trembling voice: 'If I do not marry this season, she will marry me off to an old friend of a distant cousin.'

'What? I am so sorry, is there something I can do to help?' Eloise tightened her grip a little.

Penelope shook her head. 'No, I suppose the only thing you can do is not scare away any men you think are horrible, because they are likely still a better option than... that.'

Eloise shook her head. 'No, you are not going to settle with a donkey. We are going to convince your mama that...'

A huge explosion shook the floor, causing Eloise and Penelope to fall on their back. Eloise gasped for breath and looked panicky around her. Penelope lay next to her with a layer of dust on top of her.

'Pen? Pen?' Eloise yelled, but she could barely hear her own voice. Penelope scrambled up, her lips were moving, but nothing could be heard. People ran for their lives away from the entrance where the explosion had occurred. Where were the others? Where were they! They were not at the entrance right? Because then... Eloise shook her head. They had to get out of here, now!

Eloise grabbed Penelope's hand, stood up and ran with her towards the exit. Perhaps they still could... Giant burning wooden beams from the ceiling crashed down and blocked the entrance. The flames, twisting and turning, started to climb up towards the ceiling and were quickly spreading across the walls. What in the name of god happened here!

There had to be an exit somewhere on the other side of the building. Penelope already pulled Eloise back.

'Come on! We have to get out of here! Eloise!'

They ran towards the back of the building where everyone stood clumped up, some of them banging their fists against the walls of stone. A cold feeling took over Eloise's body which grew and grew as she looked around. No door there, no door there, no door there, no windows. Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!

She turned around and looked at the exit. Even if she was willing to run through the flames, there was no way through.

The flames had reached the ceiling and floor and climbed towards them. The huge amounts of smoke already started filling their room.

A woman behind them, her face in pure despair, ran towards the blocked exit.

'Wait! You cannot!' Penelope screamed.

The woman wormed herself through the beams until only her feet stuck out. A few seconds later they did not move anymore.

Eloise turned away and focussed on her breathing to prevent herself from going completely berserk. There had to be a way out. The ceiling? Could they break a wall? Dig a hole? Someone from outside had to break them loose, in the meantime all they could do was delay the fire and smoke from entering the room. Why designed this cursed building!

Eloise took a deep breath and grabbed Penelope's shoulders. 'We have to block the door to prevent the smoke from entering! Try to get some men to listen to you! I am going to collect all the water!'

'Please be careful!' Tears streamed over her cheeks.

'I will!' Eloise scanned the crowd again to find her family. In this chaos most people would not listen to her, but her brothers would. In the left corner of the room Eloise recognised her mama. Next to her were her brothers. Anthony saw Eloise and started gesturing she had to come to them immediately.

She pushed herself through the crowd and grabbed Anthonies hand. He made sure to hold her tight.

Eloise moved closer to his ear. 'We have to get all the water from the kitchen! We must open all the barrels!'

Anthony pulled away and looked Eloise in the eyes. 'Only if you stay here! You have to promise me!' he yelled.

'I promise, I promise, just do it before the fire reaches it!' Eloise screamed while her tears streamed down.

Anthony stared her in the eyes a bit longer before he turned around and grabbed his brothers. 'We have to move all the water from the kitchen to here!' He turned towards the others. 'And you stay here!'

'Anthony, don't!' Mama cried. Kate gave Anthony a kiss and let go of his hand. Her eyes were very clear: Don't you dare to die.

The smoke kept pouring and pouring in. 'Get down everyone!' Mama screamed. 'Now!'

Eloise lay down on the floor and breathing became much easier. Other men started helping the Bridgertons to get all the water to the door and two large tables got thrown in front of the door opening, closing most of the opening. It would maybe only make two minutes of a difference, but in that time a lot of people could be saved if the fire department got here in time.

Flames crept through the gaps of the tables. They would not last for... The entire table caught fire. Hectic screams echoed through the room as the fire ate gaps in the walls and smoke filled the room. The heat of the flames radiated on Eloise's skin.

Something banged against the wall behind her. Were they creating a hole?

'They are creating a hole here!' the woman next to her screamed. In mere seconds everyone swarmed towards Eloise. Men pushed her to the side to get closer to the wall.

'Eloise!' Eloise could barely hear her mothers voice between all the screaming. Eloise tried to hold onto the tables, other people, but someone grabbed her feet and tossed her behind.

'Mama!' Feet pressed into Eloise's belly, deafening her scream. Eloise tried to regain her breath but the smoke got thicker and thicker. The moment she tried to get up she got pushed to the ground again. The flames on the walls kept creeping closer and closer to her. Half the room was covered in dancing flames. Eloise had screamed if she had enough air, but the smoke was too much.

Eloise gathered all her strength and crawled forward, getting up was a lost cause. Bricks got smashed out of the walls and the sunlight poured through the walls, but the hole was way too small!

Eloise grabbed a man's leg to get herself closer. He wrecked his leg loose and kicked Eloise against the head, knocking her out.