Separate Entities//Miss Peregrine AU

Chapter Ten

The next morning, Jacob and I crossed over to see a grand total of no one waiting for us. Neither of us was surprised, though, as we both knew the way back to the house by heart now. Well, I did. With all the time Jake and Emma spent together, I'd be surprised if he even recognized the forest around us.

We made it to the house in just a short amount of time, and almost immediately, Jacob began searching anxiously for someone - Emma, no doubt. However, before he could wander too far off, Miss Peregrine approached us.

"I must speak with you two." Of course, we went with her. She led us to the kitchen, empty of children yet still overwhelmingly full of the smell of their breakfast. Miss Peregrine leaned herself against the counter before she began speaking. "Are you two enjoying yourselves here?"

"Of course. This place is... amazing," I replied, hoping the response would be satisfactory.

"Very good," Miss Peregrine said, then adjusted her glasses before she spoke once more. "I'm aware that you and some of my wards had quite the fun day yesterday at the beach. And many lovely conversations, of course."

Jacob was the one to answer this time. "Oh, yeah. They're all real great." I nodded in agreement, though I could tell by the look in Miss Peregrine's eyes that she wasn't quite as happy.

"Is that so? Well, what sort of topics did you speak about?" I swallowed, nervous about what she was getting at with all these questions. Our conversations yesterday with the kids were still fresh in my mind, so I replied when Jacob stayed quiet.

"Well, we talked about tons of stuff. Things here, things on our side of the loop, our favorite foods, that sort of stuff."

"On your side?" Miss Peregrine echoed the words like it was a question, even though Jake and I both knew she knew perfectly well what we meant. Nonetheless, Jake and I both nodded. "Do you think it's wise to speak of such futuristic things with these children?"

"You really think of them as children?" Jacob blurted out, and we both instantly realized it was the wrong thing to say.

I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to shrink under Miss Peregrine's hard glare. "They regard themselves as children, as well, Mr. Portman," she said, her voice lowering a bit. "Do they look like anything other than that?"

"Well, no," Jake replied, looking away from her eyes. I shook my head 'no' as well, showing that I agreed with him.

"Precisely. Now, back to the original topic. Do you two think that it's wise to tell children of the past about the future?" Jake and I both shook our heads, replying with weak 'no's before Miss Peregrine continued speaking. "Well, it seems you do. Of course, I only know this because my wards are incredibly excited for it. Just last night at dinner, Hugh gave us a wonderful explanation of the twenty-first century's telecommunications technology."

I took a cautious step forward. "Is that really such a bad thing, though? I thought you were all for them learning new stuff?" She stepped toward me, leading me to step back once more, and spoke.

"It most definitely is, Miss Sanders. As an ymbryne, it is my duty to keep these children safe, right here, right now. They can never be part of your world, so why would you tell them of such things if they will never be allowed to experience them?"

"We're sorry, really. We didn't know," Jake replied, his voice raising in pitch a little.

"I'm certain you are, but you mustn't tell them anything else. They must stay in this loop, and I'd very much appreciate it if you would keep it that way."

I nodded, though Jacob spoke once more. "Well, why?"

"Excuse me?" Miss Peregrine was surprised by his question. In all honesty, I was, too.