Unknown L (Book 1)

~~ Training, Training, Training! ~~

Archie moved beside L, and she could feel him watching her, but she didn't look up.

"I'm sorry, L, but it is a wondrous thing to have contact with a Keeper, as you know they hold the secrets of every species. Due to past failures, it has been a very long time since my kind has had any hope of getting back what we lost. Most species have forgotten some of the ways of their kind, or they don't really want to know their old ways anymore, but I do. I would like to know if we can become human at will and I'd like to learn it... One day, you may be my teacher."

Archie chuckled, but there was a little sadness buried in there.

L sighed and shook it off for the time being. "If you say so, but I think that'll be a long, long way off." She didn't want to dismiss him, but it seemed very unlikely. "Okay, let's get back to this training."

Archie looked like he was going to say more, but L moved away before he had a chance. She just wanted to get it over with and leave. Thinking about the stories of what Keepers meant to so many just made her feel useless- it made her feel like a little kid again. She focused on the task at hand instead and listened to Archie's instructions. She soon learned how to store extra heat for times when she might need it.

As soon as Archie said they were done for the day, she thanked him and bolted away as quickly as she could, which was very fast now. She was back to her cottage within seconds, and the relief was almost overwhelming. She opened the door and walked into a new kind of chaos.

The living room was in disarray; the furniture was piled into the middle of the room, the fire hadn't been tended, and L's first thought was they'd been attacked. She had already started to panic when Robbie hobbled around from the doorway leading to the kitchen.

He smiled when he saw her and carefully picked his way around the mess.

"Erm... Do you know how you mentioned that Matilda might drop in?"

L's panic was replaced with dread when she realised this had something to do with Matilda, and she nodded slowly up at Robbie.

He chuckled, "Well, she did, and she's even more excitable than you described. She was jumping up and down while she talked. We discussed you and us being here with you, and then mum just mentioned that she wanted to make it a bit more to your liking. Well, Matilda went nuts and started suggesting decorating and renovating... and everything just escalated."

L closed her eyes momentarily and groaned, "That explains it all. Is she here now?"

"No, she took off to get wallpaper, fabrics, and clothes, apparently."

He looked puzzled, but L knew exactly what that meant, and she walked him into the kitchen while she explained. This room hadn't been bombarded, but the table was strewn with magazines, books, and colour samples. Mr and Mrs Worcester looked a little windswept.

L smiled when they greeted her, "You've met Matilda then?"

They both chuckled, and Mrs Worcester stood up to help Robbie into a seat.

"We have, she's very lovely, if a little... intense. How did your outing go?"

L didn't want to lie to them, but she also didn't feel like talking about it. She told them fine and changed the subject. Robbie would be the only person she'd talk to, eventually and thankfully they didn't question her further; it was one of the many things she liked about them- they didn't pry.

The new subject was food, something they hadn't mentioned to Matilda, luckily. L hoped Maeve would be stopping by with some shopping for them and also that she'd be there before Matilda got back. L took a seat next to Robbie at the table and looked over the magazines, shaking her head at all the furniture pictures.