Prophet - Five Hargreeves X oc UMBRELLA ACADEMY

1

As a child growing up next door to the famous Umbrella Academy, it was safe to say she grew up a naturally curious being.

She would sneak out of her house when her mother had her back turned to peer over the stone wall into their back garden, spying to see what she could see. Sometimes she would see them doing some sort of training, running laps in the huge expanse of garden far greater than their own - while an older man oversaw them with scrutiny and always such a deep disdainful frown. As though always expecting disappointment no matter the outcome.

She thought he must have been an incredibly difficult man to live with, but that was just a hunch.

She grew to know the children's names before they found out about her existence - and when her mother found out she had snuck out against her wishes she would be punished. The older woman wanted her daughter to have nothing to do with the cursed children next door, swearing their abilities were not gifts, and they shouldn't be held on such a high pedestal.

Still, Anneli's curiosity was a wondrous thing. It got her in tremendous trouble, but it also led to her becoming friends with Number Four.

Or Klaus, as his robot mother had called him. He had spotted her first. Then, when their father was away on business, he'd asked her to play with them.

She had been nervous, glancing back at the kitchen window where she knew her mother liked to watch her from. She could not see her then. So, curiosity getting the better of her, she climbed over the wall and hopped down on the other side.

And that sprung a neat little friendship with the group, who didn't have much to do with socialising with others - given their homeschooling situation - much like her own.

So it seemed both parties were yearning for something new.

It became a regular thing - when Anneli could find the time to escape her mothers gaze, and the others were free from their fathers when he went away - for her to join them on their little escapades.

They all took a liking to her because she was kind, and odd, and a fresh face to be around. They'd play tag in the garden, or hide and seek all around the huge house (which had astonishingly taken her one attempt to memorise - which in hindsight was just her natural intuition), but she didn't know that then. She even snuck out at night to go to the donut store across town, and listened to Vanya's violin whenever she got the chance. Ben would steal books from their library to give to her and she'd hide them from her mother to read.

She didn't ask many questions about the missing Number Five, getting the feeling it would just make them all angry or sad. (And she'd had enough of angry and sad with her mother at home.)

She became the Academy kids secret, and they became hers. If her mother knew where she went, she would be locked away under the stairs forever.

It wasn't until the unfortunate death of Number Six that the others began drifting away. She had watched the funeral from her bedroom window, gazing down at the sad sight, not feeling right to try and listen from the garden.

Even though Anneli's appearance became less and less frequent, she was still a big part of all of their childhoods.

So it was safe to say they would remember her when she returned for Sir Reginald Hargreeves funeral.