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𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫
•••
THE RUSH OF ADRENALINE WAS LIKE NOTHING AMELIA HAD EVER EXPERIENCED. Time seemed to slow down the second her foot left the platform, but the rapid beating of her heart (seemingly doing backflips in her chest) brought her back to reality. She heard a final shaky breath and the yell of her friends as they jumped off the train and tumbled down the hill. The train wheels whirred as it flew past, heading out onto the bridge and cutting off the brown hat man from following.
Amelia sucked in a breath as she hit her shoulder hard, rolling down the hill through the soft grass. Finally rolling to a stop, she let out a groan as she felt the cold stone against her legs. Looking up, she laid not an inch off of the edge of the cliff. She let out a breath, closing her eyes as she steadied her heart. Amelia didn't really want to jump off a moving train, but she would take that over being murdered by a stranger.
"Hopping a train and being dragged into a murder mystery. What a day," Amelia huffed, lugging her limp shoulder over the cliff face.
Enola grabbed Amelia's hand, tugging her to her side and wrapped an arm around her waist, "you're stuck with me now, 'Melia." The best friends sighed when they saw Tewksbury complaining about the condition of his suit, furiously brushing off any grass. Amelia cracked a small smile as he looked up, a horrified look in his eyes. Obviously he didn't think they would jump, so it probably was a shock to him when Amelia did.
"You do make an awful lot of noise don't you?" Enola teased with a straight face, making Amelia smile. She stood up, brushing off her clothes and checking her arms for cuts. A shot of pain went through her arm as she tried to roll her shoulder, and she frowned, straightening her sleeves. As Enola and Viscount bickered, she looked around trying to figure out where they were, wandering from here to there. They couldn't have been far from London, as they were on the train for a fair bit. She sighed, realizing their only hope was to follow the trails until they can hitch a ride on someone's cart. Amelia assumed everyone from the point they jumped and on would be headed to London, as it was the main city and trading spot around their area.
"Will you two quit your arguing and start walking?" Amelia called after a minute, casting a look over her shoulder at the two. Enola was quick to stand, scoffing at the boy once more before trudging after Amelia. Tewksbury brushed himself off once more before making his way over to the two, giving Amelia a cheeky smile.
"You do know you've entirely ruined phase three of my plan," the Holmes girl snapped, clearly annoyed at the switch of plans. Amelia hadn't heard the plan, as the boy had caused far too much trouble to have the time to do so.
"Phase what? Who the hell are you two?" He asked, quickly catching up to the two girls. They exchanged a hidden look, reading each other's opinions like they had learnt so many years ago. If there was anything Amelia loved most about Enola's Mother, it would be her tricks. She was smart, too smart. Perhaps that's why she was gone; to be wrapped up in a world of adventure.
They stayed quiet.
"Look, I believe our recent brush with death deserves me at least some names," he debated, making Amelia roll her eyes. She gave Enola another look, shrugging her good shoulder.
"Amelia Hastings, and this is—" she was cut off by a rather annoyed Enola. "Enola Holmes," the said girl announced, taking off her overcoat as she trudged forward onto the cart trail. Tewksbury pursed his lips for a second, then his eyes widened in disbelief. He smiled at Enola, trying to catch up to her annoyed paces. Amelia inwardly sighed, ignoring the wet grass as they plowed through it onto the trail.
"Holmes... like Sherlock?" He asked, suddenly very interested in her, making Amelia's jaw clench. She fell behind as they began chatting, taking a moment to take in her surroundings once more. It was a beautiful clear day, clouds few and far between. Sun way up in the sky, the air was warm and comforting, much like the train compartment. The grass was still an elegant green, despite the lack of rain in the midst of the summer season, and the trees stretched up high, trying to soak up the warm rays of sunlight as much as they could. Their leaves matching the grass, it was a perfect landscape picture, and it reminded Amelia of her mother's many paintings.
A frown captured her face and in a desperate attempt to rid her heart of the sadness, she jogged ahead, rejoining Tewksbury and Enola, who were finally quiet, trying to make ground before nightfall.
•••
"WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT SLEEPING SOON," Enola commented, glancing at Amelia for an answer. The short haired girl nodded, turning her gaze from Viscount with a frown. She wouldn't say it with him around of course (since she thought his ego was big enough already), but he was quite handsome. Catching the Hastings' girl's gaze, Enola wiggled her eyebrows teasingly, making Amelia smile shyly. She felt a blush creeping up her neck at Enola's smirk, and the two girls giggled quietly. What Amelia didn't know, was Enola had noticed the boy looking back. Tewksbury perked up at the break of silence, confused at the girl's smiles, but just shook his head to himself.
"We should think about eating soon." He retorted, quickening his pace slightly to walk beside Amelia, who bit her cheek to suppress the smile. She agreed with both of them, so she hummed, enjoying the golden sun on her exposed arms. They had been walking for a while, following the cart trail to the city, and still weren't close. Enola had guessed about another day's worth of walking and we'd make it. Only if a cart didn't pass.
"We have nothing to eat," Enola commented halfheartedly, sending a glare to the boy. Amelia could only guess her mind was tinkering, trying to rework a plan of attack. Now that the girl's had been quite literally thrown off track, it was up to Enola to figure out where to go next.
"Of course we do. Arctium Lappa, which you'll know as burdock... very tasty," he began, pointing at a plant they were walking along. Amelia raised a brow, interested in how he would know anything about plants. He didn't seem to be one to know much about anything outside of royal and political matters. She just stared with curiosity as he went into a tangent about plants and herbs.
Maybe he isn't so bad after all.
•••
mo is typing . . .
so once again i had to rush the ending, but i plan on making the next chapter have a lot more amelia and tewksbury content :))
