"I've had lots of troubles, so I write jolly tales." ~ Louisa May Alcott

~

Adeline woke up gasping for breath, sweat dripped down her forehead and she pressed on her chest, trying to calm herself down. The remains from her nightmare echoed in her mind, the screaming, small glimpses of a forest, a castle burning in the distance and a gentle voice telling Adeline that they loved her.

She wiped away the beads of sweat and looked the clock on her nightstand. 5:04, the crack of dawn. Adeline didn't want to go back to sleep for the fear that the nightmare would come back. Dark blue wisps floated in the corner of her vision and Adeline looked down to her hands to see magic entwining her fingers. She had always had this magic and for the most part, she could control it. She had never really tested its limits, her grandfather had forbidden it, concerned for her safety. He had also told her to never tell anyone about it and the only people who knew were him and herself.

Adeline reached up to fiddle with her necklace. Her grandfather said that it had been her mother's. She didn't remember her mother, but this necklace always gave her strength and just twirling the small silver flower between her fingers made her feel better.

Quickly she willed her magic away, and the room went dark. Getting up out of bed she took a seat at her desk and lit a candle. She opened the leather-bound journal that was sitting there and ran her fingers over the pages. This journal was her most prized possession, it held all of her ideas, thoughts, and opinions. It was home to her beloved stories that she wrote to pass the time. Adeline didn't know what she would do without it.

Taking out a pencil from her drawer she began to write, small things at first, her nightmare and how she felt about it. Then she began to write a story behind her visions, perhaps the castle was burning because of a dragon and the woman she heard was the princess saying goodbye to her love, or maybe this kingdom was an ancient civilization doomed to a prophecy. The pencil flew past on the page and Adeline didn't realize that she had been sitting there for hours until she looked back up again. The sun was peaking through her window and the early birds were already chirping. Satisfied with the work she had done, Adeline took a deep breath and closed her journal.

The door swung open suddenly and Mrs. Macready walked in rapidly. Besides Adeline and her grandfather, the only other person who lived in their enormous mansion was Mrs. Macready, the housekeeper. She had been here for as long as Adeline could remember and treated her well, even though she was extremely strict about rules. Mrs.Macready didn't know about Adeline's powers and her grandfather told her to keep them hidden as to not spook the older woman.

"Oh good, you're awake." Mrs. Macready said. She opened Adeline's closet and grabbed a skirt, "Get dressed, the professor would like to have breakfast with you this morning."

Adeline got up and grabbed the skirt, "Really? Usually, he's too busy."

Mrs. Macready began to head out, "Well, he's asking for you now so get ready and be at his door in twenty minutes." She turned to face Adeline, "And don't keep him waiting." With that she left, shutting the door behind her.

Adeline stared at the dreadfully colored skirt before slipping out of her nightgown and pulling it, choosing a nice white blouse to match. She pulled half her long wavy hair up and slipped on some old black shoes. Lastly, she put on her favorite pastel pink cardigan. She liked it because of the enormous pockets where she could store her book and journal.

Adeline slipped her journal in one pocket and the book she was currently reading, 'Little Women', her favorite, and headed out.

~

Balancing the silver tray between her hands, Adeline carried breakfast up the stairs. She turned the corridor and reached her grandfather's study. She opened the door and behind it, her grandfather was sitting at his desk entranced by his work.

"Good morning Grandfather." Adeline walked to the desk and put the tray on top of a couple of books.

"Good morning, my dear." Her grandfather smiled widely and put away his books and helped her set down the plates. "How did you sleep?"

Adeline sat down with a huff, "Not well I'm afraid, I was having my nightmares again." She picked up her toast and took a bite.

"Really?" he frowned, "I thought they had stopped a long time ago." he asked between bites of food.

Adeline sighed, "So did I. I woke up early this morning and my magic was a little out of hand." She pushed around the eggs on her plate with her fork, her appetite fading away as the topic continued

The professor raised an eyebrow, "And were you able to manage it?"

"Yes, yes," she waved it off, "It was minor, nothing serious."

Her grandfather nodded, "Good. You know that you must be in control, my dear. Word of your magic must not get out, you know what will happen if-"

"Yes, I know," Adeline interrupted, "I will be in danger. Don't worry, I have it under control. And besides, we don't know anyone else and we live in the middle of the country, there's no one around."

Her grandfather finished his breakfast and pushed the plate aside, "Speaking about other people, I have some news for you."

Adeline frowned and pushed away from her own plate as well, "What's wrong?"

Her grandfather lit his pipe and leaned back in his chair, the room immediately filling with the bitter smell, "Nothing at all. I just wanted to tell you that all children are being evacuated from central cities."

Adeline nodded, she had heard something like that over the radio, every channel was now filled by news from the war. Personally she didn't know what it was like for the children whose fathers were fighting or the citizens whose lives were in danger because of the bombing. She tried to listen as much as she could but there was only so much before it was too much. "Alright, but what does that have to do with us?"

The professor continued, "There is a family that has been assigned to us. Since we have such a big home, I am allowing them to stay here as long as needed. There will be four children arriving tomorrow, all from the Pevensie household." he puffed up another cloud.

"What?" Adeline started, furrowing her brows "Four? I've never been around any other children in my life and now I'm expected to entertain four children." She jumped from her chair to emphasize her point, "What about my magic, how am I supposed to hide that for months?"

The professor didn't move, unfazed by her sudden reaction, "My dear, I trust that you will be able to control it." he said waving his pipe, " You are very smart and strong-willed, you can hold it back." he puffed up a cloud of smoke," And as for entertaining, it will be good for you to talk to someone else besides Mrs. Macready and I. You need to communicate with children your own age. "

Adeline huffed, "But I am perfectly fine talking to you and Mrs. Macready." She ran her fingers through her hair, tugging at the ends, "Don't misunderstand me, I feel terrible for them and I can not imagine what they are going through but how exactly am I supposed to watch over four children?"

"You won't be expected to watch them at all times, my dear." her grandfather said leaning forward as if he were telling her a secret, "Just make sure they are comfortable and help them if needed. But I want you to at least speak with them and to join them in games and such." he gathered their abandoned plates, placed them on the platter and handed it to Adeline, "Now go finish up your chores for the day and do not forget to prepare the bedrooms for our guests."

With that, he signaled that the conversation had ended. The professor opened up his book and returned to his work leaving Adeline standing there. She still was unsure about how she felt with four children visiting their home. Adeline shut the door as she left her grandfather's study and headed downstairs to the kitchens.

What she had said was true, she had never talked to anyone besides the other two people living in the house. Adeline had never really fretted about not having friends, she never truly felt lonely. When she was bored she had her books and imaginary characters to keep her company.

Adeline entered the kitchen and slammed the tray onto the table in frustration. Lifting her hand to her hot face she tried to calm herself down. Her grandfather was right, this war was taking too much from people and now it was their turn help in the efforts. Even if it was going to be a challenge for her.

Adeline pushed back her sleeves, grabbed a dish and began to clean. She should be excited. Hadn't she always wished for adventure, and right now fate had dropped four of them in her lap. She watched as the bubbles from the soap slid down the drain. Honestly, this sort of adventure wasn't what she had been expecting.

Adeline was about to pick up the second dish when she realized it wasn't on the tray anymore. Blue light caught her eye and she rapidly looked up. The dirty dish was floating in the air, surrounded by blue wisps. Adeline let out a cry and with that, it came crashing down. She slapped a wet hand to her mouth before rushing to the ground and trying to pick up the broken pieces.

The door slammed open and Mrs. Macready ran in with a red face, "What in God's good name is going on here?"

"I-I'm so sorry," Adeline stammered out, trying to come up with a good excuse, "I wasn't paying attention and I accidentally dropped it." she raised up her soaked hands and wiggled them, "Slippery fingers"

Mrs. Macready grabbed a broom and moved Adeline away to finish the work herself, "Slippery fingers," she muttered, "You were just stuck in that head of yours. You need to learn to pay more attention."

Adeline dried her hands and said nothing, of course, she couldn't tell Macready what had really happened so she took the scolding as it came.

Mrs. Macready gathered up the pieces into a dustpan and handed it to Adeline who threw out the trash, "Since you're not in your right mind, I'm going to excuse you from your chores for now." Her eyes softened and she gripped Adeline's free hand, "Go out and take Rosie for a ride, I'm sure you both need it."

Adeline's embarrassment melted away and was replaced with glee. She bade Macready a small thank you and ran out of the kitchen and through the corridors, she could hear Mrs. Macready yelling at her to not run but she didn't listen.

As she ran she patted her sides to make sure that her book and journal were still in her cardigan pockets, the familiar shapes were still there. She turned a corner where the back door that leads to the stables was and ran out.

A fresh breeze greeted her the second she stepped outside. The warm sun shined down on her face and the birds sang their beautiful melodies from the trees. Living in the countryside had its perks, they had such beautiful weather and it was always quiet. Adeline felt like she could live outside forever although she did rather like her gargantuan home and their even bigger library. 

Taking a small dirt path down the side of the house she headed down to a stable where the family's horse, Rosie stayed. She was a beautiful chocolate brown horse with a feisty attitude. Adeline had learned how to take care of her and how to ride when she was younger. They didn't have big enough roads for automobiles so they used Rosie and the carriage to get around. 

She opened the doors to the stable and a brown muzzle greeted her.

"Hello Rosie," Adeline cooed, "Are you ready to go out for a walk?" Rosie huffed as if she was saying yes. Adeline led her out and brushed her nicely, humming as she did. She then saddled Rosie, hopped on her back and was on her way. 

They followed an old worn down trail that would lead through some woods. Adeline breathed in the summer breeze and admired the scenery around her. This was absolute bliss and Adeline's favorite part of living in the country. They entered the forest and the chirping of birds grew louder. Rosie trotted on and Adeline bounced in the rhythm of her steps. They rode on until Adeline spotted a strange-looking rock. Grabbing ahold of the reins she gently steered Rosie off the path and beyond the rock. Adeline knew these woods like the back of her hand and she knew exactly where to go. They traveled through a couple more trees before reaching a small pond. This pond was her favorite place in the whole world. It was at the base of multiple large stones and had a waterfall streaming into it. 

Adeline grinned and hopped off of Rosie. She found a good spot in the sun with plenty of grass for Rosie to graze and she tied the reins to a tree. The trickling of water filled her ears and Adeline approached the pond. She removed her cardigan, socks, and shoes and stepped into the freezing water, sending goosebumps shooting up her legs. She giggled and splashed around like a child. 

Rosie snorted from the shore as if telling her to not go too deep and Adeline wadded back to where she had left her clothes. She flopped herself onto the soft grass and basked in the sunlight, thinking about the events of today. 

Was she really ready to meet four new people? It was exciting but terrifying and she didn't know how to react. Adeline touched her necklace briefly, a reminder from her mother to be brave. 

Raising her other hand against the sun Adeline called upon her magic letting it twirl around her fingers and the air. Rosie snorted like she was reminding Adeline about her grandfather's rules. 

"I know." said Adeline, "but this may be my last chance to see it again before I have to hide it away for a long time." Adeline sighed and willed it away.

She rested her hands behind her head and quoted a line she remembered reading long ago, 

"This is going to be an awfully big adventure." 

~

Sorry for taking so long to upload but right after publishing the prologue I realized that I had kind of rushed into this. So, I took a step back to reorganize my thoughts and ideas and actually clean up this chapter, and here I am.

I also had to republish this chapter because I forgot some details here and there. I promise that I've fixed everything now. lol

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter and I would love and appreciate comments. 

Until next time,

StoryTeller5678