Tuck Everlasting, The Continued Story.

Chapter 6

Authors note: Thank you everybody for helping my book get to #1 on the fan fiction list! I never thought that would happen, and I am so grateful to all of you. Thank you!

"Est elle vivant?"  

"Je ne sais pas... Mademoiselle?"  

"Winnie?"  

Winnie coughed up water, and she felt someone pat her back. She opened her eyes, and saw Miles kneeling beside her, with two men in simple garb standing behind him looking on. They were beside the waterfall, on a pebble covered shore. Winnie sat up, and put her hand to her head, which now felt fine. 

"What happened?" she asked.

"You hit your head, and were knocked out." Miles answered. Winnie's eyes grew wide.

"That can happen to us?" she asked. Miles chuckled, and then turned to the two men. He gestured to the first.

"This is Andre. He speaks a bit of English." Andre nodded his head. "How do you do?" he asked, with a strong French accent.

"Very well, thank you." Winnie answered with a bob of the head. Andre was a large man, with a scruffy short beard, and a red nose. His hair was dark brown, and spilled out in curls from beneath his blue cap.

Miles then gestured to the other man, who was tall and very skinny. "This is Andre's brother, Erik. He doesn't speak English." Winnie smiled at him, and he slightly nodded his head in recognition. "They pulled us out of the water." Miles informed Winnie. "they are members of the French resistance. They have offered us a place to stay in their village for a few nights, if I give them some military lessons."

Winnie stood and twisted her long hair to get rid of the water. "Thank you very much sir." she said to Andre. She then turned to Erik and said, "Merci boucoup monsieur." She had been taught a little French when she was growing up. Erik smiled at her.

"Follow me." Andre said. Winnie and Miles followed Andre and Erik into the woods. They walked for fifteen minutes until they came across a long dirt road. Parked beside the trees, was a rusty green truck. Andre opened the driver's door and slid in. Erik opened the passenger door and slid in as well, however, there were only two seats, so Winnie and Miles sat in the bed of the truck, which was filled with hay.

The drive was short, and they soon came upon some scattered farm houses. They passed many cows and pastures that reminded Winnie of Treegap when she was a young girl. The roads in Treegap were once made of dirt, and farmhouses and cows were ever present. That, of course wasn't the case anymore. When Winnie had left Treegap, the roads were all paved, and many of the farms were now full neighborhoods.

Winnie soon saw the roofs of houses in the distance, with smoke already billowing from the chimneys. As the village grew closer, she saw that the streets were paved with cobblestone, and many of the houses looked as though they had been there since the beginning of time. 

The truck rumbled across a stone bridge, and then came to a stop sputtering stop. "The streets aren't big enough for the truck." Andre said. "We will have to walk from here."

Erik helped Winnie and Miles out of the truck bed, and they all followed Andre down the winding cobblestoned streets. The houses around them were all made of stone, and had brown or grey shingled roofs. Eventually, they came upon a three story house that had a brown door with red paint peeling off. Andre glanced at Miles and Winnie, and warned, very sternly, "Brace yourselves." Erik hid behind Andre's broad shoulders.

Andre opened the creaky door, and quietly slipped into the house with the others silently following. The entry room led directly to a flight of stairs, and a kitchen was to the right. A long hallway with many doors was to the left. The whole house smelt of freshly cooked bread, and Winnie's stomach grumbled. Suddenly, they heard a loud bang, that sounded like somebody dropping a large box. Then, a large woman with blond curly hair and a red face appeared in the kitchen doorway. She wore a long, floral, yellow dress.

"ANDRE!!" she yelled. Andre looked at his feet.

"Bonsoir Cheri." he said, sheepishly. She stormed towards him, pointing her finger.

"Do you have any idea what time it is!?" she yelled in French. "You said you would be back by noon! It is almost dinner time! I was worried sick!" Andre bashfully scratched the back of his head.

"Well, these two fell off the water fall..." he pointed back to Miles and Winnie. "And we had to save them." Cheri seemed to notice them for the first time, and she blinked a few times before she quickly turned back to Andre.

"An American soldier?" she asked. "You brought an American soldier here!? What if the Nazi's see him?" her temper began to flair again, until she looked at Winnie. Her expression softened, and she spoke to Winnie in English. "Oh! You poor child! Your soaking wet, and your dress is ruined!" she strolled up to Winnie and took her hand. "Come with me. I will wash you up and find you something to wear."

She looked back at Andre, and glared at Erik, who was trying not to laugh. "You two!" she sternly said. "Find this man something to wear." Andre and Erik nodded, and Cheri began to lead Winnie up the stairs. Winnie and Miles shared a glance before they were both taken away.

Cheri led Winnie down the hallway at the top of the stairs to a ladder. Winnie then followed her up the ladder into a loft. The walls were wooden, but there was a small window looking out to the street. There was a small bed in the center of the room that had a heavy quilt on it. At the foot of the bed, was a chest, and Cheri strolled right to it to retrieve a towel.

She handed the towel to Winnie, who immediately began drying herself. She was already dry from the ride, but her clothes were still damp. Cheri opened a large wardrobe that was covered in dust. Her plump fingers quickly picked out a soft blue dress. She handed it to Winnie and said, "This was mine when I was younger. I think it will fit you."

Winnie smiled and said, "Its lovely. Thank you."

Cheri smiled, and went to descend down the ladder. "Dinner will be ready soon. Help yourself to some shoes from the chest." she said, before disappearing. 

Winnie quickly changed out of her burnt, wet, muddy nurse outfit, and changed into the soft dress. She looked in the chest, and found some boots that were similar to the kind that she wore when she was growing up. She smiled as she put them on, remembering when she used to hate wearing boots because they took so long to tie.

She climbed down the latter and was walking to the stairs, when she heard somebody knock on the front door. Her heart skipped a beat. Had the Nazi officer found them?

She ducked behind a corner and listened. 

She heard someone open the door, and then she heard Andre's voice loudly booming throughout the house, "Look at you! You scoundrel! Haven't changed a bit I swear!" 

Winnie crept closer the the stairs. "Cheri! Come look who it is! It's my old friend from Paris! Do you remember?" 

"Its great to see you Andre!" he said. Winnie's heart skipped a beat when she heard the soft, familiar voice that came from the doorway. Winnie stood at the top of the stairs, and watched the young man enter and give Andre a bear hug.

"It's been too long!" Andre said. The boy stepped back, and looked up the stairway to see Winnie staring at him, tears already streaming down her cheeks. 

Their eyes locked, and time seemed to slow down. They didn't even notice Miles running into the room and freezing in his tracks, or hear Andre introducing Winnie to the boy.

The boy walked to the foot of the stairs, his gaze intense, his eyes never leaving her face. 

"Winnie Foster." he quietly said. 

Winnie felt her tears warming her cheeks, but she grinned at the boy. He hadn't changed in 40 years. 

"Hello Jesse Tuck."