The Secret World of Ophelia Fontaine

Part Eleven - To new friends, a new ally

He watched her through the etched window pane for several minutes, at war as to whether he should join her side or wait for her to return inside. Thirty minutes had passed altogether since she had ran away from Aurelie. Her friend had proceeded to weep as it became clear what her love for Eremon meant for her friendship. He was not exactly clear what the specifics were, but by Ophelia's reaction, he knew the consequences to be devastating.

Weren't their laws, or at least some list of rules, that one had to abide by when messing with time. If Aurelie stayed in this time, would that not effect the future on some scale. Children born that were never suppose to exist. Bonds formed, or even prevented, by the presence of someone born over a hundred years in the future? Maybe he should have paid more attention to episodes of Doctor Who that his ex-girlfriend had obsessed over.

A glance over his shoulder at the clock told him precisely what he didn't want to know. There was only an hour left before they were due back in 2013. Why only three hours? It didn't make any sense to him. None of this made any sense to him, if her were to be honest with himself. Why had Breckenridge hired him under false pretenses? If the man had needed his daughter found, Darien would have taken the job no questions asked. But why have him follow Ophelia under the suspicion that she was selling trade secrets to a competitor. There was something more to all of this, and he was getting the uneasy suspicion that Ophelia didn't even grasp the extent of it all.

A shadow joined his along the wall, silently announcing the presence of a tall, blonde brit. Darien flicked a brief glance at Theo, but did not dare take his gaze off of Ophelia should she decide to take a walk. The two gentlemen shared a couple minutes of companionable silence before Theo decided that he had had enough.

"I here you dropped a clanger back there with the whole Miss Frumpy thing," Theo stated blatantly. "Appears things have gone completely pear shaped."

"Pear shaped? How the hell do things become pear shaped?" Darien snapped. He was not in the best of moods, which limited his patience with British lingo.

"You know...pear shaped. Far from a perfect circle. Plans not going the way you planned, etc," he replied as if Darien were ignorant for not understanding.

Darien shrugged his shoulders dismissively, too occupied to ponder the conundrum that was Theo. Meanwhile, Ophelia stood just outside the tavern's heavy oaken doors, her fists clenched and unmindful of those who stepped around her. All because Aurelie had dared to fall in love with the mute boy Eremon.

"She has spend her life alone, Lady Fae has," Theo muttered, his words laced with sincerity for once. "For as long as she has breathed life, she has felt like a monster in this world of boring normalcy. And then she found Aurelie. At first they shared a fondness for gloves, a seemingly innocent infatuation, until both learned the truth behind their five fingered fashion statement. Instantaneously they were the best of friends, clinging to their unique commonality as if nothing else mattered. And now our dear Aurelie has fallen in love with the stoic Eremon. So what does that mean for our precious Lady of time?"

"That she must face the world alone once more," Darien replied on a sigh. "But it is not as if she could not come and visit, right? She is the Lady of Time, as you said."

"Aye, but even talent such as hers has limitations, you see," Theo divulged sadly. "But that is a long story that we have not the time for. Our time here is almost up. The hour grow precarious."

"Alright, Shakespeare, then answer me this." He turned to face Theo. "Why only three hours? What is up with that?"

He took off his silly top hat and took a deep breath. "If you are absent from your own timeline for too long, the world has a habit of forgetting you. Should you be present in a time not your own, who knows how much you can affect the world that you have come to know. She is responsible for the twenty of us that she brings along, and there is never a guarantee that she can come back for anyone left behind."

"That makes no sense! All she has to do is touch the wall and viola! Why all the complication?"

A muscle twitch along Theo's jaw line. He fully turned to Darien and glared at him with impatience. "Such a simple feat, eh, mate? You don't watch too many sci-fi flicks, do ya? Look, I don't have time to go into it with you and in all honesty Lady Fae is the best to tell you what it is you need to know. What you truly need to understand you, old chap, is that your Miss Frumpy is not safe. You saw what Breckenridge did to his own daughter. Imagine what he will do to her when he finds out that she is hiding his little diamond mine. The fact that he hired you proves that he has suspicions. Ponder that above all else, mate. Above everything else."

Theo tapped on the window, beckoning to his distraught mistress just beyond its transparent barrier. She whipped around as if startled, but impressively puller her wits about her in mere seconds. She reentered the tavern, her chin a little higher and her eyes a bit more guarded. Theo announced the approaching end to their third hour, indicating to all that it was time to buckle up and prepare for lift off. Lady Fae whispered something into Mr. Gallagher's ear before climbing back onto the bar. Theo shouted that all were accounted for, giving her two thumbs up. She removed her gloves and gently placed her hands upon the wall.

A gust of wind swept through the room, washing away any remnants for the past and polishing the interior of the present. Soon, they all stood within the familiar confines of the Copper Station. Darien welcomed the sight of the massive locomotive mural and its outlandish countryside. He was happy to be home.