Change in Heart ▪ Enoch O'Connor

IV.

Ash stood on the door step of the mansion, clutching her right hand in her left nervously. The large door swung open before Ash, revealing a tall, slender woman. She was dressed in a fancy jade dress, her hair pinned in a perfectly round knot atop her head, with black lace gloves, and a high-collared white blouse fastened tightly at her throat - as fastidiously neat as Ash had ever seen.

"Hello," She said. 

"I-um, hello." Ash said shyly, shuffling her feet.

"And who might you be?" Miss Peregrine asked. She said nothing, but took the note out her pocket, and shakily dropped it into the mistresses' hand. 

This is real. I am actually standing in front of my mother's old caretaker. The stories, they were real.

Miss Peregrine read the note through and folded it back up neatly, sliding it into her dark coat.

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Apiston," She said smiling at Ash, then shaking her trembling hand.

"And to you, Miss Peregrine," She said, too confused and fuzzy minded to smile back.

"Won't you come inside?" She asked, opening the door for her to walk in. 

Ash walked inside of the magnificent building, finding a lavish setup before her. A grand chandelier hung above the brunette's head. Pictures lined the hallway, velvet covering the floors. It seemed so extreme and too much for her, yet she was thirsty for more. 

"Children!" Miss Peregrine called out. "We have a new friend!"

The peculiar children. Ash had forgotten about them in the moment of confusion. 

The children would include my brother. My actual brother. I would finally have someone else. Someone to play with or talk to. 

One by one the kids bounded down the stairs. They eyed her once they all got downstairs, making Ash want to run back screaming to the rock hole.

"Would you like to introduce yourself?" Miss Peregrine asked. Ash looked up at her sheepishly. She felt terrified to say anything in the moment. She never met, or socialized with new people, and she had a hard time talking to people as it is. 

"I-my name is Ashnar," She spoke quietly, lowering her head slightly and kneading her hands behind her back.  

A little girl with beautiful curls skipped up to Ash and smiled.

"I'm Claire," She jumped up and down, then grabbed her hand, pulling Ash to her height. "Will you play with us?" 

"Oh, uh, of course!" Ash said, feeling better now that someone had talked to her, though still having a knot in her stomach. Then, every peculiar there introduced themselves. All but one.

 A handsome boy, who had dark curls lamely hanging on his forehead and dark eyes, just stared at Ash before stomping up the stairs as the others told her who they were, others said their peculiarities. Most of them invited Ash to do something. The little ones, whose names were Claire and Olive, drug her outside, begging her to play. They ran and giggled, asking her many questions.

"Why did you come here?" Olive asked. She had taken her shoes off, which were lead and heavy, and tied a rope around her waist to get the ball they had just lost. She levitated, something Ash sat there wishing she could do alongside her. 

"Olive! Don't be rude!"

"Well," Ash hesitated. "I came here after my mother told me about this place and that my brother was here. I just still don't know who he is." 

"You have a brother here?" Claire asked, handing Ash a coil of Olive's rope.

She nodded, "S'pposed to."

The girls got very excited, Olive jumped up and down, yanking on the rope, and flying up. 

"Who is your mother?" Claire asked, excitedly bouncing. 

"My mother is Elizabeth Apiston."

"HUGH!" The small girls shouted together. 

"Hugh?" Ash asked. "Is that my brother's name?"

"Yes!" Claire exclaimed, clapping her little hands together. "We need find him!"

 Claire grabbed Ash's hand and started pulling her, almost causing her to drop Olive's rope while she was in the tree getting the ball.

"Wait!" Olive squeaked, trying to work her way down the rope. 

"Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!" Claire pressured Ash while she reeled Olive down to her shoes. They got her down and now both of them were pulling Ash. They drug Ash around the house, then to a meadow of flowers, where a tall boy and a messy haired girl stood with their backs to the trio. The boy had bees flying around him, causing Ash to stop quickly. Ash was highly allergic, and highly scared of bees. But Olive and Claire marched right on, there was no stopping them. Ash's brain screamed no, but her heart screamed yes all at once.

"Hugh!" screamed Claire. The boy spun around, obviously startled. A couple bees came out of his mouth, and Ash pulled back, baffled. 

"Hugh," Claire said again, "Ash is your sister!"

"What!" He exclaimed, securing his hat more on his head. "Ashnar?"

 He started walking towards the girls. Ash wanted to run away; the bees were swarming around him. He must have noticed Ash being frightened by them, because his took all of them and sucked them right into his mouth. She thought he would shake her hand or only talk to her, but he brought her into a bone crushing hug.

He pulled away and smiled. "Mother had told me so much about you, Ash. You resemble her greatly."

Ash only stood in awe. This was her brother. He was older than her, she could tell. He had dark brown hair slicked back under a cap, and wore goggles on his eyes, so she couldn't see what his eyes were like. He sported a white shirt and suspenders holding a pair of brown trousers. And he was much taller than her.

"H-hello Hugh," She stuttered. "I've waited a while to meet you." 

Ash honestly had never felt so uncomfortable. She had waited forever to meet Hugh, but now in the moment, she had no clue what to do.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" Hugh asked Ash, after looking back at the messy haired girl, who seemed in her late teens as well. The girl nodded and smiled at her, not saying anything.

"Of course, Hugh," Ash said. She felt as if electric waves were running through her body, tingling her spine and fingertips. She could finally get to actually know her own brother.