ᴅᴀɴᴅᴇʟɪᴏɴꜱ ( 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞 )

ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇꜱᴛɪɴɢ ɪɴꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴ

The volunteers came out of their seats; all of them pushing back their chairs neatly. Grace smiled at the children and gestured for them to follow her.

Ophelia glanced at her mother who nodded reassuringly. Letting a small smile grace her face, she followed Grace.

Their feet clinked on the smooth floors that seemed sparkling clean; Ophelia was sure she could see her own reflection on the floor. Ophelia stared at the walls which changed colours the more they delved deeper into the corridors. There were pictures and portraits on the walls as well, with people Ophelia had never seen before.

They climbed stairs, which seemed to be endless. Katerina almost slipped on the red carpet that covered the stairs and Quigley quickly caught her, both turning red.  Ophelia's legs began to hang heavy and ache but the stairs seemed to never end. Her blue eyes threatened to shut and fall into a peaceful slumber. 

The stairs were excruciating long.

Once they finally reached the top, there were rooms with room numbers on the sleek metal. The doors themselves were very tall, and Ophelia had to hold back a gasp, at the room's beauty.

The walls were golden coloured, with marble floors, a beautiful painting of the night on the ceiling, there were small star-shaped lights that when turned on would turn a bright yellow. There was a bookshelf pushed on the further end of the room, and a large bed was in the middle of the room.

"You all get some sleep," Grace said, giving them a warm smile before exiting.

Ophelia entered the room, while the others picked their rooms to sleep in. She headed towards the big bookshelf which was filled to the brim with books. She lightly trailed her fingers on them, absentmindedly reading the titles.

She could hear light footsteps padding in the room, and she turned her head, like blonde waves bouncing behind her, as she saw Violet who reddened.

"Look, all of these books look simply marvellous don't you think?" Ophelia asked, her gaze flickering back to the books.

Violet stood beside her, a smile gracing her lips as well. "They are," She agreed, her eyes lingering on Shigley's Mechanical Engineering Design, as she slowly picked up the book and flipped through the yellowing pages.

Ophelia stared at Violet, an unknown emotion bubbling in her chest as Violet happily read the contents of the page. Ophelia observed as Violet's smile widened, revealing her perfectly white teeth and as creases appeared near her eyes. Her ocean eyes gleamed.

Tearing her gaze away from the beautiful inventor in front of her, she picked up a book titled Peter Pan.

Her mother had always loved the story even though she would point out all the bad parts as well. Finding a place where time stood still and you never grew old seemed like heaven; heaven out of human reach. A place where imagination grew wild, which was ironic, since the whole idea was conjured from imagination.

Ophelia stepped back, her blue eyes widening as the shelf in front of her shifted, to open a secret doorway. Her lips slowly parted glancing at Violet in shock, who looked just as dumbfounded as she did.

Both the girls, growing more curious by the second, opened the door and stepped in. 

The room was dark with no silver light, Violet padded the walls and turned on the light. Both the girls blinked at the sight that greeted them. The room was messy with rolls of paper and parchment threw carelessly on the floor and a wooden table, having a nightstand. There was a bookcase behind it and a chair.

Ophelia crinkled her nose at the thick layer of dust that seemed to surround the room, and how every step she took, made footsteps appear. Grabbing a piece of parchment, and blowing off the dust, she read.

The Darlings, in beautiful cursive handwriting,

Ophelia's heart missed a beat.

Athena Darling, known better as Thena or Allie born in the 1700s, in Yorkshire, England is widely credited for helping VFD establish early on. 

Athena Darling was born as the middle child to incredibly wealthy parents, Gilbert and Anne. From a young age, she displayed talents of pure genius and intellect, which caused her father to tutor her privately. Although born in an era where women were disregarded, she helped establish private schools and colleges, as early as she was fourteen, at the time it was considered illegal.

Dreaming of a time when women shared the same equal rights as men, she is said to have had the first idea for VFD (Volunteer Fire Department).

Refer to chapter 12 for more details.

Ophelia let out a breath, her fingers beginning to shake as she digested the information.

"Your ancestor seems like an incredible woman," Violet spoke, and goosebumps appeared on Ophelia's arms, as she didn't notice her coming behind her.

Warmth and pride flooded through Ophelia's veins as a smile graced her face. Her ancestor seemed like a brave and undefeatable woman, especially in an era where women were mistreated.

"There might be something more about my family," Violet excitedly spoke, clapping her hands together, as she carefully surveyed the room. Noticing a dim light enter the room, Ophelia looked up and was startled to see the rays of the sun seeing through a vent with the shape of an eye.

"Oh no, we haven't gotten any sleep," Ophelia said in horror and Violet chuckled.

"I'm quite used to all-nighters, I used to do them all the time in Austere Academy," Violet said nonchalantly.

Ophelia's heart filled with sorrow for the inventor. She couldn't imagine how Violet managed to go through all of that pain, and yet still stand tall and smiling.

Violet slowly furrowed her eyebrows her gaze stuck on something behind her. "Look," She spoke pointing towards a small door which also had the VFD symbol.

The door was very small, one would have to crawl to get through. Ophelia slowly opened the door and gasped in surprise as the passageway behind it, seemed to stretch for miles.

What the hell was this?