A Peculiar Time in 1944 - A Millard Fanfic (Miss Peregrine's Home) #wattys2020

Chapter 2

Millard supported Aurora on one side and helped her to a small cabin in the forest she hadn't known existed. He kicked the door open with his foot and helped her hobble inside. It was pitch black and Aurora couldn't see a thing, luckily Millard seemed to know his way around. He had her sit on something soft, a bed maybe? Then he moved to the corner and lit a small oil lamp, then he lit a few candles that were scattered around the room. Now lit Aurora could take in her new surroundings. The cabin was only one big room with the exception of a small door opposite from where they entered, a bathroom perhaps. She noticed the room seemed to be split in two; on one end was a bed, a dresser and a nightstand where the oil lamp sat. On the other side was a small kitchen with a sink and an icebox there was also a small sofa on that side of the room that looked like it had become a makeshift bed. Did Millard share this place with someone else? And in the center of the room was an old wooden table with two mismatched chairs, her heart leapt into her throat when she noticed a knife on the table.

Millard approached her again, dragging both of the chairs with him, he placed a pillow on one then gently lifted her injured ankle onto it to keep it elevated. He took a seat in the second chair and pulled an old rag from his jacket. He tore it into strips then unlaced her boot and slid it off her foot as slowly as he could. Using the strips of cloth he began to wrap her foot, Aurora looked on in amazement as the cloth seemed to move by itself just a few inches from the sleeves of his jacket, but every now and then she'd feel his fingers brush her skin and flinch, she still wasn't used to being touched by something she couldn't see. Millard took her wincing for pain and got up and made his way to the icebox, he came back with another rag only this one he'd turned into a makeshift pack of ice. He sat down again and gently placed the ice on her ankle where it was starting to swell.

His cap tilted in her direction again as he looked at her, he gave a small cough as he cleared his throat, "Any better?"

Aurora nodded shyly in response before murmuring a small 'thank you'.

"So where are you from?" Millard asked hoping to get to know the girl better.

"England." She replied as she played with the ends of her hair avoiding looking at him. "My father moved us to France in the fall of 1939 just when the war started. The Germans had just invaded Poland and he hoped we could stay with family here. He didn't think that by the following spring they'd overtake the country, but they did and we haven't had a chance to leave since."

There was silence as Millard tried to think of something to say.

"My home was bombed in 1940."

Aurora looked up at him, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." His jacket shrugged, "My friends and I weren't affected by it much."

More silence. This time Aurora broke it.

"So after the bombing you moved here?"

"In a matter of speaking. This place belongs to my friend, he's out right now, probably will be back in a few days."

"Is he like you?"

"Yes. But he's not invisible."

Aurora paused, "There's other things people like you can do?" she asked timidly.

"Peculiar." He corrected her.

"Beg pardon?"

"People like me are called peculiar, and yes, we do all different kinds of things."

Letting her curiosity get the best of her again she asked, "What kinds of things?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" Millard asked cryptically.