The Doppleganger (24 Jul 2001) Rebecca bids farewell to Ainigton, and a newcomer arrives.

In Front of Ms. Pimpernella's Boarding House
A dilapidated two-story building that looks like it would fit into an old fashioned Western ghost town, from the weathered wooden construction, Ms. Pimpernella's is the closest thing Ainigton has to an actual hotel, with rooms to let for travelers passing through, and a dining hall where she feeds her residents with reasonably adequate cooking at breakfast and dinner -- they are expected to fend for themselves at lunch, being out and about whatever brought them to town.

Greyhound buses stop here when they bring passengers to town, or when Ms. Pimpernella calls the bus line to pick up someone -- otherwise, they pass through on US Highway 15 without stopping. This time as it happens, one is due to arrive here rather soon in the sweltering afternoon.

Ms. Pimpernella herself is working inside, out of the heat of the summery day, and it smells as if she's got a roast beef in the oven. For those who must be outside to wait for the bus, the best shady spots outside are either the benches on the boarding house's porch -- there already Rebecca's parents are sitting as they wait, Jacob and Miriam, next to her luggage -- or under a tree growing in the grass next to the sidewalk.

Not far away and north up the street is Jim's Fishing and Sports Shop, where frosty Coca-Cola bottles can be bought, stored in his ice box until asked for. Jim also stocks some snacks for the casual fisher, and even wrapped sandwiches.

So far the bus hasn't quite gotten here. It's running a little late, but that happens from time to time.

Tom comes strolling up alongside the street, dressed in his usual tee-shirt and jeans. A small folder with a few papers stuffed in it is tucked firmly under one arm. He looks around as he walks slowly, seeming more subdued than usual. His eyes catch Rebecca's parents and his moving gaze stops for a moment. He heads toward them.

Up on the porch and partially leaning against the railing stands Alice, hands braced on the wood as she leans over to look down the road. Beside her and also resting against the wood is the stuffed form of Lord Mel, who has come to observe this departure, and he stands ... well, sits ... sentinel beside her with a commanding view of those ... not on the porch. "I wonder when it will be here?" she asks no one in particular.

A stop at Jim's icebox to retrieve a few Cokes has allowed Rebecca to escape the attentions of her parents, who vary between smothering anxiety and patient composure from minute to minute, it seems. If the redhead is worried herself, she hides it better, as she saunters back to the porch to join her friends.

Dressed now in one of her few skirts to avoid upsetting the sensibilities of Rebecca's mother, Agatha welcomes Rebecca back onto the porch. "Just think, this could be the last Coke you taste for weeks."

Simon perches on one of the branches of the tree, peering down at the others through the lower twigs. "It's running late, isn't it?" he asks. "Does that always happen?"

Alice turns away from the railing to smile at Rebecca's parents, then to Agatha and Rebecca as the Lady Sorceress returns from her brief journey. "Lord Mel hasn't seen the bu- ... coach either, but he's looking real hard," she tells Rebecca.

"Maybe it was delayed by highwaymen?" Agatha suggests, then waves to Tom.

"I'm sure it will be here. Everything runs late in Ainigton," Rebecca says. "Your drink, Princess Angela," she says, presenting one of the Cokes to her, then offering another to Agatha, with a slightly stricken look. "You don't really think they won't have Coke in Ruritania, do you?"

Tom now notices the others standing up on the porch and heads over toward them. He waves and says, "Hey. Guess I'm not late, good." He retrieves the folder he had tucked under his arm and waves it. "Wanted to at least hand over this before you left."

"Thank you, Lady Sorceress," says Alice as she accepts the Coke. Smiles at Tomas as she tries to open the Coke bottle, working the cap carefully and with some amount of effort. "Hi, Tommy."

Agatha accepts the bottle, and shrugs. "I honestly don't know. They might though, I mean ... it's Coke."

Mr. Travison, a fortyish sort of gentleman wearing a yarmulke that nicely covers the balding spot in his peppering hair and with a thin goatee, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and slacks, smiles down to his daughter from the porch. "Just the thing! Miriam insisted on bringing cookies. Would you kids like any?"

His wife, of an age with him, with short dark hair and round cheeks, opens up a basket and shows the little confectioner's sugar-dusted lemon drop cookies to the children.

"You know you'll all still be welcome at our house," Miriam Travison tells the children around the two adults, as she accepts a Coke from her daughter as well. "I'm sure Elinor will be just as eager to play with other children as Rebecca is."

Tom catches the conversation as he reaches the porch. "Coke? Well, I hear lots of other places have sodas of their own and taste really funky. Hope you like carrot flavored colas," he says, grinning a bit.

Alice pauses in her attempt to remove the cap and looks over to the basket. "Oooo, cookies!" she exclaims with glee. The girl walks over and smiles to the grown-up woman and says, in a funny voice sounds like she's trying to impersonate Ryland of Avarre, "Yes. I would like a cookie, thank you."

Agatha is distracted from the folder Tommy bears by the promise of cookies. "Thank you, Mrs. Travison."

Rebecca makes a face at the black-haired boy. "No one in the whole world but you would think of such a thing, Thomas," she says, confidentially.

After thinking it over some more, Agatha says, "I imagine that if there were American soldiers stationed there during the War, Ruritania would have Coke now."

Mrs. Travison beams at the little blond girl and folds one cookie into a cocktail napkin for her, and then another for the tomboyish Agatha. "Tom? Simon?" she asks.

The little boy hangs down from the branch by his knees. "Carrot-flavored colas might be good for your eyesight," he offers. "Hey, cookies!" He swings back up, then starts climbing down.

Tom shrugs a bit and says, "Hey, it's what I've heard. I'm not making it up." He then smiles to Mrs. Travison and replies, "Oh, no thanks. I had cookies before leaving home."

After letting the fuss over the sweets die down a bit, Rebecca asks Tom, "So, my Lord Explorer, what was it you wished to present to me? Some aid for my mission in foreign lands?"

Alice accepts the cookie, then curtsies minus the use of her hands for the dip. "Thank you, Mrs. Travison. You know, ravens like cookies. And they say thank you. Oh ... " she peers back at the railing for a moment, "and Lord Mel says he would like a cookie too, please, ma'am."

Agatha nibbles on her cookie, and watches Simon climb down the tree, just in case he falls off.

The woman smiles again, and wraps another cookie for Alice's stuffed toy. "He may have one, since he asked nicely," she replies.

Tom laughs. "Uh, something like that, yeah." He hands the folder over and says, "Just a couple of drawings of the neat things we found recently and of the, uh, interesting similarities to a few places."

"Lord Mel thanks you," says Alice. Her hands now quite full of things to eat, she smiles a bit more towards the grown-up, then walks back over and places one cookie on the railing in front of her and the other at the feet of Lord Mel. She then resumes trying to open her Coke.

Simon drops down without any problems, and trots over to accept a cookie. "Thank you, Mrs. Travison," he says, muffled, around a bite of cookie.

Tom holds out a hand toward Alice. "Want me to open that?" he asks.

The red-haired traveler-to-be accepts the folder and slides out the sheets within, comparing the drawings. "The resemblance is remarkable," she says. "Truly uncanny. And you are confident of the accuracy of your map, Thomas? I know you would not let whimsy guide you into inventing a stronger similarity than the actual facts supported," she adds, reassuringly, after a moment's hesitation.

Alice, who had been straining with a wrinkle-nosed frown to open her bottle, nods thankfully to Tomas. "Yes, thank you Tommy." The bottle is handed to the boy and the blonde haired girl waits patiently for him to open it.

Mr. Travison looks at his watch, and shakes his head. "I'm going to phone the bus company and see if they're having any problems. Miriam, call me if you see them arrive, honey?" He pats his wife's hand and gets up to go into the boarding house.

"Certainly, dear, thank you," Mrs. Travison says, closing her basket of cookies again.

Tom looks sideways at Rebecca and shrugs, explaining, "Well, I took notes of rough sizes and sketched it as we walked. I'm pretty sure I didn't impose anything on it. Agatha was with me; I think she can vouch that it does match the layout." He then turns back to look at Alice. He puts his shirt 'tail' over the cap and turns it firmly until he hears it hiss. After he waits for it to settle, he finishes opening it. Thomas then offers the bottle back to Alice and says, "There you go."

The knight looks over Rebecca's shoulder at the maps. "They look accurate to me," she says, although in truth she doesn't have a good idea if the two Sieges are a match for size.

The bottle is accepted with a smile, and when the girl reaches to get it she peers at the drawings as well. "May I see?" she requests.

"Indeed..," Nymuae murmurs, examining the other pages within the folder with a serious eye. After a moment, she looks up to glance down the road again. "I wonder what Elinor will be like?" she muses. "You will have to tell me all about her. I feel like ... a changeling. I am leaving for a foreign land, and a stranger comes to take my place in my home."

Mrs. Travison laughs and musses her daughter's hair. "Oh, Becky, don't be silly. No one can ever take your place in our house!"

Tom starts to say something but thinks better of it. He whistles instead.

Rebecca glowers at her mother's use of that despised nickname, but she restrains a response. Instead, she quietly hands the folder to Alice.

Agatha grins, never having imagined anyone mussing up Rebecca's hair. "We'll make her feel welcome."

Tom looks at Agatha and asks, "Say, how tall is the flagpole in the park?"

"I do wish the bus would get here," Rebecca says, holding the cold, perspiring Coke bottle against her forehead. "It's so hot today!"

The Coke bottle is put down next to Lord Mel. "You may have some," she tells him. The blonde then holds the folder with both hands and begins looking at the drawings.

"Not that the bus will be any better," Rebecca adds, wrinkling her nose. "At least the plane will be air-conditioned."

Tom grins. "And imagine, you might have to sit between two burly people. Won't that be fun?"

"It could be worse," Simon assures Tom. "You might be going too, and make her sit next to you and your puns." He winks.

"I'd think it's at least ... uh ... eighteen feet?" Agatha guesses.

The traveler makes another face at Tom. "I would ask you to stop being horrid, Thomas, but I know you don't know how." She shudders delicately at Simon's suggestion. "Such a fate could not be wished on anyone!"

Tom laughs. "Well, that would be a reward then, wouldn't it?"

Tom nods to Agatha. "So, nowhere near say, fifty feet, huh?"

Mr. Travison steps out of the boarding house. "They say it's running on time, as far as they know...." He peers up the road.

As if on cue, a silvery-gray dot comes into view through the heat-haze. It soon resolves into a familiar long bus shape, its side marked by a leaping greyhound. It slows and pulls over next to the sidewalk between Ms. Pimpernella's and Jim's.

After a bit, in which vague shapes can be seen through the tinted windows to get up and walk to the door, a few older gentlemen in fading suits and carrying salesmen's briefcases get off, glance briefly at the kids and the grown-ups waiting, then walk into the boarding house.

The driver himself, a frizzy-haired black man with a cap bearing the Greyhound logo, steps out and heads to Jim's, presumably to avail himself of the ice cold refreshment there, sparing a smile and a wave to the kids.

"Oh no, it couldn't be that high. That's how high a water-tower is I think," Agatha says. "Are you gonna fly all the way into Ruritania then, Rebecca? I've never even been close to a real airplane."

The folder is closed and Alice watches the bus and its arrival, then waves to the bus driver as he walks. "Hi!" she calls out. The folder is also held out so Rebecca can take it.

Rebecca, distracted by the arrival of the "chariot," makes no answer.

A teenaged girl with straight hair, raven-black secured by a white ribbon just below the nape of her neck, then flowing down to her waist, steps from the bus. She has skin as smooth and clear as porcelain, and she looks around her with the air of one out of place. She wears a brown suit jacket over a white blouse, and a brown pleated skirt buttoned along the side front. An old-fashioned traveler's bag rests beneath one shoulder, the flap on it buttoned down.

"Hey, kid," the driver says to Alice as he walks. "Hot day, huh? Think I'm gonna get me a nice cold one. Watch my bus for me and make sure no one steals it, huh?"

Tom's jaw drops when he sees the girl. "Whoa," he mutters, blinking. He then ahems and looks back to Agatha. "Um, yeah, I was thinking that too."

Mr. Travison watches the few passengers getting off the bus with anxiety, until the last, belated arrival. He whispers to his wife.

"Wow," Rebecca whispers to the others. "That must be Elinor." She shakes off her momentary reverie, then takes her mom's hand and pulls her along towards the newcomer.

Simon looks curiously at the newcomer and then whispers to Tom, "Wow?"

"Check out her hair," Agatha whispers to Tom as she waves to the raven-tressed girl. "I'd kill to be able to grow it that long.."

"Okay!" agrees Alice, beaming at the tall black man. She does in turn actually walk over, pick up Lord Mel, and begin to head for the bus. And on the way she watches the girl exiting it. "Hi!" she greets her in the same manner as she did the bus driver.

"Hello!" Mrs. Travison calls out, cheerfulness and anxiety mixing in her voice. "You must be ... Elinor De-Stray-neero?" She says, struggling with the unfamiliar name.

"Mom!" Rebecca says in stricken tones. "D'Straniero!" She smiles in embarrassed apology to the girl, who smiles back. The dark-haired stranger still looks a little lost, or confused, and Rebecca says something quickly to her in Italian.

Tom looks back at Elinor. "Um, yeah," he manages to reply to Agatha. He continues to stare at the newcomer thoughtfully. "So would I, actually. Mine has a mind of its own. Well, not that long, of course."

Alice walks past Elinor after telling her a greeting of "Nice to meet you. Welcome to Ainigton!" And as a girl with a mission she walks over to the bus door and eases herself on to the steps. "I'm supposed to make sure no one steals this bus. Lord Mel is helping."

"We're the Travisons, and you'll be staying with us, Elinor," Mr. Travison adds with a smile, standing. "These are some of Rebecca's friends, here to see her off. I'm sure they'll be willing to help welcome you to our little town. It's small, but it's special to us all."

"I wonder if she rides?" Agatha says. "Can't you just see her on horseback, with all that hair streaming out like a tail?" she asks Tom.

Rebecca's flush deepens, as Elinor continues to look at her with the same blankness. She adds something else in Italian, and the words "Madre," "Padre" and "Travison" can be made out even by non-Italian speakers. She concludes by introducing her various friends, too, whether they've approached or not.

Tom fidgets. "Uh, yeah, I guess."

Simon adds, a bit belatedly, "Yeah, welcome to Ainigton!" He nudges Tom, who seems to be a bit lost in admiration, and mutters, "What's the deal?"

Meanwhile, Alice has managed to board the bus with some minor difficulty climbing the stairs, and once up on it, works on trying to sit in the driver's seat. Finding this rather difficult, she just places Lord Mel on the dash and smiles at the passengers.

Tom blinks and shakes his head then looks at Simon. "Oh, nothing! Nothing," he responds, then waves to Elinor. "Welcome. Don't worry, we're not as odd as we look. Well, not all of us. I can't explain Agatha." He grins.

At last, Elinor blinks a few times, and comprehension fills her eyes like the sun coming out from behind clouds. She answers Rebecca with a soft phrase or two, then says in English to Alice, "It is nice to meet ... you, too. Thank you." She turns to Mr. and Mrs. Travison, and repeats, "Thank you, too. Thank all of you. I am ... most surprised ... to meet so many new people."

Agatha nudges Tom with her elbow, and says, "Why don't you be a gentleman and go get her a Coke, Thomas. Her throat's probably dry as dust after the bus ride."

Tom grabs Simon's shirt collar and tugs, saying, "Sure thing!"

"I am fine," Elinor protests, the inflection on her speech made strange by her Ruritanian accent.

The little boy yelps and then follows along. He whispers to Tom, "Hey, when did you need help getting Cokes?"

Tom grins and shrugs, still tugging Simon along. As they get a bit out of range he whispers back, "Man, she looks like an aristocrat or some such, doesn't she?"

Alice eyes the seat again, considers it for a moment, then tries to sit in the chair again. "Bus driving is very difficult," she thinks out loud. And at last she manages it, though only partly -- she is but enough of a girl to sit on the edge and not nearly come close to taking up the whole seat. From here she waves to the others.

Mrs. Travison smiles indulgently after the two boys. "Oh, let them have their little chivalries, sweetie," she tells Elinor.

What a cool accent, Agatha thinks as she joins the others near the bus, but makes sure to not to get too close. She doesn't want to loom over the new girl, who is probably nervous enough as it is.

Up by Jim's, the driver exchanges some quiet chitchat with Jim, a grizzled old man. "Always meant to come out here with the family and do some fishing sometimes; we don't have any country nearly as pretty as this up by the city." Jim nods agreeably, being a man of few words.

Rebecca waves back at Alice, grinning like a madman. "We'd better get my cases on board," she tells her mother, flitting up the bus steps with her trip bag in hand to claim a seat.

Simon grins to Tom. "What, the story about princesses bathing in milk and honey?"

Tom elbows Simon. "Nono, just that raven hair and such. It also looks like she doesn't get out in the sun much. Think she'll fit in? Think she thinks we're completely weird?" babbles Thomas.

"You are completely weird," Simon returns with a grin.

"Is that your only luggage, Elinor?" Agatha asks, pointing to the travel bag and making sure to enunciate the words clearly.

The blonde girl lifts her feet and lets them dangle in the air a bit, hands tucked under herself. Her head turns to regard all the knobs and levels of bus driving control. She puzzles at them. "Wow ... this goes all the way up to sixty, and ... this is at E. I wonder what E is? And it goes all the way up to F!"

Tom pays for a couple colas. He grins back at Simon and says, "Think she'll notice that?"

"There is space beneath the coach," Elinor says, softly. "For bags. My trunk is there." She steps towards the panels on the lower half of the bus, then pauses, her skirt wafting in the slight breeze from her movement. "The bus driver, he must open it," she continues. "It is locked."

Alice scoots around the chair to the window, calling out, "Mister bus driver sir? Which lever opens the trunk space? Elinor needs to get her bags!".

"Oh! Of course," Mrs. Travison says. "Well, the driver will be back in a moment, I'm sure. We wouldn't want to leave without seeing Becky off first anyway."

Simon avers, "She probably will... It might be part of your charm." Meanwhile, Jim nods to Tom affably and takes a few small coins for the cokes, then opens the ice box and hands him the frosty bottles.

Agatha nods to the girl and looks back over her shoulder towards Jim's shop to see if Tom and Simon are on their way back yet. "We'll have to put Rebecca's big suitcase in there too," she notes.

Tom takes the two bottles and thanks Jim. "Well, I'll be careful not to scare her off," he assures Simon, "Not yet, anyway." He grins and says, "C'mon, let's head back and introduce ourselves." He starts to make his way back over to the group.

"These..," Elinor says, looking first to Agatha, then pointing to the suitcases beside the porch chairs, "are Rebecca's things?"

The driver glances over to the bus as he speaks with the old proprietor. "Well, got someone to pick up, and then we'll head out. Some girl's gotta get to the airport..." He glances at the time. "Cripes! I didn't notice I'm behind, the boss's gonna kill me! Gotta run, Jim."

The driver picks up his Coke and sandwich and picks up the pace as he walks back to the bus. "'Scuse me, boys, load coming through. Beep, beep."

Agatha nods. "They are. Do you think it's too much?" She isn't sure if Rebecca over-packed or not.

Elinor assures Agatha, "Oh, no. There is much space beneath the coach. Plenty of room. Plenty of space in Ruritania, too. She will be well."

Rebecca re-emerges from the bus, sans carry bag, and smiles at everyone and everything. She says something else in Italian to her "doppelganger", who returns her smile and answers with another soft-spoken phrase.

Alice leans back from the driver's side window and seats herself again on the edge of the bus driver's big faux-leather seat. She picks up Lord Mel and places him in her lap in anticipation of needing to move. "I hope you like Ainigton!" she calls down to the new girl.

Mr. Travison walks over to the bags. "Well, I guess we'd better get you ready, Princess. We love you very much, so have a good time, and remember, study hard; it may be fun, but if you want to get ahead in life, you need to have good grades, too! But, have a little fun, too." He winks and leans over to kiss Rebecca on the cheek, and then picks up the bigger suitcases.

Tom makes his way over to Agatha and Elinor. He opens one of the bottles and holds it out to Elinor, saying, "Hello, I'm Thomas and this is Simon. Welcome to our little spot on the map. Hope you don't find it too strange."

"And take lots of pictures too!" Agatha reminds the other redhead, grinning.

"I will, Daddy," Rebecca promises, her smile crinkling at the corner from the familiar lecture.

"Lots of pictures Rebecca. And bring back souv .. souvin ... lots of mementos so we can see what it's like. I'll miss you!" Alice tells Rebecca from the driver's seat.

"Thank you ... Thomas?" The newcomer repeats, hesitantly. She pronounces his name with more of a long "oh" sound than the typical "ah." "And..." Her hesitation is longer than usual as she watches Simon, as if studying his face before she tries to speak his name, "...Simon?"

The bus driver moves around Tom and Simon to get back to the vicinity of the bus. "You're Miss Travison, right?" he says to Rebecca. "Let me open the baggage compartment, then we'll get your things on board. Don't worry about us being a little late; we always leave a little delay in the schedule for these things." True to his word, he takes a key ring out from his pocket and starts unlocking the compartment in the side of the bus.

Agatha stands by to help with Elinor's trunk, figuring Rebecca's folks would rather spend the time saying goodbye.

Simon nods with a smile. "That's me! Resident jester, fall guy, and, uh, I help Tom buy Cokes and fight monsters too." He glances at Elinor's suit-jacket. "Maybe you should take that off, isn't it kind of hot for this weather?"

Rebecca nods emphatically to the driver, picking up the smaller of her cases while her father lugs the larger.

The driver pauses as he notices Alice inside the bus. "What're you doing in there?" he says to her.

Tom nods, "Right, Thomas." He then grins at Simon, "Hey, don't scare her too quickly with the monster talk." He shakes his head and looks over to Rebecca. "Hey," he calls out, "Be careful, okay? If anything really unusual happens, want us to write?"

"I'm making sure no one steals the bus!" answers Alice matter-of-factly, as well as cheerfully. She holds up Lord Mel. "Lord Mel is helping."

After blinking a few times at the self-described jester, Elinor says, "It is nice to meet you. Both of you." She turns her head to look after the driver as he unlocks the luggage compartment. "I must get my trunk."

"Want help with that?" Thomas says quickly.

Rebecca stows her suitcase and grins at Tom. "Thomas Winthrope, I want you to write even if nothing unusual happens at all!"

"Oh, please," the new girl says, smiling at Thomas's offer. "It is very heavy. I brought many things."

Tom laughs! "Okay, okay. I'd think you'd be having too much fun to want to read about this place, but hey," he says.

The driver scratches his head for a bit, then forms an 'Oh' with his mouth as he gets it. "Well, don't touch anything, kid, the controls are very delicate. It takes a maestro like me to handle 'em! Push the wrong thing and ... kaboom!"

Tom nods to Elinor. "Sure thing. Once the driver gets it out of the compartment, I'll help carry it." He then looks at the cola in his hands. He hands it to Simon, "Hey, couldya hold this for me?"

The blonde pulls Lord Mel close to her when the driver goes 'kaboom'. "Oh my! Rebecca would be mad if I made her bus go kaboom," she tells the black man. And thus she surrenders the driver's chair to the driver. "You better watch this."

"We'll all write, Rebecca, don't worry," Agatha says, and her grin quirks up another notch as Tom offers to help carry the trunk. I bet he'll try to carry it himself. This should be good. She leans close to Rebecca to whisper, "Better take notes on how Tom and Simon are acting; you'll be the exotic stranger in Ruritania, after all."

The bus driver chuckles, then turns the key to open the compartment, revealing, yes, a large, old-fashioned trunk of wood covered in brown leather, with reinforced brass corners, hinges, clasp, and handles. He pauses for a moment, apparently confused, then looks back toward the others and the boarding house. "Anyone leave something behind?"

Tom hmms and asks, "Well, Elinor needs her trunk. There something else?"

"It is mine," Elinor answers quickly, stepping forward and looking at the driver. "That is my trunk." She smiles at him.

After abandoning the driver's seat, Alice carries her unicorn back down the steps and departs the bus, and walks over near Elinor. She seems to register the girl is busy with getting her trunk, and says nothing for the moment and instead just stands there smiling.

"Everyone else disappeared inside, I think," Agatha says, shielding her eyes with a hand to see if anyone is waiting to get their luggage on the porch.

Tom walks over closer to the bus and squats down, looking into the compartment, trying to figure the best way to carry that trunk. He didn't think it would be that big!

The driver looks surprised. "Sorry, it must have slipped my mind. I'm normally very good about making sure passengers get their bags. Sorry again, miss." He gets down off the sidewalk to haul it out.

Mr. Travison notices the problem and steps in to intercede. "Let me help you, mister," he says. Between the two of them, they are able to get it out and onto the sidewalk, and then the driver takes off his cap momentarily to wipe his forehead. "Whew!"

"Thank you, sirs," Elinor says, looking awkward. "I am sorry to be so much ... trouble."

Rebecca's father tips the driver a few coins, for which the driver tips his cap. "Thank you, sir, and I'll get the miss's bags now. Not a problem, miss, it's all part of the job." These suitcases, fortunately, are far less difficult.

Alice watches the trunk get moved for a moment, then suddenly blinks as if struck by a thought. "Oh!" She looks at the new girl, then back to where she was standing on the porch before walking quickly off in that direction.

Tom follows the two as they move the trunk. "Uhhh ... that's huge," he comments. He then smiles back at Elinor, "Aw, I'm sure it's no problem. Nice trunk, really." He then looks at Mr. Travison and asks, "I'll try and help you get that in the car?"

"Shouldn't be too hard to carry if we each took one end," Agatha says to Tom.

Unnoticed amongst the confusion with the trunks, Rebecca follows Alice. "She looks more like a sorceress than I ever will," she whispers to the blond girl. "I hope you all won't be sorry to have me back in place of her."

Alice turns to Rebecca as she walks. "Some people look like sorcerers, and some people act like sorcerers. Don't worry, Rebecca, you'll always be my best friend, and Lady Sorcerer!" she whispers, though loudly enough she could be partially heard by anyone close.

Tom nods to Agatha. "Uh, yeah. I think if you help we can get it moved easily enough."

Shortly after she dashed off Alice returns with two cookies, and she offers one to Elinor. "Ravens like cookies, I know. I thought maybe you would like a cookie too," she offers.

Mrs. Travison smiles at her husband carrying the trunk with the help of Tom and Agatha, as they wrestle the luggage into the car. "A good thing we borrowed the Westfield's station wagon, dear."

"Ravens ... like ... cookies?" Elinor repeats, curiously. She accepts the proffered sweet, then adds the English phrase she appears to have the most command of, "Thank you."

Alice nods to Elinor. "Yep. Ravens like cookies. And they say thank you too. You remind me of a raven," she tells the girl. She smiles more, hinting that the comment was positive, and she adds, "I'm Alice Westfield. And this is Lord Mel." She holds up the unicorn.

Rebecca smiles around at everyone, and gives her parents hugs, then offers hugs to all her friends, too. "Good bye everyone! I'll miss you all! Take care of my parents for me, Alice!"

The blonde looks up and waves, holding Lord Mel in her left hand as she does. "Bye Rebecca! I will! Come back soon!"

Agatha hugs Rebecca, and says, "Take care, Lady Nymuae."

Tom takes in a couple breaths, "Man, that was heavy." He then makes his way back over to Rebecca as she's hugging people goodbye. He grins and hugs her, saying, "Well, go have a grand adventure. We'll all want to hear about it when you get back!"

Simon looks a little awkward as he accepts a hug from Rebecca. "The court will be a sadder place without you," he says, slipping briefly into character. "But we cannot have hellos without goodbyes, so I'll be counting the days 'til we say hello again!"

"And you, Knight Redmane. Do not forget the things we spoke of," Nymuae tells Agatha. She smiles at Tom, too. "I will have to be a Hawk for all the travels I have done, when I am returned," she says. "Keep them all smiling, Jester Simon," she tells the smaller boy, her own smile firmly affixed, though her eyes glitter.

Mr. Travison takes this opportunity to slip some money to Rebecca. "Here, Princess," he whispers. "You might have to change it for local currency, but God forbid that you should have to live on just what they decide to feed you there, if you want to go and get something at the local eateries."

"Thanks, Dad." Rebecca gives her father a peck on the cheek, and her mother, dabbing at her eyes, one, too. She starts towards the bus, at the urgings of the driver, then runs back at the last moment to Alice's side. She gives the stuffed unicorn a kiss on the top of its head. "I forgot to say goodbye to Lord Mel," she whispers. Then a quick hug to the blond girl, and then she dashes back to the bus as the driver starts the motor and honks at her. "Goodbye! Goodbye!" she calls, waving from an open window.

Tom waves back. "Goodbye!" he calls out, "Have fun!"

"Watch out for dragons!" Agatha calls to the retreating bus.

Seeing that everyone else is, Elinor waves to Rebecca, too, the cocktail napkin from her cookie still in her hand. It makes the gesture look rather like a lady waving her handkerchief in farewell to a knight.

The driver, back on board with his bottle of Coke and the sandwich in a tray near him, issues a last minute call. "All aboard who's coming aboard, next stop's the City," he says. After a bit, to see that no one's running for the door, he pulls the lever that swings them shut, and then a minute later, the bus stirs into motion, a giant beast of aluminum swinging down into the street again.

After the hug Alice blinks a little, looks down at Lord Mel, then lifts him up to hug him tightly to her. The cookie in her hand gets a bit crushed in the process though the girl doesn't seem to notice. She just jugs him and watches Rebecca go, and her blue eyes glaze over. "Bye, Rebecca," she repeats, though rather quietly.

Mrs. Travison blows her nose and leans against her husband. "My poor little girl!"

Mr. Travison soothes his wife. "There, there, Miriam. She's a big girl now. They have to leave the nest sometimes. And it's not as if she won't be back. Besides, she should travel now, while she can still enjoy it and not think about the business back home running down in her absence." He chuckles.

Tom watches the bus for a moment then heads back toward Elinor and Alice. "So, I see you've met Lord Mel," he says, " ... and the cookies. Well, I hope you don't think we're too strange yet. This is probably as odd as we usually get."

Alice shuffles her feet a little and doesn't say anything to Tomas, instead keeps to hugging Lord Mel.

Agatha ruffle's Alice's hair. "Don't worry, she'll be back, Alice."

Still sniffling, Rebecca's mother looks unconsoled. At last she straightens, however. "Well, we've got a new member of our household now, and I'm sure she's tired. Shall we go on home now, dear? You look quite overwhelmed by all this," she comments to Elinor.

Simon looks after the bus for a while, and then grins wryly. "Is that all? I'm sure you could be odder than that if you tried, Tom," he teases.

Tom grins back to Simon, "Probably, after all, I've learned from you."

"Yes, let's go back home and we'll fix up some lemonade for you kids," Mr. Travison says. "You've been good kids, the best. There'll be cookies waiting for you any time you want to visit, eh?"

The hair-ruffling seems to stir Alice from her bit of melancholy, a look she rarely carries except in moments like this. She smiles a little and tries to straighten her hair. "Thanks Agatha," she tells the taller girl. And to Elinor she offers, "I'll show you Rebecca's room where you'll be staying if you want. Rebecca and I play ... played in a lot, and maybe we can too?"

"Thanks, Mrs. Travison," Agatha says.

Elinor shakes her head in denial, "No, I am fine. I feel most welcome here." She licks a crumb of cookie from her lips. In fact, she does seem to have shed some of her "lost in the wilderness" look, though in her brown suit she hardly seems in place among the other children. "You have all been most kind. If kindness is odd ... I hope you continue to be odd," she adds to Thomas, hesitantly.

Simon grins. "I'm so proud of you," he says to Tom, and then leans over to whisper to Alice, "Are you okay?"

Tom uhms and grins to Elinor, "Of course. Just remember you said that one day when you're having to face a dragon, eh?"

Agatha smiles to Elinor and gestures to Tom and Simon. "Don't worry about them; insulting each other is a game we play."

"Insulting ... is a game?" Elinor says, blinking at Agatha. "Is that the kind of game you and Rebecca played in her room?" she asks Alice, looking confused. "Do you insult the ... dragon ... too?"

Tom laughs, "Well, yeah. Alice did anyway. Probably because I was the dragon." He grins.

Elinor shares Tom's smile, though whether she really follows the conversation isn't clear. She covers her mouth and blinks, stifling a yawn. "Oh, excuse me!"

Alice steps closer to Simon and whispers back, "I just miss Rebecca. She's always been around and now she isn't here. Just ... just like she said she wouldn't be. She said you and her would go away in her vision." The girl leans back and smiles slightly. "I did not! Any insulting Tommy gets he probably deserves, he's a big meanie sometimes. Rebecca and I didn't insult, we played games, like pretend and secretary."

"Oh, I am not," says Thomas defensively.

"Are too," says Alice.

Tom looks heavenward.

"Perhaps he is just ... misunderstood?" Elinor offers diplomatically.

Agatha pats Tom on the shoulder. "Nah, his mouth just runs faster than his brain sometimes."

Alice sticks her tongue out at Thomas. "Hmmp. I stand very well," she says. The girl then smiles genuinely after that and nods to Simon. "I hope so. I'm sure everything will be okay. But what about showing Elinor the court?"

"Hmm. Who do you think she'd be?" Simon whispers to Alice.

"Oh, I know! She could be ... " Alice pauses to think.

"The court?" Elinor inquires, looking curious.

Tom just looks at Agatha. He shakes his head then looks at Simon. "Hey, I think Alice answered that for us somewhat already. I think I heard her say Raven, and she has that colored hair. Might make a good name for the court?" Thomas suggests.

Mr. Travison walks to the station wagon and opens the doors. "Hop in, kids, next stop, our place, and free drinks and maybe even a pie or cake! Can't pass up my Miriam's baking, eh?" He winks.

"Oh!" Elinor exclaims at Thomas's words. "I -- I could not be a raven!" A blush forms on her high cheekbones, and she smiles nervously, then nods to Mr. Travison. "Thank you, sir," she tells him quietly, heading towards the car.

Agatha follows Elinor, deciding to shield her a bit from the boys. "Alice will come up with something," she says.

"Rebecca would think of a good name. I just know she would. I just have to think like Rebecca," explains the blonde girl. She screws up her face in though, looks to Lord Mel and nods, then offers, "Lady Raven ... Rav-ANA, Ambassador of Ruritania. How about that? Lady Ravana of Ruritania."

Tom follows behind Agatha, shrugging. "Never said I was good with names," he says, "Anyway, I hope you like it here, Elinor."

The stranger glances gratefully to Agatha, though she looks a little puzzled by Alice's words. "I do not think I ... understand your game. But I am sure I will be happy to learn it. I am sorry if I offended you, Thomas." Again, the oddly long "o" in his name. "I was only ... surprised." She flashes him a shy smile.

"Well I'll teach you everything! Rebecca would want it that way, she always teaches me things, so I'll teach you," Alice explains. "I'll show you the town and you can meet my parents too if you want."

"And if you have any hobbies or interests, just let us know," Agatha says.

Tom nudges Agatha. "Agatha probably wants to know if you ride horses, but won't ask," says Thomas. He grins and smiles back to Elinor, "Anyway, welcome to Ainigton. I'm sure you'll get comfortable here pretty quick. Most everyone in town is nice and will make you feel welcome."

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This site serves as a chronicle of sessions in an online roleplaying campaign moderated by Conrad "Lynx" Wong and May "Rowan" Wasserman. The contents of this site are (c) 2001, 2002 by Conrad Wong and May Wasserman except where stated otherwise. Despite the "children's fantasy" theme of this campaign, this site is not intended for young readership, due to mild language and violence.