Chapter Four

Chapter Four

As Penelope gathered up her things and pulled Hec’s carrier out from beneath the seat, the train was pulling into Llandudno station. The late afternoon sun was warm, and there was a light breeze smelling faintly of Jasmine. Penelope and her mother got off the train and Penelope looked eagerly around her. In the distance, she could see green rolling hills and birds soaring overhead.

As they came out of the station, a voice called out, “Well, now, you must be Penelope, and this must be yer mum.” Startled, Penelope looked around and her jaw dropped. In front of her was a black and silver brougham with the initials P.A.W.S. etched in silver on the door. Attached to the brougham were two magnificent black horses, their coats shining in the sun. Their harnesses and bridles were studded with silver. Alighting from the carriage was the most amazing personage she had ever seen. He had bright red hair, red whiskers growing from his ears, and he stood all of about four feet tall, including the stovepipe hat that sat at a rakish angle on his mop of red hair. But the most amazing thing about him was his eyes; one was green and the other was a startling sapphire blue �" just like Hec’s!

“Paddy Powys at yer service, mum!” he boomed in a voice surprisingly deep for a (well, one could hardly say man) being of his stature.

“Pleased to meet you,” said Penelope. “Are we going to travel in that? I thought mum and I were getting a bus?”

“Matilda’s orders miss; and what Matilda says goes!”

“Meowwwww!” came a loud voice from the carrier.

“Hecate? As I live and breathe, where have ye been? It’s been at least a century!”

“Meorff!” Hec sniffed. Obviously, she couldn’t speak in front of Penelope’s mother.

“Ahhh, roight then,” said Paddy, putting a finger upside his nose and winking. “Alroight,” he said, suddenly all business. “Up ye both get. It’s a long ride and it’ll be close to midnight before we get there. There’s a picnic basket in the carriage with sandwiches and tea. Oh, and a can of sardines for Hecate.” He nodded and winked again, opening the carriage door.

            Penelope climbed up into the carriage and her eyes widened. In disbelief, she stepped down again and looked at the outside of the carriage. That was impossible! She looked at Paddy and pointed inside. “Ahh,” he said. “Yes, bit of a shock first time yer see that, wot?” Penelope’s mother, not having seen the inside of the carriage, had no idea what the conversation was about, but she had the feeling she was going to find out. Penelope got in again, looking around in wonder. As her mother entered, she did the same.

            On the outside, it looked like any normal carriage, but the inside, ahh, the inside was another matter! The inside was the size of a small dining room, although the walls were covered in cobalt velvet. From the roof hung a gorgeous chandelier, its crystals winking in the light. The “picnic basket” was in fact a marvellous repast fit for a queen. There was a little gilt table for two and two gilt chairs upholstered in the same cobalt velvet as the walls. On the table was a big silver teapot and silver and cobalt china cups and saucers. There were little tea sandwiches of all kinds; cucumber, watercress, cheese, and good old jam. There was a crystal cake stand with dozens of little cakes and biscuits, and in a silver bowl at the side of the table rose the unmistakable smell of sardines.

            “Meowwwww!!” came a frantic howl from Hec, who had also caught the smell. ‘Meow, meow, meow!” Penelope laughed and put the cage on the floor, opening the door so Hec could get out. She put the bowl on the floor, and without further ado, Hec dove for the bowl and all that could be heard for the next few minutes was the sound of Hec’s eating and her purrs of satisfaction.

            “Well,” observed Penelope’s mother, “things couldn’t get much stranger!”

“Mum, I’m starving,” complained Penelope. “Can we eat, please?” Her mother sighed and said, “Of course, darling; I’ll pour the tea.” As they sat at the table, Penelope realized she couldn’t feel the carriage moving. Surprised, she looked out the covered window and saw that they were indeed moving, and much faster than she had thought possible. Sighing, she sat down at the table and proceeded to dive in, devouring at least six of the sandwiches, and a baker’s dozen of the cakes and biscuits.

“Penelope!” her mother remonstrated. “You’ll make yourself sick eating like that, and so will you, Hecate.”

“Oh, mum, I’m fine; I was just so hungry. We haven’t eaten since breakfast!”

“Mrff!” agreed Hec around a mouthful of sardines. “Mrlk?” she mewed.

“Oh, sorry, Hec! Here you go,” and Penelope put a bowl of milk on the floor beside her. “Mmmmm,” murmured Hec slurping thirstily at the milk. Penelope’s mother just shook her head. What else could she do? She felt so alone and unable to cope. She felt as if she was losing her little girl to forces she didn’t understand and couldn’t control, and she felt helpless to do anything about it.

“You OK mum?” asked Penelope worriedly. She gave her a big hug and said, “I love you, mum, and no matter what, that will never change. I’m as confused about all this as you are, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“It will all work out, sweetheart,” said her mother, returning the hug. “We’re both tired and I’m sure after a good night’s rest things will look better.” “I hope,” she added to herself.

            Penelope was starting to feel sleepy now that she had eaten, and she could feel her eyes starting to close. Suddenly, there was the sound of a telephone ringing, startling both of them. A telephone? In a carriage? Penelope looked around, and there, on a little table she hadn’t seen before, stood a cobalt and silver phone and it was indeed ringing! Looking at her mother in disbelief, she hesitantly picked up the receiver and said hello. Paddy’s unmistakeable voice came through the receiver as if it was a speaker. “OK ladies, we’re in fer some turbulence; fasten yer seatbelts!”

“What?” said Penelope. “What seatbelts?”

“Look around ye, lassie, with the eyes the Lady gave ye!” And the line went dead. Standing with the receiver in her hand, she stared around the carriage. Where there had been a dining room, the interior had made an astonishing transformation. The interior had somehow shrunk almost to carriage size, and along the walls were two upholstered benches just like any carriage. The furniture was gone, and with a “pop” the phone disappeared too!

            As Penelope stared at her mother, there was a sudden jerk as the carriage bounced, throwing them both off balance. They both recovered and looked at the seats. There were two sets of seatbelts on each. Penelope dove for the seat and buckled up the seatbelt just as the next bounce hit. Not to be caught again, her mother did the same, and took a deep breath.

“Meowrrr!” came a plaintive cry from overhead, and as they looked up, they saw Hec, claws firmly embedded, hanging upside down from the ceiling and Penelope couldn’t help but laugh at Hec’s predicament.

“Hec, I’m going to put you in the carrier and put a seatbelt on it. That way you won’t get tossed about as much.” Surprisingly, the cat didn’t argue, and allowed Penelope to extricate her claws from the ceiling and place her in the carrier.

“Wow! This is unreal!” exclaimed Penelope. “I thought only planes hit turbulence.” She peered out the window and did a double take. “Umm....Mum? We’re flying!”

“Nonsense,” said her mother. “That’s impossible!” But as she looked out the window, she saw unbelievable as it might be, that it was true; they were flying! Nonplussed, she stared at Penelope who seemed to be taking all this in stride. “I give up,” she said.

            Penelope stared out the window, drinking in the sight. It was now dark and the sky was clear, thousands of stars twinkled overhead, and the sliver of the New Moon shone brightly. The Earth seemed far below, so far that all Penelope could see were pinpoints of light coming from the buildings.

“Mum”, she breathed. “It’s beautiful. Look!” Against her will her mother looked out the window and her breath caught in her throat. It was beautiful! Even though she was frightened, she could appreciate the beauty of the scenery. There were a few more big bounces, and then they had the sensation of falling, like going down in a fast elevator. Alarmed, she looked at her mother, who had gone white. Just then, Paddy’s voice came through a speaker, “Not to worry ladies; it’s just the descent. Always feels like yer going to crash. Never have, never will. Almost there and Matilda’s waiting for ye.” Penelope and her mother looked at each other and then sat back to brace for landing. What else could they do? Hec was not impressed, and was hissing up a storm, but there wasn’t anything she could do either!

            At that moment, the carriage touched down with a thump. A perfect four-wheel landing! The door opened and Paddy’s grinning face peered in. “You two alroight, then? Good. Get a move on! Matilda’s waiting for ye, and she doesn’t like to be kept waiting!” Cautiously, they got down from the carriage and Penelope looked around her, and she gasped. The place was huge! It had started out being a typical manor house, but over the years, Matilda had added wing after wing, and now it resembled a small castle �" complete with turrets! In the middle of the courtyard was a beautiful marble fountain, with a mermaid pouring water from an urn. The carriage sat in the porte cochere, and the horses whuffed and tossed their heads impatiently, wanting nothing more than their feedbags and a warm place to sleep.

            “Come on, you two!” said a voice from the door. “No lollygagging now!” Penelope turned towards the voice and started. “Matilda looks just like Daddy!” she exclaimed. “Except her hair is red, not black.” Matilda was tall and slender, and as Penelope noted, her hair was an astonishing shade of red, but she had the same silver streak as Gwyddion, Penelope’s father. Rather than being green, her eyes were an amazing silver hue that changed as the light hit them. She strode forward and kissed Penelope’s mother, and then looked sharply at Penelope. “My, she does look like Gwyddion, doesn’t she? Hello, Penelope; welcome to P.A.W.S.”

“What does P.A.W.S. stand for, Aunt Matilda?”

“Parker Academy of Witchcraft and Sorcery.” It was now very late, and all of a sudden, the day’s events caught up with Penelope, and she let out a huge yawn, and then promptly broke into tears.

“I’m sorry, Aunt Matilda! I don’t know what’s the matter with me!”

“Well I do,” Matilda said briskly. “You’ve had a lot to deal with, and you need a hot bath and a good night’s sleep. You too, Eleanor. Come on, both of you. We can talk more in the morning. The students are on Equinox break, so we’ll have lots of time to talk and get acquainted, and form a plan for Penelope’s training.”

            Penelope shuffled up the stairs and into the bathroom off her bedroom. There was a deep steaming tub waiting for her, and she undressed quickly, and slid into the hot water with a sigh. “Oh my gosh!” She sat up in a hurry, splashing water all over the bathroom. “Hec! I totally forgot about her! Mum!! Mum!! Where’s Hec?”

“I’m right here, no thanks to you!” came a tart voice. “Paddy brought me in and let me out of that horrible cage. Honestly, girl, the things I do for you, and this is the thanks I get.”

“I’m really sorry! There was so much going on, and...”

“Hush, girl. We’ll talk about this in the morning. Right now, I need my beauty sleep, and so do you, although I don’t know how much good it’ll do you.” With that, Hec stalked off, tail in the air, end twitching, which meant her nose was right out of joint.

            Penelope was just too tired to think about this and wearily climbed out of the tub, dried off and put her pyjamas on. She let the water out of the tub and shuffled into the bedroom, collapsing onto the bed without bothering to get under the covers, and fell into a dreamless oblivion.

 

Author's Note

Again, a first draft and probably many errors!

Reviews

[fwvalidus]

And so it continues! I definitely see young girls thoroughly enjoying this!

[Susan McCaskill]

Thank you, but I'm rather hoping boys will too!

[fwvalidus]

Yes of course! It's strange how I immediately gravitate to that assumption merely because the main character is a little girl

[Susan McCaskill]

That is actually quite typical! Boys like Harry Potter because he is male, but girls do too; we seem to be more eclectic!