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❥ TIME HAS |BROUGHT| YOUR |HEART| TO ME Active | Closed | Mature
Topic Started: Apr 2 2012, 05:20 PM (386 Views)
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<BR>My father and grandfather told me to never try to alter the past, for they did not know the consequences of it. I understood the risks, of things like the butterfly effect where the tiniest change could cause the biggest alterations to the future.

<br><br>The thing they didn't understand was the need to rescue a special girl from an ugly fate.

<br><br>Vinnie left, but it was my fault. She exposed her feelings for me and my fear of my in capabilities, my fear of being in love, it all drove her away. She left, probably feeling it to be best, and it was due to her absence that I found I was incomplete without her, so pathetically miserable without her company that I wasn't sure what to do with myself, with anything. All she had left me was her odd ring to remember her by, and it hardly left my jittery hands never mind my person. It was the only comfort I had, staring at it, remembering her and reliving how my broken mind had pushed her away. I wasn't mad, but I was a fool. I was falling a thousand feet per second, even without her there, more and more in love with her, and I knew my life would now be one of driving mad torture now that I had lost her.

<br><br>All that time staring at the ring all by myself led me to connecting some dots. I denied it to myself at first. It was a preposterous idea, wasn't it? It wouldn't work. It wouldn't be that the key had been with me this whole time, held in her possession, and I had not had a single clue. That was the beauty of it though, wasn't it? She held so many keys for me. What was one more literal key?

<br><br>So, I tried. I retrieved my time machine and put her ring where there was indeed a place for it, and with the flick of a switch, it started to quietly whir, the gears inside and out spinning, coming to life finally after more than five years. Tears had immediately hit me full force, as hysteric laughter escaped my throat. I had jumped upon my desk, knocking everything down but oh how I did not care. IT WORKED! It finally worked. It was in my hands, living and breathing. I tested it too. I went to five minutes earlier and witnessed myself getting ecstatic over it working, before I returned right back the present. IT WORKED. IT WORKED. IT WORKED. Oh, how I wanted to tell someone! How I wanted to tell her. I couldn't though, for I had not a clue where she even could be. Not even a single inkling. So long ago she promised we'd keep in touch though, even when we did part ways. I'd figure it out. She would know. She would want to know.

<br><br>I had gone back to Greyhaven, hardly expecting Vinnie to be anywhere near it. She was a girl of action and adventure and I gathered she would continue traipsing the world without me. I had planned to find my old home and return to a time when my grandfather was there, to tell him I had found the key and that the machine was in working order, like I said I would. All my other goals seemed as though they could wait, for the ideas of going to the eras I had planned seemed dull and gray without a certain companion to share them with.

<br><br>To my horror however, in town, head down and soul distant, I was buried with word of 'that Trumeter girl being fixed by doctors after being kidnapped by a mad man'. No. No, it couldn't be. Fixed? She didn't need to be fixed. She was fine! No! They couldn't touch her! With eyes going wide, I booked out of the crowd I had been shuffling through, warranting shrieks and complaints as I ran for a certain hospital, the very one my father was always told to sell me to. It was a hospital with a special side ward for those who were crazy, or at least believed to be crazy. No one belonged there, never mind those who were entirely sane.

<br><br>I ran. I ran until I got to the front entrance building of the ward, banging my fist against the glass, starling the bitter looking nurse sitting behind it. "Lavinia Trumeter! Is she here?" I had asked in labored breath, my eyes as broad as saucers, chest heaving up and down. The nurse had looked at my skeptically but had gone down a list, only to reveal that she was indeed there, but was locked away where only family had access, no other visiters. WIth a panicked heart, I banged the glass once more, "No! Let me see her! Please, she needs to see me! You have to understand!" I was throwing something of a fit, and I didn't realize 'til last second she had pulled a little lever, signalling for two men quite larger than me to come and drag me off, not letting up even a little as I had thrashed. They threw me to the ground once they got about a hundred yards away, spitting down at me and warning that I would be committed next if I came back, before they had walked off.

<br><br>I knew they weren't lying. I felt my heart crumble and fall to the ground as I laid there, staring at the ward with horror behind my irises, pupils small as the ashen sun had settled it's harsh rays on my face. What could I do? How could I save her? It was so heavily guarded. I'd be committed before I got to set a single foot in the actual building, and then I would be no better off than her, and we'd surely never see each other again. No. I had to do something else. Wait. No. Maybe I didn't. I believed they would have to see that she wasn't mad. They'd let her go with no harm done, and if worst came to worst, she would merely be sent back to her family and unable to return back to her life of journeys and destinations. Yes. That was it. I couldn't wait for that though. I didn't have to wait.

<br><br>So, I didn't. I swiftly set my time machine to send me six months into the future, which worked as lovely as a summer's day, and I ran to her home. I didn't even need to go to her door. I saw the window open in the front, and with no reserve, I went right to it, only to see something incredibly disturbing in front of my very eyes.

<br><br>There she had sat, my dearest Vinnie, sitting at the dining table with the blankest of looks in her eyes. They used to be so clear but as she had sat there they held a milky glaze to them. They were so distant. Her face was so emotionless. It wasn't the worst part though. The worst was that her mother had been feeding her, like a little girl might to her doll if the food was real. NO! NO! NO! Oh, I felt a strong surge of nausea wash over me, my breath catching in my throat and causing me to choke. I placed my hands on my knees and tried to breath, my arms overlapping over my head. No. She couldn't be. They tried to fix her. They tried to fix what wasn't broken. She's empty. She's empty. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh. no. Why did this have to happen?

<br><br>I made an ugly face as I fought back a violent sob. I managed a breath after a minute and I stood up, only to see they had gone. I rushed to the next window, and the next, only to find the mother placing Vinnie up in a chair in their library, positioning her hands and everything. The older woman mentioned it being a fine day before she had gone, leaving Vinnie on her own. The window was open, and as I stood, nothing stood between me and her. I stared into her eyes.

<br><br>She stared right through me.

<br><br>My nostrils flared in and out as my lips had quivered. I didn't want it to be happening, but it was. She was lost to not only me, but to the world and to herself. She was a vacant shell, her soul shattered and placed somewhere where no one could find it. No one even cared. No one but me. No one but me appreciated who she had been, that sweet dreamer with the cheeky grin and the knack for making me feel like I still had both feet on the ground. The girl I loved with all of my heart, mind, and soul.

<br><br>I cared no longer for preserving the past. Not her past. No. I had to change this. I had to make her herself again. I wanted to make her happy. I scrambled with my time machine, knowing exactly where I was going. I did the quick math in my mind, and I sent myself back to a date before Vinnie had even been born, when her mother would only be about two months along. I knew what I had to do.

<br><br>I went to what would end up being her front door after retrieving a sum of my saved money from my ship, and I asked to see her father, for a business proposition. I had kept myself calm, nearly stoic like, though maybe my eyes gave away my true self for her father had still seemed wary. It didn't matter. He listened. I told him that I had heard of his troubles, though refused to say how, and that I would graciously loan him the money he required but he must swear to take no other profit from elsewhere if it means selling his child to anyone, anywhere, or anything, for there could be the chance of bad things coming of it. It didn't matter that I didn't give him a reason as to why I knew such a thing. Vinnie had said her father feared the things that could be, and it was enough to strike something in him. He took my deal, and I gave him the money before I had offered a wide grin and shaken his hand with much exuberance. I thanked him, even though he had not a clue that he was doing me a favor by taking my money, and I left, without even leaving a name behind.

<br><br>My grin did not leave me. Once I was out of sight, the time machine was in my hands again. I turned it back to the present, to the day I had discovered her to be in the hospital, and that is where I am now. I am ready and excited to see her again, for now she will be healthy and happy, not even tied to that droll Sterling fellow. YES! This is it! It took some jumping but I'll be able to see her again and I can tell her everything! I walk rather swiftly to her front door, attempting not to run, and I knock feverishly on the wood, not about to stop until someone answers.

<br><br>In my garbled and thrilled mind, it does not occur to me that my alternations would cause her to not have a single clue as to who I even am.

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<br><br>It's another ordinary day in Greyhaven, the warm breezes dusting through my window and the curtains of gauze dancing in rhythm. I've a couple of hours to burn before Father comes home--he's planned to take Mother and I out for supper tonight and to see some new ballet. Which is all wonderful, of course, but…all these dinners, these parties, these outings…I want more to look forward to in my life than seeing a beautiful spectacle. I want to live a beautiful spectacle, live in the stories I see performed. I want to leave this dollhouse and explore the world! I want every day to be different…and yet, I just stay here, waiting endlessly.

<br><br>No. Not today…not anymore! This clinches it, it's the final straw. I'm leaving, I'm going. I won't be merely ornamental any longer.

<br><br>Driven, I move to my bed and crouch down, hauling out the suitcase from underneath, the brass edges scraping the over the floor. I prop it up on my bed and unlatch it, the old case falling open as I begin to load it with some clothes, a nightgown, a book or two, my hands moving swiftly, doing things before my mind orders it to. I'm in such a flurry I don't even bother to make it neat. Yes, yes, I'm leaving, once and for all, I'm shaking the dust off my boots and I won't have to sit through another long banquet again. No more soirées, no more tedious walks in the same garden. I'll sup with people whose names I'll never know, I'll dance through tropics and wintery heights! As of this day, Lavinia Trumeter will not be found in the same blue-capped iron manor in the heart of West Greyhaven, no, she'll be traveling the globe, hopping the continents like train lines!

<br><br>But…as I reach for the small bottle of ink at my desk…the excitement and prospect collapses like a house of cards, and I stop, smile falling. That feeling's come again, rushing up on me like a swallowing wave. My mouth tightens, I bite the inside of my lower lip, and with a disgruntled sigh, I toss the glass to the side, the bottle landing on the bed and ruining the imported duvet as I collapse into my chair.

<br><br>This will mark the eighth time I've thought of leaving this month.

<br><br> I've gotten a little farther this time--I usually never make it to packing bottles of ink and stationary, so I suppose it's progress, but…still

<br><br>I'm back to waiting.

<br><br>I don't know exactly why I wait. I'd like to think I'm stronger than this, that I'm completely capable of getting up and packing a suitcase and telling my father of my plans, and convincing my mother. I know they'd be sad to hear it, but eventually, I believe they'd let me go, seeing that I don't belong here in this world of parlor chats and cotillions…that I yearn for vast, untamed landscapes…! Polychromatic horizons and sunsets and twilights in cities with signs I can't read. I want it more than anything, but still, I stay here, like a bird afraid to leave its nest. As if there's still something left for me here, and I can't leave until I find it. if I go now, despite all the adventures I might have, I'd be missing something vital. I can't name it, and for the life of me I can't fathom what it could be. What on earth could I be without? I know I have everything I could possibly need! But I feel that there's nevertheless, an absence here, somewhere. And if I go without it, my stories will be incomplete, my heart unsatisfied, no matter how many glorious sights I see.

<br><br>So, here, I sit…stay.

<br><br>The clock ticks on, ready to strike for the hour, and I rest my chin on the desk, mood dampened. Motionless, until two sluggish fingers of mine move over the oak, strolling slowly like a gentleman down an avenue over to the special clock my parents gifted me when I was a child….a wondrous contraption with ticking shells and bronze mermaids, sea glass beads and dried seastars. My mind counts down the seconds, my fingertip tracing over the familiar grooves as I imagine myself in an underwater zeppelin, seeing everything in its original glory. I stare at the chronometer longingly, a flake of a ballad coming to mind.

<br><br>"Sea nymphs hourly ring his knell...hark--now I hear them.
Ding dong, bell,
"


<br><br>comes my lonely recitation out of the blue and into the air, just as the hour tolls and I can hear the elderly clocks of the house sounding off. I sigh lazily, turning my head on its side to rest my cheek on the cool surface, nearly bored to sea salt tears…until my usual bout of guilt comes around, telling me that I've nothing in my life to feel sorry about. My years have been greater than I could've asked for, ones that many would be jealous of. Loving parents, a carefree childhood. And I know I could have freedom if I only just reached for it, if I could work past that unabating nerve in the back of my mind that's telling me I've left something out. It's so silly, yet so strong that I can't ignore it. But even if I can't completely turn a blind eye to that certain sensation, I must learn to be more grateful. I am grateful. I close my eyes for a moment, taking a breath. No more sadness, you'll move past it.

<br><br>Out of habit, my fingers go to the silver around my neck, following the line until I reach the ring at the bottom. The faint clicking of the gears calms me like the tinkling of a music box of some lullaby I've known forever. There's no need to rush now, I assure myself. When the time is right, I'll know, and until then, I should enjoy the things I have here. Click click. Dinner with Father and Mother will be lovely tonight, I'm sure. I was looking forward to the performance, too, so there's something to be excited for, even if it isn't the unexplored wastelands or unnamed creatures. Click.

<br><br>Suddenly, I hear someone knocking on the front door…and continuing, too, each blow followed by another. Well, someone must be very eager--an emotion not commonly found in Greyhaven, so I have to wonder if it is someone from out of town…though we weren't expecting any guests today. I tuck my necklace under the front of my dress. Our maid is with Mother, helping her re-sew the seam of a dress that has become loose on her frame, so I wipe my hands on a cloth and announce that I'll receive the visitor, voice resounding through the hallow as I leave my room and hurry down the stairs…the knocks continuing all the while, like the metronome on our old piano. Usually, we check to see who is at the door before opening it by using a special device that you take down from a hook and peer through, but whoever it is sounds so impatient that I decide not to prolong his or her waiting any longer, and I simply open the door the moment I reach the mahogany.

<br><br>A man I've never seen before stands on the other side, his eyes flecked with blues and greens, like a faded peacock's feather. "Oh…um…hello," I manage to say, etiquette a bit off kilter, for something about his appearance just…startles me, in the most peculiar sense. I can't help but study him. His bone structure looks as if it was hewed by a royal chisel, the bow of his lips serpentine and, yet, his expression's too enthusiastic to make me think he's of the stuffy sort. His grin makes me see that he is a far cry from any stiff-collared man I've met before. He's handsome too, but all of this fails to tell me what precisely feels so…off?

<br><br>Or…no, I can't pinpoint it, my mind feeling like a magnifying glass trying to chase down a ladybug running all over a surface, nearly catching up and remembering…but the answer just barely escaping my grasp each time, right at the last moment. There's a feeling almost like…recollection, like when you find some old trinket you used to be fond of as a child at the bottom of your bureau. But that's just nonsense, for I know that I would've remembered meeting someone like this. With a curious, slightly baffled but nonetheless amiable smile, my brows bunching together as I try to find the right words to say.

<br><br>I'm blind to the notion that this person in front of me is what I've been wanting all along, the missing piece.

<br><br> "Can I…help you with something?" I open the door a little wider, wood sweeping past my feet. I briefly notice there's a thin strip of ink combing over the bones of my knuckles as my hand stays clutching the doorknob, and then my gaze moves and I note that he isn't carrying any sort of case with him. So it's unlikely he's a salesman or here on business. Maybe someone who's only lost his way? It doesn't happen too often, and no one ever comes to our door for that matter (I find our gates are maybe too intimidating), but it's a possibility. He looks to be terribly pleased about something, but I have no idea as to what it could be.
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<BR>I feel like something has literally grasp onto my heart, threatening to pull it off and squeeze it until it is obliterated when she looks at me that way. She looks at me in a way that you would look at a complete stranger who has come to your door. The greeting that follows only confirms my suspicions, something I had not thought of before.

<br><br>She doesn't know who I am.

<br><br>No. It can't be. No, I had not thought of it. I suppose in my blind excitement, I had believed that she just had to remember me, despite my dipping my hand into her past and rearranging it to make life better for her. The thing about that life was, our journeys never happened. She had never left this house, I had never ransacked it, she had never ran away from her wedding, and I had never found her. She never traveled with me. She never sat outside with me while I tried to remember how to breathe. She never set aside tea for me for when I woke up from falling asleep at my desk. We never had all of those long talks. She's never heard a word I've said. She never fell in love with me.

<br><br>She doesn't even know my name.

<br><br>No. NO. I refuse to believe that, not after everything we had been through. She has to remember. You see, I believe in the art of science, and the art of magic, and I was told love was the most powerful of the latter, something that science couldn't even properly explain. Didn't that mean that through our connection to each other, she could remember me? Even if I was merely a recurring dream, something subconscious that would come running back to her, it would be something. She would remember her love for me, and I could tell her that I do love her and-and-and our lives would be good, they'd be exactly how she explained her preferred future to me so long ago.

<br><br>She just had to remember.

<br><br>My grin might have faltered, a twitch if anything, but I don't notice. I keep it there, hope fueling my lips as I stare upon her porcelain face, decorated with two eyes of sky and lips of roses. I resist the urge to step forward, to touch her face like it's a rare relic I've discovered in my travels. She asks if she can help me with something, and it's truly so good to hear her voice again. It's felt like eternity since her voice has rung in my ears. "My dearest Vinnie." I suddenly feel tears striking my eyes, burning them, but I don't let them take over. No. She'll remember. She has to. "I-It's me. It's August." I breathe, moving forward, in an abrupt manner that would surely seem threatening if I were to appear as a stranger to her. A faulty laugh rolls through my lips. "I-I got it to work, Vinnie." I pull out the time machine from beneath my shirt and vest, gesturing to it, her ring attached to it. "That's how I saved you. I-I, we, things are good now, you see." I lean in, searching her face, her eyes, looking for a chance that she knows what I'm talking about, that she knows me.

<br><br>I'm not seeing it. No. No. SHE WILL REMEMBER. She has to. This can't happen. It can't. I can't lose her. I can't be alone. No. I don't want to lose all of this. Please. Please.

<br><br>"Don't you remember? Y-You must. You have to remember, Vinnie. We traversed the world together! We went places and saw things!" My voice raises as the adrenaline soars through me, as panic threatens to take me over, my arms winging out. My breathing becomes more labored. I huff out a breath as a trembling smile that manages to meet me eyes forms, tears brimming at my dark eyelashes. "You have to remember, Vinnie. Remember us. Remember. Please!" I'm pleading now, my desperation growing in my voice. I grow quiet suddenly, my quick and shaky breaths causing my chest to rise and fall at a rapid rate, waiting, hoping, wishing on magic that may not be on my side this time, to see if she'll recall all that we were... All that we are.

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<br><br>His look seems to change a little once I respond, so faint that it's like the effect of when you've stared at a painting for much too long and it begins to move and change shapes, yet I'm certain that I've…disappointed him in some way, but I've no time to dwell on the matter before he speaks…and says the most startling thing yet. Vinnie? My head pulls back slightly on that. Who…what could he…I mean, I suppose Vinnie could be a nickname for Lavinia, but no one's ever called me by that moniker before. And I'm well aware that this is the first time I've met this man, so surely, he's made some error.

<br><br>If it wasn't for the look in his eyes, I would've been able to deal with this in a calm manner, but that murky hue…that despair, desperation…I've never known anything like it, at least not to this degree. He says it's he as if I'm completely capable of identifying who he is, calling himself August. No…no, I know I've never heard of anyone called August. It's an unforgettable name. The only trace of feeling I derive from it is one comparable to the feeling I have when I'm given a name that I think would make a good name for some character in some fictional device, some unique, appealing name. But it doesn't mean I recognize it, and as he moves forward, and I immediately step back, my defensive mannerisms tending to surface when I'm becoming uneasy.

<br><br>The peculiar thing is, he looks as uncomfortable as I, stammering and then forcing a laugh. I don't…I don't understand what's happening. He must think I'm someone else! Which I can't really see the reason for, as no one's lived in our house for centuries except our bloodline and I would've certainly met any surviving friend of theirs beforehand. I'm trying to rationalize everything, but it's difficult, because you can't make reason with this sort of…distraught! He got…what to work? What could he mean? Wh--

<br><br>Unexpectedly, he reveals a remarkable apparatus from beneath his clothing, one I've never seen the likes of before. What is i…what does it do? What does he mean by showing it to m--suddenly, my expression changes when my eyes fall on a particular piece of his instrument. It's my ring, my grandfather's ring, that I've always been so positive of its distinctiveness, but here he is, with an exact duplicate. "My ri…but--that's…" my hand goes to press against my collar, skin sticking to the chain. "…how did you…" My head is starting to spin, twirling on its toes over and over, faster. "Saved me?" From…what? No, no, I have to remind myself…it's not real, no matter how honest his face seems…he's simply confused me for someone else. That's all it is.

<br><br>"I'm sorry, I don't--" I begin, but then he suddenly begging me to remember, entreating that I must. But I can't…remember what!? I don't know what he's saying! His words scream through me like a banshee's lips pressed to my temple, tremors rushing through my entire body. I've never known passion like this before, passion so fierce and devastated at the same time, pounding together. I stare back into his face racked with agony, those beautiful eyes now painted with tears and I'm so horribly moved and affected that I feel my own begin to sear painfully as briny tears dew at the corners. "I'm not…." As much as I'd like to help him, as I'd like to say I do remember, I can't. I've never traveled anywhere without my family, and certainly not all over the world, only a few cities on social ventures. But although I've never even seen this man till now, I feel as if I've ruined him, perhaps forever.

<br><br>I compel myself to answer him. "…Mr….August, I'm afraid you're...wrong, I've no--"

<br><br>"Lavinia?"

<br><br>Suddenly, my mother appears besides me. She takes one look at the broken man on our doorstep and is immediately appalled, but she manages to hold back any remarks. She's more confused than anything, I think, for she doesn't recognize him either. "Who is this?" she asks, turning to me, and it's asked in a polite way, but I'm sure that on inside she's boiling, thinking that I've been keeping this man a secret all along, thinking that I do know him, for a stranger would never behave this way. She eyes me suspiciously, and I suspect she's been listening in for a while.

<br><br>"This is…" I swallow in a poor attempt to help me regain my bearings, but my head still pulses. "…this is Mr. August, and he's looking for someone." Someone who I myself would like to be found swiftly, for he seems to be in great need of her. I shake my head, lips pursed with apology that I have to…inflict this pain on him, simply for telling him the facts. "I'm so sorry, I'm Lavinia Trumeter," I introduce myself, hoping to see that giving him my full name will make him realize his blunder. "You must be mistaken. Did someone give you this address, or--" I start, attempting to get to the bottom of this, before Mother grabs the side of the door, her arm pushing in front of me and out of the way.

<br><br>"There is no "Vinnie" here, sir. I'll thank you now to take your leave," she says curtly, and confirming my belief that she did hear everything before. With that, she steps back, making me retreat further into the house, and closes the door in his face, causing me to inhale sharply.

<br><br>"Mother!" I try to move around her, but she blocks my way. "How could you do that?! That man needed help!" I shout, although I'm still a little shaken by the encounter.

<br><br>"But not from you!" she leans in towards me, and then forces me to turn around, ushering me away from the door. "What could you possibly have done, darling? You're no physician or counselor. He needs medical help, Lavinia, there's nothing you can do. You shouldn't meddle with those types."

<br><br>"I…" Perhaps she's right, I don't know how I could have really helped him, but still, I…it feels wrong to leave it on this note, even if I don't know him. "--I could've…I could do something." I snap back, hands grabbing my skirts sharply as I turn on my heel, moving past her and going back to the door. But when I open it again, he's already gone, and I'm the one left in devastation.

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<BR>No. She's not remembering. There is no look of recollection in her eyes. She has not a single clue as to who I am. She doesn't know what it's like to handle me at my worst or love me at my best. She doesn't know what it's like for me to be the one to show her all the wonders she had only ever dreamed of seeing before, or to lean in to me when I touch her, to not shy away. I'm not an eccentric man she fell in love with. To her, I'm only a mad stranger who's upsetting her.

<br><br>No. No. NO. WHY. This wasn't it. We were suppose to be together again. Everything was suppose to be good. We were going to be happy. I was going to try so hard to make her happy. I was. The more she speaks, the more I realize that my whole body is trembling, hands and lips especially. My eyes have widened, fluttering back and forth in a panic as I search her face for ANY sort of sign. How could this be? I was sure she had to remember something. Anything.

<br><br>As her mother comes to the door, I feel waves of ill feelings rush over me, consuming my insides and effecting my outsides. My hands reach up and grab at the back of my hair, "I'm looking for YOU! Remember me! Please, please, Vinnie.." I beg her, my face contorting as it's racked with emotion. She introduces herself, and my teeth clench together before I stomp my feet, "I know who you are! I know! I know you better than anyone! You have to know that! PLEA-" I find myself cut off by her mother, who's blurred words are spoken before she closes the door in my face.

<br><br>"NO! PLEASE!" I leap forward, my fist slamming into the door, "Please." I whisper to the mahogany, my forehead pressing against it, my breaths shuddering violently, saliva coating my lips. "I love you." It's so low the only one who could possibly hear it is me, because it doesn't matter. She doesn't care if I love her. She doesn't know me. She doesn't love me. None of what we went through ever happened in her mind. I'm nothing to her. I'm nothing to nobody, all over again.

<br><br>I hear them discussing me on the other side, but nothing has changed. They only believe me to be crazed. I step away from the door, and I end up tripping on the single step, right onto the stones below, knocking the air out of me. The moment my breath comes back, I let out a wretched scream, my heart constricting as I pound my fists into my head. "No." I moan, my throat thick with tears. I slowly pull myself up, wavering, feeling so drained. My chest feels hot, burning, my heart ashen, while my head pulsates angrily. I feel something warm trickling above my upper lip, and I know my nose is bleeding. I wipe it across my dark green sleeve and sniff even though I'm not suppose to, and I realize the only thing left to do is go.

<br><br>"I got to go. I got to go. I have to get out of here." With fumbling hands, I scoop the time machine into my hands. I twirl the dials, blinded with my desperate need to leave this painful scene behind. I have no clue what time I'm going to, but I hardly care. I twist the key, and within an instant, I'm gone from Vinnie's eighteenth year.

<br><br>I'm in the exact same spot as I was before, of course, but in this time, no one knows I'm there. I look over to the house. It's unchanged, but that's no surprise. I'm sure it's centuries old, so there wouldn't be a difference. I slowly stand, my body not the steadiest, but I'm managing. I take in a deep and calming breath through my mouth, wiping beneath my nose again before I turn towards the side of the house and start to walk. I don't want to know who lives in the house. I have no need to know. No. I just have to go. Where? The forest. Yes. The forest. It can't let me down.

<br><br>I don't fail to see the tree house in the corner of my damp and red rimmed eyes, and I almost laugh, because I know that the structure has only been around in Vinnie's lifetime. She's alive, and she's here. It doesn't matter though. It doesn't. She still won't remember me. Forget it, August. Don't forget her, August, but forget it. I continue on. As I reach the forest, I find a clear path, one I remember reaches a crystal blue lake. I inhale through my nose, the passageways clearer now, as I tilt my head up. I stare up at the clear blue sky between the swaying green leaves of the trees as I move myself forward. Doing this has always brought me a strange sense of calm, the sort of dizzy feeling that accompanies it not entirely unpleasant. Yes. It's peaceful.

<br><br>I'm losing myself, as I commonly do, and it's far too late when I hear the rush of quick feet crunching the leaves beside me. Before I even have a chance to look towards the sound, a little figure rams right into the side of my leg, and falls down, not too lightly I might add. I frown and quickly turn on my heel, only to see that it's a small child. It's a little girl, most likely no older than five or six years of age. "Oh, no! I'm so sorry, little one." I don't hesitate to lean down and scoop her right up by the waist, setting her on her feet whilst I get down on my knees, putting myself at her level. "Are you alright?" I ask as I reach up to pick a leaf out of her dark hair, and as I stare right into her aqua eyes, I realize exactly who I'm looking at.

<br><br>I'm looking into the gaze of one much younger Vinnie Trumeter.

<br><br>"You're Vi-" I stop myself. No. I'm not suppose to know who she is, and this time, well, of course she doesn't know who I am. She hasn't met me yet! I find that this isn't nearly as upsetting, because during this time, she's not suppose to know me. Could I change that? I could. What harm would it do? Why, I had planned to visit her at this age. It had been our plan, in case we were ever separated for whatever reason. She told me her younger self would have liked to have known me very much. Yes. She can know me.

<br><br>A bright smile suddenly forms, lighting up my eyes, allowing them to spark with their usual blues and greens, eliminating any of the negative emotions that had littered my features before. I change my sentence easily. "You're very fast, little one. Why, you must have been going a hundred miles per hour!" I chuckle. "Going so fast you didn't even see me, now did you?" I wiggle my finger at her as if I'm scolding her, but it's easy to tell by my grin and lighthearted tone, that that is far from the case. I only tease. "May I ask, what were you running from? Or running to?"

<br><br>I pause a moment before my face becomes alight again, "Oh! What bad manners I have. I haven't introduced myself." I hold my hand out to her, but with my fingertips and palm facing up, looking far less strict than a grown up handshake. "I'm August R. Proctor. What's your name, dear?" Everything is greater now, because it is so much better to start it all over than to finish it.

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[dohtml]<center><div style="width: 375px; text-align:justify;"><br><br>Grandfather said he'd be paying me a little visit today before we're scheduled to see each other a tea, so I'm waiting patiently--or trying to wait patiently--at our usual place, the dock of the lake. I'm lying down on the wooden planks, belly up, closing my eyes and listening to the sounds of the waves…and imagining I'm on a real ship, sailing the seven seas, off to find Atlantis or visit an island of legendary sirens! Not stuck in boring old Greyhaven. I picture the ocean crashing against the sides of my very own boat, the great, big white sails billowing above, an embroidered coat around my shoulders as I boss my own crew around, telling them to swab the decks. I laugh with my eyes still closed when I feel myself standing at the helm, ready to see the world, and then--

<br><br>"Ho there! Watch out, little sailor!" comes a familiar voice, and my eyes immediately open and I pull myself up and onto my feet, pivoting around, only to see my favorite person. "GRANDFATHER!" I exclaim, hardly able to contain myself from running and hopping onto his boat to hug him. He's on the small dinghy he uses sometimes when he wants to go out to get peace and quiet. I always want to join him, but Mother made him swear to never take me--she's afraid I'll drown! Which…I almost did, when I was four, but that was before I learned how to swim, so I don't think it would happen now! Still, she won't listen to me, so I'll just have to wait until I can buy a real, big boat, that would never fail during a storm.

<br><br>Grandfather tosses me a rope, letting me tie his boat up to the wooden post--I like how he gives me grown-up duties like these. Once that's done, I don't hesitate to finally jump off the dock and right into his arms, legs swinging around him as he laughs and holds me there, hugging me tight for a good few seconds before he has to set me down (he's not as strong as he used to be, unfortunately). "I've got a present for you today, my little sea puppy," he says, and I gasp excitedly. "What? What is it!?" I ask quickly, and he laughs again, turning to reach for something behind him from under a muslin cloth. When Grandfather turns back, he hands me….the best antique ever! An old wooden wheel from a ship somewhere, all the rounded spokes still perfectly intact. It'll make the perfect addition to my treehouse, and I can already imagine all the sorts of games I might play!

<br><br>"Ooohh, THANK YOU, Grandfather!" I exclaim happily, throwing my arms around him. "This is WONDERFUL!" I step back to look at it again, looking at the loops of rope tightly wound around certain sections. "COME ON! We can play pirates in the treehouse and--" I proclaim, before I interrupt myself. "OH! We could pretend to be SKY pirates too!" Not just any old ones from the sea! It's better suited for the treehouse, anyway. We could imagine hopping from ship to ship over the clouds, swashbuckling fellow rogues…

<br><br>"Oh, not today, Lavinia."

<br><br>My thrill starts to deflate. "…w-what?"

<br><br>He crouches down beside me, the boat rocking slightly as he bends. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm much too busy for that today," Grandfather tells me, shaking his head as he places a hand on my shoulder. "And to be truthful, I'm getting a little too old for it. Your old grandpop can't keep up so well anymore. I'd love to play with you, Lavinia, but I can't be climbing trees anymore."

<br><br>On this news, my lower lip pulls over the top, a pout forming. But I didn't know what I was expecting. It's true, we have to stop when we play our games many times because Grandfather needs to rest. But I don't have any other playmates! They're all boring and they want to do the same thing every time!…and still, I have to be grown-up about this. It's not Grandfather's fault, and he looks so terribly pained to tell me. "It's all right, Grandfather," I assure him, putting on a brave smile. "I'll find someone else!"

<br><br>He doesn't look like he believes me, however, maybe I've told him too many times that I don't like the other children on my street. So I try to convince him. "I'm going to go right now! I'll see you at supper!" I exclaim, hugging him tightly one more time. He looks a little less uncertain now, and I'm proud of myself for that, at least. "Are you sure?" he asks, one last time as I begin walking away.

<br><br>"Of COURSE! I'm going to have great fun with my new wheel!" I announce, threading my arm through one of the spaces as I pull it over my shoulder like a strap, and then give a jolly laugh and wave before I start running, because the faster I go away, the less I have to put on an act. My legs are propelling like the blades beneath a ship as I go, and I try to think cheery thoughts. I can have fun on my own! That means no restrictions, and I get to choose all the routes! I look back behind me and see that Grandfather's no longer in sight, and th--

<br><br>WHAM! I crash into something, like a tree has suddenly grown in a spot that I've always known to be empty, and fall onto my back, the foliage above swirling for a second as I lie there. I'm all right. I hear someone speak to me--someone's here, in my forest?! and he whisks me onto my feet swiftly. He's a man I don't know, with big eyes like the uncharted and glowing blue-green moons I imagine dance around in space. "I'm fine!" I announce, not liking to be fussed over, but he doesn't dwell on it. I wonder who he is.

<br><br>He starts telling me how fast I was going, however, and I start to look a little smug at that, biting down on my bottom lip with a pleased smile. "I was fast, wasn't I?!" I say, because it did feel like my legs were about to fly off! I think I'm getting faster every day. He pretends to scold me, and I laugh because I know he doesn't mean it--I know when adults mean it--and then he asks me where I was going. "I was…" I start to reply, and then it hits me, eyes widening. What if this is my new playmate?! What if Fate has arranged for me to have one, at long at last?! It's too much of a coincidence that someone would appear in my forest right after my talk with Grandfather! Surely, he's to be my new friend!

<br><br>He introduces himself, his name a month of summer and his last name a profession…at least, I think it's a profession, I'm not really sure. I just think I've heard it being used that way before. But it doesn't matter! He asks who I am, and I don't hesitate to get things rolling. "I'm the sky pirate Captain Lavinia Trumeter!" I introduce myself, grabbing his hand with a broad, proud grin, one worthy of a captain, I hope! I never like playing games where people make me pretend to be someone else, and choose a new name. Where's the fun in that? I want to be myself! I always want to be myself, only greater! It's like being able to invent my own future, at least for a while. Staring back at Mr. Proctor, a new idea instantly sprouts up in my mind, and my lips tilt a little slyly.

<br><br>"…and you're my first mate aboard the Neptune's Blade!" I exclaim, and then suddenly start pulling him off with me, with no regard to if he could be busy or not. "HURRY! We have to go back to the ship before the dastardly guards found out we took their treasure!" I start running off again, just as fast as before, because unlike some other adults, he's actually running with me, and not lagging behind! It's as if I'm barely pulling him at all! And side by side, we flash through the forest like colors glinting from a mirror, till we arrive at my treehouse. "Hurry, hurry!" I repeat as I climb upwards, yanking my hand back in a gesture that tells my first mate to follow me. We eventually make it inside and I close the door behind him quickly, and then run over to one of the windows. There's a little hook under the high sill, and I slip the wheel onto that, and spin it joyfully, pretending to steer. "HARD TO PORT and LAY THE COURSE!" I announce random commands. "HOLD HER STEADY!" I look back over my shoulder at him, laughing. "Can't you hear the howl of the Atlantis, August?!" I pretend to call over loud storms…and then I tire of steering, wanting to know more about my new playmate, and leave the wheel for a moment, walking over to the small table and chairs set int he middle of the room.

<br><br>"Okay, she's steady!" I sit down, and gesture for him to sit too. "Phew!" I pretend it was tiring, rough business. "Let's have tea." I forget that pirates may not drink tea, and mime pouring him a cup…staring at him over the imaginary crockery, because now that I've calmed down a little, that curiosity's returning. "So…what brought you here, August?" I ask in an eager yet hushed tone. "Really. Was it magic?"

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<BR>It doesn't take long at all for me to be wrapped up in the moment, and I find myself not wanting to be anywhere else.

<br><br>"Oh, you were so fast even the cheetahs would be jealous!" I exclaim with a grin, encouraging her, because what else should you do? I feel myself easily thrilled by her enthusiasm, the kind that I tend to showcase most of the time. She begins to tell me where she was going, but some sort of thought seems to distract her and the next time she speaks, she introduces herself. Not only is she Lavinia Trumeter, like I knew in my heart from the moment I saw those luminous stargazers, but she is the sky pirate captain Lavinia Trumeter!

<br><br>I let out a gasp. "A captain! Well, it is my honor, Captain Trumeter!" I bow my head to her in respect before I shake her hand gently, over exaggerating the shake like she's the one doing all the work. I don't question her game, or go against it. What's the fun in that? No. I want to play! I very much enjoy playing pretend, and I'm very good at it! Unlike most adults, I'm not embarrassed in the least to play with my imagination as the star toy, and well, my peculiar mind makes it quite easy to make things up and really believe in the pretend.

<br><br>Suddenly, she names me her first mate, and the most genuinely shocked grin spreads across my lips. "Me?!" I gesture to myself, my fingertips brushing along the middle of my bread basket. Before I can say or do anything else, she starts to pull me, causing me to stand up so I don't fall over. She announces we have to go before the awful guards catch us, angry that we've stolen their goods, and I nod swiftly, "Yes, yes, we mustn't waste any time!" I run with her with ease. I find that she is indeed very fast, but with my long strides and high spirits, I keep right by her side. "We're almost there, Captain, but I can hear them coming!" I up the drama, looking over my shoulder as we come to the tree house, as if someone is really coming after us, before I hightail it up the ladder right behind her.

<br><br>I duck into the tree house, breathing harder than I really need to. I watch her hook the ship's wheel she had been hauling with her to the wall before she starts bellowing out orders, and I grin, nodding, "Yes, Captain! Laying the course!" I make out, and I laugh jovially as she does, not hesitating in the least to answer her question. "Oh, yes! I hear it loud and clear!" I shout as loud as she does, even putting my hand at the side of my mouth to add to the effect, before soon the exciting part of playtime is over, as she leaves her wheel, announcing the airship Neptune's Blade is steady.

<br><br>I huff out a breath like I'm exhausted (But not in the way an elderly person might), before I move to sit down with her, "Very nice job, Captain." I compliment her before a wide smile reaches my lips, "Oh, tea!" I say gleefully, even if there's no actual tea in front of me. It's terribly wonderful because we're having teatime together again! Oh, how I missed this. As she pours, she gets to questioning me. It's funny. For grown ups it's questions first, actions later, but for children, it seems to be the exact opposite. I only ponder over her questions for a moment, deciding to tell her exactly how I got here.

<br><br>"It was by magic, Vinnie." There's that nickname. It's hardly a nickname to me anymore though. It's just her name. I have never once called her Lavinia, and I don't plan to. "Magic that I created with my father and grandfather, you know." I hold up a finger before I pull out my time machine from beneath my shirt. The chain is pretty long so that I have easy access to it when I want to use it, so I simply hold it out for her to see without having to lean in or anything. I prop it up with my hand, giving her the best view of it. "This is my time machine." Yes. I finally get to properly show it to her. "I'm actually from the future!" I beam, quite proud that my family's machine is finally in it's proper working order, all thanks to her and her key.

<br><br>"I escaped to the past. I wasn't sure when I was going to, and when I got here, you see, I did not have a clue as to what I would find, but here you are!" I allow the time machine to gently swing back to my vested chest as I throw my hands out, gesturing to all that is her. My face is radiant with my excitement, the way that would make the person you are talking about feel like somebody very special. "You see, my dear Vinnie, I was horrendously lonely, but I'm hoping you can fix that! I need a partner in crime! Do you think you can be that for me?" I ask as I reach over and pretend to pick up my invisible tea, taking a sip of it. I wince as I swallow and swiftly put the cup down, "Oh goodness. Be careful. It's hot." I warn her, before a warm grin encompasses my face, and I can tell this is the beginning of a beautiful new friendship.

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[dohtml]<center><div style="width: 375px; text-align:justify;"><br><br>Right away, I know he really must have been sent here to be my playmate because he is absolutely fitted for my adventures, as if he was personally tailored for the games! He picks up on the story immediately, faster even than Grandfather--and he can run faster, too. With Grandfather, I always had fun, but with August (I can't call him Mr. Proctor anymore because I'm his boss, of course) it's entirely different. I'm not having fun because I am living in our make-believe--I feel that I really am a sky pirate captain and that I've no time for fun because we're being chased…and that's the best sort of playtime anyone could ask for! One that you don't realize is so enjoyable until the momentum slows down, and makes for the best things to think of right before you go to sleep!

<br><br>This is what I see when we settle down for our tea, and I'm immediately excited for our next adventures already, because August is the finest first mate I could ask for! And I'm sure he'd be the finest thief or knight or troll king or Cyclops or god or fae too, wherever our imaginations lead us! "Thank you!" I beam, rocking my head from side to side a little rhythmically when he tells me I've done a good job. "Hopefully we don't run into any storms or bird-people this time." I murmur with a sigh as I set the teapot down and raise my cup to my lips. August then tells me how he came here, and that it was magic after all--"I knew it!" I brighten instantly, forgetting that I'm drinking tea as I drop my hands on the table, palms down, fingers spread out on the wood.

<br><br>And then August digs into his clothes and pulls out something I've never seen before. It's some kind of machine, but I can't guess what it would do. It's so small for one. Maybe it's for communication…? With whoever sent him here? I crawl so that I'm sitting on my chair with my knees so I can bend over and look at it closer, and then… "…oh!" I push off the chair and leap to my feet, pointing suddenly at something I recognize, something I know! "Grandfather has a ring like that!" I exclaim, stepping closer. He carries it with him at all times, but never lets me try it on, for some funny reason. I wonder if he sent August here? " Are you friends?! Do you know him? His name is Ernest Salisbury Trumeter and he's like me, only older and a man and very, very big." My hands scatter wide to show, and then one goes to pretend to grasp a handle by my head as it winds an imaginary tool. "And he has a special top-hat with a crank on the side like a victrola that plays the song "Come into the Garden, Maud"!"

<br><br>I immediately forget about my grandfather when August tells me what the device really is…a time machine, a real time machine! Just like the ones in all those stories! And he's from the FUTURE! My eyes are probably bulging out like a frog's! "You're from the future?!" I repeat, gasping, and if I had real tea, I'm certain I would have spilled it! A thousand questions come at once like a train rushing at full speed. I run past the table and over to his side, stopping abruptly, almost too close, grasping at his sleeve. "WHEN?! What's it like!?" I ask, kneeling down as if I expect August to launch into a whole long story, face entirely waiting.

<br><br>August tells me how he found me, as if I'm some sort of great treasure map, which makes me really happy, because no one except my Grandfather ever says anything like that to me! I mean, I know my parents feel it, but they're not the type to express their feelings verbally like that! He admits that he was lonely…just like me, I think, and then asks if I could help change all of that, and a grin wider than one I've given before appears, and I smack both my hands down on his, seizing it tightly. "Of course! We'll be friends forever, August!" I laugh as if it was completely predictable. I can't imagine any other friend I'd want to keep! "I've always wanted a magical friend!" Or any true friend, really, but he's just more than I could ask for, and it's amazing. I watch with delight as he seems to nearly burn his tongue on the tea, warning me of its temperature.

<br><br>"Oh, here, let me blow on it!" I say, standing back on my feet and pretending to cool the tea by pursing my lips and exhaling, before I plop right back onto the floor. "There. That's tea that we pillaged from the ki--the emperor in China, you know, so we shouldn't waste any!" I nod firmly. On that note, I pick up my cup again, pinky out, before sipping some more brazenly…and then I remember that I was going to mention something earlier, before I got sidetracked by his machine.


<br><br>"Oh! And…Vinnie…" I repeat the nickname he used. At the time, it surprised me, but I was too busy talking about the magic to point this part out. "You called me Vinnie earlier," I say, staring at him seriously, and then my gaze wanders to the ceiling as if I'm thinking it over. The apples of my cheeks turn warm, and a smile buds, my eyes flashing back to his again. "I like it!" I declare. No one's ever given me a nickname that's a real play on my own name, only the usual pet names that any other child is called. I assume my Captain persona for a moment, giving him an order. "You must always call me that."
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<BR>It doesn't take long for little Vinnie to recognize the ring attached to my time machine, the one acting as the so important key I had been searching for for years. I knew it was her grandfather's, but I had never understood how a ring from the man had been the very device I needed for my machine to work. I had never questioned who he was, because by the time I learned of his ring's abilities, Vinnie had been gone, and there had been no one to answer my questions.

<br><br>I don't have to ask anything with this little one. She describes the man. She states his name, and like always, the last name has always been familiar to me for some odd reason, but besides that, her description merely reminds me of my own grandfather. Suddenly though, her hands start to make this odd gesture, and my head tilts to the side. She explains to me that her grandfather had a unique hat, one that was actually able to play a song much like Victrola, and the one of a kind contraption causes a memory to hit me like a ton of bricks.

<br><br>It's my grandfather, and another man, a stranger to me, sitting across from him, his unusual head wear sitting on the table. I am merely nine years old, and I steal it right off the table, placing it on my small head and cranking the lever like there's no tomorrow. I run around them, vocalizing each note as it exits the hat. My grandfather stops me, catching me by the waist and taking the hat from me. He chastises me, lightly, gently, as I laugh, and he apologizes to the other older man. The stranger just chortles though and shakes his head. I believe he said I could play with the hat, but I had to go into another room. I fill in the blanks, knowing my past self well enough since it was, well, me. I surely nodded in great enthusiasm and taken the hat back, running to my bedroom and shutting the door behind me, finding great joy in the hat for the duration of the man's stay.

<br><br>The man had been Vinnie's grandfather. Our grandfathers had been confidants, allies to each other. Mr. Trumeter had been given the key for safe keeping, possibly holding onto it until I was of a certain age. I piece it together. If her grandfather died abruptly before I was of that age, it went into her possession without anyone to explain what it truly was, and who it needed to go to. I find that I am staring at her with wide flabbergasted eyes, like I'm seeing her for the first time.

<br><br>We were connected to each other all this time. Was it truly magic that brought us together, aligned our fates so that we were finally together, as we needed to be? It's a romantic and majestic notion that I easily believe in, and the grin I give her is accompanied by a mirthful chortle, as I get to answering her question. "Yes." I breathe, before I clarify. "Well, we aren't friends exactly, but my grandfather is friends with him! I met him once!" I say excitedly, my words rushing out like a waterfall, exhilarated by my discovery of this past memory. "See, my grandfather gave your grandfather the key for safe keeping, so bad people didn't get it, like those men that were chasing us!"

<br><br>She's positively ecstatic about the fact that I'm from the future, and it's the sort of reaction I had been waiting for. I smile broadly at her, laughing as she latches onto me. I am a little disappointed that I'm not from farther in the future, just because I'd have more exciting things to tell her. "Oh, only about a little more than a decade from now." I inform her, hoping she's not too upset over that non-thrilling fact. "It's not much different from right now, except that you are much older, just like everybody else!" The statement is vague. I can't let on that I know her older self, can I? For simplicities sake, I'll assume that I shouldn't, and therefore I won't.

<br><br>I find myself OVER THE MOON when she states that we will be friends forever. She even calls me magical. I laugh as I hold her hands in mine, giving them a faint but prominent squeeze. "Yes! Friends forever and ever! We'll go on many adventures and travel the world, just the two of us!" It sounds imaginative, but we really did have a whole slew of adventures and travel a good chunk of the world, but that time is becoming more hazy for me as I spend more time with little Vinnie. It's like a long dream I was blessed to have, because how can something only you remember seem like a true reality? This is my reality now. I will give Vinnie the companion she needed as a child, one who understands her and makes her happy. How this effects my future is hardly becoming a concern now. It's all about the present, or well, the past. That's where my focus is.

<br><br>"Why thank you!" I exclaim as she cools down my tea for me, and once she's done, I take a sip of it. "Oh, I can tell!" I say once I swallow, in response to her stating that this tea is stolen tea from Chinese royalty. "It's very exquisite tea, we must not waste a drop of it." I raise my finger and wiggle it from side to side as I shake my head subtly. I take another sip of it, expressing with just my eyes and eyebrows how much I enjoy it before I place it down, smacking my lips and letting out a refreshed sigh.

<br><br>She ends up bringing up the nickname I've given her. It obviously couldn't have slipped her attention, for I know no one else has ever called her that before. "Yes. Yes, I did." I confirm with a curt nod before I watch her warily as she thinks over it. I was never so sure if older Vinnie ever truly cared for the name or just allowed me to call her that out of kindness. I am pleased though, because she lights up, stating her fondness for it, before she gives me an order to always call her that. A smile which reaches my eyes with ease rolls over my lips, "Whatever you wish for, dearest Vinnie."

<br><br>I find myself pushing my chair back a bit as I get onto the floor in front of her. I get on my knees and sit back on my heels. It's amazing, how much bigger I am than her. I mean, I was always bigger than Vinnie, even if I'm not a typically large man myself, because she was quite tiny. However, she's even smaller now. Most things are huge compared to her, and I feel this overwhelming need to keep her safe, from everything, and yet, at the same time, I want to expose her to all the fascinating things this world has to offer. As I think of dramatic journeys and potential dangers with this little one, another sort of hazard pops into my mind.

<br><br>She's a child, and children like to ramble about, especially about things they like.

<br><br>I am quick to grasp her tiny hands in my mine, "Vinnie, dear, if we are going to be the best of playmates, we are going to have keep everything a secret." My voice is a firm whisper as I gaze down into her eyes, needing her to understand this. "You see, if you tell anyone about us, about me, about any of this, even your grandfather, it could be bad, because time travel is tricky, little one." I can tell she's as close to her grandfather as I was to mine, and he's the one she'd be most likely to tell. Even if he did understand, it could still cause trouble, and we don't need that. "This has to be between the two of us, Vinnie. Just us, okay? Cause if it isn't, we won't be able to play together anymore." My voice is serious, but tender, and caring, the last thing I want being something that could separate us.

<br><br>I reach up and run my thumb over the apple of her cheek, the soft skin actually feeling like a ripe peach to the touch. I give her a friendly smile, "And we don't want that now, do we?" I shake my head, "No! We want to be able to play together forever! Right, Captain?" My hand comes up and ruffles up her sienna locks playfully before I find myself pulling her in for a hug. "Now! Do you have anymore questions or shall we continue on to our next venture, my dear Captain?"
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[dohtml]<center><div style="width: 375px; text-align:justify;"><br><br>I wait for him to answer me, to tell me if he knows Grandfather or not, but it's taking longer than usual for him to answer. I puff out my cheeks, passing the ball of air from one side to the next like a small, concentrated game of Battledore and Shuttlecock. I think it's a very easy question to answer! Shouldn't adults know whether or not they know a person? I could list everyone I know quite easily if asked, I think! But nonetheless, Mother is always saying that I should be more patient, so I try to be so, especially for my new friend. Eventually, August stares at me with eyes as big as china saucers, causing my mouth to drop (a popping noise sounding from all the trapped air) as I look back at him in surprise, wondering what he's going to say!

<br><br>And then a big grin appears, and August laughs, telling me that he does know Grandfather, and he met him once! Oh, I can't wait to tell Grandfather that I met him, then! I'm about to voice my goal when August explains that the key…which is the ring, I imagine, was given to my grandfather for safe-keeping. I know all about safe-keeping, for I have many treasures of seashells and funny knickknacks that are stashed away in various places in my room…under the floorboards, in a hidden cranny under my bed…! "He was right to do it!" I say, happy to hear that August's grandfather would trust mine so much.

<br><br>"Grandfather's very, very good at keeping things private. I think he doesn't tell me a lot of things…" I begin, and a little bit of sadness touches my face at that, because I don't like it very much when people keep things from me, especially the ones who I am closest to. But I suspect that he does it for my own good, because he's very kind, and what other reason could there be? I shake the sorrow off.

<br><br>"So then my grandfather gave the key, the ring, back to you?!" I ask, excited that I was able to deduce the chain of events. I hadn't noticed if Grandfather was wearing it or not when we met up today since it's usually hidden beneath his shirt, but it would make sense if I didn't see it because August has it now! "And you used it! So does that mean all the bad men are gone!?" I wonder what became of them! But that doesn't really matter, for it just means that now he could travel freely! And perhaps bring me along, if I'm especially well-behaved!!!

<br><br>"Really?" I murmur when August tells me he's from about ten years into the future. I suppose that explains why he doesn't have any new funny parts, since I imagine that people from the very distant future will have amazing limbs of brass and multi-colored eyes…maybe even tails and talons! I pout a bit when I hear this though, not upset that he's only a decade, but that--"I thought things would have been very different by then!" I sigh. "I so wanted to pilot to the planets, to the moon by the time I'm sixteen!" I frown, disappointed in the near future, but not at August himself. Actually, when I glance back at him, my sour look disappears, remembering that I'm still lucky to have a friend from the future at all. My smile quickly returns as soon as it left when he squeezes my hand, and tells me of all the fun we're going to have together.

<br><br>"Forever!" I emphasize, but when he says we'll travel the world, I instantly perk up even more. "Travel the world!?" I nearly squeak, and I think of my earlier hope. "Could we…could I time-travel with you, too?!" I gaze up at him, all the hope that could possibly be contained in my mind, in my heart, throbbing beneath the surface, pleading. Oh, please let him say yes! I wouldn't make him regret it, I know!

<br><br>I'm glad when August appreciates our stolen tea and nearly swears to always call me Vinnie. I think it's a much more adventurous name than Lavinia. It's more playful, somehow, and yet, like a chimera, it can change and adapt to whatever it's needed for, whatever the imagination allows for. I'm about to suggest that we go make sure there aren't any sky patrols in sight of our ship, when August suddenly turns very serious, kneeling in front of me. He says that we must keep everything a secret, and my eyes widen. "But why?" I say, upset by the notion. "I want to share you with everyone!" Grandfather especially! I'm sure Mother and Father would be interested to meet him, too…

<br><br>But then August explains to me about how time travel doesn't allow for that, and I slowly begin to understand. It could be difficult…and if he's saying, so, I must trust him. I won't let anyone know we're friends, I won't let anyone even know he exists! He'll be like another one of my imaginary friends, although I would know he's real. "Yes," I nod my head vigorously, brown curls shaking around my shoulders before he pulls me into an embrace. My arms wrap around him as tightly as I can, as if I'm afraid he'll slip from my grasp. "I promise I won't tell a soul, August. I don't want you to leave!" Not when we've only just met! I release him and step back, and I pretend to sweep off a great big pirate hat as I bow in absolute oath, tucking my other hand behind my back as I appear as solemn as I can. "I do so solemnly swear."

<br><br>When I stand back up, he asks if I have any questions. "…no…" I start, hesitating. I have HUNDREDS of questions to ask him, but I think I'll funnel them out carefully. I just want to know about his life, which I'm sure is so much more interesting than mine. "I want you to tell me a story of your adventures!" I say with a smile, sitting back down and dropping my hands in my lap. "You must have SO much to say!" I know I certainly would've, if I was like him.

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<BR>"You can say he made sure I got it back, yes." I retort to her question about her grandfather giving me back the key. He died before that could happen, I presume, and in turn the key ended up being given to Vinnie herself as a keepsake. Of course, the poor girl had not a clue it was a very critical part to a time machine, and therefore had no idea that it was suppose to be in my grasp. Somehow though, a sort of magic brought our fated hearts together. If the war hadn't happened, if our loved ones hadn't died or disappeared, I can only imagine what the chances of us meeting on purpose would have been. What if things had been simpler? What if her parent's debt had been paid off and she had been betrothed to no one? Would someone like me have been allowed to court her? Is that something of a possibility once I grow close to her now and meet with her in the 'future', or actually, the present?

<br><br>My mind whirls as I go over the possibilities in a swift manner. If I can truly fix our destinies, there's a great chance we could be together the way both of us have hoped at one time or another. She could love me as she did, and I can love her as I always have, and we could be together, as more than just companions. The concept is odd for me. I never imagined myself taking on a significant other, a wife, someone to actually have a future with. She brought along all of those common yet lovely possibilities the moment she gave me her heart. I can't say she did it willingly, for I don't know who would purposely want their heart stolen by the likes of myself, but she doesn't, she didn't, seem to mind.

<br><br>Even though she's with me now, I miss her terribly.

<br><br>That's when I realize I am with her now, and I've completely blanked out even though she's asked me another question, and I nod quickly, managing to recall the inquiry. "Yes. Yes. The bad men are gone! They lost our trail a few years back. Everyone else after that just thought I was crazy." I say the last part with a shrug. It's a part of my life. It's hardly a bother coming from others. It's like being told I'm a man at this point. I've managed to accept what people see.

<br><br>If she were to call me that though, that would be a different and incredibly hurtful story.

<br><br>"Well." I start as she seems utterly disappointed by what I've predicted for her future. "You just might have to wait a little longer for that... But I promise you, it will be worth it. You'll be traveling to all sorts of places in a big ship and traversing across time and space if you have the courage to go on such a big adventure!" I tap my finger on her heart as I grin, eyes glinting excitedly. The beautiful journeys we can have once things are put back into place are going to be glorious, and she'll be so happy, or at least, I will hope that I can make her happy. "You only need to have some sort of patience. I don't but I've heard things are easier when you do." I say as I let out a little chuckle, shaking my head at myself.

<br><br>She asks if she can time travel with me, and my speckled eyes grow wide. "Now? You want to time travel now? Well, I don't know, Vinnie. You see, you are very young and going to these places can be risky, you see. It's very foreign. You have to be careful." I warn, glancing off towards the window before I look back down at her. I don't really like the idea, but I know deep down I'll probably end up doing it for her anyway, just because seeing that smile light up her eyes make me feel like life is beautiful once more. A little pleading will probably get her anywhere with me, unless it would put her in immediate danger.

<br><br>She promises me that she'll keep me a secret in a manner that warms me and I give her a soft smile. "Thank you, Vinnie. This will insure that we will be together for as long as possible." I don't know how long I can keep it up without being caught. I can only hope it's long enough to establishment a relationship she'll remember, one she'll care about. I will make sure to keep my visits spread out however. To what extent, I'm not sure yet, but I'll figure it out before the day's end.

<br><br>She has no more questions for me, at least for the time being. However, she wants me to tell her a story from my past. I feel my throat closing in on me on that question. What do I recall from my past besides Vinnie? There's my childhood, and then there's the war. I fight back my brutal memories of that time and move on to afterward. It comes to me, and I remember being completely on my own, with only my airship, not only dealing with what I had become after my time in battle, but searching blindly for a key to the one thing I had of home. It was my only goal, the only thing to keep my feet on the ground. Without it, I doubt that I would have been any better than the first day I had come from the war. I possibly could've been worse.

<br><br>What's an adventure worth telling her?

<br><br>I pretend to sip my tea as I think this over. It's difficult. I ran aimlessly over the world searching for a beige needle in a haystack. There were a handful of exciting moments, but not so much that could feed a inquisitive mind such as hers. Slowly, I find something from when I was merely seventeen, a year after coming back from the wars. I don't know if it will be exhilarating enough for her, but all I can do is try. Honestly, the most thrilling parts of my life, she's already been apart of. "I can tell you about this one time, you see." I give her a wide grin, because even though the memory isn't a fond one, I'm going to make it seem that way.

<br><br>"I was missing an important part of the time machine, you know, and I was in a very busy part of London, because I had heard that a military captain who had had something to do with my father and grandfather's awful disappearance was around. I found his ship." I make the motion of walking with two of my fingers across the air. "I don't suggest doing any of these things." I can just imagine being a horrendous influence on her and she ends up getting herself arrested. That would do no one any sort of good. "But I stole one of the crew member's clothing so that I may fit in better." I had to knock the man out in order to get those clothes but I don't mention that part. "It was big you see but I managed the best I could. I waltzed in without anyone taking a second glance at me, cause they were not doing their duty at all." I shake my head disapprovingly. I know what it was like to be a shoulder. Those men were slacking without their captain present, that was for certain.

<br><br>"I slipped right into the captain's office. I made a mess of that entire room but I saw myself at no fault for I was looking for what was rightfully mine!" I gesture my hands to my chest in an animated fashion, getting into the story myself. "The only thing I managed to find was a trinket box filled to the brim with possibilities, but I had no time to look through it. You know why?" I whisper the question as I lean in a bit, but I don't give her a chance to answer. "Because the captain was opening the door!" I throw my hands out. "So, I grabbed the box and I went right through his tiny window. I jumped right down to the deck." I take in a deep breath, catching a breath that's always been there.

<br><br>"I thought I might be in the clear, you see, but I managed to land right in the middle of a circle of solders! The next thing I knew, a man came at me and managed to slice my shoulder." I don't tell her the specifics, but during that time in my life, any sort of violent attack brought on my own distraught episodes. She doesn't need to know about that right now. "So! I did what I had to do. I stole a sword off of one of the men and I fought!" I leap up from my chair and I stand upon it, gaining quite the high ground. I pretend I'm holding a sword and expertly fighting off these men in my story. The ability to act like it was more than it was, to make it seem like I was more of the hero than I was isn't too difficult for me, and it doesn't seem too off to the point that I'm lying to her.

<br><br>Honestly, I can sword fight well enough, as it was part of my war training, but during this adventure, it had been a bit sloppy and crazed overall, but I got the job done, without killing anyone. "I fought and fought and fought until I had most of them sent overboard, and I managed to escape before the captain could catch me!" I'm pretty sure he was too enraged by the damage in his office to come after me sooner. "The box was mine and I was free to go!" I pump my fist up before I slowly let out a sigh and get down from my chair, slumping back into it as if I have a heavy weight upon me. "I looked through the entire box though, and not a single thing in it could complete the time machine, so it was a dead end. I returned the box to the edge of the ship without a single eye on me, and I moved on to my next journey."

<br><br> I give her a satisfied smile before I let out a content breath through my nose and nudge her chin faintly with my knuckle in a playful manner. "But enough about me, young Vinnie, I want to hear about you and your adventures, past, present, or even the future plans! Like, where would you like to go right now? What would you like to do?"
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SKINNED BY ALISON WONDERLAND OF ATF.