Cordelia’s excitement made the ymbryne laugh with delight and reach out to give one of those chubby cheeks a gentle stroke. This girl was precious, dare she say it, one of her favorites. The little blonde had so much love to give and Miss Peregrine couldn’t help feeling grateful for being allowed to be a part of Delia’s young life, now more than ever. “Absolutely. Work your magic on this flower, my darling… Make it more beautiful every day, do we have a deal?” Now holding her young student’s hand, Alma rose to her feet and led the way back inside the house, where all the others were so busy playing hide and seek. It was refreshing, knowing Cordelia liked spending time with her instead of joining the others into their afternoon games. “I’ll keep it in my room, does that sound good enough? We’ll take care of it together.”
“This is our flower now, Miss Peregrine, isn’t it? I’ll keep it alive, for you only.” The little girl silently promised herself to take this job very seriously, like her own life depended on it not only the sweet little flower’s life. Proudly holding onto the ymbryne’s hand as they walked, Delia followed her inside the house and didn’t pay too much attention on the other children. They were friendly to her, most of the time, but still, the witch preferred being on her own or with the headmistress. She was the only one who could understand her like that too. Once they reached the hallway, Delia let go of that warm hand and walked straight into the kitchen with nothing but her mission in mind. She knelt down in front of the cupboards to open them, hazel eyes widening at the sight of all those beautiful vases. All of them were so pretty but only one was perfect. “See, the blue one. It looks like your feathers.”
When she looked down at the little girl offering such a beautiful present, Miss Peregrine’s heart melted at the sight. This girl had gone through so much and yet, there she was, thinking about making others happy. “Oh, my darling…” The headmistress got down to her knees, just so their eyes could meet without Delia having to look up, and gently took the flower from between little fingers. Then, as she held it so tightly, Alma buried her nose between those pink petals so she could smell it, even if it came from one of her precious bushes, which she knew better than anyone. “This one is so lovely, thank you. Do you want to help me put it in some water? It’ll last longer that way.” It was obvious her young student had a thing for flowers and all things nature gave to them, it was her duty as a teacher to encourage that unusual love.
The sight of Miss Peregrine’s happy smile made that grin on Cordelia’s face grow. This lady was someone who appreciated little things like this, even if they didn’t seem all that special — to the little girl, they definitely were. When the ymbryne offered that Delia could help her, she nodded her head and clapped her hands once, before lacing her tiny fingers in front of her lap, just like a little lady. “I would love to help you, Miss Peregrine! And I promise to keep it alive for as long as I’m here. Can I pick the vase for you?”
How could she possibly say no to such an innocent request? Even if it had been hours since Cordelia entered her room to tell Alma all about her most recent nightmare, the older woman wanted her to stay even longer and not leave her alone. After all, she’d had enough of that throughout her many years living amongst children. “Tell me, do you even have to ask?” With a kind smile twisting her lips, Miss Peregrine moved to the right side of the bed and pulled at the blankets so the blonde could lay down and hopefully, stay as close as possible for as long as their sleep lasted. “Come here, let me scare those nightmares away, my love.”
This question made her smile sleepily. Of course she didn’t have to ask ( not anymore ) but she still did so. After all, Alma was the only one who could make those nightmares go away — because everyone else was dead. Their faces still haunted her, every night and day. But being with her was at least a chance to escape them for a while. Slowly, the blonde moved to lay down next to the headmistress, carefully curling up on the warm bed. In this pale moon light, the ymrbyne’s eyes were almost shining down on her, like they were the only light Cordelia ever needed to see. “Thank you,” she whispered softly, “I’ll make breakfast tomorrow.”
