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Octavia Corbynn (mc-you'll be reading from her pov) will have nicknames for the characters in this chapter, as she doesn't know their names yet.

For reference:

the brown haired boy; Viscount Tewkesbury

Strange-looking boy ; Enola Holmes

Bowler hat man ; Hitman Linthorn

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"Curses!" I grumbled, lifting my pale blue dress slightly, to avoid tripping over the thick fabric yet again. I continued to stroll through the train carriage, my hand purse tinkling as I took each careful step.

I sighed, taking in the sights around me. The train I had boarded was headed back to London, my home. My rather noisy, polluted, and never-quiet home. I was sure to miss the calming countryside, with its billowing grass and fresh breeze.

A roaring, desperate shout pierced the quiet calm of the train carriage, so sudden and abrupt that I almost didn't hear it. I stopped in my tracks, confused and slightly alarmed, waiting to see if anything was amiss.

A few grunts escaped from the carriage next to me. I peered into the carriage window, now fully worried. A shocking sight was held before me. There, a man in a bowler hat was holding a young boy with long brown locks out of the train, so close to the edge that he nearly toppled out.

I looked around wildly, spotting a young boy in front of me stand hesitantly,

and although i faced his back, it was clear that he was lost in thought.

"Hey! You over there! There's a boy being held out of the carriage! Help me-" The strange boy in front of me spun around, evidently alarmed, and dashed towards the open carriage. He looked slightly strange, his stature too small, his lips too full, and his chest a bit larger then usual...

...but I didn't have time to think, for inside the carriage, the boy with long locks yelped harshly. I followed the strange boy inside the carriage. The bowler hat man hadn't noticed us walk in, as he was too busy trying to kill someone.

The strange boy with me grabbed a cane lying on the carriage seat, and whacked bowler hat man with such force that he fell over, crumbling to the ground, while holding his head in pain. I peered over his unconscious form, unsure of what to do, before stepping over him carefully.

The boy he had held out of the train hung precariously, his grip on the train door slowly slipping. His eyes pleaded with me to help him as he struggled to grasp the wooden doors. I made my way towards him, grabbed onto his body, and pulled him with all my might. Just as I thought I couldn't keep pulling, his feet landed miraculously onto the carriage floor.

He huffed in pain while mumbling a thanks. A few seconds later, the carriage darkened as the train entered a tunnel. Thankfully, I had already pulled the golden-haired boy out of harms way. The carriage door was not so lucky however, it smashed against the tunnel's wall and its broken pieces flew through the countryside.

The golden-locked boy's eyes paled, realising how close to death he had been. I, on the other hand, was freaking out on the inside while attempting to maintain my calm demeanour. It had been years since a boy was this close to me, I shifted slightly and did my best to subtly move away. Suddenly, the bowler hat man's body stirred, and he mumbled, going back into a conscious state.

"We've got to go. Now." I firmly stated, following the strange-looking boy out of the carriage, while pushing the brown haired boy along too. Looking back at the bowler hat man, still lying on the floor, rage and fury spilled over me. How dare he attempt to take someone's life away?

With the sole of my shoe, I collided it with his face, drawing blood from what looked like a broken nose. I quickly retreated, and shut the carriage door behind me. That should give us a few more seconds.

I caught up with the 2 boys, who were standing at the front of the carriage, holding the door open. For what reason, I didn't know. Breathless, I struggled to comprehend what I had just done.

"Right," I began, "We need to get to the conductor's cabin and inform him of what happened, let's g-"

The strange-looking boy walked out of the carriage and disappeared outside, onto a thin ledge, balancing and moving forward onto the next carriage. I stared in shock as he beckoned us to follow.

"Are you crazy?" I whispered frantically, motioning to my full skirt and fitted corset, "How is one supposed to do that in a full-fledged dress?"

The brown haired boy answered for me, his face as pale as a sheet. "How am I supposed to do that without falling off the train?"

The strange-looking boy whipped his head from outside, and glared at the both of us. "Can you think of a better way?"

Gulping, I followed the both of them, wondering how in the heavens I ended up here.

As soon as I stepped out of the carriage, my breath was taken away. Quite literally, and emotionally. The wind was blaring in my face, forcing me to gasp for air, but that was a mere little inconvenience as I stared at the beautiful countryside.

A flowing river cascaded throughout the green grasslands, sculpting a heavenly sight. Daisies lined the banks as butterflies fluttered throughout the fields. The air smelt fresh, an eye-opener compared to London's polluted breezes.

If I could, I would've stayed there for the rest of the trip back to London, but I was bought back to Earth when the strange boy shouted at the both of us.

"Do you both trust me?!" He hollered through the rushing wind. I pulled an incredulous look on my face.

"No!" The brown haired boy and I shouted back in unison. Millions of thoughts filled my head. Time was ticking, slowly running out the longer we leaned on the ledge. Where could we go?

As if he had read my mind, the strange-looking boy interrupted my train of thought.

"If we time this right, we can leave him stranded!" I shared a confused look with the golden-haired boy.

"We have two choices, Tewkesbury!" The strange boy yelled to the brown haired boy, closing his eyes shut and straining to keep himself steady.

"And which one involves me not dying!?" Tewkesbury, aka the brown haired boy, hollered vehemently.

"Better yet, which one involves us getting back to safety?!" I yelped, pressing back to the carriage's wooden walls, desperately trying to avoid looking down into the abyss.

But there was no answer, for the bowler hat man appeared from inside the carriage, shocking me into stumbling on the thin ledge, nearly flinging me off entirely.

The strange boy hesitated, grabbed mine and Tewkesbury hand's, then proceeded to shout, "This one!"

He concluded by jumping off the train, pulling both of us with him. The wind razed against my face as I fell faster and faster, turning tumultuously. Free-falling felt so different to what I imagined. My stomach dropped, creating the queasy effect that I was split into two. It felt like I was dropping all the way to Hell.

The ground felt like a saving grace compared to the airy sky. I landed onto the soft grassy fields, my long skirts further cushioning the fall. Comfortably, I sighed and picked up my purse. The boys, however, weren't so lucky with their thin shirts, groaning and clutching their various limbs in pain.

Rolling over, I stared at the retreating train. The man in the bowler hat was glaring at the three of us, sending cold shivers down my spine. I knew it wouldn't be the last i'd see of him. This was more then a one-off, and now all of us would be intwined into it.

I looked back at both the boys, who were recovering from the hit. Now that I could focus, the strange boy didn't look like a boy at all. He-or rather, she, had her back turned to Tewkesbury, wincing and massaging her upper chest, where she seemed to of have landed.

Though I wasn't pained in that area, I nevertheless winced in unison with her, relating to the not so nice feeling of having your upper body smashed to smithereens. She was definitely not a boy.

Glancing towards Goldilocks-sorry, Tewkesbury, who was frowning at his not-so polished coat, which seemed to of have lost a button. Although disheveled, he held his head high, fluttering his long eyelashes and smoothing his already perfect hair. He looked every bit the groomed, high-class gentlemen.

I screwed my eyes in observation, where had I heard his name before? It definitely sounded familiar. But for now, I had to stick with the facts I had.

I was stuck with a girl in disguise and a wealthy, sheltered boy.

What had I gotten myself into?

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word count: 1370 words.