It was the usual.

I was working away on my latest doll after breakfast. Breakfast wasn't that special, excluding the fact that the new girl had joined us. She looked stupid, I don't know, like a dummy perhaps. She didn't talk that much. She just stared around like Jake did when he first came here. Ugh, newbies.

I was so not looking forward to meeting her.

Just when I was thinking about it, the door from my workshop creaked open, as Olive stepped inside. Oh, shit. Great. Ugh.

"What do you want? "I snapped. I wasn't in the mood to meet new people, or even talk to people.

"Enoch, I'd like you to meet Nandar." Olive said. I was about to say something back, but it was two late. They both were already inside my workshop.

I turned around to make quick conversation and end this quickly, but something kept me stuck at my place.

It was those eyes.

Those jade eyes with the colour of turquoise deep in the center. And something in there seemed to be captivating, sort of like hypnotizing. I quickly snapped out of my thoughts.
"Hi. I'm Enoch." I say as I turned around to continue on my work.

I knew what Olive was up to. She knew my peculiarity scared everyone, and by that I do mean everyone. She probably wanted the new girl to get terrified, and probably stay away from me. It was quite a nice plan though. Less competition for her, less social talks for me. It was like a win-win situation. I just kind of secretly waited for her to freak out and then leave me alone.

"Enoch, show her what you're making." Olive said enthusiastically. Maybe a little too enthusiastically.

I placed a chicken heart inside my miniature soldier, an old Victorian doll with metal limbs and sharp copper nails. He was absolutely beautiful. A smile grew upon my lips as I gave him life. The doll stood up on its legs, turning around, examining the surroundings. I whispered to him to kill another live doll nearby.

As I looked up, I noticed something that I wasn't expecting. Nandar was staring at the dolls in awe, with a wide grin on her face. As the Victorian soldier fought with my wooden doll, I couldn't help but to notice how deeply she was fascinated with my work. It was kind of surprising, but kind of amazing too.

With a large stab into the chest, my Victorian doll had won victory, with a heart in his tiny little hands.

"Whoa....... That. Was so cool." Nandar said as she picked up my doll. It was amazing how she wasn't creeped out by the appearance. From the corner of my eye, I noticed that Olive's expression now changed from excited to annoyed. she quickly but angrily stomped out of the room. The door slammed shut behind her.

"Glad you enjoyed it." I mumbled as I went back to gather some materials.

"These are absolutely fantastic. I mean like- I mean..... How?" Nandar said as she examined my work.

I felt something i had never felt before. Proud. I felt proud. genuinely proud. Now, at least someone appreciates my work.

"Do you know how much this could aid in battlefield strategy? You put these around the forts, these little killing machines, and then you-"

She stopped for a while.

"I'm saying unnecessary things, aren't I?" she mumbled, flashing an embarrassed smile.

"Well, I don't mind." I replied. I usually do, it's just that your compliments are nice. I didn't say that out loud though.

"Do you mind if I join you tomorrow, maybe watch you create this? Maybe I can help? Or probably... " she stopped dead in her tracks again.

"No prob." I say turning around and focusing on my materials.

Oh, wait. There was something I wanted to know.

"Um, Nandar? ...... What did you say your peculiarity was? "

................................................................................................................

For the rest of the day, I couldn't concentrate on my work. I kept thinking about the new girl, there was just something about her... Something...... Captivating.

Dinner was the usual, boring of course. I excused myself early and escaped to my secret spot.

The wind was harsh that night. I didn't mind though, a little peace was all I needed. I leaned on a huge piece of rock. The waves in front of me seemed to dance around freely, nothing holding them back. Everything was so perfectly fine. But why was I unhappy?

I was about to fall asleep when i heard someone fall down nearby.

"Ow..."

I couldn't see because of the darkness, but I couldn't make out the feminine figure. Ugh, It must be Olive. Why can't she just leave me alone? I drew out a long sigh of breath as i walked towards her to help her out.

When I got nearer, I realized that it wasn't Olive. It was Nandar. I quickly went up to her and helped herself up.

"Um...hey, you okay?' I asked, patting away the sand from her dress.

"Yeah yeah, just a little bruised. Man, I had no idea the ground was so sinkable" she said, with a small laugh. I couldn't help but to join in the laughter.

"You probably haven't heard of sand." I say with a chuckle.

"Well, um.... nope. " she replied as she sat down beside me. Her long charcoal black hair flew alongside me as the wind blew towards us. I couldn't help but to notice that it smelled like.......lemongrass. I found it weird. I mean like.... what kind of girl smells like lemongrass?

"Why'd you end up here?" I ask. I wasn't usually this social, but something about her was very interesting.

I felt her tense up beside me. Maybe this was a touchy subject for her. Maybe I shouldn't have asked.

"Well, um.......... You see, this is hard to explain.... My life's kinda messed up...." she trailed off.

"I wouldn't mind hearing about it." I say. I looked aside to her and saw that her face was now serious. As the moonlight shone on her, i could see the little crease between her eyebrows forming from concentration.

"Okay. If you insist." she said, flashing a smile towards me. I suddenly realized how close we were. It made me feel uncomfortable, but kind of comforted in a way. Ugh, what the heck.

"Well, back in Burma, I was sort of considered as a royalty. Stuck up princess, sort of. My mom was Naga, but my dad was whole human. People saw me as an outcast, but my father nevertheless stayed by my side. Although he was king, and everyone acted like they liked me and my mom, But I could tell from their faces. No one ever considered us highly because were of a different blood. When i was twelve, they um........they killed my mom. I -"

"You dont have to continue if you dont want." I said, getting a little concerned. The last thing i wanted was someone to open up and cry on my shoulder.

"No, it's okay. I'm not gonna bawl my eyes out after this. " she said, as if she just read my mind.

"Okay. "

"So when I was twelve, my mom got killed. My dad got a little concerned and I got sent to Japan and India for martial arts. I kind of accidentally slipped into a loop in 1956, saw some of my people, and I don't know what exactly happened next. When I got home, everyone was fighting, there were battles everywhere. I last thing I saw before I got here was my dad getting stabbed."

By the time she finished, I was just sitting there, starstruck. I personally found it a little dramatic. I mean, my life before was simple as fuck.

"That was um.... Harsh. " I mumbled.

"So well, how did you end up here?" she asked.

"Um... Well,..... Miss Peregrine found me after my parents' death." I say quietly. There was more history behind me, but I found it unnecessary to share with others.

"I have a feeling that this isn't all, but it's okay if you don't want to share. " she said.

For a moment, I thought that maybe she wasn't as bad as I thought.

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Author's note

Sorry for the late update guys I love you so much don't forget to leave a comment, I looooooooove reading comments. Tell me what you think about this chapter!