I spent the rest of the day packing my things. I had been in the loop for over three months, it was time to go home. Miss Peregrine had found me a couple hours after the conversation in the drawing room and had apologized for her behavior, and would not accept any words from me at all. She also informed me that she would spend the day wandering about, telling the children of my decision. The old, proper, mysterious Miss Peregrine was back.

I had pondered my decision to return home for many days previous to Miss Peregrine changing back. Even as I was holding the massive, injured falcon in my arms, giving her nourishment via eye dropper, my mind kept wrapping itself around the idea of me going home for a while. Through the days I spent mothering over the children, enjoying each and every one of their peculiarities, my head was back in my room in New York.

I felt ashamed. Some powerful force in the Universe had brought me to the beautiful ymbryne and her peculiar children, in hopes that I would stay forever, yet the intelligent side of me was informing me that I had unfinished business in my world.

I would finish high school. Then I would come back.

That was the plan. Work before play. And I would make sure that nothing would stop me from coming back to this wonderful world.

We had bid Miss Avocet goodbye just after lunch. Miss Peregrine had gathered the children and had requested they give Miss Avocet a proper farewell.

Before she had left, Miss Avocet had made me promise to send her word as soon as I was back in the loop. I promised, no doubt.

After the farewell, I had returned to my room to pack the rest of my things.

As I was fiddling about, I picked up my camera and I remembered that I had undeveloped negatives in my reel. I sighed. I wouldn't go as far as to ask Miss Peregrine to use the darkroom again, I would have them developed back home in a department store. I placed my camera in my bag with a small sense of defeat.

There was a small knocking at my door.

"You may enter," I said.

A pair of girls shoes walked lightly across my room.

"Minnette," said the voice of Emma, "is it true?"

I nodded. "Unfortunately, Miss Bloom, it is," I replied.

She came to my side and slid herself onto my bed. She looked at me with downcast eyes. "I don't think you realize how much Miss Peregrine values you," she began. "Do you not know what a privilege it is to an ymbryne when a fledgling comes into her loop?" she asked, lightly lifting a blond brow.

I paused. No, I did not know.

Emma sighed, then tensed. "To a ymbryne, having a fledgling enter her loop- especially unexpected- is a great, great honor. Miss Peregrine has been through so much, Minnette, especially in the last couple, well, years. She thinks that we don't know, but we do. And for months, we've been trying to figure out a way to help her. We all thought that Jacob's arrival would help her, but it only seemed to numb the great pain she carries." She then slid off the bed and went to the balcony doors, which I had propped open. "It was when you arrived here that Miss Peregrine showed any true sign of getting better."

I felt confused. "But it was Miss Peregrine who wrote me the letter, beckoning to come here," I replied.

Emma nodded. "Yes. But it was under the orders of the ymbryne council. Miss Avocet told me. One of the elder ymbrynes predicted your ymbrynehood before anyone else. That's how it works, the ymbryne council locates peculiars, and hand-selects an ymbryne's loop to send them to."

I could not belive what I was hearing.

"Miss Peregrine is all-knowing," she explained. "But, like many other ymbrynes, she could not detect your peculiarity. And that vexes her. And if I know Miss Peregrine, and believe me, I know Miss Peregrine, she rather dislikes feeling vexed about anything. I guarantee that the moment your ymbrynehood was discovered, Miss Peregrine took it as a way to build herself back up, a way to redeem herself to, well, herself."

I honestly wanted to start crying. A wave of obligation began to crowd over me. Could I do it? Could I really force myself to go back to Wolcott high school and deal with the nasty comments others made about me, could I leave everything in the loop for the sake of proper education?

I could. And I would.

I would talk to Miss Peregrine.

"Emma," I said.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," I said between tears.

She nodded, then walked from the room.

Once the packing was finished, it was near supper time, and I knew I could find Miss Peregrine in the kitchen. So I set out to find her.

Yes, in the kitchen she indeed was. She was leaned against the stove, stirring an immense pot of mashed potatoes. Thing was, she normally had a few of the children- or myself- aid her in kitchen duty, but she was alone. She was sulking. Knowing she

wouldn't admit it, my sensitivity to other ymbrynes was telling me that she could not hide from her own emotions, no matter how hard-faced she mad herself appear.

At first I thought she hadn't noticed me enter the kitchen, until she said: "I cannot make you stay, Miss Stonington, no matter how much I- or the children- desire you to."

"Don't fret, Miss Peregrine," I said lightly, "I will come back."

"That's what Abe said before he left. But the other dimensions altered his way of thinking before he had chance to return," she explained. "It seems your world has a way of sucking peculiars in."

She was right, home most certainly would have sparked the interest of anyone who did not know of it. Just like new places attract tourists. I had heard stories of Abraham Portman from Emma and Jacob. Jacob had told me once that his grandfather had left the loop in order to keep Miss Peregrine and the children safe, for once he was out in the world, he didn't want to risk anyone following him back.

"You don't belong out there, Minnette," she said sharply, "you belong here, with us."

I went to the rocking chair in the corner of the kitchen and sat in it. "I understand, Miss Peregrine, I do. I'd love to stay, but I just can't. I think its best that I complete my education as a normal."

Miss Peregrine suddenly then did something totally unexpected. She removed her glasses and began dotting at her eyes with her sleeve.

She was crying.

I went to her and stood by her. "Miss Peregrine, I said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, "why does my returning-home bother you so?"

She sniffled for a few moments and wiped her eyes again. "I can't lose another child, Miss Stonington, I just couldn't bear it," she wailed.

Then it hit me: Victor.

Emma had explained to me that Miss Peregrine had blamed herself for Victor's death. And it wasn't only Victor, there had been other children before him that had either been killed by hollows, or had left the loop permanently. All of the losings of these children over the years had taken their toll on poor Miss Peregrine. It's not that she didn't want me to leave, its that she wanted me to be safe.

"You cannot see the hollows outside of the loop," she reminded me through tears. "If my brother ever figures out that it was a fellow ymbryne- especially one under my care- that had come to my rescue, surely he'll send hollows after you."

I agreed with her totally. If Caul ever caught wind of me being a ymbryne, he would come after me. He had obviously seen my raven the day I burned his camp down, but I could have been an elder ymbryne for all he knew. Perhaps it was a good thing that I had stayed in bird form whilst rescuing her.

I took Miss Peregrine by the hand and led her to the rocking chair. I gently sat her down. I grabbed her glasses from the counter, wiped them gently on my skirt, then, went over and gently applied them to her face. "It's only ten months, Miss Peregrine," I assured her softly. "The lot of you have survived here a lot longer than that. Time will move hastily. And as far as hollows go, I can fly away from them. I've done it before and I'll do it again. I will be all right, Miss Peregrine, I promise."

She dabbed at her eyes one more time. She sat still for a few aching moments, not once taking her eyes off me. "Well," she began, I could tell she was about to give in, "if you sincerely must go, promise me one thing?"

I nodded. "Anything, Headmistress."

"Promise to write to me. Write to me and the children every week, so I can continue to watch over the children knowing that you're safe."

"I promise."

Her big green eyes seemed to sparkle and she gave a very small half-smile.

THE END.

A/N: Yay! That was fun! Its a very odd ending, I know, but I rather like it that way! Onto Book2! I already have most of the first chapter of Book2 written, so it should be up tonight. Expect a lot more structural writing in Book 2. Expect a lot more emotion and a lot of big, sophisticated words.