Chapter Text
So Penelope didn't mean to kidnap the hunter. He just startled her and the next thing she knew a blast of accidental magic hit him square in the face. Said accidental magic then proceeded to knock him out and what was she supposed to do leave him in the mud?
"Yes!" Felicity exclaimed, waving around her shotgun. The thing was still too big for her ten year old body. "Pen you're smart, why would you bring a hunter into our own house?!"
Penelope waved off her sister's flailing arms. "Oh just put Sunshine away Litty. I knocked him out. It's only right that I am the one to make sure he's okay."
"It's London!" Felicity muttered, exasperated in the way only a child could be. "He be found in five minutes there's so many people here!"
Penelope ignored her sister. "Besides," Penelope said as she turned back to the shield keeping the hunter in. "It's not like I didn't take precautions. And aren't you curious? It's hard to believe a hunter would look so. . .normal."
Felicity scrunched up her nose. "He looks weirder than us, the witches. Someone should teach him to dress normally."
The hunter was actually rather handsome but Penelope didn't want to send Felicity off on another rant. He was still asleep but Penelope healed over any wounds she may have caused, and wounds he had that she didn't cause. He was rather tall, if Penelope had to guess she would say he was six feet, a whole foot taller than herself. She would also guess he was around his early twenties, possibly still in university. Chestnut brown hair parted to the side and had a slight wave to it. If she remembered correctly from the brief glimpse she got his eyes were green, one of her favorite colors. He wore the black hunting jacket that all hunters seemed to own, dark pants, and leather boots. Penelope did have to magically dull his blade though, didn't want him accidentally hurting himself in there.
"You are so lucky Mama left this morning" Felicity said. "She would have had heart failure had she seen the hunter."
"Which is why we're not going to tell her," Penelope said. "Right Felicity?"
Felicity raised his hands. "As long as your bad choices don't kill us first."
A groan gained both sisters' attention, and would you look at that. Penelope was right his eyes are green.
-
Colin. . .surprisingly didn't have a headache when he regain concisouness. Which was weird because he was pretty sure a witch sneak attacked him on the way back from his latest hunt. Keeping his eyes closed Colin focused on his body, trying to see if any new wounds were screaming at him. Nothing felt worse for wear, as a matter of fact his body felt better than when he passed out. Even the wounds he had gotten from his earlier battle with that gorgon were healed. How a gorgon ended up this far from Greece he will never know.
Did Daphne find him? They went hunting together as they normally do when they were forced to split up during the fight. Hopefully she was able to take care of that witch- shit.
Colin felt it. The air around him was humming with magical energy. Daphne didn't find him, the witch took him.
Damn it, Anthony was going to kill him. This was supposed to be a quick mission then they would get ready to meet their new neighbors tomorrow. His mother was so excited too, new neighbors rarely moved into Mayfair. Houses do not sell here like country cottages, often they are passed to the next lord. In fact Colin thinks this family is the first one to move into a bought London house in his whole life time.
Well, hopefully Colin can make a quick escape. First he has to see what he's dealing with.
Opening his eyes two red, curly haired witches appeared in his vision. Both of them were dressed like any other lady of the ton, in citrus colors like yellow and they both looked no older than his sisters.
The younger of the two appeared to be Hyacinth's age, 10. She held a shotgun in her hands that almost stood taller than her. The stock and foreshock of the gun was a cherry wood color with golden butterflies decorating the stock.
The older one appeared to be Eloise's age, 17. She was a whole foot shorter than him with a lush figure. Her voice reminding Colin of the sirens and their songs. A golden butterfly hair clip half pulled back her hair.
The younger one noticed him first. She let out a yelp and aimed her shotgun. The muzzle where bullets should come out instead started glowing.
Colin reached for his sword.
"Will you put Sunshine away!" The older one ordered, pressing the shotgun so it was aimed at the floor.
"But-" the younger one stuttered.
"I will handle this," the older one promised.
The younger one threw Colin one last suspicious glare before leaving the room.
"I'm sorry about her," the older one apologized. "She's a little nervous, and when she gets nervous she becomes quicker to pull the trigger."
"Why did you take me?" Colin demanded. "What do you want?"
The witch blinked. "To heal you? I admit I did leave a nasty mark on your face from our bumping into each other earlier. I am sorry for that by the way. It's gone now. You just appeared out of no where and it startled me."
Colin narrowed his eyes. She took him just to heal him? No it's never that simple, she has to have some ulterior motive-
"Mr. Bridgerton, I promise I have no ulterior motive," the witch said.
Colin tensed. This isn't good. "You're a mind witch," he stated.
The mind witch shrugged. "I'm Penelope."
Colin was still tense, but took the fallen silence as a chance to take a look at his surroundings. It honestly looked like a normal drawing room, one he would find in any home in Mayfair. Different seating arrangements from couches, to tables and chairs scattered across the room. A pianoforte was pushed in one of the corners near the fireplace. Where was he?
"You're in our home Mr. Bridgerton," Penelope informed him. He winced, he needed to find a way to block her. "Truly I don't mean any harm."
Colin gestured to the shield he sat in. "Right this shield is just a harmless prank."
"Well I didn't know how you were going to react when you woke up, and Felicity would have been glad to shoot you, It was honestly for both our safeties."
Colin tried to not raise an eyebrow. Penelope may have sent her more trigger happy sister out of the room, but she was still a witch. "And now?"
Penelope looked over Colin like she was inspecting him. He tried not to shiver. It was not desire she looked upon him or if there was it was not the only thing in her eyes, that he could handle. Penelope looked at him in curiosity, like he was a puzzle she was trying to figure out.
"The shield moves."
Colin blinked. "What?"
"The shield, if you move it moves with you," Penelope explained. "I can escort you out with it still up and once you are outside it will disappear."
That sounded too good to be true. A shield that will allow him to walk where ever he wished? Yeah right. Perhaps Colin needed a different method to get out of this. Colin smiled at Penelope, it was the same smile he used on others whenever he wanted to get his way. Whether that was more sweets from Cook or when he was doing negotiations between other hunters and the occasional peace talks with monsters.
Colin smiled at Penelope, and there's that blush women tend to get around him. "Are you sure you can't take the shield down?"
"Mr. Bridgerton why would I take it down when you don't trust me?" Penelope asked. "The shield like I said is for both of our safeties. We do not know one another, therefore we don't trust one another. Me creating a moving shield and healing you is my offer of good faith. At least try walk out of the drawing room."
Damn, she had a point. Seeing no other way out of this Colin stood up and began moving towards the door. Huh, what do you know. The witch was telling the truth. Not only did the shield move with Colin but it also reshaped itself to fit into the doorways.
With both of them out of the drawing room Penelope began to lead him down the hall. More and more the house looked like any other Colin would see in Mayfair. If he didn't know any better Colin would say he was in one of the other houses on Grosvenor Square.
"Bye bye ugly hunter!" Colin could hear Felicity call from somewhere in the house. "Don't come back!"
Colin rolled his eyes. This Felicity girl really was like his sister Hyacinth. He prays they never meet.
Finally they made it to the front door and just as Penelope said as soon as Colin walked past the threshold the shield was gone. Penelope herself stayed just inside the doorway.
Colin froze. It was no wonder the layout of the house was so familiar. The house was in Grosvenor Square. Across the square he could see Bridgerton House.
"Huh," Penelope said as she too looked towards his home. "I guess we're neighbors.