Author's Note: I know this whole story is a far-fetched concept at best, but I hope you like it. Whether you love it or hate it, please review!

THE HOUSE OF TIME

CHAPTER EIGHT---THE EXAMINATION

After approximately five minutes of waiting, Mr. Brooks and Cinder were once again greeted by Mrs. Charming... without Prince. With an odd expression on her face, made up mostly of annoyance, Mrs. Charming spoke to Mr. Brooks. "Perhaps it is best if you should come upstairs and examine Prince there."

Mr. Brooks rose, a slight frown on his face, and followed Mrs. Charming. Cinder, not knowing exactly what to do, but not wanting to stay alone, decided to go with them.

Mrs. Charming led them to a small, cozy room to the right of the staircase. In the middle of the room sat a medium-sized bed with a slightly larger person sleeping upon it. The youth was lying on his stomach, his four limbs spilling over the four corners of the bed. His mild snores shook the bed slightly.

"I've tried to wake him," Mrs. Charming explained, "but he simply changes position. I think it is time to use a less... gentle approach."

With that said, Mrs. Charming moved to the desk next to Prince's bed, grabbed the pitcher of water sitting on it, and dumped its contents on Prince.

Prince gave a loud yelp and ungracefully slid off his bed and onto the floor.

"What... what's going on?" His sleepy eyes slowly opened. They focused on the first thing they encountered... Cinder. "Cinder? What are you doing here?"

Cinder froze. Mr. Brooks and Mrs. Charming stared at her. How was she going to get out of this problem? A few moments later, Prince realized his mistake. He looked stricken.

"You two know each other?" asked Mrs. Charming. She hid her surprise well, no doubt awaiting a logical explanation. Cinder's mind raced to find one...

Prince, however, came to her aid. "Yes. We... uh... met last night. Very briefly. I... uh... directed her to the center of town and advised her to find a place to stay for the night."

Mrs. Charming looked appalled. She turned to Cinder. "Were you traveling alone last night? With no place to stay?"

Feeling any answer would be unsatisfactory, Cinder settled for the truth. "Yes."

Mrs. Charming was now furious... and all her anger was directed towards Prince. "Did it not occur to you to simply bring the poor girl here? Really, Princeton... Did you think I would not welcome her here?"

Prince squirmed under her harsh glare. "No... that is to say, I did not think of it."

Trying to reign in her anger, Mrs. Charming faced Mr. Brooks and smiled. "How very fortunate that you took Miss Mathews in, Mr. Brooks. Of course, a gentleman like yourself would do no less." She glanced pointedly at Prince while uttering the last sentence. "But, let us continue our business here. Mr. Brooks commence your examination, if you please."

"E-examination?" Prince nervously looked at the doctor.

"Yes. After your... unexpectedly long and tiring journey, I would like to know, with absolute certainty, that you are quite well," replied Mrs. Charming.

Prince stood up straight. "I'm fine. You don't need a doctor to tell you that."

"All the same, I would still like Mr. Brooks to give me his professional opinion. Mr. Brooks, please proceed."

With a slightly shaky voice, Prince asked, "What exactly are you going to do to me, doctor?"

"Oh... nothing to worry about," said Mr. Brooks, his smile reassuring. "Miss Mathews, would you hand me my medicine bag?" Prince's eyes became glued to the bag as it was passed on to the doctor. "Now, Mrs. Charming, would you please leave me with my patient and my assistant?"

"Of course."

As soon as the door clicked shut, Mr. Brooks turned to Cinder. "This is your first lesson, Miss Mathews. Pay close attention."

"Oh great... I'm the guinea pig now..." mumbled Prince under his breath.

"What was that, Mr. Charming?" Mr. Brooks inquired.

"Nothing."

"Now, the first step in determining a patient's physical health is to make sure that all body parts are working properly." He followed this statement by ordering Prince to bend and move into a number of different positions. After ten minutes of this, Mr. Brooks seemed satisfied. "All seems in order."

Prince had almost sighed with relief... but Mr. Brooks continued. "Now... on to your mental health." Prince's eyes grew larger. "Let me ask you a few questions..."

"What kind of questions?"

"Well, for one, what happened on your journey to visit your aunt?"

Prince seemed quite happy to be asked this question. He'd obviously answered it before. "Well, I was riding up from New Hampshire, and somehow got lost. I must have taken a wrong turn. Eventually, I did find my way to Lancaster. I followed the trail to Newbury until darkness started to settle in. I decided to rest for a little while. I must have fallen deeply asleep because the next thing I knew, my possessions were all gone, including my horse. I walked the remainder of the way, which was, thankfully, not very long."

"I see," said the doctor after a pause. "Well, any man who can tell such a story in such a manner must be quite sane. I shall go and reassure your aunt." With that, Mr. Brooks left the room.

Prince and Cinder were finally alone together. Cinder was able to ask all the questions that had been building inside of her at last. "What happened yesterday? Why does everyone think you're Mrs. Charming's nephew? What's going on?"

"Shh!" Prince whispered. "Keep your voice down. Somebody might hear you."

Cinder waited for answers to her questions.

"Look... I didn't mean for this to happen. I had every intention of telling Mrs. Charming the story we made up, but I didn't get the chance. As soon as the maid opened the door, she started to gush over me, saying things like, 'Oh we're so glad you've made it, Mr. Princeton. We were beginning to think something terrible had happened to you.' She made such a fuss over me, I didn't even have time to say anything. Then Mrs. Charming came in and did the same thing. It was a nightmare. I finally figured out that they were expecting Mrs. Charming's nephew, who happened to look like me and have my name. I made up some story to explain why it took me such a long time to get here. I'm not sure they bought it, but they haven't kicked me out yet."

Cinder was speechless for a moment. When she regained her voice, it shook with anger. "So, you were here, all nice and cozy, while I had to fend for myself out there? YOU're the one who got us here in the first place!"

"Hey! I tried to go back and get you as soon as I got the chance, but you'd already left!"

"You want to know WHY I left? I got ARRESTED, you jerk!"

"Arrested?" The word stunned Prince. "You got arrested? What for?"

"Trespassing. But the sheriff let me go."

"The sheriff? The SHERIFF got dragged into this?" Prince seemed incredulous.

"YES! Okay?"

"Wow... I'm sorry."

Those two words were all that were needed to make Cinder's anger disappear. "Look, just forget it."

Silence fell between them. "So... how'd you end up with the doctor?"

"It's a long story. How are we going to get back to our own time?"

Prince sighed sadly. "I don't know. We'll have to find some way of getting back to the Stepp House. I don't see any other option, do you?"

Unfortunately, she could not. "No."

"Then, we'll have to somehow get there at the same time, sneak in, and find some method of getting back to the future."

Put in those words, the situation seemed hopeless.

Cinder and Prince began to hear light footsteps getting nearer. Quickly, Prince whispered to Cinder, "Let's focus on meeting again first."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Leave it to me. I'll take care of it."

I tried looking up how doctors examined their patients in the early 1900's, but I couldn't really find anything. So, if it's not accurate, it's not because I didn't try. (Of course, I could have tried harder, but I'm too lazy...) Speaking of lazy, it's been almost a month since the last time I updated. I am SO sorry! Please don't kill me! (If you do, it'll take me even longer to update!) Still, please read and review!

Tiger Lily21- Sorry I didn't get a chance to focus on Mr. Brooks in this chapter... maybe in the next one...

panemonium- Oh, you'll get to see the Stepps again... and there WILL be a ball (if I can ever get to that part), but I'm not sure about a fairy godmother...

Phillippa of the Phoenix- I like Mrs. Charming, too. :)

ElvenSilver- Well... so much for updating soon... (guilty face)... Hope you still like the story, though.