The next morning, because as her parents had to open the school and check that everything was alright, Sarah was woken up to Midnight’s barking telling her to have breakfast and get to school.
Sarah had just shut the front door when she heard Eric calling to her.
“Morning Princess,” he said with a smile, crossing the road so they could talk easier.
“Good morning sir knight,” Sarah returned with a smile of her own “Maybe last nights’ dinner was a good thing” she said as they both set off to school together “At least now we both have someone else to be miserable with.”
“Talking of that, my granddads painting were delivered yesterday,” Eric said in a hoping voice “Err... to say another sorry, do you want to come over later and look at them? You can bring Midnight, if you want, but only if she’s good with cats,”
This surprised Sarah for a bit but answered “Ok, thank you.”
To everyone else in school that day Sarah seemed different, no more head phones, or as much drawing in or rather on her books, she seemed alright with Eric sitting behind her. What could have happened? Was she sick? Maybe she needed to see the nurse? Whatever it was half the school was worried, while the other was happy for her to of finally of made a friend.
As the bell went and everyone was going out the front door, Eric caught up with her.
“You still coming over?” he asked as they waited for the traffic light to change.
“Sure I just need to take Midnight for a walk around the block first, it shouldn’t take too long.” Sarah answered crossing the road “it will give you some time to find and display your paintings.” She said with a smile.
“I’m home!” Sarah called as she shut the door, and put down her bag, “Hello, hello, hello. Midnight?”
After no answer Sarah thought Midnight may be sleeping, so she went into the kitchen. But she wasn’t there. Next stop, the bedroom, not there either. Getting worried Sarah went outside to look into Midnight’s dog house, but once again no dog.
“O.k. There’s no need to worry yet, Sarah.” She told herself “May be I didn’t shut the door properly this morning and she got out. But she knows not to do that in case she gets lost or a car is coming. Well whatever it is its still one day; if she’s missing tomorrow I’ll tell someone.”
After setting out a bowl of food and water to try and draw Midnight back home, Sarah went across the road to Eric’s. After knocking Sarah could have sworn she heard a dog barking, even though it seemed this morning that Eric had a cat. After the door opened however, a big black something came running down the hall and knocked her over. It was Midnight.
“Nice to see you’re back together Sarah,” came Mrs. Foster’s voice from above her.
“Err... yes thank you for looking after her today,” Sarah said getting up “How did she get out? I thought I shut all the doors right.”
“Well after you and Eric went off to school this morning dear,” Mrs. Foster said letting Sarah and Midnight back inside, “I went over to slip a ‘Thank you for dinner last night’ slip though your door and saw it was open a little bit. I think, at hearing someone at the door, Midnight got excited and ran to it, and somehow got out.”
She continued as she led Sarah in to the living room and started to serve biscuits and juice. “I ran after her after shutting your front door properly first and bought her here. I was going to wait to this evening to give her back, but it seems you can take her home right away.” Mrs foster ended with a smile “it’s been very nice having you here Midnight.”
“Well actually, I came over to see Eric, he said I could come and see his granddads paintings, as a sorry for how he acted when we first met.”
“So that’s what’s got him so quiet then is it?” Mrs Foster said with another smile. “Well I shouldn’t keep you then, his room is up the stairs and the third on the left.”
On finishing her drink, biscuits and thanking Eric’s mum again Sarah went upstairs with Midnight and, after knocking, went into the room she had said.
Inside there were paintings everywhere, on the floor, on the units, and all over the bed. Bending down Sarah spoke to Midnight, “O.k. I know it seems like their toys, but don’t touch any of these paintings alight?”
“Oh she can touch them, she just can’t rip them to pieces,” Eric said coming out from a walk-in cupboard.
After ten minutes, Sarah started to spot something really odd. “What was your granddad’s name again, Eric?”
“Samuel P. Foster,” Eric answered coming over to see what was going on “why?”
“Because the initials on three of the seven I’ve looked at don’t have those letters” Sarah said pointing them out “and they have dates on them too,” she said speaking more to herself than Eric who was still confused.
Looking closer Sarah saw the paintings she had bought forward were all acrylic midnight landscapes each one by the looks of it around the same place but there were four stars that seemed to move closer together in each one. “Quick,” Sarah shouted, rather loudly scaring Midnight and Eric, “Find all the acrylic midnight landscapes! I think there’s a secret message in them.” She said and got to work to find them.
Another ten minutes later, after going through every pile, there was a small stack of acrylic paintings in front of them raining from 1914 to 1945.
“The world wars,” Sarah whispered. “Now let’s get them in order,” she said and started to check the dates, “do you have any pens and paper?” she asked looking up at Eric who nodded and went to find them as she got to work.
Eric came back in with a pen and notepad looking at Sarah, still a bit confused. “O.k. Now what?” he said.
“I’ll call out the letters and dates, just in case I’ve got them in the wrong order and you write them down.” Sarah said looking at him, “Right first one, September 1st 1914, M, A.” She looked up to see if Eric got it, with an answering nod she continued.
*
“And finally August 15th 1945 H, E, S.” Sarah concluded placing down the last painting and sitting next to Eric.
“So is there a message in there?”
Still confused Eric handed Sarah the note pad with all the letters and dates she had just called out to him.
“Magic... Paint... Brushes?” Sarah said in a questioning voice. “Just a bit of a chance here but can you go get your granddads painting stuff?”
Being the chivalry knight he was, Eric followed his princess’ requests and a while later, came back with all the painting supplies that had once belonged to his granddad.
There were acrylic paints, water paints, oil paints, calk and oil pastels, a number of dried out brushes and some that looked brand new, pencils, erasers, at least three paint pallets, and finally instructions on how to get different colors.
After asking if she could touch them, Sarah dove right in and started to separate everything into their groups, to see if there was another message or anything strange with them.
Eric was with Midnight both having no idea what Sarah hoping to find amongst all of the old instruments she had in front of her.
Sarah didn’t know what she was hoping to find either, but that didn’t stop her from looking. Until she saw that all the well cared for brushes were singed ‘made by L.d.V, in Rome, Italy.’
“L.d.V? L.d.V?” Sarah kept saying to herself, wondering who it might be. “Leonardo da Vinci!”
“That guy we were taught about in art class today?” Eric asked shocking Sarah a bit “But how he lived over a hundred years ago.”
“Maybe they were either handed down, you know father to son or more likely to start it off his favorite student, or you granddad was just lucky to find them and how they were magic, and wants you to do the same.” Sarah said really fast.
“Ok...” Eric said looking over Midnight who, to his little annoyance had fallen asleep so he was on his own. “Err... Maybe that it’s that they can last a long time, I mean look at them” Eric said hoping not to sound scared or stupid, “They look almost brand new, for things that should have come from the late 1400’s.”
“Tender love and care can do that too,” Sarah butted in, “Then again if Granddad Sam did for them why not these ones” Sarah asked more to herself than Eric pointing to the dried out brushes, and reached over to the pad and paper noting down all the things they just found out and the first question on how the brushes were ‘magic’.
Suddenly there came a knock on the door.
“What would you like for dinner tonight Eric?” Mrs Foster asked poking her head into the room “oh and Sarah can stay too of course, if you want to stay a bit longer dear,” she said looking at Sarah and seeing that something was happening here with her father – in – law’s old painting stuff that she always knew had been special but had never found out what it was.
“Err.... Thank you for the offer Mrs Foster, but I think I should be getting back across the street.” Sarah said getting up blushing a bit, “it might seem strange but I have a curfew of not being out after dark.”
“Oh, I insist my dear,” Mrs Foster said “as a thank you for last night. If it makes you feel better, I can call your parents and see if you can stay a bit longer.”
Knowing it would be rude to say no to someone who cared for her dog all day and had given her cookies and juice when she came over, Sarah finally said alright to stay for dinner.
*
“What was that about?” Eric said whispering to Sarah after his mum had gone to make tea. “Don’t you trust my mum or something?”
“Of course I trust her, she was the only one, as it sounds, who went after Midnight and looked after her all day,” Sarah said going over to pet her dog “it’s just, it may be hard to believe this, I’ve never been invited over or for tea around someone else’s house before.”
“I thought a cute princess like you would be invited to a dinner almost every other night” he said gasping as he heard what he had just said.
“You think I’m cute?” Sarah asked blushing “Sir Knight?”
“Well...” Eric began but was cut off by the shock of Sarah kissing him, gasping as she pulled away from him.
“I... I’m sorry, I need to go,” Sarah said getting her stuff “Come on Midnight.”
And before Eric could do anything else Sarah ran out of the front door, home, up the stairs, and shut herself in her room.
Back in Eric’s room “Nice job Eric... you finally get a princess worth having and you scare her out the door.”
He continued to talk to himself as he packed up his granddads tools and went down to tell in mother that Sarah wouldn’t be there for tea after all.