Completed [Traveler's Row - Orphanage] Pleasing the Youth

[Elann]

"Zeltiva...", she said musingly and tapped her lip as she walked. She searched her memory for remnants of anything mentioned of Zeltiva. What little she actually knew about it she couldn't place to the name. She in turn shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know that one." She had a playfully embarrassed look upon her face and tried to take the innocent route with it as she suggested to him "Tell me more about it? What was growing up there like?"

They moved down through the streets, turning southwest and following the inner rim of the castle walls as they walked. As they approached the orphanage, in the distance it could be seen with its custom-made, decorative tiles. It was white and grey in color instead of just grey and cobblestone grey stacked on top of more grey. It seemed other than architectural design and stained windows in few locations that that was what most all the buildings here could only boast of. Then again she was new. There were lots of flowers on the exterior of the orphanage and it just looked like something you'd find in a quaint nice little village, not some thriving city like this. It seemed to have an outdoor patio as well with benches on it. Needless to say it could catch the eye even a distance away. She pointed to it with her uninjured hand and said, "there it is". She was kind of leading them to a degree, but as she considered it she added, "..but you probably already knew that." He said after all that he had been here for a couple years. Her first week in she purchased a map of the city and one of the region. It was the way she was, she had to know what was going on around her. "Did I mention I bought a map? It showed me where to go." She waved to the building in the distance and seemed proud of herself, not prideful, just glad she didn't get them lost.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Noah Amuel]

Her questions sparked a thoughtfulness in the Kelvic. It was a feeling he knew well but not in this context. He was the one being asked the questions and not the one asking them. It made him feel odd. If he wasn’t already moving he would’ve been fidgeting by now, if not trying to find a way to retreat from the situation. He stumbled, trying to find the words that made the most sense. Then it dawned on him, he had never truly thought about what it was like to grow up in Zeltiva. Surely if he went on to tell the story from his first memory, they’d need more time than the walk to the orphanage allowed. But how to shorten the tale?

Noah scoured his brain for words that could shrink his epic into that of a couple sentences. He thought of things that were most commonly associated with his family. Things like warmth, salty sea air, trade ships, merchants, fish, his mother, father, and siblings. Still that seemed like a lot to him. It was becoming clear that Elann liked to talk but he couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing.

He took a breath and started; “Zeltiva was nice,” he said and cursed himself soon after. What kind of start was that? He tried again. “There were lots of merchants, traders that came from Syliras and other cities to trade things to my family and others. We wouldn’t have had much to eat outside of fish if it weren’t for the traders. They brought fruits, breads, flours, and candy.” The thought of sweets made his mouth water. “There was a lot of rain and storms that came from the sea. Since we were so close to the coast we were often subject to bad storms and even worse winds. But when it didn’t storm and only rained, it was fun.

“As a kid I used to play in the rain with my brothers and sisters. My father would come along sometimes too. That was weird,” he added with a chuckle. “He was a serious man and didn’t usually play with us. When he did though, he was fun.” Noah stopped himself, the memories, although jovial, brought a somberness to mind. “You could visit sometime, if you’d like. It’s not far from here,” he mentioned before he fell quiet.

He thought back on what he said and wished he could take half of it back. Being a man of few words meant that many came with the consequence of overthinking what was said. Would Elann care? Did he reveal too much too soon? He sighed out loud and watched his shoes. Elann’s words, sprite, brought his head up once more. There, ahead, was the orphanage as Elann pointed out after his realization.

The building was a true sight. It was nothing like the rest of Syliras and Noah harped on himself for not seeing it sooner. Noah’s eyes beheld a large archway. Resting in that archway was the door, made from a wood he admired. Making up the archway that the door occupied were stones covered with a foreign design. The Kelvic was mesmerized by the amount of windows it held. So much light, so much free air moving about. He was giddy, in truth, half hoping he could abuse the amount of windows for his shifted form.

The man sped up into a jog, holding the straps of his pack so that the thing didn’t flail around on his back uncomfortably. He didn’t check if Elann was behind him or not, he just bounded forward hoping that the children would provide a distraction from Elann’s questions. Maybe they could be the subject of the talk and not Noah himself.

He stumbled up the few stairs and rapped at the door with his knuckles, as the sign hanging outside of the door requested. He waited for Elann to appear by his side, an excited if not anxious smile across his face.

[Elann]

While perhaps Noah wasn't the one used to being asked questions, she was quite the opposite. Her father was a non-stop nag, always trying to figure out what she was doing. Did she now experience some freedom? Yes, a little, but in ways she missed it. She liked it so far the few times Noah had asked things of her. She closely listened to what he had to say and put herself in his place, imagining what it would be like to eat of the same fish and fruits, breads, flours, and candy. In her own mind it was lychee and star anise flavored candies, floury sugar sweets with gold and silver flecks on them and she could hear in her mind the crinkly paper they were wrapped in. She smiled at the thought, interested in him that he could remember with such details.

She wondered what it would be like to be near the ocean as he continued. Yes she lived near Yahebah, which was close to the ocean, but she was on the far end of it and it was quite a journey on foot to the sands of the beach. Besides, it just blew more hot air into your face from the winds so it wasn't as though it was much better than being in the desert. As she thought of these things and how much better Zeltiva sounded to her her body began to sway as she walked, almost as if dreamily wandering. She moved her eyes up ever so slightly to the sky to no specific place in thought as he continued. Sometimes doing that helped her visualize things in her head.

He broke into a story then about how when he was a kid, playing in the rain with his brothers and sisters. She for a moment was envious as she had always wished she had an actual sister, not just the various kids in the tribe she used to play with, but rather someone who was next to her as she grew up. She had always wished to be a younger sister, to have someone older to sort of help her learn things in between what her parents explained and what little she understood. She however could all too much realize the awkwardness of having a father and chuckled as well. She nodded as he said he was fun and she said, "aww that's nice. It sounds like he's a good father." She reached up with her injured hand that was on her right hand side and brushed back some hair at his mention to visit. She noticed how he fell quiet and being courteous she looked over to him.

"Sure...possibly one day", she nodded excitedly and wondered just how far it was. She had a map of the region and didn't see anything close on it that had Zeltiva. She of course had not finished studying it, so it would be definitely something to find later. She had already found many locations that if she ever got a seeking heart, she could go explore them.

As things quieted down between the two of them perhaps it was that Elann was a talker, because to her, the topic of his family, the sweets, the fun he had, all brought a million questions into her head for him. It was like each thought of hers was a grain of sand. A man would seemingly have a thought, then throw his piece of sand away when he was done with it, but for her she had thousands of pieces of sand and would never get rid of them. Sometimes it could make one a jumbled mess of emotion, and sometimes it could make you a very attentive person and notice things in a person that would be easily missed.

As they drew closer she could realize that the building was even made out of a different stone than the others. She wasn't a geologist or quarry master, so there was no way she could know what it was, but just that it looked different. It was certainly pretty though and as she was studying the beauty of the building she could hear the faint sounds of children echoing from somewhere inside the building or perhaps in the back of it, she wasn't sure. When she looked down she could see Noah jogging ahead and couldn't help but laugh a light bit. She thought to herself, "Excited? Wow...I did not expect that of him. He's like a little kid himself."

Now as she was thinking to herself she caught his smile on his face and returned it, watching as he knocked on the door. In the moments she had to wait for the answer to come she quieted herself in spirit and heart and brought her hands up to her chest, flat palmed against her skin. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Therein she began to say a prayer from the depths of her heart for the children inside, longing for them to seek parents, love, and joy. She knew Yahal would hear this loving prayer and respond. Having faith she opened her eyes and looked as the caretaker opened the door.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Noah Amuel]

Noah rocked on his toes in excitement. It was a joy he could not find a reason for. The Welcome Home’s building just sent a jovial shock through his body, making so that he could only anticipate the bright faces of the children. A voice came from behind the door. “Coming!” it shouted much in the same fashion that Elann did when Noah once rapped at her door. Elann came now.

He watched her step up the stairs that became the porch of the Home. With her being directly across from him, he could admire her without being forced to do so sneakily. He took the time to compare their skin tones in the seconds before the caretaker opened the door. Noah paled in comparison to her sun kissed skin. It was a fair few shades darker than he, yet maintained a supple and smooth complexion. Her modest way of dress robbed him of the opportunity to examine the woman fully, but the exposed areas of skin proved to be enough for him to envision the rest.

Her face maintained the beauty that he recognized from their first meeting. She had refined it in their time apart – much like she did to the interior of her apartment. The refinement was for the better, he admitted. Yet he found he liked how she appeared to him, travel-worn or not. He could admit, though, that he appreciated the way she had presented herself today. The modest way of dress allowed Noah to grow a respect for her, one not so easily nurtured based on what he had seen in Syliras thus far.

The most notable change he could detect was in her hair. He adored it so. It cascaded from the top of her head in a river of wavy brown before coming to a rest at her dress straps. Her eyes possessed an intensity he had never known and was thus drawn in by them whenever she allowed them to grace his. Her lips, pink bends of flesh that appeared so supple in nature, had a mysticism all their own.

Just then his face of excitement and rocking ceased as her eyes closed and her hands were brought to her chest. That’s when he saw the bandage on her hand. How could he have missed it before, so noticeably placed on such delicate fingers? What had happened, he wondered. He took a breath to speak, to ask her about the wound but was cut short by the door swinging open.

“Oh visitors!” the opener of the door said. Noah’s attention flicked from Elann to the newcomer now, taking in the details of her plain yet pretty face. She possessed wavy brown hair with a volume all its own. It was long, coming down to rest past her bosom. Her eyes, kind and brown as well, smiled when her mouth did.

She opened the door fully now, revealing her attire. It was a dress, thin for the summer like Elann’s. It differed in color, this one being of a clean white. The fabric came down to her further than Elann’s as well, covering the woman’s feet entirely. The dress had roomy white sleeves that came to an angled stop at her wrists, if not covering slightly depending on her arm movement. At her waist a white flower made up of the same clean white fabric was pinned, complementing the outfit.

The woman clung to the door as it opened. The wider it opened the more clearly could the sounds of children be heard. Their laughs caused another anxiety to shoot up in Noah and his smile returned. The woman noticed this and shared Noah’s enthusiasm. “Welcome to the Welcome Home,” the woman said, gesturing for them to enter. Noah forgot his manners and went first, following the woman’s slow lead into the sitting room. “My name is Aenysa Tieran. I am the caretaker here,” she continued, flowing across the floor of the room. “How may I help you today? Come to help a child find a home? Visit? Play?” She said the last words with a smile and looked expectantly between Noah and Elann – when she showed. Her hands were placed into one another, hovering in front of her graciously.

[Elann]

Elann was decidedly further back from the door than Noah as the door was opened, still praying. At the sound of the latch however she fluttered open her eyes and looked brightly up to the woman who held open the doorway. To show that they were there together and not separate she moved further along and to his side. She enjoyed the woman's energy and a smile that just beamed life covered Elann's face.

With a bit of a shock to her senses Noah darted in once the woman welcomed them and she gave Aenysa a playful shake of the head. It was almost as if to say "he's really excited it seems". She strode into the room and could see various little heads of kids popped around the corner peering at them. No discernible features could be seen except the color types of their hair. She gave them a small wave from around and behind Noah and some of them snuck back around the corners to hide and a fit of giggles and various whispers were heard in the distance.

"Nice to meet you Aenysa. I am Elann, and this is Noah." she gestured vaguely to him and looked to see if he was even still there or if he had disappeared all together by this point. Aenya greeted them back, making them feel quite welcome. Elann continued and answered her questions"I think we want to visit the children, give love to them, maybe play some games." Elan crossed her arms loosely at her waist and tilted her head. "Would they want to play games or draw with us? Do they like umm..stories read to them?" She was struggling at the fast conversation and keeping her accent in check, but she was managing. She was curious as she was unsure if the children up here were anything like the headstrong children in the tribe or if they were less focused on survival and more focused on having fun and learning.

She looked around and could see the sitting room around them and further off a sort of classroom it seemed. She refocused back on Aenysa as she spoke "The children love games of all sort. The boys generally will be out in the yard playing with the balls and play stick swords, the girls are likely in here playing with the toys we have lying about."

Elann nodded and shuffled further in as Aenysa closed the door. She would likely show them about if they stuck with her, but she also seemed willing to let Elann and Noah go about their own paths to please the children. She seemed to be quite open to any sort of love that could come their way.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Noah Amuel]

At first he shuffled around, an excitement continued to press at his being. The children could be heard coming from somewhere within the home but Noah couldn’t figure out as to where. Their laughter was contagious and he, himself, began to feel like a kid again. He could remember it now; playing in the streets of Zeltiva as Syna retired slowly behind the Cobalt Mountains. In the hot summer days, all Noah and his siblings could do was wait until it got cooler to engage in their nightly horseplay. They’d stay up late, daring one another into acts that others would’ve considered dangerous.


He couldn’t decide if it was Zeltiva or his siblings that he missed more. His mother and father were high on the list as well. He wondered if his siblings still visited their parents like they all vowed to do at one point during their childhood. Then a guilt struck him. It had been two years since he had arrived in Syliras from the long thirty day trek that took him from Zeltiva. In those two years he had slowly neglected writing his mother by the fortnight as he had promised and he hadn’t made enough money to actually leave the castle city to visit his coastal home.


Noah muttered a hello as Elann introduced them to the caretaker. He listened in on Elann’s speech and examined the room. He stood a ways in front of the front door. From his vantage he could see the open classroom that Elann and the Aenysa stood near. He peered at the desk and chairs. They were old things whose wood had begun to fade in its luster. He was saddened at the thought. Was the orphanage not being funded by the city? How did the orphanage get its funds anyway? If was by donations, were they not getting enough? He wondered these questions in quiet, shuffling about eagerly.


The caretaker, Aenysa, answered Elann’s questions. She mentioned where the children played and it took all of Noah’s being to not dart off instantly. He would’ve if he knew the way around the building, surely. Aenysa levitated across the room, aided by her dress, to close the door of the establishment. Perhaps Noah should’ve done that, he was standing the closest to it after all yet he paid it no mind.


“Would you like a tour?” Aenysa said, gesturing to the classroom, her sleeve falling down her raised arm slightly. She didn’t wait to see if she was being followed. Instead she went ahead, drifting into the classroom with an ease, hands placed in front her person again. Noah took steps to follow her but stopped at the sounds of whispering. He looked around to find the source.

“Psst!” it came again. His eyes fell on the face of a boy. The boy peered from around a door, holding on the frame with his little hands. Noah tilted his head in question, taking a tentative step towards the boy. He watched as the boy waved with his hands to Noah to follow before disappearing from the doorway entirely. Noah looked to Elann, if she could be found, before tiptoeing across the floor to follow the boy. Noah went through the door before forcing it closed with a small, yet audible click.

[Elann]

The classroom caught Elann's eye as it looked different from any of the other few rooms she could see. Everything had a form of carpet in it but for that room. On the floor there were signs of spillage, color from past dyes that had set into the stone, and the worn look of the old wood chairs. To her it seemed perfect for children to experiment, play, and even learn in. From what little she could tell of distant children's calls in the distance, some were high pitched and youthful and some were slightly older. This room could facilitate all of them she figured. She looked back to Aenysa and answered her.

"I would." She spoke for herself and then added for the sake of Noah and her own desire to see the children "but I think we want to meet the children." She did have one question though and she pointed to the room behind Aensya. "So you teach the children here?"

Aenysa nodded and happily said, "Yes" she gestured to her classroom and began to direct Elann toward it. She waved vaguely at the board and said "Here is where we give the children lessons and teach them all sorts of subjects. Right now we are learning some geography and how to properly spell. We also have arts and crafts time in here as well"

Elann beamed a grin to the woman and nodded. Aenysa had attentive eyes and ears after being so long with the children and easily noticed that Noah had quickly disappeared. While she was protective of her children, the two of them seemed youthful and full of desire to see and help the children. This put her at ease to a point and she didn't mention it right away. She instead directed Elann to follow her to meet some of the children who were playing in the back yard. "Come this way, I'll show you some of the children and let you meet them." She moved through the classroom and then into the living area where a large opening to the outside was. The sight of boys playing with various toys and wooden swords was seen playing on some dried sunny grass that was cut fairly short. There was a porch in between her and them with various chairs and benches. Prepared to comment to Noah she looked behind her. When she didn't see Noah she spun full circle to see if he was toying with her, yet he was actually gone. "I think we lost him", Aenysa said and giggled bubbly.

Elann shook her head and crossed her arms across her chest in a playful mood, "I think so too". She shrugged and Aeynsa gestured for her to head outside. The sun was a welcome feeling to her skin and sent tingles down her skin and then down her spine. It warmed her to the core and she took a deep breath. It was cleaner air here too being on the outer edge of the castle and having such an free area to call their own. The children could see the bright peach dress and stopped playing with each other and a horde of smiling young boys rushed her and tugged at her arms with giggles and various questions; beckoning her to play with them. She moved with them and would even pick up a sword to play fight with some boys, not afraid of really getting hit by a 4-12 year old. They asked her of course if she was there to take one of them with her but she quickly clarified how she was just there to play with them for a bit if they wanted. They of course wanted her to play with them and as they swung swords about, the only thing she was afraid of was when playing a few chimes later one of them threw a sword.

Both Aenysa and Elann told the boy almost harmoniously "don't throw!" He was a bit younger so he felt a little surprised that Elann even scolded him. She was a no-nonsense person when it came to children doing bad things, but enjoyed toying and playing with them at all other times. Realizing the boy's feelings may have been hurt, she tried to grab the sword from where it landed and gave it to him as the other kids looked on. She then attacked with playful fury, hitting his sword and he hitting hers with wild swings. It was then she got poked in the back by another child and another wooden sword. Holding her side she sputtered, dropped her sword, and fell down as though dead.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Noah Amuel]

It took the Kelvic a while to find the boy. He had chased the little pattering of his footsteps throughout the house until he spotted the child scampering up a flight of stairs. He followed, trying to keep his footsteps quiet. It seemed to be impossible though with the stairs being so old, nearly every step his took was greeted with a creak, no matter how soft it was. He paused, half way up the flight of stairs, and took the time to actually look where he was stepping. The wooden stairs revealed where the usually steps were taken. The middle of each step had become worn, repeatedly taking the weight of growing children and the weight of their character herself.

Noah continued up the flight of stairs by placing his feet on the outside of the steps -- where the least amount of wear was -- and lessened the squeaking considerably. When he finally made enough progress to see the top of the stairs, he saw the boy as well. The boy, a short, thin kid with a mess of blond hair mixed with brown streaks, was there. His face withheld the baby fat of youth and made his eyes appear adorably bulbous compared to his thin lips and button nose. His eyes resembled that of a clear day’s sky and shone with a soulful innocence. His mannerisms did not portray the same innocence, however, as he blew raspberries at Noah before scampering off again.

Noah rushed up the last few steps and chased after him, taking a left from the steps. He noticed the boy’s barefeet disappear behind two doors and Noah followed suit, pressing open the doors with caution. The doors parted and allowed the Kelvic man to enter. On the other side was a play room, decorated with bright paint depicting a cloudy day with a beaming sun and playful clouds dotting the dreamy blue background. Across from the door were two windows with drawn curtains that matched the blue background of the room. The windows allowed light to flood the room during the daylights hours when the room would be occupied by playing children. Now it did that, causing the various toys of varying sizes to cast shadows on the ground and walls.

Noah scanned the shadows with hopefully keen eyes and with them he spotted one particularly odd shadow amongst its peers. It was the boys head, bobbing as he fought to stifle his giggles. “Hello?” Noah called playfully, taking careful steps into the room. He crouched and navigated the dolls, carts, horses, and homes that the children played with. His steps were thoughtful as he planned how he was to approach the boy hiding behind a toy chest.

[Elann]

Once fallen upon the soft grass the boys jumped upon her in dog-pile fashion. Whatever malice they had for each other when no-one was around or contention was gone and they were a whole unit that attacked her with their writhing bodies.

"Oof! Goodness..." They were light fortunately and it didn't bother her too much till the last one literally had to jump to get on top of the pile. He looked down into her eyes and as she lay there and said to her in an excited voice, having not noticed her bright eyes in the light sun above that concealed them under her brow.

"Hey! You are benshiran." the pile of boys wriggled more and complaints were heard but the boy smiled down at her from top. "We are learning about Eyktol right now in class!" The boys called out for other boys to get off them and she started to feel the air be squished out of her lungs. No call was heard from Aenysa though for the boys to get off her. Where she went Elann didn't know and she had to deal with things herself. The boy on top was seriously trying to talk to her right now as he was spread wide on top of the pile, clinging to his fellow orphan's clothing as handles. One of the boys in the pile pushed up hard and the kid on top let out a cry as he rolled off and onto Elann's head and continued rolling onto the grass. She winced as he came at her and turned her head, thinking it would hurt. Fortunately it really didn't that much. She then pushed upwards as well with all her adult strength upon the bodily mass of boys, aiding the mystery child who was trying to get them all off and as result more boys rolled off to the side till they all dispersed.

"Okay, that's enough, lets get off poor Elann" she said in a thick accent and that caused all the boys to scamper off of her and to grab their weapons again to battle each other. She lay there a moment catching her breath and then sat up to hold her knees in her hands. Some of the boys looked to her and the ones that did she smiled to. "Do you like to dance?"

The boys made a gross face and said "That's for girls" "Yeah!". Elann smirked and shook her head.

"No it's not. Boys dance too, though they dance differently. Here, I'll show you." she raised herself off the grass and moved a few feet away with a little hop to indicate playfulness. The boys playing swords paid attention to her now and it seemed she captivated the yard once more. "okay. When a girl dances," she said smugly, "it's full of grace and is pretty". Elann couldn't think of the word for elegance at the moment and just continued with her example. She demonstrated how a woman would dance at a ball or something and the boys kind of started to squirm. "But! A boy doesn't dance like that. Boys dance like this." She reached out and grabbed one of the kid's arms and started flopping them up and down, yanking on his body so his hips tilted this way and that. It was a goofy looking dance and she let go of the boy and started to dance like it as well. The boys, delightedly started their goofy dancing in pure mockery of girls and their nice forms of dancing. Elann couldn't help but laugh lightly as she had them all goofing off. At that moment she considered what the heck Noah was doing and whether he had flown the coop and bolted or if he was likewise being swarmed by the other children, what she could only imagine being the girls. Hopefully they didn't have any makeup.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Noah Amuel]

Noah considered his form of approach with some thought. There were toys this way and that way, all surrounding him, making it near impossible for the big man to move. It became clear that this was a children’s world, everything of size for them to navigate easily. He, however, was no longer a child and didn’t possess whatever form of navigational skill required to move around the toys with ease. This became even more true when he stumbled and slid on a collection of loose marbles. He lost his balance and came crashing with a thud to the ground. He would’ve cursed out loud if it weren’t for his location.

He clambered to his hands and knees and assessed the damage to his body. His left side, the side he had fallen on ached now when he inhaled. The fall would leave a bruise soon, he accepted. There was a shift in the room, followed by a stampede of little feet. “Get him!” a girl called out. After her command a roar of giggles could be heard accompanied by stamping feet. Instantly the man was surrounded by children, children who possessed long hair and flowing dresses. They grabbed on his clothing, his face, and his hair and tugged him every which way.

“Ah, stop!” he cried uselessly. They pressed on with their prodding, grubby hands pinching his cheeks and mussing up his appearance altogether. Then he felt the familiar feeling teasing at his sides as their fingers manipulated their way past his clothing. He let out a laugh, no other bodily reaction coming to mind. He was being tickled, horribly so. “Stop, please!” he cried again no to avail. They continued.

Noah writhed and squirmed about, the mass of girls on top of him. They giggled around him, his cries being muffled by their demonic laughter. The torture seemed to go on for ages and when it finally ceased Noah’s cheeks were sore from the smiling and his breath hoarse. He opened his eyes, tears burning in them. When he wiped them away and sat up he saw the girls sitting in front of him in a circle. “Hello,” he said in a tentative manner, unsure if they were going to attack him again.

“Hello,” they said back in a unison that sent a shiver up Noah’s spine.

“What’s your name?” one of them asked.

“Noah,” he answered, looking between all of them with shifty eyes.

“Are you here to take one of us?”

Noah shook his head. “I’m here to play with you guys.” He smiled afterward feeling slightly bad for the girls. Where visitors all so uncommon for them? Did they just live in hope for someone to adopt them? He wondered quietly. “Do you want to play?” he asked, coming to sit in a crosslegged fashion. His question was greeted with a cheer of hurrays and yays. The girls scattered, some taking to dollhouses and other to the marbles he slipped on. A select few however disappeared behind the door that led to the hall. While they were gone Noah busied himself with playing with dolls. He struck up a conversation with one of the girls and learned that her name was Mary-Ann. The girl had only known the orphanage and the other orphans whom she called friends. She explained that Aenysa was her favorite person in the world.

“Mister Noah!” another girl called out to him. He whirled his head in the direction of the door. There, standing by it, were the trio of girls that had left the room. The one in the middle, a redheaded girl with freckles, held a case in her hands. “Do you want to play dress up?” she asked, a devious smile upon her face. The other girls around him shouted in glee and they began to surround him again. He swallowed and nodded with reluctance, knowing what was about to take place.

“Sure…”