Chapter 20: The Orphanage

She tried to push the thought away, but it persisted and morphed, drawing up the potential ways they had found where she ran to. Had they been lying in wait for her in the forest? Had they bribed someone to follow her and kill her? What did they get out of her? Was it possible that they were in league with Basil?
The more she thought about it, the darker her mood became. None of the questions were answered easily and she despaired at the thought of any of it being true.
Sarah seemed to notice it and stood with a cheerful smile.
“My luna is in a better place now, and she wouldn’t want us to spend such a lovely day inside discussing such morbid things.” Laurel looked at her, a little hopeless but charmed by her change in mood. Sarah had always been able to brighten her mood. “Let’s go for a walk! I can show you around the castle.”
Laurel smiled and agreed. She was right. Had she remained dead, she would have wanted Sarah to find all the happiness she could. As it stood, Laurel wanted to explore all the happiness Laura had been denied, starting with the joy of having a real friend in Sarah. She followed Sarah out of her suite and down to the main section of the castle. Servants hustled around, moving tapestries, rolling up rugs, cleaning windows, and shining candelabras.
It was a scene she was sort of familiar with, but the energy was fretful. The last time the castle had been cleaned had been at her direction to receive visiting nobles. She wondered what they were preparing for as they should have been done with the cleaning to receive Adolph’s return, then she saw a familiar length of silk that was used in marriage ceremonies.
She almost laughed at her foolishness. How could she forget that Basil was set on marrying Delia? It seemed that he was not postponing the wedding despite Adolph’s reprimand.
What a *touching* love. It’s what she would think if she didn’t remember how rushed her wedding to Basil had been. Basil hadn’t taken it seriously at all. To see him put so much energy and time into preparing for his marriage to Delia made her blood boil.
She didn’t want to look at it any longer and turned to Sarah, “Is there a chance we could leave the castle? I’ve never been to the Imperial City.”
She shook her head, “Not without permission from the head maid…”
Laurel grimaced. She’d forgotten about that and she knew that Tina would never permit Sarah to leave the castle with Laurel. She considered it and went to Sam and Lynn for advice.
Lynn frowned and Sam replied, “Why not ask Chasel? He outranks the head maid.”
She had never considered that, but he was right. Finding Chasel was the harder part. He was on the castle grounds, directing the soldiers through training when Laurel found him. He called a stop to the exercise upon seeing her and hurried over to her.
“Is there something wrong?” he asked, his eyes wide with anxiety. “Please tell me there’s nothing wrong.”
She shook her head, “there’s nothing wrong. I just wanted to leave the castle and take Sarah with me, but there is an issue?”
“The head maid?” Chasel asked and scoffed, waving her off. “Please, take your guard and enjoy yourself in the city. I will tell her myself and give her a piece of my mind about her ideas about a good room while I’m at it!”
She laughed and joined arms with Sarah, laughing and hurrying out of the castle. She thought to get Sam and Lynn, given Chasel’s request, but she disregarded it. They were in the Imperial City, the safest city in the entire kingdom. Besides, they deserved a bit of time to have fun as young women free of the trappings of their stations. Sarah breathed deeply as they walked out of the gates towards the bustling city. The smell of freshly baked bread and the sound of people haggling in the market filled the air. The scent of fresh spices and warm mead drifted out of the doors of an inn as they passed. The streets were still littered with flower petals from the procession, though the roads were clear enough for horses and people to walk.
They stopped at nearly every stall on the street that sold something and ate as they walked. She and Sarah didn’t have a lot of money, but the snacks on the main road were surprisingly cheap. Something darted into their path with a growl and Laurel stopped as a pair of wolf cubs tumbled and tussled with one another.
“That’s very dangerous,” Laurel said, pulling them apart. “What if you hurt someone?”
They looked ashamed, lowering their heads.
“Sorry, miss,” they said. “We’ll be more careful…”
She gave them each a roll from the bag she had and a smile before sending them away. Seeing them, she thought of the school and orphanage she established and helped run for war orphans. Most of the children were there because they had lost their parents, but the rest were there because their parents were unable to care for them. After all, they had lost their mates.
She pretended to wander, following her memory of the city to where the orphanage was. She expected classes to be in session and children running in the yard, yet the iron gates were wide open. In place of children, there were a bunch of men and women carrying tables and chairs out of the building. It seemed they were taking everything out. A man was carrying a box of pots and pans out the front door.
She forgot herself and ran towards them, blocking a man at the front door.
“Miss Laurel!” Sarah called.
“What are you doing?” Laurel yelled, “How dare you steal from this place!”
The man sneered at her. He looked dirty and smelled dirty too. The rest of them looked annoyed with her, but she didn’t back down.
“This place has been abandoned for a long time! The teachers have all left, and no one’s coming to take care of it,” he growled. “The nobles don’t give a damn about this place, and the luna is dead. Who cares if we take something?”
There was a whimper that drew her attention and she looked around the man. A small group of children, no older than six or seven years old, were clinging to an older man who could have easily been Adolph’s age, though without the muscle Adolph had acquired on the front lines. Their eyes were wide and glossy with terror as he tried to calm them and glared hard points into the thief’s back.
How dare he lie to her face like this!
“Miss Laurel,” Sarah said, coming up to her and taking her by her arm. “You really shouldn’t--”
“How dare you lie to my face? Have you no shame stealing from children? Those children’s parents fought for the kingdom! They protected us all and here you are stealing from their children like a traitorous coward! There are vampires with more honor than you!”
Everyone was shocked, including the man’s comrades. The fact that they were so much larger than her and that there were so many more of them didn’t cross her mind. She was furious. The sight of those kids cowering from these thieves only made her think of Laura’s death and how the ministers let her efforts go to the wayside for the sake of their profit margin.
She thought of Jack’s completely avoidable death and wondered how many other people had been affected by Laura’s sudden death like this.
She heard wolves coming up behind them, and Sarah gave out a frightful gasp. Her heart lurched in her chest. Sarah drew closer to her in fear. Two of the thieves flushed bright red and put the tables they’d been carrying on the ground, apparently ashamed. The other however didn’t. They bared their teeth at her and blocked the path leading back to the main road.
The two biggest of the group growled at her, “Who the fuck are you to talk to us like that? Huh?”
The man standing in front of her hissed in her face, “You’d better go back to wherever you came from, girl, or you’ll end up hurt.”
Laurel growled back defiantly, sneering up at him, “You think I’m afraid of a pathetic--”
The man lifted his hand. Sarah screamed and Laurel closed her eyes, bracing for the pain, but unable to regret it.
The man screamed, shocking her, and her eyes flew open to find out what happened.
The man wasn’t standing in front of her any longer but was curled up on the ground, howling in agony. In his place was a different man. He was faced away from her, but she recognized his broad shoulders and the cut of his waist. In place of his black armor, there was a rich leather vest over a plain white shirt. He wasn’t wearing his cloak, a crown, or any obvious sign of his station, but there was no mistaking the sword on his belt or his scent.
“Your Majesty?”