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She takes in a shaky breath, blowing it out her mouth, before lowering to their level. With a big grin, she quietly introduces herself as I try and fail to get the remaining little ones to stop grabbing at my clothes. I lift up the teeniest little one, only 2 1/2 years old, holding her close as she wraps her tiny arms around my neck.
My group goes over to Elva with me, her face still almost frozen in shock as she tries to take in what she's seeing here. She looks up at me and I shake my head, silently telling her I'll explain later.
She meets every kid, nodding as they tell her their name, how old they are, and their favorite colors and no, it's not purple, it's dark purple, and that they know their ABCs and on and on. Her surprise slowly morphs into pure enjoyment, just like I knew it would. Elva believes everyone to have good intentions, and for once, she's surrounded by people who do.
Miss Fee finally joins us, looking as old as ever. The older kids, the ones who don't get as excited about my visits, peek out the windows briefly before going back to whatever they were doing.
"Hello, Miss Fee," I tell her.
"Your Majesty," she drawls. "They've been waiting all morning, you know. Nearly crawling up the walls."
Even as her king, she's not above scolding me. "Apologies." I smirk. "But I brought them entertainment."
"Yes, I see that." Her tone shows clear disapproval. "And you trust this girl enough to bring her here? She's either very smart or you are very dumb."
Laughter overtakes me, startling Miss Fee, Elva, and all the children captivated by her. "I'm afraid it's probably both."
"Hmm, well, if it goes south, I trust you'll do what's necessary to protect this place." She shrugs. It certainly wouldn't be the first time I killed someone for discovering this little corner of the world. She claps twice. "Come, children. Let's show Kairon's new friend some hospitality, shall we?"
Following behind the group of chanting, singing kids, Elva walks beside me, looking up at me as if I'll finally explain. "You said you wanted to see an orphanage. Here it is."
"But, they all know you," she raises her brows, "yet, there they go, very much alive."
"Yes."
"You come visit them often." Not a question.
"Yes."
"And you fund it."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you just tell me that when I arrived?" she asks, incredulous. "This is incredible. They're so lucky to have you. Even back home, the orphanages only receive money if the majority votes on it. And that's pennies. This place is obviously so well-loved. This is all I was looking for, some reason to believe that you're not-"
A cold chuckle escapes me. "Don't act as if I'm some hero, Elva. I'm not. As I've said, I'm every bit the villain in the stories."
"What are you talking about? Look at this!" She gestures towards the building, watching everyone disappear into it.
"Almost half of those kids are orphans because I made them one," I tell her, and her smile instantly drops. "Whether their parents fought against me during my takeover or fought beside me in the wars and needed to die for my anonymity, I am responsible for enough deaths to fill this place with kids."
The color drains from her face, but she tries to argue all the same. "But you didn't have to do this. You chose to. You don't have to visit or let the kids know that their king is watching out for them."
"And what do you think happens to them when they're grown and leave this place?" I ask her.
She swallows. "Well, I can't imagine you spending all this time and money raising them just to kill them off."
"No," I assure her. "Miss Fee uses her powers to erase any and all memories of me, sending them into the world just as clueless as everybody else, along with how to find the orphanage, should they get nostalgic."
"And?"
"What do you mean and?" I scoff. "She infiltrates their minds and rips out memories."
"Don't you see what a mercy that is?" she asks.
"A mercy?" I run both palms down my face. "I kill their parents and ruin their childhoods, and this is a mercy?"
"What if you didn't erase them, then?" She stops walking to face me fully. "What would happen if they left this place with those memories?"
