Book Eight: Reaching Growth
With Mister Fredricson... gone, I end up staying at Eryk's house the next day too. Emily and Eryk go to work, and I spend the entire day with Selena again.
We told Eryk everything about the noble looking for me at the orphanage when he got back last night, but he wasn't sure what to do, so he said we should wait and see for now.
So now, I spend the day sitting, napping, walking around a little as my injuries heal, thanks to a healthy amount of earth mana. It's nice, and comfortable. Maybe a little boring, but I'm fine with that for now. As weird as it is, getting the free time to be bored is... I know there's a word for it... When I ask Selana about it, she laughs and says it's called a 'luxury.'
Marrianne stops by in the afternoon. She's quiet and a little sad, even as I hug her.
"I had a long talk with Francis," she finally explains as we sit on a couch, Selena hovering around the doorway behind us. "He still wouldn't tell me anything.
"O-oh..."
"He made it abundantly clear that he believes it would destroy our relationship, that it would somehow poison my love for you," she murmurs, one hand rubbing the back of my head absently. "I've never seen him cry like that..." The words are no more than a breath, not for my ears, as she stares at the wall. Then she turns to look at me with a smile that can't hide the hurt in her eyes.
"Aria, I don't understand why things are like they are, why your past or what you're involved in is such a terrible secret, I just want you to know that no matter what, I will love you like my own daughter. Nothing will ever change that. So if you ever want to tell me about it, I'm ready to listen whenever."
"Thanks Marrianne..." I answer, even though I know I can't. No matter how much she loves me, every bit of that love would turn to hate if she ever learned I was one of the monsters, like the daughter she lost...
We sit for a while longer, the odd, distant feel slowly melting away until we can just snuggle comfortably. She looks up at the ninth bell, excusing herself so she can go home and make dinner, and then it's just me and Selena again for a while.
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By the end of the day, I can walk like normal again, though my leg is still throbs when I do. I still have trouble taking deep breaths though, so I do my best not to do anything too active. Emily comes by at night again, telling me that the noble left yesterday night when she went back to the orphanage.
When Eryk gets home, he has a little more information for us.
"His name is Marvin Salazar. According to my contacts, he's a low elector. Like you said, he works as a priest." We both stare blankly. Claire taught me that elector was the lowest noble class, but what's a 'low elector?' When I ask for clarification, Eryk frowns a little.
"I guess you didn't quite get that far in your lessons yet. Electors are split between the high and low sections, based on the rank of nobility they are born from."
"Born from?"
Again, he elaborates. "The Salazar family holds the rank of baron. Any children born to that family that don't take over the role of baron once the current Salazar retires, are members of the high elector class. Then, children born of the electors, are low electors. That means Marvin Salazar is at least two generations removed from the baron."
"Uhh..." I tilt my head, trying to get all of that to make sense, but I'm not sure if it's working. Emily shakes her head too, completely lost.
"Alright, let's try again. A baron gives birth to a high elector. The high elector gives birth to a low elector. The low elector gives birth to another low elector. Therefore, at best, Marvin Salazar's father was a high elector, and his grandfather was a baron. Does that help?"
"Ohhh..." I nod a few times. "Yeah, now I get it. But... what about his mother?"
"That would depend on what noble rank she married into. It just complicates things, you don't need to worry about it right now."
"Mm."
When I confirm, he goes on. "So like I said, he's a low elector and works as a priest. His family aligns with the Varish family."
"Varish?" I ask, the name immediately triggering something in my memory.
"Yes?" he raises an eyebrow while I'm thinking back. Varish is... I jolt a little when it hits me. Quint Varish, the one in charge of the rail unit program!
"A-ahhh..." I stammer uselessly, which just makes Eryk more concerned. I do the best thing I can do: say nothing. "Nevermind, go on."
Eryk presses his lips into a line, clearly a bit displeased with my evasion, but speaks anyway. "As I was saying, the Salazars support the Varish family." I don't really understand what that means. Support them how? Spotting my confusion, he goes on. "In Brenton, there are basically two factions. The Ordlyns and Varishes. They're always fighting over everything, and most other noble families choose one side or the other to support. So whenever they're fighting over something, all the other families join in."
"O-oh..." I mumble, and look away. Ordlyn and Varish. Hearing those two names side by side immediately brings back the memory of those handlers talking before the battle. They definitely said that Quint Varish is in charge of the rail unit program. Those forms I found all had his signature on them. But it was Kurt Ordlyn who they said did all the work, right? Eryk just said they're always fighting, so why?
"I'll admit, it isn't that much to go on, but his allegiance to the Varishes makes me think the one who aims to buy you is someone in their faction. Either the Varish family, or one of the other related families, like the Salazars, Afits, or Kuliks."
Then Emily speaks up. "So, since he couldn't find her, what should we do?"
Grimacing slightly, Eryk runs a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure. She might be off the hook, or he might still be on the lookout for her. I'd say our best bet is checking Fredricson's office for her guardianship papers."
"Guardianship papers?" Emily asks, looking confused. She didn't know about them either? When I don't speak up, Eryk eyes me, and I say that Marrianne already explained it. So he nods and takes some time to tell Emily, before going on.
"So, you should look for those tomorrow morning. If you can get your guardianship papers, I'd have a much better chance of adopting you. I'd do it myself but..." Here, he scratches his cheek with a finger, a rare, awkward expression on his face. "I'd probably be overstepping my legal bounds searching a dead man's office for a minor's papers..." The way he puts that almost makes me giggle, except it actually sounds pretty serious.
"Alright, I'll do it," I tell him.
"Good. If you can get them, we take them to the garrison and see about getting you adopted. Even then, there wouldn't be much to keep a noble from demanding I hand you over, but it would at least give us a leg to stand on if it comes to that." I nod a few times, but as I do, something else comes to mind.
"What about Emily?"
Immediately catching my meaning, he grins. "Of course. If you can get both, I'd gladly adopt both of you," he assures us, bringing a big, beaming grin to Emily's face too. We share a hug, and he rubs our heads while chuckling.
However, he does warn, "Just be careful, Aria. I have no idea what'll happen from here, we could run into any number of complications. Try not to get your hopes up too much, until we're sure." Stiffening up, I nod seriously. It's too early to celebrate. We have a plan, but I've seen for myself how fast plans fall apart the moment something goes wrong.
"Now, are you staying the night, Emily?" With his question, his subtle smile returns. She considers the question, biting her lip, but then shakes her head.
"I should head home, I want to see how the other kids are doing. Also..." she trails off, glancing at Eryk guiltily, but then reaches out and takes my hand. I also shoot him a sorry look as I take her hint and form a connection between us.
"I think everyone is feeling better, you should get Riko to remove the lightning mana from the rest of them. I can pick her up on my way home," she thinks to me. I answer with a simple nod, then pull away.
"Everything alright?" Eryk asks, looking between us.
"Y-yeah, fine..." I give a coy answer, looking away. That earns me a light elbow from Emily.
"Yeah, it's fine, just something between us," she answers much more confidently.
"Well, I suppose I'll take your word for it," he replies with a knowing chuckle. Thankfully, he doesn't press us on it any further. Once Emily changes back into her normal clothes, we hug goodbye, and she heads home for the night. It's already after last bell, but without Mister Fredricson there anymore, she doesn't need to worry about being punished for breaking curfew. Or I guess, without him, there is no curfew. I still have to remind myself that it's fine to think like that. It really is better with him gone.
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Another night passes, sleeping in a big, soft, wonderful bed, with just enough earth mana to pass the night comfortably, I wake up to the first bell, Hureday morning. After snuggling into the warm blankets a little longer, something I couldn't even imagine doing back home, I finally roll out of bed.
I stand up and stretch with a big yawn, only wincing a little from the stabs of pain my actions bring. I'm definitely feeling better, my burned skin doesn't even hurt that much above the shoulder. Even so, I try to go easy on my body as I walk slowly out of the bedroom, into the upstairs hall.
From what I've learned of the house the last couple days, except for a little closet with firewood, all the rooms upstairs are bedrooms. Eryk's is at the end, across the hall from the others. Since a lot of the hall looks out over the foyer, only his room and the room for the servants occupy that side. There are actually five other bedrooms, though Selena told me that one of them is for guests and the one closest to Eryk's is a nursery, a room specifically for babies.
The room I've been sleeping in - I'm careful not to think of it as my room - is right next to the nursery, not far from Eryk's. I slowly walk to the servants' room, called the 'servant's quarters.' It's supposed to be for servants who live in the house. I'm still not completely clear on it, but I think Selena and Irene sleep there, while Kristene has her own house she goes home to at night.
I lightly tap on the door, and it isn't long before it opens, Irene looking down at me with somewhat sleepy eyes. She's still dressed in a nightgown, with red hair hanging down below her shoulders, out of its usual braid. She looks a lot less uptight like this...
Countering that appearance, she does a perfect respectful gesture, her hands pressed together like she could do it in her sleep. "Good morning, Aria. Do you need something?"
Trying to remember my manners, I say, "I'm going to head home. Could you get me my clothes, please?"
"Of course. I'll be over momentarily."
"Thank you." Then she shuts the door, and I go back across the hall to sit on the bed and wait. It takes her some time, probably since she needs to get herself ready for the day and everything, but after about forty ticks, she opens the door, my ragged peasant clothes folded in her arms.
I still feel a little awkward as Irene helps me out of my nightgown. Even if I'm injured right now and they've been doing it for a few days, I'm still not used to people helping me get dressed all the time. Even so, I try to stay still as she dresses me so I don't make it any harder for her, and she has me back in my old clothes quickly.
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They're clean, but they feel rough and scratchy anyway, immediately uncomfortable after days in such nice clothing. Forcing myself to ignore that, I thank Irene for the help. "So, I guess I'll get going now," I say, and she walks me down to the front door. On my way out, Irene offers another gesture of respect, which makes me smile a little, she closes the door behind me.
It's a slow, kind of painful walk across town, but I make it without any real trouble. Approaching the orphanage I haven't seen in days, I sigh without even meaning to. Especially after my time at Eryk's, I can't help but notice how rundown everything is, from the surroundings, stinking with chamber pot waste, to our own front door, hundreds of little nicks in the wooden surface from who knows how many years of use...
Ignoring those thoughts, I go inside, down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor. It took me even longer than usual to get here at my slow pace, so it's already halfway to the third bell, and plenty of kids are already getting up. It's a lot more chaotic than I remember, I don't even smell food, so I don't know what's going on with breakfast.
Pushing those thoughts away, I keep going. I don't care that they all stare at me, my glowing white hair trailing all the way below my knees. All I care about right now is searching Mister Fredricson's office. I have to find those papers.
So I march down the hall past the other children, and despite the unusual level of activity, they all make way for me to pass. Opening the door to Mister Fredricson's office, I go straight inside. When the door shuts behind me, it dulls most of the sound, so I can only hear their continued murmurs thanks to my sensitive hearing.
I look around. I never really had much chance to look around his office while he was... still here. Now, I do. I actually find his office to be pretty empty. There's the big desk he always sat at, a nicer, more well polished thing than I ever noticed, always too focused on him. Behind his desk is a chair. Heavy and sturdy, with big, wide arms at the sides. I think I would have trouble moving it right now.
Instead, I carefully climb onto it to look over the top of the desk. There are a number of papers spread around. They aren't in neat stacks or anything like in that handlers' office. Instead, they're all jumbled up, shuffled randomly, in complete disorder. A few have even fallen to the floor.
I don't remember it looking like such a mess the other times I was in here... Grabbing one of the papers from the desk, the surface is pretty rough and worn out when I rub it between my fingers. "These look like names..." I mumble, and sound them out. "Marcy, Ron, Zeke, Jeff... A list of the kids?"
Glancing across the rest of the messy papers, I decide to channel my mark like last time I did something like this. I'm sure Reena can help this time too.
"Aria, thank goodness, it's been days!" are her first words, making me jump in surprise.
"Umm, yeah? I was resting at Eryk's house. Also, Mister Fredricson is..."
"Yes, yes, I know, sweetie." There's a comforting feeling, like a hug, and I smile a little. "Don't worry, it'll be fine." Then there's a pause, like she wants to say something, but it's interrupted by a moment of confusion, before she asks, "What are you doing right now?"
"Looking through Mister Fredricson's papers." It only takes a moment to think back over our conversation last night for her to skim what she needs to know from my memories.
She chuckles a little. "Ah, I see. It's a good plan, but I'm worried it won't be enough," she warns. "I'm sure Eryk already mentioned it, but the nobility are generally above the law. Even if he did adopt you, a noble with enough clout could demand you as an offering. You might become a vassal rather than a slave, but that's hardly more than a clerical difference," she sighs. I'm glad that she's filling in the meanings for all the new words as she goes, because I feel like I wouldn't understand any of that otherwise...
"I know," I answer uncertainly. "But it's the best I can do."
"That's fine," she bounces back. "I'll help however I can."
"Alright, here's what I'm working with," I refer to the big desk of papers.
"What a mess," she comments, with a wordless question about how it got like this. I can't answer for sure, but my best guess is that Marvin Salazar messed it up. Maybe he isn't very neat? "Marvin Salazar?" Reena responds to the thought, as I'm trying to group similar looking papers together into piles.
"That's the noble that came here a couple days ago," I tell her. "Do you know anything about him?"
"Mm, he's five generations removed from the barony, pretty much the bottom of the noble pecking order. He had various dealings with Fredricson before his passing. He is... not a good person. I don't want to say too much more than that. If you meet him, be extremely careful, and make sure it's in public."
"Ok..." I mumble quietly. He must be a really bad person for her to say all that...
"Also." She adds pointedly. "If you ever do end up alone with him, channel your mark."
"Huh?"
"If the time comes, don't hesitate, just do it. Do you understand?" With her words, she takes this odd tone. Not quite scolding. Instructional, like- oh, motherly, that's what it is...
"Alright, I'll do it," I answer her seriously. I don't understand her reasoning, but I can tell how important it is, so I won't question her. Turning my attention back to the desk, I slowly work on sorting the papers, puzzling out the meanings of some of the words, to guess which others might be related. I can feel Reena wanting to say something else, but she's holding back for now, she doesn't want to distract me.
There are expense reports, income reports, and a lot of papers relating to 'inventory,' which Reena explains is how much stuff we have. The stuff everyone collects from the woods, from the look of things. He kept track of it all? I find my work contract too, or at least a copy of it, the handwriting is definitely Mister Fredricson's, not Eryk's.
However, what I don't find are guardianship papers. Not for me, or any of the other kids. Does he keep them somewhere else? Looking around some, I find more some drawers on either side of his seat. It takes some painful work to pull them open, the first containing money.
...A lot of money...
I frantically shut the drawer and shake my head, ignoring the high value coins inside. Going for the others, I find more paperwork, and this time it's what I'm looking for. "Yes," I mutter, starting to draw out stacks of guardianship papers. "Andy," I read off when I find his. Scanning over it, there are a few different things written. "Parents: Venn and Kelly, Guardian: Fredricson." Oh, there's a note... "Given up by parents due to financial trouble..."
My mouth falls open a little. Andy's parents... didn't die? They gave him up...? Willingly? I wipe at the tears forming in my eyes, and shake my head a little, I have to keep going. I find other names I recognize. Emily, Eve, Jess, Jannette, Mary, Robin, Tony... Once I've pulled out the names I recognize, setting them in a separate pile on the desk, I have to climb back up on top of the chair so I can look at them.
"I got all of theirs, but mine wasn't in there," I mumble to Reena. "Did that noble take it?" As I wonder, I look over the papers. I quickly notice how most of them have 'parents' marked as unknown.
"If the parent of a young child dies, they may not be able to identify exactly who that person was," Reena explains.
Oh, I guess that sort of makes sense, it would be impossible for the guards to know every single person by name, wouldn't it? Glancing at the notes on the bottom of each paper, they're all descriptions of how the parents died, except Mary's that says she was dropped at the door of the orphanage as a baby.
And then there's Jannette's... Staring at it dumbfounded, I read out, "Found the child wandering the streets, naked. No idea where she came from." The next word takes couple tries, but I get it. "Non-com-mun-ni-ca-tive. Noncommunicative. Assumed five years old." But isn't Jannette our age, seven? She said she's been here for four years, so that doesn't match up...
Where in the world did Jannette come from?
I shake my head. I can wonder about that some other time. I don't actually need the guardianship papers for the others. I'd give everyone their own papers, but they don't have anyone that wants to adopt them, so there isn't anything they could do with the papers anyway. So I put them back in the drawer with the others, before Reena stops me.
"Aria, you may not want it to be clear to anyone you've been here, you should probably put those papers back in alphabetical order like you found them." Even with her filling in the meaning of the words, it takes some time to understand what she means by 'alphabetical order.' But once I remember the order I found them all, it's almost too obvious. Nodding, I make sure they're in the right order, and pile them all back in the drawer they came from.
I stand, rubbing Emily's papers between my fingers absently, one part of my brain saying it's silly to call them 'papers' when there's only one sheet of paper, but the rest of my thoughts are on more important things.
"That just leaves mine," I think aloud. "If that noble took my papers, that definitely means I'll have trouble with him later, and Reena says he's a really bad person..." Reena gives a very strong, silent nod as she listens to me. Unable to think of anything else, I search around Mister Fredricson's desk a little more, checking the couple papers that fell off onto the floor.
"Hm?" One of them is ripped, just a small scrap of paper that fits in my palm. There isn't any writing on it, but I haven't seen anything it would have been ripped off of either... Widening my search, I come to a little open-top container behind his chair, a little off to the side. There is more paper inside, but it's all crunched up instead of nice and flat. There are even a few more bits of paper on the floor near it.
"That's for garbage, like papers you don't need anymore," Reena explains. "You can call it a garbage pail. Like a bucket, but for trash."
"Huh..." I murmur as I carry it over to the desk. I pull the papers out onto the desk top, then fight to straighten them out. There are a few, and some are definitely in a number of pieces. I have to guess some based on the tears to piece them back together.
"Someone tore these up. It looks like they ripped them in anger. They weren't actively trying to destroy them, or they wouldn't be so easy to put back together," Reena informs me, and I nod. So someone got angry, tore them up, and threw them away?
Even when I have them mostly flattened out, the paper is pretty damaged, Mister Fredricson's normally neat writing smudged, so I have some trouble figuring it out, but I do my best. Thankfully, the first is exactly what I'm looking for, my guardianship papers.
"Aria. Parents unknown, guardian Fredricson. Notes... Requested to live at orphanage, nothing else known. Huh." So even my papers say they have no idea where I came from, which is good. I never told Mister Fredricson anything after all.
Then I turn my attention to the second of the two pieces of paper I managed to piece together. The writing is still Mister Fredricson's,
V,
The girl's name is Aria. Seven years old.
Her price is two gold, five silver.
I guarantee that value for a number of reasons.
All have been checked and confirmed by M.
1. She has pure white hair
2. She will grow into a beauty
3. She is a foreign noble
4. She is dull and obedient
5. She does not scar when injured
-F
I'm interested, contact me again when she turns ten.
-V
I have to squint at the second part, clearly written by a different person. The handwriting isn't as neat as Mister Fredricson's, so it takes even more work to figure it out. Once I've worked my way through it, I read it over again, balking. A noble? Why would Mister Fredricson think I'm a foreign noble?
Reena answers with a dark tone. "Quite a number of reasons. First, he probably doesn't know that Shonamakaseans don't grow white colored hair, so he would think it's a very clear indicator."
"Oh." That's right, I thought the exact same thing when I first learned about Shona hair colors, before Beth told me I was wrong...
"You also bow like they do," she points out. "Next would be your name. Aria has three syllables, which would put you in the highest class of commoner. However, given the level and skill of etiquette you displayed in front of both Fredricson and Marvin Salazar, they would likely assume you gave a fake name, in an attempt to hide your identity as a noble." I stand, tilting my head to the side in confusion as I work my way through that one. They would think I was lying about my name?
Oh, duh. I may as well be, since my name was actually given to me by Francis just before I moved...
"Exactly. The things he saw gave him a particular impression of you," she sighs, "That's why this noble, V, is interested in you."
"I'm sorry..." So it's my fault this is happening...
"Don't be sorry," she shushes me, "and it's not your fault. You're special, even if you don't want to be. There's no way for you not to attract attention, even the unwanted kind. Look at the bright side, these being torn up and thrown out means that Marvin Salazar threw a fit and gave up on you. Your chances of getting adopted are looking a lot better n-"
Just as she's saying that, my thoughts are jolted from the conversation by the door to Mister Fredricson's office swinging inward. Between talking to Reena and the noise outside, I didn't hear anyone approaching. Standing on his chair in the middle of the room, the best I can do is stop channeling my mark, Reena's words cutting off as a man I don't recognize walks in, stopping short in the doorway when he sees me staring at him.
All at once, I take it in. The door open, his hand still on the handle, the crowd of scared children behind him. The bright, shining purple of his shirt and slightly darker jacket, with its long sleeves trailing off his shoulders, an unnecessary show of wealth. His blue pants, like the sky in the evening, and sturdy, strikingly black leather boots. Nothing like the clothing of a commoner.
Who is this noble, and why is he here?