Jerome and Helga
“To get started, I want to make sure we all understand why we are here. I summand a Priestess of Life and Family bec…why are you all laughing?” the Duke asked when everyone but him and Hector started chuckling.
The Duchess answered, “Dear ‘Priestess Octavia’ is actually Archbishop Octavia. She was leading by example when Lord Hector found her cleaning her sanctuary. She came because she was curious about why you were summing a Priestess instead of any member of the Clergy.”
“Okay, well, setting that aside, for now, I summoned ‘a’ Priestess of Life and Family because I tracked down a newly awakened, very powerful, Death Mage in The Wet. She’s a street mouse from the worst parts of the Slums, and the stories the Guards told gave her a phobia of Life Mages. The mere mention or sight of a Life Mage throws her into a panic. I needed a powerful Life Mage, which the Temple of Life and Family could provide. A secondary consideration was that I would need the Temple’s approval to adopt her; if my wife agreed,” pausing to see if everyone was following, he continued, “I summand the Fluffies for two reasons as well. I wanted you to take temporary custody of the girl while I get permission from the King and Temple to carry out the adoption. I would prefer for her to stay here, but you guys are the professionals and will do what's best for her. The second reason is that she needs a lot of help with all the trauma she has endured. It’s a happy coincidence that this may give your Order an opening to operate in the Slums again.”
“I can assure you, Your Grace, that we will take temporary custody of the child. I will hold off on deciding where she will be staying until I have started my investigation. Providing trauma support is also a given,” the Investigator said. “Your request about her staying here is common when a family wants to adopt a child, so we have procedures for this. In a case like this, I will conduct a brief interview with all of you now to get a feel for how Alessandra came to be in your custody. I will then talk to the child to determine her mental and physical conditions. This might take a day or two. After I have an idea of the child’s condition, I will consult with the Archbishop on whether or not she feels you will be the best guardians for Alessandra. I will then do follow-up interviews before making a final decision on permanent custody. That she is Gifted does change things. In order for her to get the training and support she needs, I will move as quickly as possible. I do have issues with how the local Guild allows commoner children to be treated, so you can rest assured that their gaining custody is an unlikely outcome. At worst, from your perspective, the Temple will send her to another Guild for training.”
Jerome acknowledged this statement with a nod and said, “Well then, let’s begin.”
Turning to the Archbishop, the Investigator said, “I assume that since you are here instead of with Alessandra, you summoned more Priestesses? If that’s correct, please give your observations so far.”
“I did; I summoned two Caregivers, each with a powerful Life Blessing. They should be able to suppress her Death Talent,” she looked over to the Duke, “I feel I must tell you she has already broken the suppression bracer you put on her.” At his nod of acknowledgment, she turned back to the Investigator, “I spent the trip over here with the child in question. In my opinion, stability is her greatest need right now. It seems clear that she has never had much security and has already started to bond with Duchess Helga. Admittedly she is still unsure about Duke Jerome, but she has provisionally accepted that he doesn’t want to hurt her. From what I could see, for her, almost everyone falls into two categories: has hurt me or will hurt me.”
The female Counselor, Rathmon, if the Duke remembered correctly, raised her hand. The Investigator acknowledged her, and she asked, “Excuse the interruption, but I wondered if you could expand on how you know that she is bonding with the Duchess?”
The Archbishop nodded, “She turns to her for directions and listens when the Duchess gives instructions. She tried and failed to comfort her when she got upset; no, I cannot tell you why the Duchess was upset; it’s sealed under confession. When we arrived here and I summoned the Caretakers, she hid behind her. The most significant sign that she has bonded was after some minor mischief; she didn’t summon her magic when punished. She is still new to her talents to consciously control them, but she didn’t feel threatened and call upon her aura instinctively. I have witnessed many Awakenings and a child with as much power as Alessandra instinctually summons their Major Talent when they feel threatened. That she did not shows me that she trusted that the Duchess was not trying to simply hurt her.”
Both Counselors nodded after she finished giving her observations. The Investigator picked up the questioning and turned to the Duke.
“I would like to know why the child, Alessandra is it? Why Alessandra thought you would hurt her.”
“She thought I was a bounty hunter sent by a rag merchant to take her to the dungeon Life Mages for stealing a dress. I would guess spending two days tracking her down in The Wet while being chased by a thug who did want to kill her gave a bad first impression,” he stated flatly. “When I finally caught up to her, the thug was in the process of choking her to death, and she fell unconscious before I could explain anything. When she awoke, Hector was putting the suppression bracer on her. Of course, she was confused and frightened out of her mind waking up in a strange place, surrounded by strange people, having spent the past few days being chased. I listened in over a communication device Helga had on her after she got there, and quite frankly, her conversations with Alessandra broke my heart.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. I think I understand that a child's natural self-centeredness caused a misunderstanding on her part. I don’t think you did anything wrong. I will want to talk to you some more later, but that clears up my initial concern.” Turning to the Duchess, he asked, “My Lady, the Archbishop has stated she believes Alessandra has started to bond with you. I understand you have raised two sons?" at her nod of affirmation, he continued, "Based on your experience, do you believe Alessandra has started to bond with you?”
Helga leaned back in her chair and took a breath to buy some time to gather her thoughts. After a few moments, she answered, “Unfortunately, Investigator, I cannot give you a definitive answer. I think she trusts me to a certain extent. I believe that she believes me when I say I will not hurt her and want to protect her. I believe she still thinks I am trying to trap her for some nefarious end, but she does what I ask. She is clearly smart and has figured out that we are powerful and rich beyond her wildest dream, but I think she is still just doing whatever it takes to be safe and fed. I didn’t realize that she had not summoned her power when I was spanking her, so I guess that is a sign that she has started to form a bond.”
“Thank you for your honesty, My Lady,” the Investigator said. She leaned back in her chair and placed a hand on her chin, thinking. After a few minutes, she spoke, “I need to speak to Alessandra and observe your interactions with her before making my final decision. It is late in the day, so I will not relocate her tonight; if you agree to my conditions.” The Duke nodded for him to continue. “I want to have a Child Protection Soldier in the room with her. I don’t believe you would hurt her; this is just standard procedure in cases involving children with dangerous gifts. I have several female officers who are Life Mages. With what you have told me, I will instruct them to hide this from her. I will want to keep the Inquisitors and CPS in your barracks-I expect the Guild to attempt to retrieve her, which, if successful, would further traumatize her. The public backing of my Temple will give them pause. Finally, as part of our standard procedures when dealing with nobles, myself or one of my Counselors will need to stay here. We can also help her integrate into life outside the Slums.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Of course, do whatever you need to do,” the Duchess said. “This will make it easier on the Archbishop’s Caretakers; since this will allow them to get a good night's sleep.”
“Not my intent, but fortuitous, nonetheless.” The Investigator said, “Would it be possible to meet her now, or do you think she’s asleep?”
“She might still be in the bath, but you can meet her in the playroom,” the Duchess said. “I will have Hector lead you there, a guard can take a message to your officers if you want, or they can guide one of your Counselors if you would prefer that.”
“I would prefer the guide; a note can’t answer questions,” the Investigator said. The Duke nodded to Hector and a guard. Standing, the Investigator said, “With that, we shall take our leave. Will we be dining with you, or should we join our troops? We take no offense either way.”
The Duke answered quickly, “Join us; we will be summoning Alessandra for dinner as soon as we finish with the Archbishop.” With a nod, the Investigator and Counselors followed Hector and the Guard.
****
Helga wasn’t sure what to make of the Investigator's decision. She wasn’t taking Alessandra away but based on her explanation, it was simply because of the time. She liked that the Fluffies were staying; the Guild would not want to mess with them. She didn’t know what to make of her own feelings; how had this urchin wormed her way into her heart so quickly? She understood how Jerome had fallen so quickly; he had changed battlefield locations to avoid nesting birds; God’s bless/curse the man. There was just something about her innocent skepticism of everyone that made her want to protect her. She prayed to Fluffy that the Investigator would let her stay. She was not sure Alessandra could rebuild the kernel of trust that had started to form if she was torn away from the first people she was begging to trust for who knew how long. She was pulled from her thoughts when the Archbishop spoke up.
“Normally, I would want Alessandra here for this conversation, but I don’t want any interruptions right now. Tell me, Your Grace, why do you want to adopt Alessandra?” the Archbishop asked.
“If this sounds similar to what Helga told you, rest assured I was not listing in on your carriage ride,” Jerome said. “I want to adopt her for several reasons. At first, it was purely to keep her from the Capital Guild. They have a reputation for allowing nobles to abuse commoners. A completely uneducated street mouse would have been crushed both physically and emotionally. At that point, if Helga had objected, I would have had one of my allies here in the capital take her in.” Leaning forward, he continued, “After listening to her talking with Helga, I realized that she needed the security to grow that could only be provided in Halrond. She will need to be handled carefully for the next few years, both emotionally and magically, and my allies don’t have those kinds of resources.” He stood and started pacing, “Put together; these are still not good enough reasons to adopt her; I could provide the same protections by making her my apprentice, even though it’s not common practice nowadays, that is still allowed. She needs a family. People who can love her just for being who she is. I can’t claim to love her. I’ve only interacted with her for about fifteen minutes. I can promise you that I will come to love her for who she is. My sons will accept her and love her for being herself; they are grown and have wanted another sibling for quite a while, so there is no chance of resentment. My vassals will not dare move against her; they respect me too much for those games." He made a throwing-away gesture and added, " Other nobles will feel my wrath if they try anything.”
The Archbishop didn’t even try to hide her smile at his response. Looking the Duke in his eyes, she responded.
“I have rarely conducted two interviews so alike in tone and feeling. Many people have rehearsed responses that were almost word-for-word alike, but it is uncommon in off-the-cuff interviews like these. Your Graces, both of you have selfless reasons for wanting this adoption,” she turned her gaze to Helga and continued, “I know that you will be loving parents and are as aware of the problems you will face as you can be at this point. I won’t lie to you; I would not take this child into my care; I could handle her emotional or magical issues, not both. That being said, I will not approve your petition yet; I want to explain what adoption means to Alessandra first. If she has a reason beyond thinking it’s a trap of some sort, I will delay it, not deny, just a short delay to allow all of you time to settle,” turning back to the Duke, she continued, “I will grant you a guardianship petition as soon as the Investigator finisher her work. This will keep the Guild at bay until the final adoption petition is granted. As soon as Alessandra is comfortable with the idea, and the King grants his approval, bring her to the Temple, and we will hold the ceremony.”
Helga let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. The status quo would be maintained. It was probably the best outcome, putting a pause on a fast-moving situation and giving everyone a chance to breathe. Without the Guild breathing down their neck, they could start working out their emotions and start thinking of the practicalities of raising a Death Mage, who feared that the world was out to get her. In fairness to her, that was her experience; it seemed that only one person had ever truly cared for her. Sure, from what she had said, the neighborhood whores and beggars sometimes fed and clothed, but they didn’t care for her; she had to work for their scraps.
Jerome stood up and paced around for a minute before speaking, “If I understand you correctly, you want us to maintain custody of her and adopt her sometime from now? I won’t lie. This isn’t what I was hoping to hear.”
“I understand, Your Grace,” the Archbishop responded. “You want to move too fast, however. You jumped straight to adoption because that was the shortest path to what you wanted, protecting Alessandra from further harm. Admirable, but what about Alessandra? You’re taking a traumatized child from the lowest rung of society and catapulting her to the highest rung. This is a form of trauma as well. By giving her a voice, we give her a sense of control. This is important to children, especially traumatized ones. She has never had any control over what happens to her. Her response to simply asking her what she wants might surprise you. In my experience, most children will say yes once they understand what adoption means. That you are choosing to care for them not because of what they can do for you, but because of what you can do for them, means the world to them.”
Collapsing in his chair, Jerome replied, “Your right; I hadn’t thought about how she might feel about her changing circumstance; I just saw all the advantages it would give her. I never thought what she would think of it.”
Looking at her husband, Helga saw the exhaustion that he was trying so hard to hide from everyone. Standing and pacing herself, she composed her words carefully. In this state, if she said the wrong thing, he could easily fly into a rage. She had seen it before, usually near the end of a campaign, and while he always apologized afterward, it was not pleasant while it lasted.
Finally, she spoke, “Dear, this will also give us time to let our emotions cool. Right now, I’m confused and just rushing forward. I need a pause to think. This might be what is best for Alessandra, but what will this do to us?” shaking her hands in negation to forestall any interruptions, “I do not want to back out, but we need to prepare for the changes she will bring to our lives. She will have her own needs, and we need to consult the experts so we know what to expect and how to handle them. We need to let our thinking adjust back to child-rearing, our sons are grown, and we have gotten used to letting them live their lives. Alessandra is fragile and will need guidance and discipline. Can you treat her as a child and not the adult our sons are now? I can’t; I had a hard time giving her a spanking without laughing in front of her at why I had to give it. Let the Fluffies and Caretakers handle her care for a few days or weeks so we can learn and prepare. There is much to do; just accept this pause,” Helga said. She walked over and embraced Jerome. “You won the first battle; you are tired; rest before continuing the campaign.”
Jerome sighed and hung his head. After a brief pause, he replied, “You’re right; I’m exhausted and not thinking straight. I’ll let you do the thinking for now,” he said, standing and pulling her in tighter.
The Archbishop, sensing the mood, headed for the door, motioning for the guards to follow her. To her mild surprise, they followed her out.