Jerome and Helga
Stepping out of the room where his wife was trying to comfort the child, no Alessandra, he corrected; Jerome turned to his allies and vassal.
“Hector, I need you to get to the Temple of Light and ask the Archbishop to send a Priestess, NOT a Priest, over here. After that, please go to the Fluffy Temple and ask for a Priest or Priestess who can deal with mental trauma to head over to my townhouse and wait for us?” he said while handing over a large money pouch. “This is for any donations they imply are ‘necessary.’ Nadia, stay here and guard the door. Sasha, could I bother you to go get a new dress for the girl? I assume you roughly know her size from killing her diseases?” at her nod, he continued, “Good, get her a set of undergarments as well; I doubt she has any. Please don’t waste money on stockings or shoes; the filth will destroy them immediately. While you’re doing that, I’ll get the innkeeper to send up some broth for the girl and start sending more messages to the King and Guild. Any questions?”
“Do you want the Fluffies to send the CPS? Even the Guild won’t cross them if they accept you have her best interests at heart,” asked Hector.
“Hmmm, good idea, ask for an Investigator to come with them. Knowing them, they would send one anyway, but it will help show we aren’t trying anything untoward. If that’s all, let’s get going, we are on a time limit here,” Jerome said.
Heading downstairs, Hector and Sasha headed off on their errands while Jerome headed to the innkeeper at the bar. After ordering some broth to be sent to the room, he commandeered a table to start composing his message to the King. While what he was doing was illegal under the law, following it, in this case, was ill-advised. She had too many gifts for the Gods not to be involved, and if he can figure out which one, he will know if his idea to adopt the girl was the right way to go or if turning her over to the applicable Temple was the correct course of action.
While he knew the King would accept his need to investigate Alessandra’s circumstance more thoroughly as a reason not to immediately send her to the Guild, the Guild was less flexible with this particular law. He needed enough time for the Clergy that Helga had gotten him to summon to meet the girl and confirm if she was God Touched or not. Getting the Fluffies on his side would hold the Guild off for a bit, but the Guild would eventually get the Bailiffs involved, restricting his options further. The King would not thank him for setting a religious fight off in the Nobles Quarter without at least warning him first, and depending on the outcome; even the warning might not help. If he asked, the King would back him; however, showing favoritism on this level to the second most powerful noble in the kingdom, who happened to be a cousin, would not do the King any political favors. So, the question was how to phrase his note in such a way as to get his cousin on his side without asking him outright. After pondering a bit more, he got a smile on his face and started writing.
****
While Duke Jerome was trying to figure out how to justify his recent criminal acts to his monarch, Duchess Helga was starting negotiations with a scared little girl locked in a toilet. They were not off to a good start.
“NO!” Alessandra yelled through the door.
“Alessandra, sweetie, you can not stay in there forever; your soup is getting cold. Come out, please,” Helga pleaded.
“Soup is always cold,” said Alessandra.
While exasperated with the current circumstance, statements like this gave Helga more patience with the child, not less. She had been beaten down so hard by society’s indifference that she could not accept that anyone would help her. This current crisis had started when Helga had tried to get Alessandra to take off her dress to clean the worst of the bile from it while awaiting the new one. Apparently, this meant that Helga wanted to steal it. Realizing the tactics gained from raising two boys that had never known actual deprivation wouldn’t work, Helga decided to negotiate with the girl instead of using reason. Thinking for a minute, she discarded trying to buy the dress but to try to make a deal with the girl instead. Opening the outer door, she ordered Nadia to hand over her surcoat. Nadia gave her a curious look but complied.
“Alessandra, I want to make a deal with you. Will you open the door so I can see your face?” asked Helga.
“You won’t try to steal my dress again?” came the reply.
“No, I swear on the Goddess of Truth I will not steal your dress,” Helga said.
The door opened, and a small face peeked out. “What’s your deal?” it asked.
Progress, thought Helga. “I will give you this surcoat to wear until my friend returns. She will have a proper dress for you, and we will then take your dress away to be cleaned. You can keep the surcoat until your dress is returned. But in return, you must come out and eat your soup.”
The face came out some more, becoming a head. Seeing that Alessandra was curious but still cautious, Helga decided she needed just one more small push. Holding the surcoat out to her, she said:
“Look at all the pretty colors it has. Hold out a hand so you feel how soft it is.”
Out came a filthy hand that pawed at the expensive silk. Grabbing the surcoat, the hand and head shot back in. Shortly after, Helga heard some rustling, and the hand returned holding a filthy dress.
“Deal!” Alessandra said.
Helga let out a sigh of relief. While she had no doubt that Alessandra would steal if she thought she could get away with it, she had not indicated that she was a liar. Whomever this Seth was that she missed so much must have at least beaten not to lie into her head; she doubted beggars and whores would have. A minute later, the toilet door opened, and Alessandra stepped out, inexpertly wearing the surcoat. The surcoat was, of course, way too large for her, and she had not used the ties as a belt to hold it up, leaving the sides almost fully open. The look of joy on Alessandra’s face at wearing the beautiful garment stifled the laugh that practically burst out of Helga at the sight. She kept a forced smile on her face when she noticed that the girl had no undergarments.
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“I should have asked for some undergarments along with the dress,” she thought. Instead of voicing these thoughts, she simply motioned Alessandra over and said, “That looks really pretty on you, but I think your knots need a little work. Can I help you with those?”
Alessandra’s face fell a little, but she nodded and headed over. She undid the knots and readjusted the surcoat to preserve the modesty that the child clearly didn’t have. While continuing to work, Helga asked a question she did not want to know the answer to. Her “vacation” would be so much easier not getting involved in capital politics.
“Alessandra, have you never had hot soup? Did you not even get any from the priests?” she asked.
“Not really. The adults and Guards never let me get any. I was always last. I never got much,” she stated flatly. “The littler you are, the less you get.”
“Why did the Guards keep you from getting food?” Helga asked while finishing adjusting the surcoat.
“They said, ‘It’s our due for protecting you,’ while making the priests give them big bowls,” said Alessandra. “Sometimes they got two or three even though we were only supposed to get one bowl.”
Helga decided then and there not to have Jerome talk to the King about his City Guard. She would go to the Queen, who was not nearly as nice as the King. Someone was corrupting the Guard and needed to be dealt with.
“Well, this bowl is all yours, and while not hot, it is still warm,” Helga said with a small smile.
Sitting at the table, Alessandra started to pick up the bowl of soup but stopped when Helga cleared her throat and pointed at the spoon. Now using a spoon, between slurps, Alessandra bluntly asked, “Why you being so nice?”
“That’s a big question,” Helga replied. Taking a deep breath to compose her thoughts, she said, “Jerome started looking for you because it was his job. He followed you into The Wet because, while he did not know whom he was chasing, he thought it might be a scared child that needed rescuing. He was right about that; that thug almost killed you. After he rescued you, his heart saw that you need more than the Guild can give. You need love and shelter to grow. All the Guild can give you is lectures and rules. In my case, I came here when Jerome realized he couldn’t help you because you were too scared of him. At first, I was willing to help because I trust my husband. As I talked to you and watched how you reacted to me, my heart broke to see a child so mistrusting and fearful. I had to help you. Do you understand?”
“No, too many words,” Alessandra said.
Helga sighed, realizing that she needed to remember how to talk to a young child, and tried again.
“We saw you were scared and in need of a safe place, and we can give you that, so we will if you want it,” she said.
“What’s in it for you?” asked Alessandra.
“Nothing but the joy of watching you grow,” replied Helga.
Alessandra looked at her doubtfully, “I don’t believe you. Nobody does nuthin for free.”
“Did you not say the whores and beggars gave you food and clothes? Did they make you do stuff for them?” Helga asked.
“Yes. The whores made me run messages and help wash stuff. Beggars made me beg with ‘em,” Alessandra said in a tone that said this should be obvious.
The soup was now gone; Alessandra reached for a piece of meat that had survived the earlier meal.
“No! You will throw up all over your pretty surcoat if you eat that,” Helga said.
Alessandra’s hand shot back quicker than a pickpocket’s that had been caught. Looking down at the surcoat, she decided it was better to be a little hungry. However, she did start looking around for something to put the scraps in for later. She was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Helga called, knowing that Nadia wouldn’t let someone unwelcome knock on the door. “Ah, Sasha,” noticing the package the other woman held, she continued, “I figured Jerome had stuck you with the shopping. Were you able to find a decent shop?”
“No, but what can you expect in this part of town? I did get something that doesn’t look too bad, though,” Sasha said, holding up the wrapped package.
“Not unexpected, but one could hope. Well, let us take a look,” Helga said while taking the offered package. Setting it on the bed, she quickly opened it. Holding up a simple but well-made blue dress, she looked at Alessandra. “Well, now it is time for the second part of our deal. Your new dress is here. And look, Sasha even thought to get you undergarments,” she said, pointing to said items. Alessandra looked between Sasha and Helga with suspension.
“You’re not trying to weasel out of our deal, are ya? You never mentioned undergarments, just the dress,” Alessandra said suspiciously.
“No, I did not mention them because I did not think you needed them. I have never met someone who did not own any,” Helga replied. She realized she had said too much when she saw the look in Alessandra’s eyes.
“Not my fault I couldn’t find any,” she replied angrily. Grabbing the dress and pointedly ignoring the undergarments, she stomped to the other side of the room and started trying to take off the surcoat. Helga looked over to Sasha, who was trying to stifle her giggles, and sighed.
“She seems…. spirited,” Sasha said between giggles.
“She is,” Helga said, watching Alessandra struggle with the knots. “Thank you for your help. Stay here; she might bolt for the toilet when I try to help. We do not have time for more negotiations if she locks herself in again.”
“Yes, My Lady, of course, My Lady, I shall endeavor to help corral the feral child, My Lady,” Sasha said, thoroughly enjoying her friend’s predicament.
Giving her friend a death glare, Helga grabbed the undergarments and approached Alessandra, “I am sorry. I did not mean to make fun of you for not having undergarments. Will you forgive me? Can I help you change?” Helga asked.
Alessandra looked at her with a bit of suspicion in her eyes but relented when she realized Helga meant it.
“I forgive you; I say mean things a lot too. Yes, help, please,” Alessandra said.
Helga winced a bit at the child’s brutal honesty and undressed her. She quickly got Alessandra dressed, deciding not to think about what the child’s filthy body would do to the new clothes. While she thought she was done with the dress in place, Alessandra did not, grabbing the surcoat and attempting to put it on again. Knowing time was short, Helga just sighed and helped her get it in place.
Turning to Sasha, she asked, “Can you gather up my things? We need to leave once the Priestess gets here. I’ll have my hands full with her?”
“Sure thing Helga. What should I do with this?” she asked, holding up Alessandra’s old dress. “Toss it in a burn pit?”
Helga winced, knowing another meltdown was coming. Alessandra did not disappoint, and with an ear-splitting screech, she ran at Sasha. Years later, Helga knew she would look back on this scene with fondness, but she was simply frustrated in the here and now. As she rushed over to grab the now biting, screaming, and kicking child off the other woman, who was too shocked to react, she heard the door open behind her, and Jerome innocently asked, “Are we ready to go?”