Adelinde did what she could to bring Tara back to her family, but as a week passed she grew more convinced the girl didn’t have one. She checked all the likely places for any reports—Rene mentioned she did as well after work—but nothing was said of any missing girls. No one even recognized her or could suggest a family she came from when she asked.
Out of curiosity—and fear, albeit to a lesser extent—she did what she could to determine what Tara did and did not know, with the help of one of Matteo’s old caretakers. There wasn’t quite a way to determine it based on age—lack of structured schooling until one reached their teens meant that it was parents’ best judgment if their child needed more encouragement or was further ahead than their peers—so instead they gently asked her to do some things and watched to see if she followed through or not.
Tara understood a good majority of what Adelinde and the caretaker said to her, at least as far as commands; her drawings were a bit more than the expected controlled scribbles, but when asked to draw something she only understood the instruction if it was presented as “draw this” with the word instead of someone asking her to draw a specific object. After learning that Adelinde did try basic family words—house, mother, father, sister, brother, uncle, aunt—but Tara couldn’t recognize them. So, while she did understand what was being asked of her, Tara didn’t seem capable of recognizing objects by name unless she could see the word—but that did mean she could read better average, if nothing else.
Tara stayed with them for the entire week, and some littler things were shown during that time as well: she didn’t play alone or when other people were watching her, she never sat in a chair for any meals—although she did sit next to Rene once she learned she could get a bit more food from her, and would go to Adelinde instead if they switched spots—and she seemed half convinced the little bed they moved for her would hurt her somehow. She was most comfortable on the floor or ground and, when asked to sit on a chair, the bed, or a bench in the music district, she silently refused. She alternated between a kind of walking and a crawl to get around, as well.
At the end of the eighth day, Adelinde knew enough that she had a good idea on how she wanted to proceed. At the very least, she didn’t think Tara’s family would step up to claim her soon or at all, or if that was even the best outcome. Because she was a mother, she couldn’t imagine why anyone would leave a two year old in a city and make no efforts to get them.
Adelinde made sure Matteo would go to sleep, then went to the other room. As per usual, Rene was already there, trying to convince Tara to use the bed—or, if nothing else, sleep on anything than just the floor. Rene seemed to solve the problem by taking advantage of the girl following her, sitting in the corner and putting some blankets from the bed in front of her.
Tara hesitated, cautiously moved onto it, then waited a moment.
“You can come here,” Rene said gently. The girl fully moved onto the blankets, laying down after a moment. “Atta girl. That’s better than on the floor, isn’t it?”
Adelinde smiled as Rene took one end of the blanket and covered Tara. As response, the girl let out a noise—not quite a syllable, but it could, eventually, become one—and looked most comfortable Adelinde’s ever seen her.
“You two have gotten close already.”
Rene must not have noticed her until she spoke, looking up at Adelinde with a sheepish look.
“I don’t know why,” Rene said.
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“That’s what I told Mark when I met you,” Adelinde pointed out. “That being said, I want to talk with you.”
Both of them took a second to glance at Tara, then Adelinde decided, “After Tara falls asleep, at least. You’re slightly trapped as it stands now.”
Rene nodded and Adelinde stepped outside the room. She observed the pictures they set up since moving in while she waited—some of her and Aurik, Rene’s picture of her and Hannah, photographs from past arts festivals both with and without Rene or Matteo. It took a few minutes before Rene stirred from inside the room, just coming out to the door.
“I think she’s asleep now,” Rene said. “She usually doesn’t take very long if I’m next to her.”
She offered a smile, leaning on the doorframe. “So, what’s bothering you?”
“It’s about Tara,” Adelinde said, turning towards her. “Have you asked some of your coworkers?”
“I did,” Rene replied. She frowned a bit after a second. “One lives outside of San Asari, but they haven’t heard anything either. As far as I can tell, she just…showed up one day.”
“It might be a situation like yours,” Adelinde mused. Oddly enough, Rene’s frown actually left for a more neutral expression at the mention of it; it really didn’t seem to bother her. “Some parents to choose to give up children if they’re financially incapable of taking care of them, but those children usually go to better-off family or friends—the entire purpose, after all, is to give the child a better life, otherwise the separation’s pointless.”
“Maybe her parents just dropped her off and hoped for the best,” Rene suggested. “Leaving a kid in San Asari is probably better than Eyset, at least.”
“No one should let a two year old on their own,” Adelinde pointed out. “Especially not one that seems unable to really vocalize anything, even if she’s smart enough to understand most of the world around her.”
She paused for a second to take a breath. She couldn’t tell if it was her own experiences as a mother—her own fears, hopes, and expectations that made it hard for her to really understand why someone would act differently—that led to her being so aggravated, or if it was the hours she’d spent going over laws in preparation of being queen that made her know exactly how situations like these tended to come up, how they were typically handled. It could very well be both.
“…Therein lies my request,” Adelinde finally said, looking at Rene. “At this point, if the girl has family they would have contacted someone. It’s possible whoever’s supposed to take care of her isn’t in the area—she wasn’t meant to go to San Asari, and they’re looking for her but haven’t checked here yet—but until then…”
Rene gave her a fond, admiring smile. “You want to do something so we’re ‘officially’ taking care of her?”
Adelinde laughed. She only half-expected Rene to pick up so quickly, but it reassured her that she did.
“It wouldn’t hurt,” Adelinde reasoned. “And if nothing else it can prove we’re doing what we can to help her instead of hurt her. If she does have family or a family friend to go to, there’s no concerns—if two months pass and there’s no word, legally she would be considered an orphan. In the latter case, further decision could wait until it seems like more of a possibility.”
Rene nodded. “I trust you’ll know how to go about the process.”
“I could get most of it done by tomorrow evening,” Adelinde said. “If no one comes for her, though, it might keep us from traveling in August.”
“I’d rather know she’s comfortable,” Rene admitted. “A trip can always wait until later.”
“It’s good that we agree, then. Will you be with Tara for the night?”
She put on a kind of sheepish look. “Probably. I don’t want her to wake up just to see I’m not there, then possibly start panicking when she can’t really communicate.”
“That’s fine.” Adelinde offered a light kiss as she walked past her. “I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Yeah. Goodnight.”