Page 2 of Enchanted Kingdom
After an awkward pause in which each of us went back to work, she snickered.
As soon as my eight loaves were in the oven, I stole a glance at my mother. I got more of my looks from my father than from her, but I had always thought she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Even covered in flour and smelling of bread, she always had an air about her that was peaceful and kind. I had her shorter stature and her eyes, but my father’s hair color, skin tone, and nose. And also, unfortunately, his mouthiness. I feared I needed more of her type of personality than my own in going to the castle. She would handle it all with an effortless grace.
As if reading my thoughts, my mother soon rinsed off her hands and approached me.
Mother took each of my shoulders in her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. “I cannot protect you from this, my dear, but you are strong enough to survive a trip to that damned castle.”
I gave her a nod and decided to not mentionhervulgar word choice. In this case it was more than warranted. “There is no mention of how long I’ll be gone in the letter. What if I am there for a week or more? What will you do?”
She smiled and raised her chin with pure determination. “I will get up at the same time and just work later hours. The two of us have gotten a rhythm down that has freed me up more than you realize. I used to do it all, before you came to work with me. I can do it all again.”
“But Mother, that was almost ten years ago.”
She shushed me. “I have done it all before. I will again. I’ll hire an older child from Hattie’s if needed. Besides, do you really think the king will allow a woman from Nerede to stay in the Assemblages long?”
I dipped my head to the side. “Okay, fair point. I’ll probably be back late that same evening. Or the following morning at the latest.”
She smiled and it was then I saw the sheen of moisture in her hazel eyes, the same exact eyes she had given me. “Be careful, Jorah. Just please be careful in that place.”
I nodded. “I will. Trust me, I don’t want to be there any longer than I have to be. I will keep my head down and my distance from those princes.”
She gave me a winced smile. “That is probably wise, honey. Though to be fair, we don’t really know that much about the crown princes.”
“Other than they are spawned from evil?”
She tried and failed to rein in a laugh. “Yes, well, there is that.”
So I was going to the castle. There wasn’t a way I could avoid it without drawing more attention to myself than was necessary. But that didn’t mean I needed to like it. That didn’t mean I was going to swoon at the princes’ feet. Hopefully there’d be something delicious to eat. That was all that mattered. I wasn’t going for the princes; I was going for the food.
* * *
“Ms. Joraaaaaah!”
“Hi, Alani!” I grinned as I scooped up the three-year-old and put her on my hip. Her clothes looked old and thin, but she was clean-ish and had the prettiest blonde curls and green eyes I had ever seen.
Hattie’s was my happy corner of Nerede. Being at an orphanage shouldn’t bring me such joy. These were kids given the worst fate of all; they lacked two loving parents to raise them. If anything, it should have made me sad. But because of my frequent trips here over the years, the opposite was true. I knew each of these children by name and loved them dearly.
Though the bakery was thriving, we were still not making nearly enough coin for me to afford adoption, or I already would have taken no fewer than three of these children home with me. So I was still unmarried at twenty-three, I didn’t care. I would’ve loved them with every fiber of my being. Maybe in a few years I’d be able to save up enough to consider it more seriously.
I passed the bread to Ms. Hattie before taking the time to dole out hugs to each of the twenty-five children. I wasn’t a big hugger, but I figured these children deserved one. Deserved to know that someone cared.
Hattie’s eyebrows reached above her glasses and toward her gray hair as she took the burlap sack from me and peeked at the loaves. “Eight this time? You and your mother are too good to us.”
I shook my head. “It was my fault. I was in a mood and kneaded it too roughly. And now the crusts are too hard.”
Hattie smirked. “Angry, were we?”
A little boy who I adored must have been playing somewhere but now came barreling around the corner. “Ms. Jorah! It’s you!”
I barely had time to brace myself, considering I was already off balance and holding a different child. “Warrick! It’s you! How are you, little mister?”
He grinned at me and hugged me once more. “Better now that you’re here!”
The child was only six years old yet was such a charmer. He had the prettiest blue eyes that contrasted against his dark hair and dark skin. I could not fathom how it was possible he hadn’t been adopted yet. I’d seen him play with the other children too. He was polite, fair, and acted far older than he was. I ventured to say I knew some adults that were less mature than this six-year-old soul was.
“Let’s head outside and give Ms. Hattie a moment to rest,” I told the children while giving Hattie a smile as I patted the satchel over my shoulder. “I brought cookies too!”
The children squealed with delight and raced for the doors.
