Page 21 of Midwinter Wiles & Valerian Dreams
“I notified you of our plans, as I was required to.”
“The bare minimum. Not especially helpful when there are no dates, no addresses, just a general travel direction.” He pulls the edges of his boring cloak together with a sniff.
I shrug. “We go where the opportunities are.”
“Then let’s consider it fortunate that opportunity brought you to this place.” He strokes his pointed chin.
Silence gathers while I hold back several snarky responses that threaten to steal my tongue. It’s quiet enough that I jump at the tug on my sleeve. Helkki looks up at me, then over to Niemi, then back to me.
She’s wearing her most Hellion-like expression, which should warn me of what’s coming.
“Fireball?” she asksoh-so-nonchalantly.
Niemi’s muskrat face looks rightfully concerned.
“Ha! Ha ha, Hellion. You’re so funny. Nope, we are all good right now, thank you!”
She looks unconvinced and holds up her thumb and forefinger. “Little fireball?”
“No!” I shoot her a look before covering for Niemi’s sake. “It’s a game we play. We just call it Fireball. Not because there are actual fireballs involved. Nothing so…er, fiery. Right, Hellion? Go back tonotplaying with fire now. Go on.”
She gives Niemi one last appraising look, and me one last imploring look, but at my head shake, she slinks away. No doubt she’ll go straight back to causing some other chaos, but at least we staved off dealing with any lightly toasted sentries who will decide our fate. Win!
Said sentry is back to looking pensive. “Tell you what. Stay put for the next couple of fortnights and I’ll see if I can gather a board around here. At least you have a roof, and this looks like a decent sort of place, so that will go a long way. Of course, it would be better if you could offer a proper family home, but alas…”
“Wearea family,” I insist. “As I said.”
“You know what I meant.” His gaze grows a little too pointed for my liking. “It’s just you…alone…with seven wards…”
“What are you saying? I can’t do it alone?” That prickle at the back of my neck is growing dangerously close to anger. “What? I need a spouse to keep the kids? Is that it?”
Shifting his stance, he clears his throat. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt.”
His prim sniff punctuates the words.
That’s it.
That’s always it.
Because I’m not enough.
The only person who ever treated me as if I had a use in this world was Frederik, and that was because I helped him run the orphanage. Now he’s gone, and so is the orphanage…
I’m messing this all up. How are we going to afford a couple of fortnights at this inn? The purse was enough for one sennight after the new clothes we bought, no more. We’re already three days in.
Taking a slow, deep breath, I stuff down all the colourful things I’d like to say to muskrat face. My jaw clenches, but I won’t add ill-tempered to my list of shortcomings. I need Niemi on my side. If he gives his approval, it will go a long way toward convincing whatever sentries will decide if I’m suitable as the kids’ permanent guardian. The thought of them being scattered across the Hinterlands into different orphanages or homes, torn apart from each other…fromme…it’s unbearable.
I’m saved by Aili stomping up to the door with a paper in hand. “Here, Mr. Sentry Man. I drew you a picture.”
She thrusts the image at him, daring him to refuse it. As his hands raise protectively, I glimpse the drawing. A group of figures all clustered together in front of a cute little cottage, facing down one lone, man-sized…Oh no.
“How lovely,” Niemi says through a smile. Then his eyebrows raise. “Uh, is that…?”
“My hedgehog!” I blurt, yanking a startled Hugo from my pocket. Poor Hugo blinks blearily, unimpressed with the starring role inflicted upon him. “See, it’s Hugo.”
Because it’s definitely not a giant muskrat. Nope.
“No, it’s—”
