Melody of Mana

The priests and their helper wanted the full rundown, and I was all too happy to give it to them. Well, mostly, I did leave out the part where I helped kill a whole bunch of the kingdom's soldiers and our mayor. Instead I simply described that there had been a bunch of fighting.

I was asked about the names of the major people in town. I happily gave them, including Rosk, the priest who was staying there. I could easily describe him and his aura. I knew they were getting all of this so they could check and see if I was who I said I was.

When we got to my kidnapping was when they really leaned in. Father Mannory, who I supposed was higher ranked than the other two, was particularly interested. He grilled me. Each soldier's name, a description of their aura as best I could, along with their person. I even had to repeat out as many of Gwenna's titles as I could. I had to admit to them that I'd not really paid attention to that, and we hadn't talked except for her to confirm that I'd been the one to heal her.

"So you were treated like that even after you'd helped her before?" Father Mannory was tapping his fingers. They came down in a wave *ta-ta-ta-tap* his nails were loud against the table.

I nodded.

"Did you meet anyone else when you went to heal her? Anyone of her house?"

"I saw her father briefly, and a steward. The steward was nice enough."

"Can you give me a description of the steward?"

"No... that was a couple of years ago, I remember that he was nice, but not much else."

He nodded. Then he had me go over everything that happened while I was being held. Gabbi was making a few notes on the people, places and the like. The other two just listened, asking for details that they could confirm.

Eventually we'd finished. It took the better part of the morning. I was exhausted at this point, and had other things I wanted to take care of before I went to sleep. At the end the priest healed my hands with a wave of his own. It would have taken me a few moments to do that, but he made it look effortless.

"I hate to tell you this, but they will not be prosecuted by the law for what they did to you." Father Mannory seemed a bit irritated by that fact.

"I didn't really expect it." It was a depressing fact that nobles could get away with almost anything.

"If we'd caught them in the act... That would be a very different situation. Without that though, there is little that can be done within the law."

"Within the law?" That seemed a strange turn of phrase.

"Oh yes, there's not much the courts will do. I can however see to it that every order, every priest, and every bard around knows that the Hazelwood family condones the kidnapping of healers, even child ones. After I confirm your story of course."

"Of course. It is true though." I had given him more than enough to figure that out.

"I completely believe you. Once it is confirmed, I doubt they'll be able to find anyone to fix so much as a scratch for them." His smile was vicious, almost enough to make my hair stand up. He gave me an appraising look. "Lord Hazelwood has caused problems for our order before with his poor behavior. This however is beyond the pale. If he and his house cannot behave in a manner fitting their station, they will not have any aid in keeping it."

I already knew not to tick off these guys, but I now mentally underlined and bolded that statement.

He saw my look and let his face soften, patting me on the head. "Now go with Gabbi to get a bed set up for your stay. Lunch is not far off."

"Um, I was going to go and find a place to work at for the winter, so I could rent a room."

Father Mannory gave me a questioning look. "Would you not stay here? The orphanage will take care of you; at least until we can find your family."

I shook my head. "I need some money to send a messenger back home. I also want to buy a few things here and there."

"You are an unattended child, with no family here in the city. I'm afraid I must insist that you remain under our protection. Even if you could make some money, with food prices and availability right now it might very well not be enough."

"I can make my own food, and that is what I would be hired to do. While doing that I am certain I could make enough to survive the winter." This conversation was not going where I wanted at all. I knew if I didn't change his mind I would be treated as just another orphan. If that came to pass I might abandon the city, a daunting prospect.

He had to think about this. "The children here are allowed to do much as they please in the afternoons, provided their chores are done. If you can make food it should be acceptable to replace cleaning duties with supplementing our supplies. I will not let you stay at a tavern, but if you wish to work at one after your morning lessons, I will permit it. Though I would like you to pick one close to our temple, and you must return before time for bed."

Now I had to be the one to think. I was sure there were a number of rules hidden in the fine print of staying here, but I was reasonably sure that they would treat me well.

"What is bedtime?" I asked.

"The eighth evening hour for a child of your age."

The day was divided into twenty hours, ten morning, and ten evening. That time was actually later than I'd want to be out.

"Okay, I can do that."

Afterwards I was led to a room I would be sharing with two other girls. As soon as Gabbi showed me my bed, and the small trunk for any personal items, I promptly passed out.

I was woken just before dinner by a girl poking me. I started and turned towards her, bolting upright.

"Where am I?" I asked, remembering just seconds later.

"The orphanage, are you new?" The girl speaking to me was about my height, her hair was jet black and fairly straight.

"Um... yeah, I'm Alana."

"I'm Gigi, you looked tired, but it's almost time for dinner. If you don't show up, you don't eat." She gave me a smile, reaching out her hand. "Come on, I'll show you to the dining hall."

Gigi drug me along with her. She didn't talk much as she led me back to the room where I'd been given some soup before. Instead she led me to a seat with another girl a bit older than either of us.

"Hey Susie, this is our new roommate, her name's Alana."

The new girl Susie was blonde. She sat at the table with perhaps two dozen other kids. We were all packed in here like sardines. It was obvious extra benches had been added to accommodate all the children, and as more filed in I was glad we'd gotten here well on time.

"Hi there Alana, I'm Susie. If you need anything, or any advice, just come to me. Oh, and I'll help you trade chores for better chores in the morning alright? Don't accept any offers until I check them over. Some of those are hard to do, and you'll want an easy one." The way she rattled that off made me sure that if I were being given normal chores, and I did follow her advice; only she would be having easier chores.

"Sorry, Father Mannory already gave me mine. I don't think I'm allowed to trade."

Susie blinked, "Wait what?"

"I'll tell you later, anything else?" If she was going to be giving bad advice, I'd like to hear it now.

"Um... most of the girl's meet up in the older girls' dorm after dinner. There's some rules, but they're not bad. Oh, we'll get some extras at the beginning of the week, cleaning supplies and the like. That's about all you need to know for the moment."

We chatted about our interests and the like over dinner. My roommates wanted to get to know me understandably, and the feeling was mutual. Nobody asked me how I'd gotten here, or what my story was. I was grateful for that, and reciprocated.

Our dinner, as it was, consisted of a nice veggie soup, and an apple. It was nice, even if it wasn't much. I knew this was better than many village children were getting right now.

After dinner a few of the kids gathered up the dishes and took them off to an adjacent kitchen.

"Kitchen duty is the best. It's easy, and it's short." Susie looked after them jealously. "Well, let's get off. The temple staff eat after us, so no sitting around and chatting here."

The older girls' room was close by, and significantly different from our own. For one it was way bigger, there had to be six girls staying in here. There were a few chairs and a small table. It also had a small stove on one side, wood stacked beside it. As I came in the beds were being moved away, and some blankets set out to sit on.

An older girl came up to us as we entered. "New girl, have you been told the rules yet?" She looked strict, and was probably sixteen or seventeen.

I shook my head. "No, I haven't."

"It's fairly simple. Don't sit on anyone's bed or mess with their stuff. Don't make a mess. You're too young to go messing around with boys, but when you get older there's rules for that too. Last is that everyone puts four spoonfuls of oil in the communal jar so we can run lamps at night. You won't have been given any yet, so you'll need to put eight in next week. Any questions?"

"Oil?" I was familiar enough with lamps. My family ran oil lamps, but I felt I'd need to know about the situation here.

"Yup, at the beginning of the week you'll get a little jar that they'll put a ladle full of nut oil in. You can put it on your food for taste or use it to run lamps in your room at night. The priests like to give us some choices like that. Since we're all here together we end up using less, but everyone who's not in the little kids room has to put some in."

So it was a communal lighting fund. That made good sense.

"Okay, I can follow those no problem." I agreed to the terms set. If it would make it easier to get along with people, I could manage little stuff like that.

Once that was settled I went with my roommates to a spot they liked and started spinning some while we talked. All the girls here were doing something. A couple were making baskets. There was also a smattering of sewing, spinning, embroidery, and other handcrafts going on. One girl was even using the card weaving thing my friend Sara had taught me to make some straps.

From our conversation I learned that all of these crafts were ways for the girls to make a bit of money at night. They had some time in the afternoon where the girls who could get one would work jobs, but these things helped supplement that income. Most of the jobs were laundry or cleaning, but two of the older girls had jobs as waitresses near the gate.

As I relaxed on the bed I was given that night, I made plans about all the things I'd need to do the next day.