Monastery of the Seven Forms, Lamashan 21, 4592 AR (part IV)

After Sëdara left, a heavy silence fell between them. It was very rare for anyone to adopt a child. Five, all at once, must have been unheard of even for Headmistress Drane. The woman took a deep breath and looked at the crestfallen orphaned.

“Children, eat your cake in the kitchen.” Despite the soft tone, it was an order that no one would disobey.

The children formed a crooked queue that walked, somewhat dourly, down the corridor. Lysa pulled Ayalal by the hand to follow at the tail of the group, but the Headmistress turned her attention to them.

“I want to talk to both of you. Come in and close the door,” she said, disappearing into her office.

Lysa took a deep breath, running her free hand over her face. Her cheeks were warm from the tension she had been through as she had faced the celestial being. Lysa observed Ayalal. He was still frightened, as if he had just seen a ghost.

“Ay,” she murmured, bringing both knees to the floor and getting a little lower than him. “I don’t know what you saw, but do not mention it to Mrs. Drane. We talk later about that and you can tell me everything, alright?

The little one listened to her, absorbing her words. Lysa's voice soothed the fear that tightened his chest like a mother's lullaby.

“They are evil. I know they're bad,” he muttered after a few seconds. “We can’t let them take the others. They are going to hurt them.”

She was not sure where Ayalal had gotten such an idea, but the child's expression was beyond worried and conveyed conviction.

“Ay, nothing bad will happen to them. Those people weren’t bad, just a little different from what we're used to here. That's what made you feel that way.”

He wanted to believe her. After all the woman had been an angel, and angels were always good, everyone said so. But still…

“I’m sorry,” Ayalal murmured. He had no logical explanation, but he was simply unable to believe in the good intentions of the people who had just visited the orphanage.

Lysa smiled at him in the tender and understanding way she always reserved for him. She grabbed Ay’s face with both hands and laid a kiss on his forehead.

“Let’s go talk with Mrs. Drane?”

Ay nodded and the young woman straightened. She turned to Ay and pushed him carefully ahead of her.

The office was a small cubicle. From one side a square window allowed the artificial light of the city to enter timidly; on the opposite side stood a shelf, somewhat crooked and with more dust than books. Seated behind her desk, the headmistress did not look impatient. In fact, her expression was thoughtful as her fingers drummed on the wood.

“Sit down,” she said, indicating two chairs before her. She watched the tension of one and the other as they followed the indication. The old wood creaked even under the weight of the child. “What you did moments ago was imprudent and disrespectful. But…” She paused and smiled. “I admit that I was amazed and pleased.”

Ayalal and Lysa looked at each other. Neither of them expected what appeared to be approval, even if reluctant.

“Lady Drane…” Lysa began, but the headmistress raised a hand that silenced her.

“The person who left you here,” she said, facing Ayalal “asked us to take care of you. If you wanted to go with Miss Sëdara, no one would stop you. However, if you feel that you are happier in the orphanage, with your family,” her look turned to Lysa “then your place is here, until you decide to leave. And nothing can make you go. Do you understand?”

Ay's head moved almost autonomously in a nod. He had imagined that the headmistress would be the first to want to send him away. It would be one less mouth to feed. But he realized that he had been mistaken. He could stay in the orphanage with Lysa, until he was grown up and start working, at least.

“Go to the others,” she dismissed them, leaning back in her chair.

Lysa rose, with obvious relief, but Ayalal did not. The hand that had not held the cake grabbed the side of his seat, forcing him to stay there. He bit his lower lip lightly, until he had the courage to ask the question.

“Who left me here?”

The headmaster raised her eyebrows a little, then let out a sigh.

“I do not know, Ayalal. It was Lysa who found you here at the door. With you came a note and some money.”

The boy's shoulders slumped and his head leaned forward, discouraged. It was not a subject he thought about much compared to other children. However, as he listened to Mrs. Drane speak of such an anonymous presence, the interest he usually hid away had surfaced.

“I still have the note here,” the headmistress said, opening the table's drawer and taking out a worn notebook from the inside. She flipped through it for a while, until she pulled a small piece of parchment from between two pages and handed it to Ayalal.

He looked at it with fear, as if it might bite him. Hesitantly, he release the chair and reached out to grab it. Only after leaving the office did he dare to see what was written. The handwriting was shaky, some letters were smeared and others were faint, as if the hand of the writer had not found the necessary firmness.

He took a deep breath and put the note in his pocket. One day he would be able to read it.

Monastery of the Seven Forms, Lamashan 21, 4592 AR (part III)

“No.” The word slipped between his lips, without even thinking.

The angel raised her thin eyebrows.

“Don’t be shy, my dear.” She held out her hand. Its ebony complexion seemed almost ethereal, yet not as pale as Ayalal's.

The little boy shook his head in denial and hid his hands behind his back. Sëdara's smile wavered for a moment.

“Why not, little boy?” She asked, still holding her hand, palm up. “I’d take good care of you, you’d have what you desired, you’d be happy. You would have a family.”

“You're scaring him, my lady.”

Ayalal took a deep breath and looked away to the side of the corridor, where Lysa was approaching from the top floor. When she reached him, Ay reached out to grasp her hand, anchoring himself to Lysa’s presence and protection.

The angel stared at the newcomer and slowly straightened. She was about a hand taller, and all her divine countenance cast a heavy shadow over Lysa’s simplicity. But the young woman stared at her firmly, not allowing anything in the stranger to intimidate her.

“Am I? I did not mean to,” she remarked. As she spoke her blue eyes measured Lysa, paying particular attention to the scar on her face. “It’s a pity that such a special child does not want to come with me. He would be welcomed and no one would look twice at his... provenance.”

Ay’s small hand tightened even more firmly.

“He doesn’t want to go,” Lysa said, being direct.

The angel heaved a sigh and shrugged, resigned.

“If so... but you still have time to change your mind, little one. Time to choose having a family.”

Other than Lysa, no one seemed willing to dissuade Sëdara. Some of the children even threw glances of envy at such insistence.

Ay took a deep breath, finding some courage.

“Lysa is my family.”

For an instant, Sëdara’s eyes froze. The little boy shuddered and moved closer to Lysa’s skirt, trying to protect himself. Before the angel could respond to that statement, a male voice from the entrance called her. The cold disappeared and she turned around, watching the approaching man.

Ay also looked at him. Inside a well-cut suit, he was tall, elegant and handsome; but the little boy saw none of it. He took a deep, audible breath, his eyes widening. There was something wrong, something bad around that man. He shook his head, frightened by what he felt and was unable to comprehend.

“My lady, we can’t delay any longer,” the man said. He looked at Ay for a fleeting moment, only because he realized that it was with him that Sëdara had been speaking. He was going to look away with disinterest, but noticed how the child looked at him and frowned.

“You’re right. I was just finishing,” she remarked. “I can take my children right now, right, Headmistress?”

“As we agreed,” said Drane, looking at the five chosen.

Myria leapt into place.

“I'll get my doll!”

And she was about to start running, when the newcomer stopped her, bending down and grabbing her arm.

“It is not necessary. We have lots of dolls,” he said with a kind smile. “Pretty like you.”

The little girl hesitated, her enthusiasm fading a little.

“But Mimi will be sad if I leave her here... I can’t really go? Please sir?”

It was Sëdara who answered, approaching and placing a hand on her head in a caress.

“We'll come back for Mimi later” she said.

The words convinced Myria and she let herself follow the man who had come to call the angel, along with the other children. The man did not look back again, but Sëdara did so, staring at Ayalal. His attention wavered between the man who was already disappearing in the corridor, and the angel.

“I wish you to be happy with your family.” Sëdara glanced at Lysa, before moving away.

The words transmitted nothing more than sincerity, just like her angelic smile. However, Ayalal was unable to believe either of them.

Monastery of the Seven Forms, Lamashan 21, 4592 AR (part II)

“Children” Headmistress Drane caught their attention in an unpleasant tone. Even so, some took only a quick glance at her, so they could look back at the angel. “Lady Sëdara has come here to share her generosity with a gift to each one of you.”

Ayalal looked at the angel with more attention and noticed that she carried in her hand a bag full of something. She took a step forward and leaned a little, to be at the children’s height. On her back, the wings fluttered slightly.

“Hello, everyone,” she said nicely. “I'm very happy to meet you. The lady headmistress told me that you are all very good children, so I brought you these...”

She opened the bag and took out a cake the size of a closed fist. She held it out to the nearest child, Myria, who was looking at her in fascination. The little girl's eyes widened and she shyly stretched her arms, taking the offering as carefully as she could with her little hands.

“Thank you!” Her voice, thinner than usual, betrayed her near-hysteria.

The angel laughed and caressed her head, which left the little girl in the clouds, before distributing the rest of the cakes among the other children. Some smiled at her in thanks, two dared to hug her. By reflex, the headmistress opened her mouth to scold them, but she thought better and held back her words.

Ay, the last to get a cake, took the one that was offered to him. He had never had a piece of cake so large in his possession. He would keep it to share with Lysa and he would ask to visit Yudarh, so the master could also eat a little.

“Thank you,” he murmured, looking up at the angel. She watched him with a smile that was more than nice. There was some amusement there, and the expression held a disguised interest. For some reason he could not explain, he leaned closer to the wall in an attempt to widen the distance between them. He looked at the cake again, uncertain. Could it be poisoned?

“There are some left,” said the angel, glancing at the headmistress. “Maybe they can be divided among all the children, later.”

Drane agreed with a serious nod, before glancing at the satisfaction of the children. Her expression relaxed a little.

“Lady Sëdara also wants to adopt some of you,” she announced. And suddenly the cakes were forgotten, the whispered comments were hushed. The ragged bunch of children now focused completely on the angelic young woman.

“It is true. I would like to be a mother to five of you. For now. If that would be alright.”

And after the silence, there was a sudden turbulence of hands shooting up and children surrounding the young woman who raised her eyebrows, stunned with so much commotion.

“Oh, so much enthusiasm! Let's calm down, let's calm down...“ she said softly. “Come on, I'm not leaving yet...”

Ay stood where he was, while the children chattered all at the same time, trying to make themselves heard and claim a place in the angel’s family.

“Children!” The Headmistress' voice was heard above everyone's, harsh, sharp. It was not an instant effect, but the orphans calmed down. “To your places, immediately. If you do that again, you will be grounded until you are adults.”

The angel took a deep breath and straightened out the simple yet good quality dress to which some of the children had clung.

“I” Sëdara emphasized the first word “will choose you.”

With difficulty, the small children restrained themselves. The angel went to the opposite end of the hallway to where Ayalal was. She walked slowly in front of them, studying them and indicating with one finger each of her chosen ones. The fifth person, a 10-year-old boy, located three places away from Ay, smiled with pure contentment as a finger fell on him. Behind them, Myria was already jumping in place, laughing and crying at the same time.

The woman stopped, bringing a finger to her lips, pensive. She took two more passes and stopped in front of Ayalal. The boy tensed and swallowed as he saw the angel bend over, resting her hands on her knees.

“Actually, six is ​​a perfect number. Come with me, little boy.”