Madelyn: "There you are!"Back in my dorm.
The way it should be.
Steven: "I"m back, everyone."
Madelyn was the first and only one to greet and tightly hug me. It created discomfort with my back and had no choice but to slowly pry her off. Rayna"s healing magic may already be wearing off!
Steven: "…ow…"
Madelyn: "I didn"t hurt you, did I?"
Steven: "I had to carry like 200 pounds from the fort."
Madelyn: "Wha~? Shut the f.u.c.k up… you didn"t carry that much."
Steven: "In a wheelbarrow."
Madelyn: "Sure~"
Lilith was with the little girl, who had been cleaned up and bathed, asking her questions as she wrote in a leather notebook. She at least figured out a way to communicate with us. If sign language is a thing around here, I sure as h.e.l.l don"t know it. When they turned their heads to me, both of them happily waved at me.
Steven: "Hey, little one! I never got to ask you what your name is. Do you have one?"
She lifted up her notebook and points to the top of the page. "Joan of Lira" was scribbled across in nearly perfect handwriting. She doesn"t have a surname, so she"s a peasant. It actually makes finding her home that much easier. It means that if we find Lira, we can find her family.
Steven: "Joan… that"s a very nice name."
Madelyn: "She"s been behaving well."
Steven: "How is everyone? Did she eat yet?"
Lilith: "Yes, we weren"t sure what was going on when she was dropped off but we could tell she was hungry. I helped her bathe and everything."
Steven: "That"s great… did you eat good, Joan?"
She nods happily.
Madelyn and Lilith took better care of her than I expected. It saves me some trouble. I laid down on my bed and let out a weary sigh. It"s not the usual time we call it a day but I already want it to be over.
Joan crawled onto my bed and sat next to me. She smiled and hugged her notebook tightly. Did she want to talk? Maybe she just wanted to be around me. Rayna and I did save her so it"s not unreasonable to believe.
Steven: "Oh… h.e.l.lo."
Madelyn: "Why"re you being so formal for?"
Steven: "I"m just making sure she"s comfortable. Anyone not fu—"
I almost swore in front of a kid!
Steven: "Anyone would do that, Madelyn. I"m sure you did the same while I was out."
Madelyn: "I know because I did."
Lilith: "Her clothes aren"t too dirty either but we should still find her new clothes. The seams aren"t the strongest."
Steven: "We have to find her family, too."
Madelyn: "Another quest chain?"
Lilith: "You"re from Lira, Joan?"
Steven: "Tell us how you ended up in the fort."
She opens up her notebook and flips to a new page. Using a pen Lilith had given her, she begins to write as fast as she can.
Joan (Notebook): "Can I tell you everything?"
Steven: "Of course you can…"
Joan (Notebook): "I ran away."
Steven: "W-why?"
Joan (Notebook): "My real parents died and I was put in an orphanage. The lady there was mean and beat me. I ran away and Sophie asks me if I wanted a new home. I followed her and a big mean man put me in the bas.e.m.e.nt."
Steven: "Mayer…"
Her writing is a little hard to understand but I can get the picture. She ran across Sophie during her escape and she took her in. Mayer caught them and put Joan in the cells.
Steven: "What about Sophie? Was she mean?"
Joan (Notebook): "She was nice. She gave me food and said sorry for putting me in the bas.e.m.e.nt."
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She grabs her notebook and quickly writes out a question.
Joan (Notebook): "Did you kill her?"
Steven: "No, but she"s going to jail for doing bad things. It"ll be a very long time before she gets out but it"s for her own good."
Joan (Notebook): "Thank you."
She looked really happy that I didn"t off her. Sophie might"ve actually been the stick-in-the-mud of her friends. It makes me feel good about showing her some mercy.
Steven: "Well, d.a.m.n…"
I said in a low voice.
Madelyn: "What should we do with her?"
Steven: "Do you want to go back? To Lira?"
Joan frantically shakes her head and hides behind Lilith, who unexpectedly comes to her defense.
Lilith: "She"ll be beaten again! Do you want that!?"
Madelyn: "Lilith, we can get in trouble for this."
Lilith: "We don"t even live in Esnia, you think I care if they mark me as a criminal?"
Madelyn: "Steven, what do you think we should do?"
Are orphanages so bad that kids are running away from them? If she wants to stay with us, who would raise her?
Madelyn obviously doesn"t; I can"t force her on Lilith; Neither can I do that to Young Mi or Rayna; Dai-tai and Niroja? Well, I"m not sure if that"ll be a good idea. They might not know anything about raising a child. The only choice is either me or Lilith. Until then, we have to reach Sefre to sort it out officially.
Steven: "Joan…"
She peeks her head from behind Lilith"s shoulder and peers at Madelyn and I.
Steven: "You promise me that you"re telling me the complete truth and not hiding anything else?"
She slowly nods and goes back to hiding behind Lilith.
Lilith: "You"re scaring her."
Steven: "If she"s telling us the truth then she"s coming with us. Lilith has a point. We"ll only get in trouble if we get caught."
Lilith: "Really? Thank you."
Madelyn: "Alright then, better make sure n.o.body finds out."
We managed to coax her from the hiding spot and she proceeded to sit next to Lilith. Madelyn sits on the bed across from us and starts looking up at the ceiling.
Madelyn: "Are you coming with us to meet the Fae tomorrow?"
Steven: "I think Rayna and I are going to sit it out this time."
Madelyn: "Will Rayna allow that?"
Steven: "Yeah, we agreed to split the work so it"s unlike her to change her mind."
I could use the time to do what I want. My hands are asking me to whip up a cake. In fact, I want to see if the cafeteria would let me cook to see if I still have what it takes to work in a restaurant setting.
Steven: "Hey, Madelyn… you went to uni but what did you study?"
Madelyn: "Why do you ask?"
Steven: "I"m curious... unless you just went there to waste your tuition."
Madelyn: "My master"s… in psychology."
Steven: "You"re kidding me?"
Madelyn: "I"m serious."
Steven: "So, what..? Should I call you Doctor Madelyn? Or what was your—King? Doctor King?"
Madelyn: "I"m not licensed. Never have been. Besides, I want you to keep calling me Madelyn; no matter what I am. You too, Lilith."
Lilith: "Sure, but… what"s uni?"
Madelyn: "University… it"s a place for higher education. I was studying to become a mental health therapist."
Lilith: "Oh, I know what you mean!"
The Academies serve the same function. I"ve heard of other schools throughout Everhand but I"ve never been adventurous enough to look. My bubble and routine were perfect up until I ended up on the other side of the world.
Lilith: "Did Steven also go to uni?"
Steven: "Nope, I was crowned the next master chef of my family"s restaurant so my life was pretty much set."
Lilith: "At least your cooking backs that up."
Madelyn: "I learned a lot that helped me in this world. I should teach everyone what I know."
It"s impressive that she set high goals for herself and actually tried reaching it. I wonder if she"ll continue her education in Sefre, or Everhand if she wishes to follow me.
Steven: "You"ll teach Dai-tai and Niroja?"
Madelyn: "When we return. Niroja can learn this, easy. Dai-tai on the other hand…"
Steven: "She probably already knows all the tricks."
Madelyn: "Yeah, she might know more than me. It could be why she"s a pervert."
Steven: "My kind of pervert."
She stands up and puts all her power into a painful kick on my shin.
Steven: "Ahh! Oww! What the h.e.l.l?!"
Madelyn: "Don"t be a womanizer. She might be okay with it but other people think differently and you"ll end up hurting someone you really care for. What would you do if Kanna finds out you"ve been sleeping around?"
She had to hit me where it would hurt most…
Steven: "I hate you…"
Madelyn: "Because you know I"m right!"