Page 126

Chapter 43

I organised with Dragus and Matitus to distract Silas so I can go see if people would be interested in donating blood for a blood bank. I knew with Silas loitering around, they would feel obligated to do as I asked and I really want to build trust with our people, let them decide for themselves without the pressures of the three Dragon Kings standing over them and intimidating them.

We go door to door knocking and stopping in at all the shops we walk by. The store owners said they would let people know and send them to the castle. Aldrin also thinks it is a good idea and spoke to a few people he knew to help move fridges and freezers to one of the greenhouses. Not ideal but would do until we had a proper facility. Victor and two apprentices are on hand to take blood donations if anyone was willing to help provide blood.

We ask everyone who is above 16 years old and able, excluding the elderly, seeing as most of them were in poor health or just not suitable without risk to themselves. Walking through the streets though, I sense that things have changed, people aren’t running scared or have their heads hung anymore, people are actually enjoying the sunlight and have come out of their homes to enjoy the nice weather for once. When we finish walking around the main streets and the closest streets to the center, we decide to check on the kids in the orphanage.

Walking up to the brick building, I find people willingly helping and volunteering their time. A few kids in their late teens are painting the outside of the building. A few elderly people are actually helping in the gardens with some of the children, pulling weeds out and cleaning off the concrete stairs.

“Do all these people work here?” I ask, turning to Marian. She shakes her head.

“No, a lot are volunteers that wanted to help, a lot of people didn’t know how to help them but now that the Dragon Kings have organised food and shelter, they want to make it homely for them, a safe place for them to be kids,” Marian answers.

“They have been fixing up the two homeless centers too,” Dakari adds behind me. A lot of people who noticed him recognized him as Dragon, yet they don’t fear him like they do the Dragon Kings, probably because of his charismatic, happy-go-lucky attitude. I also notice that he is often willing to pitch in and help. Just yesterday, I caught him helping haul firewood in with the stable hand.

As I enter the orphanage, the first person I notice is Lilith, who is playing checkers on the step with another girl. She beams up at me, her blonde locks have been cut, she has a bob cut which really suits her, making her look like a porcelain doll.

“Hey Lilith,” I say as she jumps off the step and runs toward me, wrapping her arms around me. The little girl with her has red hair and freckles. She looks delicate and a little scared but happy to see new faces.

“This is Millie, my friend and this is Elora,” she tells Millie.

“Hi Millie,” I say as I wave. She shyly hides behind Lilith though, I can see the curious look in her eyes as she stares between Dakari and myself.

“Do you know where Patricia is Lilith?” Marian asks her. Lilith points to the stairs, and Marian leads the way as I follow her, curious to meet the woman who has been watching over the children. What I am not prepared for is her age. There are eight bunk beds in the bedroom, lined against the walls, each separated by a chest of draws for the children to share.

A girl about the age of 17 with dark curly hair to her shoulders is sitting on the end of one of the beds with three little boys no older than three and a little girl. She looks up when we enter, a smile lighting up her face as her brown eyes scan over us.

“Abbie didn’t come?” she asks, looking behind us. Marian shakes her head.

“Not today she isn’t feeling well,” Marian answers, making me look at Dakari, who has found a spot on the ceiling that suddenly became fascinating, nudging him.

“My lips are sealed,” he states.

“You knocked her up didn’t you?” I whisper to him so no one could hear. He places his fingers to his lips pretending to lock them and throw away the key. I roll my eyes at him before turning to Patricia who is talking to Marian.

“We could really use some more fabric; a lot of the kids’ clothes are too small, and we haven’t got enough towels and blankets,” I overhear her telling Marian.

“Anything you need just tell us, don’t ask. Tell us,” I tell her, trying to encourage her to say what they really need and not pick what they can and can’t go without.

“Write out a list, I will send Dakari back to pick it up later, anything you need, that the kids need. No request is too big, okay, we will make it work. Do you look after all these children by yourself?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No, there are five of us and we take shifts, but I am here all the time,” she answers.

“I will find more people and I will speak to the Kings about organizing an income for those working here. You can’t be expected to do all this for free.”

“Really we don’t mind, we are just happy to have somewhere warm to sleep and food to eat,” she says, but I wave her off.

“No, it’s not good enough. I will speak to them, and we will organize some form of payment or allowances. How is the food situation?” I ask her.

“Fine now that we have the Fae and Abigail growing crops constantly, the castle cooks have been bringing meals down every day mainly soups and stews because there are so many mouths to feed, the main issue is formula we have had some babies come in over the last couple of days, their parents dropping them off, knowing there is food here, a lot of them using this place as a last resort,” she answers. The thought of parents feeling there is no hope but to give their kids over to strangers for the sake of them not being able to provide for them saddened me.

“Do you know their parents?”

She nods. “Yes they stop by every day, there simply isn’t enough beds or enough work for them to provide for their kids,” she says.

“Find them, make room for them. I will organize something, we need workers in the greenhouses. When you see them send them to the castle, assure them they are not in trouble. I will find work for them so they can keep their children. We will also have to organize some sort of childcare arrangements for those parents who are working,” I tell Marian who nods her head in agreement.

“There is an old school down the end of the street that hasn’t been used in forever but it could make a good childcare center and school. It just needs a clean-up; the building is solid and has working plumbing,” Patricia answers. This girl strikes me as incredibly smart, the sort of smarts you only get from living the way we have, with experience on finding ways to survive and knowing the city of the back of your hand.