Cali found two friends in the courtyard. Niels sat on the side of a small artificial lake and played with large water lily leaves. Mark stood nearby silently watching the boy.
Apparently, Olivia managed to find the right clothes for these two. A leather sleeveless jacket with a wide belt and simple canvas pants, tightly fitting an impressive size of his legs, were now on the Mark. Surprisingly, she even managed to find boots of suitable size for the orc.
Niels, meanwhile, now looked exactly like an ordinary urban boy from a wealthy family.
Cali stopped in the shadow of one of the arches leading to the garden and leaned back against the wall, continuing to examine her comrades.
Talking about how she met with Mark, Cali, without knowing it, disturbed the memories that raised a real hurricane in the girl's soul. Then it just happened. Chain of events, facts, nothing more. Now those events were as if filled with colors, they became voluminous.
Cali did not feel pity for her companions. Each of them had hard fates, and she knew their stories, through and through. Instead of sadness, compassion, or fear, she suddenly felt warm and proud. During these five years, each of her people became more than a family, they were part of her heart. And no matter what, she will always see them as they are.
At that moment, Niels lifted his head and turned towards Cali. The melancholy expression on his face slightly faltered and lit up with an uncertain smile. Even though the corners of the lips only parted somewhat to the sides and quivered not used to this move, but in his eyes lost unnatural glassiness.
"What are you doing?" - Asked Cali, coming closer.
"Nothing," - Niels replied.
"Thinking what to do next." - Mark answered almost simultaneously. The orc spoke very rarely. And when such a need arose, it was always concise and to the point.
Niels winced at orc's forward answer.
"And what did you think?" - Cali asked straight, deciding not to beat around the bush either. The boy shrugged in response again turning to his water lilies. Mark paused for a moment, apparently picking up the words, but still answered.
"We are very grateful to you Cali for allowing us to stay. But two days have passed, and it is becoming more and more evident with every minute that we do not fit in. Perhaps Niels will be able to find a job for himself here, but I ..."
"It was only two days," - Cali interrupted him without listening. - "If you were waiting for us to be greeted with fanfare here, then I hope you already understood how wrong you are. And if you want to find your place here, you will have to try yourself. This place is no better and no worse than others."
Cali understood very well that she was somewhat strict with these two. But something told her that this was the only way she could help them feel more confident here.
"What can you understand? Everybody was waiting for you here!" - Yelled Niels suddenly. Not looking at Cali, the boy angrily grabbed the nearest leaf from the surface of the lake and crumpled it in his palm.
"Uh-ho!" - Cali thought to herself, peering attentively at him. Perhaps in the image of the Stone Beast, the boy seemed still quite a child. But now, in simple clothes, it was easy to see that he had already begun to turn into a man. And along with maturing, feelings that are hard to control usually grow too.
Cali's father used to love telling her funny stories about how Paris freaked out at that age. But Niels was not a simple boy, and the feelings locked up for 5 years now broke out of him like an unstoppable torrent, and unfortunately, he did not manage to learn how to cope with them.
Cali tried to find words to calm the boy up, but nothing came to mind. Silence tightened. Her thoughts were interrupted by the rustle of a dress behind her back. Apparently, Valeria heard their conversation, her face clearly showed concern.
"My boy," - she approached them and turned to Niels. He only shrugged in irritation, continuing to look at the surface of the water.
"You're right." - this phrase already attracted more attention of the guy, Niels even turned around to look at the woman.
"Nobody was waiting for you here," - she continued, ignoring the panic that flashed in the guy's eyes, mixed with anger. - "As well as for many others. It always happens that way. New people come into your life even if you don't expect them. Only over time, if you want it, some will realize that they have actually been waiting for you, here, all their lives, even if they didn't know anything about you before that."
She paused, letting the boy ponder her words. And then she smiled broadly.
"In fact, we now have absolutely no time to talk about it. I really need your help." - she said a little louder. - "If your leader certainly will?!" - She went on, looking at Cali.
Having received an affirmative nod from her niece, Valeria continued.
"One close friend of mine some time ago founded a school in one of the districts outside of the hexagon. Recently, the neighboring building partially collapsed, and she managed to get it at a fabulously low price. But to repair it she needs a lot of hands, and money. She is not that well off. Plus, she is terribly proud and does not accept any funds from me anymore. I sometimes go there to at least help with the children. But the area is not the safest. Usually, one of our servants escorts me there, but today, as luck would have it, everyone is busy."
She paused meaningfully, looking from Mark to Niels and back.
"We will be happy to see you there, madam." - Mark understood her hints first.
"I can help with the construction, but I will not sit with the children. I do not like these snotty ..." - Niels said through clenched teeth, apparently the guy was still boiling inside, but Valerie's words noticeably cooled his anger.
Valeria barely suppressed a chuckle and continued with a serious face.
"Thank you. This is just wonderful. Then we'll depart immediately. I just need to grab a couple of things. I'll be waiting for you at the gate in ten minutes." - having received nods from her new companions, Valeria was ready to head to her room as a panting servant ran into the courtyard.
"Lady Marsters, Young Mistress" - he turned to both women in a hurry. - "There .. there they came to you." - He said stammering and waving his arms.
"To me?" - asked Valeria puzzled.
"No, they asked young Lady Masters, but I thought ..." - the young guy was obviously alarmed, and transferred a confused look from the aunt to her niece, not knowing how to proceed.
"So who did come, did they introduce themselves?" - Valeria asked, soothingly patting the servant on the shoulder.
"A young girl and a man, they were here a couple of days ago. Lady Rutland and Lord Trevelyan."
Valeria raised her eyebrows in surprise. It was worth expecting that Anastasia will appear soon. Despite her behavior at the last meeting, in her youth, she was like a puppy that was tied to Cali. And even if the girl was very emotional, the shock of the first meeting hardly will keep her at a distance from her old friend for a long time.
But Lord Trevelyan ...
Valeria was well aware of the close relationship between him and Lord Rutland, but she also heard about the terrible stories that enveloped the figure of the Head of Blacks.
But as soon as Valeria glanced at Cali and caught a faint blush that appeared on girl's cheeks upon mention of Mr. Trevelyan's name, a new idea made her hesitate with conclusions.
"Something interesting is coming! "- she thought to herself, hiding a sly smile, and turned to the servant.
"Tell them that Cali will meet them in the yellow drawing-room, do not forget to run into the kitchen and order tea and snacks. I leave together with Mr. Mark and Mr. Niels, and we will not be until the end of the day."
Valeria dismissed the servant with a gesture and moved closer to the slightly bewildered girl, leaning to whisper in her ear.
"You look lovely today, dear. I bet anyone will fall in love with such a beauty." - And without waiting for an answer, she hurried to her room, evoking surprised looks from the servants who she met on the way, with her wide smile.