Anastasia Abbott.
The heroine of the story "The Lost Princess".
Which was funny now that I think about it, she never really became a princess and was directly made to be queen.
I laughed inside at this thought as I entered the orphanage that Anastasia grew up in. The door was made of wood, there were mouse holes and splinters all over the room.
The door made a creak as I opened it and I saw the inside of the orphanage.
The place though seemed to be abandoned, there was only a single person standing over a table on the inner part of the room. This person wore a maroon colored dress went up to her neck. As well as a fierce expression on her face, her posture was rigid.
The first impression I have of this old woman was that she was not very likable. As in the novel I read, she, the owner of the orphanage, is a hateful woman. She would not let an ounce of happiness enter Anastasia's heart.
The rules she set in the orphanage were very strict.
1. No playing in the living room.
2. Candles must lit at dusk and put out when told.
3. Everyone must dress properly without any mistakes, especially when guests enter the place.
And well there was some more rules, I won't list them all out.
But what made her to be a cruel person was that if any of the rules were broken she would punish the child by locking them in a storage room with no lights for 2 nights. Also the food given to them at that time for each day would be a piece of hard bread and a glass of water.
This was partially due to the lack of funds the orphanage had from the government. There was simply to many children being abandoned while the donations were not enough. After seeing the state of the castle, I don't think this was the case though.
The author probably just wanted a sad back story for Anastasia.
According to the state rules, when the children reached a mature age of 18 years, they could stay in the orphanage as a worker or leave and find their own way of living.
Anastasia left as soon as she could from the orphanage and found the job at The Little Bell not long after. She had a likeable face and personality so she was immediately hired even without any previous experience being a waitress. Adding to the fact that she was always nice to everyone, she became instantly liked by her co-workers.
But while the book mentioned the orphanage she lived in, it failed to mention any connections she had within the place. With her personality, she must've made at least one friend in here right?
The old woman turned her head my way as she heard the door creak. Her face instantly changed from expressionless to joy. She smiled widely at me and hurried to welcome me to her orphanage.
'Come in! Come in!'
She took out a chair and gestured for me to sit while completely ignoring Lisa who was behind me.
'Welcome, what can I do for you?'
I look to the front keeping my head held high like a proper noble as I was taught.
'I have come to ask a few questions regarding someone that used to live here.'
'Of course, of course! But to give out information like that.... without anything in return...'
I gave a hand gesture to Lisa to bring out the pouch of money that I have prepared in cases like these. The light brown pouch tied with a tiny rope was put on the table by Lisa. I then loosened the rope that tied the bag, inside a few silver coins shined out in contrast to the darkness in the orphanage.
Seeing the money on the table, the old woman was joyful and her eyes curved while she stood upright.
'What would you like to know?'
ᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢ
Soon I left the small orphanage located in the edge of town and went to search for a person named, "Emma."
She was admitted to the orphanage at the age of 5 when her parents died in a monster attack while they were travelling and she was saved by an adventurer.
That's right. Monsters existed in this world. However they were kept out by the soldiers at the gates. That's why the town right now is so peaceful.
From what the head of the orphanage told me, Anastasia was an quiet child. However she did sometimes misbehave. Her friend Emma on the other hand had been an unruly child.
Emma and Anastasia has been the closest of friends since they met in the orphanage. Whenever one would get into trouble they would help the other out during their locked time in the storage room by sharing their meals through the small crevice at the bottom of the door to the storage room.
The old lady even remembered one time Anastasia laughed in out loud when she was told to stay quiet during meal time, she was punished by being locked in the storage room and Emma sneaked out of her room to accompany Anastasia through the night by sitting with her back to the door of the storage room. It was only in the morning did the old lady saw the small girl asleep on the floor. The next day they were both locked inside the storage room.
Both had chosen to leave the orphanage when they turned 18.
This had not been mentioned in the book. To know the true nature of Anastasia I would like to have a talk with Emma. She would know her best. Whether Anastasia had a smart mind or not, what she wished for the most, and so on. Maybe being her friend for so many years, Emma could be a bit biased in her opinion and whether she would actually talk to me or not was another question.
Right now Emma was my best lead.