"I'm entrusting her to you," Ewan said, looking straight into the eyes of the woman who ran the Ylesse orphanage.
The woman in question, quite elegant with her long brown hair and rather well dressed, had given him a half-hour tour of the four-story building near the city's shopping district.
She showed him the classrooms, the dormitories, and the courtyard where several children were playing together.
Then she explained to him how it worked for the older children like Pavas.
"If no one wants to adopt her, which often happens when a child is too old," she explained with a regretful smile, "we educate them until they are 16 years old. Then they have the choice to join the military academy, the religious order, join a guild, or go off and make a life for themselves. We leave them free to choose."
Ewan had valued the fact that the director of the orphanage had taken this into account, and had shown consideration for the children.
Which, in his time, had unfortunately not been the case.
"But of course, we don't abandon our children once they're gone," the director smiled amiably, as she tucked a lock of her long, straight hair behind her right ear. "They are free to come back if they ever have too much trouble, so we can give them advice on other possible paths."
Orphanages had really changed in a big way, since that time. This also showed the special importance that children had, in a growing human society.
"But tell me, does this child have an identification plate yet?" The director, Arlela Versani, asked. "I don't see one around her neck...."
"Ah, you see... Her parents hadn't had one made yet..." The young man replied with embarrassment.
The woman, who was at least forty years old, had smiled and reassured him that it would not be a problem at all, to which he had replied by insisting that he would give them the necessary funds to cover the making of the plate.
Then, the director had finally shown him photo albums - photos! - of some of the former children.
Photos weren't expensive, but they weren't affordable either, so it pleasantly surprised the young man to see so many different pictures over such a long period of time.
And so it was with these words laden with gratitude, that he had placed Pavas in the hands of the orphanage staff.
"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her," said one of the teachers at the facility, a pair of glasses fixed on his nose. "We really pride ourselves on providing a quality education."
Ewan nodded then, before crouching down in front of Pavas, who was already surrounded by several staff members.
"They're going to take care of you for the next few years, okay?" He said, taking her hands in his. "But if by the time you're 16, you don't know what to do... Or if you feel like it's too hard for you..."
He then reached into his pocket, and pulled out a medium-sized seashell, which he placed in the child's small hand. Then, approaching her, he whispered, to put her alone in the confidence.
"Use this, and I'll come and get you." Said he with a big smile. "Just say my name, and I'll come as soon as I can, okay?"
He had bought the item earlier, during their visit to the market. On a whim, even. But in the end, he did not regret this compulsive purchase. Not for a moment.
Pavas clutched the shell to her chest and nodded, smiling shyly.
He quickly placed his hand on the top of her head, as if to reassure her, then stood up.
He greeted the orphanage staff once more, then turned to leave.
A lump of anxiety had settled in his stomach, and he felt he couldn't help but turn around one last time. So at last, when he reached the end of the street, he did so.
He turned around, and seeing that Pavas was still in front of the building's entrance, waved to her.
The little girl responded by doing the same, then was invited into the building by the principal and one of the teachers.
Ewan was finally able to let out a deep sigh, and feel all the accumulated mental pressure escape from his body. It was not the best choice to make, nor the worst. But it was the only one that represented both a chance for Pavas, and a positive note on his own conscience.
He looked around quickly, and saw that the streets were still extremely busy, even though it was already late afternoon.
But even with all the commotion, he no longer had the enthusiasm to visit the city, nor to buy anything, let alone eat. It seemed that his good mood had remained on the doorstep of the orphanage, along with Pavas.
Bah.
Whatever. He had never been the type to have fun for so little, anyway.
And all day long he had really acted like a stranger; in contrast to his usual self.
He was just going back to his monotonous life, after all.
Well, his 'almost' monotonous life, come to think of it. After all, a dragon was surely waiting for him, a few miles away.
So he hoped that the official job Carciem was going to offer him would not last too long, so that he could quickly fulfill Wynblow's request, and leave her behind, too.
Yes, he was much more comfortable when he was traveling alone, with no one to watch, or no one to be wary of. He had always been a loner, even in the company of others. That was his nature. And that was the natural state he was returning to now. No more, no less.
But in that case, why did he feel so sad?
Was it because he had left Pavas behind? Was he becoming sentimental?
Yet he had always had the personality of a cat, always being there without really being noticed, and slipping away at the first opportunity.
Ah, he didn't know what to think anymore. Now he needed to take his mind off it. And thinking back, maybe this job Carciem offered was the perfect solution.
'Yes,' he thought as he made his way to the military barracks, 'it will surely allow me to sort out my thoughts, and take my mind off things.'