"No! I don't care." Sam stormed out of the room without giving me a chance to explain it properly.
"Ugh, you don't have to worry about him," Grace spoke out, it took us by surprise as she barely ever spoke.
"You can talk? Why haven't you said anything until now? You've lived with him until now tell me what his problem is?" Rein spoke still bitter that he couldn't slap Sam, and it seems as though Reuben won't stop slapping Rein anytime soon.
"Why do you keep slapping me!?" He yelped.
"I told you to stop being so rude." He spoke in a low voice.
"How was that rude, it's true that she doesn't speak and that that dumbass is a dumbass." Reuben placed his hand over his head.
"Shut up! You give me a headache…" Reuben spoke.
"I think one of you should learn how to redirect stagnant mana to an incomplete mana core, he'll be fine as long as he doesn't use his mana but we never know," I spoke trying to break the tension that formed in the air.
"Yh well not me, I'm going to watch him suffer." Rein scoffed and walked out before he could get caught by Reuben.
"I don't know why he can't be more understanding, it's like he's aging backward or something. Ugh, I have a headache…" Reuben sat down and placed his head in his hands and sighed, as if Grace understood his pain she walked over and gave him a pat on his shoulder.
"You want me to heal your headache?" I asked.
"Yes… I don't think this is going to go away anytime soon." I placed my hand over his head and healed him. A bright golden light wrapped all over Reuben's body and then sunk into him.
"How are you feeling now?" I asked once again.
"I feel better, I guess I'm just feeling frustrated. I don't know how to keep Rein at bay… He's like a wild cat that won't listen to a word that anyone says." Reuben visibly looked frustrated.
"It's alright I don't mind, just let him express his feelings. He'll come around one day, there's nothing anyone can do to make someone understand when they simply aren't ready, and let's be honest Sam was irking him on." I spoke patting Reuben on his shoulders to cheer him up.
"Your right…" Rein spoke with a sigh.
"Oh for God's sake, it seems like you've got your hands full already… I'll take care of Sam teach me how to do whatever it was that will save his life when need be." Grace spoke out.
"Are you sure?" I asked, she had always been quiet so I had assumed that she didn't like things that inconvenienced her.
"Yh why not? We're all in this together now, just us no adults which means no support but ourselves. I've probably been waiting for this moment… I'm just glad you weren't late." She spoke with more emotion than ever before.
"Thank you… Thanks for trusting me." I stammered a little, who knew that gaining the trust of the people around you could make someone feel so warm?
"You don't have to thank me, you saved us all… This is the least I can do… Also if the kids from Section B trust you this much after much betrayal then I must be blind to not trust you too." She spoke while pointing towards the children who were still peeking out from behind me, curious as always.
"Right, here I'll teach you how to redirect stagnant mana… I can help you practice by changing the pattern of my mana and imitating a stagnant mana."
Once I showed her how to find a mana core and redirect mana Grace was eager to try out her newly learned skill. The glistening in the eyes of those who've discovered their ambitions is truly breathtaking to see, some will crave to witness the glisten gleam further or they will strive to crush it.
Grace was incredibly skilled when working with mana, I could tell she probably had the most potential after Reuben. The days flew by just like that and months passed without much incident, the two girls from Section B quickly picked up literacy and communication.
The girls' new task was to give themselves a name, I wanted them to gain freedom through giving themselves a name that they could cherish. The guild had now been registered and we were searching for a suitable location for the headquarters to start helping parents find their missing children and vice versa.
All of the children have advanced in whichever studies they decided to partake in, Carl being the biggest helper when it came to teaching swordsmanship while Grace helped out in teaching magic and mana manipulation.
Rein and Reuben worked together to lead the children, we had gotten to a nice rotational routine where everyone could help with the work around the orphanage such as cooking, dishes, laundry, cleaning, and looking after the younger children.
The days were peaceful and the summer heat crept up on us, for the first time I could take a break, walk back a little and watch the peaceful days with a smile. The past was now just that, the past.
The future was unknown, I knew very well that the future I knew and altered would have a massive impact on our future now. I learned from a book in the library about the butterfly effect where the most trivial flutter of a butterfly could create a storm big enough to wash away humanity itself.
But… I will never again cower in the face of the unknown like the past, I have things to do and people to protect now. I won't lose anyone or anything for any reason, I will live happily.
- - -
Months had passed and the Empress and Prince Alistair had moved back to the palace under Imperial order. I would visit them often to have tea, we had also found out that the fake would refuse to approach the Empress and Prince when I was near, most days I would stay until dinner and even sleep over in one of the Emerald Palace's spare rooms.
There were many rumors that rose up due to me spending more time with the Empress, she started to refuse to meet even the Crown Prince, and a new rumor that started around a week ago was that I was the Empress's hidden illegitimate child. A rumor that pushed the Emperor further away from the Empress.
"Your majesty, shouldn't we say something to clear up the rumor? I fear that your reputation will be smeared from this." I spoke while sitting in the Emerald Palace's garden, drinking tea with the Empress and Prince, once again for the 5th time this week.
"Does that rumor bother you? I don't mind too much since it's kept the Emperor away from me, if I had to see that fake again I might've stabbed him." She spoke as if it was the most natural sequence of statements.
"Your Majesty there are eyes and ears where you least expect them to be, you should be careful of whom lurks in the dark," I spoke.
"I'm grateful for your worries however, I'm alright… As you know I'm already used to baseless accusations…" The Empress was always held at an arm's length by the aristocracy for having been of common origins, now that they saw a flaw, they flocked to pick at it and gnaw her wounds raw.
As I was about to continue the conversation a commotion from the entrance of the garden could be heard, I excused myself to check what the problem was and moved towards the entrance.
I saw the Crown Prince and second Prince trying to get into the garden as well as a slight black aura wrapping itself around their ankle tighter as I walked closer.
"Who do you think you are to block my path? There is no place in this Empire that should bar my entry." The Crown Prince expressed towards the Theodore knights that were standing guard by the entrance.
The Empress had replaced everyone in the Emerald palace with people from Theadore and it seems that she demanded no one be allowed to enter during our tea times, the second prince who spotted me first pulled his brother back and looked towards me.
"You! Why are you here again? Do you know what kind of hideous rumors are going around because of you?!" The Crown Prince was always more emotionally reactive than any of the other Princes.
"I'm not sure what you are referring to your highness…" I bowed as a simple greeting and answered.
"You have no idea? You've replaced everyone in this palace with your people and you have no idea?! What are you planning to do with the Empress exactly!" He spoke the second prince simply watching on.
"Is this how I raised you?" The Empress's voice sounded out from behind me and I moved out of her way. She sounded furious at the Crown Prince's words.