Finn's days wore on, endless in a sense. She re-read Riley's and Roland's letters to remember them. The last two she'd gotten had been a surprise. Roland's last letter made her soul feel... she didn't know what, exactly. But feel.
Other than that, life was bordering on monotony. She woke, she worked in the garden, she helped Mrs. Sherman and occasionally helped with the orphanage. Slowly but surely, the number of children there began to dwindle, to Jessie's great relief. The children from the unnamed village still unnerved Finn, but they seemed to be adjusting to life in Klain well enough to find adoptive parents.
She tried to take one or two under her wing, inviting them to go with her to run some errands for Jessie. They needed more fabric for clothes for the children, and some extra thread for sewing patches on what they did have. The boys were taciturn but relatively obedient, named Tom and Bran. They looked similar enough to be related, but the limited conversation Finn was able to have with them indicated otherwise. Their light brown eyes almost precisely matched the color of their hair, which made them quite striking.
They happened to walk by the Shermans' home on the way, and Finn waved to Victoria, who was playing with a ball in front of the house. The girl froze when she saw who was walking with Finn, and fled into the walled garden at a full sprint. The boys at Finn's side took off after her with dark looks on their faces, shocking her to her core.
"Boys! Get back here!" She called after them as they got to the archway leading to the garden. They both froze, and for a second she thought they were responding to her command. Then both hit the ground, holding their hands to their faces and scooting frantically back from where Victoria had fled.
"Gah!!" said Tom, "Did you get sprayed by a skunk?? I can't even breathe!" He gagged and choked, trying to put distance between himself and the girl who now peeked out at them.
Bran seemed closed to vomiting as he coughed and scrambled to his feet, getting behind Finn. "Let's get out of here!" he managed to hoarsely whisper.
"Boys, go ahead a little to the store, I'll be there soon. It's one block ahead on the left. Do not cause trouble and just wait outside." If Victoria had indeed been sprayed by a skunk, Mrs. Sherman should be told about it immediately.
The boys fled up the street, and Finn took a deep breath and approached this little girl. Where would she have found a skunk? There didn't seem to be that much wildlife inside the city walls.
"Victoria, what's going on?"
The little girl shrugged, seeming baffled. Finn took a small test sniff of the air, and found nothing amiss. She came closer and sniffed again, still not detecting any foul odors. Finally, she bent over the little girl and inhaled deeply just above her raven-colored hair. She smelled of sunshine with a hint of dirt, but nothing so offensive as to cause any reaction whatsoever.
Finn blinked. Perhaps the boys were teasing her, playing a cruel joke to make the child think she smelled awful. If so, their performances were convincing.
"Um, why don't you play inside for a while, dear? I'll be back in time for supper."
"Yes ma'am," Victoria responded hesitantly, bewildered and maybe a little bit hurt by what had transpired.
Finn arrived at the store where the two boys were standing still, cheerless and silent. Not at all like children should be. Should she chance asking them anything? It didn't seem like she could make them any worse by doing so at this point.
She led them into the store and made the needed purchases. Well-behaved boys would have naturally stepped up to receive the purchases and carried them, but the two remained stoically behind her. Thanking the merchant, she turned and led them back out.
"If you're going to find new homes, one of the first steps you need to take is learning proper manners. For instance, never letting a lady carry anything if you are available to help. You can also work on things like 'please', 'thank you', 'you're welcome', and similar polite phrases." She handed each of them a parcel from her arms. To their credit, they did not complain, and their expressions changed only slightly.
"What kind of homes are there here that might take us in?" Tom's question was not hopeless as Finn expected, just curious.
"Many kinds, I suppose," Finn thought out loud, "There are kind childless people like Dr. and Mrs. Sherman, families with lots of children and larger hearts that won't mind having more around, richer families in the city center that have plenty to spare and want to bless someone in need."
"How do we get one of those rich families to take us in?" Asked Bran. Finn wanted to giggle at his desire, but he was completely deadpan and serious.
"Wealth isn't everything. It's often the simpler families that are more full of love and laughter," Finn mentally contrasted Ashley's upbringing with her own poorer farm life. These boys needed love and laughter more than anything else, in her opinion.
"Can you tell me anything about what your homes were... before?" Finn asked tentatively.
Tom stared at her. "Normal."
She tilted her head at the monotone response. "Did you two live near each other?" She tried a slightly different tactic.
The two boys exchanged a glance, and Tom nodded. "Near enough."
Well that was something at least.
"How are you coping with all this change? Can you talk about it at all?" Finn switched back to open-ended questions despite their inefficacy. It felt too wrong to continue pressing for details on two orphans.
"We're fine. We don't want to talk." Came the all too predictable reply. Finn sighed. She took the long route back to the orphanage, not willing to pass by the Shermans' home again after the clash with Victoria before. This gave her more time to think of conversation to have with the boys.
"I think... at least I hope, that talking about it would help you feel better? I can't make you, obviously, but I'd like you to consider it." Finn tried again. "I spent a long time pushing my feelings away and ignoring them, and it didn't work out very well."
"Can you tell us anything about getting a good home or not?" Bran asked impatiently.
"Well, kindness is a good start. People love when children are kind." Finn offered.
"Kind?" Tom seemed confused.
"Yes, kind. If you see someone who needs help, you help them. If you see someone who feels sad or bad, you try to comfort them or do something to cheer them up. Smile at people just to brighten their day a little. Share a toy with someone. Kindness." When taking care of the children of the village, the kindest children always pulled at her heart the most. Surely anyone who visited the orphanage would be moved by it.
The two boys fell silent again, hopefully absorbing her words. Watching them from the corner of her eye as they walked, she saw them looking at each other as if having a silent conversation. A woman passed them on the cobblestones going the other direction, and Bran tried a tentative but strange smile at her. Finn almost tripped, but caught herself. This may have been the first time she'd seen one of the mystery orphans smile. It was not happy, but effort was there.
The stranger seemed mildly unnerved by the look, but smiled back at Bran, and patted his head as she passed. As soon as she had turned away, he shook his hair. "I didn't like that."
Finn pressed her lips together in thought. How was she ever going to help these children get a home that would suit them?
She continued pondering the problem all the way back to the orphanage. Bran elbowed Tom when another person approached, and apparently that was Tom's cue to try smiling. It came out strained, like when a person is saying thank you for a gift they really don't like. Finn covered her mouth with her hand to hide her expression.
The man tipped his hat at Finn as he passed and gave the boy a nod. Tom let out a breath he'd been holding, as if the smile had taken enormous effort. Finn shook her head. What odd children.
Arriving back at the orphanage, the boys dutifully went inside and handed the purchases to Jessie. She thanked them sincerely, if a little absent-mindedly, until they trained painful smiles on her and said "You're welcome," in unison.
Jessie stared at them as they left the room, then swung her gaze to Finn, "What did you do to them??"
"They were asking my advice on getting homes, and one of the things I mentioned was being kind by smiling to brighten someone's day. I guess they took it to heart." Finn was equal parts amused and perplexed by the boys' attempt at changing their behavior. Maybe they knew that real healing could begin in a safe environment like a new home with a loving family, and were anxious to get to one. Maybe they'd just grown tired of being in the orphanage and wanted out. Hopefully they wouldn't run away like Roland once had in desperation.
"Well, thank you, I think. That was a little unsettling, but perhaps a good change." Jessie decided. Their constant frowns certainly weren't pleasant. Smiling could be better.
"I have to get back to water the garden, but I'll try to come back and help more another day," Finn gave the other woman a quick hug.
"Thank you for all your help. As of today we're down to six children left who need homes, and it's much more manageable." Jessie still seemed a little stressed, but not nearly the scattered mess she had been the first day Finn came.
"I'm so glad. I hope they all find homes soon." Finn waved and left. The days were hot now, and certain plants in the garden needed more water to keep from drying out in the heat. She made a mental note to add more kitchen compost to the soil to try and keep more moisture in it.
She had grown more and more familiar with Klain's streets and no longer needed to pay close attention to where she was to keep from getting lost. She let her thoughts wander slightly as she came closer to home, indulging in little daydreams about a rider coming to tell her that everyone from the village was safe and had been rescued, or Roland coming home for another surprise visit to give the news himself.
She had to pull her mind back to the present, reminding herself that she needed to go by the town hall later to check on Ashley. The woman was assigned to guard it, and although they couldn't speak while she was on duty, Ashley usually offered a brief, strained smile to show that she was still holding on. Finn felt terrible for her but didn't know how to help.
As she turned the corner, a rider in uniform was dismounting a horse, taking a small bundle, and walking up to the Shermans' door. She broke into a run. Though she could only see the man from the back, and he wore a helmet, the outline of his shoulders was familiar. Could it be?
Hearing her running footsteps approaching, the man turned to face her.
"Riley! You're safe! I'm so--" Finn stopped cold in her tracks. A scabbing wound marred the right half of his face. Claw marks from just in front of his ear to the corner of his mouth. But more shocking than that was the expression of wretched helplessness on his face.
And Roland's coat in his hands.