"Let me go!"
At the front of the church doors was a man who Mary recognized as someone from the nearby town. In his grip was a boy no older than herself. He looked very young. The kid was struggling to get himself out of the intimidating man's iron-clad hold.
"Found this brat trying to pickpocket my wife." The man said, gesturing to the boy. "Orphaned after last year's fire."
'The fire that killed Sister Theresa.' Mary thought. Her heart stung.
"I see." Abbess Jeanne looked down at the boy, who glared back at her.
"Who are you?! Where am I?!" the child spit out, agitated. He reminded Mary of how some of the other children acted when they first came to the monastery. Scared, confused, and defensive.
"Be grateful, boy, that we didn't bring you to the police." The man said. He glared at the child. His intimidating stare quieted the latter.
The Abbess bent down to his height and smiled warmly.
"You're at the Monastery of St. Lucia," she explained.
"Don't worry, we won't hurt you."
"Not physically," Mary said to herself, chuckling internally.
The auburn-haired boy's gaze softened.
"Is that so?" He muttered.
Mary had to admit Abbess Jeanne had her way with words. Even if the Abbess wasn't the brightest towards her, she was far from being the cruelest.
The man let go of the boy, who walked nervously towards the older brown-haired woman. By now, most of the children and nuns had left the vicinity, no longer caring about the noise. Only Mary and a few other people were left.
"What's your name?" The abbess asked.
"-llen." He muttered, looking down. He was acting shy suddenly. Perhaps surprised at the abbess's gentle tone.
"Can you repeat that?"
"Allen." The boy, no, Allen, said. "My name is Allen."
"Well then, nice to meet you, Allen. My name is Jeanne." she extended her hand towards him. He shook it awkwardly.
"Did you bring anything with you?" She asked the silver-eyed boy.
"The kid had a few things." The man handed a brown bag to Jeanne, who gave it to Mary.
"Mary, go lead Allen to one of the spare rooms," Abbess Jeanne ordered. "It's down the hall, to the left."
"Yes, ma'am." The bright-eyed girl answered. She beckoned Allen to follow her.
-
The two children's footsteps echoed throughout the hall. All the other children were in the kitchen, so it was silent.
Mary's voice cut into the deafening silence.
"Y'know, you're very lucky having a room all to yourself." She looked back at Allen, who was walking behind her.
"Is it not very common?" He asked.
"No," Mary shook her head. "It's rare for any of the children to have one."
Soon, they reached his door. Mary gave Allen back his bag.
"My room is a bit more down the corridor, right next to the window at the end of the hall." The blue-haired girl pointed at her door.
"The rooms down here are all single rooms, right?" Allen tilted his head.
"That's correct." Mary nodded, wondering how he guessed that.
"If children having single rooms is rare, why do you have one?" The boy questioned.
"Let's just say I'm a special case." She said, unwilling to divulge any more information.
"Anyway, after you unpack your things, go look for the abbess." Mary continued, "She'll tell you how things work around here."
"Okay," Allen said.
But before Mary could leave, the boy grabbed her arm. She flinched at the contact.
"Wait, what's your name?" He asked. After taking a deep breath, she turned around to face him.
"It's Mary." The girl yanked her arm out of his grasp and walked away, leaving him standing at the front of his door.
"Mary, huh?" Allen stood there, deep in his thoughts.
Mary was famished. Her stomach rumbled loudly.
Rushing towards the kitchen to help finish baking, she completely forgot about her quarrel with Kate.
YOU ARE READING
Folk Devils | D.Gray-Man
Fanfiction"But I'm a monster!" "So what? Do monsters have to be bad?" Mary knew she was different from the other orphans at the church. The way they treated her showed it. But how would that difference shape her life? - Set during the time of Nea, Mana, & Pas...
