Lillie Hunt

Chapter 1

I was awoken from my deep nap by a persistent prodding on my shoulder. Groggily, blinking weary eyes, I squinted at the sunshine filtering through my eyelashes. The sky was a fine shade of blue, with fluffy clouds dotting its undefined expanse.

A plump woman with freckled skin and brown hair tied into a bun was standing above me, tapping her foot on the grass around them disapprovingly. "Lillie. You fell asleep in the yard again?"

"Why, good day to you too, Miss Fairbanks," I grumbled, letting my eyelids flutter shut. I wasn't in the mood to listen to the old bat.

I heard a huff of frustration, then felt a strong arm hauling me to my feet. Groaning, I allowed myself to be pulled up, supporting myself unsteadily and peering through narrowed eyes at Miss Fairbanks. The older woman ignored my glare.

Miss Petunia Fairbanks was the stern, but not unkind, supervisor, of the many orphaned children of the Qhaim Kingdom. Facilitating the Sunny Home for Orphaned Children, the old 42 year old was a married woman with wartime experience nursing wounded soldiers during the Kingdom's seventh war, and seeing the helplessness of the dead had apparently opened her eyes up to the innocence of children. Then, she had married one of her patients, and the happy pair had dreamed of raising a family. But when the Fairbanks discovered that they were unable to conceive children, the idea of taking over the desolate town orphanage became a reality. 

Not that I cared, though. As far as I was concerned, Miss Fairbanks was just a handcuff to my freedom.

I rubbed my eyes and looked again at the sky. The last I remembered was lying down in the un-cut grass, picking at the various dandelions, and watching the rising sun. Now the sun was past its zenith, far from the top of the sky and closer to the west, a burning orb of yellow-orange. "How much time has passed?"

Miss Fairbanks tugged my wrist towards the direction of the orphanage's main building. "Seven hours."

I frowned. "What a short nap. What a shame."

My supervisor only groaned and pulled me harder towards the building, and I allowed her to do so. Miss Fairbanks was short and stout, but weak when it came to physical strength. The only reason that she was winning against me was that I was letting her do it.

As we walked across the vast yard, the building came closer. One of the few stucco buildings in town, opposed to the usual brick, the orphanage was an amazing mixture of culture and oppression. It had amazing architecture, with high arches, large windows, and a wide mess hall for the children, but all this was ignored by the enormity of the grief and sadness of the lonely children inside. The warm beige walls were washed out and dusted with a fine layer of grit, and was generally very unhappy. Aside from the main building, there was an outhouse and a barn that basically served as storage for the orphanage's goats and for our food.

Just as we reached the back door, it opened. Brenna Lockwood, a dear friend of mine, emerged, holding a pouch and a basket. Her straight black hair was pulled back into an intricate low braid, and her skin practically glowed its usual warm shade of cocoa. She was draped in a long black cloak and a drooping skirt, the traveling attire for most women in the Kingdom. As Miss Fairbanks and I approached, she stepped out of the doorway and stopped on the dirt path. The door squeaked shut behind her.

"Hey," she greeted me, waving a slender hand. Her teeth were straight and white, save for one misshapen canine. 

Miss Fairbanks and I stopped. Brenna was a solid 5'6". Miss Fairbanks wasn't even 5 feet, and I was just about 5'2". Miss Fairbanks broke out into a huge smile.

"Thank you both, for volunteering to buy us some more bread!" she chirped, shoving me towards Brenna.

I reeled at Miss Fairbanks's glowing expression. "What?"

Miss Fairbanks's wrinkled cheeks seemed to grow bigger as her smile widened. "I need you to both go to Marketplace and buy me a loaf of bread. The bread that we got a few days ago is moldy."

The birds sang around me, but I wasn't feeling the optimism of the day anymore. "You want us to go to Marketplace for one loaf of bread?"

"Yes."

I stepped away from Brenna and Miss Fairbanks. "That's way too far, and it's almost sunset." Marketplace was about a two miles walk away— almost a thirty minute walking trip, and it was already getting dark. "Um, thanks, but no thanks."

Miss Fairbanks snatched the basket from Brenna and thrust it into my arms. "You're going, young lady. And it's not a choice. You go now, because you napped all day. I've given you some money for some bread, and that's all I gave you," Miss Fairbanks said curtly. "There's two lanterns inside also, for if it gets dark." Miss Fairbanks's smile had wilted, into more of a passive-aggressive grin.

"I'm wearing trousers!" I argued, trying to gain leverage. "I thought you said that girls shouldn't go out in trousers—"

Brenna said, "I've got a pullover skirt in the basket that I know you can wear."

I shot her a hot look of fury, and Brenna backed off. Brenna was reliable and intelligent, but sometimes so awfully a teacher's pet that I wanted to slap her.

Miss Fairbanks turned her chin up to the sky. "Good. Put it on now, Lillie."

I hesitated at first, not wanting to do it. But, seeing Miss Fairbanks's insistent stare, I tugged it out of the basket and hopped into it, pulling the ankle-long skirt over my trousers. I didn't care to take off the pants underneath, which made Miss Fairbanks' grin turn to a scowl.

I hated her. 

"Now, I want you to be back by sunset, 8:25. It's about 6:00 right now." The old lady brushed a strand of grey hair out of her face. "No time to waste."

I made a face at my supervisor, but I knew I had no choice. I grasped the basket so tightly that my knuckles turned white. Brenna began to walk away from the building, around it to get to the street and I followed on her tail. Miss Fairbanks shot me one more tight-lipped smile before moving for the door.