A True Prince: Sanders Sides AU

Chapter 5: The Orphanage

The pair trekked towards the town. Roman was nearly giddy to see the village again. He could almost smell the fresh food and flowers when he was faced with something that was clearly not the village.

The buildings were close to falling apart, with broken windows and ruined shutters. The streets were filled with trash, and there was barely even a dandelion in sight, let alone bushels of roses.

The people...oh, the people. Roman could hardly recognize them. Everyone was dressed in dirty rags, not daring to look at each other out of fear of angering the wrong person. If someone did look at something other than the ground, fighting broke out. The kindness that Roman saw was nonexistent here.

"Logan..." For the first time in his life, Roman couldn't find the right words to describe what he was feeling.

"I know, Roman." Logan stared ahead, emotionless. It was difficult to tell, but Roman thought he detected a hint of sadness in Logan's words.

Together they ventured deeper into the town towards the market. Roman didn't think it was possible for him to be more surprised. There was barely any fresh food for sale, and the prices were horrendous. People were paying an arm and a leg for table scraps.

"40 crowns." Roman overheard a shopkeeper say.

"Excuse me," said the buyer kindly. "But your sign says it was one crown an apple. Shouldn't it be 8?"

"The sign's wrong," the shopkeeper spat. "5 crowns each. 40 total."

"I'm sorry," the man apologized. "I only have fifteen. Is there any way we could come to an agreement?"

The shopkeeper ripped the bag of apples out of the man's hands. "No money, no food," he said matter of factly.

"Wait!" The man exclaimed, holding out his money. "Could I get three apples then? Please?"

The shopkeeper regarded the man, looked at the bag of apples, and took the money. Then he began to throw the apples at the man. Roman couldn't take it anymore.

"Excuse me!" he said, charging between the man and the shopkeeper. "I'll purchase those apples, and for a fair price, too!"

"Really?" The shopkeeper stroked his beard. "And how much would that be?"

"Well...it would be..." Roman ran over to Logan. "Logan? How much money do you have?"

Logan stared disapprovingly at Roman. "No," he said. However, once Roman unleashed the puppy eyes, Logan relented, handing over 50 crowns.

Roman paid the shopkeeper, then gave the bag of apples back to the man.

"Oh, thank you so much!" The man said. "I don't know what to say!"

"Don't mention it," Roman said. "It's the least we could do."

"Well, clearly I should offer you something for the fruit of your labors."

The man held up one of the apples as Roman chuckled at the pun. Logan, who had just made his way over to Roman, immediately turned around and began to walk away.

"What?" Roman called after his friend. "Logan, get back here!"

"Whoops, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you don't find puns very a-peel-ing."

"If you would like to pay us back," Logan stated curtly. "Then STOP with the DAD JOKES!"

"Oh, don't mind him," Roman assured the man. "He just gets cranky when he hears a good pun. It's one of his core pet peeves."

The man's eyes lit up. "Ahhhh!!!! Another jokester!" He held out his hand. "The name's Patton. And you are?"

"I'm Roman," Roman said, shaking Patton's hand. "And Mr. Sour Grapes over there is Logan."

"A pleasure," Logan said, refusing to shake Patton's hand. "Well, we really must be going-."

"Nonsense!" Roman shook his head. "Here." He took the bag of apples from Patton. "Let me help you carry these."

"Oh." Patton looked surprised, but pleased. "Well, if you insist."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite Logan's protests, Roman followed Patton to the outskirts of the village. Patton kept them entertained with various jokes and stories as they traveled onward. Eventually, they stopped in front of the most run-down building in the village, and that was saying something.

"Welcome to the orphanage!" Patton said, a huge grin on his face.

The inside was just as run down as the outside. There were a few blankets arranged to make beds, and some hay on the floor to keep the ground soft. Patton had tried to set up separate sections for schooling, playing, and cooking, but it was makeshift at best.

Still, Roman had to admit there was a certain homely feeling about the place. When the trio arrived the kids stopped what they were doing and ran over to give Patton hugs.

"Hey everybody! Did you all get along? No boo-boos? Perfect!"

"Pat?" One of the kids asked. "Who're those guys?"

"These are our new friends, Joan," Patton said. "This is Roman and Logan. They're going to spend the day with us."

The kids cheered, dragging Roman away to play with them. While Logan succeeded in fending off the children, even he couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"I must give you some credit, Patton." Logan looked over at the orphans, who were trying to sing songs, dance, and play dress-up with Roman all at the same time. "You've succeeded in keeping this establishment running and everyone happy, despite the circumstances."

A brief flicker of sadness appeared on Patton's face, but he quickly covered it up with a smile. "Well, that's very kind of you to say, Logan. It might not be the easiest job in the world, but I wouldn't give it up for anything."

"Considering the state of things," Logan glanced around him. "I'm quite impressed. How do you manage?"

"Oh, you know. A little help here, a little nudge there. And of course, the most important thing."

"A solid business model?"

"Love!"

Logan stared dumbfounded, shaking his head. "If you say so..."

A knocking on the door startled Logan out of the conversation. Logically, he knew it could be anyone, but some part of him couldn't help but worry if they had been followed.

"Roman," Logan called.

"What?" Roman rolled his eyes, clearly engaged in his multitasking of child activities.

The knocking was heard again, finally taking Roman out of his stupor. He and Logan glanced at each other, then quickly ran to hide.

As understanding dawned upon Patton, he got up and carefully opened the door, when a new stranger barged into the room, slamming the door behind them.