Shades of Gold and Blue | Finnick Odair

Ten

Picture at the top is the face claim for Caspian.

Heidi wasn't wrong, the orphanage looks likes it's been taken over by wild animals. When I walk through the doors of the orphanage there's a boy swinging from the light fitting, another group launching some kind of thick porridge across the room and a boy runs past me with his face caked in mud. It doesn't take them long to notice me though and the noise quickly dies down when they do.

I wander through the sea of children, offering them small smiles as I pass and they stare up at me as though I'm some kind of alien from another world.

"Can I help you?"

I look towards the voice and see a lady with white hair making her way over to me with a cold look on her face. "Hello, my name is Cass-"

"I know what your name is child, what are you doing here?"

"Oh," I'm thrown off by her tone, "Well, I had been planning to visit the town today but I was told it was closed and so I thought I might visit here and see what help I could be."

The lady looks at me suspiciously, "You've come to help . . . here?"

I smile, "I have."

She still seems uncertain of me but waves me through the room and I follow behind, struggling to keep up with her long strides. "I'm Bessie Hart and I'm one of three matrons who run the orphanage, you may call me Mrs Hart. We typically have between seventy and one hundred children with us at any one time, in the summer months it's less as some of the older children will just sleep on the beach but in the winter months we are almost always over our capacity."

"And what is your capacity?"

"Seventy-five."

I frown, "Then how do you-?"

"We manage." She walks around a bucket on the floor, half full with water. "Mind the leak."

"Shouldn't that be fixed?"

"By all means be my guest – god knows it would a lot warmer in here if it were mended."

I get the feeling that Mrs Hart isn't going to warm up to me being here any time soon, so I follow her in silence through the orphanage which consists of one hall filled with cot beds and mattresses on the floor and in the corner of the hall, a small stove with some pots and pans hung overhead.

That's where we're headed now and two other women who are stirring something on the stove turn to look at me in surprise.

"The girl has come to help," Mrs Hart says to the other two as we approach. "This is Mrs Griffin," she nods towards an old lady who laughs at me and shakes her head as though I'm crazy, "and Miss Crawley." The other lady who looks about my mother's age gives me a kind smile and waves me over.

"Hello."

Miss Crawley smiles, "Hello Miss Snow."

"Oh no, you can call me Cassiopeia or Cassia or Cassie. Miss Snow is what my teachers call me." I laugh nervously.

"If I'm to call you Cassiopeia then you should call me Isla," she smiles, "It's so very kind of you to come and visit us. I'm sure you're very busy."

I shake my head, "Actually, I'm trying to keep myself busy before I go to see the ocean. Although I heard there are some strange horses that might drown me if I go swimming today."

She laughs but I can tell she's not laughing at me, rather with me, "Ah, you were warned about the kelpies then?" I grin at her as she chuckles and whispers to me, "Just an old wife's tale I'm afraid, we're not all that interesting here."