Siren Call

Uprooted

Adalynn released a soft, delicate sigh as she straightened up from mopping the wooden floor, relishing in the sweet ache that came from her young body stretching wearily.

It had been three years since Rollins had left her at the doorstep of Magdalene's orphanage and her figure had begun to curve and blossom generously underneath the gentle Xianggian sun. Indeed, as she traveled throughout the town completing her errands, she received many a whistle of appreciation from the less well-mannered men that spared a glance her way.

She never paid them any mind, determined to merely provide care for the orphans that had now fallen beneath her wing ever since Magdalene became bedridden some months ago.

Despite the occasional pangs of homesickness and heartache that plagued her from time to time, as well as the tender fear that Tal would discover her after all the years that had passed, Adalynn was doing quite well for herself.

"Good morning, Miss Anna," a deep, purring voice called out and Adalynn turned to face Cael, the oldest boy in the orphanage.

Adalynn smiled warmly in response with a scouring blush in her cheeks and offered him a freshly baked roll that she had just finished putting a tangy orange glaze on which he took with gratitude. The morning birds were trilling along the rooftops, signaling the time for breakfast, and she breathed a sigh of relief that she had managed to get the entire meal finished in time as raucous laughter and heavy thuds began to echo around the old building.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked gently, as if he could not quite get the words out quite the way he wanted them to.

Nodding with a smile despite the falsity, Adalynn gestured for him to begin taking the trays of food out to the scores of boys plopping at the table while she rinsed off her hands and untied her apron, ready to begin serving her little boys.

In all the time that she had been here, still not a word crossed her lips. It was not that she was still afraid of discovery, or that she believed herself to be above those around her, but rather the genteel nature that had overcome her. In addition, Adalynn found that the less she spoke, the more were others willing to reveal thoughts and dreams to her as if she were merely a silent witness to their rumblings aloud.

It also kept her quite aware of Tal's locations. Apparently, after having been unable to produce his prized girl, the customer had become quite angered at having lost so much money that he ran Tal out of town, much to her relief. Still, she kept a listening ear out in case he ever returned; word which many people were willing to give her for her discretion in their doings.

Now, her life, albeit not the one she had ever imagined for herself, was one of peace and love with a family of a different nature.

"Alright boys, what do we say?" Cael called out at the head of the table as each boy eagerly greeted Adalynn.

"Thank you Miss Anna," they chorused in cherubic tones before digging eagerly into their breakfast, lovingly provided by the sole female in the house, not including the sickly Magdalene whom they feared to be closer to death with each passing day.

Adalynn patted a few of the younger boys atop the head before taking her place at the other end of the long table and surveyed the chaotic scene before her with a smile.

As she glanced across the table, her eyes met with the deep blue gaze of Cael's who started at being caught before turning away to animatedly speak with one of the younger boys.

Cael, at seventeen years of age, ought to have left the orphanage several years before to follow an apprenticeship but for some unfathomable reason, denied a very wealthy benefactor to remain in their little seaside town. He showed much promise as a carpenter, having crafted many little wooden toys for the younger children, or rapidly fixing a broken chair with ease, but when questioned about his decision, merely stated that he needed to stay and that he was not quite yet ready to leave.