Lost and Found
Rispah Cooper had business deep in the lower city, the moon had risen by the time she had finished. The buxom redhead was wary, her skin prickled. On a whim she took a road that would lead her past the Temple district.
The starlight and light of the full moon lit her way, tossing shadow across the cobblestones. Her soft shoes made no noise as they padded toward The Dancing Dove. George was waiting for her.
A sound in the distance made Rispah turn slightly, slowly she exposed her dagger from its hiding place in her sash. Her steps did not slow, but each movement was weighed and careful. She breathed in the scent of incense. Rispah was passing the Goddess' Temple now.
Assuming the sound was an attacker, she reasoned, now would be a poor place to attack anyone, let alone the queen of the Ladies of the Rouge. The temple and palace guards would hear sounds of a scuffle, something Rispah would like to avoid. The guards would only cause trouble.
She heard a new sound, closer than the other, it might have been stifled crying. Rispah followed the sound, prepared to for a fight.
Behind the Temple of the Mother Goddess a stretch of courtyard bloomed, a silver splendor of flowers and lush grass ended at a towering tree. Rispah put away her knife, she didn't want to frighten any of the guards that might be patrolling, but she kept her hand inches from its hiding spot. The sound was stronger now, and was certainly not the sound of an attacker.
It was a low wheeze, as if someone was hiding tears behind heavy breaths. She walked to the tree, and studied the courtyard. The path had turned from cobblestone to dirt beneath her, which lead to the Temple itself. The tree shaded the path from the moonlight, driving a huddled something into shadow.
Rispah thought it was a trick of the light for a long moment, but suddenly realized that whatever was there was the source of the noise. She approached warily. Her hand remained over her knife.
What she saw shocked her, she could only stare at the child who huddled in rags at her feet. Rispah knelt down and carefully pulled the rags from the girls face. The little girl flinched and pulled away from the touch, watching Rispah with black eyes.
"Sorry, younglin'" Rispah said soothingly. "It's alright. Don't you worry none." Rispah locked eyes with the girl, the blackness of them made her shiver. "It'll be alright, come with me and we can get some food in you. Wouldn't that be nice?"
Rispah helped lift the girl to her feet. The child was no more than five or six, her face was thin and pointed with those large black eyes. Her skin was pale in the moon light and her hair was pure white. On closer inspection, it seemed like her hair had been drenched in clear oil, a rainbow sheen was visible in the moonlight. Rispah picked up the child and balanced her on her hip.
"You're a light little thing, ain't you?"
***
Eleni Cooper couldn't sleep. She worried about her son and the other boys in the Rouge. Today was a grand day for him, and a dangerous one. Today George Cooper would become the King of thieves. Pride and worry warred inside of her, more worry than pride she thought, as was reasonable. She loved her son dearly, of course, every inch of his crooked heart.
She fixed herself tea as she considered the things that her son did tonight. He was ensuring his place as Rouge, but that was all she knew. It was surely something illegal. Eleni felt her magical alarm system trip, but the aura of the person was familiar. Or one of them, the other aura was blindingly confusing, a mass of tangling colors and lights. She pulled out two more mugs and filled them with her willow tea.
Eleni turned to see Rispah clutching a small girl in her arms. "Rispah?" she questioned as she held her arms out for the girl.
"I found her, Aunt Eleni, behind the Temple of the Great Mother. The courtyard, under that large hazel that's split at the center. I asked at the Temple, they shooed us off."
"It was Erika, I'd wager, afraid you'd abandon her there. They have no resources for children."
"I couldn't just leave her," Rispah said, "but I've news for George."
"I hope its for his benefit?" Eleni questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"It is."
"Go then, niece, I will tend her," she said, stroking the child's hair. "For the evening if you need. We can find a place for her at first light."
Rispah nodded to Eleni and left without another word, her hair was mussed and flew behind her retreating form like a flag. Eleni dumped the tea she had poured for Rispah and set the other cup in front of her guest, she also pulled out a loaf of bread and a jar of homemade jam. Eleni took a fork and spread the jam onto the bread and gave a piece to the girl.
The girl looked at the offering and said, in a small bell voice, "Thank you." She ate the bread in seconds and licked the crumbs off her hands. Eleni took a sip of her tea before setting another piece of jam covered bread in front of the girl.
As the girl busied herself with the tea and bread Eleni said, "You are very welcome. My name is Eleni."
"I'm Kei."
"It's very nice to meet you, Kei."
"It's very nice to meet you, too."
"Where is your mother, sweetling?"
"I don't have a mother."
"Who takes care of you?" Eleni asked.
Kei was puzzled for a long moment and looked at the table before answering. "I take care of me."
Eleni didn't want to push too much on the girl, she seemed confused or disoriented to say the least. So Eleni remained silent, pondering over the girl. "Where do you live?" she asked after a while.
This question also puzzled the girl. She took a long moment to think about it before she shrugged and replied, "Not here."
"I see," Eleni said, Kei yawned widely and rubbed her eyes. "Are you tired?" Kei nodded. Eleni smiled at her and said, "Come on and help me make up a bed for you." Eleni left the cups and bread where they were and returned to them when she had seen Kei safely to bed. She put the food away and turned to the cups. Before she rinsed them in her rinsing basin she looked at the tea leaves, a good friend of hers had taught her that the future could be read from the dregs of ones tea.
In her own cup she saw a tree, a good sign, luck and happiness. She rinsed the cup and turned to look at Kei's. Her knee's numbed as she registered the bottom of the cup. She set the cup into the basin and braced herself on her chair.
There was nothing. No leaves, no lingering drops of tea. She had certainly used leaves. That was a fact. What did that mean for the child? A blank slate, no future? Eleni breathed out, and murmured, "Goddess."
***
George went to his mother's house at noon, Rispah had told him about the girl that she had found on her way back to the Dancing Dove and about his mother's kindness in taking the girl. He had every intention of finding the lost girl's family and returning her to them. It should be a simple matter for him, and there would be no need to put his mother out any more.
When he entered the house he found the girl first, she was in the living room folding a pile of clothing. She had stopped her chore to stare blindly at nothing. She didn't even notice him come into the room. He looked at her, taking in her odd appearance. Her hair was stark white against pale skin. As he turned to see her face, a petite nose over a bottom heavy lip, he noticed that even her eyes were white, he thought for a moment that she might be blind.
"Hello," he said kindly to the tiny thing. At his voice she blinked, her eyes slowly gained color, as if the whiteness drained away. Her eyes turned completely black for a moment and then were normal, although black as pitch.
The girl grinned at him. "Hullo, your majesty," she said. George fought against the surprise as he watched the little girl curtsy.
"And who might you be, youngin'?"
"Kei."
"A pleasure to meet ye. Is my Ma about?"
"She's in the kitchen."
"Thank ye, Kei." George wandered off to the kitchen, thinking about the strange Kei. He found his mother fixing lunch and he greeted her.
"George," she said with a smile, "You look well."
"I'm a bit off my mark actually, Ma. That younglin' in there is fair curious."
"She is," Eleni agreed. "She doesn't seem to know who she belongs to."
"She don't?"
"Not when I asked her."
George paused for a moment. "I thought it fair foolish of ye te tell her what I do, Ma."
She stopped to stare at her son, dropping her fixings. "I didn't say a thing about you to her. Why...?"
"But, when I came in. She did somethin' funny with her eyes then called me majesty," George protested. "You didn't...?"
His mother shook her head, "Rispah wouldn't have either." Mother and son stood for a long moment.
"She doesn't have the Gift. Nor the Sight, so far as I can tell," George commented.
"Something else then," Eleni said, she picked up a plate and resumed cooking.
"Something else."
Kei came into the room then, smiling at the two of them brightly, "I finished the clothes, Eleni."
"Why, thank you, Kei," she praised. "Come sit with George and me, we'll have lunch, yes?"