Claire and Owen jumped off the sleigh immediately, calming Magnifique as he reared up in terror, giving a shrill whinny and kicking his front legs spastically. James was utterly horrified. He slid down from his seat with wide eyes and grabbed his head.
"Oh my god, my god!"
Claire covered Magnifique's eyes and pointed him to the castle.
"Go home, boy! Go home!"
The horse understood her meaning, charging away from the quickly-spreading fire without protest. Claire and Owen ran towards it.
"Make sure no one's still inside!" Owen shouted, "If you go in for a rescue, crawl beneath the smoke!"
James shook his head quickly and snapped out of his stupor, following them into town. The villagers were shoveling snow onto the flaming houses. A middle-aged woman lifted her head as Claire passed by.
"Claire! The whole village is burning to the ground!"
"I noticed! It's hard to miss a giant bonfire!"
"We've been trying to put it out for an hour, but it's just too big!"
The woman grunted as she was knocked over by two men, who rushed towards the nearest building with buckets of water. Claire helped her to her feet.
"Forget the fire, Sableuse. We need to get everyone to safety. Is there anyone left in the buildings?"
"I don't know! We didn't move the orphan girl, because she was sick, and-"
Claire made a dash for the orphanage. Owen followed and held her back when she reached the door.
"I'll go."
"Why you?"
"This isn't the time to argue!"
He kicked down the door and disappeared into the smoky building, which was not yet fully engulfed by the fire. Claire considered going in after him, but as she made her first step, he came out with a pale girl in his arms. The child coughed and looked around with glazed eyes.
"What's going on?"
Claire wrapped her coat around the sick orphan.
"It's okay, Sweetheart. You're safe now."
But when the girl saw what was happening to her village, she began to cry. Claire didn't blame her. It was becoming clear that no matter how quickly the fire was extinguished, there was no hope of salvaging what little remained of the affected buildings.
The village was uninhabitable.
When the last embers faded, the villagers made their way up to the castle in a procession led by Claire and Owen. James followed third, tailed by Maboul, who had vanished during the incident. Owen carried in his arms the orphan girl, regretting his decision to send back the horse . . . Well, Claire's decision, but he was willing to take the fall for it. The child shivered in his arms, white as snow and dangerously feverish. He gave her a look of pity as her tiny fingers tightened around his collar. When the castle finally came into view, Owen handed Fleur to Claire and addressed the villagers.
"This castle is your home for the winter. We will be sharing food, water, and anything else that grows scarce with time. We weren't expecting visitors, so the castle is not prepared, but by the end of the day, we'll have you settled. You're free to roam as you please, but do not go into the dark part of the forest. That's an order."
The villagers seemed too tired to question his command.
Hearing the halls buzz with chatter and frantic footsteps filled Owen's heart with a kind of tugging anxiety that made him jumpy and irritable. He was constantly on edge, so much so that whenever someone called his name, he'd tense up and drop whatever he'd been carrying, which was more often than not fragile. Claire questioned the sudden disappearance of at least five teacups, but said nothing about it. Yet even in her silence, he could tell that she was worried about him. He put on a smile and tried to keep his knees from knocking whenever she was around, but Claire was no fool. When they walked past each other in the front hall around eleven, she caught him by the shoulder and whispered in his ear.
"They don't know what you were. The only reason they'd suspect anything is because you're afraid. Relax. You're one of them."
Owen nodded, but she could tell that he wasn't convinced. She squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"I'll stand by you, no matter what. You don't have to worry, though. Our days of fear are over."
Owen squeezed her hand back, and they parted ways. He felt only a little better.
Around noon, Owen brought a fresh set of blankets into the temporary room of Fleur. The child was nestled deep in her child-sized bed, hair askew and skin bloodless. She took shallow but audible breaths, and it was clear that she was barely hanging on. As Owen opened the door, however, she made a small sound. Owen turned to see if she was awake. Her eyes were open, so he decided to greet her.
"Hello."
"Hi. You're Owen, right?"
He nodded.
"You're a king?"
"I am."
"What's it like, living in a castle?"
Owen smiled.
"You tell me. You're in one right now."
Her eyes went wide as dinner plates.
"This is your castle?"
He knelt beside her bed.
"Mhm. Actually, this room used to be mine when I was young."
She looked around with awe.
"Wow. I've never been anywhere this nice before. The bed is so comfortable . . ."
"Do you need more blankets?"
"No, thank you. I think I'm okay. These ones are a lot bigger than the sheets at the orphanage."
"Thicker, you mean?"
"That too, but my feet don't stick out from these ones."
Owen smiled.
"Well, you can take them home with you once you move out."
Fleur's smile disappeared.
"How long am I staying here?"
"For as long as you need to. I won't make you go back to the village until they rebuild the orphanage."
Fleur bit her lip.
"Do I have to go back?"
"Well . . ."
"I don't mean to be a bother, and I won't stay here longer than I should, but I'd rather be sent to a new orphanage, if I have to go at all. I've met every grown-up in this town, and none of them wants me."
Owen felt his heart sink.
"I'm sure there's someone . . ."
"There isn't. Every couple wants children of their own, and the ones that already have some couldn't afford to take care of anyone else."
"I'm sure you'll find someone . . ."
Fleur shook her head.
"Nobody wants kids unless they're their own. My mama and papa are gone, so there's no one who wants me."
Owen brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
"Fleur, there are plenty of people in the world, and any couple who'd turn down a sweet girl like you would have to be crazy. You'll find your family."
She smiled gently.
"I hope so . . . Can I tell you a secret?"
"Sure."
She lowered her voice.
"Sometimes, I pretend that my parents are still out there, and that they're looking for me right now."
"Oh."
"I know it's not true, but I wish it was," she mumbled as she kneaded the comforter in her hands, "I read storybooks where orphans find out that their parents are secretly alive, but they can't come back to their children because they're lost at sea or kidnapped by monsters. I like to imagine that the same thing happened with my parents, and when I sail away to find them, I battle demons and mythical creatures to get to a secret island where they're waiting for me, and they tell me how brave I am for rescuing them before taking me home and living happily ever after. I'm not like that in real life, though. I'm always afraid."
Owen chuckled.
"Fleur, let me tell you something important: everyone is afraid, even grown-ups, but that doesn't stop them from being brave. If you do what scares you, that's the true mark of courage."
She sighed.
"I wish I was like that."
Owen rubbed his chin, then stood up and made his way over to a chest on the other side of the room. He rummaged through it, then returned to her bedside with a stuffed bear.
"This is Oos. My mother made him for me when I was your age, because I used to be afraid of thunder. I sat with him under the sheets until the storms passed. It's easier to be brave when you're protecting someone you care about."
He tucked the bear under her arm.
"I haven't been able to take care of him for quite some time, and I think he'd be happier with you."
Her mouth hung open.
"Do you mean forever?"
"Forever and ever," Owen beamed.
Fleur cuddled the bear happily, then hugged Owen's neck.
"Thank you!"
He laughed.
"Don't mention it. I'm glad I could be of help."
Fleur smiled at Oos, then cocked her head and gazed at Owen with wonderment.
"You know, you're not like the others."
Owen tensed up.
"What do you mean?"
"You're nicer. I believe you're a real gentleman," she said matter-of-factly.
Owen smiled and ruffled her hair.
"I'm glad you think so. Get some rest, okay?"
She sat up as he turned to leave.
"Will you be back?"
"Of course."
"When?"
"Tonight . . . But only if you go to sleep."
She nodded.
"I will. And I'll take good care of Oos."
Owen smiled as he reached for the door handle.
"Alright. Sleep tight, Peanut."
"See you later, Owen, and thank you!"
He winked and shut the door as gently as he could manage, but rendered the action pointless when he turned and gave a startled yelp. Claire was standing in the hallway with her arms crossed.
"I didn't expect to find you here," she mumbled.
"M-me neither. What's going on?"
She quirked a brow.
"Nothing. I just heard you talking to Fleur, so I decided to see what was up."
"How much did you hear?"
"Enough. She seems sweet."
"She is."
"Do you like her?"
"Of course."
"Should we keep her?"
Owen paused.
"Keep her, as in-"
"Yes."
"Well, I don't want to make a decision right away."
"Bullshit. I can see you've made up your mind."
He twiddled his fingers.
"If you don't want to-"
"I never said that."
"But these things take time."
"No, Owen. You know how lonely she is. I can see it in your eyes. It would be no trouble for us to take care of her, and your heart is set on it, I can tell."
He sighed and looked over his shoulder, thinking about the orphan on the other side of the door.
"Maybe. But you know how I let my heart make all the decisions."
"There's nothing wrong with that."
"But I don't know the first thing about parenthood, and she's not even ours."
Claire touched his cheek.
"You don't have to birth a child for it to be yours. That girl may not have come from you, but you're very much alike."
"Because I'm so juvenile?"
"Partly, yes," she said with a smirk, "But more importantly, you both know what it's like to be isolated, and to feel unloved. She needs you just as much as you needed me . . . and as much as I needed you."
Owen gave a half-smile.
"Can we really do it?"
"I don't see why not. Money's no object, and we both like her."
His face brightened, and he was filled with more energy than the last three weeks combined.
"This is so exciting! When can we tell her?"
"When she gets better. This will be very sudden for her, and we don't want to put the poor girl into a state of shock or something."
Owen bounced up and down on his heels.
"We're doing this! We're really doing this!"
She put her finger over his lips.
"Shh-shh-shh. You'll wake her."
He nodded, then lowered his voice to a whisper.
"You're right. Oh, Claire, this is so exciting! I never thought I'd be lucky enough to be a father! I promise, I'll learn everything there is to know about being a good parent."
"Great. Fleur said that she likes books, right? Is it okay if I bring her some?"
"Of course! I'm not going to leave you out on all the fun."
Claire gave a definitive nod.
"Then it's settled. From this point on, we're parents in training."
He shook her hand, grinning from ear to ear.
"Parents in training."
