While Prim was in the kitchen fixing herself for breakfast, in the other room the young child started to stir in his sleep. A small smile crept across his face as he could feel a sense of warmth comfort him while he let out a slight yawn and blinked his eyes open. Once his vision became clear, he looked around to find himself in someone's bedroom, but he suddenly became extremely nervous.
'Wait, where am I? I thought I was sleeping in a cave in the woods at home.' He slowly uncurled himself, to discover that he was wrapped up in a soft, warm, wool blanket, and he let out a sigh of comfort. 'This is sure is a nice and warm blanket, but who put me in this basket.' He carefully crawled from underneath the blanket and climbed out of the basket.
As he stood up he stretched out his arms and continued to look around the room with a soft smile. 'It's very pretty and comfy in here, but I wonder whose room this is.' He carefully started to walk around until he heard the sound of someone talking. "Flame, Smoke, you stay here while I go to see if our little guest is awake." The tone in her voice sounded sweet, but he froze in fear from being seen.
Quickly he walked back over to the basket, climbed inside, and curled up underneath the blanket. The sound of footsteps approaching to the room could be heard and the boy started to shake like a leaf. He swallowed nervously as the steps got closer. 'I hope she doesn't find me and hurt me.' He curled up tighter into a ball and covered his head with his arms as the footsteps stopped.
Prim stood over the basket and looked down at the movement under the blanket. The sight of the trembling form caused a deep frown to creep across her face. 'Oh dear, the poor thing is scared to death.' She carefully used her hand to slowly remove the blanket to reveal the shaking child and felt her heart break at the sight.
She cleared her throat. "Hello little one, please don't be afraid." She tenderly touched his shaking form with a hand and carefully stroked him along the side.
Slowly, the boy stopped his shaking a bit and uncovered his head to look up at the girl talking to him. He opened his eyes to see the soft expression of Prim and a deep swallow rolled down his throat. "Please don't hurt me." A slight whimper escaped the child's lips.
To make herself appear less threatening, Prim carefully sat down and gave the child a maternal smile. "Oh sweetie, I could never hurt such a precious little one like you." She gave him a warm, reassuring smile. "Please don't be scared of me dear, I just want to make sure you're okay."
He could sense the sincerity in her voice as he climbed out of the basket. When he planted his feet on the carpeted floor, he only came up to the top of Prim's hands as he looked up at her. He gave her a small, thankful smile, but remained quiet.
"Oh my, you sure are a little one, aren't you?" she spoke in the softest of tones so not to scare the boy any further. She carefully laid down on her stomach and placing a hand on each side of him so they could look at each other in the eyes. "There... now that's better, isn't it?" She looked at him with that same maternal expression. "It's nice to meet you little one, my name is Prim. What is your name sweetheart?"
After noticing how nice she was acting toward him, the child calmed himself completely, took in a deep breath, and exhaled. "My name is Toby Mason Miss Prim, it's nice to meet you." His tone was small, but respectful in the manner in which he spoke.
'Miss Prim? I've never been called Miss before, but that sure is respectful of him.' Prim shook away her thoughts as she nodded. "Well, that is certainly is a nice name Toby, but you don't have to call me Miss. That sure is very courteous and respectful of you, but Prim is just fine, okay?" She lifted her hand and gently rubbed at his shoulder. "Um...if I may ask Toby... um... do you remember how you got here?"
While he thought on her question, a slow frown crept across his face and he looked in her eyes, and gave her a shake of his head. "No I don't Prim. I remember going to sleep in a cave in the forest, and when I woke up, I was here in this room." He sighed softly and lowered his head to look at the floor.
Prim frowned at the sight of the boy and could tell he was truly sad about something. A mixed look of curiosity and sadness washed all over her face. 'A cave? Why would such a little boy like Toby sleep in a cave? Does he not have a home?' She once again shook away her thoughts as she used her hand to lift his chin to look at him. "Oh you poor dear, don't be sad, you're safe here. This is my friend's home Toby, and you are more than welcome to stay here as long as you want until we can get you back to your home." She leaned her head forward and nuzzled his cheek.
As soon as he heard the possibility of returning home, Toby looked at Prim with fear in his eyes. "No Prim, please, I don't want to go back home!" He cried out some and immediately wrapped his arms around her neck tightly. He started to shake. "I don't want to go back home! I don't want to go back to my daddy!" He buried his face into her shoulder and started to cry.
Prim was stunned at the sudden reaction of Toby and felt her heart break again. She wrapped her arm around his back in a comforting embrace and rubbed at it tenderly as she calmly shushed into his ears to calm him down. She continued to hold him gently against her shoulder until he silenced his crying. She gently pulled away giving him a soft smile. "Do you feel better now sweetheart?"
He sniffed and wiped away the remainder of his tears. "A little bit Prim, thank you." His tone was so small and soft.
She gave him a nod and held his hand in her hand as she rubbed the top of it with the other. "You're welcome Toby." She could tell that the boy has been through a lot, but decided not to question him until he was ready. She looked into his eyes. "Are you hungry dear? You can come to the kitchen with me and I'll fix you something for breakfast, and then we can go introduce you to my friends."
Toby felt his stomach let out a small growl, earning a small giggle from Prim. He blushed a slight shade of pink. "Yes, I'm a little hungry Prim."
She slowly stood up and as she looked at the boy. "Um... if you would like Toby, I can either carry you or you can hold my hand while we go to the kitchen." She leaned forward just in case he chose to climb to let her carry him.
He carefully walked to her side and very gently reached down to grab her hand. "I think I'll be okay walking Prim, but thank you." He gave a soft smile as he held her hand gently ever so lightly in his hand.
She smiled warmly at him and gave him a nod. "Of course sweetheart. Just walk carefully beside me and be careful." She lifted her hand up to gently stroke his hair before turning and started to walk towards the kitchen.
Once they reached the kitchen of Sunny's apartment, the dragon took notice of Toby and two of them looked at him curiously. The princess took notice of this and lightly scolded her dragon. "Now, now dears, don't stare. This is Toby, and he's going to be our guest for the time being, do I would appreciate it if you would treat him with care and respect." They responded with chitters of understanding.
She led Toby into the kitchen and pulled out a chair from underneath the table. "Here you go Toby, you can sit here while I fix you something." She placed a hand against her chin. "Um... if I may ask sweetheart, what do you like to eat? I never fed a child like you before."
Toby looked at her curiously. 'Child? Why would she say that?' He quieted his thoughts as he climbed up into the chair. "If you have some Prim, I do like oatmeal with some milk and honey in it. It's what my... Mommy used to make me for breakfast." A slight frown crept across his lips.
Prim could here a tinge of pain in the last comment, but opted not to push the matter, not yet that is. She nodded. "Of course Toby, I can make you some oatmeal." She walked over to the pantry. "I know sweetheart, I'll make you my mother's oatmeal she fixed me at times when I was a child."
She gathered a container that Sunny kept some fresh oats in, a jar of honey, and a mortar and pestle. She walked over to the counter and placed the items near the sink as she then walked toward the fridge. Inside, the fridge, she got a bottle of milk, a couple of blueberries, raspberries, and some pecan, and then walked back over to the counter.
While she was preparing his breakfast, Toby looked around her kitchen and could feel the warmth and coziness of her home. He looked at her. "Prim, your friend have a nice home."
She added the final touches to the bowl of oatmeal and walked over to the kitchen table, placing the bowl in front of him. She gave a thankful nod. "Well thank you Toby, she tried to keep it tidy and always comfortable for all of my friends." She gave a blushing smile. "I hope you like the oatmeal sweetie. Not only did I add milk and honey to it, but I also mixed some freshly pickled berries in it to make it extra tasty." She let out a slight squeal. "Oh I almost forgot, hold on Toby." She walked over to the counter and retrieved a spoon from the silverware drawer. She returned and gave it to him. "Here you go dear."
He gently took it from her and nodded. "Thank you, Prim." He dipped his spoon into the bowl, scooped some oatmeal out, and brought it to his lips to take a bite. As he chewed, he could taste the sweetness of the honey, softness of milk absorbed oats, and the tartness, yet juiciness of the berries. He swallowed his first bite and smiled a little more brightly at Prim. "Mm... this oatmeal is really good Prim."
"I'm proud that you like it Toby, it's a recipe that my mother passed down to me. It's not only sweet, filling, but also very healthy." She gave him a wink as she sighed softly. "After you do get done eating Toby, will you be okay with going to visit my other friends?"
He took another swallow before replying. "Yes Prim, I would like that. Are your friends nice and caring like you though?"
"Oh of course they are sweetheart. I'm sure they will think you are just a precious little one like I do." She reached across the table to rub at his arm reassuringly. "Don't worry Toby, you'll like them." She winked at him.
He nodded and continued to eat the remainder of hit oatmeal. A few minutes passed before he completed his breakfast and he rubbed at his now full tummy. Prim giggled softly at the sight and walked beside him. "How about I let you ride on my back while we go visit my friends Toby, is that okay?"
He nodded. "Okay Prim, only if you don't mind if I'm too heavy."
"Alright dear, just climb on." She scooted closer for him to get on. He carefully reached out to wrap her arms around her neck and then climbed him body onto her back. "There you go Toby and you are light as a feather." She giggled and trotted into the living room.
The dragon were making noises amongst themselves, and they ran over to their caretaker once they saw her enter with the child on her back. She smiled warmly at them. "Flame, Smoke, honeys, Toby and I are going to go visit the others, and you two are in charge while we're gone, do you understand?"
They nodded. "That's my dragon, I love you." Prim leaned her head up and kissed the top of their heads between their horns. "You behave while I'm gone." They responded with chitters. "Are you ready Toby?" She turned her head to look at the boy and her her a slight nod in response.
She walked toward the door and exited the apartment. "Okay sweetheart, I think the first place we need to go is to Great Clothes. My friend Claudia is real kind and she makes the best suits and dresses in all of East Liverpool. I'm sure she won't mind making you a pair of new clothes." She gave him a warm smile as she started their trek toward the city of East Liverpool.
'I hope my friends will be accepting of him. There is something wrong with him and I can tell that his heart is broken. But I'm not going to ask any questions, not until he's ready to talk about it. I just hope Celestine will know who he is, and how he ended up in East Liverpool.'