Her Highness's Second Life

Chapter 10 - The Strange Similarities

“Yes, I can get it all ready on time. It’s going to be hard, but with the money you’ve given me, I can hire more helpers,” the man in front of Raena said, rubbing his chin while studying her sketches with bewilderment. “Are you sure this will work, lady? I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. What is it for?”

“Fun.” Raena smiled at him, and his expression turned even more confused as he looked at the sketches again. “I’ll come back in a week to check on your progress. Please work hard.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the man muttered, still staring at the sketches while she made her way out of the door, where Elene was waiting for her. The stream of people was finally thinning out with the day swiftly coming to an end, but there was another hour or so until sunset.

“Do we have anything else to do?” Elene asked, rubbing her neck tiredly. “I’m surprised you can still stand on your feet. Aren’t you tired, pregnant lady?”

Raena grimaced. Elene had started calling her ‘pregnant lady’ when they were alone to remind her that she was, indeed, pregnant, since Raena had made the mistake of telling her she forgot about it for a second. Now she wouldn’t stop, no matter how much Raena threatened her. So she had only one option left—ignore her until she grew bored with it.

“Today was so fun, I forgot to be tired. That will come once I sit down,” Raena grinned. “But no, we don’t have any more tasks to do. I distributed the special menu for the festival for everyone to learn, and starting tomorrow, they will take turns cooking in their specialty until they get it right. We got the sketches to the craftsmen and commissioned the actors, so we’re all good. Spending the Empire’s money feels much better than spending mine,” she chuckled, and even Elene’s lips curved upward.

Raena looked around again, her eyes stopping on the gray building with a high fence and a few tall trees hovering over its red roof. She hadn’t realized their task had taken them to this part of the city, but now that they were here…

“Hey, isn’t that the new orphanage that I funded?” Raena asked. She had almost forgotten about it, and now the pang of guilt grew stronger. Once she stopped coming to the restaurant because of her first pregnancy progressing, she had barely seen Pen and the other children. Kara had told her they stopped by from time to time to get something to eat or ask about her, but lately, none of them came knocking on the side door. “Let’s go check on them.”

Elene fell into step with Raena as they made their way to the gray building. Once they reached the iron gate that separated them from the orphanage, Elene opened it and the two stepped inside. The church’s banner was flapping from a sturdy pole on the top of the house—she had decided to join hands with the temple when commissioning this place since they were usually involved in all kinds of charity work and she could count on them to see this project to fruition and occasionally help the caretakers, even when she couldn’t. She didn’t need to see her family’s banner there. It was enough to know the kids had a roof over their heads in the winter and meals to eat three times a day.

The sound of laughter and loud voices came from inside the building, but even before they reached the front door, a young man rushed out. His smile froze on his face as he stared at the two of them, calculation flashing in his eyes as he stepped from one foot to the other. After eyeing Elene’s sword for a few seconds, his gaze returned to Raena.

“What do you want?” he asked, eyes narrowing at them.

“Is that the way to greet your benefactor, Pen? I’m very disappointed and so will be Marden.”

The boy blinked a few times before his eyes widened with shock. Instead of greeting her, he ducked his head inside, shouting at the others to come out quickly. He was just stepping away from the door when the first child appeared—a short, scrawny girl around ten years old with dark hair in a messy ponytail and eyes sparkling just as Raena remembered them.

“Miss Raena!” the girl screamed excitedly, rushing to her side and hugging her tightly. Raena laughed at the warm greeting, patting her head until the girl loosened her grip. “Did you bring something to eat?”

“Don’t they feed you here, Mary?” Raena asked, raising her eyebrow in concern.

“They do, but Miss Raena’s food is the best!” the girl beamed excitedly. Raena laughed again, raising her head while more and more familiar faces joined them in the yard. She was just greeting them when an adult stepped through the door, freezing in his spot.

At first, she thought it was one of the caretakers, but then her eyes registered the tanned skin and pale gray eyes as well as the big, ugly bruise that graced his right eye.

“We seem to be running into each other quite often these days, ladies,” Emer said, taking a step aside as a little boy pushed past him on his way out.

“Yeah, it’s almost like you’re stalking us,” Elene murmured loud enough for anyone to hear. The smile on Emer’s face didn’t falter. In fact, he even laughed.

“Shouldn’t I be saying that, Elene?” he asked, looking around at the children. “I was here first.”

“This kind sir has been visiting us a lot in the past few weeks,” Mary informed them, letting go of Raena, but staying by her side. “He even brought fresh fruit, and he has so many interesting stories to tell!”

“And what is this kind sir looking for in an orphanage? Are you planning to adopt one of them?” Elene asked. Raena wanted to tell her to tone down her aggressiveness, but she didn’t want to make the situation any more awkward. Instead, she turned to Pen, who was scratching his head, eyes darting between the three of them.

“Pen, get everyone inside for now. I’ll join you in a minute.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded readily this time, clapping his hands. “You heard the lady, everyone inside! Now! Don’t make me repeat myself, you brats!”

One by one, the children made their way in, so Emer stepped out of their way, ruffling a few heads and smiling warmly at each of them as they muttered their goodbyes. Once Pen closed the door, Emer let his smile falter.

“I apologize for Elene,” Raena said, flashing her friend a warning gaze before Elene could say something else. “It’s just that we know these children and we helped fund this orphanage, so we don’t want them involved in something that might end up with them getting hurt.”

“And you think I’m dealing with something like that?” Emer asked, raising an eyebrow. “I admire you for caring for them, but your hostility without proof is not setting a very good example for them.”

His shoulders slumped, and he took a step closer.

“I was raised in an orphanage just like this one until I was old enough to take charge of my life. I met a lot of smart, capable people in the same environment and I helped them get out of the gutter until they flourished. If I hadn’t, they would have ended up making a living on the streets or in brothels. Being born with unfortunate circumstances does not have to define your life. And some of the children here are reaching the age where they will be forced to leave the orphanage. So what I have been doing was looking for bright minds that could be molded into successful people who could make good use of a second chance in life. There is a saying that I like to use in situations like this.”

He stopped by Raena, his face serious and cold. “Sometimes the bad things that happened in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.” He gave her a parting nod, ignoring Elene this time, then moved past her. “Excuse me.”

Raena stood frozen, her eyes staring unseeingly ahead of her. That saying… she knew that saying and not from this place. From the real world. It was the same thing Daniel had said to her when he first told her he loved her. He had said that God put him through all those hardships and trials to mold him into the man that would be good enough for her and that he no longer regretted his past.

Now that she thought about it, Daniel had also grown up in an orphanage, a bad one at that, and struggled a lot before he ran away and put himself through school all on his own, applying for the Police Academy right after graduating.

But he was dead. Dead in the real world. And yet, there were all these coincidences…

“Wait!” she called, spinning around just as Emer was reaching the gate. “Do you know someone by the name of…”

She trailed off when he turned, his eyes widening even before she could finish. She froze, wondering what he was seeing when she sensed something tickling her upper lip. She frowned, wiping it in embarrassment when she realized her fingers came back smeared in red. Emer took a step toward her, but Elene was faster, catching Raena’s elbow and raising a handkerchief to wipe her face.

“Are you alright?” Emer asked in a concerned voice, hesitating before stepping closer. Elene glared at him, causing him to freeze and raise his hands defensively. “You look pale. Maybe you should sit down. Do you want me to call a carriage for you? I walked here, so I can’t…”

“I’m fine. I just pushed myself a bit too hard today,” Raena said as she allowed Elene to help her sit on one of the stairs in front of the orphanage. Elene snorted loudly, placing Raena’s hand over the handkerchief so she could hold it herself. “And I haven’t eaten much, so I just got dizzy. I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine,” Elene said through gritted teeth.

“I’ll have to agree with your friend on this one,” Emer nodded. “Having a nosebleed is not a sign of great health. You should be taking better care of your body.”

“We’ll take you up on that offer,” Elene said and Emer looked at her. “About calling for a carriage. Please do so. I can’t leave her alone like this.”

“Ah, yes, of course. Please wait here,” he nodded before disappearing down the street. Raena stared after him thoughtfully, pulling the handkerchief away to check if the nosebleed had stopped.

Was she imagining things? Maybe with her dreaming of Daniel or whatever that nightmare was, her mind had been trying to see things that weren’t there. Daniel was dead… but so was she. So it wasn’t entirely out of the question for him to be… here.

“Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Any pain or nausea?” Elene asked, and Raena shook her head. “Good. I’ll go inside to tell them we can’t stay, and we’ll come some other time. Do not move from here, am I clear?”

“Yes, yes.” Pinching the bridge of her nose, Raena waved her off. The creak of the door told Raena she had already slipped inside, so when the sound of wheels turning over cobblestones grew closer, Raena looked up. The carriage stopped in front of the orphanage, and Emer stepped out, heading toward the gate.

Raena got to her feet and moved to intercept him, a worried expression still on his face. He looked nothing like her Daniel—Emer was a bit shorter and on the slimmer side, his skin darker and his eyes lighter; their faces were entirely different, and even their fashion sense differed. Maybe she was grasping at straws.

“Let me help you to the carriage. Where is Elene?” he asked, glancing at the gray building behind her. “Let’s wait for her. I don’t want her thinking I’m trying to kidnap you or something.”

Raena scoffed, and his lips twitched as if he wanted to smile, but he remained serious while they waited for Elene. She emerged from the orphanage with a frown, and Pen on her heels, who waved at them with a somber expression.

Elene nodded toward the carriage, and the three of them headed toward the impatient horses. Elene checked inside, then, when she deemed it safe, waited for Raena to enter first.

“I…” Raena said, glancing toward Elene before turning her back to her and looking at Emer. “I have a better idea.” Emer raised an eyebrow, his eyes watching her with mild curiosity. “I’m starving. Why don’t we have dinner together?”