"Hey"
"Hey kid, wake up"
"You lost or something?"
I thought I heard footsteps coming, I woke up from dozing off and collected myself. Looking up at the stranger in front me while I rubbed my eye as he shoved his lamp near my face to see better, almost blinding me in the process.
"N-no sir", even though not intentionally, my voice shook from the cold. I got up. The man came from the farm so he must be one of the caretakers. How long did I nap?
"The heck, you must be just another orphan then"
"Tsk, the place is already packed with brats like you, our supplies ain't enough for another one. Get out of here", the man waved his hand as he was turning his back on me, reentering the farm.
Small orphanages like these, make money out of exchanging good quality children to nobles since they'd make great sums of donations after an adoption and the nobles in turn could raise them to be their loyal servants. Whether that be a blue collar talent or white collar.
"I can read and write, Sir"
The man stopped and looked back at me.
"Huh. A smart one ey", he looked at me from head to toe.
"Let me think about it", he rubbed his chin.
"Boss' gonna be pissed 'cause I'm bringing you in but it better not be a lie or I'll throw ya out"
"Of course not, Sir"
"With manners too, seems like you really do have some brains, although, you look so scrawny like you'd die in any second. Hahaha!", he laughed as he let me inside the territory.
"How can you even move"
'...You talk too much'
I just met the man but he talked as if we were the closest of friends. He continued to talk like so as he led me to the other care takers to which where they made me prove that I can indeed read and write. Not only that but they also tested my intelligence. It would be beneficial for them to have a kid like me since most nobles look for orphans with talents that they could use. Some nobles foster children to strengthen their army, influence, providing knights and high-quality maids. With bright minded orphans they could be raised as scholar's aid. Anything that could become their trusted loyal hounds. Because of this I was even given a fair treatment…for now. They began showing me around the place, to where I will be staying with the other kids, and where the work I am tasked with will be, which was cleaning up horse shit in the stables along with a few others. Which was fine since, horses only ever eat grass and fruits so there's nothing too filthy about it.
Following the man who took me in trough the shabby corridors of a barn that was turned into a hall for the orphanage, making our way to the where the other orphans are.
"I'll be the knight!"
"No, I am!"
"You're supposed to be the bandit!"
"Alright, alright. Settle down you rascals. You've got a new friend coming in today so be good and show her around, she knows how to read so be nice". The man announced as we stepped into the room, tapping the wall to get the children's attention.
"What?"
"Someone who can read?"
"How is that possible?"
"Did she lie too?"
"Pipe down the lot of you! She's a lot more profitable than you brats. Now, get ready for dinner! Jeez, I've got my hands full with these kids", the man grumbled as he walked out the door.
After he left, the kids grew silent for a while and stared at me before going back to whatever they were doing before I came in.
I'm still exhausted from the long journey so I simply want to rest. I went straight to the empty side of the long wooden table near the corner and sat there, laying my head on the table waiting to fall asleep. They didn't even change my clothes and it looks to be the same for all the other kids here, their clothes are ragged like mine. Nor do we have coats to bear with in this cold weather, they're barefoot too. The thin wooden walls of this make-shift hall and unsealed windows, there's even patches of snow around and the only thing keeping this place bearable and warm are the few torches placed around the corner pillars. Thirty of these little orphans with snots running down their lips and red noses, ears, fingertips and toes, these children are just grateful enough to be here even with this lax treatment. Of course, they're just side characters in the background so there isn't much care put in for their lives as long as they appeal to the story. And right now, I am just one of them.
'I can't wait for a lavish life already'.
…..
After a while, I was awoken from my short nap because of the sound of ringing bells and a lady who is one of the caretakers yelling out, 'Dinner time!'. Everyone sat and ate their full but strangely enough, my portion was bigger than the rest, so I instantly became a sore-eye to them. It's a given that I'd be treated like this since I'd sell more but it wouldn't really help my situation. Everyone here is greedy for more food since what is served to them are only half a bread and half a small bowl of soup. While as for mine is a whole piece of bread, a potato and a full bowl of soup. I cared not to share but to take what I have while I still can because I know that this wouldn't last long.
I also learned that my eye potion didn't last me through the day, now my eye color is back to how it was. It's because I only drank a small portion of it. It can be very effective if drank 2 bottles, it would last me a week. The old quack said I have to consistently drink it for it to last long. I have it now with me, hidden and tied around my waist with the scrapbook but I'll only be finishing this off on the day of the picking.
My next few days at the orphanage were as I expected it to be, at first, they befriended me expecting me to share my big portion and when I did not uphold their expectations, they grew resentment towards me and despised me. And since the caretaker would just leave after giving us our food, it became a deadly habit of them to lunge at me like hungry hyenas and steal my share. I didn't get to eat anything good after the first day. Even if I shared it with them, they would simply ask for more until there's nothing left for me.
The tasks here are also painstaking, with this frail and hungered body of mine even simply lifting a shovel of a pile of horse shit was too much for me to carry. And I've come to realize that the care takers here didn't have the slightest bit of kindness at really helping out these poor kids, its adamant that they are only here for the money they get from the big donations. Except for giving us food and ordering us around, they did nothing else but go about their own businesses. Instead of the adults doing their jobs, we were the ones doing it for them simply because we were threatened to not be given food unless we do so. Paving the snow away from the front yard, picking out fire woods in the nearby forest, digging water in the frozen river, building fire, cooking, washing the laundry, tending to the horses, massaging their shoulders and feet and washing the sheets. Every other job, the kids could handle but cooking is a very tempting job. They are tightly monitored to make sure they don't still any of the food and when they do get caught, they would be deprived of food for 3 days. When it's eating time, they are made to face the wall in the corner while the others eat.
At the moment, I managed to escape from the hall while the others were arguing about breakfast with a sole potato in my hands that I managed to hid under my clothes and ran away. With a damned body like this, I wouldn't even last a day without eating anything so this also became a routine of mine. If I were to fight for my food then I'd still end up with nothing and a beat up so I resorted in hiding one and eating it outside. Now, while being safely hidden away behind these bushes, I quickly gobbled my potato before the others are able to find me. I'd hide in a different location everyday since they know this place better than I do, and because of that fact it has become more and more of a struggle for me.
"There you are my ugly star, hiding from me again?"
And…there's also this little piece of shit to deal with.