The next morning started early. After helping the director a bit, I went out to hang the orphanage's laundry with Sirius, Lara, and Anna.Curiously, when I got there, I found myself witnessing a rather… funny, and at the same time improbable, scene from my point of view.
"My gods! You fold your clothes as badly as your face, Sirius!"
That was Lara. She had just snatched the dry clothes from my friend's hands and began to fold them with a skill that, to my eyes, looked perfect.Her wine-red hair was tied up in a messy bun, a few loose strands falling forward to form soft bangs. Her outfit was dyed in gentle tones that matched her hair — long puffed sleeves gathered at the wrists, a fitted bodice fastened with small wooden buttons, and a skirt that reached her ankles, wide enough to let her move freely as she worked.
"You're unbearably annoying, you know that? Unbelievable! You don't let me do anything!"
Sirius was quick to complain, but he didn't look much different from last night. He wore his usual classic jacket — probably the first thing he washed — and a darker shirt underneath. His hair looked like a storm had passed through it and then decided never to come back.
"Look… you'd really help me if you stopped complaining so much, Sirius," Anna said calmly, "and actually helped, you know?"
Anna's dress wasn't much different from Lara's, though hers was a deep indigo blue that made her eyes stand out even more. The color of the fabric changed slightly depending on how the light hit it — sometimes it even looked violet.Honestly, the first time I met her, I thought I had found someone like me. I was wrong.
Unlike Lara, Anna had rolled up her sleeves to the elbows and was already working hard, washing clothes and occasionally using Wind Magic to dry them faster.
"Mordred! Finally, you're awake!"
Sirius was the first to notice me. He came running faster than he probably intended.
"These women, Mordred… they're evil! Protect me!"
I chuckled softly but left him behind and joined the girls.
"Did I miss much? How much is left?"
Lara sighed as I began folding clothes beside her.After a moment, she paused and watched me work, curious. Years of folding my own clothes had made me good at it — they came out perfectly neat, which earned me a smile from her.
"Well… at least one of you knows how to take care of your own things."
I laughed again, but I wanted to change the subject quickly.
"You know, he's actually pretty helpful," I said suddenly. Lara blinked, caught off guard by my shift in tone. "Let him help with something and you'll see. Sirius is competent — and, above all, he likes to help."
Lara let out a tired sigh but smiled genuinely afterward.She stopped folding for a moment, glanced toward Anna — who was now being "helped" by Sirius — and said:
"You're right… again." She looked back at me. "Well, I wanted to say something, if you don't mind."
"Sounds interesting," I said with a small gesture. "Go ahead."
She resumed folding and sighed once more, avoiding my eyes.
"To be honest, I had a lot of wrong ideas about you," she confessed. "At first, you seemed like one of those know-it-all troublemakers — the kind who stirs up chaos wherever they go."
I smiled, choosing not to meet her gaze out of respect, and continued folding a pair of pants.
"Well, I admit the rumors around the orphanage didn't exactly help my image," I said.
"Exactly!" Lara replied, finally looking me in the eyes. "And now that I know you better, it makes me furious. You help people and think about others before yourself — why?"
"Honestly?" I sighed. "Sirius and I were the ones who found out about the orphanage's lack of funds."
"But it looked like you were the one in charge," Lara interrupted. "You gave us instructions, told us exactly what to do and where to go in case things went wrong — which they did!"She grabbed a shirt, irritated. "Tell me, what happened with that deal?"
I stared at the laundry for a while, unsure how to explain, but I tried my best.
"Well, for starters, the Old Man betrayed us at the last minute. He refused to help distract the guards at the mansion… You could've been hurt."
I didn't admit it, but I was the one most frustrated by how it all turned out.I should have seen it coming — after all, I was the one who started talking to the Old Man, the one who set everything in motion. But…
"Anyway," Lara said after a calmer sigh, "at least we all came back safe. But I can't ever put my friends in danger like that again."She gave a short laugh. "Damn it… I came here to vent and scold you, but I just can't."
"I probably deserve a bit of it," I said, laughing again.
"You do," she replied with a playful smirk. Then she reached out her hand toward me — which honestly surprised me."My name's Lara. What's yours?"
"Mordred," I said, shaking her hand lightly. "So… are we officially friends now?"
"Well, given what we went through yesterday… I don't see why not."
Her logic was irrefutable — and honestly, I appreciated that.
We stayed there for quite a while — me, Lara, Sirius, and Anna. The orphanage was huge, and the number of children endless, but after a few hours, we finally finished everything.
"Phew! Hallelujah!" Sirius exclaimed, wiping sweat from his forehead. Then he turned to Anna. "See? I told you I'd be useful."
Anna remained silent for a moment, then said flatly,
"You were an excellent… fan."
"Hey! You witch!"
Sirius's outrage made both Lara and me burst out laughing. Soon after, he and I carried the baskets of clothes to their proper places until everything was back in order.
"Finally! We can eat!"
"Amen to that," we all answered almost in unison, as if responding to a prayer.
We made our way toward the dining hall.
"Hey… Mordred," Lara called softly.
"Yeah? Want to tell me something?"
She looked me in the eyes for a few seconds, then hesitated — her expression heavy with something like sorrow.Why?I wanted to ask, but I'd seen that look before… more than once. I didn't want to push her. Not now that we were friends.She'd tell me when the time was right — I was sure of it.
We passed through the orphanage's long corridors and finally reached the dining hall, filled with chairs and tables. Lara spoke again:
"Well… this is where we part ways for a bit," she said, turning to me. "Anna and I are going to meet with Letho, so…"
"We'll save you two a table!" Sirius interrupted quickly. "We'll all have lunch together — what do you think?"
Lara looked surprised for a moment, then turned to Anna, who, for the first time, seemed uneasy.I narrowed my eyes — something was off.
"That would be great," Lara said at last, smiling politely. "I'll tell Letho as soon as we find him, okay?"
"We'd like that," I replied with a wave, and the girls went their way.
"They seem nice… well, scratch that — only Lara is nice. Anna's unbearable."
I laughed at Sirius's honest remark.
"You're kidding, right? Anna just seems quiet and—"
"You're completely wrong," Sirius cut me off as we reached a table. "That girl's a devil."
I smirked and followed him to sit down. Soon, we were served a simple meal — slices of meat, bits of fish, beans, and other grains. A light lunch, where you could easily pick whatever you liked.
We sat at a long table and began to eat when suddenly — from the depths of hell, or whatever hole he crawled out of —
"Heeey! I found you guys!"
It was William.
"Hello, William," Sirius and I said in unison, both completely drained of energy.
"What's with that greeting?!" William exclaimed, sitting down and pulling his coat tight. "By the gods, it's freezing with that attitude."
I tried to laugh, forcing a more friendly smile.
"Well, we've been working since morning, and we're staying after lunch to clean the dishes… so you can imagine, right?"
William gave a weak smile.
"Yeah, fair enough. But still—" He leaned closer over the table. "You two should open yourselves up to life more, you know? Let the world embrace you with open arms!"
Sirius just glared sideways at him, a vein pulsing on his forehead.
"Did you smoke something weird when I wasn't looking?"
William swallowed hard.And seeing that, I had to hold my laughter in for later.
In any case, I cherished all of it — every moment.They were precious to me: William, the youngest yet so loyal, and Sirius, my brother in all but blood — born in the same month, nearly the same day.
If I could wish for anything…I'd wish that these days would never end.