Chương 100: Chapter 062 The Orphan Girl Who Became My Sister (Part 2)

Jack glanced across the road. Baron Greaves was walking by with his two beastkin guards. A shiver ran down his spine as Greaves looked his way for a moment. He lowered his head and took a deep, calming breath. First, I'll get my sister to safety. I have years to train, and then I'll see you dead, you murderous bastard. After the Baron turned a corner, Jack forced a smile.

"Come on then, let's go home." He stood.

"Oh, my name's Jack." He offered Zia his hand to shake. She hesitated, but took his hand.

"I-I'm Zee." Jack shook her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Zee… is that short for Zia?" Zia smiled and nodded. Jack kept hold of the little orphan girl's hand and walked home with his lost sister.

"Did you enter the city with anyone else?" Zia nodded.

"C-Cain, but the big scary building has him." Jack had to stifle a chuckle.

"Do you mean the Adventurers Guild?" She nodded.

"Phew." Jack wiped his brow.

"That's good news, then. Cain has a lot of good friends there. He's probably eaten all their food by now." He chuckled. Zia smiled.

"Cain has f-friends?"

"Of course," Jack guessed.

"How could a huge heroic warrior like Cain not have lots of friends? They're probably with him now, looking after him. That's what friends do when you're not well." She nodded and gripped Jack's hand tighter.

"After I get you settled with Mom, I'll go check on him for you." Jack took a deep breath to control his emotions.

"I'll let him know you're alright, and you've been worried about him. I think he'll be happy to know you're safe now." Zia nodded as an obvious weight lifted from her young shoulders. They continued on their way home while Jack told her more about their family. About their mom's love for cooking, and how their dad was an important scribe at the Royal Library. He had to explain what the Royal Library was. Zia recognised the description and told Jack she'd slept across from the Library the night before.

Jack told her about Polly and how she spent all her time pranking him, and to not follow her bad example. He told her about their little brother, Richard, and how cute his gurgles were, and that he'd be a mighty dragon slayer when he grew up.

"Mom, I'm home," Jack called as he opened the front door.

"I've brought home a guest, so don't freak out." He recalled his mom chasing Zia with a broom while the little girl licked a bowl clean of meat pie filling.

"I'm in the kitchen," Anna called back.

"Why would I freak out?" Jack led Zia by the hand to the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom. This is Zia. She needs our help."

"Oh, you poor little thing." Anna stopped what she was doing and wiped her hands on a tea towel.

"Whatever happened to you?" Zia hid behind Jack's leg.

"It's alright." Jack knelt beside her.

"Mom's friendly, though she will bite the heads off of misshapen biscuits." Anna looked confused, but Zia giggled.

"I thought Zia could stay with us for a few days, maybe help you out a bit around the kitchen." Jack mouthed the word 'Orphan'. Anna nodded.

"Yes… Yes, of course she can stay." Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was thinking we could give her some of Polly's old clothes."

"Yes, old clothes." His mom was in a bit of a daze. She pulled herself together and looked around the kitchen at the food she was cooking.

"I'll watch Richard and the erm…" He glanced at what was cooking and pointed at the pans on the hob.

"This stuff. What do I need to do?" His mom looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"You can watch Richard, but you're not ruining my system." She looked around the kitchen again.

"Fifteen minutes. I need fifteen minutes to finish this batch… Are you hungry… Zia?" This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Zia nodded. Jack chuckled.

"She just ate one and a half Arman wraps. Maybe have some food after you're nice and clean." Zia went rosy pink under the dirt.

"Why don't I show you around the house while Mom finishes up here?" He looked at Anna, who was nodding.

"Come on, Zia." He gripped her hand and led her around her new home, explaining what each room was for. When he showed Zia his room, he dropped off his pack, bow, quiver, and dagger, making sure to put them somewhere safe. After the quick tour, Anna took charge.

"You watch the baby, and I'll get Zia cleaned up." She offered her hand to Zia.

"Come on, sweetie, let's get you clean." Zia hesitated; she looked to Jack, who smiled. Recalling how long it would be before they returned, he grabbed some scribe supplies and started crafting spell scrolls at the kitchen table while talking to his little brother.

"That's all the most important matters dealt with." He started on a [Fireball] spell scroll.

"I'm going to use this to test an idea I've had. Cross your fingers for me; I could do with some luck." Little Richard gurgled in reply. As Jack was halfway through a third [Fireball] scroll, his mom returned to the kitchen with the now-clean Zia. He stored the scrolls inside a notebook. Zia offered a shy smile as she entered the kitchen holding Anna's hand. Jack smiled.

"Oh, my." He put his hands to his mouth in mock shock.

"I thought you were a little boy. What did you do to the little boy, Mom?" He stretched his neck to look past them. Anna chuckled.

"I-I'm a little girl," Zia protested.

"No. No, no," he joked.

"You were definitely a boy earlier. All the dirt, it had to be a boy. Did you wash the little boy away, Mom?" Zia looked to Anna.

"I-I'm a girl?"

"Stop teasing her, Jack," his mom complained while stifling a laugh.

"What have I told you about teasing girls?"

"Aww, but, Mommy," he overexaggerated.

"I thought I was going to get another little brother who'd help me defeat the evil lord Polly." He shrugged.

"Now I have to wait years for Richard to grow up to defeat the dark lord. Whatever will I do?" Anna laughed.

"You're too much, Jack. Maybe you should join your sister's drama group with that overacting." After realising he was joking, Zia giggled. Jack chuckled.

"I offered, but Polly refused my reasonable demands of being waited on like I was royalty for the next five years." His mom shook her head.

"Right. Back to work." She looked at the time.

"I'm a little behind now." Jack smiled.

"We'll help. Won't we, Zia? Then we get to sample some of the food." He gave the little girl a wink. Zia nodded.

"You're serious?" Anna's eyes had widened.

"Yeah, sure." He offered a big grin while nodding.

"Let me take this to my room, and I'm all yours." After returning his scribe supplies, the three of them set about cooking. Jack and Zia were mostly on cleaning vegetables duty, but it all helped, and before long, Anna was back on track. As Jack rinsed the peeled potatoes under the tap, he noticed the blood-red rose was in a vase on the kitchen window. What the… He picked up the vase and examined the rose; it had begun to root.

"Mom. Where'd this come from?" Anna looked at the rose cutting.

"It's one of my cuttings." She looked at the other cuttings in the window; she had a habit of taking them.

"I'm not sure where I got that one, though." She shrugged.

"Probably saw a nice rose and borrowed a cutting." Jack examined the rooting rose. I should take good care of this. Must be important. He watched the confusion on his mother's face ebb away as she leaned in and smelled the blood-red rose.

"Hmm… That'll make for a lovely addition to my garden. If it survives." She smiled and went back to her cooking. Mom will take good care of it. He placed the vase back on the windowsill.

"This is delicious, Mom," Jack said.

"Delicious," Zia echoed. Anna smiled. They were eating a stew she'd prepared for a small restaurant she supplied.

"That was fun cooking." Jack placed his cutlery down with a clink. Zia nodded.

"Well." Anna's eyes were sparkling.

"You're always welcome to help me anytime. Extra pairs of hands are always welcome… including little ones. You did well, sweetie." Zia gave a shy smile. The front door opened.

"Hey, Mom… any chance of something to eat?" Polly called. Anna sighed.

"Yes, Polly. I'm having a wonderful day. Thank you for asking." Polly entered the kitchen.

"Yeah… all that stuff." She noticed Zia.

"Oh, hello."

"This is Zia; she'll be staying with us." Anna stroked Zia's silver hair. Polly looked confused.

"Okay…" She looked to her mother.

"So, is there any food?" Anna sighed. Polly sat at the table eating food like she hadn't eaten in days.

"You missed the excitement this morning, Jack." Jack turned from the sink where he and Zia were cleaning dirty dishes.

"Excitement?" Polly nodded.

"Two inquisitors were looking for you." She smirked.

"They…" Jack dropped a plate on the floor; it shattered from the impact.

"Inquisitors!" He recalled the two inquisitors looking for a magical disturbance, looking for him.

"Jack," his mom said.

"Be more careful."

"Sorry, Mom." He looked at the broken plate. Fuck. I forgot about them. He took a calming breath.

"You're such a klutz." Polly shook her head.

"They called while you were out." She smirked.

"They're after you for crimes against fashion, Jack." Damn it, Polly. He breathed a sigh of relief and left Zia to the dishes while he swept up the mess he'd made, taking the time to think.

"What did they really want?" Polly chuckled.

"I just said…"

"Nothing important," Anna interrupted.

"They said they'll be back later to talk to you. They'll confirm you're a scribe…" She stopped and put her hands to her mouth.

"In all the excitement, I forgot to congratulate you on becoming a scribe?" It was phrased like a question. Jack nodded and forced a smile. It's not the right time to tell her. He emptied the dustpan filled with shards of broken plate into the bin.

"Did they say when they'd return?" Anna smiled.

"Congratulations, Jack. Your father's going to be so proud of you." She gave him a hug.

"The two nice inquisitors didn't say when they'd return."

"Another boring scribe," Polly mumbled in the background.

"Sadie's brother chose the knight class last week. Now that's an exciting class." She looked off into the distance. Jack ignored her. Damn it. If they scan me, I'm dead. I need a plan.