Chapter 42: CHAPTER 29.0: Orphans and Siblings

Aqua’s POV The full moon ball was tomorrow so Stewart asked me to help them with last minute tasks for the ball.

The organizers were working hard making sure everything was perfect.

I didn’t see Lexus at all yesterday and I hoped I wouldn’t see him today either. “I think Prince Lexus was coming on to me.” One of the organizers said.

“When?” Stewart asked.

“Like a month and a half ago when we first started organizing the ball.” So, before I came here. “He’d stare at me and wave whenever we passed each other. Other workers say he doesn’t even acknowledge them. He even stopped me in the hall once to have a conversation. He said, ‘Maybe I can get some advice from you about how to properly plan a party.’ That was definitely him coming onto me.”

Stewart rolled his eyes. “You’re a party planner and he has a wedding coming up.”

She smirked. “But then he said, ‘in private.’ I tried to take him up on his offer, but Vella obviously did before me and now he’s not interested at all.” She was so opening admitting that she would have let him cheat with her but who am I to judge? “Plus, why would he want advice on how to plan his wedding? We plan events for him for the most part. If he really cared about planning parties, he would have asked again but when he got what he wanted from Vella, he didn’t need it from me.”

“I hear my name I’m not stupid.” Vella said from halfway across the ballroom. There was a slight eco.

Vella had dark circles under her eyes and her hair was messy. I’m not sure if she was really taking care of herself.

“I think Aqua has a lot more she can say about Lexus than she does.” Stewart whispered.

I rolled my eyes as I worked. “I’m sworn to secrecy.” I joked. I wasn’t really in a joke mood, but I couldn’t show anything was wrong. The woman walked away because one of the other organizers called her over. “You always say personal things about everyone else except yourself.”

Stewart chuckled. “I’m not that exciting Aqua. I just live and work here. I’m probably going to work and live here for the rest of my life. Oh, I kind of have a girlfriend, that’s something I guess.”

I would have never known. “Really? Is it serious?”

Stewart shook his head. “It’ll probably end eventually. She worked here part time for a little while, but she quit after she finished basic education. Now she’s doing extra schooling for her career. I finished basic education recently too, but I decided to work here full time. We don’t see each other so much now.”

He didn’t seem all that bothered by it ending. “You’re both too busy?”

“Uh not exactly. She doesn’t like coming here because she feels weird that she doesn’t work here anymore. She thinks the guards are going to give her a hard time. Plus, there’s a visiting limit for guests of live-in workers. They can only visit twice a week and can’t spend the night unless it’s pre-

approved.” I guess without restricts workers would have all kinds of people over all the time.

“Why don’t you go to her? You could eventually get a place together.”

Stewart rubbed the back of his head nervously. “I don’t like leaving the castle regularly. I haven’t gone back out since I showed you around with Arma your first week here. It’s too stressful. If I were to have a relationship, they’d have to be okay with being a live in worker here with me permanently.” I wasn’t sure how likely it was for him to find someone who met those requirements.

We turned our heads as the ball room door opened. “Can I get one or two workers to take Gray, Kaya, and Polly out on a walk up the hiking trail?” Konn asked.

Stewart raised his hand. “We’ll do it!” He volunteered me.

Konn looked at us. “Great, come with me.” I walked beside Stewart out of the ball room. “They’ll probably want to be out there for an hour or two. They’ve been wanting to stretch their wings a lot.

Stewart, I expect you to be ready to shift if something happened.” I couldn’t shift in case of an emergency so I’m not sure why Stewart would want me to go with him. We stopped walking when he got to the three kids. “Stewart and Aqua are going to take you three, behave yourselves.” He said before walking back into the castle.

I planned to use this as time to bond with my brother. “Are you guys ready?” I asked.

They all shifted which was probably my answer. “I know the trail well; this will be like a break for us.”

Stewart said.

We started walking and they flew around low to the ground. It looked like they were racing but they were going back and forth and around us. I guess they didn’t want to go too far ahead. “Watching them always makes me feel nostalgic.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I grew up in this castle too, I’ve only worked here for a few years, but I was taken in at a young age.

I’m an orphan like Kaya and Polly.” I had no idea, I guess that’s why he got to work here while being so young. He didn’t even look like he was eighteen yet. Maybe a little younger than that. “I grew up with Cade and Lexus. Me and Cade have been friends ever since we were younger. Lexus was never interested in really being friends. He stuck with Cade and no one else.”

“So, the king and queen take in orphans often?”

“I wouldn’t say I was taken in by them… in a way I was but I don’t really know them. When a kid is orphaned in the kingdom we’re sent to a home. Most kids get adopted pretty quickly. The home isn’t designed to take care of kids long term. When one doesn’t get quickly adopted the owner of the home sends a notice to the castle. Konn deals with the rest and sends a worker to pick us up so we can live here. Polly and Kaya didn’t want to be separated and no one wanted to adopt two children at the time. I have mental disabilities so no one felt like they could care for me right.”

“It doesn’t take much to learn how to care for a child with mental disabilities.” I sighed. “I’m ADHD so I get it. Just know you don’t have to mask around me Stewart.”

Stewart smiled. “Thanks, Aqua. I was raised by the workers here, so I feel my most comfortable staying here and working beside them. I want to help raise Kaya and Polly too.”

We stopped at an open area to take a break from walking. We both sat down on a log and the kids continued to play. I noticed there was a nearby river, it was big, and the plants around it were beautiful.