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CHAPTER ELEVEN
ANYA
TWO WEEKS LATER
Over the last two weeks, I’ve been busy—busier than I ever have been, and it’s been most fulfilling. When we arrived at the orphanage, saying there was chaos would be an understatement. The matron, Mrs. Spangle, was not going to let us in. In fact, she met us at the door.
“Your Majesties. We weren’t expecting you. The children… they are sick. You shouldn’t come in.” She barely opened the door and didn’t show any proper courtesies to my parents.
“We’re coming in,” I say, pushing past the woman. She grabs my arm.
“Unhand the princess,” Dante, my personal guard, says, coming closer to me.
“I’ve got this, Dante,” I say, wrenching my arm away from the woman. “You may want to think very hard about your next words, Mrs. Spangle. I know what I will find when I walk into that room.”
“How did you find out?”
“Does it matter?”
She says nothing else, and I look at her in disgust. I move further into the house and immediately notice that it’s freezing. I slide open the pocket doors, and the dining hall is revealed. Rows and rows of tables are laid out, but most are empty. The children are all sat at one table, huddled close together, eating. They turn to look at me, but I realize rather quickly that they have no idea who I am. They only recognize my parents from their portrait on the wall. The older children stand.
“Please sit,” I tell them. The oldest girl is trying to eat and juggle holding a baby. I take the baby from her. “What’s the baby’s name?”
“We don’t know,” a little girl says.
“I’m sorry?” I look down at the baby knowing that I won’t be giving this baby back.
“Mrs. Spangle never told us. She just said we were in charge of her nappies, and that was it,” the older girl says.
“We’ve been calling her Daisy.”
“That’s a lovely name.”
“What’s your name?”
“Anya.” I kneel down to their level.
“Princess Anya?”
“Yes. That’s me.”
“Are you here to save us, Princess?”
“Yes,” I answer simply.
“How did you know we needed saving?” a little boy asks, putting his tiny hand on my cheek.
“My prince told me,” I whisper, tears filling my eyes.
I couldn’t have told you the last time these children took a hot bath or ate a hot meal. The kitchen was bare, and the children had only been eating oatmeal, not even hot oatmeal. The children, aged six months to sixteen, weren’t being properly cared for. Some of them had never even had a hug before. I was appalled but not shocked. Christopher told me this was happening, and while I hoped it wasn’t true, I didn’t think he’d lie about something like that. I was grateful that my father was with me because I could have killed the matron.
It took very little effort to figure out that the matron of the orphanage and the tax collector who was appointed in 2006 were taking the funds allocated to run the orphanage and keeping them for themselves. Once they were arrested, I went in and took everything over since my parents had allowed me to run over the orphanage myself. The first group of children affected by this only numbered nine, including Christopher. I found them all and apologized for the wrongs committed by those who should have cared for them when they needed them most. I also ensured they never had to worry about anything else ever again. The total number of children affected by Mrs. Spangle and Henry Callenger’s selfishness was forty. I took care of them, too. Making sure these children had everything they needed, even wanted, became the only thing I thought about it. It consumes me.
I also got rid of the rest of the staff at the orphanage. While they didn’t take any money, they certainly didn’t raise any alarms any higher than the matron when these kids had nothing. I couldn’t have slept at night knowing all they had was oatmeal and no fucking heat. I cleaned house and started over. It may seem excessive, but I don’t care.
* * *
The orphanage scandal was in the papers and on the news over the next month. I knew the people deserved answers. Once everything was in order satisfactorily, I scheduled a press conference for this morning. As soon as my feet hit the floor, I knew something was wrong. Off, if you will. I rushed into the bathroom and was sick.
