True North

by S.M. Winter

Wards.

  My mouth dropped open. This was the place who had funded my education?

  “Welcome,” a tall, slender woman, wearing the clothes of an old style schoolmarm, walked out of the ballroom. “We’ve been expecting you.”

  She crouched and held out a hand to the boys, who shook her hand in turn. I wanted to dive into questions about my background, but this may not be the best time. I needed to try to get this woman alone so she can answer my questions.

  “My name is Miss Abigail Wolff,” she smiled at the boys. “Who might you be?”

  The boys clung to my leg and my stomach dropped to the floor. How could I leave them? “This is Thomas and Tad,” I squeezed them close.

  Miss Wolff seemed to sense my apprehension.

  “Why don’t you follow me,” she stood and gestured. “And we will tour the compound.”

  I took a boy by each hand and we followed Miss Wolff into the ballroom while Alexandar, Chauncy and Valerie stayed behind.

  “Through here is the main ballroom,” she threw her hands wide to encompass the space.

  Space seemed to be a relative term for the expanse of rich hardwoods and marble pillars. I’d had my share of state dinners and charity auctions but none could compare to this. Velvet curtains were pulled back from floor to ceiling paneled windows. They let in a surprising amount of light, given we were supposed to be far below ground.

  “How far below ground are we?” I asked.

  “If you’re worried about our security, don’t be,” Miss Wolff continued walking as she spoke. “We only have a few entrances and exits and they are well secured. Now if your question stemmed from the light we have a number of UV lights set up in our garden area, which allows for a very realistic sun like experience.”

  Realistic sun like experience. What was I getting these boys into?

  “The ballroom is used for supervised exercise,” Miss Wolff continued. “We have a number of activities that rotate on given days of the week: fencing, gymnastics, and archery among them.”

  I looked down to gauge the boys’ reaction to the activities and they didn’t seem too thrilled.

  “Through here are the dining halls and kitchen.”

  Miss Wolff opened a set of white paneled doors to reveal what looked like a high school cafeteria and an open kitchen behind a standard Plexiglas covered buffet table. Everything seemed well lit and sterile. Images of past high school persecutions played through my mind and made me shudder. I hoped the boys would not have to live the horrors I dealt with in school.

  “There are three full meals served per day, but there is always something available in case the meal just isn’t quite enough. We want the children to feel comfortable, as if they were with their loved ones.”

  I nodded when she looked back at me and smiled. I hoped the guilt wasn’t too apparent in my expression.

  “Where are all the other children?” I asked.

  “Thankfully we do not house as many as we once did,” Miss Wolff turned off into what looked like a common room with three separate televisions, couches and chairs pulled around them. A few scattered children sat around one television that was playing what looked like an episode of Days of Our Lives. Some looked over at our entry and others pretended not to notice.

  “Days of Our Lives seems an odd choice for children,” I commented.

  “This is the school’s weekend,” Miss Wolff responded, smiling at the children around the television. “So the children have two days of free time or for some time to catch up on some homework. Days of Our Lives reminds many of the children of home, rather than the cartoons that many children watch. Some of these kids have grown up faster than you would hope.”

  With a cough and an embarrassed smile one of the kids hopped up and ran off while Miss Wolff chuckled.

  “We are strict with lights out and what time classes are to be attended,” she walked through yet another set of double doors. “But we do our best to accommodate every child’s needs.”

  I began to wonder if this school was connected to the library somehow, it also seemed to go on forever.

  “Down there is the art and music room,” she pointed down the hall that passed under another set of stairs. “Up there is the dormitories, a through here is my office.”

  She pulled out a set of keys to unlock her tiny door. A key winked out at me from the ring that looked a lot like the Elemental keys before she put them in her pocket. I made a mental note to ask Valerie about that later.

  Miss Wolff’s office was the smallest room out of everything we’d seen so far. It looked like it should have been a janitor’s closet.

  “I appropriated the chemical store room as my office because the actual supplies needed a bigger room,” she chuckled. “It gets a bit cozy in here, but we needed the space and it’s all for the greater good.”

  The boys had death grips on my hands and before we could attempt to cram into the minute space a very quick staccato clicking came our way in the form of a puppy. The boys dropped my hands so quickly it was almost comical.

  “Puppy!” They both squealed and pounced to the very real delight of the canine.

  “Hennessy!” A harassed looking cook came barreling out of the common room door brandishing a soup ladle like a club. “I swear I will make you into soup the next time you jump on my table and steal my meat!”

  The thickness of the man’s French accent made his speech near impossible to understand.

  “Jacques,” Miss Wolff’s tone chilled the air by about ten degrees.

  “Abigail, I told you to keep that thing out of the kitchen,” he puffed his chest and stuck the soup ladle conspicuously behind his back. “I will thank you to keep my area sanitary.”

  “Hmm,” Miss Wolff arched a brow and I watched as the gears turned inside her head. “Well it seems I will need two helpers to keep tabs on Hennessy, won’t I?”

  “We can help!” Thomas volunteered immediately. Tad nodded so vigorously I was afraid he may hurt himself.

  Miss Wolff made a shooing motion at the cook. The man bowed and scooted backward while cursing in French. I wasn’t fluent but I did pick up a few words to the effect of snotty, spoiled and something about servitude. I shrugged it off and turned back to the boys, who were receiving very specific instructions.

  “He eats twice a day,” Miss Wolff was telling them, then she looked at me and lowered her voice. “And needs to go outside often. I will show you everything you need to know today but it’s a secret. So we have to wait until your Aunt leaves.”

  The boys looked back at me and I had to hold firm. It took all my strength to smile, rather than burst into tears. The look of betrayal was gone, but I knew they didn’t want me to go. I crouched down and hugged them both close.

  “I will come next week to see how you two are doing,” I told them. “It seems as though you are in great hands and Miss Wolff knows how to contact me if either of you needs anything. I love you both so much.”

  Tad was crying and begging me to stay. Thomas took his hand and pulled him close. It was a heartbreaking image and I thought fleetingly that Thomas’ childhood was over. He was still so young, but he looked at me with dry eyes and nodded, as if to say he could handle it from here. How could he when I wasn’t sure if I could? I kissed them both one last time and left them in the very capable hands of Miss Wolff. I needed to get out of there before I lost all composure.

  My last vision was of Thomas holding Tad close, lip firmed and eyes shining. I knew it would haunt my dreams for the rest of my life. They had endured so much loss in such a short time and here I was, adding to it. My resolve wavered for just a moment, then I turned and left them. Their sobs echoed behind me. If the attack on myself was any indication of the safety of the island, then I knew there was no way I could keep the boys safe in the Sanctuary. This was unfortunately the only option. Perhaps when they were older... I let that thought die before it began. Who was to say that I would survive the next twenty four hours, let alone the ne
xt decade?

  I stepped into a private alcove to compose myself. The boys’ cries had followed me and were echoing down the hallway. I hated myself. A lump had formed in my throat and I had a difficult time swallowing. My chest felt heavy and my eyes burned. Taking a deep, shuddering breath I tried to fight off the tears. I leaned against the walled and banged my head backward, then let myself slide to the ground. I couldn’t breathe. The hiccupping sobs wracked my body. I barely noticed when I was picked up off my feet and cradled in large arms. I curled in and let them hold me. It wasn’t for some time that I realized it was Chauncy who held me.

  I took another shuddering breath.

  “Take your time honey,” he brushed the hair from my sticky face. “Let yourself feel, the good and the bad. Don’t push it down. It can fester if you do.”

  He held me close and the feeling of someone being there had tears streaming anew. No one had ever held me just like this before. Without reservations. Unconditional support. When my eyes had dried enough, I sat up and gave him a watery smile.

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  After we had returned to the sanctuary I went straight to the library to get lost. It didn’t occur to me until too late that I had failed to ask the woman questions about my background and who the money had come from for my schooling.

  It felt as though the walls were judging me. Though I still could not see them, now that I knew they were there I could feel the faeries. Though that also could have