Colette had Manon try her best to avoid Madame until after lunch, as thankfully, Madame was lazing in her room for most of the late morning as they all completed their chores.
But the children made it difficult.
Immediately upon seeing Colette without a black furry friend with her, they naturally became curious even as Manon was there, getting her meal of soup and bread.
"Wait- who is that?" Stella pointed out- meaning to annoy Colette at first but only managing a dirty look as she grabbed her food until she realized the ginger was with someone. "I thought Victoria was adopted last month?" Colette quickly ushered Manon away from the nosey girl, trying to salvage what time they had left in peace. But Stella's confusion only piqued everyone's interest, especially Remy.
"Well I'll be damned. Isn't that Murky Manon?" He grinned widely, and Colette paled as she saw him approach the table they'd just sat at to eat.
[Remy is shocked at Manon's appearance. He likes it much better than before, which makes him dislike her more. He intends to tease her ruthlessly.]
Before he could begin, Colette jumped up suddenly, startling everyone as she tore a piece of her bread and shoved it into Remy's open mouth. It shut him up, surprisingly. And the boy grinned wider as he chewed the bread thoughtfully.
[Remy is pleased that Colette fed him. He thinks she wants him to back off for now. He intends to comply for now but it is not the end.]
Colette let out a breath of relief as Manon began eating, unbothered. Remy simply sat down across from her and stared as he ate his own food in silence. Colette was not unbothered. She was in fact- very bothered by such a strange response. Remy always hated Manon's guts. He always shunned her, berated her, and pushed her around. It was very devious and uncomfortable to see any disconnect from that previous behavior. But at least he was quiet. So with an anxious lump in her throat, Colette sat down and ate her food.
Stella seemed to let it go too, opting to "accidentally" spill a little water on Colette's head as she passed by, earning a questioning look from Remy. Colette wiped away the droplets, Manon even helping her silently.
"What's with Manon's hair?"
"Did she finally find out what a brush was?"
"Why is it so long??"
Whispers surrounded them as kids gathered to eat their lunch, causing much commotion to a meal that was usually fairly quiet and peaceful. This is what immediately caused Madame to be curious as soon as she entered the kitchen dining area.
"What is all this noise?? I can hardly hear myself thin-" She froze upon seeing Manon, Remy, and Colette together, but specifically Manon, of course. Her face grew as red as her lipstick.
"What is the meaning of this? Just what magic item did you steal, young lady?" She angrily bellowed, stomping right over to them. Colette quickly tried to read her intent.
[Madame believes Manon had to have stolen something or had Remy steal to fix her hair. She intends to lock her in the solitary room as a punishment.]
Manon looked at Madame, terrified at the contortion of the woman's features as she came up to her directly. She could see the 5 Affection points dip down to 4. Then 3. She was extremely scared as she latched onto Colette, thankful she had already finished her food or she may have been subject to starve for the rest of the day- that is if she can even survive this scene.
She was then given some options on how to respond.
....
[A: What do you mean, Madame? I didn't do anything wrong.]
[B: Remy helped me. Please forgive him. He was just being kind.]
[C: I did it myself without any help]
[D: Colette helped me brush my hair]
...
Just as she turned to Colette to ask which she should choose, Colette whispered, "B, say B." Manon breathed in relief. She could see it. Thank goodness. But B??? Implicating Remy? Manon was confused and baffled.
Colette squeezed her arm, knowing she had to respond quickly. Manon opened her mouth, trusting Colette. She allowed the uncomfortable feeling of being controlled wash over her. Suddenly, she was not herself. She was a character, an NPC. Only doing as the prewritten prompts allowed as she spoke.
"Remy offered his assistance since he knew the manager was coming today. I am sorry Madame. Please don't blame him. He was just being nice to me."
The air froze as Remy raised an eyebrow, Madame's attention now on him.
Colette looked at him with pleading eyes, but Manon looked at him like he would die if he messed up. Amused. Remy became very amused.
"Yeah. I found a magic hair product in my things from my last adoption. Gave it to Mammoth- I mean Manon so she didn't get reprimanded by the manager for having those matted furs." He smiled. "Please forgive me, Madame Delores," he said playfully. The madame pinched her lips.
[The Madame is glad Manon did not lie- but she fears that Remy is lying about not stealing. She still intends to punish Manon for it simply because someone needed to take the blame and Remy was the manager's favorite.]
"I'm glad Manon is not a foolish liar like you, Remington. However-"
"I didn't know you raised foolish liars, Delores." A calm, cool voice rang out.
The children and Delores scrambled to look at the entrance.
Standing there, regal and fair, was a beautiful woman, long, glistening pale blonde hair with a fringe and frozen blue eyes, a royal blue and white nun's habit with gold embellishments. She was like a diamond walking around in a dirty swamp. Compared to Madame, she looked like she was leagues and leagues above her in rank, eloquence, and everything in between. She was young, late 20s at best, and looked calm despite the prickly gleam in her eyes. Though her attire and appearance represented kindness, purity, generosity, a faithfulness to her god- her demeanor gave something else.
"S-Sister Anya!! Why didn't you call before? You're very early!" Madame stuttered, bowing her head. "Children, stand up and bow immediately. The manager is a noblewoman and clergy representative. Hurry up!"
Quickly and without question, the children all tripped over themselves to bow their heads, abandoning their food and drink to give their undivided attention to the manager. Colette thought she would throw up. It was much too soon. Anya had been early by 20 minutes. Why?
Sister Anya walked closer, slowly, like she had all the time in the world. Her shoes were not visible under her long robes, but everyone could hear the clack of each heeled shoe somehow thundering but also gracefully meeting the creaking wood floors. Her eyes flitted around as she walked, inspecting each child carefully, then Delores.
"Delores. Look at me." She said, smiling gently as she stopped in front of the older woman. The Madame complied, her face hopeful. But as soon as she did, a firm, icy cold gloved hand met her left cheek with a force that threw the woman to the ground. The slap echoed throughout the room with a boom. Delores cupped her bloody cheek in agony as she stayed on the ground, her face blank as if she were used to the treatment.
"You're already a filthy woman, a nobody commoner whom I gave such a generous position to- but you dare raise "foolish liars"? Lying is a sin, Delores." Sister Anya laughed, a pure and delightful sound for such a violent woman of the church. She laughed, her face contorting into an expression of mild but vile amusement. Her laugh gave Manon goosebumps, and for the first time, feeling, hearing and seeing this firsthand rather than through a screen, Colette was also afraid. "These are children...our benevolent God Yahweh says that all sins committed by a child are a result of their guardian- so the Guardian must be punished. Please forgive me for laying hands on you, Delores." She said sweetly. Madame did not reply, just bowed her head deeply.
With just two more strides, Sister Anya was in front of Remy, standing him up via a deep grip on his hair. Remy just grinned at her, his stormy eyes brewing. The woman hummed, as if pleased, and released him. Colette then had the idea to read her intent.
[…The Orphanage Manager, Sister Anya, has magic blocks in place. You cannot read her intent until you gain at least 10 Affection points with her.]
Colette cursed in her brain. These rewards kept having surprise restrictions. Were they really that great if they weren't disclosed beforehand? She gritted her teeth just as Anya turned to look at Manon. She couldn't tell what she was thinking at all.
"Delores," Sister said. The Madame got up immediately.
"Yes, Sister Anya." The elegant woman smiled and gestured to the children with one of her gloved hands, before clasping them together.
"Which children were you planning to recommend to me?"
"Ah- well the fox haired girl Colette in front of you. She is the youngest and newest child. She is a bit frail but she is very pretty and thoughtful. She would make a great lady. Also, Stella and Remy-"
"Yes, yes, sir Remington is always going to come, isn't he…." The Manager's eyes briefly flitted over Colette and Remy, then back to Manon, to which her gloved finger pointed at her forehead, the tip of her nail meeting the girl's skin with a pinch. "But what about this one? She is smaller than Colette, yes? Who is this one" Colette and Manon held their breath as the Madame stuttered, not wanting Manon to be chosen.
"T-that is Manon. She is very sickly. She can't be chos-"
"I….will decide who is chosen, Delores~" Anya sang, shaking her head in distaste. Delores shut her mouth and stayed silent. "So this is Manon…" She carefully looked at the girl's face, scanning the eyepatch, her round lips, slightly slanted but round eye that gave an interesting aura to the girl. Her exceedingly long inky black hair that was- not rare, but rare for a commoner orphan.
"Manon, are you sickly?" Anya inquired.
Manon did not see her usual reply options. Usually after being spoken to, there were at least 2. Colette figured as much- as the manager hated people who spoke to her directly without her telling them to speak explicitly. The options did not show up, because Anya was not wanting any response. At first Manon was confused, that was until she felt it.
A sharp, brain rattling pain on the side of her face. And then she was limp, only held up by a white fist clenching the front of her rag dress.
Sister Anya wound back her gloved hand and smacked her again on the same cheek, with the same force, before releasing her abruptly, causing the small child to fall to the ground. No child dared to move. It took Colette every ounce of her sanity to stay still and not look at her friend. It would only be worse if she did.
Manon didn't know what to do. She wanted to hit back, to fight back, to do something, but it was like the game was controlling her and stifling her actions and words. The only thing she could do….was…cry.
So she did, quietly. She allowed the thick droplets of tears to stream as she pressed her lips together to keep quiet. It felt like hours, but it had probably only been 30 seconds of this, no sound at all in the room aside from her occasional hiccup sniffle through her nose, until Sister Anya finally knelt down to her level.