"She seems quite resilient to me." Anya murmured, cupping the crying child's left cheek. Her thumb gently caressed the eyepatch covering her blue eye.
"Does she have an infection?" Sister Anya asked, likely to Madame Delores.
"I-well she has-"
"Shhhhh" Anya decided she didn't want to hear Delores speak as she cooed at the girl crying into her gloved palm, smearing salty tears and blood. She had probably broken a few baby teeth, and Manon's cheek was bloodier than Delores'. Honestly, even Manon's jaw looked crooked. But it didn't matter. Sister Anya opened her mouth and began to sing.
The melody was sweet, too sweet. Like biting into a pastry with double sugar and candied berries. As she sang, golden light emitted from her fingers that rested on Manon's face. Slowly, blood was absorbed, her jaw clicked into place, and Manon could feel her teeth, loose on her tongue or hanging on for dear life, going back to their original position.
"Forgive me, father. I have sinned." Sister Anya said finally, standing up to her full height. Manon did not know what just happened. Healing magic? She finally looked at Colette who looked at her with shock. Sister Anya was rather violent indeed, but almost never used healing unless she favored the child or the child was getting adopted. This was unprecedented.
"Delores. I will be taking these children. I made a list just now, so collect them for me and meet me at the back door of the main house in 10 minutes." Sister Anya said, taking off the glove that had cupped Manon's cheek and tossing it to Madame as she walked to the exit without turning around.
"Colette, Remy, Stella, Beckham, Terrence, and…" She paused at the doorway, but still did not fully turn back around. Her head turned only slightly so they could see one of her icy blue eyes as they locked on one child.
"Manon."
Then she was gone.
Colette and surprisingly Remy were right on top of Manon as soon as the manager left. Colette was bewildered as she stared at Manon's healed face, lifting her eyepatch slightly and all. She was fine. Turning her attention to Remy, she raised an eyebrow.
[Remy is concerned about Manon's new prettier face. He intends to bully her even more harshly if she gets ugly again.]
Ah, Colette thought. Of course.
"I'm fine. I think she thought I really had an eye infection and healed me because of that." Manon said thoughtfully, wiping her tears. "Is the manager always so scary??"
Remy and Colette nodded together, along with a few other kids who had met the manager before. None seemed to register how Colette would know, thankfully.
"All the children selected come with me immediately." Madame Delores, with a busted cheek still, was waiting by the doorway now. Manon looked over at her and whispered to Colette.
"6 now." Colette nodded. It was probably because she got hit. Delores would see it as a punishment even if she got to go to the main house. It was better than nothing. Colette whispered back as they made their way to the door.
"What's your AP with Remy, Stella? And the Manager? Quickly do you remember??" she asked urgently. Manon shook her head, looking around swiftly.
"Remy 12, Stella 9. The manager I don't remember. But when she first came up to me and looked at me before she hit me it was 3." Colette's eyes bulged. Not only was her AP with Remy almost as high as hers, but Stella liked her and the Manager- who was notorious for not exceeding 2 AP until they entered the main house and interacted more, liked Manon more than usual….and probably liked her even more upon leaving more since she tested her with 2 slaps. Colette's own AP with the manager had been 2 upon her departure.
"Just stay close and I'll tell you what to say." Manon nodded in response just as they met up with the selected group. Madame Delores looked like she was going to say something else to Manon but just sighed instead, handing out a small woven bag for each of the 6 selected children.
"You each get a bag. Go to the bedroom and collect whatever personal belongings you would take should you be adopted. You have 5 minutes and you must meet me at the front door so we may depart to the main house. Anyone who doesn't make it in time will have to answer to the manager. Go now." She demanded, and the kids all scrambled towards the bedrooms.
Colette and Manon were luckily the only ones out of the chosen who were in the same room for the younger kids. Once inside, Colette immediately turned to Manon, who made a beeline for the brush under her pillow.
"Manon- listen very carefully. What is about to happen is called the adoption arc of the tutorial" She ranted as she put her favorite old stuffed bunny in her bag and a few ribbons she had hoarded. Just like the game, she wasn't sure when these items had appeared, but they appeared only as the adoption arc was set to begin. She grabbed them out of habit. "The objective is to protect you by keeping you away from the bosses, which are Sister Anya, and the man who will be coming. To do that, I need to divert attention from you. If we don't- it's game over. That's how the game goes."
Manon tried to follow but was confused even as Colette pulled her out of the room, seeing they had two minutes to get to the front of the house.
"So you need to get selected for adoption?" She asked. Colette nodded.
"If it's anyone else, in the game you would fail and die the next morning. Since this world is still a game, we should play it like the game to be safe. I have no idea what will happen to you if I die here." Manon understood this well. She did not want to be alone here either. "Everyone will shock you, I would tell you more but I don't want you to get scared and make a bad move out of fear. So just stick to me."
The girls made it just in time alongside Beckham, a blonde kid 1 year older. Everyone else was waiting for them. Madame checked her watch just once before turning and opening the door. "Follow me closely." She said before walking out.
The children scurried behind her like baby chicks, following so closely and diligently that they almost crashed into each other as Delores stopped at the back door of a much nicer looking building than the one they usually stayed in. It had always been visible outside the windows facing the front yard, but they did not know the houses were both on the same plot, separated only by a yard and a tall white rosebush.
"Ah, home sweet home," Remy said under his breath as the ornate door swung open. There was Sister Anya, in all her regal superiority. She held a candle in her left hand, looking at each child to confirm all 6 were present.
"Leave now, Delores. Come inside, children." She said simply, before retreating back into the building. She was never allowed inside this building. Delores gave the kids a final look.
"Behave. Or a slap is the least of your worries." She stated, before walking back to the old house in the back. The kids, led by Remy, all filed into the clean regal house in front of them.
The back door led into a velvet carpet hallway, with intricate celestial embroidery that ran 10 feet towards another doorway. Once through, a large foyer greeted them, a crystal chandelier as big as 10 of their bodies glimmering like a taunt, with Sister Anya waiting on the grand staircase to their left. Remy quickly made his way over to her, and the others followed like sheep.
Sister Anya smiled. "That's why I love having you here, Remington. I don't have to say a word." She said gently, before turning to walk further up the staircase.
"Where are we going?" Terrence whispered to him, curious as they followed.
"Bedroom assignments." He responded curtly. "2 to a room except the 2 oldest since Stella and I are the oldest and different genders." Anya stopped at a navy blue door to which Remy pointed to Terrence and Beckham. "You two, go in here. Put your things down then wait for the manager to come get you later. Don't speak to her directly unless she specifically tells you to speak."
It was known Remy was frequently here, as he was a popular child with nobles and wealthy families, handsome and smart. But he was too smart and troublesome for noble families to handle, especially since usually, families would adopt him as a playmate or friend for their similarly aged children. He would surpass their own biological children and either risk a rivalry in the eyes of the public for succession, or their biological child would be extremely jealous and find him polarizing to the point of bullying him. Whenever Remington was messed with, it only ended badly. He was a child who knew his place- but he was also a child who knew how to avoid painful punishment and always get revenge… So Anya frequently made him a candidate- not to adopt, per se though that would be fine, but because he was a useful aid who did not cross her and did not ask questions. He knew who he should respect and who to test. She liked a child with sense.
With nothing more to do as Remy would handle things, Sister Anya turned and left to finish her own preparations.
"Red doors are for girls. Stella gets her own room. Manon and Colette share a room. Same instructions. Stay and wait." Remy said before walking to a blue door further down the hall, but not shutting the door until he shot Colette a wink. Colette knew his AP was at 18 now.
The others wasted no time retreating to a room, while Colette stopped Manon from going further down that hall.
"It's better if we are closer to the stairs. Trust me." She said, pulling her to the other side of the staircase, where a red door hidden by the darkness sat flush against the wall. Colette opened the door to see a modestly large room with one large king sized bed with purple bedding and a lavish canopy.
"This is…amazing.." Manon coughed out, startled to say the least. "I see why Remy calls this home. That other house is like a chicken coop." She laughed dryly. Colette nodded, setting her bag on a desk.
"We are treated like noble children whilst here, because it means a rich person is coming to adopt, and they hate seeing dirty things." she began, taking Manon's bag and organizing her things. "They'll clean us, fix us up, and feed us super calorie magic food so we're plump and healthy enough to parade around."
"That's kinda messed up." Manon flopped onto the fluffy bed, immediately groaning in satisfaction, giggling and rolling around in comfort. "But I can't complain too much, I guess." She laughed again, making Colette offer a cynical smile. Soon, someone would come and get them for a shower and for a dress fitting.
Soon, they would enter the adoption game.
"But really, try not to be away from me at any point, and try not to speak to anyone so they don't speak to you. If you do, it may change the game and this part is so sensitive that I'm really worried things may change in a negative way…." Colette warned. Manon was growing a bit exasperated with her worries, but she understood why. This was a game, but it was not just a game, it was their reality now. If she wanted any chance at returning to her old world, she needed to live, and so did Colette. After seeing what Sister Anya could do to her without so much as a warning, she did not want to push her luck. Pain was real here, no matter how comically tragic the situations were.
"Okay, I'll do my best." Manon promised, her face twitching at the effort it took to not be frustrated at the whole thing. This had been her friend, someone who had seen all her sides. The sides she chooses to hide- including her crash-outs and blow-ups. But now, it felt…weird to even attempt to express exactly what she was feeling in front of her. Something kept nagging at her, something kept telling her to just wait.
Just as Colette was going to plop onto the bed beside her friend now that she was reassured, three loud, rough knocks banged on their bedroom door.