Chapter 33 We go to the store and buy school supplies she needs. Maleena runs into Genevive on the way out, apparently those two hit it off on the tour. She asks if she could go to the coffee shop with Genevive and I give her a few dollars so she can get them some coffee and food. I am walking down the square when I hear a child crying. Fen and I tune in and hear the conversation. "One of them should be here. I don't understand why they are always late." I hear a woman say. I look over to find two women standing next to two children at the grade school. "You know they have a hard time picking up the kids. They are new to parenting." The other woman says. "Shh it will be alright, they will be here soon." The little girl says. "But I'm hungry. They forgot to give us lunch money." I hear the boy say. The two women continue their conversation not acknowledging the children. "I have to grade papers and make the schedule for next week." One of the females says. "You can go ahead. I will wait here with the children. Hopefully one of them will be here soon. I have to get to the high school band practice in a few minutes." I sigh. These teachers are supposed to care for children. I start walking in their direction. "Who is that?" I hear one of the women ask. "I don't know. She isn't a parent and I have never seen her before." The other says. Apparently, many people in this pack are mated or else they would know who I am from the ball. "Good afternoon ladies." I say politely. "I am LeeAca Petrovich." I say and they gasp and bow. "Your highness. I apologize, we didn't recognize you." One of the women says. "I understand. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." I say and their eyes widen and faces get red with embarrassment. "If you don't mind. What seems to be the problem?" I ask. "Well the children's parents died 6 months ago and they went to live with their aunt and uncle. They have no other children so they can't seem to get their bearings on how to schedule around having two children now." The woman who said she had band practice states. "They are always at least an hour late to pick the children up." The other woman says. It has only been 20 minutes since school was let out. I hear the boys stomach rumble and I feel sad for him. "You two can go to what you are needing to do. I will watch them till their aunt or uncle get here." I say. They both are surprised. "Luna we can't do that." They say at the same time. "And why not?" I ask pointedly. "Well because it is our job." The woman says. "Then don't complain about it while the children are still here. Is it your job to bash their guardians while the children are in earshot?" I ask. "I well, we. They are just always late and it is frustrating." The woman says. "You two may leave." I say sternly, not wanting to hear anything else they have to say. They left and I went up to the kids. They are young 6 and 8. They both have sandy blond hair with brown eyes. I mindlink Maleena and tell her to grab me a sandwich on her way home and bring it to the school. "What are your names?" I ask sitting down on the grass next to them. "I am Breana and this is Christopher." The girl says sitting down, the boy follows his sister. "It's nice to meet you. I am LeeAca." I say smiling to them. The girl looks at me. "I heard the teachers say you are the Luna." She says. "I will be." I say nicely, even though Fen growls in my head. "Why are you here?" Christopher asks, looking up to me. "Well I was walking home from the main strip when I saw you two. I wanted to come say hi." I say. "Oh. Hi. He says shyly. I see Maleena walking up from the square and the children look at her questioningly. I smile as she walks closer and hands me a bag. She looks at me questioningly. "Maleena, this is Breana and Christopher, my new friends." I say, introducing them. I pull out the food, which is a turkey and cheese sub. I hear the kid's stomach growl. "Do you two like turkey and cheese subs?" I ask and their eyes light up. They nod excitedly. I give them both a napkin and half of the sub. They start devouring it. I thank Maleena and she continues home. The kids and I sit there talking about random things when a tired looking woman walks up. She holds some resemblance to the children and I can smell the connection. This must be their Aunt. She looks at me and smiles tiredly. "Sorry I am late Ms.. "She says looking at me questioningly. "I apologize, are you a new teacher?" "Aunty Lyn this is Luna LeeAca." Breana says. The woman's eyes go wide and she quickly bows. "Luna, I am sorry. I didn't know who you were. Nobody in the pack has seen you much, only heard about you." She says quickly. "That is alright I was just keeping the kids company. The teachers had someplace they needed to be." I said politely. The woman nods her head and I can feel the embarrassment and shame coming from her. I look over at the kids then look over at the playground about 10 feet away. "Hey kids. Why don't you go play on the playground? I would like to talk with your aunt a little." I say pointing toward the playground. The jump and start running over to the swings. I feel Lyn's worry start to increase. "Luna, I am so very sorry you had to watch the children. I am new at this and am struggling to find time to pick them up. My husband and I own one of the diners downtown and there are only three of us working there. After school is one of the busiest times. Please don't take them from us. They are our only connection to my sister." She says as she starts crying. "I wasn't going to take them from you. I only wanted to know what you need to help with your circumstance." I say. Shocking her. She looks up to me still with tears falling down her face. "Wha.. What?" She asks, confused. "I understand that it is hard to raise children, especially when you have none of your own. It will be a great adjustment, and I am sure you need help. The children said they didn't eat lunch." I say gauging her reaction. Her eyes go big at the realization then her tears start rolling again. "I completely forgot about lunch for them. I had a big order at the restaurant and was distracted. I don't know what I am going to do. I am such a horrible guardian." She says breaking down even more. She has a lot of stress, I can feel it. So many emotions are rolling off of her, not one of them is close to being happy. "Is there a daycare that is offered for children with parents who can't pick them up right away?" I ask. "There is, but we can't afford it. Ever since the kids came to live with us we have had to buy them new everything. Their house burned down 7 months ago. Their parents died, while the children lived. Ever since then we have been trying, but with our cafe going down hill and not profiting much anymore it is hard to keep afloat. Not to mention it is me and my husband running the place. All of our employees quit a year ago to go work for other places around town. We weren't bad employers, but our pay was minimum wage, while the other places were higher." She rambles. "I understand. Would it help you if there was a free daycare for the children to go to?" I ask. "That would help tremendously." She says sniffling. "I will do my best to help remedy the situation. Consider the daycare built by the end of next week. If you need me to, I am more than happy to come and walk the children to your cafe after school, so you don't have to worry about the rush." I say surprising her even more. "Oh Luna. You need not worry yourself with my trivial problems. I know you have a lot on your plate already." She says feeling guilty. "It is no trivial problem. You are a pack member and all pack members should be able to ask for help when they need it." I say patting her on the shoulder giving her some calm energy. "Alright. If it isn't too much to ask." She says. "Of course not. Just try to remember the childrens lunch, or they will be taken away. That is one thing that is a basic need. Food." I say partially scolding her. "No I won't... Children! Come on, it's time to go! "She yells for them. They come running up and grab their bags. Breana hugs one of my legs, while Christopher follows her and hugs the other. "Thank you for the sandwich Luna." Breana says and lets go and takes her aunt's hand. Christopher does the same thing smiling and waving goodbye. I stand there for a minute thinking about what just happened. "Another Luna project!" Fen spits at me. "Look, Fen. We have always helped people in need. If we didn't take action now could you imagine how those kids would have felt another 6 months from now. The teachers would have resented them because of their guardians and kids probably would start bullying them. I am not having that." I say defensively. "Why do you feel the need to help everybody all of a sudden?" Fen pouts in my head. "Because it is the right thing to do. We did it before. We just weren't as nice about it." I say back. "Whatever. You better not be going all Luna on me. Well it looks like you already have." She grumbles. "We do need to start playing the part don't we? At least we can help people without it being too weird." I say as I start to head back to the castle. In Addicted to You movie, Audrey's biggest regret? A one-night stand with Floyd, her secret love for eight years. Despite his arranged marriage and his family's troubles, he kept rescuing her. She tho...