"I see."
It was another moment. One where Ms Sharity slowly put Jay’s things back where they belonged, taking in each item as she carefully placed them into the cupboards. Of course, I let the moment run its course; I did not want to interrupt it.
However, it was using the end of this moment that gave me the perfect segue— a transition to the real reason why I came here in the first place. Not that I did not care about Jay’s sewing or the orphanage. Most of my questions came naturally because I was actually interested in it. However, this was far more important than either of those.
Finally, she stopped, and I spoke.
"The… donations," I started.
"Pardon?"
"You said there was a lack of funding. Fewer donations. Did that have anything to do with those bad guys from yesterday?" I asked bluntly, since I was sick and tired of being subtle.
"The bad guys from— the debt collectors?" Ms Sharity exclaimed.
"I was just curious. I did not know what was going on when I came over yesterday, and Jay wouldn’t tell me either. I… they were scary. I don't want anything bad to happen to Jay…"
Although I was worried for him, I was more worried about the orphanage in general. But I did not say that.
"There’s no need to worry, Melas." The woman lowered herself to meet my gaze. "The Plague Doctor took care of them. You saw how amazing he was, right?"
"Yes, but what if they come back! The Plague Doctor won’t be here forever. What if there are more of those bad guys? I’m… why did they even come here? Why did this have to happen..." I trailed off.
Technically, I was telling the truth here: I did want to know the answer to these questions. I could tell Ms Sharity was reluctant to answer, but I gave my best puppy dog eyes and lied straight out of my teeth.
"I’m just so worried. I couldn’t sleep last night because of them. What— what if they come after me too? I’m so scared..."
Ms Sharity finally gave in. She pulled me into a hug, and began whispering. "It’s ok, it’s ok. They won’t come after you, or Jay. They’re bad people, but… they’re only after me. Because I made a mistake."
"But you’re such a good person, you don’t deserve this! Why would they do that— be so cruel— to you?" I asked, digging for information.
Her voice came out trembling. "I... needed the money. To keep everyone safe. So I went to some bad people. I thought as long as I paid them back on time, it would all be fine. But it wasn’t. They kept increasing what I owed them and threatened to take my children or this house away if I couldn’t pay them back. But I couldn’t let that happen, so I offered myself."
So she used herself as a guarantee for the loan, because she obviously could not let them take the kids away, and they needed a home to live in. It made sense, and it more than confirmed that these people were slavers— or at least, traded with slavers. We were in the border with the Free Lands after all.
"And where were they going to take you?"
"I’m not sure," Ms Sharity said, voice heavy, "but I think they would have brought me to... work for them."
I picked up on her implications, and decided not to address it. She was most likely only half right, anyways. So I played dumb, asking the question I needed the answer to. "Work where?"
"I’ve only ever been there once, when I first signed the contract with them. They brought me to this building far outside from town— about halfway to the next town over."
"Where is it? I need to know, so I can tell my father to avoid that road." I quickly brought up my cover story I made up earlier to justify why I had to know about it; I told her my parents were traveling merchants, and I was just visiting this town for a while and that we would be leaving soon.
"We took a wagon there and went off road at an intersection. However I think it was— no, it had to be more than ten miles from here. We took the western road there, and maybe went up north towards the end? I did not pay too much attention back then." Ms Sharity shook her head. "I know it’s a bit of a detour since you said you'll be going to the Capital, but you’ll be fine as long as you tell your father to take the south road first."
"I see," I said, content with finally getting some information.
It was not much, but I had to make do with it, as I was positive I was not going to get more. Maybe if I visited other towns and asked them about it, they would be able to provide something concrete.
This was enough for now though, so I bowed my head slightly. "Thank you, Ms Sharity. I feel much better thanks to you."
"I’m glad you do, Melas. I didn’t mean to bring you down while you were visiting."
"You didn’t. I’m really grateful for what you told me. And I was the one who mentioned it in the first place."
"No, no." Ms Sharity refuted. "But that’s enough talking about difficult things. Come, why don’t you stay for a bit until Jay comes back? I have some snacks— cookies, biscuits— prepared."
I was about to take
