Farron gave an embarrassed smile back to Azura.
The orphanage was quite a large building, made of a light brown wood and looked like a very fancy mansion. It had a very nice and light feel to the place, making the surrounding area feel dark and gloomy compared to here. Sabrina led Azura inside, the other children who were there had made their way back already except for Kalli and Kane who were quietly chatting with Farron behind them.
The landing area had a double set of stairs in the middle, intricate paintings lined the wood all around the place. Toys were scattered here and there and a middle aged women was walking around and placing them in a box. When she noticed the group, she smiled and walked over.
"Hello there! Children. Farron, welcome back and who might you be?" She turned to Azura.
"I, Uh- My name is Azura. I am a friend of Farron's." She decided to leave out the 'Princess of Rosgard' part.
"This is a really nice place. Iv'e never actually been inside an orphanage before," she mused. She let her eyes wander around the building, and she noticed a picture of a woman on the wall that looked familiar.
"Who is that?" she asked, and pointed to the painting.
"That, my dear, is the late queen," the woman answered.
Hm, that's funny, Azura thought. I've never met the queen before.
Farron swallowed and withdrew his gaze from the painting, "Reyna…"
"Oh… sorry, Farron. Well, Azura while you're here do you want a tour of the place? It's nothing exciting but you can look around if you wish." The woman, Reyna said gently, her gaze occasionally flicking to Farron with a worried expression.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Azura said. She was really disappointed. Did she just see that, or did she imagine it? Was Farron hiding something? Nevertheless, she followed Reyna down the corridor, with Farron bringing up the rear.
Sabrina held Azura's hand while Reyna took them round the orphanage. The twins stayed with Farron as they walked at the back, making quiet conversation. After a while, they made it back to the beginning to of the house.
"Not very exciting, but that's the place." Reyna said with a small sigh.
"I like it! Thank you for the tour," she said to Rena. Then she bent down to Sabrina's level and ruffled her hair.
"I'll have to come back and visit sometime," she said. Sabrina smiled and hugged Azura. She stood and waved at the twins, then began making her way to the door.
Farron gave a nod and a hug to the twins, a warm smile and hug to Sabrina and hug to Reyna before following Azura to the door. He held it open for her then followed as they walked out of the area and down the street,
"I know I've seen that woman before," Azura was mumbling to herself. "But where?"
Secretly, she figured that Farron knew something else that he wasn't telling her.
If you do, please tell me, she thought. Please be honest with me.
"Rosguard. You've seen her in Rosguard." Farron said, keeping his voice cool and calm like normal. He let out a deep sigh through his nose and shook his head a little, focusing on the lanterns on the path ahead.
"Really, something tells me that she didn't look like herself when I saw her. She looked. . . different. That's why she looked familiar but I didn't know she was the queen," she said, deep in thought.
Farron nodded and rubbed at her neck, “Yeah… got got that right…” He muttered, picking up an apple from a stand and placing a small sliver coin on the wood afterwards.
Azura decided not to say anything on the way back, and they made a full circle back to the palace. When they were approaching, some guards from another kingdom were at the gate; their outfits looked familiar.
"Rosgardian guards," Azura breathed.
Farron stopped momentarily and cursed violently in his native tongue, “This way.” He muttered, grabbing her arm and taking a sharp turn right down a dark alleyway. Of course this had to happen. He mumbled something inaudible as he kicked open a grate in the cobblestone, “In.”
"I thought you said we could stay as long as we wanted," Azura said sarcastically.
"But I mean, we should be safe, right? Since your brother knows we're here, and he's your brother, he wouldn't say anything, would he?"
“The tunnels will take us back to the palace, now get in.” Farron said firmly, jerking his head at the grate in the floor. Now wasn’t the time for arguments.
"Ok, fine, no need to be so pushy," she said, but got in. She was walking a bit quickly, but when he passed her, she sped up.
Slowly, Farron led them through the tunnels, kicking at the occasional rat that passed. After what seemed like forever, Farron led them up a slope and pushed at a rock, opening up into a corridor on the castle.
As she stepped out, she decided to mess with Farron a bit.
"Out of curiosity," Azura started with a smirk, "why are you so accustomed to so many underground tunnels?"
Farron rolled his eyes, “Many games of hide and seek here with Herla.”
"Oh yeah? Well what about the ones in Rosgard?" she poked him in the side.
Farron nudged her back with a small smile, “I got bored one evening and found them.”
"Oh, alright, that makes a lot of sense," she smiled. Then she turned her attention back to the task at hand.
"Do you think they will come in the palace?"
Farron sighed and shrugged a shoulder, “I’m not sure. Hero can refuse to deny them entry as he is king but… I’m not sure.”
"Why aren't you sure, do you think he would give us away?" She asked. But soon after, she heard scuffling noises coming down the hallway towards them.
"No, I don't think he'd give us away…" Farron muttered, pushing Azura into a near by room and motioning for her to stay quiet.
