Story for the New Year: The Orphanage
While King Alasdair is well known for his patronage to the orphans of Frewyn, his grandfather King Dorrin was a champion of children, adopting many and supporting still more. He makes a yearly visit to the orphanage in Diras to bring the children gifts for the holidays. Sometimes everything goes well during his visit, and sometimes not: P resently, the church doors opened, and from the nave came the Reverend Mother, a few of the Brothers and Sisters, and two-train of hopping children behind them. “There you are,” Dorrin declared, kneeling and addressing the small children first. “I was beginning to wonder where you were.” “Tilliegh had a nose bleed,” chimed one of the children, “so Sister Aoie had to clean her face before we came outside.” “You should have seen it, Majesty,” exclaimed another, his words whistling through the gaps in his teeth. “There was blood everywhere! I didn’t think a girl could bleed so much.”