Andy wandered through the market. He wanted to make dinner for Ann soon and had a recipe in mind. The problem was that he was having trouble finding the ingredients. Some had different names here and some were rare. He thought about bringing seed from Earth, but he knew the potential dangers of introducing a living organism to a new habitat. He would work with the palace cook some to help him learn the local names but for now, he had pictures. He left another shop. The merchant hadn’t been able to help him. Although the man was too much of a businessman to be insulting, Andy was pretty sure he thought he was an imbecile. He became aware of a commotion to his left a moment before a little girl came running at him at top speed. She threw an arm around his waist and spun around him as if the hide behind him. “Lamdi? What’s going on?” The girl never acted like this. She was scared of him and would hide when he came to the home. Then he saw two people come out of the crowd after her. He pulled his knife and glanced around for a guard. “Stay back,” he warned. “I won’t let you hurt her.” “Hurt her? You’re the one hurting her,” the woman claimed. “Give us back our daughter,” the man commanded. “Daughter?” Andy pulled Lamdi out from behind him. She clung to him. It had to be excruciating for her where she only had a little bit of training to control her healing abilities. “Lamdi, are these your parents?” “Don’t send me back,” she begged. “You can’t keep our daughter from us,” the woman insisted. “Actually, I can,” Andy informed her. “By the law, the crown may take custody of any children neglected or abused by their parents.” Normally, he didn’t like to admit he was now a prince, but he needed to protect the girl. “The crown?” The man asked. “He’s Prince Andy. He married the shimmering princess,” Lamdi told them. “How about we go back to the palace and see if we can work this out,” Andy suggested. “I know Lamdi has a problem with crowds.” He’d felt her flinch several times already as people brushed her. “We’ll tell them what kind of pervert you are and have you arrested,” the woman claimed. Andy ignored the comment and started toward the palace. Once there, they passed Crito heading to the barracks. He must have just gotten off duty because he still wore his uniform. The woman grabbed his arm. “Arrest that man. He’s been hurting our daughter.” Crito stifled a laugh at the thought. “Prince Andy?” “Look at the way he’s holding her. She doesn’t like to be touched. He won’t let us take her.” “Ma’am, Prince Andy’s married to a dragon. Do you know what she would do to him if he ever did what you suggested? Just hearing about it would give you nightmares.” “We’re just going to talk and see what’s going on,” Andy explained. Crito nodded. “This little one is from the home, isn’t she? Go with the prince, ma’am. He’ll help you out.” He turned and spoke softly to a nearby page who hurried off. “Perhaps you can talk in here.” He led them to a meeting room. Andy was only slightly surprised by Crito’s behavior, acting as much like a steward as he was a guard. He’d found that Crito made his duty his life. There was no time he wasn’t on duty and there was little he wouldn’t do to fulfill it. Andy pulled a chair to the corner for Lamdi to sit in while they sat on the opposite side of the room. Thailyn believed she was a sensitive. She would read his old injuries if they were close. He’d had plenty. It was probably why she hid from them. “Lamdi, baby, come here,” her mom requested, holding out her arms. Lamdi shook her head and pressed against the back of the chair. “What did you do to her?” Her father looked at him accusingly. “Me? Nothing. Normally, she won’t come near me. It makes me wonder what you did to her,” Andy told them. “You can’t keep her from us. We’re good parents,” the woman insisted. “Then why did she run away?” Andy asked. “She says you hurt her.” Before they could respond, Prince Remtani entered. “Good morning,” he greeted them. “I’m Prince Remtani, the crown prince. I was told there’s a problem.” “That man abducted our daughter,” the woman claimed. “Andy?” Remtani laughed. “He’s married to my sister, the dragon. If he ever hurt a child, she’d given to Drepal.” “Drepal?” The woman frowned. Remtani nodded. “She’s Princess Ann’s sister, twins in fact. She’s quite protective of children. I can’t imagine what she’d do to him if he hurt Lamdi.” “But…” She started. Remtani cut her off. “Lamdi ran away from home. She claims you hurt her. She’s been staying at a home for runaways, kids that were abandoned, or for some other reason can’t live with their parents. She’s staying there until we can get to the bottom of this. When we’re done here, Lamdi will take you there and you can visit with them.” “Visit?” The father frowned. Remtani nodded. “The home is about protecting children, not tearing families apart. We want children to be reconciled with their families, but of course, if that would put the child in danger, we don’t want that. Until we know what’s going on, visits are safest,” Remtani explained. The parents looked at one another. “Go with Andy and meet the people Lamdi’s been staying with. I need to finish up a few things that can’t wait. And then I’ll be out to talk with you more and see what we can work out,” Remtani suggested. Finally, the couple agreed. They started out. Remtani held Andy back a moment. “I’ll be there as quick as I can. I’ll bring Jo with me.” “Good luck with that,” Andy whispered back. “If need be, I’ll bring Nim too. He can sit in the next room and draw for the kids.” Andy nodded. “I’ll keep them occupied until then.” “Thanks. I owe you.” “You better start paying up.” Andy grinned. “It won’t do for a king to start his reign in so much debt.” “Hopefully, I’ve got plenty of time before that.” “Plenty more time to rack up, sorry, accumulate more debt.” Remtani shook his head. “Go.” *** Remtani rode with Jo and Nim in the royal coach. If he tried to walk, too often, he was recognized and people would harass him. Sometimes, he was able to get where he was going if he dressed as a soldier, but he knew needed to look the part of a prince today. As he entered, Rella looked up at him, hopeful. Remtani shook his head. “Soon,” he promised. The boy wanted to see his dad. His dad was in prison for murder. Remtani hadn’t known about the boy when he’d arrested the father but found him later in the prison. Somehow, he’d managed to sneak in through the guards’ entrance. He had no mother and didn’t know where else to go. When he was discovered, the father had been slipping him food. Remtani had tried to remove the boy and the boy hit him in an attempt to get arrested to be able to stay with his dad. Remtani brought him to the home as the first kid. They were still working out the logistics, but Pt’this and Sapphire were willing to take him in. Remtani took him to visit his dad whenever he could. Rella was doing well, and his dad didn’t worry and was much more cooperative for it. Jo led the way to her office. Andy, Lamdi, and her parents followed. Nim sat just outside the door. “This is Lady Jo,” Remtani introduced her. “She helps with reuniting families. Sometimes, it can be quite a shock, especially when a child’s been gone for a long time.” Lamdi pushed her chair as far from the others as possible. “Family is very important,” Jo added. “We want to try to unite the kids with the parents whenever possible. And we want to work with parents to help with what problems caused the children to leave and fix them. “Now, Lamdi’s only been with us a few months and hasn’t been very forthcoming as to what happened. All she told us is that you hurt her and that you sent her away.” “We did no such thing,” her mother insisted, hands on hips. “You did,” Lamdi claimed. “You always hurt me.” Then she realized everyone was looking at her and covered her face. “Lamdi, would you like Chormi to join us?” Jo offered. Lamdi nodded. “Who’s Chormi?” Her dad asked. “Another boy who lives here,” Remtani explained while Jo went to get him. “He’s my brother,” Lamdi said softly. “We’re all family here.” “It’s mostly dragons running the place. They have a dizzying sense of family,” Remtani explained. Jo and Chormi entered. Chormi looked around and then pulled a chair close to Lamdi. Remtani saw Lamdi’s parents frown, disapprovingly. They weren’t wealthy by any stretch but Chormi still looked like the grifter he had been raised as. “Are you okay?” He asked Lamdi softly. She nodded. “Are they your mom and dad?” She nodded again. “What happened?” She glanced at the others, leaned close, and whispered so no one could hear. Chormi turned to the others. “She said you did hurt her a lot. Anytime you touched her, you hurt her.” “Lamdi, they didn’t hit you?” Jo asked. The girl shook her head. “That was your healing.” “Healing?” Her father frowned. Lamdi was whispering to Chormi again. “She said they didn’t care that their touch hurt her. They thought she was being a baby and the more she protested, the more they pushed.” The glance Lamdi’s parents gave each other told Remtani it was true. He’d seen similar behavior with his parents when Ann’s magic started. They hadn’t understood how strong she was so they didn’t see the problems she had. She had run away too. “If she was complaining about pain, why didn’t you take her to a healer?” Chormi asked. “Any healer could have told you she was a healer too.” “She didn’t like to see them and would scream whenever we tried to take her.” “You avoided taking her to someone who could find out the problem, but forced her to hug you and hold your hand?” Chormi asked. “Lamdi is a powerful healer,” Remtani explained. “She’s also a sensitive. That means she’ll read people without touching them. Touching is going to be extremely painful. The healers here are working with her to tell us if she’s too strong to control it.” “Too strong?” Her mom looked like she didn’t think that was possible. “If a healer gets beyond a certain point in their strength, they read people whether they want to or not.” “Why would they do that?” “They can’t turn it off,” Andy explained. “It’s like not being able to stop seeing because you can’t close your eyes.” The mother frowned. “That’s ridiculous. Everyone can close their eyes.” “Two of the strongest healers in the kingdom are working with her to train her,” Jo assured them. “She’s doing well. As she gets it under control, we’ll work with you on what she’ll need to be able to come home.” “No,” Lamdi said. Her voice was quiet but firm. “They don’t want me.” “That’s nonsense,” her dad insisted. “Lamdi told me her mom said it would be better if she wasn’t around,” Chormi said. “I didn’t mean it like that. She’d just had one of her screaming fits and we were having company.” “Jahan hurt me. He believed touch hurts. He lay on me just to hurt me. You’re ashamed of me because I’m different. You think I’m a freak. I’m not. Everyone thought Princess Ann was a freak because of how she looked. It’s because she’s a super-strong mage. I’m not a freak either. I’m a super-strong healer, like Thailyn and Shunati. People here help me. Chormi watches out for me. Prince Andy and Prince Remtani keep their distance because they know being near them is uncomfortable. You hurt me. They helped me. I’m staying.” She crossed her arms defiantly. “Lamdi, they didn’t understand,” Jo started. “No one here did either. They didn’t try to hurt me.” “Lamdi, let Jo finish,” Remtani scolded. “Sorry.” “They didn’t understand,” Jo continued. “People here are used to people who are different. It’s second nature to see special needs and accommodate them. Your parents aren’t used to that. How about you don’t decide now? You should have more training and we can work with your parents and teach them what you need. Maybe we can work this out between now and then.” Lamdi hesitated. “You can think about it,” Chormi encouraged. “They’re trying. Maybe you could work things out.” Finally, Lamdi nodded. Remtani smiled a little. Chormi had come a long way. He was another that Remtani had brought to the home. He’d been arrested for stealing. He was young enough that the guards had been hesitant to put him in with the other visitors. Rella’s dad had been the one to suggest bringing him to the home. Until Lamdi and Ruzi came, he’d been quite the troublemaker. The two seemed to bring out a protectiveness in him. He’d taken on a big brother role any parent would be proud of. Remtani stood. “I need to get back to the palace. Jo, I’ll send the coach back for you and Nim.” “It’s okay. He needs to do some flying,” Jo assured him. The prince nodded. “Andy? Do you need a ride?” “I need to get back to the market. I need to find the rest of what I need for dinner.” “Show me your pictures. I’ll see if I can help,” he offered as they left.