ROSES HAVE THORNS

Kurt, Emelie and Reuben descended from the sky, landing with a soft thud onto the courtyard of the orphanage.

Dozens of young children were scattered across the lawn, peering under wooden benches, climbing fence posts, and shouting a single name into the afternoon air over and over again.

"Rupee! Rupee!"

"Rupee, where are you?!"

The moment Kurt came into view, a keen-eyed boy by the well gasped. "Uncle Kurt’s here! Everyone, look!"

"Uncle Kurt?"

"It’s Uncle Kurt!"

"Uncle Kurt!"

Within seconds, a flood of children sprinted across the grass to surround and overwhelm him. Small hands grabbed at his trousers, tugged on his shirt, and practically dragged him down to their eye level as everyone tried to speak at once.

"Uncle Kurt! Tristan and Rupee got into a huge fight!"

"It’s all Rupee’s fault, Uncle Kurt!"

"Is not! How is it Rupee’s fault?! Tristan is the one who pushed her!"

"That’s because she wouldn’t leave him alone! She kept nagging him all morning!"

"Because he made her sad! She was just trying to keep them together!"

Kurt raised his hands at them all speaking over each other. "Whoa, whoa, everyone take a breath! One at a time–"

As he tried to gain control of the situation, a young girl suddenly looked past him, her jaw dropping open. She gasped loudly and clutched her friend’s arm. "Wait... are you... are you Emelie?!"

The entire crowd of children went instantly dead silent. Dozens of wide eyes turned toward the silver-haired girl standing quietly off to the side.

"Uhm... hi?"

*Gasp* "It’s Emelie Herst!"

"You’re so cool, Emelie! When Mr. Ken was shouting about your match on the recording tag, he said you beat three strong Myrians all by yourself! Even Jin Fu!"

"Yeah! Mr. Ken is so funny when he shouts at the microphone! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Ahahaha!"

The children immediately picked up on the chant, raising their tiny fists toward the sky and screaming in unison at the top of their lungs: """LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!"""

Laughter burst out among them as they began mimicking the announcer’s dramatic voice.

Kurt rubbed his forehead, trying hard to at ease despite the stress. "A-Alright, alright! Everyone, calm down for a second."

A few of the braver kids shifted their attention to the third member of the group, looking up at the stoic figure of Duke Reuben Valentine.

"Whoa... who’s this cool old man?"

"Can I see your sword, mister?"

"Spare change for a poor orphan?"

Throughout it all, Reuben remained motionless. His gaze stared straight ahead as if the children swarming around him were nothing more than a passing breeze.

"Children! That is quite enough!"

Maggie, the orphanage manager, came rushing out the front doors of the main building, her apron slightly askew as she hurried down the stone steps. She waved her hands, shooing the youngsters away from the guests.

"Back into the courtyard, all of you! Into the gardens! I need to speak with the adults privately!"

"""Booooooo!!!"""

"Fine!" one of the older boys called out, waving to his friends. "Hey guys, let’s go double-check for Rupee in the park across the road!"

"""Okay!"""

Just like that, the swarm dispersed, following the boy like a flock of birds as they poured out of the front gates to continue searching the neighborhood.

"I swear those kids... Kurt. I wasn’t expecting to see you here. But thank goodness you came so quickly."

"Afternoon, Maggie. I came as soon as Victoria gave me word of what happened."

Maggie turned her head, intending to thank whoever had accompanied him, but froze the moment her eyes landed on Reuben. Her face turned pale and she instantly bowed deeply, her voice trembling with immense reverence.

"M-My Lord! Duke Valentine... I-I had no idea you would be visiting our orphanage–"

"Act normal," Reuben interrupted smoothly. "Formalities will only waste time we do not have."

"R-Right! Of course!" She straightened up, only to turn her head and lock eyes with Emelie this time.

"Oh my goodness! Ms. Emelie Herst! I... I was not expecting to see a celebrity figure here today–"

Emelie raised a hand while smiling gently to cut her off. "Please, just act normal around me as well, Ms. Manager. We are only here to help look for one of the orphans who had apparently run away."

"Yes... yes! Rupee!"

"Tell us everything. What exactly happened?" Kurt asked.

"Please, come inside to the lobby first."

The four of them walked into the modest, sunlit lobby of the orphanage.

Once they stopped near the central table, Maggie let out a ragged breath and began.

"It all started yesterday afternoon. A very respectable couple – a husband and wife who have been coming in for visits for a couple of months – came by to see if they were finally ready to adopt. We have thoroughly vetted them and deemed them fit to raise children.

"After presenting them with a selection of children who matched their criteria, they found themselves deeply drawn toward a specific pair of siblings. Tristan... and Rupee."

Kurt’s jaw tightened. "Tristan and Rupee..."

"Yes," Maggie nodded sadly. "And that is when everything went downhill. Apparently, Rupee and a small group of her friends were eavesdropping outside my office door. When Rupee overheard that she and her brother were potentially about to be adopted, she completely lost her mind.

"She burst right into the room, crying and screaming at the couple, telling them that they weren’t allowed to adopt them because their real parents were still coming home to get them."

Reuben narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the manager, then at Kurt. "Why would the girl say such a thing? She resides in an orphanage. Is she not an orphan?"

Kurt stared at the floor, his voice dropping into a low register that was filled with immense guilt. "She is an orphan. But... she doesn’t believe she is. Because I lied to her."

Reuben’s eyes narrowed further and waited for Kurt to elaborate more, but he held his tongue, allowing the manager to continue first.

Maggie cleared her throat nervously, continuing her story. "After the incident, I apologised profusely to the couple for her outburst and sent them on their way. They were very understanding, thankfully, and said they would return next week to look at the other prospective children.

"Rupee, however, was furious. She ran straight outside to find her brother, who was swinging a tree branch around near the fence – he calls it his ’training.’ She wanted to tell him what happened so they could be angry together. But... Tristan’s reaction was not at all what she was expecting."

Kurt looked up. "What did Tristan do?"

"I don’t know the full details of what was said, since I heard this from the other kids, but I believe Tristan told her something along the lines of that he was fine with being adopted. And that having a new mom and dad wouldn’t be a bad thing.

"This shattered Rupee. A huge argument broke out right there in the yard. I believe Rupee must’ve thought her brother didn’t love their real parents anymore. She accused him of wanting to replace them just because they were taking too long to come back.

"After that, they stopped speaking to each other. But throughout yesterday evening and all of this morning, Rupee continued provoking him in small ways, venting her anger at him. Eventually, Tristan reached his limit.

"Something happened and they got into a physical fight an hour ago. Rupee ran inside and locked herself in their shared room, and Tristan ran off to the park crying.

"Since I couldn’t get to Rupee, I went to the park and managed to comfort Tristan. I eventually brought him back and went upstairs to speak with his sister, but when I unlocked the door... the window was wide open. She had packed a small bag of her clothes and vanished. Which brings us to right now."

Silence fell over the lobby.

The ticking of a grandfather clock in the corner was the only sound for several long seconds.

Kurt suppressed the surge of anxiety in his chest and asked Maggie, "Where is Tristan right now?"

"He is up in their room. He feels terribly guilty for fighting with and shouting at her. He hasn’t stopped crying since he came back and found out she was gone."

"Got it. We’ll find Rupee before the day ends. You have my word."

He turned around, facing Emelie and Reuben and pointed a finger toward the ceiling. "Emy, could you take to the skies and scan the surrounding area?"

"Of course," she answered immediately, her blue eyes sharp with resolve.

"I will join her," Reuben spoke up, stepping toward the door. "We will cover twice as much ground together."

"Thank you both. I really appreciate this. I’m going to quickly talk to Tristan first, then I’ll join you on the ground."

"Don’t take too long," Reuben said, already stepping out into the sunlight with Emelie following close behind.

Once the two of them departed, Kurt asked Maggie, "A quick question before we see him. Why were Rupee and Tristan on your list for adoption?"

"Kurt... I understand that the kids may think that this place is their home, but it’s not. It’s just a... temporary pit stop. I apologise for not telling you sooner, however, children need the love of parents to raise and nurture them."

"... Yeah. They do." Kurt clenched his fist in self-reflection.

"Follow me. I’ll take you up to their room."

They walked up the wooden staircase, heading down the narrow, sunlit hallway of the second floor. As they approached the door at the very end, Kurt noticed a small, blue-haired figure sitting on the floor, leaning her back against the wooden frame.

It was the same girl Kurt had subtly noticed held a sweet, innocent crush on Tristan.

The girl scrambled to her feet. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying as she ran straight up to Kurt, holding his sleeve with trembling hands.

"U-Uncle Kurt... Please help Tristan, desu wa. Please... He won’t let anyone in, and he’s crying so hard... I hate seeing him like this."

Kurt’s heart softened. He reached out and gently tapped her shoulder. "It’s going to be okay. I’ve got it from here."

The girl sniffled, wiped her nose with her sleeve, and gave a small nod before standing by Maiggie’s side whilst holding her hand.

Kurt raised his hand, intending to knock, but stopped himself. Knowing the boy needed his presence, not formalities, he simply reached down and turned the brass knob, stepping inside, then clicking the door quietly shut behind him.

On the far twin bed, a small mound was visible under three layers of blankets. The mound was visibly trembling, accompanied by the muffled, shuddering sounds of painful sobbing.

"... Hey, Tristan. It’s-a me— Ahem. It’s me, Kurt."

The muffled crying hitched.

For a second, there was complete silence in the room. Then, the mountain of blankets was frantically thrown aside.

Tristan sat up, his face red, his eyes swollen, and tears streaming freely down his dirt-streaked cheeks. When he saw Kurt standing by the door, the young boy broke down entirely.

"U-Uncle Kurt!"

He scrambled off the bed and sprinted across the room.

He slammed into Kurt’s waist, wrapping his arms around the man’s torso as tightly as he could, burying his wet face into his shirt shirt

A fresh wave of heartbreaking sobs filled the room.

Kurt just stood there, feeling a crushing weight of guilt settle over his heart once more. He then slowly wrapped his arms around the young boy’s trembling shoulders, gently resting a hand on the back of Tristan’s head as he pulled him close, silently waiting for the boy to calm down.

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