“So annoying.” She hated when they picked on her. But what she despised more is not being able to practice her magic outside and show the others. Maybe they wouldn’t be so mean then. Or maybe they would. Who knew? The thought quickly left her mind once one of the volunteers announced it would be lunch. She usually ate her lunch behind the back walls of the building. The idea of socializing just didn’t sit well with her. The other kids ran inside and she followed in last. She hoped there would be a plentiful amount of food on the table. Last time they ran out of most of the meat and the only thing we got was vegetables and bread. It’s not like the children got that much meat anyways. Ever since the war became closer to our kingdom, they began rationing food here. It was terrible. Especially when she was the last one and got whatever leftovers they had.

Alice had lost some weight since the rations had become more scarce. It wasn’t that noticeable, but it still happened. Al, of course, was the first in line to get his fill. And as usual the outcast was on the other end of the line. All the way back towards the entrance into our little cafeteria. After what seemed like forever Alice finally got her meal. Holding out her plate, the lady put some roasted potatoes and two loaves of bread. “Sorry dear. We didn’t have that much meat to begin with.” “It’s okay.” Before anyone would notice her, she fled out the door into the playground then walked far to the back of the yard. There was a puddle of water not too far from her. It had rained some not too long ago. Against her better judgment she began to use water magic. Pulling the water out of the ground and this time she tried to turn it into ice.

She brought the water up into the air and tried to freeze it. In the middle of her focus her feline friend came to the back to see what was going on today. In a split second later she turned the water into ice and shattered it on the ground. “Ooops.” Hoping no one noticed she turned around, and her heart dropped. There was a man standing there with wide eyes. Crap. He must’ve seen what had just happened. Maybe not, maybe he was just surprised to see one of us not in the cafeteria. “I see you know how to create ice magic. Who taught you?”  Damn it. There was silence and then he asked once again. “Who taught you?” “No one taught me.” Alice almost choked on those words. “Do you want to find a home?” “Yes. I do.” He seemed to be thinking over it for a second then said “I’ll adopt you. You seem to have a lot of talent for someone your age. One of your parents must’ve been quite good with magic.” “I wouldn’t know. I’ve been here since I was a baby.” The cat came up to me and began to purr into the side as a form of comfort.

 The sudden urge to take him with herself grew. “I want to take this stray with me.” I said picking up the black cat and putting him on my lap. “I was already thinking of taking him along. You two seem to be inseparable. Yet one of you is keeping a secret.” That came as a shock. What kind of secret could she have? Why would she need to tell the man? He already knew I could do magic. He saw the puzzled expression and took one long look at the cat. The cat’s claws seemed to flex out as if he was ready to attack. Maybe this man wasn’t a good guy. But as if he could sense her thoughts his claws went back in. He meowed. It was so cute. In all this time Alice hasn't heard him meow. When the thought began to occur, she realized it was strange. 

She thought that he was trying to tell me to go with this man. Maybe. “Come, and we’ll get this adoption going.” He motioned to come over and she quickly followed behind him. This person who was adopting Alice didn’t seem too friendly. They made their way to the head of the orphanage’s office and walked in. At this point there was no exchange of names. He didn’t even ask what she likes to do, or what her favorite color was. “I’m here to adopt this child.” The older woman looked at him and then me and back again. “You mean Alice?” At that moment it had not occurred to him that he hadn’t even gotten the child’s name. 

He turned to look over at her and she looked at him expectantly. “My name is Caldrith. You may call me Cal if you wish.” He didn’t want to be called father. Maybe he just wanted to wait to be called that. That felt like a hopeful idea. At least she thought so. “Anyways. I'm here to sign the papers.” “Right away.” She shuffled in and began to prepare everything needed. Which in the end turned out to be not a lot. There were a few pages of documents listing who she was, and where she came from, and how old she was. Most of it was blank except for the age. Since they didn’t know who her parents were or even the origin of her birth. “Thank you for signing the adoption papers. Have a wonderful life out there with your new parent.” 

As soon as she looked up at him she saw him cringe at what the lady had said. Alice’s heart deflated. Maybe this was the wrong choice after all. “Is our ride outside?” “Yes, you can go ahead after we collect your stuff.” “I don’t have that many things. At least not that matters that much to me.” “No clothing?” “My other pants and shirt are worn. These are my nicest clothes.” He looked down at me incredulously. The thought of him being surprised was funny. Didn’t he realize where he was, and what was going on with this kingdom. Then the thought occurred to her. Maybe this was the rich man who was supposed to come to adopt a child. It made sense for him to be so cold and foolish to her circumstances. “Alright, let’s go then. We’ll get you more clothes once we get to the capital. “The capital?” “Yes, that’s where your home will be.” “Oh. That’s such a nice place.” The orphanage was located on the outskirts of the kingdom. Before the monsters would reach the capital, they would get to the orphanage first. This didn’t sit well with Alice, nor should it sit well with anyone else. But she had no say or any power in anything that happened anywhere.

It would be an extremely gullible idea that she could change anything that important. Before she could finally leave, one of the bullies ran up to her. The man was a little bit further behind, but he would see how she was treated by the other kids here. “Hey, weirdo.” “I’m not a weirdo.” “Yeah, you are. That’s why you’ll never be adopted.” “Who says that?” He said from behind her. “Who are you? Wait…Are you that rich man that’s supposed to adopt me?” He laughed maliciously. “Adopt you? Child, you aren’t worth a glance. But, yes I am that rich guy.” Al’s face began to turn as red as a pickled beet. Alice started to feel bad for him, but then she remembered the torment she endured from him and kept walking. All while not even glancing back at him. She truly hoped what was awaiting me was much better than what was. Once they got outside she saw an elaborate carriage with beautiful window panes on the sides. One of the windows has the stained art of a dragon with green and teal scales. The other was one of the rarest creatures, the Phoenix. It was amazing. He wasn’t lying. He had money. 

Despite the shock of the luxurious site in front of her. There was one warm, and comforting sight. The black cat stood tall on the step to go up into the carriage. Alice always had a hard time picking a name for him. She would always change it later on. But at this moment she realized what his name should be. “Hey, Lucky!” The cat looked at her and then meowed happily. “I think you like your new name.” She scratched behind his ears. Cal cleared his throat to get her attention. “We’re off now. Do you have anyone you want to say goodbye to?” “No, not really.” “Then let’s get ready to go. Don’t worry you’ll enjoy your new life much more than being here.” He must have noticed my nervousness about taking this chance. “Okay.” Was all Alice could muster.