"Could you take me to them?" Leila asked. "My friend here is a doctor, and maybe he can help Ruth." Leila sat Tim back down on the ground.

Tim stared up at all the people standing with Leila. "I'm not supposed to take grown-ups to our home," Tim said. Leila looked at the men around her.

"Can Roger and Nalick come with?" she asked.

"Nikias, Javed, Theo, and Macarius, go on back to the palace. We will stay with Leila," Nalick said. The men followed their orders and walked back towards the palace.

"Is this better?" Leila asked. Tim smiled and began to walk between two of the nearest buildings. Leila followed close behind him as quickly as she could. The young boy had failed to notices she was limping, but he slowed when she was not walking close to him. Soon they arrived at a broken down three story building. Inside Leila could see several children hurriedly hiding. Roger quickly stopped Leila from following the young boy into the building.

"Leila, you are not completely healthy yet. You should stay out here just in case it is something contagious," Roger warned as he and Nalick began to follow Tim.

"Anatolio should be nearby, so you should be safe," Nalick said, carefully entering through the broken half door. Leila watched as the remaining children ran from Roger and Nalick. They all feared adults.

Once inside, Tim led the two men to the back of the building. In a corner near a window, Phillip was sitting with Ruth. Phillip was desperately trying to get Ruth to drink the small glass of water in his hand. When he saw Tim return, Phillip was relieved but then became startled to see the adults with him.

"Tim, who are they?" Phillip asked as Roger approached in front of Nalick. "Is Leila with you?" Leila was the only adult that the children could trust.

"She is outside. She has been sick, and I didn't want her to get any worse. She sent me in to look at Ruth," Roger tried to explain to the young man who eyed him anxiously.

"This is the man who trained Leila and always fixes her when she gets hurt," Nalick explained, and Phillip relaxed a bit. Roger moved near Ruth and carefully began to examine the young child.

"How long has she been like this?" Roger asked Phillip reaching down to feel her face.

"About two days. She has been not eating much, and anything she has eaten came back up," Phillip explained, backing up to give Roger room to move. "I tried to get her to at least drink some water, but she stopped doing that this morning."

Roger felt the child's forehead again before he began to prod around her body. "Has she been this warm the entire time she has been sick?"

"No. Sometimes she is warm and other times she is not," Phillip said.

"Can we bring her back with us?" Roger asked Nalick. "I can do a better job back in the medical ward. Who knows what diseases they are passing around here."

"Of course," Nalick said, moving to pick Ruth up. A scared Phillip stood by and watched.

"Can you make her better?" Phillip asked the two men.

"I will do the best I can," Roger said.

"Can we come with?" Phillip asked, not wanting to let the two men leave with Ruth.

"Of course," Nalick replied. "We will hurry ahead with Ruth, but Leila is waiting outside. She will bring you back with her." Phillip and Tim followed the two men out of the building. Once outside Leila neared the men, but Roger quickly pushed her back.

"We are heading back to the palace. Leila, you need to stay away for now. I don't need you to get sick again," Roger said to her. "She has some sort of infection. Until I find the source, you need to stay back. "

"Is Anatolio here?" Nalick asked her keeping at a distance.

"Yes." Leila waved to the shadows and the young man appeared.

"Please walk Leila and these young boys back to the palace. We are going to hurry ahead," Nalick explained. Anatolio nodded with a bow.

"Once you get her back to her room, please join me," Roger asked, and again Anatolio nodded. Roger and Nalick hurried down the street with the young girl in their arms.

"Phillip, this is Anatolio. Anatolio, this is Phillip, and this is Tim," Leila said about the young boy pulling on her dress. Leila smiled down at Tim. "Sorry, I can't carry you today." Phillip stared at Leila. He watched as she began to slowly walk using the cane in the same direction as the men had hurried.

"You're her, aren't you?" Phillip asked picking up his younger brother and beginning to walk along side Leila.

"I thought I saw you on our way home," she said to him, not answering his question.

"I heard you got really hurt bad when someone tried to kidnap you," Phillip said, checking her for some major new scar.

"I was hurt, but that man who left with Ruth fixed me. I am almost back to normal," Leila explained, continuing to walk in her slow pace.

"Leila, if you need to stop, we can," Anatolio said to her. Phillip looked at Anatolio.

"Is he your guard?" Phillip asked. "He doesn't look much older than me."

Most people would underestimate Anatolio due to his age for the rest of his life. Leila turned back to Anatolio. "I'm fine, really," she said but did not convince him. "Exercise is good for me. I need to build my strength back up." Leila was stubborn and any protest would fall on deaf ears. Without objection Anatolio wound his arm around her waist to balance her as she continued to walk.

"So that man really is a doctor?" Phillip asked.

"Where I come from, he is," Leila said. She patted the young man on his back. "Don't worry. Roger has never failed to fix me up and I get hurt all the time."

They continued to walk in silence. Leila kept walking at a steady pace, but as they neared the palace she began to slow. Macarius and Theo quickly hurried over to her as she approached.

"Nalick said to help you back to your room," Macarius explained as he scooped Leila into his arms. She was too tired to protest, and Macarius carried her back to her room. The two young boys followed and were soon amazed as they walked into her spacious, richly furnished room.

Chapter 22.

"Tim, do you like to draw?" Leila asked. The young boy turned to her with a grin and nodded vigorously. Leila grabbed paper and pencils from Nalick's desk and set them on the table. Tim climbed into the chair and began to draw. It was the first time Leila had seen him be quiet for more than a minute. She returned to Phillip, who had fallen asleep. Leila walked back to her bed and sat down. Her leg was getting tired, and she decided to rest a bit also. After a while, Tim was bored with drawing and soon joined Leila. She watched as he hopped on to the bed next to her and then wiggled until he was within inches of her.

"Is it nap time?" Tim asked, pointing to his brother.

"Sure," Leila replied. Tim lay down and grabbed the nearest blanket. Within moments Tim was also asleep.

Not long after both boys fell asleep Nalick returned. Leila stood and slowly walked to the door to join him since the boys were asleep.

"Ruth had something stuck in her foot. It was not treated and caused an infection. Roger was able to get it out, but he had to put in stitches. It will need to be tended to for a while. Right now she is asleep," Nalick explained. "Anatolio will bring her up when Roger is finished." Leila nodded and returned to the room. Slowly she made her way to the balcony and sat down outside in the fresh air. Nalick followed her.

"He's so young to be having to raise his siblings on his own," Leila said to Nalick.

"How old were you when you began to train for your job?" Nalick asked, knowing the answer was that she was younger than Phillip was now.

"I know. But I was never responsible for anyone else except myself. It is a whole different story when you have to take care of someone else," she said. Nalick understood. His life was far less complicated when he was alone, but he had no desire for things to be the way they used to be.

"Will she be all right?" Leila asked about Ruth.

"Roger seems to think she will be fine, but she will need to be watched closely for the next few days," Nalick explained.

Leila and Nalick failed to hear the soft footsteps approaching them from behind. Tim had woken from his nap and was hungry. Following her voice, Tim found Leila and Nalick sitting outside. Gently he tapped Leila's shoulder. Startled, Leila turned to find Tim standing, still holding the blanket from the bed and rubbing his eyes.

"Is Phillip still asleep?" Leila asked, picking up Tim and sitting him on her lap. Tim nodded his head without talking and staring at Nalick.

"Tim, you remember Nalick," Leila said trying to ease the small child's hesitation. Tim continued to look at Nalick, and then, as though he finally remembered, he grinned ear to ear. Eagerly he slid from Leila's lap to Nalick's as he began to tell Nalick the same story he told Phillip earlier. Leila watched as Nalick listened intently to the small child's ramblings. Leila was used to children when living at home with many nieces and nephews always running around. She was not sure how Nalick would handle the small child at first, but he seemed to be a natural.

Phillip woke up the sound of Roger and Anatolio bringing Ruth back. Leila quickly stood and hurried as best she could to the men to see how the child was doing. Anatolio carried the small sleeping child and laid her in Leila's bed.

"She will probably be asleep through the night," Roger explained. "She was fussing so much that I could not get the object out of her foot, and I wanted to drug her, but I have never given sleeping drugs to such a small child before. Good thing Anatolio was there to help hold her down to let me get whatever it was out of her foot. I couldn't tell if it was metal or a piece of wood, but it was stuck quite well." Phillip stood and looked at his sister before turning to Roger.

"How much do I need to pay you?" Phillip asked.

"Nothing," Roger replied. "She was much easier to fix than Leila, and I have never charged Leila." Phillip did not seem to know how to respond. "She will need to drink this medicine with each meal," Roger explained, handing Phillip a small jar. "Just add ten drops to a drink. She will also need to be cleaned twice a day and have her foot bandaged until it heals. Anatolio knows how to do it, so just ask him." Phillip nodded. He would do anything to make his sister better.

"Is it time for food now?" Tim asked, finding the first opportunity to interrupt the grownups.

Leila smiled, "Sure. Roger and Anatolio, do you want to stay for dinner?" Leila asked the two men.

Roger shook his head no, "I have had my fill of kids for the day. I am going to take Anatolio up on his offer for a nice quiet dinner at his place." Leila smiled. Roger did not have very much tolerance for screaming children. "I'll be back in the morning to check on her. Now you get some rest also. You are not completely healed yourself, so don't overdo it," Roger ordered.

Leila sat down to dinner with Nalick and the two boys. Since she had been living at the palace she had found it strange to be so isolated. Her days were spent in quietness and meals were only her and Nalick. Now with the two boys at the table, things felt more normal to her. The palace was beginning to feel more like a home than the isolated, cold environment it felt like her first night there. Tim was a great source of entertainment. He continued to talk through the whole meal and let his older brother say very little. When Tim got too excited his brother had to calm him down before he woke Ruth, who slept through the meal.

As bed time neared, Nalick offered to take the boys and stay in the guest room down the hall, but Leila saw that Phillip didn't want to leave his sister. Phillip offered to stay on the couch, if he could just stay near her, so all five people ended up sleeping in Leila's room. Nalick and Leila laid on the edges of the bed with Ruth and Tim nestled between them. Leila lay in bed amazed by how quiet the room became once everyone else had fallen asleep before her. She drifted off to only the sounds of people lightly breathing.

Before dawn Leila slowly opened her eyes and found herself face to face with a smiling Ruth. The little girl grinned and continued to touch Leila's face.

"Lei," the little girl whispered, "pretty." Ruth picked up a piece of Leila's hair.

Leila mimicked the small child and touched Ruth's face. "Pretty," Leila said, and the child giggled.

"'Ere's *lip?" Ruth asked. Leila pointed to the couch across the room where Phillip was still asleep. "Tim?" Leila pointed behind the child. Ruth turned and giggled more. "Tim's sleepy," she said, turning back to face Leila. Leila marveled at the small child. The day before Leila watched Nalick carry off the sick child and today Ruth smiled and giggle as if nothing were wrong. Leila watched as the small child's forehead wrinkled in thought of her next question. "Is Ruth better?" she asked Leila. Ruth pulled her foot to her face and tried to remove the bandage.

"No," Leila said stopping her. "That will make you all better if you leave it on." The servant door clicked as it opened. The shy but curious Ruth climbed slightly on Leila to get a better view of Mauve walking in the room.

"For us?" Ruth asked about the food, and a startled Mauve turned to find Ruth and Leila awake. Mauve's face melted into a smile upon seeing Ruth. Leila sat up carefully and put Ruth on her lap.

"This is Mauve," Leila whispered introducing her, as Mauve cautiously moved towards Leila and Ruth.

"I brought some muffins and juice for those that woke up before the rest," Mauve explained. "The girls were going to bring the rest of your breakfast later."

"That's good," Leila said. "I am going to get this little girl cleaned before we eat." Leila cautiously stood while holding the young child and was relieved to find that she was small enough for Leila to carry. "Do you like water?" Ruth continued to smile as her dark curls bounced up and down with her head. "Good." Mauve hurried ahead to start the bath water.

"I will send someone in to help," Mauve said, leaving the bath room.

Leila sat on the edge of the bath and began to unwrap Ruth's bandaged foot. Ruth watched intently to see if her foot was still beneath the cloth and cheered upon seeing it.

Leila lifted Ruth into the water. The small child stared around the room amazed by the size of the bath and began to ask about everything she saw. In no time a maid was sent to help Leila and Ruth bathe. By the time they were done, the boys were all awake and waiting for breakfast. Leila returned with Ruth wrapped in a towel. Nalick stood quickly as they entered and offered to help, but Ruth shied away from him.

"I'll go get Anatolio," Nalick said, leaving the room instead.

Once Nalick was gone, Leila sat down at the table with Ruth on her lap. Phillip and Tim were both excited to see that their sister was feeling better.

"Is he really the king?" Phillip asked Leila as he sat down next to her.

"Yes," Leila said, interested in Phillip's questioning without Nalick present.

"Would he know my father? My mom said he was a noble, and since Nalick is king...," Phillip trailed off.

"You should ask him about it, not me," Leila said, knowing the young man was not completely comfortable around Nalick. Nalick returned with Anatolio and Phillip became quiet once again. Anatolio quickly put medicine on the cut on Ruth's foot and wrapped it back up in a new clean cloth. Leila was surprised to see that Ruth was not afraid of Anatolio. After he was finished, Anatolio bowed his head to Leila and then to Nalick and left without a word.

"Is Roger still here?" Leila asked Nalick.

"Yes, I think so. Anatolio said Roger went out this morning but would be back to say goodbye to you before he left for Cath," Nalick explained, sitting across from Leila at the table. Tim hurried over and sat next to Nalick. It had not taken the small boy very long to figure out where he could get something to eat. Several of Leila's dressing women returned with food. The children's eyes all grew larger as the saw the amount of food placed before them. None of the children moved; rather they just sat and stared at the pile.

"What would you like?" Leila asked Ruth. Ruth pointed at several items, and Leila put each on the plate before her. Everyone else quickly followed.

After their large meal, Nalick insisted the two older children take baths also. Tim complained but Phillip dragged him to the bath room with him. Nalick followed after the two boys to show them where everything was while Leila took Ruth out onto the balcony.

"What's that?" Ruth asked pointing to the city beneath them.

"That's Lexia," Leila explained and sat down with the small girl. Cautiously, Ruth slid from the chair and tried to see how much her bandaged foot hurt. Ruth was very happy to find she could walk on it and slowly walked around the balcony asking about everything she saw. Leila smiled at the young girl's curiosity. Nalick returned and sat down next to Leila.

"She seems to be doing fine," he commented.

"I don't think she even knows how bad she was hurt," Leila replied. "So what do we do with them?" Leila asked. Leila did not want to return them to the broken down warehouse they were currently living in.

"I figured I could take them down to meet Gabor and maybe he would know what they are supposed to do in their lives," Nalick replied. He also did not want to return them to where they found the children the day before either. Nalick quickly bent over while Ruth was distracted and kissed Leila.

After the three children were washed and dressed, Leila and Nalick left the three children with Gabor and walked to the palace gardens. Leila had not returned to the garden since she had been taken from it. As they entered several of Nalick's guards patrolled the garden and Anatolio was in his usual tree. Nalick wanted Leila to be comfortable in the garden, but with all the company, Leila did not find it the same.

"So any plans for what to do with them?" Leila asked, sitting on a bench beneath a tree.

"Why don't we keep them here with us in the palace?" Nalick suggested. Leila was stunned. She wanted to keep the children herself but doubted Nalick would choose to do that.

"You really want to have three children running around?" she asked, and he nodded.

Leila and Nalick stopped their conversation as Tim ran into the garden leading his brother, who was carrying Ruth. All three children were laughing with Gabor following behind Phillip. Tim ran to the closest tree and tried to grab the nearest branches. Anatolio quickly slid down the tree and helped the young boy climb onto the branch. Phillip joined Leila as they stood to greet Gabor. Gabor and Nalick walked to a point in the garden where Leila and the children could not overhear them.

"He's a seer, right?" Phillip asked Leila, sitting Ruth on the grass next to the bench. Ruth began to entertain herself by pulling at the flowers next to her.

"Yes," Leila replied shocked that Phillip knew who Gabor was.

"Leila?" Phillip asked in a serious tone. "What will happen to us?" By not showing up to work the past two days, Phillip had lost his job and had no way to feed his brother and sister.

"I don't know," she replied honestly. "If it were up to me I would like to keep you here, but it is not up to me." Phillip intently watched as Nalick finished his conversation with Gabor and returned to Leila and the children. Nalick led the way back to their room with Tim on his back. Phillip tentatively followed.