King Kormwind, tenth of that name, is invited to a quiet picnic by the local orphanage. True the food is meager, and the fare is plain, but the companionship is honest, the laughter is genuine, and the children are having fun in the beautiful, open, summer-warmed field. -- Anon Guest
There's nothing like the news of a royal visit to make the authorities do a lightning round of shaping things up. His Majesty, King Kormwind Arachis Felbourne Whitekeep, tenth of the name, had a sharp eye just like his father. In the right mood, it could cut beyond the bone.
And just like his father, he much preferred to be a 'my lord' than a 'your majesty'. Those closest to him called him Dex.
This particular orphanage on his coronation tour had done its best to look like they'd shaped up, and the administrator was a little to shiny for Dex's liking. Further, his office was a little too luxurious for someone working for the children's greater good. He sent a Luteman to look at the administrator's house and, just as Dex predicted, it was a mansion.
Target acquired.
He set his firstborn loose to 'go play' with a meaningful wink. Little Elf[1] understood the assignment and immediately went poking holes in the wafer-thin veneer of adherence to the law.
As was fast becoming family tradition, the kid was a whirlwind of justice. Finding fresh, cheap plaster. Smearing the whitewash from its single layer off the walls. Straight up putting his little baby hand right through the pasted-on paper sheets doing the alleged work of a missing stone.
The administrator broke into a cold sweat before the toddler prince could point out the splintered benches in the dining hall.
Dex didn't have to summon the Lutemen or his guard to bring the orphanage what the law demanded it needed. Nor did he have to order the administrator being dragged off on fraud charges. That only took a lowering of his brows to occur.
They couldn't feed the kids at those tables. They were cut up for firewood. Blankets spread on the grass of the yard for the first proper luncheon these orphans had likely had in their brief lives. It was still rather simple fare, but the point was, as Dad often said, to make sure they had enough.
Dex and his lovely wife, Tulip, took a couple of orphans onto their knees to help them eat. Elf had a nurse to help him get most of his food on the inside rather than his outside.
The tiny orphans had no idea who was nursing them this day, and they may not even remember it. They were just happy to have food with flavour.
Dad was right about a lot of things, including never getting tired of holding babies.
[1] Kormwind Arachis Felbourne Whitekeep the Eleventh. What else was his grandad going to nickname him?
[Photo by Art Institute of Chicago on Unsplash]
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