The Dragon King's Heart

By this time, Jerome and his lackeys were nowhere to be seen. Laina made her way quickly down the street. When she got to the bakery, she was sad to see it closed for the day. There did not seem to be any lights on in the shop either.

Laina peered in. She noticed a small lamp light flickering near the back of the shop.

Laina knocked on the shop door, "Excuse me! I need to buy some bread!"

The person, who was holding the lamp, was startled by Lain. They almost drop the lamp out of their hands. When she finally got their attention, the baker was annoyed, 

"We\'re closed for the day! Come back tomorrow!"

"No, please! I just need to buy some food for some children. I won\'t take up much of your time and I\'ll pay double!" she offered. 

The baker sighed as they shook their head, continuing to step into the back of the shop. 

"Triple! I\'ll pay you triple!" she increased her offer. 

The baker paused in their step. 

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Laina continued, "Please, it\'s for some starving children. You wouldn\'t want them to go hungry, don\'t you?"

"Fine!" the baker walked up to the front and unlocked the door to allow Laina to enter. 

"Thank you," she thanked him immediately as she entered. 

She looked around the bakery. Unfortunately, most of everything had already been sold. The baker disappeared to the back of the shop for a while, before reappearing with a basket overflowing with baked goods. 

"I was going to throw these out tomorrow but if you want some of them.."

"I\'ll take all of them," she said without hesitation, "Do you have more?"

After a while, there were two baskets full of food lined up on the counter. Laina looked at everything with a sense of pride. The baker was a little skeptical that Laina could pay, not knowing who she truly was. He was ready to give it all to her for free. 

But before he could say anything, Laina placed a few gold coins on the counter. 

"Would this be enough?" she asked.

The baker was shell-shocked. 

"Miss... this is more than enough."

"Good, keep the change. Have a good night," Laina bid the baker farewell with the baskets of food and went on her way. 

Back at the shophouse, the children were beginning to wonder where Laina had gone. She had been away for a while now and some of them were losing hope, thinking she would not return. Rosie stood near the door, eagerly peering out the window to see if she was returning. 

"She\'s not coming back," Neil declared as he looked over to Rosie. 

"She is," the little girl insisted. 

"She won\'t," Neil rebutted. 

Rosie gritted her teeth as she turned around, "She will, Neil! I know she will!"

The other children were not as optimistic as she was. They did not hold up hope that Laina will return. To them, she was just like one of the many adults in the city who passed them daily. 

Rosie peered out the window again. She hoped to see a glimpse of Laina. There were less and less people on the streets. Rosie slumped her shoulders. Finally, she too gave up hope. She walked away from the window, returning to the other children. 

"I\'m back!" 

Rosie turned around. She was surprised to see Laina carrying two baskets in her arms. She ran up and gave her a hug. Laina was surprised by the warm welcome. She struggled to balance the baskets in her hands. 

"You came back?" Neil gasped in shock as he got up. The other children all ran up to Laina, in awe of the food she had brought back for them. 

"Of course I did. A prin- I would never break my promises," Laina replied. 

For the first time in a while, all the children ate their fill. None of them were going hungry. Neil made sure everyone else was fed before he begrudgingly took a bun to eat. Laina watched them with a smile. She walked around the space, inspecting the structure as she did. 

The shophouse was in need of repair. It would take some time, but Laina was confident in it. When it was complete, it would be perfect for what she had in mind. After their meal, the children turned in for the night. They did not have any beds, only straw mats to sleep on. 

However, not everyone went to sleep. In fact, some of them stayed up to watch over the rest. Neil was reluctant to explain when Laina asked. Seeing that she only wanted to understand what had happened, he relented. 

"Some people try to kick us out of here and they try to get in at night," he explained, "But they don\'t have the right to do so, none of them do."

"How so?"

"We... I own this building," Neil declared. 

Laina furrowed her eyebrows, "You own this building?"

Neil bit his lip, "I knew you wouldn\'t believe it. No one believes us."

"Hold on," Laina stopped him from turning away, "Help me to understand."

"Understand what?"

"If you want me to believe you, explain it to me." 

No one had attempted to understand them before. Not since the person who helped them years ago. Neil did not know if he could trust Laina. She had shown the children more kindness than anyone had in a long time. 

But what if she was just doing this to gain their trust so that she could get what she wants? Laina knew Neil had his concerns about her. He had no reason to believe her. 

"Neil."

"Yes?"

"Can we be honest with one another?" Laina asked intently. 

Both of them locked eyes. Neil curled his hand into a fist. He trusted his gut feeling, it had helped him to survive on the streets. It never failed him. 

Neil nodded. 

"I know it looks like I stand to gain from this place. But trust me when I say, you will gain more out of this deal than I will ever have."

All she wanted was a project to work on. Some might say, she did not have to help them. But having seen how the children lived, she knew she had to help them. Laina vowed to do everything in her power to help. She gave Neil her word. 

"I promise you, I will do all that I can to help you." 

Neil was moved. From the inner pocket of his jacket, he took out a folded piece of paper.. He had kept it as best he could since it came into his possession.