Free Moirai by Ruth Silver

It was clear to me
Taron didn't know her or at least didn't care enough about her. He hadn't come
over to see who the sleeping girl was I brought back from Thena. He also hadn't
come over in the cafeteria as he grabbed himself a plate of eggs after standing
in line. Now he walked to a table across the room, refusing to acknowledge
Adelaide.
    The Chancellor answered. “She can stay with you, if you'd
prefer?”
    “Do you think that's best?” I remarked. What did I know
about raising a child? I was barely eighteen and had enough trouble remembering
to eat three meals a day! How would I look after someone else?
    The Chancellor glanced past me towards Cate, watching
them interact. “She seems to be taking a liking to Cate,” he suggested.
    I didn't know what to do. Adelaide was so young, still a
child. I wanted what was best for her and I wasn't sure what that was. I
couldn't imagine choosing a random family in Shadow to take care of Adelaide.
How would I know they were best suited for her? Maybe it was selfish of me to
even consider raising a child since I could have one if I desired, but I wanted
what was best for Adelaide. She deserved that much.
    “Olivia!” Adelaide climbed off the bench and ran over towards
me, throwing her arms around me for a hug. I rubbed her back. “Hey sweetie,” I
smiled, bending down to her level.
     “I'm bored,” she announced. “Can we go home?” I wondered
what she thought home meant. There was no going back to Thena. I didn't want to
tell her that.
    “Sure.” I offered her a faint smile, seeing the
Chancellor looking quite pleased with himself. I didn't understand why. Had he
wanted me to look after Adelaide all along? I couldn't see the benefit in it. I
stood up, taking her hand, and walked over to the empty tray of food. I cleaned
up Adelaide's breakfast before helping her into my coat again. I grabbed my
breakfast, taking it with me back to the house.
    We walked back home, not wasting a moment as the cold air
only made my arms tremble. I had to be careful not to drop our tray of food.
Adelaide might have eaten but I'd barely touched my meal, and I carried enough
for Joshua to eat too.
    Unlocking the front door, I saw that Joshua had already
dressed and come down the stairs. “You're back soon,” he commented, smiling as
he saw Adelaide standing beside me. “Hi.” He grinned and offered out his hand.
“I'm Joshua.”
    Adelaide slipped behind my legs, poking her head out to
the side to see him. Evidently she was shy. I handed Joshua our breakfast,
letting him take it to the kitchen as I helped Adelaide out of my coat. I hoped
someone would soon bring the girl clothes that fit. Together, we walked into
the kitchen. I grabbed a seat at the table to eat breakfast as Adelaide ran
into the living room, grabbing a book from the shelf. None had pictures but she
stared at the pages. I wasn't sure if she was old enough to read but it kept
her occupied for a while.
    “She's cute,” Joshua mused, getting a better look at her
as he sat with me for breakfast.
    “Apparently, she's ours,” I remarked, eyeing him. I
didn't know how he'd feel about us looking after a child. I wasn't entirely
comfortable with the idea but I wasn't going to let her be given to a family at
random.
    “Well, she has taken a liking to you.” Josh nodded
slowly. “What's Collins think about all of it?”
    I took a bite of breakfast, trying to get it down. I
wasn't entirely hungry but knew I needed to eat something. “He mentioned a
lottery.” My fork picked at my food on the plate. “I shot that idea down.”
    “Good.” Joshua rolled his eyes. “He wasn't serious?” he
asked me.
    “No. Adelaide's the first child to come here though, so
they don’t exactly have a set of rules to follow. He mentioned Taron but you
were there yesterday. Taron didn't so much as come up to us to see who the
little girl was. I can't just hand her over to him.” I pinched the bridge of my
nose, hanging my head slightly,