The fluorescent overhead emitted a dull hum. It filled the cramped office overflowing with untidy boxes of files with a too-bright white light. It flickered, drawing her green eyes up to the humidity stained ceiling.
“And you like to be called Penny,” said the frumpy, rail- thin woman. She peered at Penny over thick glasses that magnified her chunky mascara. “Hm… Penny. It's cute. Hm… your last case worker didn't leave me much to work with….”
Penny kicked her feet, her toes brushing the floor. “I think they didn’t stay even a year?”
“Hm…,” the case worker murmured noncommittally. “St. Brigid’s Home is your primary residence…” She looked at Penny over her glasses. “Are you forced to go to Mass?”
“I don’t know,” Penny said, still swinging her legs.
“Don’t know….” The case worker flipped through the folder. “Been in care since infancy. Surrendered… Nothing else on the mother… No mention of father whatsoever….”
“My other name is Fox,” Penny said helpfully. “That came from my mom.”
The case worker gave her a tired, thin smile. She set the folder aside but kept it open. She set her gaze on Penny, keeping silent long enough for the small girl to start squirming.
“Do you like living in the group home? Do you feel you get enough attention?”
A soft knock sounded on the doorframe, the office having no door but only half a curtain. The young woman’s plain, dark shoes, black stockings, and ankle length blue-gray skirt were visible before she gently brushed the curtain aside. She wore a matching blue-gray veil pinned to her black hair and a smile that matched the softness she had knocked with.
“Sister,” Penny greeted joyfully, jumping off her chair.
“I assume you’re from St. Brigid’s,” the case worker asked.
“I am. Sister Mary Agnes,” she said with a small incline of her head. She smiled down at Penny, offering her hand. “Are you ready to go home?”
“Can we talk a moment first,” the case worker asked. She gestured to the open file. “Her file is really bare. I could use a little help.”
The Sister hesitated. She gave Penny another smile–this one more forced–and gave her a light push towards the doorway.
“Please, wait in the hall for me,” she said. “I’ll be along shortly.”
Penny gave the Sister a quizzical look but went into the hall without fuss. She leaned against the wall and casually looked up and down the hall at the other case workers’ offices. Murmurs and mutters from the other doorless offices filled the hall in an uninteresting muddle.
“Mary Agnes, you said? How long have you been involved with Penny?”
“Always… to some degree. I’m acquainted with her birth mother. In a caretaker role, I’d say the last two years. …Of course, I’m only one of many Sisters.”
“Hm… she was in specialized infant care, I assume? Then to the home… then to a family…. What happened there? It’s more common for young children to stay with families than go back to a group home. Learning disability? Behavioral issue?”
“You would have to ask the Mother Superior.”
“Would you oppose her placement with a family?”
“My opinion matters naught in that.”
“Is she forced to attend Mass and other religious activities?”
The Sister laughed lightly. “Ma’am, she missed Mass for this interview with you.”
“Her file is still unusually bare.”
“Well… I’m not sure what sorts of things are usually in a six-year-old’s file….”
“Thank you, Sister. I’ll be in touch.”
Penny eagerly took Sister Mary Agnes’s hand as she left the office. She watched the rundown town give way to ill-kempt lawns, and then to a stretch of woods after a sharp turn in the road. A large building that looked like an old one-story nursing home sat on top of a gently sloping hill behind an iron fence that was rusted in some areas and broken in others.
An old woman with gnarled hands and sagging eyes met them in the foyer. She had a tallness to her despite being stooped on a walking stick. Her outfit was the same color blue-gray as Sister Mary Agnes’s, but her veil and skirt were longer and she wore a clunky crucifix around her neck.
Sister Mary Agnes hastily dropped Penny’s hand.
“How did you like your new case worker, Penrose, dear?”
Penny shrugged. “Guess okay.”
“An okay first meeting can only go up from there. Run along and wash up. Snack will be served soon.”
Penny hurried from the foyer, but slowed when she realized Sister Mary Agnes was not following. She turned a corner, waivered, and doubled back.
“--found a family for her.”
“She already did? And already called you?” Sister Mary Agnes scowled. “That is a bit too fast, isn’t it? I only left the office fifteen minutes ago.”
“Penrose is a pretty child. Foster mothers can easily imagine dressing her up and doing her hair.”
“Forgive me, Mother Mary Clare, but I worry about the foster mothers wanting a pretty, little girl to play doll with, and I worry more about the foster fathers also wanting a pretty, little girl.”
“You should not think the worst of people, Sister Mary Agnes.”
“Sorry….”
“I don’t need an apology,” the Mother said. “It is not me that wants you to bring the good out in others.”
Penny shifted uncomfortably where she stood. Sister Mary Agnes wore a strange, uncharacteristically disgruntled expression on her fair face.
“You are much too close to this,” the Mother said. “You did right to disclose your relationship to her when you requested to join us, but you also promised that was secondary to your vows to serve our Lord through our Lady.”
“Yes… Mother Superior.”
“She may be your niece, but you are to serve all the children equally. You are an aunt to all of them. And you should do what is best by them, and that is placing them with families.”
“Yes, Mother Superior….”
“Take heart, Sister,” the Mother said kindly. “We often receive updates and Christmas cards from former charges. This will not be the last you hear from her.”
Two days later, Penny found herself once more in the car with Sister Mary Agnes. The ride was much longer than going into town to visit the case worker. It was quieter with an uneasier air.
The scene outside the window had a few rundown houses, some mobile homes, and a lot of trees that somehow came across sad and old. One of the homes had nicer flowerbeds and a littering of toys in the small, front yard. Three cars were crowded in the narrow driveway. The case worker stood outside in the yard with a middle-aged couple, a teen girl, a girl near Penny’s age, and a toddler dressed in blue overalls.
“They look nice,” the Sister said. “The little girl could be your new best friend.”
“Maybe…,” Penny muttered. “Do Sisters have last names?”
“We do,” she said, looking in the rearview. “Our birth names are still our legal names. My driver’s license doesn’t say Sister Mary Agnes, for example.”
“Then… we still have the same name,” Penny asked.
The smile slowly fell from the Sister’s face. She turned in her seat, fixing Penny with a surprised and sad expression. She offered her hand which Penny reached forward to take.
“Call, write, whatever you want whenever you need me,” she said. “I’m only an hour away. You can visit if you want.” She nodded towards the family. “You just have to ask. They seem kind. I’m sure they’ll allow it.”
The placement lasted six months.
She found herself in her case worker's office with her about-to-be former foster mother. Her toes dragged now no matter if she was kicking or not. The light above still buzzed and flickered in an annoying way.
The case worker stared at the new notes in the file with a puzzled frown. She pursed her lips and straightened up, setting her stare upon the foster mother.
“I’m not understanding the issue,” she said carefully. Her eyes momentarily darted to Penny. “She’s six.”
“Almost seven,” Penny chimed up.
“I can’t explain it any better,” the foster mother said stiffly. “And I won’t with her sitting here.”
“Ma’am… you want to give her back because she believes in fairies,” the case worker said bluntly.
“No. No, that makes it sound—. It’s more than that. It’s….” She shot to her feet. “I’m allowed to give them back if they don’t adjust to the family. We’ve tried. It isn’t working.” She looked down at Penny with pity and apprehension. “I hope you can get the help you need, Penny. You didn’t do anything wrong, okay? It isn’t your fault.”
She stalked from the office, nearly colliding with Sister Mary Agnes on her way out. She muttered “good luck” at her before vanishing down the hall.
Penny smiled and waved eagerly at the Sister as she came to stand by her chair. She rested her thin hand on her shoulder, and returned her smile.
“Can I take Penny back now,” the Sister asked.
“You don’t want to know why the placement didn’t work?”
“I believe it not appropriate to talk about that in front of the child. The Mother Superior is expecting a full report though.”
The case worker tapped her fingers on her desk. “Hm… if you have time, I’ll give her a call now to give her the gist and see what she wants to do from there.”
She took the Sister’s hand and went out into the hall. She tried to settle against the wall just outside the open doorway, but the Sister took her further down, away from the offices, to an old, beaten bench at the start of the hall. Penny leaned forward to stare back down the hall at the office.
“Curious,” the Sister asked, a smirk tugging her lips.
“Do you believe in fairies,” Penny asked.
“Of course. I’ve seen a fairy or two in my time.”
Her green eyes lit up. She stopped looking down the hall and stared up at the Sister’s face. There were no signs of lying; her smile was gentle as usual, not teasing. She peered down the hall to make sure no one was coming, and slid closer to the Sister.
“Is this because we’re related,” she whispered.
“I think so…”
The Sister also checked the hall, more apprehensively. She held her palm flat, turning to shield it from the hall. She held a finger to her lips to indicate quiet, and a second later a bright, golden light emanated from her outstretched palm. The light bubbled like a fountain slowly turning on, and formed into a tiny golden flower.
Penny gasped and clamped her hands over her mouth to stop her squeal of delight. She gave a small, disappointed “aww” when the flower was snuffed out.
“Magic sensitivity is strong in our family. I think that’s why you’re having trouble in your placements; because, this is not something most people have.”
“Is it a secret,” Penny asked breathlessly.
The Sister’s expression turned from gentle into something Penny couldn’t define. She seemed sad, but also kind of angry.
“Not on purpose,” she said carefully. “People just… stopped believing. I don’t know if forcing belief would do more harm than good.”
“Like with God?”
“Similar, at least,” she said with a small laugh. The light fell from her dark eyes as they fell upon her hand. “This is a gift from God, but sometimes people dispute that. Even those who have high faith.”
“Does Mother Mary Clare know you have magic?”
“She does. She serves the Holy Cor same as me, but the other Sisters and Mother Mary Bernadette do not. Mother Mary Clare believes it is best to do our service in silence, and keep our connections to the Realm quiet.” She smiled at Penny, patting her hair. “I’ll explain what I can of that later. Now that you’re older, I’m sure the Mother won’t mind me tutoring you between my other duties.”
“Am I a witch too,” Penny asked eagerly.
“I’m not a witch. I’m a mage. Witches are something different. As for you, I don’t know yet. You might just be sensitive. Your moth—.”
The Sister stopped. Her eyes went over Penny’s head, down the hall. She stood with a gentle smile once more on her face, and stepped forward to meet the case worker before she reached the bench. They exchanged some words Penny couldn’t hear from her seat before the Sister returned.
“Mother Mary Clare wants us home,” she said. “The goal is still to place you with a family, but we have all the time before then.”
They reentered St. Brigid’s hand in hand, but Sister Mary Agnes quickly dropped Penny’s hand when Mother Mary Clare stepped from her office to cut them off. A large woman, just as old or older, joined them. Mother Mary Bernadette wore her usual severe expression.
“Well then, Penrose,” Mother Mary Bernadette said, staring down at Penny, “back again? No matter. I’ve decided to add my resources as well.” Penny shrank back from the Mother’s attempted smile. “We will find you a proper home. Never fear.”
The two elder nuns exchanged a look as Mother Mary Bernadette walked off. Mother Mary Clare gave Penny a nervous smile and a pat on the head.
“I’m sorry, Penrose, dear,” she said. “Mother Mary Bernadette was in my office when your case worker called.”
“Is that bad,” Penny asked.
“No… That’s too negative for her want to help you,” the Mother said. Her pale, watery eyes met Sister Mary Agnes’s. “She’s heard about the fairies. She doesn’t believe it to be more than a child’s imagination, but she wants to keep an eye on it. …The foster mother’s notes were rather hysterical.”
“Actually, I was telling Penny that she’s old enough to start learning about the Realm,” the Sister said. “After all my other duties, of course. And, only until her next placement.”
The Mother took a long, hard stare at Penny, making her squirm. “Does she have magic?”
“Not that I’ve noticed. She’s still young, so she could. Or, she could just be sensitive to it.”
“One is more manageable than the other in placing her with a family….” The Mother hobbled towards her office. “I’ll hold Mother Mary Bernadette at bay. We at the very least need to know if she’s a mage before she’s placed again.”
Penny beamed up at Sister Mary Agnes once they were left alone. She grabbed her hand and yanked her into a brisk walk, eager to hear all about magic.
--------------------------------
Using the Dragon Orphans (but abbriviated) for the title! I'm not sure how to ex[lain/better show the group home structure. There aren't any nun run orphanages anymore, but there are still group homes (usually for problem kids) that have some Catholic Charities influence, so nuns will go serve in them. But, since Penny's early story touches more on the Holy Cor, I'm mostly showing the nuns with case worker meetings.
The Brothers and Sisters follow a lot of the Marian Order traditions, so all Sisters have 'Mary' as the first half of their name. I picked Agnes because my great grandmother was an Agnes, and it is apparently a commonish name for nuns to pick if they've experiences some type of loss. Agnes also starts with 'A' the same as her birth/legal name. (Mary Agnes is named Aisling and will be called that in chpt 2, so not a spoiler.)
I was going to have Penny spot a fairy as she was being passed over to that foster family, but it was much more jarring to not do that. Then you get the confusion with her case worker like 'okay she's a little girl and they like fairies'. Case worker was not named because, not a spoiler, Penny will have a different one next chapter. They have a very high rate of burnout and turnover.
I did not expect this chapter to urn out this quick, lol. I'm rushing a bit to get what needs covered in her childhood done.
The Castle of the Sunbird, September 2005
Where the Fault Lies, Part II, 2006
Mioko Del Mar, 2007?
Mioko, Sept 2002
Fire & Steel, 2005
