The early morning sun met Da-ye as she was climbing out of the bed, she took a bit longer than she normally would because the bed here was so much more comfortable than the one back at the children's home, she stood up and stretched cracking her back and leaning all the way so her hands touched the floor, she straightened herself back and smiled, she was happy she was still flexible as ever.

She looked over to her large white vanity and walked over sitting on the chair, she took her small brush and ran it through her waist length dark wavy hair, she platted it into a neat braid and then twisted it up into a bun and stuck a silver clip to hold it it place, it was really beautiful and she had gotten it from Guiren for her summer present, it brought out her rich brown eyes and the light freckles that dotted her pale cheeks.

She was satisfied with the way her hair was done so she got up and went to one of her suitcases that was stuffed to the brim with clothes while the other held things she would need for her studies, she was so happy to become the apprentice of Professor Eun- Kyung, she was the leading researcher in the field of herbs and medicine and the creator of that nasty tasting green glop for younger children, but it cured almost of every sickness they could catch as long as they weren't near death.

The woman was smart and beautiful and the fifth in line for the Moon elf throne which her mother Empress Chun-Hei Mun now resided upon, being an apprentice to such a woman would open many possibilities for the young moon elf and she grew happier every time she thought about it.

Da-ye sighed happily and pulled out a silk dark blue dress, it had long sleeves with a triangular end that would cover the back of her hand and hook to the her middle fingers, it had a high collar and would fit neatly over her breast and curve at her waist and then flow down when it hit her hips and around the waist was a lace sash of a lighter blue that would be tied into a lovely bow when she put it on, she smiled and set it on the bed along with a large white hat that held a sash of the same color that would hang down her back.

Lastly she set out black heeled leather boots, she would where those when she was ready to leave for the capital later in the day, but for now she pulled on a long sleeved white shirt and brown pants leaving the room bare footed, she smiled to herself as she entered the room across from hers, she really wanted to be the one to wake little Sin, she liked the calling name for him that the Duchess had come up with, it suited his cute little self.

She frowned when she saw the bed was empty but shook her head many times she awoke the half ling would already be up and hard at work, she felt shame pool in her stomach that she couldn't do anything for him and this made her even more thankful to the Duchess because if not for her the little one would have to live through all that pain for another two years until she was able to leave the house, but now he would be properly cared for while she focused on her studies and then when she was able to she would bring him to the capital and tutor him so he would be able to make a future for himself.

She nodded feeling happy with her decision as she quickly made his bed and picked up the clothes he had came in with her about six days ago, she would make sure to take him shopping for a few things before she left, she quickly headed out the room and down the stares, she turned and headed to the kitchen, she had found him there a few mornings getting bun after bun from the women in the kitchen who had a strange fascination with watching him eat.

That was another thing she hoped the Duchess would be able to fix in time, he always ate as if someone was going to take the food away from him and only yesterday they were able to get him to stop eating on the floor. She wasn't surprised to see him stooping down stuffing a large piece of meat in his mouth while collecting another from one of the chefs when she entered the kitchen, she patted his shoulder and in a flash he was hiding under the large table in the center of the kitchen where all the already prepared food was waiting to be taken to the dinning room.

She stooped down and peeped under the her eyes widening at the sight of his green eyes that seemed to glow in the dim light, he stared at her as he continued to eat his food and didn't come out until he was finished licking all the juice from his his lips and suckling the rest from his fingers, he wiped the rest on the large white shirt he was wearing and slowly walked up to her with his face red from the meat, she laughed and he took a few steps back his eyes going dull, she flinched at the sight and knelled down so she was at eye level with him.

"It's okay little one I wasn't laughing at you, I was just laughing because you're covered in meat sauce." she said in a gentle motherly tone she had heard the house mother speaking to Guiren with many times. Little Sin didn't seem to understand her words but her tone calmed him down and he walked over to her his eyes brightening again, she smiled and pulled him into her arms as she stood "now how about a quick bath before its time for breakfast." his ears flicked at this and she carried him out of the kitchen going to the bath.

One of the maids saw them coming and quickly filled the tub with warmed water, Da-ye decided she would take a bath at the same time and stripped both of them down, she didn't mind because she had already taken a bath with him the day before and he didn't give any reaction that she suspected the older boys would if they saw her without her clothes, she dipped the bowl into the water and poured it on his head laughing when he shook it off.

She was quick to soap him down and scrub his rich black hair, she smiled at the sight of his ears flicking in delight, she rinsed him off and gave herself a bath before sticking a piece of soft mint in his mouth and putting piece in his the mint brought a certain heat to her mouth that she was just getting accustomed to, she had only been introduced to it by the duchess a few days, she chewed it and Sin copied her until a white foam came from his mouth which he was quick to spit out, she remembered the first day he had used it, he swallowed it and spent the rest of the morning sick.

She gave him water to rinse out his mouth and did the same, when she was finished she dried him off with a fluffy white cloth that the maids called a towel, she was impressed by the things the nobles were able to get their hands on, the cloth soaked up all the water without a problem, she quickly dressed them both and dropped the dirty white shirt sin had on in a basket, she picked him up and left for the dinning room, which when she entered the Duchess and Lord Baek had already been sitting in.

The Duchess smiled at the sight of the two children especially little Sin who looked fresh and clean, she got up from her chair and walked over placing a kiss on Da-ye's forehead before collecting little Sin from her, he latched on to her and she covered his face in kisses and hugged him tight, he was such an angel, she wanted to find who ever his parents were and have her guards beat them down, she couldn't hit them herself, that was unladylike.

She carried him over to the seat that was to the left of her and sat him down on the two cushions that had been placed there, he was too short to see over the table so it had to be done, his eyes immediately snapped from her to the food and she watched as his little nose sniffed the air, everyone's eyes was on his when scales flashed across his neck before he was reaching for the food, the Duchess sat down and one of the maids moved forward to fill his plate, with mostly meat and meat buns, she hoped that feeding him like this would help him to put on the much needed weight.

Sin was bouncing on the cushions as the lady with the strange green hair piled different types of meat onto a large plate for him, his eyes swirled faster at the sight of the of the fried dough buns that he knew held that sweet red meat in it, that was the one thing he was able to remember from the first time he visited the town, not that it was different from much of what went through his mind, what he was going to be able to eat if he was given any food and how fast he can do his work so he didn't get hit.

But for the past few days he had been given lots of new food that all taste good and not just in the morning, but the midday and night and even in between, these older people liked to watch him eat and he was happy to take advantage of that as long as he could get his belly full, when the woman placed the food in front of him, he reached for the first thing in sight and quickly bit into it, he could feel liquid spilling past his lips and down the front of his chin but he didn't care as he let out a sound of pure delight, he would eat as much as he could before the people changed their minds about feeding him.

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Da-ye shook her head as she collected the warm cloth from the maid and stooped down in front of Little Sin who was now swallowing the last of his breakfast, she wiped off his face and then his hands before he could suck his fingers watching as his pink lips formed into a cute pout that almost made him coo at him as if he was still a baby, she remembered holding him the first time he arrived after the house mother had to hold him down so she could scrub the dirt from his skin.

She was so tired afterwards she just handed him off to the nearest person who happened to be a at the time ten year old Da-ye, who happily collected the scrawny looking half ling, she took pleasure in drying him off and brushing his hair that was really curly at the time, then pulled on one of the tiny grey shirts, he looked so cute but wore a scared look on his face, crying when she set him down to go warm some milk, only stopping when she had returned and picked him up to feed him and watching as he feel asleep.

She smiled at the memory and collected the small black shirt from a maid that was standing nearby, she took off the white one that was now covered in different colored sauce's from the meat and pulled on the replacement and tucking it into his pants, she pulled on the small belt on him and then took his hands leading him out the bath to the front door where a maid stood waiting to help him get his boots on while she ran up stairs to quickly get dressed, she redid her hair in the same style and pulled on her dress and hat, then her new boots that she had never had a proper reason to wear before.

She picked up her suitcases and took one last look at the room before leaving, she smiled as she handed her suitcases to one of the servants that would be traveling with her and then went downstairs to Sin taking his hand, she planned to spend the entire time to the ship with him.