S1 Episode 1 : Tatha, The Scaredy Girl (Part 1)

Rockhester Huat Ville, Rockchester City.....2:53 a.m.

An orphanage was located on the small hills on the west side of the Ville. The Jacksons Orphanage had been raising a lot of orphans throughout the years ever since its founding in the year 1990s. Sending and welcoming children of different ages till this day. Some of the children choose to live with new parents happily afterward, and some of them choose to stay at the Orphanage they grew and love. There were children that are special, outstanding, and lovable. But there are also some of them which are not very liking or.....made you stay away from them.

"Fwoosh....." The midnight wind blew in a comfy flow, making the trees look like they were dancing gracefully. A peaceful night indeed, where the children slept peacefully under nature's lullaby. But there is someone awake, unable to sleep.

The children slept in their dormitory which is built by two gigantic trees, which made the orphanage well known.

A little girl aged around 11 with black-colored long hair, with a mix of Briglish and Huatnese was staring outside the windows beside her. She is hiding under her blanket and seems to be waiting for something to show up.

The moment is silent.....nothing was there but the small woods around the orphanage and the walls that protected them.

She began to feel sleepy but held herself not to. But just for instance time when she is rubbing her eyes. She saw a staff-looking figure just outside her window very very close. She got scared immediately and lost her balance at the bedside.

"THUMP!!! BOING!!! PANG!!!" She fell down from her bed and knock on a few things, causing a lot of loud noises.

"Tatha!!! Ow!!! Not again!!!" The girls all woke by the commotion. They are very angry and annoyed by the girl's causes. "What are you doing?! You make us unable to sleep again!!!" They blamed her. She is very scared and coiled herself up, she doesn't say anything or make a noise like she is a dummy.

"Alright, alright girls! Stop blaming her again, just.....go back to sleep, okay?" A young adult woman came into their dorm when she was also woke by the noises.

"It's been years and every time she did this, Ms. Rebecca!" One of the girls complained.

"Yeah, we hardly ever sleep well! Why not let her sleep somewhere else?" Another one follows.

"Or we can just send her to someone....." The other one is as well.

"Just throw or burn her.....He He He....." Wow wow wow, kid.

"What?! Who thought you that?! Now get back to your beds, girls!" The woman named Rebecca is not happy and quickly sends them back to bed. The girls went back to bed unwillingly, one of them even kicked the scared girl. "NANCY! Say sorry!" The woman scolded her.

"Sorry, Tatha.....hmph!"

She then takes the girl named Tatha outside with her, feeling so tired yet sorry for her.

"Look Tatha, I cannot let you sleep with me forever.....You must learn how....." She tries to explain to her but seeing her innocence and trembling looks still makes her to be soft on her. "Okay Tatha, do you remember how many times you've woken me up when you're sleeping with me?" She asked her. Tatha thinks back.....images of her woken Rebecca a lot of times happening literally all the time show up in her mind, in many different ways of course.....She is embarrassed about what she did.

"Huff.....Tatha, I would this for you again. But you really need to learn how don't bother with anything that stops you from sleeping. Come on, let's go to bed shall we?" Rebecca then received a nod as a reply then they both moved to the teacher's dorm. But that staff-looking figure is still out there somewhere, looking at her.

The next morning.....

Children and their teachers gathered outside the fields of the orphanage. Doing their daily routine of morning exercises. "Alright kids, come on! Follow my lead! One Two Three Four! One Two Three Four!" One of the teachers is a chubby adult woman leading the children on the field.

"Alright Tatha, come with me, let's do some.....Oh.....of course you don't want to....." Rebecca brought her out to join the kids, but Tatha immediately ran towards the holes dome of the playgrounds and hid herself in there. She even peeked outside for a little while and then hide again. "Oh, Tatha....." Rebecca can't do anything.

"Alright kids, the morning session is done! Now go into the canteen and wait for breakfast, would you? Teacher Rony will guide you all!" The chubby teacher said. "Yes, Teacher Tammy." The children went towards the canteen under another teacher who is a fat adult man.

"She's up to the dome again isn't she?" Tammy went to Rebecca.

"Tammy.....I have no idea anymore.....I wish someone who can help her appears....."

"Poor girl, if it wasn't for that night 6 years ago....."

6 years ago.....

"Her parents died by being murdered?!" Tammy and Rebecca were requested by the local police officers to help to keep Tatha who survived an attack targeting her family.

"The police department is not a child-keeping center, we had no idea how to even take care of a little kid when we spend most of the time taking care of criminals. We will give you a fair amount of pay as our only gratitude."

"What do we do, Tammy?"

"I guess we can only accept the poor kid....."

They move to the guest room where Tatha is, but she hides behind any object she could find in the room. Scared to see anyone, she refuses to stand out. "Come out, little girl! It's not time for hide and seeks! Get out!" The officer is rude and angry. "Hey! How can you do that?! She is clearly scared!" Rebecca scolded the officer. "You! I was....." He wanted to scold it back but Tammy stopped him. "We know kids better than you do, leave it to us! We will take good care of her." Tammy finished her words. They also found she doesn't speak at all, like a dummy. "Don't be afraid, little one.....we will take care of you. My name is Rebecca Chang. Please come with us, we will give you the best place to live with." Rebecca has shown gentleness and kindness to her. She finally get out slowly and went for her, she hugged her.

Before they leave the police department with Rebecca holding Tatha in her arms, a man who seems to be a mental doctor came to them. "Hello, I'm sorry for their impolite ways. I'm Dr. Maczie." He greeted them. "It's okay, it's not the first time we saw this kind of person." Said Tammy. "Yep, but before you go, I want to give a few pieces of advice for taking care of Tatha. It is important....." Said Maczie. "Oh really? What do we have to know about her? For giving us more caring of course." Rebecca wants to know.

"She saw her own parents being murdered right in front of her eyes, the house burned and trapped her alone in near death. Which means, she had suffered extreme fear. She is not a dummy, she can't speak because she doesn't want to. Fear had consumed her mind, making her afraid of literally anything. Clearly, she accepts both of you, and don't worry, cause she can hear you. I just want to say that taking care of her might not be an easy task, but please show her love and help her grow up like a normal child."

"We will, Dr. Maczie. Thanks for the advice."

"Good luck. Tatha, we will meet again. I hope you can be happy afterward, okay?" He patted her head. She nods in reply.

"Goodbye, Ladies....."

Back to the present.....

"But if we left her, we are very bad guys....." Rebecca is very sad about her own complaints.

"We are not perfect, but I believe Lord Jehvin would help her. Our prayers would be answered one day. After all, she may be scared. But she is one obedient girl. She always cleans up her stuff and learns new things sneakily even though she stays whole days inside the dome. After all, what she does is staring the wall near her all the time."

"Yep, you might be right. We should continue to love her as always....."

"Good, now let's fetch some breakfast for her shall we?"

"After you."

The two ladies went to the canteen without noticing 3 boys sneak passed them.

"Boss! She's in the dome again! As always!"

"I know, Peric! Give me that!"

"Here you go, boss!"

The one leading them is an elf boy named Kylian, he is well-known in the orphanage and the town for being a bully and naughty child. Followed by two of his crew the same age as him, Peric an Udigan boy, and Gary a Unison Boy. They always do one thing in common, bully Tatha like a jerk. This time they are going to throw a cracker into the dome, to scare and if possible, hurt her.

"Here we go, dummy!" Kylian throws a cracker into the dome.

"CRACK POW BOOM!!!" It explodes in the dome, scaring Tatha and burning her a little. But she is too scared, she doesn't even yell for help. The cracker stopped, but the boys are not.

"Another one, He He He....." Kylian lights another one and wanted to throw it again.

"BEAM!!!" A mysterious voice sounded and the cracker's fire was distinguished.

"WHAT THE?!" Kylian was angry. He lights it again. But whatever he did, it's still the same whenever the sound appears. "ARGH!!! WHY!!!" He is too angry. "EH! BOSS!" The boys saw the teachers who came out after hearing the crackers, but it was too late. "You three are too over this time!!! Using crackers?! Tammy, we had to search their belongings again!" Rebecca was very angry. "You three little monkeys, come here! Especially you, Kylian!!!" Tammy grabbed his elvish ears heavily as punishment for him. "AW AW AW!!! I demand rights!!!" He yelled. "You're not going to get any but butt-smacking!" Tammy continues to drag him by the ear.

"Tatha, Tatha! Are you okay?" Rebecca rushed to the dome. She nods in reply, but she is really scared. "Oh my gosh.....You're burnt! Come with me, I'll help you with this." She is sad about it.

"Or maybe I can do it in a faster way." A familiar voice just spoke.

"Who is it?! Wait what?" Rebecca is looking around. Tatha saw who it is and hide behind her, pointing out where it is for her. It is none other than Daniel Thong, who is sitting on the walls.

"Hello! I'm Daniel. I'm a swordsman, a knight, and a writer. It seems you need some help, do you need some?" He greeted them. He still wears the attire he was in when he was at Jewel Lake, after all, he came to Rockchester halfway.

"How did you climb the walls? You're....."

"I am tall enough to do that, but sorry had to save a child in a hurry. Sorry for the trespassing, but it seems my pen distinguished the crackers flame in time. These boys are indeed spoiled. So, can I come in?"

"Sure, don't sit there! My name is Rebecca Chang. Just now you said you saved Tatha?"

"Ah yes, my pen had a signal which can take out the fire. A function, of course, my pen can do a few more. Other than this, let me have a look at her wounds." He came near them, but Tatha ran off immediately. She hides behind the slide. "I'm sorry, she is a very timid girl. She doesn't want to speak and meet strangers." Said Rebecca.

"Ah, no worries. I know how to deal with it. I've been learning how to talk and play with kids for a long time, plus I really like children."

He kept his pen in his coat and slowly move, crouched gently.

"Hello, little one. My name is Daniel Thong Xing Yi. I won't hurt you, I love kids just like you. I can help you to cure your injuries, they are hurting isn't it?" He approached her slowly and gently. Tatha slowly comes out from behind the slide, wiling to trust him.

"Hello, you are gorgeous. A Brig and Huat half blood I see. The face tells me."

"You're right, what an observation....."

"Come here, let me check it up for you." He holds her hands. Clearly, she trusted him already.

He took out his pen again, doing his writing moves again. Waving all over her wounds, and the wounds were completely cured by the waves it create.

"There.....good as new. Beautiful and healthy. No more pain!"

"Your pen.....It's.....so amazing.....?!"

"Healing light waves that can do basic medication instantly. She is healed completely."

Tatha was surprised by the effect, she nods as her gratitude.

"Thank you, Mr. Thong. She needs a long time to cure if we use our own medication for sure.....Cause this is not the first time she is being harmed. Not everyone in the Orphanage liked her, well because she is different....."

"I understand that Miss. By the way, I'm here to ask for some information. Is there anything weird that happened in Rockchester? Cause I'm tracking down something that might cause trouble for everyone here."

"Um, no actually.....Because it's quite peaceful for all of us."

"I see, anyways, where's the exit? I've gotta go and ask anyone else to look for it."

"Oh follow me, The gates are right here." Rebecca then leads him to the gate and opened it for him. Bradley drove herself towards the gate, welcoming her master.

"I'm here, Master! Are we going?" Bradley asked.

"Let's go, we have to run around the whole of Rockchester City after all. Goodbye Ms.Chang, Goodbye Tatha." He takes off his coat put it in his truck then enters it. He drove away, towards the city.

"Come on Tatha, let's go. I have to deal with Kylian together with Tammy."

Surprisingly, Tatha was obedient this time and followed her.

11:34 p.m. at Jackson's Orphanage.....

Teacher Rony ended his night watch and went back to his dorm to sleep.

Tatha was unable to sleep again, but it was not because of the mysterious staff-looking figure. It is the man in the morning, Daniel. A gentleman with love and kindness, yet cool and confident at the same time. She looks towards the walls again, thinking about him.

But this time she saw something, it is Kylian and his crew! They are sneaking outside after there is no one out there.

"Boss, right here!" Peric showed him the hole he saw in the wall. "Good job, Peric! Let's go, Gary! To freedom and fun!!!" They managed to slip past the guard dog as well and escaped to the woods.

Tatha saw all of it, but she is afraid that she will be blamed again. So, she woke up quietly and wears her usual jacket, uniform, and her saggy hat. Quietly she moved, and she is able to leave the dorm without any attention.

She too saw the hole, but the guard dog was just right there. It must have moved its position before, during her preparation.

The dog is scary indeed, it's a Bullwarth Dog. She is very scared, afraid to land a step.

"Go with faith! Adventure is waiting!" A voice came to her. She saw what it is, a dove. She is surprised about a talking dove, but she had seen a talking truck earlier so it's alright for her. She know she had to make a decision right here.

"Thump....." She makes her first step.

Realizing the dog is not awake, she quickly went into the hole. Unluckily, the suddenly awakes. But, the dog silenced and move back a lot from the hole. It is the dove, it stops the dog with a powerful presence. Tatha then makes it out safely, seeing the world outside the wall for the first time ever since she arrived at the orphanage without noticing her surroundings before.

(Author's advice: Please do not imitate what the kids do!)

But she needs to get out of here, and she doesn't know the way. But the dove then flew ahead of her, it is telling her to follow it. Tatha doesn't hesitate and just follows it, moving toward the city alone.....Little did she know, her journey begins right when she decided to leave the orphanage.....

To be continued.....