Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rose was staring intently at the think board when Alisha walks in. They’ve been on this case for weeks now and it’s been nothing but dead leads. Four children are missing and it hasn’t even been 48 hours since the last incident.

Alisha walks over to Sorey’s desk and asks if they’ve gotten anything yet, to which he only responds with a sullen shake of the head, “No, but the lines are open.”

As if on cue one of the phone rings and Rose promptly answers. On the other line there was a short silence, “Hello?” questioned Rose. Still silence but then something began to play, a tune of some sort..

A man of words and not deeds

Is like a garden full of weeds

And when the weeds begin to grow

It’s like a garden full of snow

And when the snow begins to fall

It’s like a bird upon the wall

And when the bird away does fly

It’s like an eagle in the sky

And when the sky begins to roar

It’s like a lion at the door

And when the door begins to crack

It’s like a stick across your back

And when your back begins to smart

It’s like a penknife to your heart

And when your heart begins to bleed

You’re dead, and dead, and dead indeed

“If this is a joke-” Rose began but was suddenly cut off.

“Fret not my dear flower. I’ve simply grown bored of waiting around. You officers always enjoy taking your precious time so I thought I might raise the stakes.”

Rose grinded her teeth, “I swear if-”

“Ah ah ah,” she could hear the grin in the man's voice. “You wouldn’t want to do anything rash while playing my game. Now allow me to be generous and give you 24 hours to find the children before I really have to do something bad.”

The second the line cut off Rose scrambled for a notepad to write everything down. Her commotion got both Sorey and Alisha’s attention. “What was that all about?” Alisha asked with a growing concern.

Rose tossed the notepad to Sorey with pressed lips. “We’ve got a lead, though I’m not sure if it’s really a good thing or not..”

“What do you mean?” Sorey asked while looking over the rushed handwriting on the notepad.

“Well.” Rose began, her hands forming fists, “It’s a lead alright, straight from the source even! But I have no idea what the hell any of it means. And worse, we only have 24 hours before something happens to those missing kids.”

“I’m sure we’ll be able to figure it out Rose,” Alisha softly stated while looking at the note in Sorey’s hand, it seemed awfully familiar but she couldn’t quite place it.

“Yeah, but if it can’t be made sense of how will it lead us anywhere?” Rose retorted and let out a heavy sigh.

Sorey tore the paper from the pad and pinned it to the think board, “it’s a nursery rhyme. I know that much.”

“That’s it,” Alisha exclaimed while Rose looked at the two slightly dumbfounded, “I thought it seemed familiar. It’s from a book called ‘A Sorrow Ends.’ It is a rather old book but if remember right then each chapter was based on a set of those lines and it all ended in a church courtyard..”

“All right Alisha! I knew we could always count on our lovely prosecutor,” Rose chimed while pulling up a map with all the kidnapping locations and now churches.

Even though the situation is rather dire Alisha couldn’t help the small tug at her lips, Rose always did say such embarrassing things.

“50 results,” Rose pressed her lips again. “Doesn’t really get us any closer..”

“Try doing churches that are at least 100 years old. I can’t imagine we’d find what we’re looking for at a church that many people go to,” Sorey suggested.

“25 results and given how spread out some are I don’t think we’ll get to them all in time.”

Sorey looked at the map, “None of them seem to have any relation to the locations of the kidnappings either.”

Rose nodded, “we’ll have to call in Dezel and Zaveid.”

“Got it,” Sorey said while picking up his phone to dial Zaveid.

He picked up on the third ring, “What’s up Sheps?”

“We finally got our lead but we’ll need you and Dezel to help us out. Rose is sending you the details now, but basically we need to investigate some churches particularly old ones with courtyards. We only have 24 hours to find the children and this is all we have to go off of.”

Zaveid let out a heavy breath, “Don’t worry Sheps, we got you. Dezel and I are on the East side currently so will hit anything over here and move our way to the middle of town.”

“Thanks,” Sorey hung up.

“Let's go,” Rose called out while grabbing her gun from her desk and putting it in its holster. “Alisha you stay here and call us if anything new comes up, we’ll keep you posted on what churches have been checked also update the chief for us will ya,” Rose gave a quick wave and walked out the door followed by Sorey.

The drive to the first church on the outskirts of the city was an hour long.

“Dammit,” Rose muttered. “If this isn’t the one I hope it doesn’t take too long.”

Sorey got out of the car once Rose parked. “We still have 22 hours, if no one can point us in the right direction then a quick but thorough sweep is all we need before moving to the next place.”

“You’re right,” Rose gave a quick shake of her head. “We can do this.”

After taking a quick look around the courtyard they walked into the church.

“We’re with the Elysia Police Department,” Sorey said while flashing his badge at the pastor.

Rose took out a set of photos, “have you seen any of these children around here?”

The pastor took a long look at the photos, “No, I’m afraid not officers. We don’t get many children just elders coming for prayer every now and again. May I ask what this is about.”

“Just looking into some missing persons,” Rose put the photos back. “Any suspicious activity in the last few weeks?”

“Nothing, it’s been very quiet, we have such a peaceful neighborhood.”

“Mind if we have a look around then?” Sorey asked.

The pastor shook his head, “not at all.”

“Thanks.”

The search came up negative, no suspicious activity, no secret entrances, no details on the kids, nothing. Same thing at the next couple churches too.

Meanwhile though, Dezel and Zaveid are on the other side of the city. The first church they hit had no courtyard so they opted that one out.

The next church however, had something. One of the volunteer workers had recognized one of the kids.

“Where did you last see them?” Dezel asked while Zaveid was looking around the place.

“About a week ago, at central park.”

“Thanks,” Dezel pulled up the map on his phone.

‘Odd…’ Dezel thought. ‘The kid they recognized, Ava, was taken on the opposite side of the city from Central Park.’

He picked up his phone, “Sorey.”

“Yeah Dezel?” Sorey answered his phone on the second ring.

“We’ve got something, one of the volunteers at the church recognized Ava, said they saw her at central park about a week ago.”

“That’s roughly around when she was kidnapped..” Sorey mumbled.

Dezel gave an affirmative hum, “But she was actually taken from the complete other side of the city.”

Sorey furrowed his eyebrows, “That’s right…”

“Some good news is that there just happens to be a church near that park that made our list. But, Zaveid and I are further away than you and Rose.”

“Got it, we’ll head over right away.”

Sorey ended the call, “Rose we’ve got something.”

Chapter Text

Sorey and Rose drove to the church while stopping at one that happened to be on the way. To no surprise it came up empty. They still had 20 hours left, in reality this seems like plenty of time, but if none of the churches come up with anything then they would’ve wasted too much of it already.

Coming up to the church that Dezel sent them to gave Sorey and Rose a strange chill.. Looking in the main part of the church, it was empty, unlike the last few. Nothing seemed out of place, it was just a regular, dusty church.

The door creaked open, “Oh, I had not been expecting visitors.”

They both turned around to see a middle aged man standing mid step into the church. For some reason he gave Rose a bad feeling..

“EPD,” Sorey showed his badge and the man smiled.

“You the pastor of this church?”

“Oh no,” he stuck his hands into his jacket, “I just come by as maintenance every other month.”

“I see,” Sorey rocked on his feet. “We’re looking into an investigation and are wondering if there are any strange rooms in this church or the courtyard that you’re aware of?”

The man looked thoughtful, “Perhaps one, now that you mention it, although I don’t clean it out since it’s just an old cellar. I do have the key though. Why don’t the two of you go on back by the statue, I’ll meet you out there.”

Rose and Sorey both gave the man a nod and headed behind the church. Sure enough there was a statue of an angel holding her hands in prayer, directly below the statue were two wooden cellar doors. It was an odd place to put a cellar, if you asked anyone, but maybe their was historical significance behind it, who could say when the church had no one but a cleaning man to carry its legacy.

Rose tapped her foot and checked her watch every now and again.

“Dammit,” Rose kicked her heal into the ground.

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s taking too long,” she glanced in the direction they came from.

“How long’s it been?”

“Seven minutes and counting.” It was far too long for a simple key. Generously speaking maybe the key was kept in a farther place than from where they came, but even then it was rather suspicious.

“I’ll go check on him,” Sorey jogged off.

Searching through the church he couldn’t find the man anywhere, even checking the road came up empty, save for their patrol car parked on the curb.

He didn’t have any proof yet but that man was definitely guilty of something… Sorey called into the department leaving the description of the man, middle aged, probably fifties, dark brown hair slightly balding at the top, navy blue jacket and jeans, said he was a cleaner and likely lives in the area. Hopefully they could get some hits by pulling some video tapes from the area and  are able to match him to an ID.

After the call Sorey made his way back to the cellar which was now open with Rose nowhere in sight. He wasn’t going to ask..

“Hey Sorey,” Rose called from within the cellar. “Come check this out.”

Sorey pulled a flashlight free from his belt and shined it down the cellar.

The steps leading down seemed a bit steep but they didn’t venture too deep before opening up to a long hall. Sorey crouched and took a step, shining his flashlight all the way down the hall making the light hit a stone wall, empty.

“Where are you?” Sorey called out to the darkness.

“Over here,” Rose jut out a hand from a doorway halfway down the hall and waved it.

Sorey made his way to the room and upon entering it he was incredulous. The room was similar to that of what one might imagine a blacksmiths workshop to look like, although missing a few pieces. That wasn’t the weird part though, lining the bench placed in the middle of the room were pictures of each child that had been kidnapped. Opposite to them on the wall was a map with four x’s, kidnapping points. At least there weren’t any new points marked, but it still didn’t really get them any closer to the kids.

Sweeping their flashlights to the right showed a stone platform that likely once hosted a fire and a hammer off to the side. On the other side was a more modern shelving area, it didn’t have much on it, just a small recorder and a piece of paper.

Rose picked up the paper and showed it to Sorey, ‘Please play me.’

Sorey did not have a good feeling about this..

Rose let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding in and pushed play.

My it seems you’ve answered this angels prayers. Well not exactly. You were supposed to find the real children, but you’ve failed. I suppose that means you’ll need a penalty. Ah, what a fun game we play. Your time to find the children before something dire happens is now halved and it will continue to be halved every time you fail. I’ve additionally left a hint in this very room, but choose wisely what leads you take. It’s your move, officers.

Rose clenched her teeth, some sick game he thinks he can play. Her eyes darted around the room, they're down ten hours and she needs to find that hint.

Pictures. Map. Bench. Shelves. Recorder.

Pictures. Kids. Map. Bench. Shelves. Recorder. Note.

Pictures. Kids. Four. Map. X’s. Bench Shelves. Recorder. Note. Hammer. Forge. Blacksmiths?

Four. Map. X. Blacksmith. Note. no…

Wait!

“That’s it!” Rose called out.

“What is?”

“The four blacksmiths of legend, they have a memorial outside of the library! That must be where the clue leads to.” Rose ran out of the cellar with Sorey following closely behind.

When he took his first step out of the cellar his phone let out a ding.

“Rose, they ran a facial recognition from a video of the guy we saw earlier. We’ve got a name and an address. It’s nearby.”

“Great,” they were finally getting some leads, although it was all at a price. Rose opened the patrol car’s door. “Call Dezel.”

He picked up on the fifth ring, “I’ve got good news and bad news…”

Chapter Text

Talking to the guy wasn’t a big success at first but they eventually learned that he was hired by the supposed kidnapper. They had only met in person once, and the perpetrator had worn a mask, so he couldn’t give a description. When they met he had given the guy the photos of the kids, map, paper and recorder. He told him exactly how to place them in the cellar and made him call if the police ended up showing, something about keeping track of something?

That part really grinded at Rose, she was a great officer, don’t get that wrong, but she had a real bone to pick with people who messed with kids. They were just so innocent and fragile in this world, it truly sickened her that some people would go to such lengths just to do harm to such precious beings, be it physical or psychological harm. Sorey, of course didn’t feel much different on the subject but he did do a far better job when it came to keeping his feelings in check.

Still, they were able to learn that the supposed perp was doing something with a warehouse. Lucky for them there was only one place that had warehouses in this city and that was in the Sparrow Feather Lot.

This was something, the Sparrow Feather Lot and the memorial for the four blacksmiths of legend, but it was tricky. They only had nine hours and some odd minutes before who knows what could happen and they have two options, if either isn’t it then they’ll lose even more time and worse what if both are wrong, that’s even less, and that’s not even considering that this guy might be expecting them to go to both, giving us roughly two and a half hours if they’re both wrong and then the obvious option would be to make the next destination be too far for us to make it, but there’s also the fact that he thinks we’re taking too long so maybe he want’s us to find the children, or maybe he told the guy to tell us about the warehouse as a trap? Hell, they could both be false leads too.

Ugh, all this thinking was making Rose’s brain hurt.

“I think we should go to both,” Sorey said, getting Rose’s attention.

“Send Dezel and Zaveid to the memorial and we’ll go to the warehouse.”

Rose looked into Sorey’s green eyes looking for any uncertainty, “You sure about this?”

Sorey gave a small nod, “Think about it, this is a ‘game,’ isn’t it? I’m not entirely sure what his endgame is in all of it, but we have to save the children, and I think he want’s us to, it’s just a matter of how long it takes. After the twenty four hours are up there’s no saying what might happen, but I don’t think it means it’s the end of the game… no, more like, dare I say it, the game ends either when we find the kids or there are no more kids left to find… he seems to want to play with us, so I think one of these places has to be the right one. Even if it’s not, it’s all we’ve got and if we just so happen to make the wrong choice twice then there’s other officers patrolling the city we can send to the next place if we can’t get there... “

The last part didn’t need to be finished, she knew very well the situation they were in. Rose pondered over Sorey’s words as quickly and as slowly as she was willing to.

“As long as time is still on the clock, it’s our move,” Sorey added.

Sorey was right, he might be a bit of a dork at heart but his theories when it came to police work were always exceptionally well thought out.

She bit her lip, they didn’t have a lot of options and Sorey’s theories have never been disastrously wrong before.

‘You can’t play a game without first knowing how to play,’ her mind supplied.

“I hope you’re right,” she put the car in drive and went off to what could either be a success or horrible loss…

Zaveid and Dezel had just left the site they were at and headed to the blacksmiths memorial. Sorey had just called and gave them the details. Their new assignment held a few concerns, but Sorey had said it was the best they could do now.

Dezel let out a sigh, the fact that someone had been able to get away with taking children was something he wouldn’t let slide. Well, he couldn’t let any crime slide really, memories of his childhood flashed in his mind, the glint from a knife before it struck Lafarga is where he stopped said memories. He couldn’t dwell on that now, what he wanted was justice and that’s all that mattered...

Zaveid parked the car and shot a glance to his partner, he may not’ve realize it yet but being partners for so long had allowed for Zaveid to get a much better read on Dezel. He might not be able to know or give the perfect details but he would always be close, and now he could tell Dezel was thinking about what made him want to become a cop in the first place. It was a traumatizing event, for lack of better word, but Zaveid was still glad Dezel trusted him enough to share it with him.

“Hey, we’ll get this guy,” Zaveid tried to reassure.

Dezel only gave a stiff nod. He certainly hoped that was the case, Rose and Sorey had been on this case for months, and if this didn’t prove to be something useful then who knows how long this case would go on for…

They got out of the car and headed towards the library. It wasn’t too busy which was a good sign, if anyone got to the statue before them then whatever they may be looking for could be gone.

At first glance nothing seemed off, the statue consisted of four men, all made of bronze, one was standing tall with his right hand on his hip and the other displaying two other blacksmiths at work. The two consisted of one that was crouching to hold something in place and the third blacksmith was in the middle of bringing down his hammer, then to the far right was the last blacksmith holding a sword to show off the work they had already completed.

They had to admit it was a rather admirable piece of work, but that wasn’t what they were here for. Upon further inspection the noticed that the blacksmith holding down the unforged piece of metal seemed to have something else lodged under his slightly arched hand.

Zaveid took the object from under the hand of the statue, it seemed like a note but carried some heaviness to it. He unfolded the paper and revealed a key to be inside.

Dezel gestured towards the note, “What’s it say?”

He read the note aloud:

It seems you’ve found a valuable item, but alas, it’s not the children. Congratulations on having your time cut in half again.

Zaveid raised the key in Dezels direction, “What do you suppose it’s for?”

“Could be anything,” Dezel muttered. “But to me it seems like a dead lead and more lost time.”

“We don’t know that just yet,” Zaveid tried. “Call it in to Sorey and see if they’ve got anything on their end that could help.”

Dezel took out his phone and dialed Sorey.

There was no answer.

Rose stared discriminately at the padlock that was keeping them from getting into the warehouse. It was the only one that had been rented out in the last six months, and they already sent the name it was under to the station, but it was likely a fake.

Sorey came from around the other side of the large building and shook his head, “no lower windows.”

“All right,” Rose came up with an idea. “Lift me up and I’ll see if I can look in through one of the higher ones.”

Sorey had to admit Rose didn’t always come up with the most orthodox way to solve problems but this was really no time for him to chastise her on it. He crouched down and wrapped his arms around her thighs turning his head to place it against the small of her back and lifted her.

“Good, a little more to the right.” Sorey listened to her instructions. “Now forward.. Okay, stop.”

She peered into the window, it was very dark inside, but with what little light the windows did provided she could tell that there was an upper landing that probably went around the whole perimeter. What was on the floor was much harder to pick out, it seemed like boxes… crates? She squinted trying to get a better picture.

In the midst of trying to confirm her find, Sorey’s phone rang causing her to startle.

“Rose,” Sorey called out while trying to get his footing back and steady Rose.

“Sorry,” she placed her hands against the building for better balance and eventually settled.

Sorey’s phone stopped ringing, “What do you see?”

“Not much, some railing that runs along the upper deck and some boxes on the ground but they’re pretty big, so more like crates.”

Sorey gave a hum of acknowledgement, “that’s nothing to give us probable cause…”

Rose gave a sound of agreement, “but we need to see inside those crates.”

Sorey let go of Roses legs and caught her again at the armpits to lessen the stress on her landing. “What do you think they’re holding?”

“Could be anything..”

Sorey’s phone rang again and he answered.

Judging by the look on his face Rose did not suspect good news.

His eyebrows scrunched together, “A key..?”

Sorey thought for a moment, “wait, maybe your key can help us out. We’ve got a padlock that’s keeping us from getting into the warehouse, maybe it’s a match?”

“All right,” said Dezel on the other line. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

Sorey cut the line and started doing the math, their time had just been cut in half and by the time Zaveid and Dezel get here they’ll have just under four and a half hours. Assuming this place isn’t where the children are then they’ll be down to two hours… It’s all a matter of what’s in those crates and the thought that they may be harboring children isn’t a particularly good one.

Chapter Text

Rose was getting impatient waiting outside the warehouse, an internal clock constantly ticking in her mind as a reminder. 

“Ugh,” Rose groaned. “What’s taking them so long?” 

Sorey scratched his cheek, “they’re on their way, Rose.”

“I know, I just wish they’d hurry…” She bit her lip, a habit she was beginning to pick up whenever she became worried. She knew she shouldn’t let her emotions take over but there was a lot at stake she didn’t want to lose. 

Sorey checked his watch, nearly as impatient as Rose yet appearing more composed. “They’ll be here as soon as they can be, '' he said to reassure her although it might have been more for himself. Regardless, their wait ended shortly after, Zaveid and Dezel’s patrol car promptly arrived on the scene.

Rose wasted no time and walked up to their car holding a hand out for the key they were bringing. Dezel dropped it into her hand without a word and she promptly made her way to the lock. The key slid in smoothly putting her into a false sense of ease. “We’ll need the crow bar.” She commented grimly.

Zaveid gave a nod of ‘say no more’ and popped his trunk, retrieving the item. By the time he was done Rose was already out of sight and sweeping the warehouse with her flashlight and gun pointed at the ready.

Sorey followed not far behind. Dezel and Zaveid brought up the rear, although it was almost pointless save that it was protocol. 

“All clear” Rose spoke.

“Clear over here,” Sorey confirmed the emptiness and safety of the warehouse.

With the sweep done the officers regrouped on the bottom level of the warehouse where the crates were located.

“Open ‘em up.” Rose near demanded.

Zeveid stepped forward with a soft “at your service” that went unappreciated.

He barred one of the crates open but it was empty.

They all looked at each other with slight exasperation and confusion. 

Dezel hoped to God that they weren’t just sent on a pointless goose chase. The case wasn’t his but he knew the importance it held, the importance all cases held. Still he glanced at Rose to gain a reading on her. Her brow was furrowed in a look of thought as she bit her lip. 

Zaveid moves to the next one, not wanting to voice his doubts. 

The warehouse was quiet, almost silent. Something most of them seemed to ignore but weighed heavily on Sorey’s mind. Even if the children or anybody for that matter was in the crates why would they remain silent, given the commotion they were making outside? He thought they might have started to make sound but not a peep was heard. He glanced at the varying grates growing worrisome. Maybe it was a trap or the children were dead. He didn’t want to entertain the thought but knew he had to. As an officer he had to consider all options and rule out each one in accordance.

Sorey moved to the next crate, his movements drawing the attention of everyone else. 

They watched as he almost hesitantly raised his hand to the crate and knocked. They all waited in bated breath and the silence rang in their ears. 

“What’re you thinking?” Zaveid asked, knowing the look on Sorey’s face. 

The man responded by holding up a hand in silence and continued listening. He knocked on another crate, this time there was a sound of shuffling being produced in reaction. 

Rose's eyes widened minisculely trying to determine if her ears were deceiving her and the noise came from them instead of inside the crate.

“Open this one.” Sorey stepped aside to give Zaveid the necessary room to open the crate. 

Suddenly a knock was heard from outside the dark room. Mikleo didn’t even flinch at the sound, too used to it already. He heard the slight scuffle of one of the children near him though, most likely startled by the noise.

He wasn’t surprised by the action, that child likely being the one who was most recently put in the room with himself and the others. He used to be like that too.

The knock came again but this time no one moved. More muffled voices came through the other side. They weren’t familiar and were hard to make out but Mikleo didn’t pay them much mind anyway. The man that had put him in here didn’t talk much to them anyway, he usually just hummed a lullaby he’d grown to hate. 

The young boy slowly dragged his finger across the floor he was sitting on. He tried to think about something- anything to pass the time but he felt like he had already thought about everything there was to think about. His mind remained blank as he hoped sleep would find him soon, at least then his mindlessness wouldn’t be as bothersome. 

He closed his eyes, thinking of nothing better to do but was interrupted by a cracking sound. The sound went off again, causing light to shine into the room. The abruptness of it caused Mikleo to recoil, the brightness hurting his dark attuned eyes. He raised a hand, hoping to gain some semblance of a shield, but was forced to close his eyes tight.

He heard slight shuffling around him, likely some of the other kids due to discomfort either from the lighting or intrusion. Probably a combination of both.

“Hey, it’s okay. We won’t hurt you.” A soft voice called. “Lower your lights.”

Mikleo could tell the amount of light coming in had shifted considerably and slowly opened his eyes. The adjustment was much easier and less painful. He gazed out in front of him and could now make out four figures based on the sets of feet being illuminated. He trailed his eyes upward to try and get a glance at their faces although he wasn’t sure he wanted to. 

Perhaps being spared of his unsureness, one of the people crouched low drawing his attention. He glanced at the person’s face. It was hard to make out their entire face due to the light but he could at least tell they weren’t wearing a mask. Which provided a small relief.

“We’re police officers, we’re here to help you.” Explained the man. 

Upon further inspection Mikleo could confirm that the man before him was a police officer if the blue uniform and utility belt was anything to go by. The relief he felt at that knowledge was so overwhelming he felt like he wanted to cry. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in the dark room but the thought of finally being able to get out and away from the man in the mask was something he wanted more than anything.

He didn’t cry though, no matter how much the feeling clawed at his throat. He was happy to be saved but he had nothing to go back to. Sniffling beside him caught his attention. He could make out the figure of another boy with longish hair. It was the same one that had been moving earlier if he wasn’t mistaken.

A shift from the front of the room drew his attention again. Now a woman with red hair was crouched down, it looked pretty the way the light shined off it. “Come on out,” she held out her hand.

He shared a glance with the rest of the children. Their faces ranging from hopefulness to unsureness. The standstill was broken though, when the sniffling child made a run for the kneeling woman. He grasped onto her tight letting out his sobs as she gave gentle pats to his back.

Slowly the rest of them stepped forward. When Mikleo reached the crouching officers he latched onto one of their sleeves, not wanting to let go. 

“Can you tell us your names?” Rose asked softly. Even though they looked somewhat unhealthy she could recognize each of them as the missing children. Still, it was important for her to see if she could get them talking and relaxed. 

The question was met with relative silence. She did not stop the gentle pats on the dark haired boy’s back. She gave Sorey a glance and noticed the small death grip on his sleeve. These children were clearly terrified. She shifted her hand to the shoulder of the small boy before her. His gray eyes moved up to meet her blue ones. 

“You’re safe now, you can talk to us.”

The boy's lip trembled but he managed to give a small nod.

“What’s your name?” Rose asked again.

“I’m Ava.” It wasn’t the voice Rose expected to hear, coming from a thin girl with knotted red hair and hazel looking eyes. She was giving them all a suspicious look but Rose was glad she had spoken the first words, it would be easier to get the rest of them to talk now.

“My name’s Rose, what about you?” She redirected her line of question back to the boy still trying to calm his cries. 

“Kaito.” It was said quietly but Rose was able to pick it up given their close proximity.

“Kaito,” she repeated. “We’re gonna get you all checked out and taken care of, okay?”

Kaito wrapped his arms around her and gave a firm nod she was able to feel against her neck. She rubbed soothing circles for the boy, he seemed to be the most outwardly distressed one of the group.

Glancing at Zaveid and Dezel she could see they were occupied with a small girl with light hair, nearly matching their own. Her pink eyes were watery but she seemed otherwise occupied with inspecting Zaveid’s long hair. Her soft round face reminded her of Lailah. Somehow still looking innocent even after experiencing being kidnapped. If she wasn’t mistaken the little girl was the youngest of them all, being only four years old while Ava was the oldest at eight.. 

Dezel stepped closer to her then, “That’s Mira.”

Rose nodded in confirmation. That meant the only one left was Mikleo. She looked back to her right where Sorey was consoling the young one. His light hair was covering most of his eyes but she could tell he was looking at her if the rest of his startled expression was anything to go by. He looked strikingly similar to Mira, enough that they could have easily been mistaken as siblings but she knew that they weren’t. Underneath that pale hair was violet eyes she could barely make out. She offered him a soft smile and he shifted to be more behind Sorey rather than in front of him. 

The boy seemed to have whispered something in Sorey’s ear causing him to give the boy a light smile and whisper something back. Sorey’s gaze caught hers shortly after and he gave her a nod of confirmation. These were all the missing children and they had finally found them.