Disclaimer: Much as I would love to say that I own Tangled, that would be a lie.

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Chapter Six

Edith was ready to scream. She was used to bedtime being particularly difficult with all the children running wild through the hallways and such, but this…this was just ridiculous! At least she had Eugene and Rapunzel to help her, along with Lord Jonathan, but she forced her mind away from that line of thought as she bent to pick up a particularly rambunctious toddler.

Her brother had appeared out of nowhere with the Princess and young lord in tow that morning, with the announcement that they were hers to order about for the entire day, and that she best take full advantage of this while she could. It had been less than a week since the last time Eugene had visited the orphanage, but Edith was not going to complain about this. If it meant three extra pairs of hands to help, then she was more than willing to accept her brother's impromptu visits.

What she was willing to question, though, was the presence of Lord Jonathan. She had been dying to ask either Eugene or Rapunzel why the young lord was here, but she had never had the chance. There had been several moments when she and Lord Jonathan were alone together, however, and each of those moments had ended with the two of them hastily looking away from one another, trying to find something to do. Edith had no idea why this was the case. She barely knew the man, after all; certainly not well enough to be so…flustered around him.

As if her merely thinking about him was a method for calling the man to her, Lord Jonathan appeared beside Edith, his arms full of a pair of two-year-olds who were fighting very valiantly for the right to stay up late. Rolling her eyes a little at the children, Edith motioned for Lord Jonathan to follow her into the room set aside for the toddlers.

"Their beds are just there," she said, pointing to a pair of beds set under one of the two windows in the entire upper floor of the house. "And if they keep fussing, you have my permission to tie them down."

For a moment, Lord Jonathan gave Edith a horrified look before he caught sight of the mischievous glimmer in her eyes and relaxed enough to grin at her. For some reason, that grin made Edith's knees feel like water for a brief moment, and she hastily turned her attention to the children, busying herself with tucking them into bed.

Once all the little ones were tucked into their beds and more or less settled down for the night, Edith guided her three guests to the kitchen, where they all sank into chairs with heavy sighs. All of them except Rapunzel, that is. Edith didn't know how it was possible, but somehow the young Princess never seemed to run out of energy. One day she would have to ask her brother if her suspicion was correct. Glancing over at Rapunzel with an arched eyebrow, Edith quickly settled comfortably in her chair and closed her eyes with a sigh.

"Are they always so much work?" Lord Jonathan asked as he knuckled the small of his back with a pained expression.

"Mm…sometime's they're worse, m'Lord," Edith said with a slight smile, waving a hand vaguely and not bothering to open her eyes to see the expression on Lord Jonathan's face in response to this. "This was actually one of their better behaved nights. Perhaps because we had guests."

Eugene snorted in disbelief and reached over to take Rapunzel's hand in his, sighing in mild relief at the contact between them. "I remember them being terrors even when we had guests," he commented, tightening his hold on Rapunzel's hand.

"Yes, well, that was when you were here," Edith pointed out with a smirk, finally opening her eyes. "And if I recall correctly, you were a most unholy terror."

"You don't, and I wasn't," Eugene protested with a sniff of disdain, earning a giggle from Rapunzel, who was leaning against Eugene's shoulder with a contented smile. "Besides, you were barely four when I left, so how could you possibly remember what I was like?"

The banter would have continued for a long time, but Edith was stopped mid-sentence as she retorted to her brother. Stiffening suddenly, she held up a hand for silence and tilted her head like a dog hearing a new sound. She could have sworn that she had…That was when she smelled the smoke. Leaping to her feet as though she had just sat on a tack, Edith began running up the stairs, screaming for the children to wake up right now.

It took the other three adults a moment or two to catch what had gotten Edith so frenzied, but soon the smell of smoke was too strong for them to ignore and they began to follow Edith up the stairs, Eugene taking the stairs two at a time. The older children, who had still been giggling and whispering to each other, were already up and snatching up babies and toddlers as instructed, not bothering to pull on their clothes. The younger children, who had at least been starting to fall asleep, were crying and wailing in confusion as they were herded out of the house, complaining about how the damp grass made their feet cold. None of the adults listened to these complaints, however, as they were far too busy ensuring that all the children got outside, just as the first flames began licking at the wooden floor of the house.

Standing on the lawn with a small boy named Jack in her arms, Edith watched the flames start to grow as the dry wood of the house's walls began to catch fire. Both Lord Jonathan and Eugene were still inside, ensuring that everyone had gotten out safely. Beside Edith, Rapunzel looked drawn and pale as she watched the burning house with wide eyes. Finally, Eugene and Lord Jonathan stumbled out of the house, Eugene guiding the younger man out as Lord Jonathan cradled little Millie in his arms.

Relief flooded through Edith as she rushed forward, placing Jack on the ground so that she could take Millie from Lord Jonathan, their hands brushing as she did so. Edith was vaguely aware of Rapunzel throwing her arms around Eugene behind her, but for the moment, her attention was focused on the painfully blue eyes of Lord Jonathan. At least, it was until she heard the ominous cracking sound of the orphanage roof caving in from the heat of the fire.

It was almost surreal to Edith, watching the place that had been her home for twenty-two years simply collapse like so much kindling. With little Millie held tightly in her arms, Edith remained remarkably dry-eyed as she watched the orphanage slowly burn to the ground. All she could think was who could have done such a terrible thing to them? To all these children? Millie whimpered fearfully in Edith's arms, and Edith automatically began rocking the small girl to soothe her, but her heart was simply not in the actions. She was now homeless; she and over thirty children ranging from new-borns to sixteen-year-olds. What were they to do now?

Edith was almost completely unaware of Lord Jonathan's hand resting on her shoulder as she stared at the burning rubble of the orphanage. Almost. But not even the close proximity to the man who only a short time earlier had turned her knees to jelly could snap Edith out of the sudden wave of apathy that threatened to suffocate her.

"We're all alone," she whispered softly.

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Author's Note: Yeah, yeah, it's a short chapter, but I make up for the lack of length with extra drama! So the orphanage is burned to the ground! Who could be responsible? And more importantly, how can Lord Jonathan help Edith to recover from this tragedy? We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

Trust me, I fully intended this to be a long chapter, but then my muse wanted to go back to my newest AU fic that will be published as soon as I finish either this story or The Tales of Eugene Fitzherbert. Whichever comes first. Anyway…yeah. I had a whole lot more planned for this chapter, but that'll have to wait for the next one. Partly because my muse is being fickle, and mostly because it's late and I can't bring myself to write anything else for this chapter.

More mystery! There will be at least a few solutions in the next few chapters, but I don't promise to reveal who burned down the orphanage right away. If I did, that would just ruin all the fun. Enjoy this latest installment, my freaky darlings, and do let me know what you think!