Shady

Ky hesitated. She still didn’t like silence. “So… uh… did you both get to hold her?”

Ky smiled and nodded. That seemed fairer. Three children. Three nannies.

Ky glanced around, quickly assessing the situation. On one hand, leaving Anneliese to deal with two little boys by herself didn’t seem nice. On the other, neither did leaving Ana ...

“Thank you, sir,” Ky said, smiling at him. “I hope we are.”

Ky grinned. “The unstoppable duo, truly.”

Ky laughed, grinning between them. She looked at Anneliese. “You are in fact an excellent sister nanny. Kudos.”

Ky bounced him on her knee with a smile. “You hear that? Everyone else knows you’re smart, too.”

Ky laughed. “Sure, why not?”

“Thank you,” Ky said, glancing at Ana with a genuine smile. She looked back at Regulus. “You and I are gonna be good friends, don’t you think? Ky and Regulus. ...

At least it wasn’t stealing. She felt bad about stealing. This had been honest. Stupid, no doubt. And a sick game, certainly. But how was this different from a regular ...

“Yeah, blue ,” Ky said with a smile, pointing at the fabric again. “Her dress is blue. You’re so smart! Regulus is a smart little boy who knows the doll's ...

(Hahaha) “You see its skirt? This color is called blue. Blue.” She pointed at it, then gestured at the yarn hair. “And this is black. Black. Blue. Black.”

“Dolls aren’t for eating, silly,” Ky said with a smile, bopping his nose as she pulled the doll a bit further away. There probably wasn’t any harm, really. But it ...

Ky nodded. She let Regulus take the doll from her, but then gently held on to his wrist. “What do you think we should name her?”

“Yeah, there you go,” Ky said with a smile, hefting him up into her lap. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the tiny rag doll she’d stashed there. ...