“This little tracker boy gave me this.” She held up the bear. “His whole family died. His parents, his sister, even his dog. And he gave me this because I sang him a song.” She shook her head. “I didn’t want to take it. But he said it was his sister’s, and she’d want another girl to have it.”

I put my arm around her, giving her a half-hug as we walked down the hal toward the palace door.

“We have to do more for these people,” Wila said. “That little boy isn’t hurt, but if he was, Aurora wouldn’t heal him. She wouldn’t want to waste her energy on him.”

“I know,” I sighed. “It’s insane.”

“That’s got to change.” Wila stopped and pointed back to the balroom. “Every one of those people in there has been through hel, and they al deserve help just as equaly.”

“I know, and I’m trying to make it better,” I said. “When I’m going to al those meetings, this is what I’m trying do and why I want you to help me with them. I wil change this, and I wil make it better.

But I need help.”

“Good.” She sniffled and played with the teddy bear. “I wil start going to the meetings. I want to be a part of what it is you’re doing.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling some smal bit of relief in that. “But right now, the best way to help these people is to get this place cleaned up so they can go back to their homes.” Wila nodded and walked with me again. Outside, I could see some improvement. Half of a roof had been on the lawn of the palace, but it was gone now, as wel as the uprooted oak by the cars. I could hear the boys a few houses down arguing about what to do with the debris.

Matt suggested they make a pile in the road for now, and they could worry about moving it later. Loki started to argue against it, but Tove told him to just do it. They didn’t have time to waste arguing.

Wila and I joined them, and we al went to work. Loki, Tove, and I did most of the lifting, while Matt, Duncan, and Wila tried to clean things and straighten up the houses. Just moving the garbage out of the way wouldn’t solve their problems, but it was the first step in being able to go back and fix it up.