1 Chapter 1: Young Master

The sound of the waves... the distorted laughters... murmurs from a deep, hoarsely voice...

Before Dalena could even figure out the rest of her dream, she was already pulled out of it. Now wide-awake, she rubbed her eyes a little bit before slapping both of her cheeks lightly, in attempt to refocus her back on reality.

That dream was not unusual. Dalena would usually get those kinds of dreams, even though she could not understand them. They were usually vivid scenes of the waves crashing softly in the shore, often with voices that she could not decipher.

But as far as Dalena knew, she has never been to that place shown in her dreams. After all, she was born and raised in a small provincial town in the Philippines. There were no beaches in her town. Rather, there were mountains and endless plains instead.

Also, if it wasn't for a sense of urgency to pay the pile of debts she had since her mother died, she would've never left the country to work overseas.

It is pretty pitiful, but that was the only way so she can earn enough money. Since she did not attend university, Dalena found herself unqualified for most jobs and underpaid for the little jobs that she was qualified for. With that, even if she worked until she was 60 years old, she would never be able to pay all her debts.

That's why, like many Filipinos, she knew she was left with only one choice – to work overseas.

In foreign countries, even if her work was service-based jobs, Dalena would get a higher salary than she would have in the Philippines. But of course, that doesn't mean that she never had to face any hardships. In fact, it seems like she only got herself in a new battlefield instead.

Since her visa was only temporary, Dalena wanted to make the most of her time here. She was paid per hour, so she was not fussy and took any jobs that she could.

Caregiver, childcare worker, waitress, cleaner, gardener, domestic helper... the list could go on and on.

Dalena took a deep breath before she murmured to herself, "Not good... I have to go back to work now."

After tirelessly tying her hair into a ponytail, Dalena started to walk out of the storage room. While arranging boxes and cleaning the area, her body betrayed her as she fell into a short nap.

But then, she could not blame her body for reacting that way. Dalena would not totally admit it, but she knew she was overworking herself.

Just for this day, she barely had 4 hours of sleep. Now that she thought about it, when was the last time that she had a complete 8 hour sleep anyway? For overseas Filipino workers like her, that kind of thing was luxury already.

Before she can even fully exit the area, Dalena saw a little boy sitting idly on the floor near the exit door.

The little boy looked around 5 or 6 years old. He had jet black hair and as one looks closely, he had beautiful pair of green eyes. He was wearing a light blue long-sleeve button-up shirt with black pants, making him look a little dignified.

Usually, boys who were around the same age as the little boy would be considered 'cute'. But no, even at his age, one can already label the little boy as 'handsome'.

If someone told Dalena right now that the boy was a descendant from the heavens or a fairy, she would've believed them. The little boy truly had a magnificent appearance, which automatically sets him apart from the children she used to look after in daycare centres.

How did the little boy end up here? This area was only meant for the workers here.

As Dalena directed her eye at the exit door, she noticed that it was locked. When that is the case, it could only be opened using a key - which thankfully, she has.

Although she could not exactly decipher the situation, Dalena listened to her instincts.

Slowly, she walked to where the little boy was and crouched a little so she could level his gaze. Dalena smiled at him but the little boy only had a nonchalant stare directed at her.

"Hi! How did you end up here? Did you wander too much? But, don't worry. It's fortunate that I'm here and I have a key, so we would be able to get out here soon."

Even though Dalena spoke in a welcoming tone, the boy only kept his indifferent expression and tore his gaze off Dalena.

The little boy's reaction pained Dalena a little, but it did not stop Dalena from wanting to coax him.

Suddenly, Dalena thought of a trick that she saw other workers use in the daycare centres she used to work for.

Dalena squinted her eyes a little and made her womanly voice become a little bit deeper, "Johny, Johny?"

Then, she changed her expression by curving her lips and sung the rest of the nursery rhyme in a bright tone, "Yes, Papa! Eating sugar? No, Papa! Telling lies? No, Papa! Open your mouth, Hahaha!"

As Dalena made a fool out herself by making exaggerated expressions as she sung each line, the little boy's expression cracked down little by little. His lips would curve into a small smile but he would suppress it right away whenever he'd see Dalena catching him.

Feeling confident of the technique, Dalena continued to amuse the little boy by singing more childish songs. She was well-aware that the boy looked too mature to be listening to these kinds of songs and probably thought of her as an idiot.

However, Dalena could not care less.

She wanted to cheer the little boy and make him open up a little so she can help him go back to wherever his guardians were.

"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round..." Dalena sung in a cheeky tone.

She didn't know, but the little boy felt like he was being tortured. He was at his limit already. He couldn't take it anymore and thought that the lady in front of him seemed to be a little silly.

With his cheeks tinted with blush all over, the laughter he was trying to contain all this time was finally released.

The little boy bursted into a loud laughter, as some tears even fell down from his eyes. He even put his little hand over his stomach, trying to relieve himself from the delighted feeling that he felt.

He never thought that at this age, someone would actually sing those childish songs to him in such an enthusiastic way. Actually, even before as a toddler, he never had any memories of someone singing those nursery rhymes to him.

And so, he had to give credit to her. She was able to make him laugh, after all. Maybe, it wouldn't be so bad to talk to this lady.

"I'm too old to be listening to those nursery rhymes. I think you wasted too much effort."

Once the little boy spoke, Dalena could not help but be relieved. Her eyes glistened at the little boy, feeling proud. For her, her efforts were worth it. She was able to finally make the little boy talk to her, even though his tone was a little flat.

Since she sung too many nursery rhymes, her throat felt a little dry. She had to gulp for a bit and took a deep breath before speaking.

All along, the little boy was only looking at her with an amused expression – his eyebrows were a little bit frowned and his mouth pouted a little.

"I know... I just wanted you to finally pay attention to me." she murmured.

The little boy could not control the expression he had on his face. Undeniably, he was touched. His expression softened and his lips couldn't help but curve into a small smile.

"Since you didn't want to answer how you ended up here, then I won't ask anymore, okay? But we should find your guardians. I work here so you can trust me and I promise that I won't leave you until we find them."

The little boy listened attentively to each word that Dalena said, nodding at her words.

"So, can you trust me to help you?"

Dalena couldn't help but ask that question again. Based from her own instinct and experience on working with kids, she somehow sensed that the little boy in front of her was different. He was rather reserved and sceptic of the people around him.

Much to her surprise, the little boy nodded again and even reached out for Dalena's hand.

"I trust you. You don't look like a bad person." the little boy murmured softly, his eyes looking directly into Dalena's.

With just those words, Dalena felt like her heart just melted. Was it possible for her heart to clutch that much just from those simple words?

Dalena naturally liked children. She could develop close bonds easy with the children she looked after in the daycare centres she used to work in. But none of those children seemed to have touched her heart as much as this little boy.

To be precise, it's almost as if she had a natural affinity with the child in front of her.

She did not hide the bright smile she had on her face as she gladly took the little boy's hand and held it tighter. Then, using her other hand, she patted his head gently.

Although he was surprised by her sudden action, he did not mind it. If he were to be honest, he actually felt warm and fuzzy inside.

"Thank you. I promise, I will really help you." she said softly.

***

Even though Dalena said that she would help him find his guardians, she actually did not know where to start. They were at Londsdale Imperial Suites, which is the largest hotel and function hall in England. The whole area was very large and to even get to a specific area, one had to walk a long distance.

She walked together with the little boy, holding his hand tightly. But before she could even bring him to the reception or security area, the little boy stopped on his tracks when he saw an ice cream stall in the food court area.

The little boy's vision seemed to have blurred, seeing nothing but the ice cream stall that was only a few steps away from him and Dalena.

His mouth widened a little, as his eyes had a sense of envy at the children his age who were eating ice cream that was from the stall.

Since he suddenly stopped walking, Dalena could not help but look at him and when she saw where his gaze was directed, she immediately understood what he wanted.

"You want to take a break for a while and have ice cream?"

When the little boy heard Dalena's voice, he seemed to have returned into reality and immediately stopped staring at the ice cream stall that was enticing him.

A bit ashamed, the little boy could not look at Dalena and only turned his gaze down at the floor.

"It's okay. We've been walking for a long time now, so it's fine if we have a short break. Come on, let's have ice cream!" Dalena said in a keen voice.

Before the little boy could even protest, Dalena already dragged him to the ice cream stall. She never let go of his little hand, even while ordering for their ice creams.

Since every pound was important for Dalena, even buying simple desserts such as an ice cream was not something that she did. For her, this was luxury as well. Whenever she'd see desserts like this, she would mentally calculate the time she had worked just to be able to afford one.

But somehow, since she was with a charming little boy, she did not hesitate to spend money for once. For her, it felt natural to make the little boy happy.

And just like now, just by seeing him happily devouring the ice cream that he was yearning for, Dalena felt like her heart was bursting because of too much happiness. She was in bliss, just by observing the little boy's expression as he quietly ate his ice cream.

"If I had a kid one day, I hope that he would be like you." she couldn't help but blurt out.

When the little boy heard her, he stopped eating his ice cream for a while as his cheeks reddened a little.

Dalena giggled a little bit at his reaction. If she were really to have a child like this little boy in front of her, she would be happy.

Even with a short encounter like this, Dalena already found him lovable, so she could not help but want to reach out to him.

"Young Master!"

"We found him! We found Young Master!"

"Here you are, Young Master!"

Out of the sudden though, there were loud voices that interrupted their sweet moment. Soon enough, they were surrounded by several men dressed in high-quality tailored suits.

Dalena frowned her eyebrows as she looked around in confusion. Why were these men suddenly surrounding her?

But then, as she followed the gaze of these men, it led to the little boy in front of her.

'Young Master... could it be... this little boy?' she mused.

Since she was a foreigner, the way they pronounced it sounded too elegant for her. After all, in the Philippines, they were used to American English. The British do not seem to pronounce the letter 'r', so to Dalena, it sounded like 'Young Mastuh'.

She blinked for a little bit, wondering if she had heard right. Who even uses those formal titles nowadays? Isn't it a little too traditional?

But then, this is England, after all...

Then, the little boy in front of her, is he part of the royal family? A noble of some sort?

Dalena's mouth could not help but widen as she observed the fancy-looking men interact with the little boy in front of her.

For her, she would probably never stop getting culture-shocked in this country. She had served upper class people, but she would mostly call them 'Sir' or 'Madam'. She never thought that one can be called as 'Young Master'.

Before Dalena could even realise what was going on, the little boy started to follow the fancy-looking men.

At that moment, Dalena stared at the ice cream that the little boy suddenly left on the table and felt a little sad. She thought that she had made a connection or some sort with the little boy, but he easily left her like that. It would've been nice if she had said farewell greetings to him, at least.

As Dalena looked at the direction where the little boy was, she was a bit astonished to find that the little boy was looking directly into her eyes as well.

Suddenly, the little boy strayed from the men he was with and ran back to where Dalena was.

Taking Dalena by surprise, he hugged her and whispered something to her ears.

"Thank you. By the way, my name is George. I just wanted to let you know."

When the little boy let go of his hold on Dalena, he gave her a wide smile, revealing the faint dimple on his right cheek.

Not minding the suspicious stares from the men fetching the little boy, Dalena patted his head gently, just like how she did earlier.

"You're welcome, George. It was nice meeting you..." she murmured in a soft voice.