When I got to the kitchen, Maia was cooking up a storm. She was making lunch and different desserts. Sarah was putting together boxes for all of the guests. We made all of the adults boxes of food, and occasionally we put some money inside. We made boxes of toys and some sweets for the children, and sometimes some money that they could spend on themselves.

I walked over to Sarah first. "What are we giving everyone today?"

Sarah turned at the sound of my voice. "Good morning, Chrystal. Today I was putting in some canned foods and two hundred dollars in each box. Is that alright?"

I nodded. "That sounds perfect. How much are we giving the kids?"

"I was actually going to give them a bag and let them pick a couple of toys, then give the parents an envelope with one hundred dollars to hold on to for them. We even have books for the older ones if they don't want toys, or some nice headphones for them."

"It sounds like we're all set then." I thanked her for putting the boxes together, then moved on to Maia.

"Do you need any help, Maia?"

"No, I'm fine. Lunch is almost ready, so I need Thomas and Sebastian to help set the table and get the guests into the dining hall."

"I'll tell them," I reluctantly offered. I didn't want to see Sebastian anymore today, but with the party, and the contract, it was inevitable.

I walked out into the main hall and quickly spotted Thomas. He was chatting with some of the guests, smiling.

I crossed the room and stopped beside him. "Maia needs you and Sebastian to set the table for lunch. Please let him know and go help."

He nodded, then went off to hunt down Sebastian. I smiled at my guests and thanked them for coming. They all thanked me in return for doing this for them. I responded each time that it was no problem, and that I was happy to help them out. I felt it was better to give them money and food every now and then than to keep it all for myself. So that's exactly what I did.

I walked around for a while, saying hi to everyone and hugging the little kids. When Sebastian and Thomas came back into the main hall to announce that lunch was ready. I helped round up children and usher them into the dining hall, then I went in last.

Thomas and Sebastian had set up multiple folding tables for the guests to eat at, and many chairs that we had in storage. I waited until everyone was seated before I took mine at the head of the main table. Many people liked coming up to me and chatting during lunch, so they liked it when I sat somewhere easy to spot.

The food had already been dished out onto the plates, so once we were all seated, everyone started to eat. There was potatoes, green beans, and sandwiches, because they were easy to make and some people were allergic to certain things we normally have. There was also a large fruit bowl in the center of each table, so everyone could have their choice between apples, oranges, pears, and so on.

Everyone ate and chatted with their neighbors. More people than usual came to thank me, and some had to leave and hugged me goodbye. I stood and led the children who were leaving to the room full of toys, books, and clothes. I'd noticed that the children who always had to leave first were the poorest of them all, so I let them chose three of each item to take home with them, while the other guests got two. They were all thrilled to be allowed to have what they wanted, and they thanked me a million times before they left. I gave the parents the money for the children, unless the children came with an older sibling, of course, then I gave it to the oldest.

I hugged each of them as they left, and then returned to the dining hall, where everyone was finishing up their lunch.

"Alright," I said as I entered the room. Everyone silenced themselves and looked up at me. "I have somewhere to be in a few hours, so I have to ask that we bring this party to a close. I'll bring groups of children to pick out their toys."

Kids cheered loudly and ran up to me. Thomas came over and tried to organize them into a single-file line. I glanced up from the swarm of children and saw Sebastian staring at me. I quickly glanced away and smiled at the kids, then took ten at a time to the toy room to get what they wanted.

As I walked back to get more kids, I saw Sarah giving out the boxes for the parents and the money to them for the kids. Perfect. Everything is going great!

After an hour, the last of the guests were filing out the front door. As Thomas closed the door, I leaned against the wall and sighed heavily.

"Is everything alright, Chrystal?" Sarah asked. "I wasn't aware you had somewhere to go today."

"I don't. I just have a headache. I'm going to my room."

"Oh, alright. I hope you feel better!"

I smiled at her and went up the stairs. Once in my room, I changed out of my party dress and crawled into bed. I didn't really have a headache, I just wanted to get away from everyone. I turned on the TV and set the volume low, then just lay on the bed.

I thought a lot about everything that had happened over the past couple of days. The images of my dead kidnappers came back to mind, and so did the horrible dreams I'd been having the past couple of nights. I sat up and shook my head. I couldn't take it anymore. This was killing me.

I got up and ran downstairs, past everyone. Sarah tried to stop me, but I didn't. I ran until I was out the door, and then kept going, running as far, and for as long as I could manage, hoping no one followed.