In a dark corner of a dirty room, with only a single candle to light the page, a tiny elven girl of three years old sat on her father's knee, both of them pouring over a tattered book. If you could call it a book. It was really a collection of scraps of paper, carefully sewn together, with letters scratched in to represent the alphabet.
"Here darling. . . . this is an A. Say A." He whispered encouragingly into her ear. She traced a finger across the faded block letter, and murmured back to him.
" A, Papa." He smiled proudly.
"Yes, very good. Now the next one. This is B. Say B." They continued on, all the way up to N, and he kissed her cheek lightly.
"N. N, is the beginning of Náriel. N." As they finished to Z, he nestled her close to him and stroked her hair.
"Never forget the importance of knowledge my darling girl. Knowledge will take you anywhere you wish to go. . . . and it is all I have to give you."
*two years later*
"Girl. Come." She scrambled from her corner of the fine room, wasting no time in answering the wizards call, darting to his side, and falling into a practiced bow.
"Yes Master, what do you require of me?" He sneered disdainly at her, and slowly pulled a stack of tattered sets of pages from the folds of his robe.
"Perhaps you can tell me what -these- are." Her blue tinged silver eyes widen a good bit at the sight of them, and she quickly shook her head no, too young and naive to know he'd likely been watching for months, if not years. He swiftly backhanded the child to the ground in a split second.
"Do -not- lie to me girl." She lay on the ground for a moment, unsure if she should stay there or stand again. In the end she decided to stand again to face him, but not look him in the eye.
"I-it's books sir." "Patronizing me now child? I can see what a sorry excuse for 'books' they are. What are they doing in your fathers posession?" He backhanded her again, this time on the other cheek, and she fell to the ground just as quickly as before. Forcing herself not to cry, she picked herself up again slowly.
"F-for reading sir." He sighed deeply and shook his head, as if pitying her.
"Now why would a slave need to know how to read, hmmm? If the horse and the dog and the cows do not read, why in all of Thay would a -slave- need to read? Do you know the answer girl?" She shook her head no, trembling in place.
"Of course you dont, because you are nothing. But. . . you are also young. Perhaps we can find -some- use for you." He sighed exasperatingly as if giving her a great deal of favor, and contemplating regretting it, then stood and motioned her to follow.
"Come." She followed him closely, through the large estate, all the way to the gates, where the city lay before them.
"Stay close." He ordered curtly. She almost stopped right there. She had never ventured outside the estate, much less the gates, and she darted forward to keep from being lost in the crowd. They walked silently, street after street, corner and turn. It didnt take long for her to be utterly lost on their location. They stopped at the gates of another estate finally, and a slave led them inside. The two masters talked quietly for a few minutes, and she caught parts of a few statements.
" . . . . yes, thankyou for your assistance. . . "
" . . . . quite lovely. . . . "
" . . . will she learn? . . . "
" . . . no choice. . . . parents. . . . executed. . . ."
" . . . very well, we will show her." Her master turned and motioned her forward.
"Come here child. You are to meet someone." She stepped beside him shyly, and the other man took her chin in his hand lightly, and studied her face carefully. She instinctively closed her eyes, so as not to disrespect him, and he spoke sharply.
"Let me see your eyes girl." She opened them slowly and looked directly at him, and after a long minute he nodded.
"She will do." He let go and looked back to her master, as if completely forgetting she was there at all.
"When will it be done?" "We are on our way now. We will return in the coming weeks." They shook hands, and then walked out as abruptly as they arrived.
After several more corner and turns, they stepped out into the city square. The crowd was deafening, and she latched a tiny hand onto her masters cloak to keep from being swept away. If he noticed or minded, he said nothing, and weaved his way through the commoners and slaves. In a seeming act of kindness as they reached the large platform in the middle, he scooped her up in his arms, but it was only to improve her view. Tied to a post was a thin elf. Although quite beaten and bloodied, his eyes locked onto his daughter immediently. She stared wide eyed as their master gave the signal, and the wood around the elf's feet was promptly lit. As the flames began to devour his body, she began to sob in horror, and dropped her face into her master's robes to hide from the scene. He jerked her up sharply by her hair, and forced her to look upon the screaming man, as his body slowly burned into ash.
"You listen good to me girl. . . . " he talked quietly into her ear.
"This is what happens to fools, heretics, and those who think themselves better then their born station. In my great mercy I have spared you. . . do not give me reason to throw you up there as well."
