Lyssa opened the door at the second knock. Xavier smiled tightly as he stepped through the threshold. He wore a navy blue suit with a white button down shirt underneath and a silver silk tie. His muddy brown hair was slicked back and his eyes held a look of boredom.
“’lo, Mister Wallock,” Lyssa said. In her hand she held a glass of whiskey; her hair was pulled back into a short ponytail. A pair of sweats and an oversize t-shirt gave her an overly comfortable look. None of this mattered to her. She didn’t need to dress up for Xavier.
“Good Evening, Miss Stormwater,” he said quietly. “I trust you are well”
“Well enough,” she replied. “You don’t look overly excited to be here.”
“Long day at the office,” Xavier stated. Lyssa just nodded and lead him into the sitting room. “Is Miss Alow going to be joining us tonight?”
“No,” Lyssa replied as she curled up in her chair. “Pania is working right now.”
Xavier pulled out a small recorder and set it on the table. “If you don’t mind,” he began. “I would like to record this information rather than type it.”
“Fine by me,” Lyssa said, taking a sip from her glass.
It took ten days traveling by foot for us to reach Tel’thurian. By the time we got there, my legs were stiff and sore. There were two times on the road that Toeryn carried me and the two packs. He was well trained in what to do outdoors. What surprised me the most was that he knew how to hunt; we had rabbit or some sort of small game almost every night.
One of the times I was carried, was when approached the main gates. Not have much to do with people other than those in the house, the guards made me curious. Their clothing was like nothing I ever seen before. The simple leather chest piece dotted with bits of metal, a helm that was made of stiff leather. To keep from giggling at their strange appearance, I hid my face in Toeryn’s neck.
“’scuse me mate,” Toeryn said in an accent that wasn’t his. “Could ye direct me an’ me sisser ‘ere to the nearest inn? She got sick on the way ‘ere an’ need a bit o’ rest.”
I look up for a moment, and the guard seemed to believe my appearance as a sign of sickness. I was still fairly dirt, a rainfall had washed most of the dirt off, but not all. “You follow the main road to the central market place, then you go left, follow that about two side streets and you’ll come across a comfortable inn and tavern. It’s called the Empty Barrel, painted sign of a spilled barrel.”
Toeryn nodded his thanks and offered the man a silver coin. It was rare that I seen money and I was curious about it. It reminded me of a bit of metal that dotted the man’s uniform. Thought questions filled my mind, I stayed quiet until we passed the main gate. My eyes looked everywhere. White stucco that had seen one too many rain storms covered the walls. Large windows showed off shop wares and the small brown ones, I could only assume were houses.
Townspeople milled around us, most of them not paying any attention to Toeryn and me. As we passed a bakery, the smell of hot bread wafted under my nose. I felt homesick, those in the kitchens back in Meadow Brook, were my family. Nursed me when I was ill, held me when I was scared and protected me from the mistress. My growling stomach pulled me from my day dreams as we began to pass more shops, and stalls. Then it hit me.
“What if we run into my father?” I asked with a slight panic to my voice.
“It’s unlikely that he even knows you exist, Lyssa,” he told me. “And even if he did, what makes you think that he would want an orphan like you? You don’t have any proof that you’re his daughter.”
“Oh.” I said sadly.
I still continued to look around, thinking and hoping that just maybe my father was here, and would know me instantly. Even if he wasn’t there today, maybe he would be there sometime while Toeryn and I stayed here. I would look for him on my own.
Toeryn hoisted me further up his back as we moved down the street further. In the center of the main square was a large three tiered stone fountain. Merchant stands and stall lined most open spaces, what was left were narrow foot paths. Toeryn and I stared in amazement; everything was brightly colored and noisy. I had never seen a more spectacular sight.
“Fresh fish!” One of the merchants called out every few moments. I wrinkled my nose at the sight of headless fishes and cringed as a man behind the caller loped off another fish head. My stomach churned a little, so I turned my head and looked at the other stalls to my left. Bottles, candles, jewels of all sorts lined the stalls.
“Oi, lad, bring the little miss over here,” Another merchant called to my brother. “Let her have a gander at all the exotic goodies from near and far!”
“No, thanks,” Toeryn said over the crowd. My eyes looked at the man, had locked into place with his. At first he did a double take and then stared after my brother and me. I stared back too, more out a curiosity than rudeness. When the merchant realized he was still staring, he went back to calling people over to his stall. Snow had begun to fall again as we moved our way to the west side of the town.
“We’re almost there, Lyssa,” Toeryn told me. I said very little during our trip, and started to look forward to a warm, soft bed.
“Can I have a fairy cake?” I asked softly.
“If they have them, otherwise you will have to wait until tomorrow,” Toeryn replied with a smile.
Houses lined the side street, laundry hung from lines strung across the streets. Children in the streets moved out of our way, but stared at us curiously. Woman chattered idly as they wash clothing, in a large wooden tub. The street was made of thick gray cobbles that put together tightly and were quite clean. Despite the look of the buildings, most of them seem rather sturdy looking. It wasn’t the slums by any means, but it was high class society either. It looked plain, and wonderful.
We passed the second street. I was able to see the sign for the Empty Barrel, I couldn’t read the words on the sign, but the picture of a tipped over barrel and ale pouring from it was enough to tell.
“Toeryn?” A male voice called out. Toeryn looked behind us when he heard his name. “Is that really you?”
“Aye?” Toeryn replied suspiciously. “Who wants to know?”
A lanky man came over to us. His hair was black and looked in need of a good wash. His skin was pale with a blue tint that seemed to stand out more with the sickliness of his appearance. He had a long pointed nose that had probably been broken more than once. The stranger was dressed in fine clothing, long black hose, an embroidered black tunic with a crisp white undershirt, soft black boots that warmed his feet and a floppy hat that had a feather in it.
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September 5, 2009 | Categories: Lyssa's Tale, Writing | Tags: Lyssa, reading, Writing | Leave A Comment »
Soon my days and nights became one, only broken twice a day when the mistress of the house came to feed me. It was by chance that I discovered a small bit of mushrooms behind the doghouse. Greedily I gobbled them down. I learned to envy the days it rained, and despise the days with sun. I dug a hole to gather water, and ate grass since I couldn’t reach the food that was so close by, but just far enough away my small hands couldn’t grasp it. The mistress of the house never said anything to me, and I never said anything to her. I stopped thinking about her as my grandmother, each day the hate for her growing more and more. When I heard the iron gate open, I would either hide behind the house, or in it.
The weather changed, darkness coming earlier and earlier with each passing day. I would spend many nights curled up in the back of the house trying to stay warm with the little bit of clothing I wore. On one such night I heard my brother’s voice and that of one of the other servants.
“A dog?” Toeryn’s voice questioned.
“Aye, sir,” she said. I didn’t recognize her voice so she must have been new. “A dog. She keeps ‘im in the pen there. Feed ‘em twice a day she does. Curious though that she never lets ‘im out.”
“Indeed.” Toeryn said flatly. “That is curious. Thank you, Saoirse.”
“Yer welcome, sir,” She replied and her foot steps moved back into the house.
Footsteps approached the penned area. My hearing had gotten better after being in the pen for what seemed an eternity. Listening and knowing when the mistress is coming. I heard wood clack against the stone wall and a small clicking noise being made. He was calling for a dog, my brother, my savior about to discover the mistress’ deepest secret.
“Toeryn?” I called out in a hoarse whisper. A small gasp filled the silence and a dull thump as Toeryn jumped over the wall and landed in the dirt on my side of the pen.
“Anarar’ithil?” He whispered back. Carefully I moved so that he could see me. The moon was up which made it easier. “My gods, what has she done?”
“She put me here after she dragged me away from momma’s room.” I said, shivering. The look on Toeryn’s face was one filled with anger, shock and resentment all at once.
“That was three weeks ago,” he told me. Toeryn held his arm open; I quickly scurried over to him, thankful for the warmth he gave off. “She fed and kept you here the whole time?”
“She hasn’t been feeding me,” I cried into his tunic. “She’s kept the food just out of my reach.”
“Out of reach?” He asked. I kicked my foot out so that he could see the chain that was wrapped around it. “I don’t believe this. I knew she was cold and mean, but I never thought her to be a murderer. She told us you ran off after she whipped you for disobeying her. Mother has been crying almost nightly.”
Toeryn held me close, rocking back and forth. His musky smell was comforting. Toeryn promised that he would get me out of this, that he would save me from this cruelty. I fell into a deep sleep, in his arm. The next morning when I woke, I was under a thick blanket and in the furthest part of the dog house. The creak of the iron gate alerted me that someone was in here, the clatter of the metal bowls told me it was the mistress of the house coming to feed me. I remained in the house, watching her from the shaded corner. When the gate closed again, I crawled out and looked around.
The sky was a bright winter blue; the clouds were wispy and thin. A cold wind blew around my ankles and I shivered. I looked at the food curiously for a moment. Porridge. There was a lot I would do, but eating porridge was not one of them, even if it had been in reach. I moved behind the dog house silently as I could and looked at what I had left of my meager food supply. Three withered mushroom, a few not so moldy berries and a handful of sweet grass. I picked up a small mushroom, eating it in tiny pieces to make it last longer. After breaking the ice that formed on the top of my water hole, I stuck my hands into the icy water. The chill filled my whole body as I drank. Water helped to fill my stomach, and sleep helped to fill in the gaps between meals. Back under the blanket I crawled. It would only be a matter of time before I gave in and welcomed death.
It was dark when I woke again, startled by two thuds on my side of the pen. I pulled the blanket tighter and inched my way towards the opening. It was Toeryn again, he came back! Excitedly I threw off the blanket and hurried out to greet him.
“You came back!” I exalted in a loud whisper.
“Of course I did.” he said smugly. “I promised you I would get you out of here and I that is what I intend on doing.”
My eyes fell on the cloth lump that rested at his feet. Chuckling at my curiosity, he lifted the sack on to his back before, he took my hand in his empty one, and lead me back to my shelter. Once we were inside and I wrapped up in my blanket, he opened the sack. Inside was a small amount of meat and bread. My stomach growled audibly as I eyed the food.
“Dig in, but slowly.” Toeryn told me. And I did.
The plain brown bread was wonderful. In small pieces I ate my way through a slice, and then had some of the roasted meat. My brother looked at me with sad eyes, while I ate my food. Toeryn explained the plan to me.
“You will have to wait one more night, Ana,” he said. “Can you hang on just one more night?”
“I don’t think I have much of a choice, Toeryn,” I replied with a mouth full of meat. He offered me a jug, I drank deeply. Mulled cider filled my mouth, spilling down my chin. It had been so long since I had something to drink besides dirty water. The flavor shocked my taste buds. I couldn’t get enough of the sweet liquid into my mouth.
“In this pack here,” he said as he patted the pile. “You’ll find trousers, a tunic, and boots. Put them on after Grandmother leaves your evening food. You will also find a knife in there, cut your hair to chin.”
“Cut my hair?” I said in shock. I had hair almost to my waist and he wanted me to cut it off. “I’ll look like a boy.”
“That’s the point Ana,” he said flatly. “You’ll be easier to sneak around if you hide those damnable locks.”
“Does momma know?” I continued.
“She does,” Toeryn told me. “I explained what happened and begged her to let me get you out of here and to safety. She was upset and wanted to confront our Grandmother, but I told her that would only make it worse for you. Mother agreed for me to get you out here. She’s going to give us some coin to get started and buy more supplies.”
I sighed heavily as I listened to him. It dawned on me that I would never see my mother again. Tears burned my eyes, threatening to spill over. Toeryn pulled me into his lap, holding me until I had cried myself to sleep. I must havve slept deeply since I didn’t hear the mistress of the house open the gate to my pen, or set the bowls down. Turning my head I looked towards the opening. A light dusting of snowing covered the ground and more flakes were falling. I crawled out and looked around. Even after all I had been through, the small white flakes made everything feel alright. I spun around in the snow, a smile on my face. It only took a moment before I was face down forgetting that I had the chain on my ankle.
“Blast,” I cried out. My ankle hurt but I was otherwise uninjured.
The rest of my day passed by uneventfully. Toeryn had left the bread and meat with me, along with the clothes I was to dress in. I picked up the dagger that he had left with everything and turned it in my hands, studying the small blade. It was a plain knife, but it was sharp. With a sigh of resignation, I gathered a clump of my dirty red hair, pulling the knife against it and letting the locks fall to the floor of my hut. I repeated the process until my hair was nothing more than a short jagged mess. I then pulled off the muddy wet smock I wore and tossed it into a corner. Shivering I pulled on the simple brown tunic. It was big, coming down past my knees, the pants proved to be a little trickier; I couldn’t pull them on with the chain around my ankle. I would have to wait until Toeryn returned that night.
While I waited I feasted on the bread and meat, looking through the rest of the items that Toeryn left in the sack. Within the pile I found a book and carefully held it in my hands. It was a book of fairy tales, one my mother had given me for my birthday one year. I opened the pages and quietly read until it became too dark to read. Then I was left alone with my thoughts.
That night, the iron gate did not open once. It concerned me, what if Toeryn wasn’t coming back? What would I do for food? Winter was coming and I wouldn’t survive. I started to panic, crying softly until darkness surrounded me. I don’t know how long I was asleep, but I was roughly shaken awake.
“Wake up,” Toeryn’s voice demanded. “Why aren’t you ready to go?”
“The chain,” I told him. Cursing, he pulled a small pick from his pack and within seconds I was free for the first time in three weeks.
“Hurry up and get dressed,” he said as he gathered the few belongings I had there with me. “We don’t have much time and we have a long way to go.”
“Where are we going?” I asked as I pulled the rough wool trousers on. They promptly fell to my ankles. Toeryn laughed at the comic scene while I wrinkled my nose.
“Stonebridge,” he replied. I had never been there, but it knew that it was leagues away. Toeryn took a piece of rope, cut it to length and then tied it around my ill fitting clothing.
“Why Stonebridge?” I asked as I put on the boots. Whosoever they were, they seemed to fit just fine.
“Because she won’t look for us there,” Toeryn explained. “It’s more diverse than Meadow Brook and Tel’thurian. Bigger too. But we will stop at Tel’thurian first for supplies and horses.”
“Diverse?” I questioned, unfamiliar with the term.
“It means there is more than one race there. Prominently Moon Elves, but other Elven races are there too.” he replied. “You’re full of questions.”
“Sorry,” I apologized. “Nervous I guess and scared.”
Toeryn only nodded, finally finishing the pack, he fashioned it so that I could carry it on my back. We stepped out of the stone hut, moving over to the wooden ladder that he had place on this side. It would be the first taste of freedom and like thieves in the night we stole over the wall of what had once been my prison. Once on the other side, Toeryn took my hand and we ran as fast as we could, but it was more like he was pulling me behind him.
When we were a safe distance away from the house, we paused to catch our breath. My eyes drifted to the house. There was only one lamp lit, in my mother’s room. Toeryn followed my eyes and nodded. A figure had appeared in the window, nothing more than a silhouette of a woman, but I knew it was Mother.
“Say your farewells now, Lyssa.” he said. Baffled I looked at him.
“Lyssa?” I repeated.
“That’s your new name. Everything from your past will stay there. Including your name,” Toeryn told me. “Anarar’ithil Laidekoree is dead. You are now Lyssandra Stormwater.”
“Okay,” I said. It would be easier than arguing to keep my real name. My eyes looked back to the house again. Tears filled them with the realization this was the last time I would ever see her. I saw the woman lift her hand slowly. A sad, wordless farewell as I also lifted my hand and bade her goodbye.
Toeryn lead me away with a comforting hand on my shoulder. We said nothing for the first few miles; he just let me cry my fill.
“Well Miss Stormwater, I must say that is a very interesting story,” Xavier said.
Lyssa looked out the window at the rain beating down on the window. Her expression somber as she nodded. “That’s only the start.”
“I would imagine so,” he said. “When would you like me to hear the rest?”
“Honestly?” The red hair elf asked rhetorically. “Never. It isn’t exactly something I want to talk about.”
Xavier eyed her curiously for a moment and Lyssa rolled her eyes. Obviously he wasn’t going to take that answer. She looked a the clock and sighed. He started to pack away his belongings, a laptop which he had typed the whole story, cables, cords, a portable printer once it had finished printing.
“One week,” Lyssa said firmly. Mentally, she would have to prepare for this, It was easier for her to lock her past up then discuss it and have it written for her.
“Very well,” he said standing up. Lyssa’s eyes looked up at him as he extended his hand. Firmly she shook it and went back to staring at the window. “See you then.”
The front door opened and closed as Xavier let himself out. Lyssa made her way to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of dark rum.
“Can’t wait,” Lyssa said sarcastically, taking a drink from the glass.
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August 29, 2009 | Categories: Lyssa's Tale, Writing | Tags: Lyssa, nwn, reading, stories, Writing | Leave A Comment »
Before you sink yourself into Lyssa’s Tale I would like to discuss something serious for a brief moment. Lyssa is a completely fictional character whose history I have finally gotten around to writing and filling in the blacks. In no way shape or form do I condone or approve of some of the things that happen within this story. I do not recommend this story for any one under the of seventeen as it does contain violence, abuse and sexual content. Everything in this story is from my imagination with several different inspirations. The first and foremost being Neverwinter Nights.
In this story you will meet and learn about Lyssa’s growing up and how she came to be close with Pania. You’ll see the heartaches and struggles that Lyssa goes through to obtain a sense of self freedom. Bear in mind that this is a rough draft and will contain grammatical, spelling, punctuational and other horrific mistakes that will be beaten out.
Thanks and enjoy Chapter 1 Part 1 of Lyssa’s Tale
Meadow Brook
“So you want to know about me?” the red haired elf asked softly. She pulled a small silver tin from her vest pocket, a faint smell of cloves filling the air as opened it. From it she pulled a small dark brown cigarillo, placed it to her lips and lit it with a small, silver lighter. The air filled with a heavier pungent smell of tobacco and cloves as Lyssa inhaled the first drag.
“I would, Miss Stormwater,” a second voice, a man’s, replied. “I’ve followed Miss Alow’s works, you are mentioned in them and I am curious as to what your story is.”
“Really. And please call me Lyssa,” her voiced purred. “Well then, I suppose I could tell you. It’s a long story mind you, and not nearly adventurous as Miss Alow’s, but an adventure none the less.”
“I’ve got time Miss Stormwater,” the man told her, obviously ignoring her request to be called by her first name and remaining formal. It seemed overly professional. “I have hours, days if you need them.”
Lyssa looked over at her interviewer with sharp green eyes and smiled. “I’ve had centuries of time. This will take more than a few days to tell and I do hope that you can write quickly.”
Taking a pull from her cigarillo, her eyes swept over him. Long hair the color of mud, eyes to match. He was average, plain, someone Lyssa wouldn’t even give a second glance on the street. If it wasn’t for the small note she found stuffed in the door knocker, she wouldn’t have known he even existed. The anonymity of her interviewer annoyed her the way a mosquito bite does anyone.
“What is your name?” Lyssa asked after a moment. Her eyes flickered over him once more, though she kept her expression quite tame.
“Xavier Wallock,” he replied.
“Well Mister Wallock,” Lyssa mused, as she kept up the formalities. “Allow me to take you back before Miss Alow came in to my life the first time.”
My brother Toeryn removed me from my family home. At first I thought it was because he loved me, after all he had been affectionate towards me even when my mother wasn’t. I was the result of an affair my mother had with one of the merchants in the city we lived in. When my mother had me, she was upset by the color of my skin. It was not golden like hers and fathers, but rather pale with a slight blue undertone. I exposed my mother’s affair the day I was born. He left her, Toeryn and me with very little money. Mother used what she had to get us back to her family home in Meadow Brook.
Toeryn was welcomed with open arms as was my mother, but I wasn’t. For as long as I could remember my grandmother referred to me as her or half-breed. Soon as I was old enough, she set me to work in the kitchens. My mother pleaded with her to stop making me a servant, but she had lost her will and soon gave up when my grandmother shouted; “That half breed will never be apart of this family! If anything her birth has done nothing but disgrace this family.” I was standing in the door with a tray of tea and biscuits for mother. Grandmother stormed past me, her eyes looking beyond where I stood.
“Come here, darling,” Mother crooned as I closed the door and set the tray down. “Come sit with me and have tea.”
I retrieved my small china tea cup from its secret hiding spot in mother’s trunk and set it on the table. She came to join me after a moment, I could tell in her eyes she was dreading the conversation that inevitably was going to happen. Mother did her best to hide it as she smiled warmly at me.
“Momma, why doesn’t Grandmother like me?” I asked her, sliding into the chair and pouring us both tea.
“Anarar’ithil,” she started, reaching over to gently stroke my face. “My little sun and moon.”
I smiled at this soft touch. It wasn’t something I received often, since I only seen my mother once a week and in secret.
“Your are old enough now to know the story about your heritage,” Mother continued. “Your name tells it all, you are of the sun and the moon elves. Your father is a moon elf, whom I loved very much.”
“But momma you were married to Toeryn’s father.” I said with a confused tone. Even at my young age I was very observant. I had heard her and grandmother discussing what happened.
“Yes, I was,” she replied. “But I was unhappy. You see, Baellianvan was a wealthy man who believed blood lines should be as pure as possible. Your grandmother believes the same thing and she arranged for me to marry Baellianvan. At first I didn’t love Baellianvan, but after gave birth to your brother, I grew to love him.”
My mother sighed heavily as she took a sip of her tea. I knew it pained her to drag up the past, though I was happy that she was able to do so. “I was shopping in the main square of Tel’thurian when I met your father. He called to me, saying all the right things to get me to notice his wares above all the rest. Your father sold cloth, hand blown glass bottles, and all other things that were exotic.”
The door open and my brother stepped in, softly closing it behind him.
“Grandmother is sewing, you’ll have about another hour,” he told us, stepping to me and kissing my head lightly. “How have you been Ana?”
“Good,” I replied with a shrug. “Nodelia is teaching me how make bread. She’s wonderful when grandmother isn’t around.”
“Yeah,” he said with a grin, slumping into a chair. “So what is the topic of the day?”
“I was just telling Anarar’ithil about her father.” Mother said glumly.
Toeryn’s face sobered. He knew most of what happened, but he didn’t blame me for his father leaving. His brow creased slightly as the unpleasant memories flooded his mind. Toeryn was never one to tell how he was feeling, though his face said everything he wouldn’t. I looked back to mother while he poured himself a cup of tea and nicked a few biscuits.
“Your father tried his best to sell me an intricate jewelry box. The price was outrageous, though it looked well worth it. Small red roses dotted silver lid, each one different, each on more beautiful than the last. Inside was lined with purple velvet, and contained a small mirror on the lid. He did everything in his power to keep me there. I’m sure other people noticed the chemistry between us. You could say it was love at first sight.” she said with a sad smile.
“I went home that day feeling girlish, like a young woman in love for the first time. Baellianvan didn’t seem to notice, or care. I had suspected that he was being unfaithful to me, but never once said anything about it. Such things were left unspoken.” Mother sighed. Toeryn grunted softly but otherwise remained silent.
“Momma this is a very lovely story, but it doesn’t explain why Grandmother doesn’t like me.” I said.
“She doesn’t like you because you aren’t “pure in blood” like the family.” Toeryn said bluntly. Sometimes I hated him for this. Mother shot him an annoyed glance, he just shrugged and went back to eating another biscuit.
“He is right Anarar’ithil,” She told me. “Your grandmother shared the same ideals as Baellianvan, sun elves should only be with sun elves. Anything else is considered impure.”
“So Grandmother hates me because I’m half moon elf?” I asked, the idea clicking in my head painfully.
“I’m afraid so.” Mother said softly.
“And with good reason too,” Grandmother’s voice rang out from the door way. Guiltily, we looked towards the door and there she stood, her back pulled back almost like she had a steel rod holding her up. Toeryn flew out of his seat and moved to stand between Mother, me and Grandmother.
“Mother, leave her alone,” My mother told her, standing up trying to block her from coming towards me. Her voice wavered as she spoke. “She’s here at my request.”
“Grandmother, please. Anarar’ithil has done nothing wrong. Will you not permit her to see Mother?”
“You conniving little half breed!” Grandmother shouted as she stepped towards me. “Alurian, you disobeyed me when I told you to cut off contact with her!”
“Would you deny me my own flesh and blood?!” My mother screamed back incredulously.
“Given what she is, I’m surprised you didn’t kill her at birth!” Grandmother screamed at her as her hand shot out to catch Mother’s face. I stood there paralyzed with fear. My eyes filled with tears, Toeryn stared at our Grandmother with a stunned expression. He had never seen Grandmother this angry before. Mother stood there her hand pressed to her cheek, helpless. I began to back away from the table as she came closer to me.
“You vile little wretch,” She screamed at me. My eyes were wide with hate, and then there was pain as her fingers grabbed onto my hair. I let out a shrill scream as she gripped a handful of my hair.
“Mother! Help me please!” I cried out.
She remained motionless, her spirit broken by her fear. Toeryn watched and comforted Mother as our grandmother dragged me from the room. My screams filled the halls, servants from everywhere came to see what the noise was, but did nothing to help me. None of them wished to cross Grandmother. The whole time she screamed at me to shut up, and told me exactly what she thought of my heritage. Down the stairs, each step slamming into my small frame. Grandmother took no care in my well being.
The pain was excruciating, I gave in and let darkness consume me. I awoke later on to a bucket of ice cold water splashing me. I let out a sharp screech and was promptly slapped in the face.
“Silence half breed!” The voice boomed. “You disobeyed me, you disgrace my family and my good will to let you stay in my house and live!”
I felt the bite of a cane come down harshly on my back as she beat me. “For each scream, you will receive another ten lashes.”
“N-no.” I shivered. Tears already pouring down my cheeks as the cane bit me again.
A shrill scream escaped my lips. Eighteen more. Grandmother was ruthless on my back. I didn’t know how I managed to keep myself from screaming. Perhaps it was fear or the feeling of numbness. When she was finished, I was left to lie in the mud. I dared not to move, the pain seared my nerves. I heard footsteps a few moments later, the sound of a metal dog bowl being sat on the ground.
Not allowing myself to look up, I remained still as could be. She loomed over me, sneering and finally spitting on me before going back to the house. Only when I was sure she was gone, did I push myself up to a sitting position. Fearing she would come back and beat me again, it was a slow process. Around my ankle was a thick chain, held in place with an exceedingly strong padlock. Eying the bowl of water and food she left for me, I tried to reach it. Even with extending my leg and laying flat again, I could not reach it. My grandmother had planned on keeping me and hoping I would starve to death. Quietly I sobbed and cursed my father for falling in love with my mother.
I fell into an uneasy sleep, awakening at the first light of day. Rubbing my eyes with dirty fists I looked around the small enclosure I was in. It was a disused dog pen. The walls were high and smooth; a small stone dog house was the only shelter I had from the elements. I noted that the chain was connected to the dog house, perhaps I could somehow get it out of the wall. When I heard the iron gate open I scurried into the dog house and remained there. It was my grandmother again. She looked around curiously for a moment, making note of the chain leading into the small shelter. Hastily, she poured some fresh water into one of the bowls and something that looked like congealed noodles and brown gravy into the other. The bowls were still just out of my reach. When she left I came out of the dog house and slumped against the wall.
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August 27, 2009 | Categories: Fun, Lyssa's Tale, Writing | Tags: Lyssa, nwn, reading, stories, Writing | Leave A Comment »
