Amia Hananae's Story

Amia was awoken by the insistent rapping upon the door to her luxurious room where she lived in Cain's costly palatial home. The sun filtered through the blinds at her window, bright, with little motes of dust hovering in the air like a glistening rain of glitter to her perceptive High Elf gaze. The tapping at the door was soft, respectful, but unrelenting, and eventually forced Amia to drag herself from the final dregs of sleep and call out "Come in...". She knew full well who it would be.

Her favorite serving girl, Ada, stumbled in. "Mistress, my lady..." She performed an awe filled curtsy as she always did, and Amia smirked. "It's past 10, my lady. King Cain says that-"

"Yes, Ada, I know. But Cain isn't going to have a problem with me having a tiny little lie in, now is he?" The High Elf smiled and arose from her soft and sleep warmed bed, dressed in her night gown. Even with her hair ruffled with sleep, Amia was still beautiful, and she acknowledged the fact with a detached neutrality that the serving girl did not possess. Ada averted her gaze, her eyes wide as she stepped away from her Lady, deciding that it was best not to reply. That was why Amia liked her.

"Ada, would you fetch me a gown suitable for the day?" The soft command, disguised as it was in the form of a request, sent the girl scurrying as Amia stepped bare footed to her bathing room, and drew herself a bath. Amia had just removed her clothes when Ada walked in. Amia's own lack of self consciousness made Ada's reaction more humorous. As she walked in on the bare skinned Elf, the human girl gasped, her cheeks turning the same ruby color of Amia's expensive perfume bottle. She sighed. Ada didn't hesitate before attempting to close the door, catching her own foot in it, and then sending herself falling in a most ungainly way to the ground, with today's gown held away from the ground.

Amia sighed at the clumsy girls behavior as she turned to slip into the steaming hot bath. She would bathe, and then dress herself, and do her hair, and perhaps she would visit Cain before taking a stroll to her favorite dress maker to have a new outfit made for the next ball. She spoke to Ada in a low, lazy tone as she became disinterested. "Ada, when you have finished lazing about, please hang my gown up and then bring me my breakfast". Ada gasped, bowed, muttered some ungraceful words of apology and farewell, made a racket as she hung the dress up, tripped once more over her bed as she made it, and then retreated from her quarters.

It took Amia almost an hour to finish bathing, and dressing her hair. She had braided it, and securely pinned it up in a graceful updo. Her gown was of the finest cloth, and tailored especially for her. It fitted her upper body in a subtle, feminine way, and then flowed freely about her legs. It was dyed a rich scarlet, trimmed in a darker hue, and embroidered with golden thread that wove patterns at the hems. Glancing in the mirror before she left her room, she was tall, elegant, and graceful; everything and more that people expected of a High Elf.

She strode down the corridors, having broken the law of "Out of home by 10", making her way down to pay her respects to her King. She regarded the meeting with a sort of reluctance. He was old, older even than she was, and his mental capacity was swiftly deteriorating so that it was nigh on impossible to hold a coherent conversation with the man.

The day was pleasant, and the breeze pervaded the air with a delicious coolness even as she entered the great Library. As one of the very few people allowed to enter the room, she regarded the great doors with an incredible sense of awe as she entered. It was silent after the heavy oak doors swung shut behind her, and her eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. It was deceptively peaceful, and it was unmistakably Cain's territory; the trees loomed down protectively over the King, who she could hear had confined himself to a table where he was scribbling on a scrap of parchment.

Amia had to smile. So often had she found him in such a position, cooped away, making lists and demands, and more often than not, new laws. She sighed and approached the sound of scratching quills.

She stopped a respectful distance away from her King, and waited until he deigned to turn his frenzied gaze upon her calm and collected composure. She bestowed upon him a warm smile as she inclined her head, finding the situation not quite formal enough for a complete curtsy. Amia looked at King Cain, and straightened up before she spoke to him in her ever soft, exotically accented voice.

"Cain...Good morning"

Cain was hunched over his desk muttering softly to himself. His writing was shaky as thought upon thought flowed through his head. He was making a list for the numbers to be played at the ball. He had always liked the Ode to Cain But alas the Cain my king Was growing in popularity. He hummed and hahed over this ordeal for quite some time. As he did vines seemed to come alive from the ground and they rose up high over his head and reached the uppermost shelves and began to take books of the shelves and deposit them in new places. There was no rhyme or reason as to why and Cain seemed to have no qualm with the going's on of his plants.

He had just decided to have both tunes played when the giant doors to his library opened and in walked a vision of beauty. She was a high elf who had captured his attention for quite some time now. When ever he saw her, she was groomed to perfection and he could never seem to find a fault in her. He stood knocking the chair he had been sitting on to the ground. It clattered loudly and he flinched for a moment, and froze to look at the chair as if in utter disbelief. He was quiet for a moment and then looked away from the chair and gave Amia a wide charming smile. The chair, already forgotten.

He stepped around piles of books so that he might reach her, she inclined her head just so and then straightened again. When he was about a meter away from her Cain suddenly looked up and said "My dear... you are...." There was a long pause, "Late." He pondered the ceiling as if it could tell time and then let his gaze drop back down to her. His voice was harsh now "Why?" He didn't wait for her to speak but instead went up to her and boldly took a hold of her hand and kissed the delicate knuckle bones. For a moment he fantasized the crunch they would make should he drop something heavy on them. He let her hand go and let his gaze move over her dress and appreciated. "You look lovely." His tone had changed again to something akin to tenderness. The thought of screams and pain always brought him comfort.

His mind calmed for a moment and he took a deep breath through his nose and then let it out through his mouth. As he did so a lovely rose blossomed up from her feet and the stem rose to her waist. The blood red flower presented it's self, ready for the plucking and Cain chuckled "To go with that lovely dress of yours... I'm sure you'll be getting another for my ball this week?" He spoke, lifting his hand to catch a falling leaf. " Do tell me you'll bring and introduce me to all your lovely friends this time." He said making small talk.


Guarding the great hall was Alys' least favourite job when it came to being a soldier. Her beloved king had left the hall leaving its marble walls and floor in silence. She missed the screams already. Sighing to herself, she leaned against a pillar and took out a small folding knife from her jacket. She played with it flipping it this way and that between her fingers and changed it between her palms. She had gotten quite good at this from the hours of boring guard duty.

She only did it for the reward at the end. Alys loved when the brought in thieves and traitors and any other kinds of hooligans that the could wrangle up. It was always fun to see them squirm and beg for forgiveness, and as always she would lure them into her trap. Make them think that they had won her over. Appealed to her feminine side perhaps, made her like them, When lives were on the line it was interesting to see how desperate people got. Alys loved to give them hope, to see that light in their eyes and then in the very last moment when they knew that what they had felt was all a lie, to watch that light die in their eyes was the most beautiful thing.

She licked her lips and folded the knife away just as a soldier marched in a young girl with hair as black as night. Intrigued Alys stood and walked over to the group. "Aidan." She greeted the soldier and he grunted in return.
"Found her stealing in the market." he explained shaking the woman roughly. He had a tight grip on her arm and Alys was sure it would bruise.
Alys made a clucking noise with her tongue and she reached out and gripped the woman's chin and forced her to look up "Not your lucky day now is it?" she asked, smiling a truly terrible smile.

Amia watched as her King stood, flushed like a child, and tipped his chair over in his haste with a small smirk, hidden behind a single delicate hand. Cain was old, yes, she knew that; but he didn’t look it. He had the youthful appearance of a somewhat eccentric young man, and as far as men went, he was relatively easy on the eyes. However, his theatrics with the library furniture didn’t do much to make him seem mature.

”My dear…you are…Late” The King spoke in his harsher tone , in way of greetings.

His grip on her hand was rough, demanding and persuasive, and this contrasted with the tender way Cain kissed her soft skin. Amia raised a perfectly formed brow, having already predicted the course of this meeting. In fact, she almost counted the seconds down before Cain became distracted, and she had the good grace to blush at his compliment. Despite all of his oddities, the man was incredibly sweet in a sadistic, manipulative way, but she was well above being caught by his sugared words.

Amia smiled as Cain used his infamous powers to create a rose, and she stooped to pick it up. Examining the blossom, it’s gorgeous hue was perfectly colored to match both her gown and her dark hair. Amia replied to her king as she slipped the rose in her hair.

“My lord, your kind words do me a great honor. Thank you for the flower, it is beautiful. And of course I will be attending your ball, I look forward to it. Your events are always something to enjoy. Are we perhaps hearing Cain, our Lord and Savior? It is particularly popular at the moment…”

Amia moved to set to rights the chair that the King had accidentally knocked over, dusting it off as she spoke, and then sitting in it. She would probably need permission to do that in a formal meeting, but she smiled endearingly at Cain as she did so, folding her hands in her lap, hoping that he would forgive the informality.

“And yes, my lord. I am to see the tailor about a new dress shortly. Of course, my companions and I will be attending. We wouldn’t miss it for the world. In fact, I have a particular friend –her name is Rhea- who has expressed her desire to meet you. She is young and somewhat vulnerable, however I think you will find her delightful company. Although, I have one question… What is the theme for your ball? Only, I desire to dress to match”

Amia smiled sweetly at Cain as she spoke, hoping to entice him with the thought of her young, innocent, High Elf friend.

Gideon raised a brow at the man and he shrugged, "Well if that's all you need..." He held out a hand that was winkled from the water. "I'm Gideon. Thank you for this cloak." He offered him a crooked smile. Once he had shaken the man's hand he let a hand run down one of his arms appreciating the fabric. He smiled thinking of another cloak that had been given to him by his dear Kate.

His thoughts turned sad and he pushed them away. He let out a low breath and then gestured. "Lead the way." He took a step and followed after him. He wondered for a moment why his hair was so silver and let the obvious answer pop into his head. "Magic." He mumbled under his breath and he wiggled his fingers for a moment feeling the earth move a little under his feet as the metals formed together. What a great power we have. He thought to himself as he let the metals disperse and move back to their original place.

They headed on over to the house where there was sorting to be done.



Aly's was just about to give the rude little girl when suddenly her fellow soldier started to scream. He began to flail about uselessly letting go of the girl. Aly's made a grab for her but she missed and was rewarded with a sarcastic salute and then the girl was gone. She growled softly and narrowed her eyes after the black hair that leapt through the window. She took a step after her but Aidan grabbed her leg and made her trip.
"Damnit Aidan." she gave him a swift kick to the face which only made him cry more, but nevertheless he let go of her. Aly's gave him one look back and then ran after the girl and looked out the window. But it was no use. She hit the marble walls and let out a cry of frustration. Needing a walk to let off steam she headed on out of the castle leaving Aidan where he was crying in a little heap. He was a mess but she couldn't care less.

As she walked across the bridge that led to the great hall she came upon a man.. or a woman. Either way she knew him as a musician who played at the balls often. She lifted a hand in greeting and wondered what he was doing there. She then remembered that there was a ball coming up and she stopped in front of him and presented him with an incredibly practiced smile. "Well hello" She was still angry from before but perhaps she might find a fault in this man and be able to take him away, and so she smiled at him ever so sweetly and said "Come to pick up music for the ball then? King Cain has been picking songs all day." She told him.


She was blushing at him and Cain thought her ever so wonderful. She was a flower among thorns. When she accepted the rose from him and slipped it into her hair he thought her quite fetching and once again had to kiss her hand.
"My dear... it is you that does me a great honour." He nodded when she agreed to tend the ball, of course she would, everyone had to come, he made a law making sure of this. She requested a song and he snapped his fingers. A vine crept up to the desk and took hold of a quill and added the song to his set list.

She walked past him and straightened the chair he had knocked over in his haste, she sat down and her skirts fanned out around her feet. He leaned back against the table and placed a hand upon a vine that came creeping up to meet him. As if it were a pet he gave it a few affectionate pats. She promised him her friends would attend and he smiled thinking to himself that perhaps he would invite them all to his quarters after the party. [b]"I like the name Rhea. That sounds like an obedient name. She sounds... perfect." Secretly he hoped for a slip up. The evening was never any fun without any screams. "I was thinking perhaps a summer theme. We could use a little brightness and beauty." He said softly, he was looking at her but it seemed as if he were deep in thought.

He smiled back at her and then straightened [b]"Well, we've got things to do. I will see you at dinner tonight. You are invited to bring your lovely friend Rhea if you like." He offered. He went to kiss her hand again,

Amia rose from her seat, nodding slightly to herself. Summer colors. Perhaps a dress of dark forest green, trimmed with gold? Or perhaps a rich wine color, with silver detailing. She already knew that she would wear a light material, something that would rustle in the evening breeze…and maybe even knee length. She would have to consult her friends.

The High Elf smiled, agreeing with Cain as he invited her and her friend, Rhea. At heart, she knew that Rhea was a minor, unofficial, High Elf reject. Yes, the woman was beautiful, but that was where the similarities with others of her own race ended. Some called her an anarchist, and she tended to speak of nothing except for Cain’s own tyranny and careless attitude to Home. Amia knew that Cain would enjoy Rhea’s company, in more ways than one.

Rising gracefully from her seat, she elegantly nodded. “Of course, my lord. Rhea would be honored to attend with me. And I would be honored to dine with you” Amia smiled warmly to her King, as she bowed over her hand, clasped in his.

“I will see you tonight then, my King. Until then…” She spoke in her gentle tone, and left the library. Now…the tailor.

When she was finally free of the confines of the palace, Amia considered riding down to the tailor shop. Yes, she wore a dress…but as a High Elf, she would only be considered even more independent and the public would only be in more awe of her when they saw her riding down Home’s main road upon a horse summoned by herself. The image was pleasing, so she drew in a breath, exhaled, and focused her mind.

The Sun was warm on her skin as she found the image of the animal that she desired in her mind, and the shadows around her loomed, and darkened erratically. It wasn’t the smooth creation of a being that true Summoners could accomplish, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself looking into the dark, lifeless eyes of her creature. The horse was tall, slightly taller than most normal animals, and it was the same darkness that shadows were made out of.

In one single elegant movement, she mounted the horse, noticing how its mane was like smoke, rather than the fine hairs of a real horse. Its ears were a little misshapen, and she sighed. She really wasn’t the best Summoner, but this was the best that she could do for now. Amia smirked at the awed gazes of the men and women around her.

Aly's watched him fix his attire and she smiled brightly, was there anything she could get him for, she wondered. He always seemed to be in such good standing and always had the right things to say. She sighed softly and supposed that she might get in trouble if she sent him away to the dungeon. It wouldn't give Cain enough time to find himself someone new to take over the position of head musician. She had always wondered what it would be like to see those perfect features (as difficult as they were to place to a gender) contort and twist in pain. She wondered what he feared the most, she knew with a bit of prodding she could get most anyone to spill their darkest secrets. It wasn't all that hard really, break a bone here, cut a little there. He bowed to her and she listened to him explain his reason for being there. She nodded and said "I can take you to him if you like, he's just out in the library. I'm sure a visit from you would surely be acceptable. He spoke of a song that would like to play and for a moment rambled on about an orchestra. She nodded understanding that practice was the only way to make sure they played perfectly. After all their lives were on the line.

One wrong not and it was all over for the whole ban. She always liked watching the pressure Cain put his subjects under.

He changed his subject asking if solders were to attend and she nodded. "We are required to be there, but these last few balls on was on outside guard duty to make sure no one left early. This ear Cain has told me I must be in in the ball room and because of this I must dress up." She seemed a bit displeased about the fact but her emotions returned t normal and she turned gesturing for him to walk along sider her. "I do know each musician gets a break for a few songs. Perhaps you would like to share a dance with me then?" She made small talk with him as she led him into the giant marble hallways of the castle. She walked up a small flight of stairs and soon came upon Cain's library. It seemed quiet for the moment, other than a small annoying chirp of a bird that had flown in. "He is in there,, all you need do is knock." she told him. "I will be here when you come back to escort you out."

***


Cain said his farewells to Amia and he looked forward to meeting her friend. When she was gone he turned back to his quill and murmured something. He scratched his chin and for no apparent reason a whole row of daisy's grew at his feet. He looked down at them in apparent surprise, and then taking it in stride, he plucked a candle from a table and proceeded to set fire to the happy white petals. He could almost hear the pleas for help. He found himself laughing suddenly, and could not stop. The candle dropped from his hand and extinguished as it hit the floor, and so he sat there laughing, as every mad man would, surrounded but burnt Daises.