Emancipation [OPEN]

[Lianna Astra]

It was rare to end up in Hex, but Lianna was convinced that she had to have a change of scenery. The dwarves and the culture were simply so vastly different from all she'd known in her life growing up that it was rather addicting in wanting to look around, learn of their way of life and their history, and, perhaps the most fun of it all, trying their food and drink. Traversing the streets was something of an adventure in and of itself, considering how easily one could get lost, but Lia never dared to stray far, always fearing to be seen by malicious dwarves who could get suspicious of her visit to these streets. She simply needed a change of air; Guiar had seemed perfect, although they were surrounded by a war. Still, Hex village managed to remain somewhat peaceful and relatively safe for a solitary echa woman. 

It was among the market district that she found herself, pleased and practically forgetting all her troubles. No one seemed to stop and stare at her given that her wings were hidden well beneath the thick dark garment she was wearing. She only got quick passing glances, mainly because her features were not commonly seen in the village. Still, Lianna thought that they would not be able to realize she was a faerie. At least she hoped so. 

Communicating among the people was... difficult, to say the least, but she was able to sway a merchant or two into letting her make off with a few pieces of fruit or fish that was prepared in a way she'd not really seen before. They did things so strange here but it was all a flurry of excitement rather than apprehension. After giving a smile and short wave to the gracious vendor at his booth, Lianna turned to head off on down the street and continue to peruse the goods that were offered all along the path. Everything from clothing to jewelry to food, exotic pets, weapons, and house hold decorations. 

[Larris Elke Túmmia]

Larris and his company had decided today to pass through the Hex Village in search for young men and women to recruit to the war effort. The gui army was not small; in the battlefield they reached almost twenty thousand men, and that was not counting the lords, the commanders, the messengers and spies in all of Destina. But, as Léomer had said to his cousin, there could always be twenty thousand more. Larris thought that, with some persuasion, he might be able to enlist 100 men in Hex Village alone. He was very confident in his way with words.  

As he approached the stalls with the other lords appointed to this task, he observed something unexpected. The village had not really seen the effects of the war, the catastrophic destruction which had taken over the realm. The most affected region in Destina had been Xenthia, the vast expense of desserts and plains which separated Lenneckor and Guiar.  

But here, it almost seemed like there was no war, no victory and no loss. Almost, he thought, except that the faces of the peasants and the old women in the stalls were somber and grim. Larris’ mind jumped to the conclusion that, although the war was being fought leagues away from here, they had all lost someone they loved… perhaps a sibling or a partner or even a child… would they look at him and his company with displeasure? 

He wished to test the situation. Moving closer to a stall, he tried to hear what the peasants chatted about. Perhaps Larris could even talk to these people and see what they thought of it all. 

In a stall close to him he noticed a young girl with features which were very uncommon to this village. They could be deemed exotic in all of Guiar, actually. He was curious: where was she from? More so, he wondered why such a striking girl was be in a place such as this. The market was filthy and disorganized, yet she shone in an unexplainable way. Was she, perhaps, a nayeli? If so, why was she here in the first place? 

He approached her curtly, yet with his head held high and somehow pretentiously. “Why would such an attractive young woman spend her afternoon in this place, of all?” he asked seriously… but then grinned. He had wanted to sound reproving as a joke; his eyes scanning her for a reaction. “Are you perhaps lost? Looking for your castle?” His grin crossed all over his face, gallant as ever.  

[Lianna Astra]

The man approached her as she examined the legumes in the stall. She pretended not to notice when he stood next to her but, as he spoke, she had to turn and face him. It was the polite thing to do, Lianna thought, although she was not really in the mood for socializing. Or perhaps this man was trying to charm her? He was not succeeding, if that was the case.

As the man talked and looked at her, cracking jokes and thinking high of himself, she knew it. He had come closer to flirt with her- what a drag!

The man scanned her in what seemed to be an examination of her reaction to his comments. Did he expect her to laugh? She was not amused in the least, and how could she be a hypocrite? She looked at him, expressionless, and as soon as he had finished babbling she continued looking at the legumes and the fruits.

“How much for two of this, sir?” she asked the vendor, as she pointed to the cantaloupes. Noticing that the man had not left her side, and that he was still waiting for a reaction, Lianna turned to him this time.

“Is that your attempt at being charming, soldier? Why are you here, for that matter? Shouldn’t you be fighting a war?”

Lianna tried her best to conceal her accent, but she felt frustrated by his approach and she knew her voice had probably sounded unusual to the man’s ears.

---

[Larris Elke Túmmia]

As the woman replied, Larris could only think of one thing: this girl was brave. He looked at her curiously, wondering how it was possible that a young girl such as her could speak to a man who was clearly (if you judged him by his attire) a high rank soldier and evidently highborn. Many insignias were pinned to his breastplate; there was no way that this girl thought that he was a common soldier strolling through the market. No, she must have known… and that made her even bolder. Or was she simply defiant by nature?

Larris wanted to know everything about her and her background, only because of what she had responded. “I am being ridiculous”, he thought, “she is just a common girl”. A “common girl” with an inexplicable beauty and the most exotic features he had seen since before the war. 

He cleared his throat, smiling all the while. “Some people are not charmed even if you sweep them off their feet, my lady”. What had that been? Was that his retort? He had heard himself and instantly became ashamed of the amount of corniness in that phrase. He tried to shrug it off with a sideways smile. “I am kidding… I guess my charms don’t work on some people. And I am fighting a war! In fact, I am trying to recruit more to our cause… and by the way, my name is Larris… Larris Elke” he emphasized his last name, just to gauge her reaction, “it is a pleasure to meet a lady such as yourself in here, of all places”. 

He realized that he was fumbling. "Get a grip, Larris! You're making a fool of yourself!" he thought furiously, trying to look calm.

[Lianna Astra]

“Some people are not charmed even if you sweep them off their feet, my lady”

If she had not been charmed before, she sure was charmed now. Or maybe not charmed, but very amused. She began giggling as he continued on rambling, oblivious to her reaction. She covered her mouth so as to not make him feel uncomfortable, but she felt that the chuckling could come out at any moment.

Lianna had felt angry at first, when this random man had approached her out of the blue and had started questioning her. Somehow, she had felt that he was interrogating her… because he knew who she was. Perhaps he knew that she was a faerie, and that she lived in the castle and… that would have been terrible.

But now she realized that this man, who apparently went by the name of Larris, was actually kind of nervous around her. It was clear to notice this, and also impossible to ignore. All of a sudden, Lianna found herself softened by the way he spoke and his mumbling.

But, she made herself realize, he had also mentioned that he was an Elke. Everyone, in every single realm of this world, knew that the Elke family name pertained to the royal family of the guis. Thus, this was not an innocent peasant… this was perhaps a duke, or a lord or even… a prince? No, he wouldn’t be here, pacing around and talking to common girls such as her.

She decided to ignore this fact for a moment, while she teased him some more. How nervous and fidgety could he get? Maybe that would show him a lesson! And the next time he wouldn’t go and flirt with solitary girls in marketplaces.

“My name is Lianna… Astra.” She smiled and kneeled a bit; she imagined that was what he was used to. “And what do you mean with “a lady such as yourself”, my lord? What kind of lady am I, if I might ask?”

[Larris Elke Túmmia]

Well, he thought, at least I’ve gotten a grin from her. Even if it was because of Larris’ rambling and continued blabbering, he had made this girl laugh. That was good enough for him and decreased, at least in a small quantity, the sheer amount of embarrassment he currently felt. He turned to face her as she replied, clearly trying to contain her laughter, and he couldn’t help but smiling back.  

Yes, she was making fun of him, obviously. Did he mind? Perhaps his ego would be hurt for weeks after this display of absurdity… but, actually, he did not mind right then. Seeing her smile like this made it all worth it.  

And thus she began playing with fire. Did she want to make him uncomfortable? Well, this Lianna would see what being uncomfortable was! All in good spirit, of course; Larris could not stop smiling.  

He turned around to lean over the stall of cantaloupes in front of them, crossing his arms over his chest and his right feet atop his left in a comfortable and casual stance. He faced her intensely: now, his sole intention was making this girl as embarrassed as he had felt minutes before.  

“Well, Lianna Astra, you are a girl who clearly likes adventure. If not, you would not be this far away from your home… because you are not a gui, am I right? No, you must be elven, or a faerie perhaps… but those stunning eyes and those lips…” he now observed her lips intently, hopefully making her uncomfortable beyond bearable, “yes, those lips are not from Guiar. So a lady as breathtaking as you must be wandering all alone. And that is, certainly, a pity”. 

He gazed at her charmingly, gauging her reaction to his embellished compliments.

 

[Lianna Astra]

Now it was Lianna’s turn to become embarrassed. As the man spoke, the young faerie could feel her cheeks reddening up and warming, and she tried to hide it by turning his back away from the man and examining the fruits and vegetables in the stall to their right. She pretended to be looking around for the best products, and soon realized how crazy she must have seemed, to simply turn around and ignore Larris. 

So she turned her head back at him, unable still to make eye contact. “Indeed, I am not a gui… I am a faerie, sir. But what is that to you? You must see women of all races every single day, much more beautiful and graceful than I ever could be…” her voice trailed, suddenly remembering the one man who broke her heart and left her, in the eve of their wedding. 

Had he found another woman, much more beautiful than her? Was she simply not enough? This event had affected her deeply, and although she had forgotten this man and she no longer had feelings for him, she still felt sad and angry at his departure.And Lianna still remembered the man from time to time, mainly when she met other men.   

And this Larris, who had appeared from nowhere, had a certain similarity to the man who had loved and left her. Sir Larris was charming, gallant, funny, flirtatious and handsome. Lianna knew now that these men were not to be trusted… and she sighed, realizing that she had fallen on the very game that she had been trying to evade.  

“I am alone in here, indeed, and I wish that it remained that way, sir…” she said after pondering. She had not sounded rude, but she had strived to appear strong and collected.