Splendid Fall

Ch.10 Glass Palace

Chapter 10

"What is your name?"

Elijah, the collector, was a man of few words. Whenever he wasn't performing to sell his unique beings, he did not see the purpose in speaking. He found socializing to be an absolute horrendous affair. If the high lords of Xaiba ever saw the collector with his collections, they would never believe he was the same man that entertained them at their parties.

"I asked for your name," Elijah said as he slowly removed the white gloves one finger at a time.

Birdie gripped the long sleeves of her shirt and pressed her lips into a thin line. Her body trembled as if she was left out in the cold. Her eyes were wide open, making the silver in them appear brighter in the dim light of the carriage.

Elijah looked up through his lashes when Birdie did not answer. He had put aside his brass cane but it wasn't out of reach. His wispy white hair blew with each bump on the road.

"Do you have a name?" He asked. "Or should I give you a name?"

Do as they say.

Birdie heard Lady Ebony's advice in her ear.

"I...I have a name," she said, her words shivering out of her.

"Well....what is it?"

"Birdie."

The corner of Elijah's mouth lifted, "Birdie....like bird."

Birdie slowly nodded her head.

"What a fitting name," Elijah laughed. "You are a rare bird."

Birdie did not know what to say. She stayed silent as the carriage rode on down the empty streets. Elijah hummed to himself, his eyes passing over the sleepy houses and shops. When they came to a stone house much like the Generals, Elijah let out a deep sigh and climbed out, leaving Birdie inside.

"Take her in through the back," he told the driver. "I'll go wake mother."

Birdie tried to grab the door handle of the carriage but the built driver who was three feet taller than Birdie and Elijah appeared in the window and grunted. His dark eyes seemed to glow like bulls as he warned Birdie not to test him.

Birdie curried to the farthest corner of the carriage. She sat still with her pounding heart as the carriage lunged forward. They turned a corner before driving through a gateway and into the stable behind the collector's home.

The driver jumped down and marched over to the carriage. He yanked the door open and grabbed Birdie's arm before hurling her out. The man acted as if Birdie had any shot in putting up a fight. She silently stumbled along as the brass cuffs and the man's death grip burned her wrist.

"Bring her in, Lucas," Elijah called from inside.

With another grunt, the driver, Lucas, pushed Birdie forward. She had half a mind to turn around and tell him to fuck off. Did he not see that her feet were moving?

"We already have one just like this one," someone said as soon as Lucas led Birdie through a doorway and into a well lit lavish living room.

"This one is different," Elijah said.

Birdie looked around the room to find an old woman with a tightly pinched face and a short silver bob. Her eyes were narrow and her lips painted red. She sat with one of her legs over the other and her hands resting over her knees.

"I don't see it," she said, her eyes moving over Birdie. "Why does she look like a drowned cat?"

"So she needs some work," Elijah sighed. "But this one is very valuable."