The Empty

Black And Rose

Much to my surprise, an exquisitely dressed young lady turned the corner and was wandering the streets with the look of someone who just lost their pet. Now noticing me, her eyes lit up like gemstones, and could see the heterochromia. One eye a brilliant pink, almost quartz-like, but what caught my attention more was the one next to it. A deep black, maybe the darkest I've ever seen. Looking into it, I feel as if I am staring into the shadowy places in the woods; those places where even the insects are afraid to go. Even though you're cold and terrified, you don't look away.

The eye is devoid of almost all light, except for a few shimmering white dots; the size of a needle's eye at most - the only shine in that endless black. Hands-on her knees she stands in front of me, now awarding me with a better look at her garments. She's wearing a gilded cowl falling to her ankles. A golden trim lines the edges of the pearly silk, glittering in the light of the sun. The main attraction, however, was the soft pink accents, running down the garb in a parallel tracing to the gold edge. Underneath she wore a stone pigmented top with slightly darker trousers and charcoal boots. The trousers and boots speckled with dirt from the muddy ground.

As she stood upright, I could see she couldn't be more than five feet tall. She looked up at me questioningly, almost like she was studying me. Pulling the hood of the cowl further over her head, she held my gaze with a sense of determination in that rosy eye.

She cleared her throat and spoke. "You're an Empty, yes? Erran? You're coming with."

She grabbed my hand without another word, hers barely able to hold onto mine with as small as they were. She ran off down the way she'd come with me plodding along in tow. We made our way down the slum streets, passing through the ruined neighborhood and into the newer area littered with housefront shops and people in mostly patchwork clothing.

As we made our way through the crowds, we drew many stares – due to our speed and lack of care for those around us. We must have been quite the sight, not just for the difference in our sizes but also the differences in our clothing. Hers greatly outshining mine, but not to the discredit of the relatively respectable new leathers that adorned me. As we passed the many crowds of people, we made our way to the common market and then through to the Highlight District. I'd never really been in this part of town. We Empty are usually forced out of this area, though some people have different circumstances. My current scenario being one of them.

While many people looked our way as we rushed through the Highlight District, very few cared enough to let their gaze linger. Now in the upper echelon of the great city, we could make out almost all of the great castle that stood not too far away from us. After many minutes of rushing from place to place in town, she finally started to slow her pace. Heavy and ragged breath came from both of us, now bent over-exhausted in front of a small cobblestone building. A sign hung over the door that read The Bard's Wing.

"And here we are," came a melodic voice from the young woman. "We'll be fine here."

She once again grabbed me by my hand and led me through the door. The tavern was a cozy place, with a grand fireplace accompanied by a few tables and chairs at a far end. Fewer tables near the door – likely because of the cold. There was a decent bar on the right side with a savvy-looking barkeep behind. A stairway behind the bar led up to lodging on the second floor. The tavern was near empty. A few people sat at tables, some of which dozed slowly in their drunken stupor.

"You sure picked a quiet place," I said amusing myself with the sleeping customers.

The barkeep turned to me and said, "It's the safest place in town, as well as one of the last places that will accept you Empty."