The Tragic Backstory Collection

Nitya Elenwe

"Nyota." The faint whisper can be heard from the shadows created by the many small huts and chambers of the servants' quarters many buildings.

"Nyota!" Another slightly louder whisper comes from the shadows, clearly agitated at being ignored.

Nyota, distracted by the noise, drops the glaive he had been swinging above his head. He looks up at the sky and lets out a deep sigh.

"Nitya elenwe, my little star, I love you but how many times do I have to remind you that now is the time for sleep and not play." He turns to face the shadows and waits patiently for the owner of the voice to step forward.

Elain, a small half-elf child, peaks out from the shadows and shows off a big toothy grin. At only seven years old she barely comes up to Nyota's hip and that seems to be where she is permanently attached. She follows him around the castle grounds so often she gets in trouble for it on almost a daily basis.

"Elenwe if you're awake while the stars are out you know what that means?" Elain giggles and takes a step back. "That means the tickle monster is going to come get you!"

Nyota dashes after Elain as she runs and he quickly scoops her into his arms tickling her until only endless giggles can be heard. Once the giggles stop, Nyota places her gently on the grass and gives her one head pat for good measure. Elain sits down on the stairs that lead up to the small hut she and Nyota call home. Sitting down beside her Nyota pulls her into a tight hug.

Last year Elain had been sold to the castle as a slave to pay off her family's debt. As a half-elf she had been deemed only good enough for menial labor, such as working in the kitchen and doing laundry. Upon her arrival in the servants' quarters, she had quickly been shunned being the only half-elf. As soon as word of this reached Nyota he came to offer her a bed in the shed he called home outside the servants' quarters. The relief on her face at the sight of another half-elf immediately melted Nyota's heart and Elain become his younger sister in everyway except by blood.

A year has passed in this way and the small shed they share has become the one place in the castle that is full of love and warmth. Most nights end just like this one, with Elain curled up on the steps next to Nyota looking up at the stars.

"Big brother, tell me another story about the stars." Elain looks up expectantly.

"Hmmmmm another one?" Nyota looked up at the stars and thought.

"Well as we know, sometimes stars like to visit us here and gift us with their presence as special people. Just like you my little star." Elain lets out a little giggle and snuggles even closer. "But do you know about the greatest adventurer that ever lived? He was a star person just like you. Every time he visited a town, they say all the monsters fled and the whole town seemed to glow brighter than normal. They say he slayed every monster and that when he died, he was welcomed back home as a star."

"Do you think we'll become stars one day?" Elaine lets out a big yawn and Nyota picks her up to takes her back inside.

"Hopefully not for a long time nitya elewe." Nyota tucks Elain in bed and lays down in his own bed next to her. Just a few moments later they both nod off and dream of the stars.

This warm cozy life has lasted for three more years. Without much conflict Elain grew and continued to work in the castle and Nyota continued in his service as a lady's maid, even as he trained as a warrior at night. The two would speak of leaving the castle when Nyota turned twenty and could legally adopt Elain and pay off her slave debt. That year was this year. Nyota had just turned twenty and Elaine was ten. It was the year they would finally reach freedom.

In the spring of this year on a notably warm day Nyota was attending to The Lady of the castle when a fellow Lady's maid came to him. "Nyota you must come quickly. It's Elain."

Dropping the clothing he had been carrying, Nyota ran to the front of the house where The Lady was yelling and kicking at something on the floor. In just a moment Nyota registered that the small body being kicked was Elain, and that she wasn't moving. Quickly he ran over and covered her body with his own, bearing the brunt of kicks from The Lady.

"What do you think you're doing you disgusting filth!" The Lady kicked Nyota several more times before someone was able to calm her down.

"My lady we apologize I'm sure she meant no harm," Nyota looks up at her and sees she is covered in what appeared to be her mid-day meal.

"This beast has destroyed my favorite dress and you say she meant no harm?" She glares down at them before turning to another lady's maid. "Get this filth away from here and bring me a new dress." She walks off back into the house leaving them behind.

Relieved now that The Lady is gone, Nyota looks down at Elaine.

"Elain?" Nyota looks over her body and sees that her clothes are torn and there is a large gash on forehead that is bleeding profusely. It's clear the beating had gone on for a while before he had arrived.

"Little star?" He picked up Elain and sat with her cradled in his arms. "Hey, now's not the time to be sleeping." After there was no response reality began to set in and panic started to fill Nyota's voice. "Elain! Listen you have to wake up and tell me you're okay."

Elain's body lay limp and cold in his arms. Gut wrenching sobs began to well up from his chest and Nyota hugged her close to his body. His little star was gone at the age of ten and nothing would ever console him.

The next few days were a blur as Elain's body was taken from him and burned. Servants were not permitted to have funerals so there were no tears shed over a coffin or a gathering of family and friends. Just a little girl cremated alone with no one there to mourn for her.

Nyota, now that the wave of grief had left him long enough for anger to sink in, began to formulate a plan. Not a week had gone by before in the dead of night he grabbed a bag with his few belongings, his glaive, and set off. His first stop would be to see the house of The Lady.

At this time of night she would be sound asleep, and her lady's maids would be outside her door. They wouldn't expect anyone else to be using the servants' entrance. Nyota snuck in and pulled a dagger from his belt. Before a scream could be heard Nyota grabbed The Lady from behind and covered her mouth. Her screams became too muffled to be heard.

"Don't worry my lady, I'm not going to kill you. That would be too merciful for you. Instead, I'll be taking the thing you value most in this world." Nyota took his dagger and ever so slowly cut it across her left cheek. The cut ran from the side of her nose all the way to the edge of her jaw. The cut was just deep enough that even the best surgeon they found wouldn't be able to stop it from scaring.

"Let my father know this is my parting gift to him." Nyota quickly put her in a choke hold just long enough for her to pass out before escaping back out of the servants' entrance.

Not daring to look back Nyota quickly ran for the stables to collect Dawa, his father's pegasus, which he had been secretly caring for all these years. He mounted Dawa and rode as fast as he could in whatever direction he faced first.

For many days Nyota dared not stop for fear of his father's men finding him, but on the third day after his escape he stopped in the first town outside the reach of his father's territory. In this town there is a small church with a graveyard for humans. After some convincing the cleric of the church agreed to allow Nyota to purchase a tombstone and a plot even if there was no body to burry there. Now, at this little church, in this little town, in this little graveyard, can be found a tombstone that simply reads:

                                              Elain Za

                                         Nitya Elenwe