You're an idiot. Dakasi thoughts told her.
I know... Dakasi assured herself internally.
Dakasi was laying in bed with a foolish smile. Her cheeks were full of colour, and her muscles were relaxed. She stared fondly at the woman beside her, admiring Kantori as she slept beside her. But if this is idiocy... It may just be worth it. She thought with a content sigh. If you say so. Her thoughts replied in disapproval. But you know you don't deserve it.
Her smile fell at that thought, and an uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach.
Perhaps I'm being too hard on myself. She suggested internally. You traumatized several people before sending them off to be treated like Live Stock. Her thoughts reminded her. I'm aware. However, I was simply doing my job. Dakasi justified. A job you actively worked towards? Knowing what it'd require? You could have just stayed a Princess, a true innocent bystander. You actively served the King with your own selfish intentions. Her thoughts criticized. Famar and myself would be dead if I hadn't earned my father's approval. Dakasi defended. And why are your lives more important than the many people you've harmed? Why should you get to be happy like this whilst they rot away and breed in an institute or as a servant?
Dakasi groaned, and hid her face in her pillow. She knew her thoughts were right. That she didn't deserve to have Kantori lay beside her. Kantori had so much faith in her. So much unjustified faith. It didn't make any sense to Dakasi. How could Kantori be so confident in every decision she made? No matter how practical, or how naive? She honestly hadn't the slightest clue whether Kantori was intelligent or ignorant. She couldn't even figure out the same for herself.
What does it mean to be ignorant? Her thoughts inquired.
What an odd question... but since sleep failed her, Dakasi decided to entertain it.
Ignorance... Ignorance is to purposely ignore information that conflicts with your already established beliefs. That's why ignorance is bliss. You never have to question your judgement or the people you trust. You can stay in your comfort zone and never venture into the unknown. You can rely on a routine, and never question if everything you're doing is wrong. You can believe in concepts such as good or evil, and believe you're on the side of good. You can believe in concepts such as time, and think: "Okay, if I finish this task in five minutes, I'll arrive on time to the party." Without knowing that everyone else has, for some odd reason, decided they would be an hour late. Ignorance is harmful because, by assuming everything you currently know is right, you might enter an empty party, and get cross with the host for giving you the wrong time. Of course, this is a poor example. Because that's the fault of the other guests, not the person in the example or the party's host.
Dakasi closed her eyes, and tried to come up with a better metaphor.
Ignorance is harmful because if you believe everything you know is right, and you are the good while others are bad, attacking the 'bad ones' can lead to actually harming a person that hasn't done anything wrong. Even if they did something wrong, is it fair to lash out at others? Why should people be sorted into categories of good or bad? It makes no sense. A good person can do bad things. A bad person can do good things. And they will. And they'll have a way to justify their actions to themselves. My father, for example. He believes he's protecting us from getting wiped out completely from the Empire. He just doesn't believe anyone but him should have the right to choose that fate.
Perhaps that's the real danger of ignorance. It's fine to be ignorant. Everyone is at one point or another. It's only when that ignorance is so strong, that you believe everyone should think the way you do. When you're so determined that your perspective of life is the only one that can or should exist. Which is an extreme, I'll admit, and I could be wrong.
It would be ignorant of me to assume I'm entirely correct in my perspective.
YOU ARE READING
Dakasi Winters: The Vampire Queen
Vampire"You'll pay for keeping me captive here. When my father finds me, you'll be forced to watch all your friends die in front of you, before finally you're granted the mercy of an execution." Dakasi threatened. She pulled at the chains that held her wri...
