Men & Monsters

Shadows on the Wall

Eira had been sent back down to the servants' quarters for supper, where she sipped on rusty brown broth that had lost its flavor. Trying to mimic more proper butlers and maids, with her back straight while eating, she found herself losing her meal with every scoop as it simply poured back into the bowl or onto her apron. Those who eyed her simply snickered amongst themselves, when Eira felt her cheeks grow rosy. She couldn't help but wonder what life back at home was like. Images of her mother crying and her father sending search parties out for her came first, followed by more tender thoughts.

With her disappearance, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe Awel was thinking of her. Married though he was, Eira still cared for him, more than any man she had before. It was simply that Adelae got to him first. She sighed when she rested her head on her hand. Her first and certainly most painful heartbreak. Though never one to dabble in hopelessly romantic thoughts, she still cursed their addictive qualities.

Thoughts poured in one after another as she lazily spun her spoon in the soup, forcing her to sift through them like garbage. Everything from when to escape, or better yet, how, as well as of her home and what she would enjoy more once she got back to it, from the comfort in it to the smells she had grown so used to inside. Perhaps this was what she deserved. Perhaps the Coffin Spawn had drained her of any more luck, and then came a feeling that made her stomach drop. What if she was to be here forever? Perhaps life as Susan's personal maid wouldn't be so bad. Aside from some questionable opinions, the princess was pleasant, and so long as she did as she was told and kept her head down, General Tanner might not find her. Was it okay to be content with this? Eira didn't want to think so, yet having seen what these people had built from stone and wood, and the fearsome weapons and armor of the knights, she simply didn't want to imagine what they were capable of if they wanted to hurt her.

No, she thought defiantly as she stood straight once again. She had to get home. Servitude wasn't the life she wanted for herself. Negative thoughts were forcefully flooded out by inspiration. Fantasies played out of her escaping in the stillness of the night. Whenever one scenario ran into an obstacle, such as the guards standing watch at the numerous gates from the city to the castle, Eira imagined how she might be able to distract them or sneak past. These seemed daring, but so far she could come up with little else. Though farfetched, she found one that made her heart race. Giant! Perhaps he would come rescue her. She smiled as she entertained the idea in her head. He certainly had the size to do so, and a penchant for finding her while she was in trouble. With the followers he spoke of, these pampered snobs wouldn't know what hit them. It would serve to be a little inspiration to her, no matter how unlikely. Smiling, she looked up when a rather unspectacular guard walked in.

With a surprised wail a butler was dragged out of the cafeteria into the main hall. The guard, holding nothing more but a thin rod, began to beat him over and over with it. Suddenly everything in the servant chambers ceased and turned to watch the spectacle.

"You find it funny to insult Her Highness in such a way?" The guard shouted. "To slip ink into her meals and embarrass her before the court?" The butler replied only with cries and pleas when his oppressor stopped. With another hard slap across the face, the butler, his clothes shredded and bloodied, panted on the floor when others swarmed in to help him. The guard held his weapon out toward the others around him. "Let this remind you not to test the Royalty's patience. You are far too easily replaceable."

Eira was petrified.

She had to leave. She had to get out. No longer did the fantasies in her head suffice. Wiping the sides of her mouth off with her apron, the girl promptly stood up and walked out, on past the servants helping the injured butler and into the laundry room. Her green cloak was all she wanted, and amongst the piles upon piles of royal clothes there, green wasn't too hard to find. With a leap she bound from one pile to another, hoping to catch the color in such dim light. Ah-ha! At the very bottom of one pile was a folded green cloak, and as she pulled up the massive stack, she found it to be a tunic studded with jewels.