Author's Note: My first fanfic in like 5 years. Neat. If you have seen my older stories, I only apologize but then again, I was a kid back then. Anyway, they're gone so, probably no one has seen them. With that said, after all these years, I have gotten better at writing so, this one should be much more enjoyable. I hope you guys enjoy this story.
Hunger. I wake up with it, and I sleep with it. I'm constantly hungry. It's not like I can just go to the kitchen and get some food. The head chef would catch me and I'd get lashes from my mistress. I get only enough water and bread to stay alive. Good enough, I guess.
Oh, I guess I should introduce myself, shouldn't I? My name is Hlideth. I'm a 14 year old Altmer. Now, with that said, you'd expect me to be the definition of elegant. With perfect poise and grace. A stunning intellect and a seductive beauty. Oh no, not I. I'm an orphan, the lowest dreg of High Elven society. Something unwanted by everyone and only kept around due to minimal usefulness. If I ever lose said usefulness, I'd surely be cast out by my master and mistress, something I wouldn't mind at all to be frank. From what I can tell, they seem to be an important bureaucratic family with strong ties to the Thalmor, the people apparently in charge of the Isles. I don't know. They never tell me anything. They picked me up off the streets when I was 5. I thought they'd be kind people and well, I guess they are. For snobby rich High Elves, I mean. All I'm expected to do is clean and attend to whatever else they need.
With that being said, it is time for my chores. I get up from my bed, and get dressed. I have a small room which is essentially an unused broom closet big enough to fit a small, lumpy old bed. At least it's better than nothing I suppose. I put on a plain dress and put my golden hair in a bun. Looking presentable as I can, I leave my closet. As soon as I do- "HLIDETH!", a shrillish yell calls out to me. It's my mistress. Altmer faces are usually yellowed but, her face was burning a bright red. "Where is my gold-sapphire necklace?!", she questions me. "I- I don't know…", I reply meekly. I've always disliked talking to her. She's always so cruel. I already know how this will turn out. She'll blame me, I'll get lashes and no food for the day. "Yes you do! YOU stole it! Didn't you?!" Just as I said.
My back sears in pain as I walk. Getting lashes is the worst start of any day. Not only that, I have a bunch of chores to do. This is going to be painful.
The first thing up on my list is the dining room. Which is huge by the way. The house in general is pretty big. Apparently my master's influence in state comes with a large paycheck. Everything is adorned with that famous Altmeri gold and glass embellishments. Along the walls are paintings of old High Elven nobles that I guess were the forefathers of this family. Stuffy old people with egos too big for themselves, I guess. The table is very long and beautifully decorated. They really do like to make everything so extravagant. With that said, it's my job to polish the table. It's gonna take a while so, I might as well day dream. I think it's obvious that I don't like it here. I would kill to leave this place as soon as possible. When I come of age, I swear I will run away and forge my own path, doing whatever I please. No more chores, no more hunger, no more lashings. Just freedom.
After I get done with the dining room, my next job is to polish the floor of the grand hall. With my previous lashing, cleaning the table was hard enough. Now I have to clean this massive floor by myself. The hall is even more ornate than the dining room. I guess since this is the first thing anyone sees once they enter the house, they really want to make a strong impression. Seems kind of desperate to me. The central attraction and the jewel of the household is the statue of Auri-El. Apparently, it cost more than the entire house. Just how do they get all of that money? I know they're rich but, just how rich are they?
My thoughts are interrupted by the opening of the front doors. My master is talking to a woman wearing black and gold robes. She must be a part of the Thalmor. I've seen some of them visit before while cleaning. This time seems different though. They're being followed by a bunch of soldiers, all wearing a matching set of golden armor. I eavesdrop as i clean. "No, wait! You cannot do this. This is unacceptable!", my master says in a desperate tone. The woman with him scoffs, "Don't play dumb. We know that you have been pocketing money from the public trust fund and are guilty for tax evasion". She takes a glimpse of the Auri-El statue. "I can see where all that money has all gone to now". "So what are you gonna do; arrest me?" "No. By the decree of the Thalmor of the Third Aldmeri Dominion, you are hereby exiled from the Summerset Isles. Your relocation will be decided in the court of law and all of your assets will be confiscated." The woman says this all plainly and clearly, without a hint of emotion.
So, if they were to leave, what would happen to me? I have nowhere else to go. No family. No friends. No one. By the gods; what in oblivion am I gonna do? I can't leave now! I haven't even reached maturity yet. At this point, I've completely stopped my cleaning. I stared at the woman and my master in horror. But then, something got into me. At this point, nothing they'd say matters anymore. They're criminals in exile now. I can say whatever I want to them now! I have freedom now!
I stand. My master notices me and starts to yell, "Mind your own business girl and keep cleaning!" All the anger I've suppressed up to this point boils over. I don't care anymore. I shout, "SHUT UP!" My voice thunders out with a force only seen in legends. My master and the women are blown away by my voice. "All this time, I've been treated so terribly for no reason! You barely gave me any food, treated me worse than the dirt on the ground, beat me for any asinine reason! Why?! Why would you do this for me?!", I scream. My voice makes the room quake, but with much less force than my initial shout.
While recovering from my first blast, my master, with all of the venom he could muster, says to me, "You insolent cur! I give you a home and this is how you repay me?" The other woman simply gets herself up and moves towards me. "You can't be… How can this be…?", she mutters to herself. There was no fear in her voice, only curiosity. Her hand starts glowing a white color. Is that magic? I've heard of it but, I've never seen it in person before. But why is she using it? Is she gonna hurt me? I back away slowly. But she keeps walking forward. She reaches out her hand towards me and a white blast of that magic shoots at me. The force of the blast knocks me down.
I start to feel weaker. My vision blurs in and out. I hear voices but, I can't make them out. I feel drained and lose the will to keep consciousness. I black out for gods knows how long. What I wake up to would not be very inviting for me.