It was well known among the staff of the Vallière estate, that it was forbidden to enter into the basement of the estate. Why it was forbidden; the staff didn't know. That unknown caused rumors to surface. Some of the more innocent tales said that it was probably where they stored their most valuable treasure. Family heirlooms that are centuries old. Then there were the slightly more insidious rumors; that the Vallière were keeping a vampire or other unnatural creature down there. The more outrageous stories, the ones that were only whispered about in the servants quarters, were that the Vallière kept Commoner women down there.
The only ones who really knew the truth were the Duke and Duchess Vallière. Nobody was allowed near the door that lead to the basement. To even try to approach it was enough for Duchess Vallière to provide punishment. Naturally the punishment was harsh.
When the servants weren't gossiping about the unknown basement, they were talking about the youngest daughter of the Vallière. At the age of six, she still had no ability to cast magic. The servants always gossiped about how she would probably be exiled, made a Commoner like they were. It was a vindictive sort of pleasure that they got imagining the young girl having to work as hard with calloused hands as they were.
Not even the Duke and Duchess knew what to do with her. They were unsure if they should marry her off, or if they would have to exile her. Louise, the youngest of the Vallière, overheard them discussing their youngest child's magical future. Or lack thereof and how to deal with the undesirable situation. She was normally overlooked because of her small frame and diminutive nature letting her fade into the background. Not in the least thanks to her long since having picked up on the grief it caused whenever someone took notice of her failures. It allowed her to hear plenty of rumors and often things that no six year old girl should really hear.
Hearing her parents talk about her like that had shattered what resolve the little girl held on to. Like children her age tended to, she wanted her parents to dote and fawn over her. She wanted them to tell her that they loved her, that she was good enough in their eyes as she was. That she did well.
Louise waited in place until her mother and father had gone to bed. Sure the guards roamed the halls, but the sneaky little girl knew all the secret chambers and had long since memorised the guard schedules as well as to how to exploit gaps in them. She was lacking in magical ability, not smarts!
Moving as quiet as a mouse, she weaved through the hallways, until finally she reached her destination.
The door to the basement was imposing. Constructed out of massive wood and covered all over in heavy wrought-iron reminiscent of some of the fortress gates she remembered from trips with her mother.
To Louise it was as if a dragon standing guard over its lair, looming high over her small stature. With a gulp of conviction Louise stretched her small hands out to the door, touching the knob. She twisted it and pushed with all her weight, the door giving way with an eerie creek as it slowly swung open. Stairs descended further down into the unfathomable darkness. Young Louise swallowed, hesitating for a moment, before pulling a lantern from her belt.
With the light casting shadows on the wall, she descended. Step by step, she grew closer to the bottom. A cold chill seemed to be in the air but Louise ignored it. When she finally reached the bottom, she was met with a strange sight. It was another door. But this time a stone door even larger than before and by the looks of it thousands of years old. An ethereal glow came from runes that had been etched onto the door.
Runes that she barely recognized despite the pride she took in her studies as her magic failed her. Recognizing a similarity here and there, maybe, but by and large just adding to a jumbled mess of indecipherable signs.
What she could understand where the images carved into the spaces in between that she took notice of as soon as she leaned in in closer examination and bathed them in the light of her lone lantern.
Now illuminated by more than the ambient light of the pulsing runes, strangely enticing magic her young mind noted, she could recognize a mural, similar to the tapestries her family had in their halls, depicting a hooded man and woman standing together against attackers of some sort.
The next one stole her breath though. A woman running through another man with a sword. And by the halo depicted above his head he was a holy man, albeit one that Louise could not recognize. What she did see were the elven ears depicted on the women. Just what was it about these doors that made her family this secretive?
Louise, now even more curious reached out for the door. The moment her hand touched the smooth stone, the runes suddenly winked out and with a grinding that was sure to awaken the entire estate; the door swung outward on its own accord. A warm musty air blew into Louise's face, causing the little girl to scrunch her nose up.
Slowly she traipsed into the room. Louise looked around, and heard chain rattling. She brought the lantern forward, to find herself facing a blond haired woman.
"A Human child?" The woman questioned, dull eyes staring at Louise. Her blond hair was a nearly impossible length, spread out through the entire length of the room and then curling up on itself. The chains rattle again as the woman closes her eyes and leans her head back against the ancient stone wall. "No, your just another hallucination." She whispered.
Louise could only tilt her head cutely. Were the servants right in the fact that her mother and father kept women in the basement. She observed the woman's face, before her eyes trailed to the long pointed ears. She could only gasp., nearly dropping the lantern.
"An Elf?!"
The woman gave a slightly bemused smirk. "You're the first hallucination that's scared that I'm an Elf." She says. She opened her eyes to observe Louise, who could only stare in wide eyed shock. "Unless..." She mused to herself. A smile, not entirely sane, stretched across her face. A chuckle spewed forth from her lips, before it became a full blown laugh.
Louise, now over the fact that an Elf was in her parents basement was wondering what was so funny. And it must have shown on her face.
The Elf stopped laughing, grin still wide on her face. Louise could only yelp when the elf lunged at her, picking her up in her arms. And then she was kissed. It was a peck, a quick one, one that had Louise making a face. She reached up, pushing the insane Elf away from her.
"Thank you, thank you!" The woman shouted in joy. She halted in her jubilation when she felt a familiar burning sensation return. She looked down at her hand still resting on a struggling ineffectively with pushing her away Louise's shoulder, finding herself surprised at the rune, that damning rune, retraced. She glanced back over to the little girl, her eyes narrowing. "You, you're a..." She didn't finish her sentence.
She couldn't really blame the child. Not ruly, as it was her own fault for doing something as impulsive as kissing anyone when she knew the meaning. But still, the fact that the Gandalfr runes had been inscribed on her skin again, told her all she needed to know about who set her free, and how she accomplished it, only for her to put on new chains all by herself.
She felt like laughing in hysteria, or crying. Then promptly resolved to do neither. Had certainly enough of that in the past… however long it was. Instead there were important matters for her to attend to!
"You, what's your name?" The elf woman questioned.
"L-Louise." The little girl told her.
"Well Louise thank you for freeing me from that insufferable prison. Did you know that all these stone bricks were cut the exact same way and set in a very specific pattern? But that the stonemason did make tiny mistakes like how the third one from the left in the fourth row has two scratched?" The elf stared at Louise for an answer with intimidating intensity. Only continuing with a prideful laugh at Louise's hesitant nod once she did spot the marks after looking closely.
"Kept me occupied for some time to find all the little flaws in the craftsmanship they thought nobody would ever notice in a lifetime! Shows you how long I've been trapped in here... I think it has been..." She trailed off wistfully to think about it. "I have actually no idea. Damn them for not giving me a sundial!
Yet just as quickly as the fury burst fore it abated again. Banished in favor of more productive and important thoughts. "I could go for some food though. Something sweet maybe. How long has it been since I've eaten?" She shrugged, not really caring about the small details. "Eh, I'll figure it out later." She turned to look back at Louise. The wide smile returning to her face.
'This Elf is crazy.' Louise thought. 'And rude, she still hasn't told me her name either.' The Elf suddenly picked Louise up, striding out of the room and up the stairs in ground eating steps. "Put me down!" The child demanded. The elf woman didn't listen, just grinning and humming to herself all the while.
She moved through the hallways like a ghost, somehow avoiding the guards despite not knowing them as Louise did. Finally they had somehow arrived at the kitchen, though how the rude elf knew where to find them was beyond Louise. Leftovers from the dinner tonight, having been left out. Louise was dropped and the elf flung herself at the food. She stuffed her mouth, before grabbing a glass of wine from the counter, drained it, before simply throwing it behind her.
All the while, Louise could only stare in horror. And then it dawned on her. "Mother is going to kill me!" The six year old shouted.
"This fruit is delectable." The elf says, ignoring Louise's blight.
"WHO ARE YOU!?" Louise shouted, her mind finally starting to overload.
The elf swallowed, before putting down the leg of some bird. "Me?" The woman questioned. She tilted her head, as if nobody had ever asked her that question before. "Hmm," the hum irked the young Vallière.
"I'm Sasha."
Author's Note
This came about because I haven't seen anybody do Sasha at all. Anyways, leave a review and tell me what you guys think.