Lilind was bored. She hated stitching, and she had been confined to the tapestry room for hours, doing just that. She had tried making conversation with some of the maids, but her governess believed it would distract them from stitching, causing them to make mistakes- Lilind had spent more time undoing her mistakes than the stitches themselves- so she sat there in silence. It had been this way since she was a girl of six. Eleven years had done nothing to make in easier to deal with. In fact, the intervening years, and the adding of the dreaded corset to her wardrobe, had only served to add to the restrictive feeling. Some days it was too overwhelming, and she felt like she would scream. That was when she took a deep breath, and counted the days until the Festival of the Harvest.
The Festival of the Harvest took place in the begining of the cold months every year, just as the leaves began to fall off of the trees. The whole town of Coran Pass would be abuzz, with all of the farmers bringing their wares to town, and travelers coming from all over the land to buy and sell goods. There would be a parade and sweets given out to the children, and bonfires every night for a forenight. The preists gave special services in thanks to Pelor, and the bells were rung. But Lilind's favorite part of the festival was the gypsies that came into town.
They were a ragtag group who worshiped Fharlanghn. A mix of humans, elves, dwarves, and halflings, they always came with stories and trinkets. Some were simply travelers, migrating with a larger group for saftey. A few were story tellers, and some were truely gypsies, but they were mostly adventurers who made their way through the land, looking for treasure and glory. They had been coming through Coran Pass for the Festival every year since before Lilind was born, and they always had the best stories and neat little treasures. But most importantly, they had Palad.
Palad was an elf with the greenest eyes Lilind had ever seen. The first time she had met him was the year she turned twelve. She had snuck out of sight of her governess while they were in the town, and she found their encampment set up. He had caught her attention right away. He was very tall, and his waxy skin belied his age, making him seem no older than his twenties. He had noticed her too.
"Someone is going to be very worried that you have wandered off," he had told her. She looked at him, surprised. Everyone always addressed her as 'my lady'. He sat down with her by the fire and told her stories of this travles. He pulled a small necklace out of his pocket and put int aroud her neck. It had a tiny wagon charm on.
"Think about me when you wear it," he said. She had thanked him, and had time to do little else before a tight hand closed around her upper arm.
"My lady, where have you been?" demanded her governess, Haode. Not waiting for an answer, she puller her along, not once acknowledging the presence of the elf. Lilind looked over her shoulder at him and he winked. She had been going back to see him every year since.