"Alya! Alya, are you alright?" Kristlen ran to her friend who was sitting motionless against the side of the shed, the place they slept.
"l heard what they were doing to you…"
"Kristlen, i'm fine." she replied calmly, a lost reverie was in her voice.
"…l don't understand, they said they saw mistress carry you away…" the elder said, confusion lacing her voice.
"…Mistress… is not herself… l do not understand what has happened but she has changed."
"What…?" Kristlen asked, utterly lost. What had happened? "Alya, what did she do to you?"
"Nothing…she only spoke to me… She was almost kind."
"Alya," Kristlen warned, for she knew from her experience, that humans were not, from what whatever fantasy world, kind.
"You don't trust her, do you?"
"…Kristlen, you weren't there. she was… Not the same woman." Alya stuttered, she was looking down.
"Alya… How can you say that… after, after what she did to you?" Kristlen asked furiously, in her mind she could see what had happened to her less than a year ago.
The whip flashing down repeatedly on her friend, no, not friend, sister. Leaving her gasping in pain… blood flowing as she and Adrien were held back.
"l can not explain it, you would not believe me, anyway." Alya muttered as she leaned against the shed.
Kristlen sat beside her as the smaller elf laid her head on her shoulder.
"Why do you trust Willaan?" Alya asked suddenly.
Kristlen glared at her, they had an unspoken agreement to never speak of her love.
She instantly looked sorry but continued nonetheless.
"How do you know that he will not betray you?"
"…Because… l, l love him… And he… he loves me and l know he would never do that. It is in his eyes."
"And yet you do not trust me when l say l have a bond with Marinette? That she may have changed?"
Kristlen sighed.
"Marinette may have changed, she may have. But it's one chance in a million."
Alya got a bit defensive.
"So you don't believe me? You say l lie!?"
"No! l… l just don't know if she's doing anything to your mind or…"
"Doing anything to my mind!?"
Alya was mad.
"She is doing nothing of the kind!"
Kristlen jumped up.
"Oh! I'm so sorry for being CONCERNED about your well being!"
"You shouldn't be! I am completely responsible for MYSELF!" Alya screamed.
"You are little more than a child! I can't trust you to go to bed when you come in from the fields, let alone be RESPONSIBLE for yourself!"
That did it. That pushed Alya over the edge.
"Little more than a child!? At least I do not steal from the kitchens, knowing l will be beaten as you have, if caught!"
"I do it to survive!"
"You do it to be reckless!"
Kristlen clenched her fists.
"You have no right to judge my actions."
"You have no right to judge my friends!"
"FRIENDS!? You call that, that human a FRIEND!? After what she did to you!?"
"She's more of a friend than you're being!"
"Oh, i'm sorry! l thought you liked being safe!"
Kristlen stormed out, leaving a fuming Alya.
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Morning came as Marinette reluctantly slept, the sight of her friend's mangled body was not a calming thing to remember.
She pulled on her clothing hesitantly, was she just going to accept this for the time being?
She supposed all she could do was help the elves now, that seemed most important.
"Lady Marinette." Alya pushed opened the door carrying the tray just as she had the previous morning.
"Alya…" she breathed as she quickly took the tray she carried and set it upon the night table.
"…Did you sleep alright?" the elf asked.
"Alya… Come here." Marinette gestured for her to sit.
Marinette wanted to hug her tight as she saw the sadness that always lingered in her eyes.
She sat down reluctantly, and as far away from Marinette s she possibly could.
"You still doubt me…" the human said softly.
"i'm sorry…" Alya said as she tried to edge closer, guilt creeping in.
"No… no l do not blame you for it." Marinette told her. "You must be hungry."
Marinette offered her some of the food and Alya looked at her doubtfully.
It seemed she had never been offered anything like this before.
Marinette lifted the drink and sipped it, then handed the glass to Alya.
"Go on, it's not poisoned."
She placed her lips hesitantly on the brim and took a sip as well, a bit of the whitish foam sticking to her top lip, she brushed it away.
Alya laughed lightly, and Marinette could feel her heart lifting, she had not heard her friend's enchanting laugh since she had arrived in… whatever this place was.
"…Thank, thank you." Alya stuttered, letting her guard down a bit.
"Think nothing of it, all l did was give you a drink."
Alya's hair, though dirty, seemed to sparkle in the morning light.
Marinette motioned for her to turn around as she began braiding, Alya trembled a little but said nothing as she allowed the human to play with her hair.
Marinette concentrated on the delicate braid, Alya, the old Alya, had taught her some traditional elven styles.
"Mistress Marinette…" she began softly. "l still do not understand… Why are you so good to me?"
"Because, you… you are my friend." she replied hesitantly, too afraid to say more.
"In this place you come from…" She continued. "…l was your equal?"
"No," Marinette whispered, Alya's eyes faltered and she looked down.
"l was hardly your equal, you were my princess."
Alya gave an unbelieving chuckle, her innocence made Marinette's heart feel a bit lighter.
"Was l very different?" she asked gently.
Marinette shook her head, starting the next braid.
"You were just as pretty, just as kind." Marinette whispered, Alya's face paled and she turned slightly away.
Marinette knew that 'she' must have harmed her in the past, and now it was hard for the elf to receive a compliment from her.
"You were saying… That my kin were not slaves but… Your equals?" she asked, her face lighting up with hope.
"Yes… Your kind was free as the eagle that often flies over the river near here to catch its prey." Marinette said quietly, Alya was smiling now, fuller than she had seen in a while.
"And the two kindreds lived in peace." Marinette assured her.
Alya seemed to be in a dream as she tilted her head up towards the ceiling and sighed.
"It sounds like a dream…" she added softly.
Marinette knew knew she still did not trust her, but she had to convince the elf somehow.
"Alya… l remember, you had a fear of spiders ever since you were little…" Marinette aid.
Alya froze and turned towards her. "How do you know?
"…When you were small, a spider bit you on the heal of your left foot, just below the ankle. You almost died. And l remember you would always eat the outside of your bread, in a circle almost, and then work your way to the center…"
CRASH.
The glass Alya was holding slipped from her grip and shattered on the floor.
"I'm sorry," she said, jumping up nervously.
Marinette could see her whole body shaking in fear, or disbelief.
The elf quickly knelt down to clean the broken glass and spilled liquid.
"Alya, leave it… it's all right." Marinette said, offering her hands to help her up.
"How… How could you know?" Only Kristlen knew her eating habits, she was not the type to talk about these things either.
Her trembling brown eyes looked up to the blue ones.
Everything she had said was true, her fear of spiders, the way she ate…
"Would you like to know more?" Marinette asked, the elf shook her head.
Alya hadn't realized that she was still holding onto a few shards of glass in her hands and one had pricked her finger.
Blood was trailing slowly down her arm but she paid it no mind.
Marinette, however, lifted her hand and gently forced the glass piece out and tended to the cut.
This gentle girl was not her Lady Marinette, she couldn't be.
"Every time… you would get embarrassed, the tips of your ears would get so rosy…" Marinette said with a winning smile.
The elf looked down, the human was right again.
Alya had believed that she was only fooling around, but here she knew everything about her.
How was that possible?
Marinette saw her friend, trembling, unsure, scared, and she couldn't help herself anymore.
She gave her an enveloping hug.
At first, Alya thought it felt nice to be held by someone who really seemed to care, Kristlen had never hugged her like this.
Come to think of it, she'd never hugged her at all.
But then all the horrible memories came flooding back, the blood, the pain, everything.
"STOP IT!" The elf screamed, pulling forcefully away.
Marinette stared at the elf, then understood.
"I'm sorry," the human said, running her fingers through her dark hair.
"You just looked so scared…"
She never got a chance to finish.
Alya was already gone.
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Kristlen was mad, to put it lightly.
She was glad she was scrubbing floors, instead of, say, polishing fine dishes.
Most probably, she would have shattered a few by now.
But the floor, the floor was where she could take her anger and put it to use.
Her fingers were raw, and her back was sore, but through the haze of her mindset, she didn't notice.
Every stroke with the cloth brought the tiles a bit cleaner, but they were never clean enough.
When Kristlen thought about what had happened between her and Kharelis the day before, her blood boiled.
She had done how much to keep her safe?
To ensure her survival?
And this is what all of her work gets her?
She splashed her rag into the bucket of water.
If thoughts could kill, Hanala would have been dead right then.
How dare she attempt to befriend Kharelis after what she had done?
After what she had done to all of them?
The murders, the beatings, the starvations, the pure hatred that Hanala had encouraged?
Every accusation she added made her vision more blurry, her strokes harder, her mind less aware.
The blood rushed in her ears as the list repeated itself.
Murderer.
Punisher.
Elf hater.
Royal.
Kristlen's list got longer, and the words continued to fly.
Heathen.
Slaver.
Kidnapper.
Royal.
Vulgar.
Vandal.
Thief.
Child abuser.
Royal.
Elf hater.
Royal.
Royal!
CRASH.
Kristlen stopped as she realized she had knocked over her bucket.
"Wretched Marinette. Now she's even messing with my work." She muttered, moving to clean up the spill.
She was stopped by a hand with an iron grip.
"What did you say about my sister?" the King whispered.
Kristlen cursed herself.
"What did you hear, Master?" she asked.
There was a low laugh that echoed through the empty room.
"Don't play your games with me, little slave. l heard you call my sister a wretch. And a few other things, thief, child abuser, elf hater among them."
Kristlen cursed herself a second time, she had said those things out loud.
"Well… l suppose you weren't completely wrong."
The elf looked up in shock at the King.
"She is an elf hater, l raised her right. But you, little filth, have no right to insult her. You are not worthy to lick the mud from her boots with that miserable little tongue of yours." He said cooly.
Kristlen's heart began to pound, this would not end well.
"l. Love. My. Sister. The gods blessed me with her to overcome the grief over the death of my father. You will not tarnish her name because she punished a lazy slave or destroyed a worthless tool."
Kristlen wanted to vomit, 'destroyed a worthless tool' was the same as 'murdered an injured slave'.
And he insulted her more by mentioning the gods of the humans.
"There is ONE God, and he did not bless this earth with Hanala, but cursed it!" she shouted, not able to keep her peace any longer.
The King paused.
"Oh, little slave. Words have consequences. And you're about to get yours."
Kristlen felt a searing pain as a hand grabbed her hair and pulled her along by it.
All she could do was pray.
Hello hello hello! Thank you to everyone who has kept up with me through this! It's my first story and I'm new to the world of fanfic. I hope to update at least once per week. :) I have a question, though. What do you think should happen next?
A)Marinette and Kristlen meet
B)Willaan confronts Marinette
C)Alya talks to Adrien
D)DEATHHHHHHHH!
Thank you.