Ezner listened dutifully. But what was meaningful to him? Was there anything? Elisabeth, of course, Faith, obviously. But was there anything else? Anything that wasn't a person? Ezner's eyes showed the sad confusion when nothing came to mind. Of course there was nothing else meaningful. Slaves' only value is their connection to their owners. He'd only just become a person. He had no good memories, he had nothing of importance to him.

All he had was the tattoo, the scars, the memories. 

And where her storming eyes found his, there was just deep, endless pain. There weren't tears to accompany them, simply a view into the soul of someone who hadn't even existed an arc ago, and knew it. And all he could whisper out was, [b]"I'll try."[/b] 

He was quieter now. He was still so exhausted from all the trials of fitful sleep, and while he loved talking with Elisabeth, as she was the only one he did so, his anxiety of what was to come only made him grow more silent. The more tired he became, the more anxious he became, the more he slipped back into the habits he'd carried his entire life.

Now that they were in front of his house though, he just felt so small. And then her firm hand squeeze cut through the silence in his head. He took a deep breath. And then another. And another. As he did every single trial when he came home from work. Only this time, he wasn't alone. His other hand began to move up toward his neck, and he caught it, elbow raised high. Keeping his eyes closed, he squeezed her hand firmly back. This feeling, these two hands, giving each other strength, was what he focused on. This feeling, the feeling of her hands on his neck, these feelings were what he wanted to hold onto. And his hand dropped back down, reaching out for the knob.

The door swung open on creaking hinges, into a small entryway. Ezner opened his eyes, stepping across the threshold, pulling Elisabeth along with him into the entryway. There was no carpeted floor or rug to greet them, nor brilliant chandelier. The house was beautifully crafted but it was fairly abandoned of adornment. Ezner's heart began to race, and he began to start pulling on her hand more insistently his pace looking to meet his pulse. He just wanted to keep his eyes down, get to his bedroom, get cleaned and get changed, and get out. He started tugging her toward the stairs that led to his room, pulling her across an open double door that led into a large room.

The large room had large white sheets covering what one could assume was a bunch of furniture. In the center of a heavily wooded wall, a large fireplace. And every wall that didn't have floor to ceiling windows was filled with equally sized bookshelves that were recessed into the walls. And every single one of them was completely empty. The room was dusty, the air still, but it was clear that it was a gem and point of pride from a previous owner. 

A library without a single book.