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Sunny Suzuki
Eviledd1984Lienna was quite enjoying her chat with Amalia. It was the first time in... Oh, it must have been years, that she'd been able to have an intelligent conversation with someone, and Water gems such as herself craved that sort of connection. Her comment about worshiping multiple gods almost made Lienna laugh. How absurd! Of course one could pray to two gods. It was practically required - after all, it simply would not do to revere the Children without paying respects to the Mother. It would not do not to thank Pyrus for the fire that warmed their homes, or acknowledge Auram for the wind which sculpted the tundra, even if Naia was the goddess whom she most honoured.
Amalia's next words, however, were bittersweet. What she said about Water gems was touching, but she went on to vent her woes. It was true, the land they'd been thrust into had been forsaken by Vivari herself, never intended to house her most precious children. It was a hostile land, not just in its harsh climate and vicious wildlife; no, the land itself felt sick, like it would suck the life from any who dared venture too close. It had an oppressive aura that hung in the air like a rancid fog. Gems were not meant to be here.
Amalia's sorrow saddened Lienna in turn, and she truly felt for her. She had begun to reach out a hand in comfort when the hall was interrupted by a hard voice, commanding them to bow.
There it was, then. The deciding moment. Steadily, Lienna rose from her seat. She did not tremble. She did not weep. She did not question it. Instead, she knelt the way they did at home, before the Council, settling on her knees and lowering her face parallel to the floor with her hands supporting her. She closed her eyes.
Water always finds a way.
She did raise her head a little when the ruckus began, sparing a peek or two around the room, observing which Gems stood, which did not. To most of the defiant ones, she allowed little more than a judgemental glance. The purple-haired girl who wore a sash should have known to expect a punishment; the ones who stood, the one who was made an example of, they had let their petty desires cloud their judgement, and had only made things worse for themselves as a result. Perhaps they thought they had won their little victories, but Lienna was not convinced. One had been beaten, others had been stripped or mutilated. What had been gained here? Could they not see they were only playing into the hands of their captors? Why give them the satisfaction?
However, when she noticed that Amalia had remained standing, Lienna's heart couldn't help but soften a touch. She could tell that Amalia wasn't trying to make a show of bravado like the other foolish girls; no, even from their brief conversation, Lienna knew she was smarter than that. Why, then, hadn't she knelt? Why had she let this fate befall her?
When they were ushered out, Lienna tried to fall in step with her breakfast companion, but she seemed so consumed by her pain that she scarcely noticed. There, too, was the fact that Lienna was frightened to offer aid in plain view of the drakken, lest the same fate befall her.
No, she couldn't help her. Not yet. As cruel as it may have sounded to someone else, Lienna knew that to survive this, she had to put herself first for once. Hadn't she earned a touch of self interest? The gods themselves had watched her work for it for years. Her heart still hurt for her companion, but she couldn't jeopardize herself to offer aid that she could never give before punishment befell her, too. She just couldn't justify it.
As the day wore on, the Gems of Shadow Worth were subjected to such "lessons" as hours of blasphemy of the highest order, during which their keepers scorned the Great Mother and the elemental gods, disparaging them as weak and conniving and greedy. Lienna was insulted, but not moved. She was willing to obey them, to bow to them, to behave and make the most out of however little her new life had to offer, but her faith was strong. It would not be rocked by the insults of scorned, bitter children.
Their lesson on childbirth, however, was a different tale altogether. Lienna knew that Gems in her village had regularly died in childbirth, and that was with normal infants, infants who were made for and belonged in the Gem womb. These Drakkan children, it seemed, would be nub-horned monsters the moment they were born. Lienna's hand had instinctively gone to her abdomen during that lesson; she had felt her guts twisting at the thought.
Finally, the day ended and they were ushered back to the hall. Lienna forced herself to eat (though she was still a tad queasy) and, while she sat with Amalia again (well, sat near where she stood) she couldn't seem to get a peep out of the poor girl. So, having eaten her fill, Lienna allowed herself to be herded back to the rooms for the night.
Sleep came like an old friend, but stayed like an unwelcome intruder. The sounds she'd heard at breakfast, the things she'd learned about childbirth, the blasphemy drilled into their heads; it all swirled in her mind, haunting her.
Amalia's next words, however, were bittersweet. What she said about Water gems was touching, but she went on to vent her woes. It was true, the land they'd been thrust into had been forsaken by Vivari herself, never intended to house her most precious children. It was a hostile land, not just in its harsh climate and vicious wildlife; no, the land itself felt sick, like it would suck the life from any who dared venture too close. It had an oppressive aura that hung in the air like a rancid fog. Gems were not meant to be here.
Amalia's sorrow saddened Lienna in turn, and she truly felt for her. She had begun to reach out a hand in comfort when the hall was interrupted by a hard voice, commanding them to bow.
There it was, then. The deciding moment. Steadily, Lienna rose from her seat. She did not tremble. She did not weep. She did not question it. Instead, she knelt the way they did at home, before the Council, settling on her knees and lowering her face parallel to the floor with her hands supporting her. She closed her eyes.
Water always finds a way.
She did raise her head a little when the ruckus began, sparing a peek or two around the room, observing which Gems stood, which did not. To most of the defiant ones, she allowed little more than a judgemental glance. The purple-haired girl who wore a sash should have known to expect a punishment; the ones who stood, the one who was made an example of, they had let their petty desires cloud their judgement, and had only made things worse for themselves as a result. Perhaps they thought they had won their little victories, but Lienna was not convinced. One had been beaten, others had been stripped or mutilated. What had been gained here? Could they not see they were only playing into the hands of their captors? Why give them the satisfaction?
However, when she noticed that Amalia had remained standing, Lienna's heart couldn't help but soften a touch. She could tell that Amalia wasn't trying to make a show of bravado like the other foolish girls; no, even from their brief conversation, Lienna knew she was smarter than that. Why, then, hadn't she knelt? Why had she let this fate befall her?
When they were ushered out, Lienna tried to fall in step with her breakfast companion, but she seemed so consumed by her pain that she scarcely noticed. There, too, was the fact that Lienna was frightened to offer aid in plain view of the drakken, lest the same fate befall her.
No, she couldn't help her. Not yet. As cruel as it may have sounded to someone else, Lienna knew that to survive this, she had to put herself first for once. Hadn't she earned a touch of self interest? The gods themselves had watched her work for it for years. Her heart still hurt for her companion, but she couldn't jeopardize herself to offer aid that she could never give before punishment befell her, too. She just couldn't justify it.
~ // ~
As the day wore on, the Gems of Shadow Worth were subjected to such "lessons" as hours of blasphemy of the highest order, during which their keepers scorned the Great Mother and the elemental gods, disparaging them as weak and conniving and greedy. Lienna was insulted, but not moved. She was willing to obey them, to bow to them, to behave and make the most out of however little her new life had to offer, but her faith was strong. It would not be rocked by the insults of scorned, bitter children.
Their lesson on childbirth, however, was a different tale altogether. Lienna knew that Gems in her village had regularly died in childbirth, and that was with normal infants, infants who were made for and belonged in the Gem womb. These Drakkan children, it seemed, would be nub-horned monsters the moment they were born. Lienna's hand had instinctively gone to her abdomen during that lesson; she had felt her guts twisting at the thought.
Finally, the day ended and they were ushered back to the hall. Lienna forced herself to eat (though she was still a tad queasy) and, while she sat with Amalia again (well, sat near where she stood) she couldn't seem to get a peep out of the poor girl. So, having eaten her fill, Lienna allowed herself to be herded back to the rooms for the night.
Sleep came like an old friend, but stayed like an unwelcome intruder. The sounds she'd heard at breakfast, the things she'd learned about childbirth, the blasphemy drilled into their heads; it all swirled in her mind, haunting her.