Dalebarn, Topsipil, Late April, 1927 The cold season was finally ending. There would be perhaps three months worth of warm weather before it returned. This time of year had always been a time of relief to Elysha Trinhem, but this year, with her now nineteen years of age, it was a time of change. Change of her life.
She lived in South-Southwest Dalebarn, the coldest, poorest part of the city. Her parents had settled there by choice, or maybe their parents had, or maybe even theirs before them. Elysha didn't know and she didn't care. All she knew was that it was not her choice to live there, and that she didn't intend to any longer.
She was listening for the daily patrol, which came by about this time to make sure the members of the community were behaving as they ought. Sure enough, she heard his footsteps, pulled away from the door as she felt him lean his ear against it, then listened again as his footsteps died away. Stealthily, she leaned over the floor, feeling around in the dim light for the tiny knot. Her nail slid into it. She shifted silently out of the way as the floor slid aside, revealing her secret hoard.
She pulled out first the dress. It was a slateish-blue, and was sleeveless with straps that fell over the shoulders. The skirt curved in, to cling she believed to the legs. She didn't know for sure, since she had not yet worn it. Carefully she rolled it up and put it on the floor.
Next she pulled out a string of opals. They glittered and glimmered in the dim light, and to Elysha, they were the most beautiful thing in the world. Next came a pair of black heels. She put the opals in the heels and slid them into the rolled up dress. Then she pulled out a flask of some strange liquid. What is was she wasn't sure herself, but she had been told by the person who had given it to her to rub it over her body. She placed it on top of the dress. Finally she pulled out a large black fur cloak, which she wrapped the rest up in.
She got to her feet as stealthily as possible. Her escape would have to be quick and silent, and she had to put as much distance between herself and the community as possible before her father came in to check on her. Thankfully he had stopped doing that as frequently as he used to, but once they found out she was gone, they would know exactly where she was going, and they already knew of the danger. But then, they didn't know of the detour she was taking.
She shoved her bundle under her arm, and in her bare feet began to climb up the wall by way of the stack of wood that had built itself up over the years. She ignored the splinters in her feet and focused on not causing a landslide, which would kill her, figuratively if not literally as well. Finally she reached her only window, just big enough to squeeze through. Then, with equal care, she began climbing down the stack on the other side.
There were splinters in her feet, but she couldn't stop to pull them out. Even now, her father might be on his way. After checking to see her bundle was secure, she hurried away as fast as she could.
Five minutes later, she had reached the community's borders. Its members were forbidden to go beyound this point unless authorized. She was one of eleven members currently alive to do so. She had done so even more then the other members knew.
Her plan was very simple. The Prince Leonord was now 20, as as heir to the throne, needed a wife to insure future heirs. As no arrangements had been managed, it was now open to all unmarried female citizens of the appropriate age. Those wishing to be considered-there were usually less then a hundred of them-gathered in Dalebarn, and were shipped by train across the country to where they were presented and the Prince chose.
Elysha did not intend to marry Leonord. She wasn't even eligable, since the Prince had to announce, by law, his engagement within 24 hours of meeting his fiancee, and she had met him once by chance when she was a little girl. The law made no sense to Elysha, but neither did taking the candidates around the country. She suspected both to be rooted in tradition.
However, part of the process including the law that the girl intending to marry the Prince must decide on her own whether or to try for him. So her parents and the members of the community could not legally stop her from boarding the train. That would not stop them if they caught her that night, but she once she reached the train station she was safe. Her having met him twelve years ago wouldn't stop her either, since the Prince likely didn't remember her and the only other person who knew was his twin sister Leonora. It was Leonora who had gifted her with the things she carried now, given her directions, and promised to take care of her once she had done this.
She was a good distance from her old home, but now, if they had not already, she were sure to discover her disappearance and come after her. So far, she had gone the route they would trace. But she turned into an alley and continued down a route they would not think of.
Several times she saw movements in the shadows and began running. There were thugs in these streets, and while most of them would view her as a beggar girl with nothing, and therefore not worth bothering, there was always those who wanted something other then money-she shivered at the thought of it.
As the shadows increased, she began to run. If any of them got close enough, they might see her bundle and try to steal that from her. She didn't stop running until she reached her destination: the back wall of a large grey building.
There were no troublemakers in this area, during the times she had been on the streets she had avoided it herself. There were stories about this place. Now she knew they were made up to scare street rats away, and while some part of Elysha wondered if this was wrong, another part of her could not blame those who had created the stories. There was a window just big enough for a skinny thing like her. It was only just in her reach if she stretched her fingertips. At casual glance, it was too high to crawl through. But Elysha knew better. Her street-trained eyes saw the crevices and slight unevenness of how the bricks were laid. She doubted very many people would be able to do what she was about to do. She'd never had to scale something as difficult as this, but she would have to try.
There would be no climbing while she was carrying something, so she pulled the fur covering further over the rest of the bundle, and with one heave, had tossed it up and through the window. She could only hope it landed safely. Then she backed up, did a running started, and leapt up. She couldn't leap very high, but she was able to grab the bottom of the window, and curl her hands around it. Her feet flailed wildly, then her toes found tiny holds and gripped them for all they were worth. Inch by inch, slowly, painstakingly, she moved upward, until she was able to pull herself over the window. Too terrified to look down, she closed her eyes and lowered her legs to the floor before opening them again.
She was alone in what appeared to be a storage room of some sort. Her bundle was nearby. She checked and found nothing was damaged. She reached the door and found it locked. This surprised her, since the place was supposed to be opened twenty-four hours. But it could be dealt with. She scoured the room and found a pin, which she used to pick the lock. Now she had to hope there was noone directly outside.
As she picked, a feeling a triumph began to fill her. This building for street rats, and other poor folk, marked a border, and she had crossed it.
It was some sort of public building, though its purpose was unknown to Elysha. What she did know was it had things called showers in the back, where she was, which Leonora had advised her to use. As she opened the door slightly, she catiously peered through. There was noone on the other side. Her bundle in her arms, she moved out and examined the room beyond.
There was a row of opaque glass doors on the right wall. Carefully she slid one open and found a tiny room on the other side. Guessing this was a shower, she put down her bundle, pulled off her rags, and stepped inside. She closed the door behind her, and the room lit up.
A voice spoke. "Good evening. Are you registered?"
"Uh, no." What does that mean, registered?
"Will you pay here or register?"
Never mind, she couldn't pay here. "Register." And hope I don't have to pay here for that.
"Pay now or later?"
"Later." She hoped would be able to pay eventually, at least.
"Name?"
"Elysha...Briante." She had decided long ago that apon fleeing, she would change her name, so that her parents wouldn't get in trouble for trying to deny their daughter her legal right. For in spite of all they had done to her, and would do to her if they could, Elysha bore them no grudge and didn't want them to suffer.
"Do you wish for week-long membership, month-long membership-"
Membership. I know what that is. I think. "Week." Or just night-long memebership. She would never use this building again after tonight.
"Processing. Done. You now owe 15 lats. Now what would you like, Miss Briante? Wash, hair, oiling, or a combination?"
She needed wash, she knew that. Elysha gingerly touched her hair. Brushing it at home was impossible, so it was matted and tangled beyond belief. In the world she was about to enter, she knew she would need it to be in order. As for "oiling", she'd heard Leonora complain about "lousy public oil" when giving her the flask she now carried. This remark had confused her at the time, but if oiling was something done often, then perhaps it was rubbing the liquid over her body. And if it was, she could do it without the shower-thing's help. "Combination. Wash and hair."
"Commencing." Water sprayed out of the wall and washed her. She enjoyed the sensation of it pounding her skins, driving dirt away-until a wire thing came down from the ceiling and started on her hair. This hurt, a lot, but she had endured pain before, and she did so now. But by the time the water stopped and the wire retreated back through the ceiling, her scalp felt raw. Her hair, which there was a lot less of, was now smooth and she was able to run her fingers through it.\
"Done. You will be able to find a towel in the compartment directly in front of you." She pulled the towel out and dried herself. Clad only in it, she emerged from the shower into the still-empty room. It was time to dress herself up in her finery.
She first took the flask and took the top off. She dipped her finger into the liquid. It felt thick and warm. She trailed the finger down her arm and felt a tingling sensation along her skin.
As she rubbed, wrapping her still-wet hair in the towel, she noted how her skin took on a softer look as it absorbed the liquid. When she had used up all the liquid, she pulled the dress on. It was made of a soft material that did indeed cling to her skin, and was very comfortable. She put the heels on next, and discovered that it felt weird to walk in them. She hoped she would get used to it. Next she put on the opals, taking a second to admire them. Then she pulled the fur cloak around herself. Leaving both her rags and the empty flask to be dealt with as they would be, she began to walk through a corridor that led from the shower room, passing door after door, but no people. This was no suprise; she didn't think very many people were here this late at night.
She passed through the entrance of the building and out onto the street. But it was a different sort of the street to the type she had been on in the past. It was well lit, and contained no atmosphere of menace. And she felt different now. No longer a timid girl hiding from danger, she now felt like she could conquer the world.
She wasn't sleepy, for she had slept much of the day before. But as she continued along the streets, she began to pay less attention to her surroundings, as she began to dwell on memories, memories of incidents that got her there...
When she heard the gentle tapping on the wall, she first ignored it. But as it went on, she decided it had to be her parents. Maybe the strangers were gone.
When she shoved aside the piece of wood that led in and out and saw it wasn't her parents, she hastily put it back in place and moved to the other side of the room. But the two people on other side of the door moved it back, and stepped in.
They couldn't be much older then Elysha, either of them. They were a boy and a girl, with blond hair and identical light brown eyes. They were tightly wrapped in a some sort of thick cloth that Elysha would never be allowed to wear.
The boy noticed. "You must be cold."
"I should be cold. It is good for my being." Elysha repeated what she had been taught since she was born.
"Good for your being?" the girl repeated dubiously.
"The cold feels painful." Elysha explained, thinking it obvious. But the two children still did not get it.
Then the boy whispered something in the girls ear, and she said, "So pain is good?"
"Yes." Her parents would be proud of her.
"Is that why you live here?" asked the boy.
"Yes."
"How long have you lived here?" asked the girl.
"Forever." she should have a bit of pride for that, maybe? Or maybe not, because it made her life easier for her.
"Will you ever leave?"
"No."
"So you're live will be just the way it is now, for the rest of your life?" He sounded shocked. Elysha wondered why. "Yes," she said.
"That's very interesting," said the girl. "We have to go now."
They left, placing the piece of wood back in.
Elysha hadn't thought of any harm in talking freely to them. She had been completely unprepared when, a little over a week later, she had been dragged before the head of the community and accused of betrayal. The two children had told the people traveling with them, and the information had been used against the community. Despite her claims she hadn't meant to hurt the community, she had been banished to the streets for five years.
The streets of South-Southwest Dalebarn were dark and dangerous, and those that ended up there rarely got off them. Elysha wouldn't have lived a month, had she not been found by another former member of the community who had been banished for life. This woman, Fiara, taught Elysha how to survive, and how to hold her own in the complicated, yet brutally simple society that existed on the streets.
The basics of living were not all Fiara had taught Elysha. She was convinced the way the community lived was wrong, and Elysha had learned how she had been abused by them. The woman had harbored a fierce hatred for the community that she, through delibrate lack of trying or not Elysha wasn't sure, had not passed on to Elysha entirely, but she had convinced Elysha the community was not the place she wanted to spend her entire life living in. Elysha had promised she would never return there.
It shamed her deeply she had not kept her promise. It had ben nearly four years into her banishment that Fiara had met her death. She'd spent a year alone, in constant terror, before she had returned the community on the date her banishment ended, too frightened to remain on the streets. She had not yet been 13.
Four more years had passed, during which she had learn to surpress any outward sign of the turmoil going on inside her. Her crime and punishment were never mentioned, though at first she noticed the way the elders regarded her with contempt. But then this faded too.
And then, one night, a blond girl her age had snuck into her room. She had introduced herself as the Princess Leonora, and explained that it was her and her brother that Elysha had talked to all those years ago. She had invited Elysha to leave with her. Elysha had done so.
For the next nine months, the two girls had rode round the country. They were joined here and there by friends of the princess, though Leonora had delibrately prevented Elysha from meeting the prince. No doubt the plan of how she would legally get Elysha out of her home was already forming itself in her head.
Elysha had then returned to the community, claiming she had gone out and punished herself for awhile, and they had believed her. When it came down to it, members of the community were raised to be very gullible. And she had waited. A year later, Leonora had returned, slipped the hoard under the floor, and given her instructions of what to do.
Two months later, and there she was, finally out of the community for good.
