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She turns her head to me, skeptical. “Tell you what?”
I shrug. “Whatever you want to. Tell me who you are. Where you came from.”
Laura hesitates, her lips parting though no sound comes out. I can tell that she’s not certain she believes me, that she wonders if I’ll really want to know. But whatever she’s about to say, I want to hear it. So, I give her a nod, encouraging her to go ahead.
This is enough to break down her reluctance. “I’m from Protheka, of course. My parents died when I was young. I was a slave to the dark elves on Tlouz.”
She carefully avoids mentioning how she ended up being captured by my father, the Demon King. I don’t want to discuss that sensitive topic, at least not yet, and don’t ask any questions. We have much to cover before that.
“You’ve been a slave your whole life?” I clarify softly.
It suddenly makes a lot more sense why she doesn’t object to being kept by me. She was serious when she said she didn’t want to be anywhere else. She wouldn’t know what to do with freedom if she had it.
A great sadness overwhelms me. It’s such an unfamiliar feeling that it takes me a moment to process what it is. I’m not used to feeling sorry or sad for others. To be frank, I’ve never had much reason to care about anyone but myself.
I guess that I knew I had the capacity for it. I took care of Akos and kept him from harm. I just never realized that my concern for Akos would turn out to not be an isolated incident, that I have true empathy for others, and it has only been those around me not deserving it that has kept me closed off.
But this strange girl with the shiny blonde hair makes me want to try. She makes me want to consider so many things that I always assumed were not of interest to me. I don’t know how she does it, but it’s undeniable.
Her soft voice continues to tell her harrowing story. “The dark elves kept us in a human work camp. I helped take care of the kids, mostly. They’d give us jobs to do like knitting and fabrication of cloths for trade.”
“That’s why you enjoyed Akos’ company,” I realize. “It reminds you of taking care of the children.”
Her face changes again, sad for a moment. “I guess it’s something like that,” she admits. “He reminds me of a little boy in particular.”
“Do you like to read?” I try, wanting to make her happy again.
She blinks at me in confusion. “What?”
“When I came home the other day, you were talking to Akos in the library,” I say. “I thought maybe you liked reading.”
“Oh!” she exclaims in surprise, and then giggles. “I don’t know. I guess a little. I really went in there looking for you. I was bored and the servants didn’t let me go anywhere else.”
“What did you enjoy on Protheka?” I ask.
“We didn’t get much time for entertainment,” she says. “Mostly, we just entertained each other and tried to keep our spirits up. As much as we could, given the situation. We’d tell each other stories and jokes while we worked. One girl liked to sing songs.”
I was quiet, lost in my own reflections. It wasn’t lost on me, how privileged my life had been in many ways. As a Prince, I have to meet certain expectations. But I also have been provided many opportunities. I have so much free time that I’d grown dissatisfied with how to spend it, traveling the island in search of greater challenges.
I’d become weary of the ease that I lived my life with, wanting something that brought me a sense of purpose. But it had also left me blind, ignorant to the suffering of others. I find myself moved by her words once again, trying to envision such stifling circumstances.
“When you were in the cell by yourself, that must have been frightening. More than just entrapment. Your friends had been taken from you suddenly,” I point out,
Her face changes again as the words sink into her, and now she looks pensive. “I never thought about that before,” she admits slowly. “I knew that I missed everyone, but I suppose you’re right. It’s more than that. They were an anchor for me. I’ve been reeling that I’ve lost them.”
“That’s why you were so eager to go look for companionship in the library,” I muse aloud. “I thought you’d be satisfied to wait in your room. Demons don’t have this same need for socializing that most other creatures do,” I explain. “We’re happy to stay to ourselves, and our circles grow mostly out of purpose or need.”
“Companionship is a need,” she points out softly. I know in a sense that she’s right, but I don’t know how to explain that I never thought so before. I’ve never enjoyed most of the company that has been forced upon me, except for Thonir and Akos. Even then, I often preferred to stay to myself.
But now, with her in my arms, I can envision why someone would go out of their way to spend their spare time with another person. Just talking to her is pleasant, and I don’t think I’d ever grow tired of it.
There’s another comfortable silence as we think this over. Then I clear my throat. “Are you still finding everything satisfactory here? Are you being taken care of?”
I know that I’ve asked her this before, but suddenly, I have a new urgency to give her whatever she needs.
“Oh, yes,” she reassures me. “It’s much better here than the dark elf camp.”
“Is it strange,” he begins slowly, “having dark elves as servants? After the way they treated you on Protheka?”
