"Travel the world and live by your own rules, huh? Where do you wanna go exactly?" Asked Saphrin.
Caspery looked down as she placed her index finger and thumb against her chin, "Hmm …" She thought about it for a moment before looking up at Saphrin, "To Paris," she smiled, "I heard it's a beautiful place and that it's the city of love."
"That's not a bad idea!" The lass smiled.
"But, unfortunately, I can't since I'm a slave and all." Caspery sighed.
"Have you ever tried running away?" Asked Saphrin.
"Well," Caspery began, "Many years ago, there was another elvish slave here. His name was Fiyo, an older man who was here for years. When I first started working here, he was very kind to me and protective over me. He made sure nobody tried to hurt me. He was my only friend."
"So what happened to him?" Saphrin asked curiously.
"One day, he told me about a plan he had to escape and asked me if I wanted to go with him. I was excited to leave this horrid place so I agreed. However, my excitement later became my demise. There was a maid who was close to my age and I used to consider her as my friend. Foolish, fourteen-year-old me thought I could trust her when I told her about Fiyo's escape plan. Little did I know that Hario had eyes and ears everywhere. One night, Fiyo and I decided to go through with our plan. However, Hario was waiting for us outside the house…"
______________________________________________
FLASHBACK
*
"You have two options," said Hario, "Either you two return to your rooms and we'll pretend this never happened or you two continue with your plan and I will be required to execute you." He spoke as he drew his sword.
Fiyo shook his head, "No! We're leaving." He said as he lifted up a long, metal plumbing tube, almost the same length as the butler's sword.
"Option two it is." Said Hario right before he swung his sword at Fiyo. The elvish man quickly blocked the butler's sword with his tube.
"Run!" Fiyo said to Caspery.
"But what about you?" She asked, her voice shaking.
"I'll be fine. Now just go!"
Caspery nodded as she turned around and ran towards the fence. Once she approached it, she began to climb to the top. She peered over and saw a large forest on the other side. Caspery hesitated to climb over the fence.
"I can't do this," she whispered to herself, "Not without him." She then climbed back down and ran back to Fiyo.
Sparks began to fly as Hario's sword collided with Fiyo's metal tube, scratching the surface of the tube and dulling the edges of the sword. At one point, Fiyo swung his tube so hard that he knocked the sword out of Hario's hands. He fell over as Fiyo got really close and pointed his tube at him.
"Give it up!" Said Fiyo.
"Fiyo, come on!" Said Caspery as she ran towards him.
"Huh?" He looked over at her, "Caspery!" He said angrily, "I told you to leave."
"But I can't leave you behind." Said the girl.
"Caspery," Fiyo sighed, "That's really sweet but I already told you that-" Before he could finish, Fiyo stopped talking and fell to the ground face first. Caspery was shocked when she saw a dagger in his back. She gasped as she looked over and saw Hario who was now up on his feet.
Hario pulled the dagger out of the man's back and wiped off the blood with his handkerchief before returning it to his inner coat pocket. Caspery fell to her knees as she began to weep.
"No," Caspery said as she got choked up. Tears rolled down her face as she placed her hands on Fiyo's warm carcass.
Hario looked down at the girl, "Let this be a lesson. Now go back inside and I won't tell anyone that you were involved in this." He demanded as he walked back into the house.
*
______________________________________________
"If I hadn't told anyone, Fiyo would still be alive today." Caspery sniffled.
Saphrin shook her head as she placed a hand on her shoulder, "None of that was your fault, Caspery. You were but a mere child and you didn't want to leave your only friend behind. Hario is the one who killed Fiyo, not you."
Caspery sighed, "You don't understand, Saphrin. I had stabbed Fiyo in the back long before Hario did." Tears began to roll down her face as she wept softly. Saphrin wrapped her arms around the elf and hugged her tightly.
"I'm so sorry, dear." Saphrin whispered as Caspery hugged her back.
After a few minutes, Saphrin slowly pulled away and took a handkerchief out from her pocket. She handed it to Capsery.
"Thank you." Caspery smiled weakly.
"You're welcome," Saphrin put her hand on her shoulder, "That gives me an idea."
"Oh yeah?" Said Caspery as she wiped her tears with the handkerchief, "For what?"
"An escape plan."
Caspery gasped, "But I just told you about what happened last time."
Saphrin nodded, "I know but this time will be different."
"How so?"
"Well now that you have me, I can help you run away and nobody will suspect anything."
"What makes you so sure, Saphrin?" Caspery asked.
"The Ferdims adore me and I have a great reputation." She smirked.
"I don't care much about the Ferdims," said Caspery as she handed the handkerchief back to the lass, "It's Hario that we need to worry about. Like I said, he has eyes and ears everywhere."
"Keep it," said Saphrin, "And yes, I am aware of his authority over the help."
"Well then what's your plan?" Asked Caspery as she put the handkerchief in her lap.
"What if I told the Ferdims that you were trying to escape? After that, I ask Lord Ferdim for permission to execute you."
"What?!" Caspery was shocked, "But I thought-"
Saphrin interrupted her, "Wait, there's more!" She continued, "Then I take you into the forest by ourselves with a bag of supplies and then I set you free."
"Huh?" Caspery thought for a moment, "That sounds interesting but where will I go after that?"
Saphrin smiled, "I'm glad you asked. When I first came here, Jero gave me a map of the land. There's a path we can take through the forest in order to leave the country."
"That sounds great and everything but I don't want to leave," Caspery sighed, "Not without you."
Saphrin gasped in flattery, "Why's that?"
"Because …" the elf girl looked down as she blushed a deep shade of pink, "I think … I think …"
Saphrin lifted Caspery's chin up to face her, "You think what, dear?" She whispered as she gazed into her sparkly periwinkle eyes.
"I …," Caspery sighed, "I have feelings for you, Saphrin."
The lass smirked, "I noticed."
"Then why'd you make me say it?" Caspery said angrily.
Saphrin chuckled, "Because I wanted you to say it aloud. Also," she put her hand on the bed right next to Caspery's thighs as she leaned in close, her lips only an inch away from Caspery's lips, "I think it's really cute when you say things like that."
The room was silent. Caspery could hear her own heartbeat as she gazed into Saphrin's dark green eyes.
"Really?" Caspery whispered.
Saphrin nodded, "Of course."
"Does this mean you also-"
"Yes," Saphrin interrupted, "I have feelings for you too, Caspery."
The two women looked at each other for a moment in silence before Saphrin spoke up again.
"Would you like a-"
"Yes," said Caspery, "I would like a kiss."
"What's the magic word?"
Caspery rolled her eyes, "Do I have to?"
Saphrin nodded, "You must."
Caspery sighed, "Alright. Please may I have a kiss?"
Saphrin chuckled, "Of course you may, love."
The two women leaned in as their lips touched each other. In that moment, Caspery felt like everything had suddenly stopped and Saphrin felt like all was right with the world. After a few seconds, the two women pulled their faces away from each other. Both of them had a big grin on their face.
"That was great," said Caspery.
"No," said Saphrin, "You were great."
Caspery blushed, "Oh you."
Saphrin laid down on the bed, "Mind if I stay here for the night?"
"That's not a good idea," said Caspery, "The other servants will start to talk if they see you leaving my room in the morning."
"Oh," Saphrin realized as she sat up, "You're right."
"Besides," Caspery looked down, shyly, "I'm not ready for that yet."
"Huh?" The lass seemed very confused, "Ready for what?"
She looked up at her, "You know … Sex."
"Oh, uh …" Saphrin looked to the side for a bit, "I wasn't exactly sure how to tell you this earlier but …" She looked at her, "I don't really have sex before marriage."
"Really?" Caspery was astonished.
Saphrin gave her a quick nod, "Mhm!"
"Well either way, sex would definetly alert the help that you're here. Which is another great reason why we need to leave. Although, I'm still surprised that you're willing to come with me. I mean, what if the Ferdims send people out to look for you?"
Saphrin shrugged, "I guess I'll just have to change my identity again."
"Oh alright," Caspery then paused, "Wait a minute! Again?"