Chapter 7
"Mate, what's your issue with Silvi?" I asked Thrin.
"You have no idea what you just put me through you bastard, dragons are any dwarf's worst nightmare, they are good for only two things, burning down strongholds and breaking things that have taken us years to craft. Outside of a dragon, dwarves have only one enemy and that is a tree-hugging elf." He voiced through gritted teeth. I chuckled at his words.
Silvi walked up to us and with melancholy said: "If you want to gossip about me don't do it within earshot, I am used to being alone, just cause the new guy and I will be sharing a house doesn't mean you need to be friends with me, I will make sure he sleeps on the other side of the house, you bigots can crawl around in your caves all you like, I am not some mindless animal that is just looking for another trinket for my hoard. New guy, I'll show you where we're sleeping after dinner." Before I could get a word out, her wings unfurled from behind her, and she jumped up into the sky.
Thrin and I got to the dining hall and stood at the back of the line, Thrin refused to say a word after what Silvi had said.
A strong scent hit my nose, pulling me back to the girl I woke up to first, apples and a slight smell of rubbing alcohol. I described her to Thrin. Thrin was not overjoyed in explaining. "That's Merida Sage, if I was you, I'd stay away from her. Derick Connors has a thing for her, even though she's a werewolf and he's a vampire. He usually gets what he wants." Thrin said with disgust written all over his face. "He has a Helios Ring which means he can come in contact with direct sunlight, he is also Krill's brother, giving him every possible chance to follow her around as much as he wants."
A guy in a red suit and a grey belt with a buckle that looked like a gargoyle jumped up on a table at the front of the food row, for everybody to see. "I would like to make a toast, to the man who successfully kicked my brother's arse. New guy, I like you already!" He screamed over the noise, his voice would fit nicely on a man playing the Phantom of the Opera, far too self-righteous and just a hint of insanity. Everybody looked around warily, gave a half-heartened cheer and continued as if nothing had just happened.
The faeries were apparently in charge of preparing the meals, there was literally anything anybody could think of. I stacked up with anything I could find, only then realising that I hadn't eaten in about two days. We were about to go sit when Thrin whispered something to himself and veered to another table. He kept walking to the furthest table he could find. As far from away the previous table we were heading for as possible. As we sat down, I asked him what was wrong, and he replied with only one word: "Elwin". I didn't ask any further questions. I was too focused on the food.
As we ate, I got to know Thrin a bit better. He had grown up alongside other dwarves, but he had never fit in. Like all dwarves, he was an amazing builder and blacksmith, but he did not even come close to the quality of the other dwarves, according to his father. His mother had always supported him until the day his father had disowned him, the shock of his father forcing him to leave home was so unexpected that his mother had died from a heart attack. Of course, a dwarf shunned by his own family wasn't easily welcomed by any other dwarves. So he left his clan and went travelling around the world until he found his way to the school. He had been at the school for a total of two months.
The reason he was so nervous around Elwin, a vampire, was that she had saved his life when he had arrived at school. Like all dwarves he hated vampires, dwarves held grudges, but the undead was seen as an abomination was despised by all dwarves, funny enough that was one thing dwarves and elves agreed on. Unfortunately, dwarven culture dictated that he now owned Elwin a life debt till either of them dies or he saves her life.
I told him of how I was practically raised by Mrs Norrington, who found me bundled up in a basket, left for dead in the woods next to their home, with their family money she had put me through school, but after she had died, Mr Norrington was grieving and hurt so he allowed me a choice: out on the streets or work for him for pay. I chose the latter. I also told him about Amber and the other workers. Jackson, Amelia, Pablo and all the rest. Thrin was impressed and completely astonished when I told him how I got the scars.
Pablo had gone on one of his hissy fits and attacked me with the knife permanently strapped to his ankle, he would have killed me if he wasn't dragged away by some of the other workers. We talked and talked till we noticed that we were the last ones in the dining hall. We stood up and got ready to leave but then I saw someone sitting alone at the far corner of the dining hall. As I approached, I saw that it was Silvi, and she was crying.
As I sat down, I noticed a guy sitting across from her, a fae, as the faeries preferred to be called, he had pointed ears like an elf, but he had the skin of a faerie it looked like finely spun glass. Thrin came forward and sat opposite her. "Alleric Formusus, at your service. I saw the maiden in distress and sought to provide aid" the Fae stated.
"Hey," I said putting my hand on Silvi's shoulder.
"Are you here to insult me further you underfed troglodyte?" she said to Thrin.
"I am sorry Silvi, my behaviour toward you was completely unnecessary. I grew up in a family that didn't leave much room for anyone or anything that isn't a dwarf. I understand that my judging you were cruel and unfair. Please forgive me. As a token of my shame for having judged you without a real reason, I give you this. To you, it might mean nothing, but it is the only way I know." Thrin produced a knife and cut off the tip of his beard.
"I have never known a dwarf to have such courage, son of Durin it is a privilege to have seen this with mine own eyes, thy must be strong amongst thine kin indeed," Alleric muttered aghast.
Silvi looked at the clump of hair lying in her hand a good 30cm. After a while, she looked up, smiled at Thrin and wove the strands of his beard into the end of her braid. We could hear the rest of the people going along with their own business. We spent the rest of the night talking among ourselves, Thrin and Silvi made me aware that for a Fae to sit or speak with someone that wasn't a Fae or an Elf was a great honour.
Alleric turned this down and stated that he was indeed the foolish one for not having done so earlier. He always spoke in the most precise language and he sounded like a character out of Shakespeare. We introduced ourselves around the table and both Thrin and I repeated our life stories. Silvi had been at the school for as long as she could remember. The only thing she could remember before school was a blurry memory of her mother and father. Apparently, her father had been a bear hunter in Norway. His mother had gone into labour without his father present, as his father had gone on a hunting trip.
The midwives had given her child to her and had run away. When she looked upon her child with blank white eyes and wings, she thought that she had given birth to a demon and tried burning her child alive, by laying her to rest in the burning fireplace. That didn't work seeing as she turned into a baby dragon in the flames. Silvi's mother was found huddled in a corner by her husband a couple of hours later when he had returned. He went looking for his child and found her in the dying embers of the fire without any wings just the white eyes. Silvi's mother was admitted to an insane asylum after that, still muttering about demons and giving birth to the devil. Her father raised her for six years and then, unfortunately, died in a hunting accident.
A travelling werewolf found her alone in the woods and brought her to Ancients. Alleric on the other hand had a decent childhood and a great family. He was raised in the forest among other Fae, when the forest was cut down, his entire village fled to Ancients where he had been ever since, apparently like elves the Fae also aged differently than humans, in physical years he had been alive for four hundred years, yet he was now only seen as a teenager among his people. The Formusus family was the closest thing to royalty the Fae had.
We spent the rest of the evening talking about our lives and telling stories, Alleric had the most interesting tales, as he could make the shadows around us dance with his magic, bringing life to the stories he told.
We soon became aware of the silence around the dining hall, we looked at the watch and saw that it was one in the morning. We all jumped up and started heading towards our rooms, Thrin left the group first as the Dwarf dormitories were in the other direction, Alleric walked with us to the door of the house Silvi, and I would be sharing. He bowed low, his coattails swishing behind him. He grasped my hand firmly and gave me a warm smile. He then took Silvi's hands in his and looked into her eyes. He bent low and kissed her hand.
"It hast been an honour and my privilege getting to knoweth thee, mi 'lady. I am delighted to entertain a lady of such stout charact'r." He bowed once more and left strolling into the night.
Silvi showed me to my room, and I promptly passed out.