(Going forward this will mostly be in Blue's perspective.)
Dreams.
Dreams were all she had now. Not the aspirations of a better life or what she wanted to be, but the dreams that come at night.
Dreams of home. Of mother, father, Zesria and Roen.
Dreams that they had been able to stay together as a family rather than being sent away with the pirates when they were old enough.
She knew that she should consider herself lucky. Lucky that her master did not seem to want all that much from her, not really anyway.
He didn't seem to be the overly violent type even though the size of him made it difficult to believe this. She was certain he could squish her the way one squishes a berry in their hand, she'd certainly felt that whenever he held her face so securely in his massive hand.
He also didn't seem to want her for the sort of things so many girls were made to endure, at least...not yet.
Perhaps he intended for that to be later. Why else would he have given that specific of a rule.
Yes, she knew she should consider herself lucky yet no matter how she looked at it, she didn't want to be here.
She wanted to be home.
Home in the village her tribe had been allowed to live in, in relative peace between visits from the pirates.
Blue curls in on herself beside the fireplace, pulling the thin sheet of material she used as a blanket over her shoulders. She'd known most of her life that once it was her turn she'd not see her home again but that didn't mean she didn't want to.
After several minutes of trying to fall asleep she sits up and tries to take comfort in the fact that she'd at least been given decent clothing to wear and not rags or something that showed far too much.
Everything would be alright. This was most certainly not the worst place she could have found herself in.
Her parents had tried to prepare her for this. She'd be just fine.
Her master's rules were difficult and seemed unyielding but at least she wasn't being beaten, she had clothing, she had a place to sleep, she could have food.
With this last though Blue pressed a hand to her grumbling stomach and tried to think of something else.
Her thoughts wandered again to her family. Wondering where her brother and sister were and if they were alright. Wishing she could speak to them, wishing she could see her parents just once more.
Wanting to be called by her name again. Wanting to hear her mother calling her "Sylvari", telling her to come home after instruction.
It didn't help.
Blue pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in them to muffle her crying.
For several minutes she sat against the warm wall of the fireplace and sobbed. Trying not to make any noticeable sound while she mourned the loss of her home, family and name.
Blue eventually fell asleep though it was not restful.
Blue woke to the sound of the earliest birds beginning their songs. A pleasant sound though it caused her to immediately become anxious since it meant she had overslept.
She lurched to her feet and hurried to the window hoping that somehow the birds were early this morning and it was not yet dawn.
The birds were not early. The faintest change in color to the sky was visible through the window, the faintest green which meant she had to hurry if she was going to have anything made for the morning meal.
Blue hurried to stoke the fire, heat the pans and prepare the various foods which she'd use this morning. Thankfully she was able to put everything together in what she felt was an appropriate amount of time.
Relieved, she takes a few calming breaths while assembling the tray, then proceeds to carry it to the table where her master wanted breakfast.
Her heart dropped as soon as she entered the room, for there at the table was her master and he did not seem pleased.
Blue hurriedly set the tray in front of him, then knelt beside his chair with her chin extended as he'd instructed.
For several long moments she thought he wasn't upset. However that idea was quickly shattered when his massive hand roughly took hold of her face, holding her firmly almost painfully but not quite.
When he spoke his voice was cold and hard. There was no doubt she had made him upset.
"I believe I instructed my breakfast to be here by dawn. Can you not make it two days without failing to obey the simple rules laid out?"
His hold of her face tightened and Blue wondered if he would indeed squish her in this moment. Yet his hold loosened enough to not be painful before her face was released entirely. A flicker of hope was ignited within her chest, hope that perhaps he wasn't all that angry and she'd only receive a warning.
That hope was snuffed out before it had much time to grow.
The sound of wood scraping over wood alerted her to his rising from the table then her arm was seized painfully and she stood quickly.
"Come."
Was all he said while nearly dragging her by the arm from the room.
Blue quickened her steps to keep up as best she could while trying her best not to whimper from the pain in her arm.
She followed her master down the main hall and past doors leading to unknown rooms. They paused briefly in front of one door long enough for him to open it, then he continued to nearly drag her down a set of stone stairs to what was clearly a basement store room.
Only now did Blue notice her master was muttering to himself, she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart enough to catch what he was saying fearing it was instruction and she had missed some of it.
"...why can none of you simply do as you're told without failure. The rules are not complicated. It's really the only thing I've asked, how stupid are these creatures if they cannot even do this simple of a task."
Blue frowned. These were not instructions but expressions of disappointment in her and those like her. She wanted to protest that she was not stupid but decided she shouldn't push things when he was already upset this morning.
He stopped walking near the back of the large room having wound his way through the crates, sacks and barrels that were down here.
Blue saw him reach for something among one of the crates but couldn't be certain of what it was. It was very dark down here with the only light coming from the open door behind them on the other side of the room.
Blue stumbled when her arm was suddenly released and she was half shoved into the wall. Quickly she turned to have her back to the wall and faced her master who was truly frightening in this moment.
All she could see of him was a hulking shadow which loomed above her; he must have been nearly eight feet tall.
She was so frightened that she nearly shrieked when his hand came near her face, instead she merely pulled herself closer to the wall and prayed he wasn't going to hurt her much.
To her surprise his hand did not come closer. Though the sudden icy tones of her master's voice sent a shiver through her.
"Place."
Blue swallowed nervously and carefully placed her face within the hand of her master.
Immediately the massive hand closed around her cheeks and pulled her face upwards, his grip tight though not painful this time.
"Open."
Hesitantly Blue obeyed, opening her mouth as her mind went wild trying to figure out what he was going to do. She nearly choked when something was shoved into her mouth and touched the back of her throat. Despite her instruction she squirmed, not wanting to have whatever this was in her mouth.
The grip on her face tightened until she stopped moving. Her master continued to force more of this object into her mouth, pushing more of it down her throat and filling her cheeks until they too began to hurt.
Her eyes closed tightly and she dug her fingers into the stone wall behind her to try and shut out the discomfort and pain, then she heard what sounded like cloth being torn.
Quickly she opened her eyes again to see her master held part of what had once been a longer cloth. His hand released her face and instead grabbed her hands which were easily swallowed in his massive one. He wrapped the cloth tightly over and around her hands, encasing them to disallow the use of her fingers. Then released her hands from his grip.
He took a step back and studied her then spoke in the same cold tone.
"Kneel."
Blue awkwardly knelt on the hard stone floor, bits of stone or sand digging into her knees. She kept her head down, struggling not to panic while also trying to breathe as best she could.
"You will remain here until I come for you. Do not move from that spot. Do not remove the cloth from either your hands or your mouth. If I come back to find you have broken any of these conditions, I will not be so kind."
He turned and left the basement without once looking back. Ascending the stairs and shutting the basement door before locking it. Leaving Blue alone in the dark.
Only after she was certain he was not returning did Blue allow herself to cry.
Blue hadn't been crying long when she started to struggle for air more than she already was. It was dangerous to swallow, the cloth could get pulled further down her throat.
She had to calm herself.
She had to or risk suffocating herself.
She should have felt relief. After all he hadn't hit her, he'd not even yelled at her.
So why did this punishment feel so bad?