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A story about love, fantasy and the will to belong. Writing and Art by [Asrun]

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My first story that I'm letting people read.. It's still VERY much in the works, so please try to ignore spelling and grammer and some of the awkwardness. I'm in no way a writer, but I just sometimes need to get stories down on paper. If you have suggestions, please be forthcoming and post them! Thanks so much. :)

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Character Information and Artwork
Zephan Nevina

Feril

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Chapter 1

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The cutlery fell to the floor with a smash, as Nevina lost the grip on the edge of her skirt. She could see through her amber bangs that the head maid, Gilda, was glaring at her causing her cheeks to burn. Quickly, Nevina dropped to her knees and began to gather the spoons back into her skirts.

“No, you stupid fool!” Yelled Gilda as a sharp slap met Nevina’s face. “Don’t mix the clean cutlery with the ones you just soiled. You may be new to this, but I know you’re not this incompetent.”

Tears welled in Nevina’s eyes as she forced them back. She was nervous when it came to her new life as a palace maid, and today she was actually going to be able to serve some of the King’s soldiers for the mid-day meal. She had been day dreaming about what the handsome knights must be like when she had made the foolish error, in front the head maid none the less. She had been at the palace living as a scullery maid ever since her parents were burned for their being born of feral blood. The old, head maid had taken her to palace where she worked to keep her safe. Though she was not of Nevina’s blood, she had been a close friend to her parents and would not let anything happen to Nevina as long as she could stop it. In Gilda’s prime, beings from all backgrounds were celebrated and looked towards in time of need. But now, all was changed and Nevina and Gilda went to many measures to keep Nevina’s true appearance hidden. Thankfully, the maid’s cap was the perfect guise for her pointed, tufted ears and although her aunt was harsh, Nevina knew that it was to keep her safe from the prying eyes of the anti-feral league, the High Priest’s personal feral eradication force.

It felt good to finally be out of the dark lower levels of the palace. The kitchen was a large, smoke filled room in which many of the girls ended up passing out from the combination of heat and smoke. The mid-level of the palace was brighter with windows and torches mounted on the walls.  She juggled the wooden serving tray, which held the tureen of beef soup, a chuck of fresh bread, some soft cheese and a cup of watered wine.

After a few minutes of stabilizing the tray, Nevina was finally able to push open the heavy door of one of the soldiers after announcing herself. He was an older man, and he smiled and asked her to place the tray down on the low table near the door. She did and curtsied, which was part of their code, before leaving again.

“Phew…That was easy. One down, a dozen more to go.” She thought as she hurried back to the kitchen for the next tray.

Finally, by the end noon, Nevina only had a few more rooms to deliver for. She knocked on the next door and announced herself, this time a large man with dark hair opened the door and waved her inside. She could smell the foul stench of alcohol on his breath. He closed the door behind her and told her to place the tray on the bedside table. She obeyed him with a smile and walked towards the bed.  As soon as she had placed the tray down, she felt his heavy, sweaty palm on her shoulder. Before she could protest, he sung her around and pushed her onto the bed.  His heavy arms pinned her against the bed as he began to force his slack lips against her neck.

“I’ve never been with a redhead before.” The soldier slurred as he breathed his vile breath on her neck. Nevina screamed as she felt one of his hands begin to slide under her skirts.

“Stupid girl!” he said as he pressed his hand against her mouth, nearly suffocating her with its force. She could feel tears well in her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. “If you weren’t such a pretty one, I’d have smacked that scream out of you!” Nevina struggled under his weight but could barely move. As she felt his free hand again run up her leg, she bit into the sweaty flesh of his palm.  He screamed out in pain, but before she could get away from him, one of his hands gripped around her neck, while the other entangled itself in her bonnet and hair.

“You stupid bitch. You’re going to regret that!” he yelled as his grip tightened around her neck. Nevina gasped as her vision began to blur. Suddenly there was a loud clang that rung her ears and the sweaty soldier’s hands released her.  His body was rolled off of her; his hand still gripped her bonnet, pulling from her head. A young, robed man stood before her holding the wooden serving tray, beside him on the floor lay the drunken soldier, alive but unconscious. The young man smiled at her. She could see his beautiful cyan eyes from under the hood of his cloak.

“Are you alright miss?” he asked, holding out a hand to help her out.

“Yes. I think so. Thank you.” Nevina replied. She could feel the heat rise in her cheeks. The young man smiled again as he reached down to the soldier and pulled Nevina’s bonnet from his grasp.

“Please,” he said, turning back towards her “if anyone asks if you have seen someone who looks like myself, don’t tell them.” Before Nevina could even answer him, he handed her the bonnet and was out the door. She stared at the man on the floor, and around the room. The reflection in the mirror caught her eyes. Her ears, he had seen her ears.

***

The black smoke was thick in the air; it hung like a black curtain across the sky. The acrid smell was overwhelming as Nevina rushed towards her village. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.  She could feel the rough terrain tearing up the soles of her feet. She must have lost her shoes while running, it didn’t matter the pain was nothing compared to the pain that she could feel growing in her stomach as she approached the village. She could hear voices. They were not feril voices, that she knew. They spoke in the western tongue, a language that she had learned when just a cub from Gilda. These were definitely not feril beings they were men. Humans to be exact. She could smell their stench even through the vile smoke. Jumping into the branches of the downwind trees above the village, she was able to see down into the gathering of huts, many of them alight with fire. She could see a small gathering of male humans beneath her. They were hovering over a pile of lifeless bodies. Nevina was shaking, she feared that they would look up at any minute, that her shaking bones would give her away. Cold strands of sweat rolled down her face, after what seemed like ages the men left. Nevina did not bother to take a safer route down; she dropped from the branch that she was perched in, twisting her leg in the process. She hobbled as fast as she could over to the pile. Her screams echoed through the forest as what she saw. The lifeless bodies of her clan, impaled on spikes, burnt alive. Their eyes bulging from their sockets filled with blood. Gapping, charred mouths hanging from disfigured faces. Faces that she knew, that she loved. Nevina screamed again, causing her to jolt from her bed. She was in the basement of the castle, in her warm bed; she was however shivering in a cold sweat. The nightmares of that day, would they never stop? Nevina could feel the tears welling in her eyes. There would be no more sleep for her this night.

“Nightmares again, Nevina?” Gilda asked, a rare smile across her face.

“Is that that obvious?”

Gilda peered up at her from the dough she was kneading, “It looks like you have gone and smudged soot under you eyes. You can’t be too tired today, you’re serving the knight’s quarters again, and I don’t expect any faulty work.”

Nevina smiled. She was glad to see that Gilda’s concern had soon turned to the daily chores. Nevina was never one to have people worry about her, she was the one always looking out for others.

Nevina was clearing away some of last night’s dishes from a few of the rooms on the second floor when she saw a group of fellow chambermaids gathered around one of the stone windows to the court yard. She recognized a few of the giggling girls in the group and walked over to see what the fuss was about. Luana, a small pulp girl with curling black hair waved Nevina over to her, offering her a spot at the window. 

“It’s the royal family!” Luana squealed, her dimpled cheeks reddening. Nevina edged closer, but was only able to catch a glimpse of the family before they disappeared into the West End of the castle. In the two months that she had been her, she had never been able to see the family. She had her stories of the tall, strong King Elios and his beautiful wife Parisna. The chambermaids, however, always swooned over Prince Zeophene. 

Luana’s face was still crimson with excitement. “Did you hear the news, Nevina?”
Nevina looked at her. She knew that she was an outcast among most of the girls, being Gilda’s kin, and looking slightly odd with her pretty, angular face and handling herself with more grace from the rest of the girls. She never heard of any of the news unless it was from Gilda or Luana. The round girl continued to gush before Nevina could even answer, “Apparently, there was a mishap yesterday with one of our girls and a knight. A young man saved her from the swine and told one of the soldiers who then informed the prince! He was thrown out of the castle this morn’!” Luana was so excited about the news that she was hopping from one foot to the other. Nevina on the other hand felt ill. “Isn’t that great news! Serves that fat old man right for trying to hurt one of our girls. The whole kitchen is buzzing about it.” Nevina smiled at Luana. She had been the closest person to a friend that she had since working at the castle. 

“Thanks for the update Luana.” Nevina couldn’t help but like the girl. She was always cheery despite the whispers from the other girls that were purposely overheard. “I’d better get these trays back before Gilda has my head.”

“Aye, I have some table cloths to scrub myself.” She frowned. “How I wish just to stare at the royal family all day. They are like a painting!” Nevina watched as Luana waddled away. She found it strange how the hierarchy of humans worked and how three humans, just like everyone else, could be seen as gods. “Such a strange race.” She muttered to herself before hurrying down the nearest staircase.
Nevina had almost finished clearing the third floor when she was knocked down to the stone floor, the dishes crashing to the floor. 

“Oi! Bloody hell!” Nevina growled. “You idi..” She caught herself before finished. On the floor next to her was the young same young man that had saved her the day before. His hood had been thrown back, revealing his straight black hair and sharp, handsome features. “It’s you. Thank you for before.” He looked at her through he tussled strands that were hanging before his eyes. 

“I’m very sorry miss.” Nevina could see the colour rise in his cheeks. He was panting. The sound of footsteps could be heard in a nearby hallway. He looked around before jumping to his feet. “Please, I beg of you, cover my presence again.” But before Nevina could answer he had slipped into the room across from where she sat. Soon the footsteps were around her. Two soldiers stood before her. They helped her to her feet. 

“Are you okay miss?” the first one asked. He was a brood man, with a dark beard. Beads of sweat were present on his nose.

“Yes, I think. Thank you.” She was trying her hardest to hide the slight accent to her western speech

He smiled, “Did you happen to see which way that man went?” Nevina thought for a moment. Why were royal soldiers after this man? He could even be a threat to the royal family. Not that Nevina really cared, since they were the ones who sent for the death of her people. 

“I believe he went down the next corridor.” She answered, after a moment’s hesitation. She figured it would be in her best interest not to anger a man her knew her secret. The two men thanked her and hurried away. When she could no longer hear their boots hitting the stone floor, she entered the room to find the stranger. 

“Hello?” there was no answer and no one to be seen. She shrugged and went to clean up the mess that he had made of her silver. She found herself grumbling about all of the trouble he had gotten her into these past two days. Too many people had noticed her presence. She was just about finished picking up the few remaining forms when someone grabber her from behind. She let out a yelp before dropping all of the silver once again. It was the young stranger. He laughed and apologized before dropping to the floor to help pick up the mess. 

“Thank you once again.” He said to her with a smile. Nevina could feel the blood rise to her cheeks. His eyes caught hers. She forced herself to look away. Lost for words, she merely nodded.

“Where did you hide in that room?” she finally asked him. “I called for you, but you were no where in sight.”

“In the walls.” He answered frankly. She stared at him, awaiting more in depth answer. He grinned. “There are many secrets in this old castle that only a few know of.”

“And how does one running from the royal soldiers know of these secrets?”

The mischievous grin appeared again on the man’s face. “That, my dear, is a secret I’d rather keep for now. As is your secret.” With that, he rose from the floor and bowed to Nevina, sweeping the floor with his fingertips. He caught her eyes once more as he looked up. Before she could even protest, he had vanished around the corner, the black cloak billowing behind him like wings. The heat in her cheeks still present, Nevina was for one time in her life in awe.