Legends of Belariath
ShaKaSelu
Quasi-Dark Elf Chronicles - #2
Human Angst
It had be several years since my self-imposed exile from my tiny little hamlet that I had learned to call home, I had since then come upon many many towns and city-states, some notable, some not very reputable. My travels had eventually led me to a large village by the name of Aragon. It seemed quite peaceful, learning from my past experiences with humans and other humanoids, I had my hood pulled up as I entered the vicinity of the town, no need to get into a fight my first 5 minutes there. As soon as I entered, the smell of tanning leather and cow manure hit my nose, the same time as a large ringing sound signifying the town crier entered my ears. I immediately assumed that this place cultivated cattle for more than their meat and milk, they also made leather...perhaps for armor...nevertheless I dwelled on it not too long, for a girl no more than 5 years old came up to me and told me that I looked tall. Obviously the girl had not been taught manners, for soon her mother, or at least I assumed she was her mother, came up and retrieved the girl, bowing to me and begging my forgiveness for the girl's impudence. I merely smiled from under my hood and nodded, I told her "not to worry" and that "she knows not what she says". The mother looked at me in a strange way, as if judging my character. Shrugging, I continued on into town, walking into the general store for supplies. The clerk there tilted his head at me for a moment, as if trying to look under my hood, I pulled the hood tighter around my face and quickly made my way through the shop, collecting and resupplying the necessities as needed. As I walked up to the counter and prepared to pay for my goods, I heard a loud scream from outside. Dropping what I was carrying, I ran outside just in time to see a man standing over that woman whom I had seen when first entering this town. The man was slapping her repeatedly, telling her that she should never try and look a male in the eye, that is was not a woman's place to do so. I was not normally one to stand by and allow such mistreatment without undue cause. Just as the man was about to raise his hand for another strike, I stepped forward and grabbed his wrist, spinning him around roughly. He looked at me with a mixture of reverence and angst on his face, trying to figure out where I stood and what I was capable of.
"Listen here you.. stranger.. yer new to our town ain'ts ya..well lissen here... women do not look men in the eyes.. just tis'nt done!". I could hardly concentrate on his words, for his breath smelled like a combination of beef, alcohol and vomit. I merely told him that although she may have committed an offense, that does not warrant him beating her and I wish for him to stop immediately. The man merely scoffed and pushed me.. or rather.. tried to push me, I did not budge. Rather than tempt fate, the man backed down and retreated into the nearby tavern, probably to resume imbibing alcohol. His wife, after dusting herself off and standing up, invited me to her house for something to eat, claiming that I must have been famished, she looked at me like she was famished as well, but not for food and drink. I told her that I doubt she would want an outcast at her house, when inquiring about that statement, I showed her what I meant by pulling down my hood, exposing my dark navy bluish face and short white hair.
She gasped for a moment, then got a thoughtful look on her face. Shrugging, she said that she did not mind, she was sure that all Dark Elf were not evil, something I have yet to seen proven, I thought. An hour and 2 servings of beef stew later, we were sitting in the main room, talking about my travels and such. She suddenly stood up and once again, I saw that strange look on her face, unfortunately however, I was not able to dwell on it long, for she had thrown herself on me and was slobberingly trying to kiss me and straddle my lap, I was not use to being so close to a woman, and so instinctually, I threw her off. At once, she stood up and vowed that I would regret turning her down and that she would see me burn. I immediately jumped up and headed for the door, but not before she ran outside screaming, "RAPE! RAPED BY A DARK ELF!", over and over again, causing a whole crowd of people to show up and produce weapons and such seemingly out of nowhere. I chose not to stick around and find out how the hell they pulled that trick, so I bolted North, hoping that humans were not faster than elves.
Fortunately for me, they had no desire to pursue me past the town limits and broke it off. Stopping at a tree on the side of the road to catch my breath, I came to a realization, one that I would hold onto for the longest of times...."Humans.. are never to be trusted...NEVER"