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<blockquote data-quote="Drusilia Nailo" data-source="post: 550858" data-attributes="member: 2062">Drusilia and Kilat ran through the streets, laughing, because they had both managed to escape their families.&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;I waited until Samiel had to visit the privy,&quot; Drusilia grinned.&nbsp; &quot;He's probably not going to be happy that I snuck away, though.&quot;Kilat snickered.&nbsp; &quot;Ma thinks that I'm just going out to buy some eggs, so I'd best remember to get some before going back.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Come on, let's go to the park,&quot; said Drusilia, knowing that though she'd escaped, that she would be found soon.&nbsp; &nbsp; The two broke into a run.&nbsp; &quot;Race you there!&quot;&nbsp; Kilat streaked on ahead.&nbsp; Both elves ran through the Merchant's District, and then into one of the city's only parks.&nbsp; It was a small plot of land, but was the perfect place for children to play.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kilat dove under the willow tree, and Drusilia followed suit.&nbsp; Both lay there on the ground, laughing and panting from the exertion.&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Beat you,&quot; said Kilat.&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia scowled at him.&nbsp; &quot;Only because you got a head start!&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Suddenly, they heard voices, of other children.&nbsp; Their flat accents suggested that they were humans.&nbsp; &quot;Well, lookie here,&quot; said one of them, sounding like a boy.&nbsp; &quot;What do we have, a little elfie?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia's eyes widened, and she and Kilat looked at each other.&nbsp; Could these humans see them in their secluded spot?&nbsp; She crawled on her belly to the other side of the tree, and peered out through the drooping branches.&nbsp; It didn't take long for her to realize that no, they had not seen her, nor had they seen Kilat.&nbsp; The &quot;elfie&quot; that they were talking about was another elven child.&nbsp; She knew him; his father worked for Papa.&nbsp; The child's name was Alust.&nbsp; &nbsp; Alust was backed up against a tree, and his eyes were wide, and terrified.&nbsp; And well he should have been; he was a frail child to begin with, but both of these human boys outweighed and outmuscled him by a lot. &quot;Leave me alone!&quot;&nbsp; He put his chin up in an act of bravado.&nbsp; &nbsp; The largest human boy laughed.&nbsp; &quot;Leave me alone,&quot; he mocked.&nbsp; &quot;I think that the little elfie thinks he can take us, what about you, Sean?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; The other boy nodded, a grin on his face.&nbsp; He nudged Alust's leg with his toe, causing the elven boy to yelp with surprise and fear.&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;You'd better leave me alone,&quot; said Alust, voice already trembling.&nbsp; &quot;Or else you'll be sorry.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Both boys started laughing.&nbsp; The biggest one stepped up to him, and punched him in the mouth, causing Alust's head to rock back, slamming into the trunk of the tree.&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Owwwwwwww!&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia winced as she heard Alust scream.&nbsp; &quot;That's going to make it worse,&quot; she fretted.&nbsp; &quot;What should we do, Kilat?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Kilat frowned intently.&nbsp; &quot;We can't just let them beat him up.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia nodded, sighing.&nbsp; &quot;Yeah.&nbsp; And they're human too.&nbsp; We can't let humans be mean to us.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Kilat hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. &quot;So what do we do, call for help?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia shot him a disdainful look.&nbsp; &quot;Help?&nbsp; From who?&nbsp; The Watch?&nbsp; Ha!&nbsp; Papa says that the Watch is Freeport's biggest joke.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Kilat looked as if he might have been ready to suggest doing just that, but one look at Drusilia's facial expression made him shake his head.&nbsp; &quot;No, no.&nbsp; Of course not.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Right.&nbsp; So we deal with it ourselves.&quot;&nbsp; She stood to her feet, dusting herself off, and then strode through the willow branches.&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Hey, Round Ears!&quot;&nbsp; Drusilia stood there, with her hands on her hips.&nbsp; &quot;Why don't you go pick on someone your own size?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; While she and Kilat had been having their discussion of what to do, the two humans had pounded poor Alust into the ground.&nbsp; It looked as if his nose was broken, and he was crying loudly, trying to curl up into a little ball.&nbsp; &nbsp; Both human boys looked up, and over to her.&nbsp; The largest one started laughing.&nbsp; &quot;It's a little elfie girl,&quot; he said.&nbsp; &quot;My father says that the best thing to do with an elfie girl is to-&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; He didn't get a chance to finish his statement.&nbsp; Drusilia ran across the grass at him, as fast as she could, and tackled him to the ground.&nbsp; She heard the boy grunt as the wind got knocked out of him, and grinned with satisfaction.&nbsp; She was tougher than most elves, thanks to Papa's training. &quot;Maybe you didn't hear me,&quot; she said to him, grabbing his rounded ears and using them to slam his head into the ground.&nbsp; &quot;I said to go pick on someone your own size.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; She heard the other boy moving up behind her, and felt his hands grab her by the shirt collar and start to haul her upwards.&nbsp; Suddenly, he let go, and she heard the impact moments before she felt it.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kilat had tackled the boy, sending the human careening into her.&nbsp; His weight pushed her forward, and down, so that the largest human now had three people on top of him.&nbsp; &nbsp; And then the brawl began.&nbsp; Two humans and two elves rolled around in the grass, pulling each other's hair, scratching and punching at each other, while one other elf lay curled beneath the tree, trying to stay as far away from the fight as possible.&nbsp; Drusilia, who had been taught to fight dirty, occasionally got in a stomach punch, or a knee to the groin.&nbsp; &nbsp; Finally, the biggest boy gasped, &quot;Let's get out of here!&quot;&nbsp; He crawled to his feet, and fled from the park.&nbsp; His companion labored to his feet with more effort, holding his ribs in pain.&nbsp; He stared wildly at the crazed Drusilia, as if he'd never seen anything like her before, and then fled.&nbsp; &nbsp; Dru rolled to her feet, feeling her cheek swelling, and knowing with absolute certainty that she was going to have a black eye.&nbsp; She looked down at Kilat, who didn't look like he was in much better shape.&nbsp; &quot;You okay?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; He nodded, and then the two of them moved over to Alust.&nbsp; &nbsp; Alust glared at Drusilia angrily.&nbsp; &quot;You shouldn't have interfered,&quot; he said to her, when she got to him.&nbsp; He held his nose, his eyes watering.&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia shrugged.&nbsp; &quot;Right, next time we let you get the snot beaten out of you by a couple of humans.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Alust sniffled a little bit.&nbsp; &quot;Thanks,&quot; he said sullenly, getting to his feet.&nbsp; &quot;Now that I've been protected by a girl, I'm going to go home and get yelled at for it.&quot;&nbsp; He gave Drusilia one more malevolent gaze, ignored Kilat, and then staggered off.&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Well!&quot;&nbsp; Drusilia said huffily.&nbsp; &quot;That's gratefulness for you.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Drusilia Naïlo.&nbsp; What do you think that you are doing?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia winced.&nbsp; &quot;Hello, Kennic,&quot; she said, turning around slowly.&nbsp; &nbsp; Her primary guardian, shadowed by a very frightened looking Samiel, walked down the path towards her.&nbsp; &quot;You look a mess.&nbsp; What am I going to tell your father, hmm?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia put her hands on her hips, glaring up at him.&nbsp; &quot;That I defended a helpless elf from two human bullies?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Kennic stared down at her.&nbsp; &quot;Don't think that this gets you off the hook,&quot; he said gruffly, grabbing her by the shoulder.&nbsp; &quot;Kilat, I'm afraid that your afternoon out with Drusilia has come to an end.&nbsp; You had best get yourself home.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Kilat nodded, shuffling his feet a little bit, before breaking into a run, more out of a desire to get away from Kennic than to meet his fate at home.&nbsp; &nbsp; Kennic drug Drusilia through the park, and then through the merchant's district.&nbsp; &quot;You should not have snuck away like that, Drusilia.&nbsp; The only reason you were able to succeed is that Samiel was too trusting of you.&nbsp; Don't think that he's going to fall for it again.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia sighed, and didn't say anything to defend herself.&nbsp; She'd have to do it all over again when Papa got home.&nbsp; &nbsp; As it turned out, she didn't have to wait for Papa to get home.&nbsp; He was already there, surrounded by three of his men, when Kennic drug her through the front door.&nbsp; He blinked, the only indication that he was surprised.&nbsp; &nbsp; His men took one look at Drusilia's condition, and got very quiet.&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;What is the meaning of this?&quot;&nbsp; Papa stepped forward, leveling the full force of his gaze at Samiel, who shrunk back.&nbsp; &nbsp; Kennic shook his head.&nbsp; &quot;While Samiel was in the privy, Drusilia decided that she wanted to sneak away.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Papa turned to look at her.&nbsp; &quot;Is this true?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; She nodded, wordlessly, but set her jaw.&nbsp; She hated a coward, and she wasn't going to act like one now, with this many people standing around.&nbsp; &nbsp; He folded his arms across his chest, frowning at her. &quot;What happened to you?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia sighed.&nbsp; &quot;There were two human boys in the park, who were beating up Alust.&nbsp; So Kilat and I started to beat them up.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Papa raised his eyebrows.&nbsp; &quot;Looks like they did some beating too.&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia nodded.&nbsp; &quot;But they were worse off.&nbsp; And they ran away.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Well, there's something, anyway.&quot;&nbsp; He turned to Kennic.&nbsp; &quot;Samiel came to you?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Kennic nodded, looking like he wanted to say more.&nbsp; &nbsp; Papa turned back to Samiel, who looked very pale.&nbsp; &quot;You get one more chance,&quot; he said, flatly, &quot;Because I know how hard my daughter can be to keep track of.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia winced.&nbsp; &nbsp; Kennic said dryly, &quot;He could hardly have been expected to take her into the privy with him.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Papa thought about that, and then nodded.&nbsp; &quot;From now on, Drusilia shall have at least two guards.&quot;&nbsp; He then turned back to Drusilia.&nbsp; &quot;Is Alust alright?&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia shrugged.&nbsp; &quot;I think they broke his nose.&nbsp; He's mad at me for helping him.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Mmm.&nbsp; More the fool he.&nbsp; Good work, Daughter,&quot; he added.&nbsp; &nbsp; Kennic scowled at Papa, but didn't say anything.&nbsp; Clearly, he thought that she was getting off too lightly.&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;Do not run off without your guards again,&quot; Papa finished up.&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Or I will start punishing them.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia winced, and started to move off.&nbsp; &quot;Yes, Papa,&quot; she said meekly.&nbsp; &nbsp; He nodded, and then turned his attention back to Kennic.&nbsp; &nbsp; Drusilia made a run for her bedroom, thankful that Papa wasn't angrier than he was.&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;You're letting her off too lightly,&quot; Kennic murmured to Papa.&nbsp; &nbsp; She didn't hear Papa's response, for it was too quiet, but whatever he said, it ended the conversation.&nbsp; Soon afterward, he left the house, and two more guards were sent to watch over her. It would be a long while before she would have any time to herself again.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Drusilia Nailo, post: 550858, member: 2062"] Drusilia and Kilat ran through the streets, laughing, because they had both managed to escape their families. "I waited until Samiel had to visit the privy," Drusilia grinned. "He's probably not going to be happy that I snuck away, though." Kilat snickered. "Ma thinks that I'm just going out to buy some eggs, so I'd best remember to get some before going back." "Come on, let's go to the park," said Drusilia, knowing that though she'd escaped, that she would be found soon. The two broke into a run. "Race you there!" Kilat streaked on ahead. Both elves ran through the Merchant's District, and then into one of the city's only parks. It was a small plot of land, but was the perfect place for children to play. Kilat dove under the willow tree, and Drusilia followed suit. Both lay there on the ground, laughing and panting from the exertion. "Beat you," said Kilat. Drusilia scowled at him. "Only because you got a head start!" Suddenly, they heard voices, of other children. Their flat accents suggested that they were humans. "Well, lookie here," said one of them, sounding like a boy. "What do we have, a little elfie?" Drusilia's eyes widened, and she and Kilat looked at each other. Could these humans see them in their secluded spot? She crawled on her belly to the other side of the tree, and peered out through the drooping branches. It didn't take long for her to realize that no, they had not seen her, nor had they seen Kilat. The "elfie" that they were talking about was another elven child. She knew him; his father worked for Papa. The child's name was Alust. Alust was backed up against a tree, and his eyes were wide, and terrified. And well he should have been; he was a frail child to begin with, but both of these human boys outweighed and outmuscled him by a lot. "Leave me alone!" He put his chin up in an act of bravado. The largest human boy laughed. "Leave me alone," he mocked. "I think that the little elfie thinks he can take us, what about you, Sean?" The other boy nodded, a grin on his face. He nudged Alust's leg with his toe, causing the elven boy to yelp with surprise and fear. "You'd better leave me alone," said Alust, voice already trembling. "Or else you'll be sorry." Both boys started laughing. The biggest one stepped up to him, and punched him in the mouth, causing Alust's head to rock back, slamming into the trunk of the tree. "Owwwwwwww!" Drusilia winced as she heard Alust scream. "That's going to make it worse," she fretted. "What should we do, Kilat?" Kilat frowned intently. "We can't just let them beat him up." Drusilia nodded, sighing. "Yeah. And they're human too. We can't let [i]humans[/i] be mean to us." Kilat hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "So what do we do, call for help?" Drusilia shot him a disdainful look. "Help? From who? The [i]Watch?[/i] Ha! Papa says that the Watch is Freeport's biggest joke." Kilat looked as if he might have been ready to suggest doing just that, but one look at Drusilia's facial expression made him shake his head. "No, no. Of course not." "Right. So we deal with it ourselves." She stood to her feet, dusting herself off, and then strode through the willow branches. "Hey, Round Ears!" Drusilia stood there, with her hands on her hips. "Why don't you go pick on someone your own size?" While she and Kilat had been having their discussion of what to do, the two humans had pounded poor Alust into the ground. It looked as if his nose was broken, and he was crying loudly, trying to curl up into a little ball. Both human boys looked up, and over to her. The largest one started laughing. "It's a little elfie girl," he said. "My father says that the best thing to do with an elfie girl is to-" He didn't get a chance to finish his statement. Drusilia ran across the grass at him, as fast as she could, and tackled him to the ground. She heard the boy grunt as the wind got knocked out of him, and grinned with satisfaction. She was tougher than most elves, thanks to Papa's training. "Maybe you didn't hear me," she said to him, grabbing his rounded ears and using them to slam his head into the ground. "I said to go pick on someone your own size." She heard the other boy moving up behind her, and felt his hands grab her by the shirt collar and start to haul her upwards. Suddenly, he let go, and she heard the impact moments before she felt it. Kilat had tackled the boy, sending the human careening into her. His weight pushed her forward, and down, so that the largest human now had three people on top of him. And then the brawl began. Two humans and two elves rolled around in the grass, pulling each other's hair, scratching and punching at each other, while one other elf lay curled beneath the tree, trying to stay as far away from the fight as possible. Drusilia, who had been taught to fight dirty, occasionally got in a stomach punch, or a knee to the groin. Finally, the biggest boy gasped, "Let's get out of here!" He crawled to his feet, and fled from the park. His companion labored to his feet with more effort, holding his ribs in pain. He stared wildly at the crazed Drusilia, as if he'd never seen anything like her before, and then fled. Dru rolled to her feet, feeling her cheek swelling, and knowing with absolute certainty that she was going to have a black eye. She looked down at Kilat, who didn't look like he was in much better shape. "You okay?" He nodded, and then the two of them moved over to Alust. Alust glared at Drusilia angrily. "You shouldn't have interfered," he said to her, when she got to him. He held his nose, his eyes watering. Drusilia shrugged. "Right, next time we let you get the snot beaten out of you by a couple of humans." Alust sniffled a little bit. "Thanks," he said sullenly, getting to his feet. "Now that I've been protected by a girl, I'm going to go home and get yelled at for it." He gave Drusilia one more malevolent gaze, ignored Kilat, and then staggered off. "Well!" Drusilia said huffily. "That's gratefulness for you." "Drusilia Naïlo. [i]What[/i] do you think that you are doing?" Drusilia winced. "Hello, Kennic," she said, turning around slowly. Her primary guardian, shadowed by a very frightened looking Samiel, walked down the path towards her. "You look a mess. What am I going to tell your father, hmm?" Drusilia put her hands on her hips, glaring up at him. "That I defended a helpless elf from two human bullies?" Kennic stared down at her. "Don't think that this gets you off the hook," he said gruffly, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Kilat, I'm afraid that your afternoon out with Drusilia has come to an end. You had best get yourself home." Kilat nodded, shuffling his feet a little bit, before breaking into a run, more out of a desire to get away from Kennic than to meet his fate at home. Kennic drug Drusilia through the park, and then through the merchant's district. "You should not have snuck away like that, Drusilia. The only reason you were able to succeed is that Samiel was too trusting of you. Don't think that he's going to fall for it again." Drusilia sighed, and didn't say anything to defend herself. She'd have to do it all over again when Papa got home. As it turned out, she didn't have to wait for Papa to get home. He was already there, surrounded by three of his men, when Kennic drug her through the front door. He blinked, the only indication that he was surprised. His men took one look at Drusilia's condition, and got very quiet. "What is the meaning of this?" Papa stepped forward, leveling the full force of his gaze at Samiel, who shrunk back. Kennic shook his head. "While Samiel was in the privy, Drusilia decided that she wanted to sneak away." Papa turned to look at her. "Is this true?" She nodded, wordlessly, but set her jaw. She hated a coward, and she wasn't going to act like one now, with this many people standing around. He folded his arms across his chest, frowning at her. "What happened to you?" Drusilia sighed. "There were two human boys in the park, who were beating up Alust. So Kilat and I started to beat them up." Papa raised his eyebrows. "Looks like they did some beating too. Drusilia nodded. "But they were worse off. And they ran away." "Well, there's something, anyway." He turned to Kennic. "Samiel came to you?" Kennic nodded, looking like he wanted to say more. Papa turned back to Samiel, who looked very pale. "You get one more chance," he said, flatly, "Because I know how hard my daughter can be to keep track of." Drusilia winced. Kennic said dryly, "He could hardly have been expected to take her into the privy with him." Papa thought about that, and then nodded. "From now on, Drusilia shall have at least two guards." He then turned back to Drusilia. "Is Alust alright?" Drusilia shrugged. "I think they broke his nose. He's mad at me for helping him." "Mmm. More the fool he. Good work, Daughter," he added. Kennic scowled at Papa, but didn't say anything. Clearly, he thought that she was getting off too lightly. "Do not run off without your guards again," Papa finished up. "Or I will start punishing them." Drusilia winced, and started to move off. "Yes, Papa," she said meekly. He nodded, and then turned his attention back to Kennic. Drusilia made a run for her bedroom, thankful that Papa wasn't angrier than he was. "You're letting her off too lightly," Kennic murmured to Papa. She didn't hear Papa's response, for it was too quiet, but whatever he said, it ended the conversation. Soon afterward, he left the house, and two more guards were sent to watch over her. It would be a long while before she would have any time to herself again. [/QUOTE]

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