1705. Luck had never been on Eleanora Finley's side. After her father died in a tragic fire, she was left at the mercy of her domineering and abusive mother, being deprived of all love and affection.
Truly, who would have thought that the simple red...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
1705, The Town of Raevigny, Esterdel
There was a small, derelict house beside that dirt road, tightly sandwiched between a butcher's stall and a tea house. While almost everyone else had switched to using slate tiles, the house still had thatch roofing, reminiscent of the past millennia.
The living area was tiny and cramped, and after placing an old musty couch and a wooden table inside, there was barely any space left to walk. There was a young girl curled up into a ball on the couch, hands tightly clutching her empty stomach.
The landlady had dropped by just now, but the destitute Finleys had no way to pay her. The plump and round Mrs Sudworth was not too pleased about that, threatening to kick the Finleys out of their home.
However, even if she threatened them with death, she would still never get her money. Christopher Finley was not a very bright man, and all he was good at was sawing down wood and making little trinkets for his daughter, Eleanora to play with.
A craftsman had hired him out of pity, which allowed the Finleys to keep their home, though he earned enough just to feed themselves.
Dinah Finley, wife to Christopher and mother to Eleanora was a gluttonous woman, and she would gulp down all the food before the others could even blink. Her daughter ended up being as thin as a stick while she was as big as a boulder.
As soon as Mrs Sudworth left, Dinah Finley completely shed away her previous cordiality and turned her rage and scorn towards the thirteen year-old Eleanora.
"This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't married your stupid father!" she shouted, her voice as shrill as a banshee, "My life became ruined after I married him!"
Eleanora was silent and unmoving on the couch, barely having the energy to stand up. She and her father had not eaten for two days now to save up for rent, though Dinah somehow managed to gorge herself every three hours. With tears in her eyes, the young girl stared at the small wooden ornament of an elephant in her hands, one carved by her father.
The Finleys could not afford to send Eleanora to school, and she never knew that elephants existed, let alone know what they looked like. It was the same for Christopher, but one day, the kindly Master Andrade showed him a painting of an elephant.
"The master said that they are huge, massive animals, Nora!" Christopher had told her a few nights before. "He says that they are as tall as the workshop, and that they have these long, grey trunks! Aren't they very peculiar ?"
"That is so strange!" Eleanora chirped. "I can't imagine what they look like!"
Christopher frowned. He was not the best at describing things, but he could carve them. "Wait, I'll carve one for you! Then you'll see!"
