Loving the Shadow

Perla

Perla was whisked away once understanding Lyss' message after they hid under the bed. She sighed as she headed to the dining room, mentaling stealing her mind for the discussions to follow. 'Probably just going to be a lot of politics and engagement offers.' The doors approached quickly and every nerve felt like it was going to explode. She just wanted to run, run far away and never look back. The doors slowly opened inward and the dining room table came into view, food already set and her father at the head of the table, mother at the other end her spot in the middle.

"I am sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. I do hope the food is still warm" Perla bowed slightly to her parents.

Her mother waved her off, "It is fine sweetheart, the food just arrived. Come in, come in now, it will get cold if you don't hurry, hmm?" Perla bit her tongue and sat at her spot, taking in her meal before her. Unsurprisingly it was rabbit stew, a favorite of her father. She much preferred some of the sweeter dishes, but knowing her fathers temper she was complacent and ate what was in front of her without fuss.

Her father cleared his throat and took a swig of wine, "I have another suitor appointed for next week, he hails from Thornburrow." as he took a sip of his stew, he waited to see his daughters reaction of which she gave none visibly.

Internally, she was angry. 'When? When will this end? How many elves must I turn down to make it apparent to him that I don't want to marry?!' The grip on her spoon tightening the slightest when her father continued. "His name is Duke Keano Sune." Perla jumped up in shock.

"Surely you're joking, father, he's three hundred years older than I!" Perla's face was incredulous. Her mother stayed quiet and kept eating her soup, her father stared at her down for her behavior at the table. She stared at him in horror and fear as he showed nothing, continuing to eat like he hadn't just sold her to an old elf.

"Perla you've turned down almost every elf I bring in. You'll have to take one as a groom and if they happen to be older? Well you brought that onto yourself for being so difficult." He waved his hand in the air dismissively at her, who was just about done with the dinner. Even though it had only just begun, begrudgingly, she sat back down. She refused to talk to anyone and continued to eat her disgusting stew. Her glare at the table almost made it burst into flames.

A knock at the door was all they could hear in the silent room before a servant entered and handed an envelope to her father. Upon opening and reading it, his face grew angry. Perla immediately went to hide, she knew that face, the one of rage where one could not see clearly until he had all gone through anything in his way. They would face his wrath if they were to inquire about him or even be in his line of sight.

'Similar to a human bull I would think' She mused as her father started to yell and throw things around. Her mother still looked undisturbed as this was a very regular occurrence for the Winslow household. As he still shouted, her father left the room and shortly after her mother gracefully took her leave as well, leaving Perla in a disorganized clutter of food, wine and the letter.

Perla shook her head as she got up and left the room herself having no desire to be near her father or the chaos he created. She went to her room, wondering how her new friend was doing, hoping Lyss hadn't disappeared. She liked having a small companion after so long on her own. She opened her door and spotted Lyss rolling around in her curtains. They played with the billowing fabric.

Perla laughed and that caught Lyss' attention, although they already knew she was there. They just had to act innocent so she wouldn't suspect anything. Lyss trotted over to Perla as they let out a small mew to add to their character. Perla closed her door and scooped Lyss up immediately feeling comfortable holding the small ball of fluff. She walked over to her vanity and set the kitten down, and readied to undress and prepare for the night.

She usually didn't need the maids or the people who dressed her but they came in and dressed her anyways. If there was an important engagement she had to attend or dinner at her mothers request, only the best clothes for the dinner table. Taking off her jewelry, she watched Lyss start to play with some of her earrings. She laughed and walked to the dressing screen.

Perla rolled her eyes playfully at the kitten, "Now, now Lyss be careful with those. Mother would be quite cross if I were to lose them." Shimmying out of her dress for the second time of the long day, Perla reached for her nightgown and smiled as the light fabric caressed her skin. She walked back to the vanity and picked up a still playful Lyss. She went to her bed, almost immediately falling asleep when her head hit the pillow. She pet Lyss a few times and whispered a 'goodnight' before she succumbed to her dreams of the humans.

Over the next couple of days Lyss and Perla are inseparable, Perla took her kitten with her everywhere around the mansion. Her mother and father were not keen on the new found pet but didn't say anything about it. Lyss was always by Perla's side, they found that if they weren't around the Elf they started to get antsy. After all, if they were originally going to take her, someone else most definitely thought the same and who knew when someone would try something.

Perla's days were filled with engagements her mother set up and studying magic in the library. Lyss tagged along, though they did get bored when Perla was studying. Most of the time they curled up in her lap and napped, other times they decided to mess around with her a little and play with her hand that was writing notes or try to chew the pencil she was using, or chasing her skirts that pooled around her feet when she sat.

Perla quite enjoyed Lyss being so energetic and playful at times, it helped distract her from the looming proposal coming up in two days. She knew that she would reject this suiter just as she had many others in the past. Yet this specific man gave her the creeps, ever since she was a elfling he'd watched her. Sensing the unease of their new companion, Lyss pawed at her skirt to get her attention. Perla glanced down noticing Lyss being adorable and picked them up. Holding the brown kitten close to her face, she burrowed into their soft fur. Perla felt calmer as she listened to the surprisingly loud purrs coming from the small animal. She giggled softly, it could be heard throughout the room as Lyss licked Perla's face and put their paws on her cheeks.

They locked eyes and the odd thing to Perla was the amount of intelligence she could detect from looking into the eyes. They were familiar as they hid what they were thinking but calculating. 'So familiar,' She thought to herself as they stared at each other.