Beauty and the Skeksis

Part 1

It had always been an uneasy alliance with the Skeksis here in the castle. Ever since the girl had been dropped off here by magical means somehow, she had taken up residence here in the castle under SkekSo the Emperor's rule.

There were some Skeksis that she got along with better than others. She wasn't a politician by any means, but she got along better with them than the military types. But the one of them that she had a little bit of a feud with was SkekSil the Chamberlain. He had seemed to have it in for her from day one.

The Emperor's right hand advisor always seemed to be watching her, waiting for her to flinch in her duty to the Skeksis. He was always watching her suspiciously. He would also get a bit jealous when the emperor would take her advice over his. SkekSo had come to appreciate her advice many a time.

From the beginning, Sil had tried to 'befriend' this strange creature that resembled a tall Gelfling, but she would have none of his schemes. And that's why he had come to dislike her so much.

The girl was subservient to any of them, but she would try to stand up for herself too. She wasn't a coward. The Skeksis had at first thought she was like any Gelfling they commanded here and outside the castle. They were called Lords of the Crystal.

She seemed to get along the most with SkekEkt, SkekOk, a bit with SkekLach, SkekSo the Emperor, and SkekAyuk the Gourmand. She was more wary of SkekZok and SkekVar. There were other ones who she had never met yet too, like SkekMal the Hunter, SkekUng, SkekNa, and SkekShod.

The human also seemed to get along with the castle guards too, as well as the Podlings. She got along better with them because they reminded her of her own kind back home on Earth. The girl's sleeping quarters were close by theirs as well.

Chamberlain thought that's where she fit in best, was with the lowest of Gelfling. Even though she wasn't one of them, that's where he felt she belonged. He would also attempt to get her into trouble whenever he could too, by making up something that wasn't true. Sometimes it got her in trouble, but other times it backfired on him.

One day, the girl said to the Emperor, "Sire, I would never try to dishonor you in any way. I am your humble servant. That I swear to, kind of like your Gelfling guards, that they live to serve you and protect you. Well, I like living here in this great big castle of yours. You are certainly different looking from my people and I find your kind fascinating to know about, and in many ways, you're all not that different from humans back home."

"Aw! I find that flattering. Just how are we like your people?" So inquired. He was curious to know how a race that looked like Gelflings could be similar to his own kind compared to more peaceful ways of the Gelfling.

"Well, since I've been here for this trine, I have studied your ways and come to see them as how it's not much different than how humans do things. Well, most of the jobs that you do, what you all call yourselves, happen in royal households for sure." She explained. "We also have courts that decide the rules and laws. We also have military fighters. And technology that helps us do many things like healing bad health, transportation, fixing things, and so on. It's hard to explain it all."

"Very interesting." Tek the Scientist declared. "Would like to see more such likes of technology."

"You would, weakling." Var the General exclaimed. He wasn't the most patient of the Skeksis and thought her story was ridiculous. He didn't believe it. "And your military, do they take lives?" He demanded.

"If they have to, yes. They don't hesitate to do it either. Most of the time, it is of course, our own kind. We don't have wars with many other races of beings." She stated.

"What about history of your kind?" Ok the Historian asked.

"Yeah, we have libraries that are full of human history. Like I said, among the titles of what you call yourselves, and some of the behavior you show to me is not unlike my own kind either."

"Intriguing, Human." So declared. "I wouldn't mind seeing some of these ways for myself."

Sil found it disgusting the way she was sucking up to his leader. She had to have been lying about some of this stuff she was telling. He would get to her later when he wasn't so busy.

The girl was allowed to go about her duties here in the castle, which was primarily being a cleaner, message deliverer, and such. She would also offer advice from her experience that some of the Skeksis found useful and intriguing. But there were still ones like Zok and Var who didn't care for her at all.