Shadows and Mirrors

Sinda groaned slightly as she picked herself up off the rough ground. She had been forcefully removed from her cell and tossed in the compound, getting seriously bruised and scraped up in the process. She could hear almost inaudible whispering in the darkness.

The fighter lifted up her head to see something she never in her life thought she would see--female drow, bruised and battered, huddled against each other and the walls in fear. Bewildered, she gazed back at five pairs of eyes wide in terror.

"What the hell?" she managed

One of the drow females shifted forward apprehensively. "Who are you?" she asked in a whisper.

"Sinda Do'ana of House Noquar. You?" the figher asked, raising herself to her knees.

"Vierna. I...I don't know what family or House I'm from," she said softly, looking down in shame. Sinda realized she was looking at a girl around 20, not even an adult.

She flinched slightly when the warrior stretched out her hands, almost as though expecting to be struck. Instead, Sinda placed her hands on either side of Vierna's face, lifting her chin up and scrutinizing her features. "Let's see," the warrior mumrured. "Narrow face, ivory hair, gray eyes. House Inlindl, definitely the Matheld'de jawline. Val's fine features, too. I knew your mother."

"Really? What was she like?" Vierna asked, sudden life filling her eyes.

"Val? Highly intelligent and independent. She was an Eye of Lolth. Reverend Daughter in the Church, I think. Surprisingly understanding, too. She was a decent sort. I'd be proud to be her daughter."

"That's very kind of you," the girl said.

"True, too. Val Matheld'de was a mentor of mine for quite a while. Good commander, amazing fighter, and unflinching under pressure."

"I wish I was more like her then," Vierna said, tears dripping down. The sight twisted like a knife in the warrior's fight, awakening some latent maternal instinct in Sinda. She put her arm around the girl's shoulders.

"You can learn."

Four other girls pulled closer. One was barely an adult, the rest all between thirty and twenty one. Kelfay was the oldest, followed by Talarra, Zilune, Istya, and finally Vierna. None of the younger ones could say what house or family they were from, and Kelfay's memories were blurry and vague. Sinda had never felt so angry in her life, but she didn't want to show it in front of them. Once the others were asleep, she sat down to speak to Kelfay.

"How long have the five of you been here?"

"Most of our lives. I was taken here when I was six, I think. I'm not terribly certain about my family. There were two others that took care of us when we were younger. One died about eight years ago, the other about ten."

"What were they like?"

"Aunrae was a warrior like you. She looked out for us, and taught us how to protect ourselves some. Larafae was a priestess of Eilistraee, and the two of them acted sort of like a pair of older sisters for us. They were the only ones who seemed to care about us. The male drow here usually just show disdain. Darzemaan will be letting us out into the city soon."

"What happened to them?"

"Darzemaan happened. He killed Aunrae. No one knows exactly what happened, but everyone knows that he was the one who slit her throat. I...I don't talk about Larafae's death if I can help it."

Sinda put a hand on her arm. "Try anyway, please."

"You can't tell any of the others. I never told them she was dead, I couldn't. All I could say was 'She's gone'."

"I won't I promise," she said.

Kelfay struggled to find the words. "She and I were in the Chapel of Vhaerun. We were supposed to go take down one of the tapestries hanging in there and repair it. I was running ahead of her in the halls, thinking everything was fine. I don't know where Darzemaan came from, but all of a sudden I heard his raised voice behind me," she said, stopping suddenly.

"It's alright," Sinda said, "You can stop if you want."

"No, someone needs to know. Vierna's old enough to hear everything explained, but I can't tell her. I think Talarra and Zilune have their suspicions, but I couldn't be sure. Istya and Vierna are completely in the dark."

"I can try and explain that if you feel it's necessary, but it might be better if they never know."

"Perhaps," Kelfay said. "After Darzemaan's arrival, things went from bad to worse. I could see that something was wrong in his face, but I didn't know what. Larafay and I were taking the tapestry down when something happened, but I don't recall what. A male drow servant had come in to help us. Zektar was always fairly kind, and he was helping me with my side."

Sinda waited patiently for her to continue.

"Darzemaan said something in a different language that neither of us understood. I think he was baiting Larafay. She answered back, and whatever she said infuriated him. Darzemaan drew his sword and ran her through from behind. I froze. I couldn't scream, I couldn't cry. Zektar dropped the tapestry and grabbed me, turning me so I wouldn't be facing her, but I had to keep looking. He twisted the sword, then wrenched it out as painfully as he could..."

The warrior rose to her feet as Kelfay's voice trailed away, prowling about the room. I'll get you for all of this, Darzemaan. I promise.

(Darzemaan without his mask)