Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

The store was preparing to open. Leech was busy sweeping the stone steps as she did every day for Master Caprice while he tinkered in the workshop. Sweep the steps up to the door, move across the room to the back corner, wipe the counter, and sweep again just before flipping the sign to OPEN. She had been doing the same thing at the same pace for many arcs now. She was a simple girl whom held a simple job. Some would question if she wanted more. If she had ever been asked point blank, Leech would have tilted her head blankly as she always did. What more could she possible want other than clothes on her back, a roof over her head, and food in her belly.

Then again, Leech did want. She wanted very badly to have a family. No, she wanted her family back. Rey'na had been spun around by Lisirra more times than she could remember. She watched her flounce around on the arms of men from the dark shadows of an alleyway. Rey'na lived while Leech hid. Consumed by her self loathing and inner hatred, Leech did not sense the messenger sneak up on her. The man cleared his throat, causing Leech to offer a startled sound. "Eeep!"

"Excuse me miss. I have a letter for Master Caprice from the Duke of Oakleigh. Will you see that he gets it?" The man held out the rolled up letter to her. Clutching her broom tightly to her chest, she reaching a shaking hand to take the note. She nodded, but said nothing. Her face remained the same as before: blank. Inside, her blood rushed and her heart thumped her chest bone with gusto. The messenger tipped his hat having realized he was not getting anything extra for his delivery and went about the rest of his day.

This is going to ruin my routine. I'm going to be late opening the door. Leech grumbled in her thoughts, entering the shop with the message in hand. She slipped through the rows of stuffies and erect toy soldier. The dolls watched her with unmoving eyes as she moved to the back of the store. Leech paused just inside the workshop. She set her broom outside. It was best not to drag it with her in case she picked up sawdust and tracked it into the store. It would make her routine even more lengthy. Sawdust was troublesome to sweep.

"Master Caprice?"

"What is it Girl?"

There was familiarity in the way he called her 'Girl'. She had never been forthcoming about her name, so he had settled for the term. Leech tip-toed across the floor, dancing from one clear spot to the next so as not to pick up too much saw-dust. Caprice was busy at his work station. She got close enough to see him using a spooning carving tool on a wooden ball. This ball was still in the early stages of being worked. He liked to place the eye sockets of advanced dolls before shaping the rest of the face. It made it easier to center the features. She hoped to use these observations in the future.

"A message for you." Leech was quiet as she spoke, handing over the note. Caprice's hands were callused from working with the wood. She saw the cracks in his palm as he took the note from her. He opened it up, taking in the information. Leech looked over his shoulder at the fancy squiggles. Even though she looked like she was reading it, she did not understand the meaning. She had never been taught to read or write.

"It looks like we have an order. Can't say I have ever made cat toys, but what is the difference between children's toys and pet toys?"

"They are smaller."

"That was rhetorical Girl."

Leech tipped her head from one side to the other as she tried to understand the word. Caprice simply sighed, sensing that once again she did not understand. "It is a term used when someone asks a question when they did not really want an answer. I already know the answer. Therefore, you did not need to provide one. Go now. I should get started on these."

As she began to pick her way around the puddles of wood dust, Caprice cleared his throat again. He had reached the bottom of the letter. "It looks like you will be going on an adventure Girl. I will need you to take the cat toys to Oakleigh. It is in the Eastern Settlement. Hope you like a little adventure."
She left on the 30th of Ymiden from Andaris. Master Caprice had seen her off at the port, giving explicit details on what she was to do and say. She was to arrive in Welles 2 day later. There, she was supposed to hire a carriage to take her to Tristan Venora's estate in Oakleigh. Master Caprice said she would pay for everything up front and he had high hopes that this Duke Venora would be quick to pay her back. He had estimated it would be a gold nel for travel to Welles and an additional two gold nel to hire a private carriage to take her to Oakleigh. That would include a small tip for the carriage driver. It was a pittance for the stress Leech had gone through.

Shaking in her shoes, Leech stood at the bottom of the stairs to the Duke of Oakleigh's house. She had bought herself a small suitcase that contained all the clothes she owned and her carving supplies. Entertainment on this trip had been a must. The little peg dolls were beginning to take on more life as she sanded their nobbed heads into smooth circles. The only other item she had was the handmade doll that normally sat on her desk. It made for a good traveling companion. Picking up the suitcase in one hand, she tucked the parcel of cat toys beneath her other arm to ascend the stairs. There, she sat down the suitcase so that she might lift the heavy knocker.

Whatever was about to happen was going to be one of the most interesting events in her life.

The woman before her was massive, at least from her short perspective. Leech lifted her gaze up to inspect the woman's face. Her facade never changed. Instead, she only offered a nod. All of these, for a cat? Didn't men get girlfriends to fend off the loneliness and women get cats? The girl would have continued her thought process to try and understand why a man would spend so much on a cat if not for the hand that was shoved in her direction. She was yet again encountered with this strange custom. Since Zedarius had permitted her to ignore it before, she figured she would ignore it again. Leech did not move to shake Hannah's hand.

Once the guard realized that Leech was not going to respond appropriately, she was permitted entry. The quiet girl entered, picking up her suitcase and the package of cat toys. Leech was not used to such finery. Having never been inside the ornate house of a Rynmere aristocrat or noble, she figured this is what every house was like in Andaris. She had a humble home. It was a roof to protect her from the wind. All that was necessary for her to survive.

Hannah ushered her into the sitting room where she was permitted to drink something and pick from the treats in the bowl. Leech maneuvered her way into the center of the room where she set the suitcase next to one of the armchairs and the parcel of toys on the table. The dark liquid in the decanter looked like juice but smelled strange to her. Leech left it, unsure of its origin. Instead, she picked up a cookie from the bowel and moved back to sit in the seat. Like a mouse, she nibbled the round.

Leech had finished her cookie just as the frightening beast was permitted into the room. She watched with no emotion as the cat barreled into the room only to stop and hiss at her. Ingrate. She had traveled all this way to deliver hand crafted toys to a ball of fur that spat and hissed. Just like every drooly child she had ever sold a doll to. Even the animals were no better. With her eyes focused on the cat, she was alerted of a newcomer by the sound of shoes on the floor. Gently she raised her gaze upwards. The red shoes were flashy but disappeared into a sea of black fabric. Her gaze finally met his. His shock was met with her blank stare.

Faith? Where had she heard that name before? A vague memory of a mirror entered her mind. She had been arguing with herself about who she was and was not. That replicant had stated that she was Faith. Was she? Leech had stated firmly that she was not. They could not be one and the same.

Realizing that she was staring, Leech stood up slowly before leaning her upper body slightly forward as Master Caprice had taught her. They had gone over the formalities of meeting a nobleman in great detail. After he felt that knowing greeting etiquette would spare her long enough to get out of the situation, they had talked about her name in length. For what felt like arcs, Master Caprice had tried to pry her name from her. He had been met with silence. In disgruntlement he left it to her to introduce herself.

Leech had no intention of doing so. What name was she to give? There were no dolls to steal from. Instinctively she reached forward, picking up the parcel and holding it out. She never made eye contact again. Ever the obedient disciple.

"Master Caprice sent me to deliver your special order. We thank you for your business," Leech stated calmly, just as she had practiced on the ship and in the carriage.

He seemed so disappointed in her arrival? Was he getting himself set up for disappointment in the toys? Leech straightened slowly, her face blank. Her inner being was crestfallen. Had she already messed up the transaction just by looking like someone else? Leech bounced nervously bounced from one foot to the other. Master Caprice was going to be so mad at her if this deal did not go down well. Leech didn't want to leave her apartment. It was the only real home she knew after the death of her father and the loss of her sister. Rey'na had succumbed to Lisirra after that. Everything she knew had been lost then. She couldn't lose it again.

Duke Venora seemed to change shortly after that. He was saying strange things. Things she didn't understand. What on earth was a doppleganger? If he had one, did everyone have one? Why would she have one? This Faith sounded like an amazing woman. After all, she had given birth to a child and had loved a man. Isn't that what marked a successful human being? Leech had not done any of that. Tristan had gone about opening the parcel by now, checking out each individual cat toy. She waited patiently while he focused on the cat. The cat approached slowly, still cautious of the intruder. The creature proceeded to jump into the box and dig the toys out from it. One little toy mouse was kicked away. It had a larger head than its body. One of the ears was also larger than the other. It was missing an eye and its tail was incredibly short. The rest of the toys were perfect. Some had feathers and were coated in extra smelly cat drugs. They were toys a cat would love. Not her reject mouse.

Leech stepped up to the table between the seats. She had often brought drink to Master Caprice when he was too busy in his workshop to remember to eat. She poured him a glass of the red liquid and crept up to him. Gently she offered him the glass. "I made that one," Leech mumbled, tilting her head to the rejected mouse. "Master Caprice says it is free of charge to Mistral. A complimentary gift."

Whatever that meant. Leech stepped back once he took the glass from her, remaining away from the client while he inspected his goods. She thought about everything that had transpired over the course of the last several trials. First, a dream had argued with her. Next a man had mistaken her for someone else. Now, this man had made the same mistake. Maybe all her memories were fake. An illusion of Lisirra's doing. She looked at the cat who seemed to be enjoying the nice toys. "Yes, it does."

"Am I Faith?" The question came out of her mouth without thinking. Maybe it had been there since the first dream she had where the mirror said she was Faith. All her life she had yearned for a family. If she were Faith, then she would have one. A child with a doting father. Would he know if he were Faith? Leech only remember pain and sorrow. Was it not possible that there had been good in her life? Why did this other her deserve every ounce of happiness?

It was hard to have to live in someone else's shadow. All her life, she had been doing that. Rey'na's shadow was hard enough; even Lisirra was attempting to cast it upon her. To have someone with her face wandering around the world. Someone that people loved and cared about. Leech would never be able to live up to that. Pseudo-Faith. Even if she was Morana, or Leech, someone would always see her as Faith. How was she supposed to be herself if she was seen as someone else? "I doubt your sculptures are as ugly as my mouse, Duke Venora."

Compliment him. That was one of the things that Caprice had been very clear about. Aristocrats and nobles liked to have their egos floated. Always talk down about yourself and place them upon a pedastle. They like that. It was degrading, but appropriate, given the situation. Customers kept coming back if they felt they were revered. She stepped away from him as he stammered out the suggestion. Instinctively, Leech shook her head. "I am not Faith. I don't have a child."

Children came from the deepest most pure emotion on the face of Idalos: love. She had never felt that before. Not love from her family or another person. Just loneliness. "I am sorry to let you down. Thank you for your business Duke Venora. I must go."

She did not want to be here a moment more. Originally, she was to stay and have dinner with him and be provided housing for her long journey from Andaris. Now all she wanted to do was run from the manor and never look back on this life. Leech bowed deeply, backing up as she did so so she could collect her things. Given his demeanor, she expected him to summon his house servant and let her leave. Once she was free of the house she would simply head down the drive on her own. Eventually she would find a town or be swallowed up by the wilderness. Anything; no, everything was better than having to live in the shadow of a ghost.