Delivering a Message [Job]

Liri sat silently, staring down to the mat beneath her.  She was in a large hall with clean marble floors and velvet curtains. The small girl was alone next to her rather large master as he read a scroll. This was an average day.  Her purple eyes shifted up towards him. What was he reading? The girl’s curiosity got the better of her as she peered at him, trying to be as discreet as possible. However, he noticed. Her master didn’t like Liri’s gaze. He thought it was conniving and evil. He would tell her that the eyes of a magician were like those of a demon. So, when he raised his hand, Liri flinched despite knowing what was coming.

The smack echoed through the hall as her small body skidded off the matt and down onto the hard marble floor of the room. Her head rang as she laid on the cool tiled floor. The place of contact as on the side of her upper cheek, she could feel a small trail of blood trickling down her face. He had used the pack of his hand. She had gotten scratched with his ring. The girl processed this all mechanically as she waited for him to tell her it was okay to get up.

”You mind your place. My scroll is my own, as are you. Return to your position before you bring further disgrace as my servant.” Her master’s voice reached her despite the pulsing pain ringing through her head and shoulders. When she landed on the floor, her shoulder took most of the damage, causing her to wince with each motion. The bone was probably bruised. Liri wanted to heal herself, but she wasn’t allowed to do that. So, the girl merely moved to sit once more.

This time, she kept her eyes on her folded knees, silently watching the blood drip onto her legs. In her silence, her master spoke out. His voice, despite not being too loud, still echoed in the halls. ”Go give this message to Clay,” Liri shifted automatically, like a robot being controlled by a remote. She bowed her head deeply and moved to pick up the small scroll that had been placed in front of her master, taking great care to never raise her head higher than his sitting form. Taking the scroll in her hands, she bowed once more and turned to go deliver the papers.

Stepping out into the sun, Liri let out a deep breath. She hadn’t been in the sun for a while. Her master was old and in poor health, so he rarely let her out. The only reason she could assume he had her go is because everyone else was busy. She didn’t know too much, but one could easily guess they weren’t going to be in this country for much longer. The new king had made slavery illegal. Liri knew her master had stubbornly tried to hold onto the market he once had within the country, but that was probably impossible now. The scroll in her hand probably said that. Whatever it said, the girl didn’t feel the slightest curiosity. So, gripping the scroll, she made her way down the bustling streets. Slavery was illegal. So, she had to be careful and not draw attention to herself. Liri kept her eyes on the ground as she walked, focused on getting to her destination… However, she found herself stopping for some reason.

Why wasn’t she running away? Here she was, away from her master and anyone who could stop her. She could throw the scroll on the ground and run. Liri could be free. So… why was the grip on the scroll tighter than before? Why was she marching onward like a mechanical doll? The girl bit down on her lower lip as she continued her walk. Liri wasn’t strong enough to run away. She could never take those steps. Was it fear? Was it just the trained obedience that had been beaten into her? The girl didn’t know. All she knew was that her master requested she deliver a message. So, she went along her way.

Delivering the scroll was easy enough. The walk back wasn’t that difficult either. The whole errand had taken her less than an hour. All Liri did was walk across the city, hand over a scroll to the group of handlers and walked back. So, as she stood in front of the building that her master laid within, the girl wondered why she was so tired. Why were her legs moving so sluggishly? Somehow, even this simple task made her feel sad. Shaking her head, Liri took in a deep breath before walking into the building to once again face her master.

[792/500]