The girl sat in the dark room. She had her eyes tightly closed and was huddled in a ball as she listened to the happenings in the other room. The walls seemed to quiver with a vibration and she clenched her fists tightly trying to block out her surroundings. She wished fervently that she was anywhere but there. Had she been lying in a rut out in the free world she would have been happier than in those enclosed walls.
It was her uncle, her guardian, who was in the other room. It was a habit of his to make such a ruckus at night. His alcoholism was his passion, only second to his "nightly visitors" and money. The first was usually accompanied by the second, and neither could be accomplished without the third. They were all three present in the other room, though the third was their last. The lack would have it's effect on the girl, and the girl alone even though it was her meager amount of inherited land, in those greedy hands of her uncle, that provided his entertainment.
For the last 15 years it had been the same monotonous events. It had been for as long as she could remember, but it was only now that she was able to understand. Questions constantly arose in her mind. How could she continue a life like this? Barely enough food to sustain her. No forms of luxury such as lady of her noble birth should be graced with. The visions of the beatings and drunken men constantly surrounding her. Being made to work as a servant for the man who she despised.
Like a volcano ready to erupt she held the tears inside. She tried to be strong for she knew no other way of life. This was the man her mother, when she died, had left her with. He, being her only close relative and legal guardian, had full jurisdiction over her. The only reason it was not her that he beat, or her that he raped, was because, through her father, she was a distant relative of Charlemagne. He planned to wed her off to a wealthy noble and then kill the husband, again putting her in his custody, with all the money attached.
With all those thoughts of evil running through her head, and the sounds of her uncle ringing in her ears, she drifted off into a deep sleep.
The girl awoke the next morning, the sun shining ever so brightly though the window. The house was quiet, not a peep from the room beside her. Shivering from the cold, she arose and dressed. She ran her fingers through her long black hair and straightened the bodice of her grey woolen dress. Her uncle never woke until well past sunrise. She quietly opened the door of her room and made her way out to the common room. There she walked about, picking up the remnants of the last nights merrymaking. There she met with her one friend, Elsie, the woman who had served in that home for about twenty years. They greeted each other warmly.
"Good morning Drazelle. I trust you slept well considering..." Elsie said as she gestured towards Drazelle's uncles room. Elsie was of a good age and thus did not attract attention from the young girl's uncle.
Drazelle smiled weakly and said, "I suppose so." The two friends continued cleaning in a warm silence. When they were finished the two sat down and broke their fast. It was the usual, a piece of crusty bread and diluted wine. She motioned for Drazelle to come closer at which point she began to quietly converse.
"It has been brought to my attention that you are approaching your sixteenth birthday and I know what your uncle has planned for your future." Drazelle began to speak and Elsie hushed her.
"I know my dear that what he has planned is not something you wish to participate in." Drazelle nodded and Elsie continued,"As of before there was no other option available to you. However, I believe that there might be an honorable way to get you out of this situation. I have met a fellow named Maeniel. He might be able assist you in leaving these treacherous surroundings." At this point Drazelle looked slightly hopeful with an underlying layer of fear. She hesitantly spoke, "Who is this man able to help in such a situation as mine?"
Elsie paused as if to catch her breath and then replied, " I cannot reveal his status at the moment, but lets just say that he is in such a position to help you."
Again Drazelle nodded slowly, processing the information. "What would you have me do? Shall I meet him?"
"Yes. This afternoon I shall take you shopping. We are running low on food and have need of such an errand anyway. I have arranged it all."
It was at this point, much later in the morning than when Drazelle woke, that her uncle felt it was time to make his unholy presence felt. His groan could be heard all the way in the common room. Shortly afterwards, he stumbled, half blind with sleep and a hangover out of his room and over to the table. Elsie quickly rose and poured him a glass of undiluted wine which he quickly gulped down. Shortly afterwards, he could be found retching in the corner of the room.
Drazelle and Elsie made a combined effort to get Drazelle's uncle, otherwise known as Rame, cleaned up and settled at the table. At that point he was able to function of his own effort and the two women made ready to go out.
"Where do you think you two are going?" Rame asked harshly. The abuse from drink and late nights had roughened his voice to the extent that the words could barely be made out though they were uttered in a loud manner. Drazelle let Elsie answer the question. She had a knack of handling the master of the house after so many years.
"Why, sir, we are out of many supplies, and if you wish for a supper up to your usual standard, we need to get more of your favorite. If it would so please you, good sir."
"Elsie . . . You know I have no money to give you. You used it all up last time buying all those fancy schmancy chickens! You know we can't afford stuff at the high prices they go for now! You barely bargained I'd guess!" Rame knew very well that it was he who had ordered those chickens for his supper, and that they were at a considerable discount. Not only that, but it was not in Elsie's department that the money was spent. Rame himself used it for his nightly pleasures. Even when there had been chicken, Drazelle's whole supper had consisted of a cup of broth. It was only Elsie's careful sneaking of food to her that kept Drazelle well and healthy. Despite that knowledge, Elsie kept a subjective demeanor.
"I apologize sir for my foolishness. But please, may we have a silver to pay for some form of nourishment?"
"Fine. fine. Go! You're giving me an even worse headache!" He carelessly threw a silver piece, one of their last, as Elsie and went back to his drink. The two quickly hurried out of the small, plain, dimly lit room.
They emerged from the square, two story building onto the dirty cobble street of Rome. It was a city in it's decline. The once grand central had degenerated greatly, and most of it's inhabitants went about their dirty lives oblivious to the fallen grandeur surrounding them. The graceful works of stone went unnoticed as they slowly eroded. The past history was slowly forgotten except by those elite who had once enjoyed it. The spoken language had drifted from it's pure Latin to a form that was guttural and harsh from street usage.
The sky was a bleak grey. The sun that had once shone in the morning had now fallen behind a thick layer of clouds. The two women wrapped in dark shawls hurriedly made their way through the streets in such a zig-zag pattern that even Drazelle, who had known the streets of Rome for most of her life, was lost in the twists and turns.
Drazelle called ahead to Elsie, "Where are we going?" Elsie replied, "We shall meet Maeniel in a secretive manner. I can see that you do not know where we are headed... that is all for the better." The sky grew darker still as if casting a spell on all who lay beneath it.
Finally, they reached their forbidden destination. It was just a dark doorway in a nondescript building, much like many others in the city. Elsie stopped at the entrance and motioned for Drazelle to enter.
"Aren't you coming in with me?" Asked Drazelle, slightly frightened by the prospect of meeting this unknown man alone.
"No, this is not for me to partake in. This way, if asked questions, I can truthfully say that I do not know. There are ways to get information out of people and I honestly do not trust myself." Elsie replied sensibly and honestly. It would be better for both of them this way.
Drazelle nodded and, after straightening her shoulders, stepped up to the door an boldly knocked. It was quickly opened and she was pulled inside. Through a crack in a shuttered up window, Drazelle saw Elsie move down the street, away from the building. Slowly she turned and faced the figure of a man which had pulled her into the building. She couldn't see his face because the lighting was nonexistent except for that which filtered through the shuttered windows. Finally he spoke: "I see you have made it safe and unobserved. That is good."
Drazelle, curious as to what this man looked like, subtly moved closer to the figure and tried to get a better view. "What is it that you can do for me? I am in a right difficult situation...."
"Yes, I know all about that. Elsie, the dear, told me all about it. She really cares for your welfare, you know. I do indeed have a plan that might just work."
"Well, before I go along with it," Drazelle firmly stated, "I must know what it is. I will not plow along blindly."
"I agree. You are a very sensible young girl. Come here into the light. I would see your face." He motioned for her to follow and they walked a ways into the large room. He stopped and lit the lamp from the lone candle standing on the table. The room burst into illumination and Drazelle was able to make out her surroundings. It was a large room as she had before surmised, but, unlike the outside, it was not in the least way ordinary. It was of simple furnishings, but each and every piece was of exquisite make and unique design. The floor was covered with a rich carpet in which her slippered feet sank, a fact that she had not previously noticed. She felt, in all reality, extremely plain standing next to all this wealth.
Drazelle finally turned her attention to the man standing before her. He was around forty or fifty years of age, with a full head of graying hair. His ice blue eyes pierced her, examining and calculating. He grabbed her chin in his hands and lifted it, turning it this way and that in the light.
"Yes, you are as beautiful as she said you were. You will do nicely. Beautiful, smart, and noble to boot. Yes very good." He dropped her chin and turned around. "My proposal to you, for escaping your situation is marriage." Drazelle started to protest but the man she presumed to be Maeniel stalled her and continued to speak.
"Yes, I know, that is precisely the situation you wish to avoid, considering your uncles plan. However, if he does not know where you are, and is, in addition, in no state to follow, it will be safe. He has not yet had a chance to break you, I can see in your eyes the pride and desperation. Had he broken you to his will, you would not even be here."
"Yes....I think I am beginning to see. How will you keep my uncle from me? and who do you propose I marry?" Drazelle asked quietly. She was beginning to suspect that it was he who she was meant to marry. He saw the meaning and the direction her thoughts were leaning.
"Oh no, it is not I you would marry! It is my one and only son, Vidav. He is of nineteen years of age and of good bringing, I think you would enjoy his company. But to answer your first question, I plan on bringing your uncle in on charges of a crime which he did indeed commit. The crime involved the taking of a life, for which I have proof of the argument. He did do it and shall be punished accordingly, but you do not need to know the details."
"Okay, if my uncle did indeed commit a crime, it is only just that he be punished. There is much more that he has done and gotten away with, but such a crime as murder shall provide punishment enough for all that he has done."
This time it was Maeniel who nodded, "Yes, as I have said, you are very perceptive and sensible girl. Now, I would like you meet my son, Vidav." Maeniel crossed over to the only other door in the room, besides the one through which Drazelle herself entered. He pulled open the door and motioned to someone who had been sitting inside.
Almost immediately a tall stately young man entered. He had rich brown hair and his fathers eyes, though without the icy calculation that was present in his fathers. They too, were calculating eyes, with great intelligence behind them, but they also showed a youth and love of life not present in the older. She immediately liked him. His eyes lit up as he saw her and she liked to think that he felt the same about her.
Drazelle felt as if it was almost too good to be true. All these years she had felt that there was no hope for her, and yet here was the chance of her lifetime, and it was better than she could ever have imagined.
"My lady," Said Vidav as he approached, took her hand, and kneeling, kissed it. "I am so glad to finally make your acquaintance. My good friend Elsie has told me so much about you."
"My lord," Drazelle blushed as he kissed her hand and curtsied, "I too am glad to meet you. But how is it that you know my dear Elsie?"
"Elsie is the daughter of the woman who raised me: My nanny. She would often come and visit me. I have known her all my life. I am very fond of her. I trust that she has good judgment of whom she would like me to marry." Drazelle smiled politely. She had not known him for more than five minuets, and already her infatuation with him was visible through her expressions.
"Yes, and I trust that she has good judgment of whom she would like me to marry," said Drazelle quietly.
"I am sorry to interrupt this now, but you must be going Drazelle." Maeniel interjected. Drazelle realized he was right and quickly made to take her leave. Before she left, however, Maeniel handed her a bag full of supplies, "I know you were supposed to go to the market and this will quicken your trip. I would not want your uncle to get upset at you or Elsie. If you will gather your things together, the authorities will be coming for your uncle in the next few days. We shall retrieve you and all will be well. Don't worry, just stick by Elsie, she will take care of you as you well know."
Drazelle thanked them both profusely and, after exchanging glances with Vidav one last time, she hurried out the door. She quietly made her way to Elsie's side, a way down the road, with a lightness in her step. The smiles on their faces were enough to say all that needed to be said. The two women quickly made their way homeward, through Rome's dark streets to Drazelle's horrible uncle and bright future that would soon come. The rain began to fall, but Drazelle hardly noticed as she thought of how her dreams were to finally become reality.