There's a time in your life where you begin to question your existence, to wonder about the marvels of your world and how you fit into it, where do you even fit into it. What else is out there waiting for you and how do you find it? Sometimes we feel as though we are meant for more than this life has given us, the wind is calling us, the weather is changing and I long for whatever or wherever it could take me.
My name is Gabi, I live a simple life in a small but homely house a few steps back from a small river flowing through our vibrant empire, I live here by myself. I have long flowing auburn hair and hazel eyes, I've often been told that they are a deep golden brown. I am fairly fit or at least I try to be by working around the house and going on long walks. I also work as a maid at the local hotel to earn some extra money. Here, we all make just enough to keep ourselves above water but it also helps that we trade with each other, we are like a small family.
Life has changed drastically, or so I am told, I am the lowest you can get of the elves, I am equivalent to the omega of the wolf pack. The elves like to keep to themselves, they do not like outsiders and they can be quite cruel to us who are at the bottom. How can you tell where someone sits in society, well by their clothes, the way they speak, and their mannerisms, those in the royal family sound completely different to the likes of me. Other creatures to note are witches, wizards, faeries, and gnomes but even then they have their own groups just as we elves do. Their societies are far more intricate and societies rich in history and culture, so much so that I like to read as much as I can about them when I am not working. Sometimes it feels as though they are just mythical creatures because we rarely ever see or hear about them, but they are out there, somewhere. Don't get me wrong, we are rich in history and culture but we are so focused on ourselves that we don't fully bask in the richness of others. I often wonder what it would be like to live amongst others.
I have a 2 bedroom house, with a lounge, kitchen, and bathroom, there is a small garden out the back that leads to the river, in the summer I love to sit out there and read or just sunbathe, the nature is beautiful. It has been hard living alone but I have made some great friends so a lot of the time I am not so alone but rather surrounded and made to feel as though I am not isolated from the rest.
Our kingdom is named after King Cyran which is the Atheldran Kingdom. The structure of elves is rather delicate, you, of course, have your royalty at the top, followed by the high elves or elders, and then just like any society you have your aristocratic elves, soldiers, kings guard, warriors, and then the rest of us who are commoners. How does one end up at the bottom? Well, it's mostly what you are born into really, I have no living family, they were wiped out during the Great War and I only managed to live because I was a child and children were hidden away at that time. We are ruled by a King and have been for the last 1000 years or so as we are immortal. I have seen 221 summers come and go.
In terms of family, elves marry rarely, but when we do so, it is for life. And our lives are long. It is here that my story begins, just like every mundane day, I start my day by having breakfast which if I am lucky is some fruit that I have foraged from the forest which is across the river outside the back of my house. I try to at least once a week go over there and find as much as I can without killing anything. Often, I'll go to the market within the castle walls and buy what I can afford.
Today I am heading to work at the hotel where visiting elves will stay, I could never afford a room there. "Good morning," I say as I pass others in the street, sometimes they don't like to reply as I could potentially ruin their reputation just by association. It doesn't bother me as it use to. As I arrive through the back door as we are not allowed to enter through the main door, I quickly put on my uniform and get to work cleaning rooms that are now empty. Most of the time you barely notice that an elf has been here, we do take pride in ourselves and respect the places we attend but sometimes the rooms can be trashed especially by a higher elf, to them it doesn't matter because either way no one will tell on a higher.
I have about 12 rooms to clean usually which are then inspected to the highest standard, I like working alone because it's peaceful, occasionally I will bump into a couple of my friends as they clean rooms too, there is Kira and Avy, we formed a great friendship especially because they are treated just like me and through that, we support each other as much as possible, like a sisterhood. Kira is a little bit older than me and has short brown hair and then Avy is the youngest, not by much, and has shoulder-length dark blonde hair. Both are probably smaller than they should be due to the lack of food and on the basis that we eat only when we can or afford to. They live further into the city than I do and have to pay more to stay there.
We see the guests but they ignore us and pretend that we are not there unless they want something, the owner is okay, he's an older elf but can still be a bit horrible now and again. I never actually wanted to find myself in these rooms cleaning, it was always a dream to travel but I guess that was not meant to be. But still, life has been good to me thus far. It was around 7 pm when I finally finish as I had to do some extra work for the boss and wait on some guests running back and forth between the kitchen and their rooms. "Thanks for staying later Gabi," the boss said, I take the extra hours when I can, it means more money in my pocket and it keeps him on my good side. "No problem, have a good evening" I was always brief and polite with him. He just eyed me a moment longer before turning and walking away, at least I could head home now. The sun had just gone down as I stepped out the door and began my walk home, as elves we could walk faster or even run so it was not an issue with the distance.
Those higher up in our society were sometimes even stronger, smarter, and have gifts or talents. Don't get me wrong, it was still dangerous out there, I had to be careful especially being more rural. I wrapped my cloak around me and lifted my hood up over my head and kept to myself not wanting to be disturbed as I walked home. Some elves like to mess with the likes of me and I have fallen victim to it before, and I am sure that won't be my last time either.
I walked down the long and winding cobble streets, past many shops and houses but the further out I got the fewer elves I would see, it became much sparser and quieter. There was less hustling and bustling. The rest of the week followed much of the same routine, nothing new or interesting had happened.
Luckily I worked a shorter day on Saturday which was the same for everyone as places closed for the market, it is a big deal in this kingdom due to the royals and higher attending on the last Saturday of each month which just so happened to be this weekend. Anyone and everyone wanted to be there to be seen by them or to be near them, yes they were the wisest in our society, they deal with the kingdom, politics, and war but I would not be so blinded like everyone else, the benefit in being the lowest in society meant that I didn't care what anyone thought even the highers. I did not know what they looked like apart from the fact that they had pale skin, striking beauty, and intelligence unlike any other. It has been said that the Princess, Lily I believe her name is, surpasses most in our kingdom with her beauty, it is said she has deep golden hair and eyes to match and is the most beautiful in the kingdom, most elves would fall at her feet, but she refused every single suitor her father the King had sent, seemingly, no one knew why.
Sundays were my favorite day for the pure fact that I am not at work, these are the days I would wander into the forest. Of course, there are different types of elves we have the woodland elves that live deep in the forest, and there are also half-breeds but they live amongst themselves and do not live nearly half as long as the rest of us.
I wake up early on Saturday to make sure everything around the house is finished before I head to work as I know I won't be back till late because of the market, there are always many stalls and lots of entertainment. I head there after work with Avy and Kira, "I don't know why everyone is so excited this literally happens once a month" Kira exclaimed looking frustrated. I nodded my head as I understood. "I know Kira, this has been going on for hundreds of years, I don't know how they don't get bored of it" I replied. Avy looked at us both puzzled, "I am still very excited" she spoke giddily. "You never know who you might meet" she smirked. Just as she spoke we were shoved out of the way by some other elves who clearly knew we were below them. "watch where you are walking elven scum" they spat at us. We cowered out heads.
I grabbed Avy's hand before she did something stupid, she was very predictable in that manner that whenever someone did something to us she always wanted to have the last say. "Not today Avy" I certainly was not in the mood for a fight that we would lose. My hair was half braided so that it would keep out of my face, Kira had taught me when I was a lot younger and then I taught Avy. Only Avy had a family, Kira and I were essentially orphans because of the war, and we made the best of what we had. The crowd was growing thicker as we neared the market, they were all dressed in their best attire, the nicest cloaks and silkiest dresses, hair immaculate. It isn't hard for elves to look their best since we are known for our looks but it certainly makes it easier when we have the best of the best. "look at Lady Ilvie over there" Kira pointed out, I looked over to see her in a beautiful purple dress and headwear to match, she was wearing expensive jewellery with stones I had never seen before. "wow" I gasped. Avy laughed at me, "She does look amazing". I broke out of my trance and carried on walking, looking at all of the stalls, the three of us broke off at some point as we all wanted to look at something different.