Chapter Text
Long ago in the land of Thedas, there lived a miserable elven man by the name of Fenris. He was forced to work tirelessly everyday, from early in the morning, until late at night. He lived in a large mansion that belonged to the Lord Danarius, but owned nothing but the clothes on his back. The human man had three daughter's, and the four of them tormented Fenris every day. The poor elf had to sweep the floors, cook breakfast and do laundry, and all before early morning was over. If he was not done before the four woke up, then he would be punished with even more outlandish tasks to do within a small frame of time.
It hadn't always been this way. When the Lady of the house was still alive, she had taken care of Fenris as if he was her own son, for she had none of her own, and Danarius' daughter's had been from a previous marriage. She had shown Fenris all sorts of kindness. She helped cook, clean and would often buy him wonderful sweet treats as thanks. It sparked jealousy from the three daughters, and from Danarius himself, and now that she had passed away due to illness, the four did all they could to tear down the poor elven man's will.
Even despite the daily torment, Fenris was a gentle person at heart, and did not wish any of them harm. Due to his kindness, he did not complain, nor falter when teased, or given impossible tasks. He would always hold a kind smile to the others, and did as he was instructed without complaint.
“Fenris!” Came the loud calling of one of the daughter's from somewhere upstairs, “where is my breakfast!”
A different voice then yelled out, “Fenris! Where are my clean clothes!”
“Coming!” Fenris called out, grabbing a tray of food in one hand, and a basket full of ironed clothes in the other, “I'm coming!”
“Fenris! I need you to sweep out the fireplace!” A third voice then called out.
“Day after day,” Fenris spoke quietly, a sigh escaped his lips, “it is the same thing. Fenris do this! Fenris do that! For once I would like them to sleep in later, just to have a moment for myself.” The white haired elf made his way up the stairs of the mansion, once more becoming silent.
Pausing at the door to the first room he came upon, Fenris placed the basket of clothes on top of a small table. He then knocked on the door, and opened it. “Here is your breakfast,” he said quietly with a smile.
The woman inside gave a narrowed look to the elf, her dark brown eyes peering at the other man with disgust, “what took you so long?” She complained, her hands held out for the plate in which Fenris hurriedly offered her. She had brown hair to match her hazel eyes, and was the eldest of the three sisters.
“My apologies,” the elf offered swiftly, he bowed his head, then quickly left the room again. He wasn't behind in his tasks, but he knew that if he tried to stand up for himself, the elder sister would be sure to complain, and make things worse. Fenris opted to keep the peace by simply apologising for anything and everything. With the tray still in one hand, he moved into the next room, and offered another plate of food to the second sister.
“What about my washing!?” The second-born sister complained. She had blue eyes, and jet black hair. Several freckles spread across the girl's cheeks, and upon her nose.
“I have your washing with me, just a moment.” Fenris said gently, “I will have them put away by the time you finish your breakfast.” No complaint came from the woman, but the elf expected that this was only because the human was now busy feeding herself. This gave Fenris time enough to go out of the room, put the now empty tray down on another table, and fetch the washing; which he swiftly put away.
“Fenris! The fireplace! What is taking you so long!” Came the third sisters voice once again, “It is far too cold to get out of bed without a fire!” The voice whined.
Sighing faintly, Fenris moved into the third room as soon as he had finished placing all the clothes away. The third sister was the youngest of the three, and was certainly the most spoiled one. She would whine often, even about the most pointless of things. She had light brown hair and blue eyes, it was often said that she looked very much like her late mother.
“It is about time!” The young adult whined, “I thought I was going to freeze my toes off, waiting for you!”
“I'm sorry, for keeping you waiting.” Fenris said indifferently. He quickly knelt down to deal with the fireplace, not wanting to hear more of the other person's complaining. It wasn't even that cold in the room, seeing as it was late spring, but he opted to not argue about it.
“So you should be! I cannot go anywhere with frozen toes, and father will be getting up soon! If I am late because of you, I will be most annoyed!” The young woman gave a grumble, folded her arms and huffed loudly.
'You could always get dressed without a fire...' thought Fenris, but he voiced none of this, and merely continued to clean, and re-set the fireplace with new logs. He then lit it once he was finished. Fenris then bowed his head to the youngest of the sisters and moved back out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Leaning against the door for a moment, Fenris took in a deep breath. He hated it here, but there was nowhere else he could go, and living on the streets was not an option. At least here, he had a roof over his head, food (even if most of it was stale), and a bed to sleep in. Besides, he wasn't exactly a free man. He owed a lot to Danarius, and it was not a debt easily paid off.
Resigning to his fate as a slave, Fenris pushed himself off of the door, and headed further down the hall towards the last bedroom. This room belonged to the master of the house, Danarius himself.
Giving the door a polite tap with a fist, Fenris nervously waited a moment before entering. “Master Danarius?” He questioned as he peered inside. The elder man was already awake, but had yet gotten out of bed. He was sat up, reading an old tome. Fenris had no reading ability, so he had no idea of the content of the book, but he knew it was one of the man's oldest, and most cherished tomes.
“Ah, Fenris. Come in.” Danarius said soothingly, though in truth, the gentleness of his voice hid the cold attitude he held towards his slave. “You're on time, for once.” He continued, offering a flat smile.
Fenris seethed quietly. Had Danarius not allowed his three daughter's to act so selfishly, and give him such grief every day, his chore's would be done so much quicker. Despite his annoyance, Fenris bowed his head as he moved into the room, “yes, My lord...” he said quietly, “your daughter's are getting ready as we speak.”
“Good.” Danarius said, as he allowed the elf to aid him in getting dressed. He had no real reason not to dress himself, but he took pleasure in making Fenris dress him. “I shall be taking them to the market place today. While we are gone, I want you to clean the estate from top to bottom, then I want you to make us cooked druffalo for dinner. I also have washing that needs doing, and the stables need cleaning, oh and the horses need to be fed too.”
“Of course, My lord.” Fenris said, as he slipped Danarius' boots over the man's feet. Another day full of tasks to be completed in a short frame of time. Doubtless he would have to do them all by himself, as he had no hope of help from the four humans. Why Danarius did not have more slaves, or even servants, Fenris could only wonder. There had been a time when the estate was full of other people. How he missed those days.
Finally, after an hour or so had past, Fenris had the estate all to himself. He took solace in the peace and quiet, even if he did have many jobs to complete. At least he knew he could get them done without further interruptions, or more jobs piled on top of the already long list.
A knock on the door caused Fenris to drop a plate he had been washing, “Fasta vass!” He cursed loudly, a thing he only ever did when alone. The broken plate laid on the floor, and he wondered what punishment would befall him for it. He supposed he could try and hide the evidence, but he knew that it would only make matters worse if he tried. Danarius would find out eventually, and when he did, his anger would be much worse if it had been kept from him.
Another knock on the door caused Fenris to wrinkle his nose in irritation. He left the shattered bits where they were and moved swiftly to the front door. “Yes?” He said, opening it to a young, finely dressed man. The male seemed to be about twenty years old, give or take a few years.
The youthful man stood straight, and his posture gave him away as someone whom had been groomed to show utmost respect and attention to anyone he interacted with. Fenris noticed men like him often, and he knew right away that this person worked for nobility, or royalty.
“Can I help you, or....?” Fenris said quietly, as he watched the man with an eager look. He wanted to get back to his tasks as quickly as possible, and this disruption had annoyed him. Still, he dared not to be rude, less he be punished for it later.
“I have word from the palace,” the man said, then held out a parchment that had been sealed with the royal crest. “Is the Master of the house at home?”
“Everyone is out, currently.” Fenris replied.
The man nodded then offered the parchment to the elf expectantly, “I see.” He said politely, “then give this to the Master of the house as soon as he arrives home.”
“Of course.” Fenris nodded curtly. He was curious what was written in the parchment, but he dared not ask. The youthful man bowed his head, turned on his heel and marched off down the street, heading towards the next household. Fenris noticed several other men doing similar. So then it was a city-wide notice being handed out, and not a special request by any means.
Shrugging, Fenris once more returned to his duties, forgetting all about the parchment in which he placed on Danarius' table. The small stand by the door was meant for letters that was delivered in his absence. It wasn't until Danarius had arrived home with his daughters, and had called Fenris from the last of his tasks, that the elf would find out what the message within the letter had been.
“So,” Danarius said to his three daughters, and to Fenris, “the prince is holding a ball tomorrow night.” His tone was calm, but Fenris could tell there was a hint of excitement in there too.
“A ball?” The elder daughter spoke curiously, “for what exactly?”
“To find a bride, naturally.” Danarius now spoke with obvious amusement. His eyes glistened in sheer delight, “and I dare say, one of you three could be the lucky woman.”
The three daughter's squealed in delight and amusement. To have the chance of becoming the princes bride, and in turn the future queen; was something most could only dream about. Fenris however, did not seem as fascinated about the idea. The three women were already hard to live with, if any of them became royalty, then he could only imagine how much more intolerable they'd become. He did however wish he could attend the ball, if for no other reason than to see what the inside of a palace was like.
“Does the invitation mean that... everyone can come to the ball?” Fenris asked, a hint of caution in his voice.
The three women gave him a glare, but soon turned to their father. Danarius gave a polite smile to the elf. One that he reserved for those moments that his choice might lean one way or the other. It made Fenris a little nervous.
“Of course it invites all of the kingdom.” The man said smoothly, but there was a subtle tone to his voice that Fenris did not like. “Though you have so many tasks you'll have to complete by tomorrow evening, and you have nothing to wear.” Danarius continued, he gave Fenris a fake look of pity at this, but then added, “if you can complete all of tomorrows tasks, and find yourself something suitable to wear, then I have no objections.”
Fenris perked up a little at this, and he nodded his head enthusiastically. “Thank you!” He said, seeming quite happy. Though he kept a hint of caution in his mind. He knew it would not be as easy as that.