The following is a direct transcript from a story I told on The Summit channel today, out of request by Simeon of the Blood Raiders.
Fate walks on twisted paths
Once upon the time, in the Darkness, there lived a tribesman as a house slave in a noble family.
He was comfortable in his position and he grew lazy – sorry there’ll be delays while I am flying – and comfortable and life was good for him.
[to someone on the side] Who said it’s a happy story?
Anyway, this tribesman, he had a daughter, who had the blessing of spirits to be very beautiful, skin pale as snow, hair dark as night.
Lithe and spirited, she got smiles wherever she went as a child, and when she grew into youth, she turned all heads. [to the side again] Well, it’s a bit of a both.
As was bound to happen, she also got the attention of the Lord of the House.
This Lord, he was old, and happily married, and a very decent man, so he had no evil thoughts for the maiden himself, but the House was poor, so he thought he could make a fair bit of trade for the beautiful maiden.
So, he went to look for potential buyers. But the maiden, she did not want to be sold, she wanted to remain with her father, and her kin, as is proper, of course.
When the first buyer came in, she took berry juice, and made blotches on her face, and pretended to be sick with the red fever. The buyer was scared and went away without another word of interest.
When the second buyer came in, she started a small fire in a grain storage, and there was a commotion, and she showed up all wild and sooty, and there was no trade.
When the third buyer candidate showed up, she presented herself nicely, but whenever she had the chance to meet him in a corridor without anyone seeing, she pretended to limp, and let the buyer think they were being deceived by the Lord, into buying a lame slave.
And so it went, potential buyers came in, but she always performed some trick, and they did not fancy her after all. Months passed, then years, and she remained with her father.
People started to talk, some saying it was God’s will she was not sold, some saying she was cursed. She enjoyed the show immensely and grew smug.
In the end, the Lord of the House grew tired of it, and just wanted to be rid of her, and cared no longer for the money. He confessed this to the father - he, as I said, was held in great regard with the Lord - who took the opportunity to plant in the Lord’s mind the idea that the young woman just be given her freedom, as thanks for his own service.
And that happened, and the girl was freed, and sent away from the Holdings and anywhere close.
So, with her tricks, she gained her freedom, but lost what she did it for, namely the possibility to stay with her kin.
Fate walks on twisted paths.