I sit gasping for a while before I calm myself down.
I am in my bed in the room assigned to me by Master Connely. I am fine. I am no longer in danger. That danger passed hundreds of years ago. I curl back up under my blankets and let myself cry. Cry for myself, and the little girl I used to be that survived horrors beyond her imagination until she succumbed to sweet death before the sun rose that next morning. This was a memory I had been lucky to not have until it reentered my mind during the night. This was how my past came back to me. Like a holo-vid playing back a story long since passed behind my eyelids. They always come without warning, and I am not always able to keep my emotions in check. Damn. Blue eyes always did unsettle me, and now I finally remember why.
Later in the morning I am once again standing at attention while Master eats his breakfast. He is disheveled and barely picking through the greasy food that I piled on his plate for this morning. He is nursing a pretty nasty hangover, and I have made his favorite hangover food. A sloppy burrito and coffee. The festivities had lasted long into the night after everything from the cart was properly recorded into the museum's archives. Food and copious amounts of alcohol seeming to materialize faster than they were consumed. I, of course, was not offered anything so I had not imbibed any of the many sweet drinks. My feet still hurt from having to stand with my master all through the night. At least I was in a much better state than the poor young man slumped over the table before me.
His fork screeches across his plate as he attempts to scoop another bite and he flinches. A long sigh escaping from his lips he sits back in his chair and looks over at me. I almost feel uncomfortable, after all these years he has never looked my direction during any of his meals. I meekly stare at the floor with my hands folded before me. The silence in the room seems to mount.
"How do your people view the Crossing of Aurora?" He croaks. I shift my weight to my right foot and and raise my gaze to meet his. "Forgive me master, but I don't understand what you mean." A line forms between his eyebrows but he doesn't seem to be angry. " I have only seen things from the perspective of a citizen of the empire, but that is only part of the story. I have realized that I never truly had a conversation with one of you. Ever. What do you see in everyday things. What do you think when you think of the Crossing of Aurora?"
I am completely taken aback. I admit I know next to nothing about this man I call master. I have lived in his home, taken care of his well being and the well being of his estate, and made sure his life at home is as smooth as possible. But I don't know anything about his personality. Truthfully I never really cared. This one question, though, shakes my entire view of him. Even after a lifetime of being assured that there is nothing about us that is truly human, that we with brown eyes are nothing but animals dressed as servants, he still just asked me about my point of view. This is an interesting development. I open my mouth but find that I have no answer for him. If I tell the truth he will probably not be very happy. If I flat out lie I will be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime to speak my mind. He is still looking at me, seeming to gauge my reaction. He is waiting for me to answer. I finally pull in a breath.
"Well. It was quite the achievement. without the crossing we would not be here, and this city might not exist. It opened this entire area to the empire and brought in many needed resources for expansion. Politically it strengthened the standing of Emperor Crownlen in the eyes of his people and helped spur an economic boost." I fall silent again and wait for his response. He simply stares at me for a moment and then turns back to his meal in silence. This was only the beginning. Of what? Something that I hoped wouldn't result in the end of this life.
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