AllenBUwU

You’ve just arrived in a swampy, dim town. As you look around, your gaze is met with shacks and cabins. It smells of rotted wood and wet moss. You duck and step into a tattered tent, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the tent, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town? she begins, then pauses to study your face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a cushion, “Tell me your story.”

((How do you respond?))

Emma fluttered her eyelashes generously towards the older woman, then down at the cushion ahead of her. "..expecting me?" she questioned curiously, slowly taking a seat. She sat down on her side, hard to sit any other way with the dress and heels she was in. She's a high elf anyway! Must dress to impress, dress to show .. who she is, right? her left gloved hand laid flat on the floor, helping support herself up as she raised her free hand to her mouth. "My story .. my.. story?" Emma seemed quite confused by the question, actually she seemed confused overall by the situation she was in as a whole! 

"... Well I suppose an introduction wouldn't hurt no body, hm? My name is- Miss E. You may call me Miss E .. oh I suppose I'm not too old, perhaps young to some! I - .. fifty, I'm fifty years old now, gosh i feel like I could be ancient! isn't it funny, someone like myself so scared of aging? Despite it likely to not happen? Oh .. i know it technically can but for an elf like myself - .. gosh, I must be rambling, aren't I?" She waved her hand dismissively, it seems like this is the first time someone would fully listen to her in quite some time. the strawberry blonde pressed her lips together as she raised a hand to her necklace, fidgeting with it in her hand as she continued to speak, "My story.." - she repeated again, "I've always had quite the kick for music. Back home .. i began singing at a young age. I did well for myself based off that, in my little area some considered me perhaps a local celebrity!" Emma smiled as she thought about it, "I have an older brother, he'd always look out for me.. now in days I believe he runs some sort of - mm.. I want to say a tavern? A tavern ,.. something of the sorts. I'd sing sometimes for him at his little establishments when he was first starting off .. it was quite sweet actually-" She paused, looking up at the 'old hag' with a blank expression momentarily.

"I don't have a normal story ma'am ill tell you that, if you're looking for me to tell you how great I am, how superior I am to .. some woof elf by a tree or - .. something! That isn't what you'll get! you hear me?! I'm - I'm my own living being! I don't ... mm .. my apologies. I don't know why I get like this .. I swear I've just been through my good fair share of experiences - many made me grateful for what I have as a high elf.. perhaps some that made me sympathize with those who are meant to be seen as below me." - "I met a boy when I was younger, when I was singing .. I thought he was quite handsome. We spoke for quite some time .. we got married young. Thats the quick version of it all anyway .. we were blessed! We were amazing for the first 'few' years or so! . . . I don't know how my parents let me marry that man so young. I don't know why no one saw the red flags or warning signs .. if a high elf, Youd never talk bad about another as they're the same species.. we're meant to be the higher species but oh, oh! How wrong could that be!? Every .. every mistake he made, no matter how awful and clearly intentional it was, everyone chalked it up to something else! something lighthearted! ANYTHING to make their fellow high elf to look great to keep the species reputation up!" 

It was blatantly obvious at this point Miss E. was getting riled up, rambling and ranting to this stranger .. perhaps it was something she just needed to do. "Young love .. I envy and am jealous of those who have it good .. those who marry young and meet their soulmate .. those who age far beyond fifty with their partner and have a family.. I wish I had that fantasy, but I didn't. My husband at the time was so protective of me in the wrong ways .. he assumed any male of any race, even one of our own, who spoke to me .. wanted me. it was a slow transition. Too me it was slow, anyway. After marrying him, after the first couple years I grew in popularity with my music. Humans seemed the most interested, so I preformed for such! My husband didn't like that. He'd show up to every concert, every venue .. every establishment and would cause some drama afterwards .. somehow I'd also be at fault at the end of it. It got worse with time, his behaviors shifted at home as well. Soon it wasn't just outbursts in public when i tried to preform, no,, no now it was random, constant, un .. un- what's the word? I .. you get it, don't you?" she looked up at the hag, a small huff escaped her lips.

"I only recently escaped, ma'am. You'd think for an elf.. fifty years is young, isn't it? Yet, I feel like I could be in my three-hundreds.. those years with my husband were the longest years of my life.. and it scares me I still have so much more to live, as I fear it'll be just as long and straining as the ones I've had now already been. Being practically locked away, disconnected with it all .. before fifty? God. I hate how easy it is to pull a race card, how easy it is for people to look over the serious concerns just because they'd rather the majority too stay looking good." She balled her fists, biting the bottom portion of her lip. "I escaped at random, I couldn't do it anymore. Now that I was fifty .. I feared the worse. I'm at the age where I could start a family, and I wasn't going to start one locked away with that .. awful man. I'd never put no one in that position .. nor would I want a child to be in that life. So i left .. I ran, I ran all the way to my real home only to see my parents - oh my parents, they looked the same. They seemed - god! they seemed so un .. surprsed to see me!? They acted like I just saw them yesterday! I KNOW twenty years isn't a lot, I know for a fact it isnt. However it was so long for me .. and it hurt so bad seeing how everone was living their best lives, acting like I was gone for such a short amount of time .." Her eyes began to swell with tears, she adjusted herself to be sitting on her legs.. her hands clenching the dress fabric in her lap. 

"I'll admit, I yelled at my parents.. I sobbed, screamed and ranted and vented and blabbed in rage and emotion to them .. they looked horrified. not horrified of what I went through, more horrified of my appearance and tone I was using. I wasn't being very 'high elf like' if you could imagine .. tch! screw them! screw it all! I hate them for not knowing! I hate them for not caring more! I .. Hate that they genuinely were clueless.. I hate how they didn't question it .. I hate how it was nothing to them .. the time passed - I hate how long we live.. how I just started life technically yet my largest experience been this! God .. I remember when I left,. I rushed for hours trying to find my other brother. I missed him. He upgraded his little business .. he was so successful.. humans took quite a liking to his work, his food, his drinks.. I was proud of him. When I walked in the whole room froze, he was at the bar-like area cleaning a glass.. I watched him freeze, i watched the glass slowly slip from his hand and shatter on the floor as he stared at me. I then watched him jump the counter and hug me .. mm. everything from that point on was a blur, I fell asleep soon after. I was exhausted.. and relieved how my brother seemed to be the main one who cared. He knew me best, and he knew I wouldn't just casually go a some of twenty years no contact after i made a point to try to see him daily the years leading up to it!" She smiled as she got to this point, the near end of her story. 

"When I woke up .. a little boy stood over my bed. I knew who he was in an instant, he was a spitting image of my brother when he was a child. I don't know but I began to cry, I sat up and hugged my nephew so, so tightly. My brother must've heard my cries as he rushed in worried - then just stood in the doorway for a moment, babbling through tears to this little kid .. eventually my brother walked to the bed, sitting beside me as he began to introduce us properly. Gilbert - I laughed, that was the boys name. He was mixed .. I didn't care what other race he was mixed with at the time, nor do I care now. I love gilbert with all my heart, he's precious. I love his name as well, i love names that are just so .. human! I think my brother named him such because of me, as I too have a decently.. Human name. Emma. Emma Bukhuizen. I don't know ... why the name is this, actually. My parents CLEARLY being so high and mighty with their elf names.. yet they name me Emma? and where did we get Bukhuizen? Actually, pretend I didn't question that. I don't care, nor do I feel the need to know." She sighed, slowly starting to lift herself up from the cushion. "My apologies if this wasn't the story you wanted to hear, and my apologies if it wasn't very indepth .. But I feel as you got the story enough, yes?" She smiled, "Oh.. and please, don't tell others my name .. I like to go by Miss E. now. It gives me some .. security. Also hides the human-ish name, doesn't it?" Now fully standing, she patted off her green dress.