Another elf. Madness must attract madness. “Well, he has the wrong of it about names, kind Inre. A Drow name is a special thing. It must be given to you by a Drow.”
“Oh! Is that why he has a name as he does?”
“It is the only way he could have such a special thing, darling elf.” The tone of her own voice made Aile feel sick. “Since you have been so kind to me, thought of me as you do. To feed me, to keep my ears so clean… no, I mustn’t.”
The elfgirl could hardly contain herself. “Mustn’t? Oh no, please. Please tell me. I am very good with secrets! I’ve never told one! Not one! And I have at least a dozen. A dozen I’ve never told!”
“Well…”
“Please! Please, oh, please!”
Aile feigned a look around the room and crouched, motioning the girl to do the same. “If you promise to tell no one, I could…” She looked again. “I could give you a Drow name.”
Aile thought the child would faint. She went bright red and nearly began to shake. “Could I? Could you?”
“I could. Now, it must be our secret. Tramman may not like it if you have a name as he does.”
She nodded eagerly.
“Then, from now, I shall call you Awin. And you must call me by name. I am Dhone.”
The girl stood, pacing excitedly, repeating the two names. “Awin, Dhone, Awin, Dhone.”
“Now please, Awin… a Drow name is a very special name. You mustn’t give mine to anyone.”
She rushed back to the cage. “I would never. Never ever.”
A bell rang outside.
“Oh!” The girl turned at the sound and then back to Aile. “I must go and prepare dinner. I will prepare yours special. It will be the most delicious you’ve ever had.” She beamed with pride. “Please wait for me, Dhone.”
The newly named Awin nearly forgot her mending work, having to turn back to grab it. She bounded up the stairs, awkwardly singing another old Drow lullaby as she went. The sun was up when the door to the cellar opened. Aile paced in the cell. This Tramman might understand what she meant to do better than the girl. It was a risk, especially with her Fire still buried beneath some invisible weight left in her by the drugs. She could feel it in flickers only a time or two in as many hours, neither time able to hold it still.
The cellar opened again and Aile watched it with steely eyes. The sound on the stair was light and energetic. The girl again, her Awin, her newfound friend. Aile stood as she came down, waiting to be sure the girl was alone. The cellar door closed.
“Oh, Awin, I’d missed you.” A chipper sound came out of her. It felt unnatural.
“Dinner was hard to prepare. The deer was not yet skinned and then someone punctured the guts. We were forced to wash it again. Oh I’m so sorry. I missed you as well, Dhone. I have so much that I wish to ask you.”
The elf offered one of the plates through the slot in the door. It had a wooden spoon, the venison already cut to bite size. It looked the same as the girl’s and did not smell suspect.
“You can ask me anything you like. I have so many questions as well!” Aile sat down as she imagined elves did, bouncing more than was needed.
“Oh, I’m so glad. I worried we would not be friends, like the others. They become so interested in their chosen. In the marriage partners. I do not like the ceremony, Dhone, but it is how marriages are made in the Blackwood.” She frowned, scooping some deer and putting it to her mouth.
“Others, you said? There are other Drow here?”
She nodded, speaking with her mouth full. “One for each of us. Well, nearly. Tramman says he must grow his Kingdom slowly. The elves outside will not understand, he says. It is why he runs the inn. People who wish to join us will know it and come there, he says. I am happy they have come. Drow… they are much more beautiful than us, in every way. They are so kind and intelligent. I wish I could go and see the Blackwood for myself.”
Aile pretended not to hear the words, but kept them in her mind. There was an instability in the minds of the people here, but the girl was a different case somehow. Aile could not quite place the feeling.
“You had questions for me, you said?”
“Oh, yes! So many! Oh! The first! Why do you carry so many knives?”
“It is dangerous for us. As your Tramman says, we are misunderstood. I have to protect myself, you understand?”
“I do!” Awin was emphatic. “Elves are so stupid! So many superstitions! It would be better to never have to see them. Never ever!” The words were a small fit that the elf seemed to snap out of all at once. “What is your favorite color?”
“Green. As your eyes. It is why I knew I could trust you.”
The girl opened her mouth again, in awe. She seemed so willing to believe nearly anything Aile let fall out of her mouth, no matter how insane it might seem.
“I… can trust you, can I not?”
Awin pushed her plate aside and came close to the cell, grabbing desperately at the door. “You can, Dhone. You can and again and again. I swear it by Aile’s name. I would never betray you. I love you.”
“And I love you, Awin. I knew there was a special bond for us! Aile must have chosen us to meet this way.”
“Yes, yes! I thought so too! From the moment I saw you! She put us together in this place! I knew it!”
Aile looked around again, pretending to be nervous. “Could… could we share another secret? You must promise. Promise me you will never tell it. You
