literature

Secret Santa

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Literature Text

This is the poor part of town, not quite slums, but far from being the palace district. I usually avoided the area. So many desperate people lived there and I preferred to avoid any risk of having my possessions stolen. Today, however, I had little choice. I had been commissioned by a lesser noble that was responsible for the area. From what I had seen of the place, he wasn't doing a very good job.

I was feeling slightly lost as I wandered the dank streets. The directions I had been given seemed to be leading me nowhere and I was beginning to think that I would have to give up and head home. Commission be damned. Dropping onto a nearby bench, I pondered my choices. Truth be told, I wasn't entirely positive that I would be able to make my way home again, considering how lost I had managed to become.

While I was sitting there, deep in thought, a young lady in her teens plopped down beside me. She seemed to not notice me for a few minutes. When she finally did, her face registered surprise.
"What are you doing here?"
"Me? Why wouldn't I be here?"
"Your clothes are too nice."
"Ah. Well, I am here for a commission. But, I've managed to get lost. That's why I'm sitting here. On this bench."
Her brow scrunched up in thought. "Commission?"
"I am a painter."
"Oh. You must be looking for the Duke's place."
"That's correct. I don't suppose you know where it is? By chance?"
"Course I do. I live here, don't I?"
"Would you be willing to direct me?"
"Sure. I don't have anything better to do."
She stood and smiled at me. I moved to her side and she started down the street with me next to her, back the way that I had come.

We conversed amicably as we went. The girl, whose name was Nala, was a fascinating individual. It never came up that she was an empath, but I figured it out for myself. And while she never said that she was a member of the Psi Rebels, I could guess from some of the things that she said. Like the fact that she was responsible for a large group of talented kids. There was also the fact that she lived in this part of town, where the Psi Rebel compound was known to be located. Nala was careful to not say too much about herself, so much of the conversation was about our interests. I learned that we had a shared love of whales and I chuckled when I learned that she liked small furry animals. For whatever reason, I don't like rabbits and other small critters. Mice genuinely disturb me.

I was amazed by how far off-track I had managed to get and felt a little bad for taking up so much of Nala's time. When I voiced this feeling, she laughed it off.
"Don't worry about it. I like helping people."

We parted ways at the gate of the duke's mansion. His mansion looked downright gaudy, surrounded by run-down buildings as it was. Thanking her, I bowed and wished her a merry Christmas. She smiled and her dark eyes lit up.

After I had completed my painting for the duke, I returned home and began a new painting. I spent more time on it than I had ever spent on a painting and found myself wishing for references. So much of my time had been spent giving life to acrylic people and oil landscapes. Never before had I tried to paint a whale.

Two weeks later, the painting was complete. Christmas was long gone. But, I didn't care. Struggling through the streets of the poor district with a painting secured to my back, I made my way to the general area of the Psi Rebel hideout and hoped for a miracle. I didn't know the exact location of the place, so I just had to hope that I would run into Nala again.
And for once, luck was on my side. Nala came out of a building across the street from where I was standing within minutes of my arrival. She spotted me almost immediately.
Making a bee line through the crowd of people between us, Nala stopped In front of me.
"What are you doing here, Vladdy? Not lost again, I hope?"
I chuckled inwardly at the nickname. Nobody had ever called me that before. It was always 'Lord Vladimir this' and 'Lord Vladmir that.'
"I'm not lost. Not this time. This time, I am exactly where I need to be."
She quirked her eyebrow at me in a bemused expression.
"What's that on your back?"
"A gift."
"Gift?"
Carefully unstrapping it from my person, I brought the wrapped canvas in front of me.
"I painted this for you. I genuinely appreciated the help you gave me, and since it was near Christmas, I thought I should give you something. I hope that doesn't seem too strange and that you'll accept it."
Gently, I pulled the bit of silk off the image. Her eyes slid over the smooth curves of a mother whale and her calf. Nala looked back up at me and - her expression said it all.
Secret Santa gift for *keyanadrake.
Secret Santa organized by *LunaticStar

I hope you enjoy it. :D For me, the biggest challenge wasn't figuring out what gift Vladimir would give to Nala. The biggest challenge was figuring out why Vladimir would be giving a gift to Nala. They don't exactly travel in the same circles, you know. (Course, there was also the fact that Vladdy is from the middle ages and Nala seems to be from modern times or a parallel world. So by all rights, they shouldn't be together. I chose to ignore that fact, rather than have one of them wander through time or whatever. :P)

I actually had this written on the 16th. Wrote it during the 1 1/2 hour that I was waiting in the LAX airport. (Though I think it actually only took about an hour.) But, we were asked to submit on Christmas Eve if we could manage. :D

OH! Before I forget! Merry Christmas everybody!!

Nala Yen (c) *keyanadrake
Lord Vladimir Spiessen (c) ~Solaris-Ember
© 2010 - 2024 Solaris-Ember
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