Bella Rouge: The Beginning
Whether or not Bella's father would be drunk when he came home or not was never a question. The question was how drunk he'd be. You see, it was better if Dalton Rouge came home so drunk that he would just pass out on the floor before he had a chance to notice anyone else around him. On nights like that there was peace in the small one room house in Fort Vehl. Bella could sit by the window and listen to the loud and long snores of her father as she held on to some twisted corn husks the neighbor gave to her to play with. Mrs. Harris told Bella it was a doll to play with. Bella didn't know what a doll was, but she knew that those cornhusks were hers, so she kept them hidden when her parents were around so that they would not throw them out with the trash. Bella's mother Rachel was more relaxed when Dalton came home too inebriated to remain conscious as well, as it meant that she did not end up with more bruises or a broken bone that night. On those nights, Rachel left Bella to herself as she quietly cleaned up the dinner she had prepared, throwing the uneaten dinner into the trash bin. Bella always tried to keep to herself until her mother went to bed before she snuck under the small cabinet to pull out pieces of her father's dinner to eat . She knew her mother would check in the morning, so she learned to carefully pull off the top layer and eat underneath it, picking the dirt and hairs off where she could, then replacing the top again so her efforts were not noticed by the quick glance of her mother. That was a good night. She could sit by the window. As long as her parents did not hear her, all was safe.
Bella's mother stopped feeding her when she was 5. She told her that she wasn't allowed to get any bigger. Each night after Dalton would beat her, she would mop up her face and wipe up any blood from the walls or the floor. The whole time she would make Bella sit next to her while Dalton snored on the bed. She would grumble at her all the while, "This is all your fault you little sh--. Yer pa never done this ta me afore you came 'long. Now yer here an' this is wha' happens. I wish you were ne'er born. Iffn you weren' here it'd all be better. The bigger you get the harder he come at me. You better not get any bigger'n this." After she would finish cursing at her, she would smack Bella across the face and send her under the bed, where she was to sleep. Bella always looked forward to that smack. It meant she was done for the night.
Bella learned at an early age that creaky floors were a child's worst enemy when her parents resented her existence. On nights when Dalton would come home drunk and angry, there would always be something that he could find that would set him off. Often it was simply that his food was not hot enough, or perhaps it was too hot and burned him. Once there was not enough mashed potatoes on his plate. Another time there were only five green beans and he wanted six. Any reason was enough to get up from the table, throwing his chair on the floor behind him and cross the room to Rachel, who cowered before him while he hit her across the face. If he was really angry, he'd take her by the hair and throw her across the room where she would sink to the floor after hitting the wall and shake with silent sobs. When this would happen, Bella would hide under the bed all the way in the corner of the wall so as not to be seen or heard. She knew better. When she was four, her father heard her sneeze from the dust that was there. He lifted the bed and pushed it out of the way so that he could grab Bella up by her hair. He yanked her up then by her arm and held her by the neck against the wall with his other hand and stared at her with his dark brown eyes and bushy eyebrows. He brought his face up close to hers, his breath smelling like whiskey and smoke. "Nobody told you you were allowed to sneeze," he sneered at her in a cold deep voice. Then he dropped her to the floor. Bella lay there in a heap until morning, afraid to move again lest he come at her again.
The next morning she went to Mrs. Harris again, who set her arm for her. Mrs. Harris was an odd sort of woman. She was able to heal small things, and would take care of Bella when her pa would hurt her. Mrs. Harris did not like Bella's parents, but she would never say such things to Bella. She would patch her up, give her a cookie, and then send her back on her way. Bella wished she could live with Mrs. Harris instead of her ma and pa, but Mrs. Harris told her no, always with such a look of sadness that Bella knew that if she could, she would take her away, but something wouldn't let her.
When Bella was 7, Dalton came home one stormy night in a rage. He had been drinking as usual, but this night he had lost a great deal of coins at the card table. He didn't even wait to see what was on his plate before he took after Rachel. He threw her across the room into the wall, knocking a plate off a shelf which shattered as it hit the hard dirt floor. Rachel was not a smart woman, but she knew better than to ask Dalton what was wrong. This time it didn't even matter. Rachel whimpered as she crumpled to the floor, her arm twitching in an odd way and hanging off to one side, the shoulder dislocated. Dalton normally would discontinue his rampage but this time he did not relent. He picked Rachel up by the throat and threw her on the bead punching and hiting her while yelling, "I done tol' you not to go down by them docks woman! You think you can make a fool out of me! I'll make you pay!" The thunder roared outside with the storm, and the sounds of fists upon skull blended with the sound of the clouds. The lightning flashed outside, throwing the shadows of her father beating her mother up on the wall.
After a few moments Rachel went completely limp, her feet hanging over the edge of the bed where Bella could see. To her horror, she saw blood begin to seep down through the pallet of the bed and start to drip onto the floor beside her. She dared not move, or even breathe as she watched the pool of her mother's blood grow beside her. Her father was quiet for a moment as he looked at the form of her mothers dead body. "Well sh--," he said finally. He crossed to the cupboard and pulled out a flask of whiskey, taking a long drink. Then suddenly he seemed to remember he had forgotten something. "Bella!" he bellowed. "Bella! Where you at ya little b----! Get out here when I call ya!" He took another long drink of the whiskey. Bella did not move. She held her breath, holding tight to her corn husk, and curled into as small a ball as she could make herself. After a few minutes her father passed out. Bella waited still until she heard the drunk rhythmic snores of her father's sleep. It was then that she ran. The thunder and lightning raged around her as she tried to find a safe place to hide for the night. Soaking wet and terrified she managed to find a hole to climb into to wait out the storm, but the sound of the thunder kept ringing in her ears, and each time she closed her eyes she saw the shadows and the blood.
Bella was small for her age, and quite used to hiding. She found her way around making sure to stay away from her father's house and the other places he liked to be. She never wanted to encounter him again. But she was not sure whether or not Dalton would ever look for her. When she was twelve she thought that perhaps she could leave the city, to explore to another town. She took some food that she had begged off a traveling adventuring woman, and left out the front gates past the gate guard and down the trail. She did not make it far. Just outside the outskirts of the city she was met by some unruly dwarves. They laughed at her and beat her, taking her food and telling her she was too small to be worth even killing. They told her to go back home and if she ever came back out there again she better be bringing them food or they'd find another use for her. Bella didn't go back outside the city walls again for a long time.
When Bella would get desperate, she would go to the temple of the Rofireinites for food or shelter. She had seen what they did to those who stole, so she was always afraid of them, but at the same time, she remembered a night when they had saved her life. When Bella was 6, a great panic rose throughout the city. The knights of Rofirein swept through the city knocking on all the doors telling everyone to surrender their children to the temple for safe keeping. That any child left outside the sturdy walls of the temple could be killed. Rachel was cleaning up after the night's disaster, and Dalton was asleep as usual after the ordeal. She told the knight that she didn't have a child, but Bella stepped forward. The knight, a half elf with golden eyes looked at Rachel admonishingly and took Bella in his arms. Rachel protested saying that Bella belonged to her and the knight had no right to take her away. The knight simply replied quietly that when the threat had passed Bella would be returned. Bella held on to him while they rode to the temple on his white horse, wishing that he would never make her go back to that house, that he would be the one to rescue her. But a few days later, Bella was sent back to her parents home. Her mother beat her fiercely for showing herself to the knight. She knew then that she could trust nobody but herself. Not even the shiny golden knights of Rofirein.
Over the years Bella learned more about the city, where to go and when to find the inns and taverns just as they threw out the leftovers from their patrons. Bella would get there well ahead of time and sit in the darkness of the alleys while waiting, eager to make sure that she would get the best scraps before the others would come. But she was small and often as soon as she would reach out to grab something to eat, someone else that was there for the same reasons, someone bigger, would push her out of the way. Occaisionally someone would take kindly to her and toss her a scrap of bread or a piece of meat, but on the streets, people are generally out for themselves first and formost.
Once Bella mustered up the strength to make her way back towards her father's house to see if she could see Mrs. Harris one more time. She'd been gone only a year since her mother's death. But when she got there, the house lay dark and empty. The rats scurried in and out unhindered and the place was in disarray. The once faded green window shutters were peeling and chipped and hanging limp on one hinge against the house, the windows cracked and broken in places. Mrs. Harris was nowhere to be found. Bella didn't dare go closer on the off chance that her father was nearby, so she crept back into the shadows and down the alley, and back down towards the docks.
As she got older, Bella saw things that went on in the city. Dark shadowy figures that exuded an air of terror that made her blood run cold. She would hear them whisper to each other in their odd, somewhat musical language with their hoods drawn low over their faces, and their long gloved fingers entwined within the folds of their dark robes. She had heard the whispered stories of dark elves as long as she could remember. Even with the golden knights of Roferein patrolling the streets day and night, they could not be everywhere at once, and these dark spectres seemed to laugh at their attempts to reign them in. They were bold. They met where they pleased. No one stood in their way. Occaisionally there was talk that a dark elf had been caught and thrown into the city jail to await trial. But somehow these monsters were able to get free. Bella always tried to hide in the smallest of spaces when she slept. She thought if she could make herself tiny, maybe no one would notice her. And most of the time she was right.
Bella had always done her best to stay out of the gangs to one side or the other. She would rather them all look at her as a loner, and sometimes they would ignore her presence. Being ignored was better than being pointed out as an enemy for one reason or another. In some places, not being in the gang, regardless, was a reason to be killed. Bella always steered clear of South Second Street for that very reason. But not all of them were like that. From time to time, she would be approached by someone and beaten for stepping on the wrong side of the road. Once, the punishment of choice was dripping hot wax across her back as they laughed at her, and then threw her back into the alley. But through it all, Bella never cried. Her mother had cried when her father beat her. Bella was determined not to cry. If you cried, you would let it kill you.
When Bella was sixteen she decided that she wanted to become more, do something more for herself. She wanted to learn how to fight back against those who bullied her. She'd been on the streets for nine years and she was ready to do more than simply hide in the shadows or beg for food from the travellers or adventurers that passed through. As luck would have it, she came across the body of a man lying in the streets. He was lying in a pool of blood. Someone had stabbed him and left him for dead. Bella quickly looked over the man to see if there was something she could gain from his death. It seemed that his attacker had run off with his coin purse, but Bella knew that people didn't always carry everything in their purses. She checked his pockets and inside his trousers. When she pulled out his boots, something shiny and metal fell to the ground with a clink. It was a ring. A beautiful ring of gold with a shiny green stone and intricate craftsmanship. Quickly Bella put the ring into her pocket and ran down the road to the pawn shop. The pawn broker looked at her suspiciously. Bella had always looked a lot younger than she really was. She told the broker that it was her father's and not to ask her any more questions or he would come and rough him up. Whether or not the broker believed her , there was enough of that sort of thing around Ft. Vehl that made him unwilling to question her completely. He handed over 500 true weight coins to Bella for the ring, saying she was going to break him with that. But the look of avarice in the man's eyes let Bella know that he would be selling the ring for quite a bit more. She didn't care. Five hundred coins was more than Bella had ever seen in her life. She ran down past the docks and ducked up under where the docks met the shore as quietly as she could, making sure nobody was watching her. There she found her hiding spot. For years no one had discovered this place. Nobody else was small enough to fit. But Bella was. She pulled up the flat stone and then the wooden box that lay underneath. She put her coins into the box and then replaced it and the stone on top of it. Then she covered it with mud to hide it even better. Then she waited until she was sure there were no footfalls above her and she crept out once more. She made use of the facilities offered at the temple of Rofirein and and cleaned herself up hands and face before heading back down a bit further, past the graveyard and to the Arena. She watched for a while until she saw what she was looking for. A trainer without a student. She approached cautiously and waited patiently until he noticed her standing there. "Go away kid, I don't have anything for you," he told her gruffly.
Bella cleared her throat and spoke as clearly as she could manage, though she could hardly stand still with nerves and being this far out of her element and in the open. "Umm... acshully... I were lookin' fer a trainer. I ken pay fer lessons. I wanna learn how at fight." She waited and looked at the man, who looked down at her seeming to study her on whether or not she was telling the truth or just trying to pick his pocket.
"Show me your coins then," he said matter-of-factly. Bella held out ten coins to him and he laughed, but clamped his hand around the coins. "It isn't much kid, but it'll do for now." He looked her over a bit, and told her to stand straight, examining her frame, feeling the muscles in her arms. Bella stood still throughout the process afraid that if she moved something bad would happen. Eventually the man seemed satisfied. "Relax, kid. What's your name?"
"Bella, mister..."
The man smiled easily, "Well Bella Mister, you got yourself a trainer. I think we might actually be able to make something of you. Provided of course, you have more than just these ten coins?"
Bella nodded eagerly with wide brown eyes. "I ken bring ya 'nother ten next time I come."
The large man bent down to look her eye to eye. "Ten coins is fine for the lessons, kid, but where's your weapon you intend to fight with?"
Bella paled. She hadn't thought that far in advance. The man just looked at her and laughed. "It's alright, kid, I'll get you set up with something, and you can pay me back. Just bring fifteen coins instead of ten and we'll pay it in installments." He paused a bit, tapping his chin with is finger. "Mmm... you're too small for a longsword that's for sure. But... with that build, you might be quick. Are you quick, kid?" Bella nodded a bit, and the man nodded back. "Good. Then let's start you off with a dagger. You can stick things pretty well with one of these." He handed her a copper dagger, which Bella took with her left hand. The trainer looked at her a bit questioningly. "You left handed kid?"
Bella gulped, "I din' mean ta do it wrong..." She quickly shifted the blade from her left hand to her right hand. The man just laughed.
"You didn't do it wrong, kid. But I think I know what I'm going to train you in. We'll start with one, but I think we'll be moving to two. You go on ahead and take this one. I want you to come on over with me to these dummies and I'll show you how to stick it."
Bella worked with her trainer, who she learned was called Talon, for the rest of the evening. He showed her how to do a few different thrusts and slashes with the dagger. When the lesson was over, he told Bella that she could come and practice any time she wanted, but to be careful carrying a knife around when she wasn't sure how to use it, yet. For safekeeping, they decided to let Talon keep the dagger with his things, and Bella would return each day to practice. Every day Bella would return , though her muscles were sore and she would ache when she left. Each morning she would get up and uncurl from her sleeping spot under the docks, just out of the reach of the lapping waves, and would stretch her muscles the way that Talon showed her. Then after finding her food for the day and looking for coins to replace the ones she was spending, one way or another, she would make her way back to the Arena to train again. It wasn't long before she was training with two daggers, and then moved on to dual short swords, which she affectionately called "Stickers" because she was able to stick things so much better with them. Talon taught her how to use various other weapons, but in the end they both agreed that Bella's weapons of choice would be the paired "Stickers."
While they trained, Talon told Bella of his adventures, of his travels all over the world. He told her of magic, and giants, and vast expanses of sand that went as far as the eye could see just like the ocean that spread out from beyond the shore of the city. Bella was fascinated, but frightened at the same time. Talon just watched her reactions as he continued to tell her stories as he went through her exercises with her, honing her skills as well as her mind, and her hunger for adventure.
One day he sat Bella down and looked at her, talking to her very calmly, but firmly. "This is the end of our training, Kid. I've taught you everything I can, and you've learned very well, but we're done. I'm going back out on the road, and so should you. You can make it out of here, Kid. I know you can. All you have to do is try. When you started coming in here you were black and blue most days in one place or another, and I haven't seen a black eye on you in months. Something's changed. You can take care of yourself now." Bella could see Talon's eyes sparkling as he smiled at her, but then his smile faded and his serious expression resumed. "But there's one more thing, Kid. If you do decide to go out adventuring, there is one more trial you have to face. You have to touch the bindstone."
The color drained completely from Bella's face, and she stared at him with a look of sheer horror. The Bindstone loomed tall above her height in the middle of the Town Center of Fort Vehl. People had touched the bindstone before of course, but there were stories of what could happen to you if you touched it and were not the right sort of person. If you touched it, you died. Just that. Some said the Bindstone needed to take lives from some to support the lives of those it resurrected. Other said it was simply a chance you took for trying to live forever. No one quite understood it except that it was an old and ancient form of magic both revered and feared by the common people.
"I... I... dunno iffn I ken do that..." she managed to squeak out. "What iffn it sucks the life righ' outta me?"
Talon's face was grave, but he gave Bella a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Well, it just might do that, Bella, but I believe in you. You've made it this far. You've survived these streets this long. Do you just want to keep surviving here? Just making do with what you can get away with? Or do you really want more? If all you want is to get by, why have you wasted my time over the last two years? You're old enough, and I think you're strong enough. You're the kind of person that deserves to have the life of an adventurer. I don't think it will suck the life out of you." He took Bella's hands into his and set a sack of coins in her hands. "This is rightfully yours. I stopped training you for pay a long time ago. I just wanted to see you succeed. Take these coins. Buy a good set of armor and a new pair of short swords. Then go to the bank and give the rest to the banker and open an account in your own name." He smiled at her again and patted her head and squeezed her shoulder. "You'll do fine kid. You're a survivor. You shouldn't have to worry about a big old rock." He grinned at her with that twinkle in his eye and winked at her. "Take care Bella. I'll miss you." And with that he got up and walked out of the Arena.
Bella came back again the next four days to see if she could see Talon again, but he was gone. He was true to his word. He had left.
Bella waited another three days. She sat in the shadow of the bindstone trying to get up the courage to touch it. She watched it standing there, as if beckoning and mocking her at the same time. Finally, Bella swallowed hard and took a deep breath. She stepped forward and closed her eyes tightly as she touched the stone. She felt the stone pull at her, she felt lightheaded, but then something happened. She did not die. She felt a link with the stone as if her life force was now connected to it somehow in some way that she did not understand. She opened her eyes. She was still alive. The binding was done. She had passed the test.
