The serving slaves, like all the other slaves, were human. They set the table, cooked a multi-ciourse meal, and sent one of their own to call their lord.
"Lord Zelgadis."
The elven lord in question looked up from his reading.
"Yes, Sylphiel?"
"Breakfast is ready in the main dining hall."
"Thank you. And send for Lina to come to the dining hall."
Sylphiel bowed her head politely and quietly shut the library door.
Zelgadis turned another page absently, then set down his book.
I wonder if Lina passed the night well...
A knock came to the door. Lina turned in bed, groaned, and smoothed her hair over, just in case it was Zelgadis. Instead, a girl with long, violet hair and an apron stood there.
"Miss Lina. Lord Zelgadis wishes you to come to the main dining hall for breakfast."
Food was a very good prospect, Lina's stomach agreed.
"Alright." Lina turned and headed towards the wardrobe, where she found a nightgown last night. And surprisingly, she didn't find a single lacey number. But she should have expected such a lack from a strange lord like Zelgadis. Lina suddenly turned around. "What is it?"
Sylphiel stood there. She began to blush.
"Well, it's just that, um..."
"You look as if you've never seen a harem girl before." Lina folded her arms.
"...Yes..." Sylphiel averted her eyes to something non-existent in the hallway.
"So Lord Zelgadis has never kept even one concubine around before?" Lina inched towards the shy maid.
"Oh, never." Sylphiel shook her head. "Lord Zelgadis is such a good person, even to human slaves. He'd never do something like - " Then she began stuttering and placed a finger to her teeth. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to speak badly of concubines."
Lina kept her temper. This girl could be a valuable tool. Right now, a wealth of information. Later, if she befriended her, she could become a loyal assistant.
"Well, it's Ok. I've been a concubine all my life, and I've seen how bad some of them are. My full name is Lina Inverse. What's yours?"
"I'm Sylphiel Nels Lada." She replied shyly.
"What's your position here?"
"I'm one of Lord Zelgadis's general servants. I do a little bit of everything, but I cook a lot. Some of the others say I'm his favorite, but I'm not sure if that's true."
"Really..." Lina eyed the girl with bright eyes. Bright...green...eyes!... And in an instant, they were brown again.
Lina gaped. If what she saw was true, then Sylphiel was half human and half elf. A rare breed in this world. A breed hunted down and killed on the spot, for fear of their psychic powers, which were skills the elves could never learn. In addition, these Halflings had the illusionary and material manipulation powers which were the capabilities of the elves as well.
The situation was looking better and better to Lina. Now she not only had Sylphiel's position and wealth of information at her disposal, but her powers as well. If she could get Sylphiel to obey her.
"You're 1/2 elf, aren't you?" Lina asked flatly.
Suddenly, Sylphiel's green eyes grew wide, and she began to tremble. She stammered for an excuse, all the while berating herself for letting her illusion fade. She always seemed to slip up when she got too excited at someone actually being nice to her, in a world where everyone wanted half-breeds like her dead.
"Oh! Oh, dear. You won't tell anyone I'm a halfling, will you?" Sylphiel pleaded.
"Don't worry." Lina smiled warmly. "It will be our little secret. I'll even help you when you need it."
"R-Really?"
Lina flashed a victory sign. "You can count on me!"
Sylphiel clasped her hands together. "Oh! Thank you! Thank you, Miss Lina! You're such a good person! Thank you! If you ever need anything, I'll do it for you! I'll do my best! Thank you!" Bowing, Sylphiel ran off embarassed to continue her duties.
"No problem!" Lina continued to smile, her head poking out the doorway. She stopped waving and the smile faded into a smirk. "No problem yet, anyway..."