“ You ain’t an elven little lady. Don’t you know this? If you ain’t elven, and you want protection from the city, then you live in the outcast camp. Just that simple.” The man stated that so casually it sent shivers down Michiko’s spine. How could he say that like it was a normal thing? “ No I didn’t know that, what- no, who would ever do a thing like that?”

The man raised one eyebrow, his blue eyes full of suspicion. “ King Eric enforced that years ago. Just a factor of life. You’re not from around here are you?” Michiko shook her head, then she stepped to the window. Deep confusion and disdain flooded her head. “ You’re in the city of Gem. It’s a pretty old city, it follows the same laws as the rest of the country. Where are you from?” He rocked back and forth in the chair as he spoke.

“ Pretty far away I suppose.” Michiko’s voice shook when she answered. “ Ah, well Doonedash is a pretty big planet, so it’s understandable you don’t really know where you hail from. Especially if you don’t know where you are now.” The man chuckled. Doonedash, what in the hells was that? Another planet? Panic began to set into her veins, but she managed to keep her wits about her.

“Do you study star systems?” Michiko approached him with the question cautiously, she prayed that this culture studied those things. “ You mean those twinkling lights of fire in the night sky? Yeah, well I specifically haven’t studied them, but boss has studied what she can about them.” “ Has she studied other planets?” Michiko pressed further. The man gave her a puzzled look. “ Other planets? There ain’t any others. What are you talking about?” 

“ Ah, well I just mean what if there were other planets than this one. One’s that have other life, other laws, cultures, landscapes I-.” “ You’re speaking of something that does not exist. We are the only planet, the only one with life at least. The culture of this continent is obsolete. The laws that are given by king Eric should not be changed. Our landscape may be harsh and difficult to live in, but the one true god provides for us.”

Michiko sensed disdain in the elf’s voice. His words seemed empty, as if rehearsed a million times. Michiko did not believe he had faith in what he was saying. “ Does this one true god really believe in the teachings of your king?” The question slipped from her mouth, she felt like a storm in a bottle, ready to explode. She had so many questions. But how would she ask them? And in what way would this man answer? She felt it was almost better that she did not know. 

The elf shifted his weight and then stood, causing the chair he sat in to rock back and forth. He approached Michiko slowly, judgment filled his blue eyes. “ You should refrain from such talk outside this room.” He glanced out the window down to the sandstone streets below, watching the people go by. “ You could be killed for what you say, among other things.”