The meeting with Dwarves went better than he had anticipated. Now was the turn of meeting the Elves. He had his plan settled for them. He would sponsor their trip back to Beladhithl. With this show of good gesture, he would earn the gratitude of the Elves, especially the Moonbrook and Goldpetal; and open a new trade route to the Elven heartland, bypassing Sylvanna's monopoly. He was bustling with confidence, low-key afraid that the elf ladies may jump on him with joy! With a confident stride, he entered the Elves' room. The two elven women were standing in front of a mahogany table. On it a set of newly drafted maritime charts were laid. The ladies were studying the charts when Lorian entered through the door, and they stood at attention to welcome the Lord.
"I have finalized everything," Lorian declared with the excitement of a man who had just solved a complex puzzle, "I will provide a fast-sailing galley and a veteran escort. Adjutant Tharford will personally oversee your journey to the borders of Beladhithl. With Sylfia's family standing and Vespera's knowledge of the route, we can announce a direct trade treaty within the month. We will break the Sylvanna monopoly, and you will be returning home as the pioneers who survived the Iron Sea."
He looked at them, expecting the flowery stream of gratitude from Sylfia. Instead, there was a deafening, heavy silence.
Vespera Thal kept looking at her scarred hands. Sylfia Moonbrook simply turned her head away; her aristocratic poise seemed to be missing right now.
"We are not going, Prince," Vespera said in a desperate voice.
"Wait a minute," Lorian was completely taken aback, "I think you misunderstood. You see I am not ransoming you. I'm funding you. This is going to be your grand homecoming."
"Homecoming?" Sylfia scoffed. She stepped toward the window, looking out at the bustling city of Veridia, and spoke with a trembling voice, "Your Highness, in your eyes, we are survivors. But in Beladhithl, our homeland, we are... contaminated."
She turned back, and for the first time, Lorian saw the terror in the eyes of a High-born daughter. "Our society is built on the 'Purity of the Essence'.", she continued, "We were captured by Orcs, the vile beasts. We were handled by human slavers. In the eyes of the Moonbrook elders and the High Priests, the 'Sylfia' who left on the Silver Horizon died the moment an Orc's hand had touched her shoulder. If I return, I will become a walking scandal, a shame to our ancestors, and a taint in our bloodline. I would be stripped of my name and locked in a Silent Cloister to 'purify' my soul until I wither away." Sylfia looked directly at Lorian's eyes, and forced a smile, "And you know the funniest part in this whole thing? My own family would support this. To them, I would be better dead; for a dead daughter is a tragedy, but a 'tainted' daughter is an embarrassment that must be erased."
Vespera stepped forward, "And what of me? A first mate who lost her ship and was sold like cattle? Our Navy doesn't reward survival, Prince. They rather punish failure. I'd be lucky to find work cleaning fish guts in the slums of Port Hala. And the children..."
She gestured toward the room where the four orphans were playing, "The Wayfarers and Goldpetals are gone. In our 'perfect' society, orphans with no protectors are just tools for the aristocrats. They'd be split up, used as low-tier scouts, or 'adopted' by houses that want to swallow their family's remaining assets. We believe, here, in Veridia, they are safe and better."
Lorian felt the weight of his own ignorance. He was thinking from a purely economic angle, and the sociology angle came and hit him like a wrecking ball. Still, something was not fitting right.
Lorian rolled his head, furrowed his brow, and asked, "Wait a minute. Help me understand one thing. If your society is really that rigid, orthodox and conservative, why the hell did they let you sail in the first place? Why send a highborn daughter and a female officer into the treacherous Iron Sea? "
Sylfia and Vespera exchanged a grim look and sighed of frustration. It was Sylfia who spoke first; her usual flowery metaphors were still missing. "It was a gamble of the worst sort, my Lord, but a calculated gamble nonetheless" she began, "There were at least three reasons, Great lord, which, you would find perfectly mirroring Elven greed and Elven cruelty."
She counted her fingers, "First, money. The Sylvanna monopoly is a slow poison for the Great Houses. My family, the Moonbrooks in particular, was being bled dry. The Royal Court, however, refused to finance the expedition. They 'tolerated' this mission only because my father had put up the gold. To the Elders, it was a win-win situation. You see, if we succeeded, they would get a new trade route for free. If we failed, they would have lost nothing but a Merchant House they already considered too ambitious."
Vespera took over, counting on her second finger, "And then there was the 'problem' of our presence. In Beladhithl, a woman looking at the stars instead of a mirror is... a bad news... an anomaly. I was the first mate who had the gall to point out that our navy was rotting at the anchor. And Sylfia here? She was a high-born daughter who dropped gossiping with noble ladies over cup of tea, and chose arguing politics of the court. She was a 'bad influence' on society. By 'allowing' us to lead the Silver Horizon, they weren't doing us a favor. They were just getting us out of their hair. They sent us on a suicide mission so that they could keep their home pure and quite."
"But the most bitter reason," Sylfia whispered while counting her third finger, "was the 'Protocol of Taint'. The priests and elders believe that the first contact with the 'lesser races', that is, your people, Lord Lorian, and the Orcs, always leaves a mark. They would never risk a male heir or a high priest on a first expedition. They sent us the troublesome daughters and the lower-ranking officers as sacrificial lambs. If the route was found, great. If we were 'tainted' by the journey, the core lineage of our Houses remained 'clean' back home. We were mere scouts sent to walk through the mud so the masters could follow on a paved road later."
"So," Lorian said, finally realizing the harsh, cruel reality, "you weren't heroes. You were just expandable."
"Exactly," Vespera said with a clenched jaw, "If we return now, there wouldn't be any celebration for our survival, my Lord. We will be exhibited as the living proof of what happens to the women who challenge the societal order. Our lives will become living hell."
Sylfia looked Lorian directly in the eye, "You asked for the truth, my Lord. The truth is that Beladhithl is a golden cage that only opens to let the 'problems' out. We have no desire to crawl back inside."