Atlas: Iris

-Elizabeth-

Life in the countryside had not changed. There was still a cold dark feeling that hovered over the land my father owned. As a child I do not believe I ever noticed it considering it was all that I had known. So, after spending years in a beautiful city filled with life, my own home placed a gloom over me. I had to change this and make this a place of life and warmth, especially for Azura. The damnation I could not change but the living situation I could very well influence.

I laid in my bed with Azura asleep beside me, my mind bursting with ideas. I could see the sunlight growing in the room from my windows and smell Kai's, our kitchen servant, eggs and bacon. I got up and dressed myself, then Azura in one of my old baby gowns. My mother could never throw anything away even going as far as to preserve my baby teeth. I went down the staircase with Azura in my arms and sat down at the table ready to finally taste the food that I have longed for the past 6 years.

"Beth, not at the table. It is still a drab. We do not want the others getting any ideas," my mother said.

"IT is a SHE!" I corrected.

I got up from the table and went into the kitchen. Everyone was busy cleaning and cooking. The smells brought back so many memories of when I was a little girl. I found a basket to place Azura in.

"Kai, could you please watch her for me? Mother will not let me have her in the dining room."

"Yesm'"

"Oh, and her name's Azura, like the blue sky."

"Yesm"

Kai was built like a brick house. She was tall and wide for a woman. Her skin a dark bluish ash color, and though there was always a frown in her brows, she was as sweet as a sugarplum. She had started in the fields and worked her way into the kitchen once Mama Sari had died, the old kitchen lead. Kai was Mama Sari's youngest daughter of 3. Kai's sisters were sold to my father's friends. Each one of Mama Sari's daughters were blessed in the kitchen. No one could match their meals, and everyone craved them during dinner parties. Two other servants were in the kitchen helping Kai. When I placed the baby down, they looked over bewildered.

-Author-

Elizabeth had finally returned home and with a big surprise with her. Everyone who resided on Lord Luell's property has heard that the young lady brought home a baby in her arms and treated the child as any mother would. However, they all stared at the baby wondering when Elizabeth had given birth, when she was still a child herself.

Kai lifted the basket and sat the baby in a nearby chair so that everyone could get a better look. The baby yawned stretching her hands out wide. She blinked, showing them her big blue eyes. Gasps erupted amongst the onlookers in the kitchen. Not only was the child adorable but blue eyes?

As children the drabs that resided at the Luell's are told stories of their ancestors, Suns, and how their people lived beside those with blue colored eyes. Just as all Suns were punished for the stupidity of a few powerful Suns so were they. However, the blue-eyed beings received a far worse punishment, genocide. For years they were hunted down and exterminated as if they were pests.

As Kai looked at baby Azura she felt fear wash over her. The fear of the baby's life coming to an end pulled on Kai's heart. She felt she needed to tell everyone that they must protect the child for she was a key to their forgotten past. She would need to be protected by all.

Kai could hear shouting in the dining room knowing already Elizabeth did not waste any time upsetting her parents. She was always a rebellious spoiled girl with a kind heart.

-Elizabeth-

I walked into the dining room and took my seat across from my mother before my father began to speak.