Free Esra by Nicole Burr

lessons as a mild fall gave way to a dreary winter that seemed to drag on forever.  They had finished with history and moved on to royal affairs, studying how the King had come to be, what his responsibilities were, and all the major players in the Kingdom of LeVara.  She could tell you who were the head of mercantile and first apothecary, and even the name of the palace cook.  Esra had brushed up on her limited pronunciations of the ancient languages and began to practice reading and writing in Tur, which was immensely hard for her. 
    All this left little time for Esra to worry about Cane’s cryptic warnings about the Kingdom being in danger, and the secret war of the Keepers and Elites.  She didn’t think she could possibly handle the stress of that topic with all the stringent new requirements for her lessons.  And although she had sensed the presence of the man following her in the forest on multiple occasions, Esra never caught sight of him again. 
    Today she had arrived breathless and late to see Cane perched upon his armchair in waiting, seemingly lost in thought somewhere far away.  She plopped down in the chair across from him as Meshok circled on the rug between them.  In typical Cane fashion, he began drumming his hands upon the arm of his chair for the next minute, not saying a word. 
           Suddenly he looked up at her and blurted, “I now want to focus on the other three races, the Elves, Unni, and Shendari.  Instead of just studying the history and culture, we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each peoples, in battle and in diplomacy.  Ye should take care to learn the names and responsibility of their leaders, and what each race desires fer their people.”
           “What fer?” Esra asked, then recoiled when she saw the stern look on Cane’s long face.  She couldn’t help it.  There was nothing besides magick that fascinated her more than the three races.  And yesterday he had assured her that from this point forward she would be allowed to ask questions and speak freely, which thrilled her after so much disciplined listening.  He continued solemnly, as if she hadn’t interrupted.
           “We will start with the Elves, since I believe they are the most commonly known and we have already discussed some of their history.”
           She shifted in her chair in anticipation, accidentally kicking Meshok in the side.  The Wolf groaned loudly and lifted her head in irritation.
           “Contrary to what most people believe, the Elves are not a secretive people.”
           “Oh.  But then why don’t we see one once in a while?” Esra had always thought them to keep to themselves because they did not like Humans, or perhaps because they were distrustful of outsiders.
           “Probably fer the same reason most Humans would never make the extensive journey to the mountains.  It’s a long, hard journey.  If a traveler does make the dangerous trek through the mountains to visit, the Elves welcome newcomers with curiosity and warmth,” Cane explained.  “They are not secretive, just shy.  They prefer the shade of the mountains, which provide a startling view of LeVara, fer they have a deep reverence fer the natural world.  The Elves are also a people who cherish simplicity and tradition, and enjoy the art of storytelling as much as the written word.  As such, they are sometimes quite dedicated to learning about their lineage and history.  Their simplicity and respect for tradition, however, does not suggest weak minds or an aversion to original thinking, as they are known to be some of the most intelligent, forward thinking scholars.  Most of them speak the languages of all four races and the Ancient Tongues as well.”
           Cane had recently taught Esra some of the formal Elvish phrases, but had explained that learning the entire language would be quite unnecessary, since all Elves were more than fluent in her