“And what of me?” She demanded. Her hands trembled for an instant upon the rough-hewn chest.
“What was my lot? I was the laughing one, the laughable one…with foolish comments and jests, I made them to laugh. But what of it? In the end I was but a child to them, my dignity sacrificed upon the altar of cheer. Nothing but an object of scorn, a jester, a fool. I have no respect or regard to call my own, as my fellow-maids have in abundance. They are the ornate butterflies that adorn milady’s garden, that bring beauty and grace along with their regality. And me…I am the gamboling pup, tripping on its feet and rolling over foolishly. They may love me!” she said, seeing the look on his face, “But is it not in a condescending, patronizing manner? Nobody would smile and pet the head of a butterfly as they do ofttimes to a pup.”
He said nothing for a moment and seemed not to see her tears, but instead took up one of Elsa’s pups. The soft, chubby little one squeaked and wiggled in his hands, objecting to the rude interruption of its feeding. He held it closer, and the little one quieted down, content against the heat of his jerkin.
“Nobody, Maid, save a fool would regard a butterfly as they would a pup…for butterflies are of the air, lofty and ethereal as the angels of Heaven. Pups, and the hounds they shall someday grow into, are of the earth, and too close for us to oftentimes gaze at them with wonder.
But in the day of sorrow and uncertainty, of battle and fear, it is not the winged wonders who aid us, nor are they the ones who we can wrap our arms around and wet with our tears. The butterflies do not stand by our hearts and sides in the day of battle, Runa…it is the hounds. Unsung, disregarded and kicked aside though it be, a hundred little ornaments cannot measure up to the truest heart.
They may laugh at you, Maid, and consider you but a child with nary a care. Their considerations do not mark truth. That the others do not see your tears, sorrows, dreams and strengths doesn’t decree that such exist not. To you has been given the shadowless light, the cloudless sky, the spotless rose that they may turn to in the day of their calamity. At such time they will remember your laughter, and it shall give them courage to carry on.”