Until I Sleep (Alora Chronicles Book 1)

by Lara Ann

  I tucked it in the pocket of my shorts, thinking I would always remember this day with Wyn when I looked at it.

  “How about a race up the beach?” I asked. I took off running, not waiting for an answer. I knew how fast Wyn was and that I had no chance of winning. I ran through the shallow water, I turned to see if Wyn was coming up behind me. He was only jogging, and still a fair way behind. I ran faster, issuing a challenge.

  “I know you can run faster than that!” I yelled laughing. I took another peak. He was really running now. I had a good head start, so I turned around and concentrated all my energy on running as fast as I could. I had always been good at sprinting at school, and it felt good to be pushing myself on the hard wet sand. I couldn’t hear Wyn coming, but I knew he must be catching up. I knew how silently he could move, so I pushed myself a bit harder. I was starting to feel the burn in my legs, and I knew I couldn’t run like this for much longer. Suddenly I felt myself being lifted from the ground, as Wyn’s hands grabbed me around my waist and spun me around. Our combined momentum kept us going as we started to fall. Wyn managed to land underneath me cushioning my fall. I landed on top of him in a breathless slightly sandy heap. I opened my eyes; his face was right below mine, my long hair black blocking out everything else. I looked into his brilliant green eyes. His full lips were slightly parted. I wasn’t sure if I moved or Wyn did, but I felt his lips meet mine. My head began to spin at the feeling of Wyn’s lips moving softly with mine. The cold ocean water was lapping against my feet heightening the warm feeling of the kiss. I gasped as Wyn sat up suddenly and gently placed me beside him on the wet sand.

  “I am so sorry Ashlee. I don’t know how to explain what came over me.”

  “Ashlee? I’m back to Ashlee now am I?”

  “Ash, I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just not used to losing control like that.”

  “You didn’t want that to happen?” I said bewildered, I could still almost feel his soft lips against mine.

  “You know we cannot. It does not matter what we want.”

  “Why doesn’t it matter?” I responded angrily. “Why would it be so terrible?”

  “This sort of thing has caused problems in the past. It is why it has been forbidden.”

  I stood up and began walking quickly back down the beach. I didn’t want to hear how the most magical moment of my life was a mistake. I didn’t want Wyn to earnestly explain how that could never happen again, how we could never be together. I was in love with him I realised. There was no more denying it to myself. I could tell myself I didn’t know him well enough, that it was just infatuation, but I knew in my heart that wasn’t true. Something had kindled deep within my soul, I felt connected to Wyn in a way I had never felt with anyone before. Hot salty tears ran down my face. I ran back down the beach trying to focus on my running and drown out the pain in my heart.

  When I could run no more, I stopped and sat on the warm dry sand. My tears had finished and I gasped in mouthfuls of air, knowing I should have stopped earlier. I welcomed the pain in my muscles, my shortness of breath. It distracted me from feeling or thinking. I knew it was only temporary, as my breathing slowed and my body relaxed, I began to regret my actions. I shouldn’t have run from Wyn, I should have tried to understand more about our situation. What had happened in the past? Maybe it would have nothing to do with us. Maybe we could even get permission from the Elves to be together.

  I looked up the beach. Wyn was walking towards me. He was still quite a way off, obviously deciding I needed time to cool down. I was grateful as I was beginning to feel a lot more com-posed as he got closer. He came and sat beside me, gently taking one of my hands between his.

  “I’m sorry Ash. I didn’t mean to imply that I did not want to kiss you. Nothing could be further from the truth. I just think that the closer we get, the harder it will be for us to let go.”

  “I’m sorry too Wyn. I’m sorry for getting mad at you and running away. I’ve just never felt like that before. I don’t want it to be over before it’s even begun.”

  “I know. That’s why I apologised for kissing you. I should never have started something that I knew was impossible.”

  “But why is it impossible Wyn. What happened to make it forbidden?”

  “From time to time through our history, Elves and Humans would fall in love. It was always fraught with problems, as one person would have to give up their life to move to Earth or more commonly to Alora. There was a lot of conflict and some of the children of those unions were looked down upon by the other Elves. Eventually it was decided that everyone would be better off if such parings were eliminated. A law was passed to forbid relationships between Humans and Elves.”

  “Have there been any relationships between Humans and Elves since it was banned?”

  “A few, I don’t really know much about it though,” Wyn said evasively.

  I got the feeling that Wyn knew more about it than he was letting on. I decided not to push him. After all it wasn’t really any of my business and I really didn’t want to have another argument.

  “How about we head inside and have some lunch?” I suggested instead.

  “Sure, I’d like that.”

  After lunch, we spent the afternoon doing homework. Wyn didn’t have as much as I did, having only had one day at school. After he had completed all his work, he offered to help me, which I gratefully accepted.

  “Is this similar to the school work you did on Alora?”

  “In a way, especially as we learn quite a bit about the Earth. We study some of your novels and we also learn Mathematics. We only learn the theory behind your culture and your moving pictures. I had never seen a television before I came here, but I had read about them.”

  “That must have been really weird. I keep forgetting how much of this is new for you. You seem to take in everything so calmly. Well except for your first car ride,” I joked. “I could tell you were nervous then.”

  “Perhaps it was just your driving?” Wyn teased.

  “I am going to get you for that!” I said reaching across the coffee table to tickle Wyn’s ribs.

  “Hey, that’s not fair,” Wyn replied laughing, as he leapt up and went on the attack.

  I let out a squeal as I fell back on the couch, trying to protect my sensitive ribs from his fingers.

  We both stopped suddenly as we realised how close together we were. I again felt the internal pull to put myself closer to Wyn, but I knew that would be a mistake after what had happened this morning on the beach. At least Wyn appeared to be having the same dilemma, as we slowly untangled ourselves.

  “Perhaps we need to set ourselves some boundaries?” Wyn said seriously.

  “Really? You mean like rules as to what we can and can’t do?”

  “Yes, I cannot forget about the plight of the Elves. Finnan and the others could be, at this moment, risking their lives to get information and rescue my mother.”

  I suddenly felt bad. Here I was thinking only of myself and what I wanted. What right did I have to put my feelings above the well-being of a whole race?

  “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking about what’s at stake here. It’s so easy to get lost in the moment. What do you think we ought to do?”

  “Well, I think when we are alone, we should avoid all physical contact.”

  “I think so too, anything else?”

  “I’m not sure…perhaps we will have to add more rules as we go along.”

  “Okay,” I replied frowning, the next few months were going to be harder than I had ever thought possible.

  Chapter 10

  The next week passed quickly. School was as good as it could be I suppose, I enjoyed hanging out with my new friends. They were a close group and I felt blessed that they had welcomed me so quickly. Wyn was fitting in well too; he was getting a reputation for being a bit of a geeky eccentric. This was working out well, as anything weird that he came out with, was attributed to his eccentric personality. We had been keeping to our no t
ouching rule. It had definitely allowed us to get to know one another better, without worrying about sending the wrong signals. It was hard though, every time I saw Wyn, I wanted to be near him. I had seen him reach out his hand towards me several times, only to let it fall back by his side. It was reassuring to know, that he found keeping his distance difficult too.

  On Friday night, we decided to watch Lord of the Rings on DVD. I knew Wyn had read the books, so I thought it might be fun to see what he thought of the movie. I used to have a crush on Legolas in the movie, until I met Wyn. He was much better looking, and of course, he was an actual Elf.

  “Do you use a bow and arrows to fight?” I asked Wyn as we watched Legolas firing arrows at the bad guys on the screen.

  “Mainly just for target practice, when I left the Citadel I wasn’t able to retrieve my bow. The hunters use them to hunt for food. That has never really interested me though.”

  “Do you mainly fight with your staff?”

  “Yes, it is preferred in close combat.”

  I hated the thought of Wyn having to fight against real enemies, I was glad he was safe here with me.

  We watched the rest of the movie in comfortable silence, as the credits rolled I asked, “so what did you think? Did it do the story justice?”

  “It was very lifelike. I wish I could show this to the others. Although perhaps nothing would get done, I can picture Argus wanting to watch films all day.” Wyn reached across to take my hand; I felt warmth flow through me at his touch.

  “Sorry,” he said releasing my hand. “It’s hard to remember sometimes, it just feels so natural to touch you.”

  “It’s ok,” I stammered. “It’s hard for me too.”

  We decided it was probably best to call it a night. Dad had already gone to bed ages ago, as he was planning to get up early to go fishing. It was much easier to keep our distance when someone else was around.

  I headed up to my bedroom. I pulled out the Jaega locket; it felt strange not to wear it all the time. I ran my fingers over the strange symbols realising I had never asked Wyn what they meant. I returned it carefully to its box and placed the piece of sea glass Wyn had given me next to it. Perhaps I could have the glass made into a necklace if I couldn’t wear the locket. They both re-minded me of Wyn. As I tried to go to sleep, thoughts of that day at the beach replayed through my mind. It was both magical and painful remembering our first and only kiss...

  I awoke in darkness, someone was screaming. I quickly got out of bed stubbing my toe painfully in the dark. I stumbled out into the hall, realising it was Wyn’s voice I could hear.

  I ran down the hall and opened his door, thoughts of Dark Elves somehow finding us filling my mind. It was dark in the room, but there was enough moonlight coming through the open window to tell Wyn was alone. He was thrashing around on the bed, his blankets in a tangled mess around him.

  “Mother, Mother, noooo!” Wyn muttered.

  “Wyn, Wyn! Wake up, you’re having a nightmare,” I said rushing to his side. I touched his shoulder, it was hot and sweaty.

  Wyn’s eyes opened at my touch. He looked confused for a moment. “It felt so real.”

  “It’s okay - it was just a bad dream.”

  “No, you don’t understand, dream foretelling is a gift some Elves possess.”

  “Is it one of your gifts? You didn’t mention it before.”

  “Well, no, I’ve never had one before. It might be though, I would have to speak to Merryn to be sure. She is the head of the Dreamers.”

  “What do we do then? We can’t exactly ask her now.”

  “I know, I know.” Wyn got out of the bed and began to pace back and forth across the bedroom floor.

  For the first time, I was aware that he was just wearing a pair of black boxers, his chest was bare. His skin was glistening in the moonlight, where it was still sweaty.

  “Perhaps we should talk about this in the morning?” I was sure being in Wyn’s room in the middle of the night, would be breaking some, as yet, unnamed rule.

  “What?” said Wyn distractedly. “No, you can’t! I mean, I need you to take me back. I have to know if that dream was real. I can’t let my Mother suffer like that!”

  “Are you sure? What if this is some sort of trick to lure you back there?”

  “I don’t know what to do. What would you do?”

  If there had been anything I could have done to save my Mum, I knew I would have done it in a heartbeat. If there was anything Wyn could have said for me to consider putting him in danger, that was it.

  “Of course, you’re right, we have to try.”

  “Do you think you can get back to sleep?” Wyn asked getting back into the bed.

  “Ah, don’t you think we should get dressed first?”

  Wyn finally became aware of his state of undress. “Oh my goodness! Ashlee I’m so sorry, you should have said something.”

  “Never mind, just get dressed and meet me in my room in five minutes.”

  I hurried back to my room and pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and a black long sleeved shirt. I added a pair of dark sneakers, in case we needed to sneak around. I felt like I was in a fairy tale, about to try and break into the castle. I grabbed the locket and placed it around my neck. Finally I braided my long dark hair and I was ready.

  Wyn knocked softly on my door.

  “Come in,” I whispered.

  Wyn was also wearing dark clothes, so I didn’t feel like my choices had been silly after all. We lay down on either side of the bed. I reached out my hand and found Wyn already reaching for me. We clasped hands, Wyn’s warm hand around mine, gave me courage that I could actually do this. I could take him back into danger.

  “Where will we end up?” I asked nervously.

  “I think I can take us into the city, but if you could think about the last place we were, in case it doesn’t work.”

  I thought about the forest clearing where we had spent our last night and I thought about Wyn saying his farewell to Thunder, and I wondered if they missed each other...

  I woke up in the darkness. I could still feel Wyn’s hand in mine, which was comforting. I could see the stars through the treetops. I heard an odd snuffling sound. I sat up quickly.

  “Oof, that’s enough,” I heard Wyn say.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s just Thunder, giving me a ‘welcome home’ kiss,” Wyn laughed. He stood up and pulled me to my feet.

  “Where are we?”

  “I think we are just outside the city. It’s not the place I was thinking about and you have never been here. I am not really sure how we ended up here. What were you thinking about?”

  “Well I was thinking about where we were and then I was wondering if you missed Thunder...”

  “That must be it – you’ve taken us straight to the horse. Well that works out in our favour, we don’t have far to travel.”

  Wyn jumped up onto the horse’s bare back and held out his hand for me.

  “Won’t we fall off?” I enquired nervously as Wyn pulled me up behind him.

  “We’ll be fine, Thunder promises to be on his best behaviour,” Wyn replied with a cheeky grin.

  “Well I guess you can just tell him where you want to go?”

  “Ask is probably a better word. Thunder doesn’t like to be told anything.”

  I thought back to our first meeting and remembered the horse’s refusal to leave the stream until he had finished drinking.

  “Does he want to take us into the city?”

  “He has agreed to it. Although he knows I’m not supposed to be going there.”

  “Does he know what happened to the other Elves? Did they find your Mum?”

  “He doesn’t know, he hasn’t seen anyone since we left.”

  We rode through the semi-darkness. Before long, the grass and trees gave way to cultivated fields and houses. As we continued the houses got closer together and the fields turned into house-hold gardens. It all looked enchanting in the mo
onlight. The wooden houses had steeply pitched roofs. It reminded me a bit of a quaint alpine village.

  “Does it snow here?” I asked.

  “Yes, for a few weeks in winter we get snow. It looks incredible to see the City blanketed in white.” Wyn was silent for a moment, before continuing. “We’ll have to leave Thunder behind soon. We won’t be able to ride all the way to the castle gates – I would be arrested on sight.”

  “What do we do with him?”

  “I have a friend who lives nearby, he’ll be happy to look after Thunder until we can return for him.”

  We left Thunder snuggly settled into Wyn’s friend’s barn, munching contentedly on some hay. We walked through the winding streets. The houses were bigger here, most at least two or three stories high. Some had signs out the front advertising various businesses. The bigger ones looked like pubs or would I call them Inns? We passed no one on the cobbled streets. I guessed it must be very late in the night. The road ahead began to rise gradually, until we came to a large stonewall that was too high to see over.

  “This is it,” Wyn whispered. “Perhaps you should wait here? It could be dangerous and I can’t guarantee your safety,” he added worriedly.

  “Not a chance. I feel safer being with you whatever happens.”

  “I know a way in down near the lake. I used to sneak out sometimes, when I was a boy.”

  “And here I thought you were so well behaved.”

  “Hardly, I’ve just had to grow up quickly.”

  I could relate to that, I definitely felt my childhood had ended abruptly the day my Mum died.

  We followed the stone wall back down the hill, as we neared the lake, the ground on this side of the wall dropped down into a marshy pit. It didn’t look very inviting and I hoped this wasn’t the secret way in.

  “This is it,” Wyn said, jumping down into the hole. He made a squelchy sound as he landed.

  “Here goes nothing,” I said bravely jumping down beside him. Cold water and mud immediately seeped through my sneakers.

  “Ugh, this is really gross.”

  “Sorry, but it’s the safest way to get in without being spotted.” Wyn brushed some creeping vines away from under the wall, to reveal a small tunnel.