Until I Sleep (Alora Chronicles Book 1)

by Lara Ann

  “Hi guys,” Tali said happily. “Isn’t this fun?”

  “It’s going to be a great night,” Xavier replied. “You really do look fantastic Tali.”

  “Thanks Xav, you look incredibly hot yourself.”

  I exchanged a look with Wyn. Wondering if their comments meant anything or if they were just being friendly. Wyn shrugged in reply.

  “You both came last year didn’t you?” I asked.

  “Yeah we had a blast,” Tali said excitedly. “We danced for hours. I’ve been looking forward to this all year.”

  “Olivia and Will are so cute together,” I said noticing the couple dancing together. Olivia only came halfway up Will’s chest, but it didn’t seem to bother them.

  “Yeah, I’m really happy for them,” Tali replied. “It’s nice to see Livie so happy.”

  The music changed back to a faster tempo, but Will and Olivia seemed oblivious. They remained in their own little world swaying slowly together.

  “You ready to dance again Wyn? I can’t sit still while this music is playing.”

  “Of course,” Wyn said rising to lead her back out.

  “You up for more?” Xavier asked.

  “Lead the way!”

  We spent the next half hour dancing away. Our moves getting crazier as time passed and I felt more confident. I was surprised to find that I was actually having a really good time. It was good to forget about everything that was going on and just lose myself in the music. Wyn seemed to be enjoying himself too. I wasn’t sure if he’d been to anything like this before. I would have to ask him later.

  Another slow song came on. Xavier looked questioningly at me as he moved closer. I responded by putting my arms around him. He put his arms around me and we swayed in time to the music. It felt nice to be close to Xavier, different, but nice. If this was what Wyn wanted for me, I would at least give it a try. I glanced up, Xavier was looking directly at me. He wasn’t as tall as Wyn. In my heels I was only a few inches shorter. I smiled not sure what my feelings for Xavier were. Was there anything more than friendship between us? The way Xavier was looking at me I wondered if he was going to kiss me. He was, I decided, as he moved closer. Without thinking, I leaned in to Xavier. His lips felt nice and soft, but my heart didn’t race and my body didn’t tingle the way it did when Wyn kissed me. Wyn! I thought, abruptly pulling back from Xavier. Did I really just kiss Xavier in front of Wyn and everyone else?

  “That was amazing,” Xavier said softly, gazing down at me.

  I just stood there, mouth open totally lost for words.

  “Say something Ash.”

  “Um, I need some air.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “No! No, I’ll be back, I just need to think...”

  The cool night air gently caressed my warm skin as I walked through the garden outside. I didn’t know if Wyn had seen me kiss Xavier. At least if he had, I wouldn’t have to tell him about it. My cheeks felt hot, how could I have kissed Xavier? He was a great guy and if it wasn’t for Wyn, I’m sure tonight would have been totally different. I would have been thrilled to have such a warm and funny guy interested in me but the stark reality was, I couldn’t imagine having feelings for anyone except Wyn. I knew that I didn’t care about how difficult it was for us to be together, I wanted to fight for us and I wanted Wyn to fight for us too. What would I do if he wasn’t willing to do that? I was hopeful that he’d realise that he couldn’t bear to be without me either. Maybe he had seen my kiss with Xavier and he’d realised he couldn’t really sit by and watch as I fell for someone else? I really hoped that was the case.

  I needed to get back. I needed to explain to Xavier that I couldn’t get involved with him. Hopefully I could somehow do that without him hating me. I wracked my brain trying to come up with the words. It’s not you, it’s me? Hmm, that wouldn’t do. I suddenly realised I’d wandered quite a long way from the Town Hall. Hopefully I wasn’t lost. That would be embarrassing. I turned around looking for anything that looked familiar. It was dark. The streetlights were far apart on the dimly lit street. At least Emery was a quiet town without much to be afraid of. I didn’t recognise anything so I began retracing my steps. I probably wasn’t far away, maybe there would be someone I could ask.

  As I walked further down the quiet street, I had the feeling I was being watched. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I turned right at the next intersection and ducked behind a tree, I waited holding my breath to see if anyone was following me. What if it was our stalker Elf? I was such an idiot wandering off on my own at night. With any luck it was just my overactive imagination. I peered around the tree, no one was coming. I breathed out a sigh of relief, I was just imagining things again.

  A hand closed over my mouth. Rough fingers pressed against my lips. I tried to scream but the hand was too tight to let more than muffled sounds escape. I frantically tried to remember my self-defence training. I kicked back, desperately trying to connect with my captor. The heel of my shoe caught in my dress, the sound of fabric tearing pierced the still air.

  “It will go better for you if you don’t fight me,” a harsh raspy voice whispered into my ear.

  I tried to use my elbows, but he had my arms tightly pinned to my sides. I was starting to panic and it was hard to concentrate.

  “Stop fighting me, or I’ll have to hurt you.”

  “Mmm murh,” I couldn’t get any words out. Nobody except Xavier even knew I was out here. How long would it be before anyone even noticed I was missing? The Elf dragged me back into a dark doorway. I couldn’t tell what he was doing, but I continued to struggle. Where was Wyn I thought desperately? I silently called out to him, wishing we could communicate the way he did with animals.

  “If you don’t stop fighting me I’m going to have to knock you out!” The voice whispered menacingly.

  I stopped struggling briefly just to get my bearings. Perhaps if he thought I wasn’t going to try to get away, I could try a last ditch effort to escape.

  “Much better,” he said smugly.

  A dog came running around the corner, closely followed by another two. They had their noses to the ground as if on a scent. Maybe the dogs could be my distraction? I got ready to try again. More dogs were following the first three. As soon as the lead dog got to the building we were in front of, it stopped and began barking and growling loudly. Did Wyn send them? It was becoming deafening. At least a dozen dogs had joined the first one. There was no way the Elf would be able to get past them. I felt sure Wyn must be close behind.

  I suddenly felt dizzy as if I was shooting upwards and my stomach had been left behind. Every-thing went dark as I felt myself fading into oblivion.

  Chapter 19

  My head pounded. I felt like I might throw up at any minute. Make that I was definitely going to puke. I opened my eyes and pushed my body off the hard floor. The prison bars of the cell glinted coldly in the dim light. I was back in the dungeon of the castle in Alora. Before I could consider my situation further, my stomach heaved. I reached for a rough wooden bucket and emptied the con-tents of my churning stomach into it. I held my hair back with one hand as I did a few more dry heaves. Once my stomach settled I took stock of my situation, there was a mug of what I hoped was clean water on the floor. I smelled it cautiously, it had no discernible smell. I took a small sip, definitely water. I rinsed my mouth out and lay back down, chills ran up and down my body.

  How on earth had I gotten here? It must have had something to do with that weird sensation I’d felt just before blacking out. How had we travelled? We’d both definitely been awake. I remembered being told that travelling without the Jaega was possible, but dangerous. Perhaps that’s why I felt so ill now. I felt hot and then cold, like I had a fever. I spitefully hoped the Elf that had brought me here was suffering just as much. I moved my leg and felt something soft. Reaching my hand down, I realised it was a rough woollen blanket. I pulled it gratefully over my shivering body and tried to wrap it around
me. It smelled kind of funky and I tried to ignore thoughts of what it might have been used for previously.

  My hand automatically reached for the comfort of my locket, only to realise that of course I wasn’t wearing it. I still had on my ball gown, which was dirty, a large tear left half the skirt hanging off. Trying not to panic at the thought of being stuck here with no escape, I felt my breathing speed up until it was hard to get any air. What do you do if you’re having a panic attack? I didn’t have any paper bags to breathe into, so I desperately tried to think of something calming. I thought of Wyn. I was sure he’d sent the dogs to find me, so hopefully he could figure out that I was no longer on Earth. I began to calm at the thought. Wyn could get to my locket. He could use the lock-et to come and rescue me.

  Of course that would put him in grave danger. Perhaps that had been the plan all along? Capture me and use me as bait to lure Wyn? No doubt it would cause him to be more reckless than if he’d had time to plan out his attack.

  I shivered on the floor and hoped he would at least seek out Finnan and the others before he tried to rescue me. The best thing I could do was to be as well rested as possible when he came. I decided to try and sleep, hoping that when I awoke, I would be feeling a bit better.

  I woke abruptly to a harsh light being shone into my cell. I shielded my eyes with my hand peering into the light, a tall shape was just discernible. The cell door clanked open and I pressed back against the cold stone.

  “Get up,” my captor said sharply.

  I complied at once. I was relieved that my stomach felt much better and I was no longer cold.

  “What do you want?” I asked, my voice sounding shaky.

  “King Rothlyn wants to see you.” The Elf grabbed my arm roughly and began dragging me along the hallway.

  I stumbled along as best I could, my torn dress and heels making the journey more difficult.

  “I could walk better if you’d stop dragging me.”

  “Keep your mouth closed, I care little for your comfort.”

  I remained silent, not wanting to push my luck further. We came to a steep flight of stone stairs. I stubbed my toe painfully as I stumbled along beside the Elf. The stairs seemed to go on forever. At last we finally reached the top. The hallway here was still plain stone, we continued along for a while, the Elf taking several turns. I was soon totally confused, at least Wyn had been beside me last time I’d been here. I hadn’t minded not knowing the way then. Now I was on my own, I knew my life might depend on me knowing the way out. I tried to pay closer attention to our passage, keeping an eye out for any distinctive features. As we continued into what looked like the lived in part of the castle, I made a mental note of some of the tapestries and ornaments that lined the halls. I was just starting to think that it looked almost familiar, when we entered the throne room.

  An Elf I assumed was Rothlyn, was sitting upon an ornately carved wooden throne. The throne was on a slightly raised platform, allowing him to look down on everyone. Several other Elves were in the room, all male, and all staring at me as if I were something they’d scraped off the bottom of their shoes. We approached the throne.

  “Kneel before the king,” the Elf holding me commanded, pushing me roughly to the ground. I was grateful there was a soft red carpet in front of the throne as my knees slammed into the ground. Pain radiated through my knees and hips at the rough treatment. I stayed kneeling afraid to look up, lest I be punished further.

  “You’re sure this is the right one?” A menacing voice asked.

  “Yes your Majesty, this is the one Wyndelleu cares for.”

  “Do not mention that traitors name in my presence Dakath.”

  “Sorry your Majesty.”

  “You are dismissed.”

  “Thank you your Majesty.”

  I could see from my position on the floor that Dakath bowed repeatedly as he walked backwards towards the door. What a suck-up, I thought, watching him leave.

  “Stand prisoner,” Rothlyn commanded.

  I was unsure if he didn’t actually know my name or if he was just trying to belittle me. I stood up as quickly as I could, not wanting to provoke him. His eyes were cold and dark, something I’d no-ticed with the other dark Elves I’d seen. I wondered what had caused the change. Rothlyn had a symmetrical face, but there was something in his glare that stopped him from being handsome. You only had to look at him to see there was something evil about him. I wondered how he’d looked before he went away, remembering Wyn telling me his appearance had changed when he returned from his trip.

  “Personally I can’t see what anyone would find attractive about you,” Rothlyn said scathingly.

  I remained silent, not sure I was meant to contribute to his one sided mockery.

  “Cat got your tongue?”

  “You haven’t asked me a question yet,” I responded softly.

  “Insolent child!” A nearby Elf responded, striding forward and slapping my face. “You will ad-dress the King as your Highness or your Majesty at all times.”

  I put a hand up to my stinging face, trying not to let my fear overtake my reason. “Forgive me your Majesty, I am not familiar with your customs.”

  “Enough of this,” Rothlyn said. “I have no interest in the girl, except as bait for the traitor. Put her with Vashti.”

  I was again roughly dragged from the room. Grateful that nothing worse had happened. I was afraid for Wyn, my hunch had proved correct. I was being used to force Wyn to come to the castle. I wondered who Vashti was, it sounded like a girl’s name. You could never tell with these weird Elf names though. My thoughts were whirling as I wondered if they would take me back to the dungeon. We went a different way than before. I was swiftly led along a few passageways, past several doors until we came to the end of the hall. The Elf opened the last door and pushed me roughly through. I stumbled and fell to my knees again.

  “Oh my goodness are you alright?” A lady came rushing over, she helped me to get back on my feet.

  “Thank you, are you Vashti?” I said to the very attractive female Elf. High cheekbones and pale skin were set off by long auburn hair and bright green eyes. It was a very striking combination. The points of her ears were just visible beneath the shiny cascade of hair. She was wearing a long dove grey gown that looked soft and elegant.

  “I am my dear, but I’m afraid I have no idea who you are. Although I can see you are human,” Vashti said looking at me thoughtfully.

  “My name is Ashlee Somers. I am a friend of Wyn’s.”

  “Do you mean Wyndelleu?”

  “Yes, sorry I’m used to calling him Wyn.”

  “My son lets you call him Wyn?” Vashti said sharply.

  “Uh, it’s common where I’m from to abbreviate names. So you’re Wyn’s mother?”

  “I am indeed. How is my son? When did you last see him?” Vashti said desperately.

  “I think it was yesterday. I’m not sure how long I was in that Dungeon for, but it can’t have been more than a day.”

  “Where is he? Is he safe?”

  “He’s on Earth, he’s been staying with me and my father. He was fine when I last saw him, but I am afraid he’s going to put himself in danger now, to try and rescue me. I mean rescue us.”

  “Wait, I think you had better start at the beginning. I’ve had no real news of Wyndelleu since he left the Castle months ago.”

  I began to tell Vashti how I had first travelled to Alora and met her son. I told her about Wyn coming to live with us and our unsuccessful trip to try and rescue her. I tried to give as many details as possible, only leaving out the personal stuff between us. I had no idea whether she would approve of our feelings for each other. Given the current laws that forbade such relationships I suspected she wouldn’t approve. Vashti waited silently while I concluded the story with my capture by the dark Elf and my suspicions that Wyn had used the dogs to track me down.

  “Well that’s quite a story young lady,” Vashti said smiling at me.

  �
�You’re not angry Wyn came back to try and rescue you?”

  “What’s done is done. I just want my son to be happy and safe. Now I could be mistaken, but I don’t think I am. Do you have feelings for my son?”

  I blushed and looked down, there would be no use to deny it, my face had already betrayed me. “Yes I do,” I said simply. “I’m sorry if that distresses you, but I can’t help my feelings.”

  “Does my son feel the same way?”

  “I think he does, but he tries to deny his feelings. He wants to do the right thing. He’s pretty much told me there’s no future for us,” I said blinking rapidly. The last thing I wanted to do now was cry like a baby in front of Wyn’s mother.

  “As Wyndelleu’s mother, I only want him to find happiness in life. But as the Queen, I have to think of what’s best for my people. If there was another candidate for the throne that was likely to succeed it would be different. I would give Wyn my blessing to leave us and live on Earth. As things stand now, if Wyndelleu fails, we all suffer under Rothlyn for a very long time.”

  “You put it in such a way, that it is impossible to disagree with you. I now know where Wyn gets his strength from.”

  “Thank you Ashlee. I am thankful for this time we have together, even if it is under unfortunate circumstances.”

  “I’m glad too, Wyn speaks of you often.” I smiled at Vashti. Even if she was basically saying I couldn’t be with Wyn it was impossible to dislike her.

  “Now, let’s see if we can get you cleaned up. I’m sure that used to be a very beautiful dress but I think I can find you something more suitable.”

  Vashti’s prison consisted of two rooms. A bedroom with a comfortable but plain looking bed, and a sitting room, with three couches. There was a large pitcher of water next to a sink. Vashti filled the sink with water and handed me a soft wash cloth. I was glad to see there was a mirror above the sink to help me clean up. I looked in the mirror. My make-up that had looked so pretty yesterday had run and smeared across my face. Ugh, I looked like a panda bear who’d fallen in the mud. I washed my face until it was free of dirt and make up. I used the cloth to clean my arms and legs as much as I could.