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Chapter 34
Elle tried to force herself to sleep, but her mind was abuzz with the events of
the day. By all intents and purposes, Mias should be able to decline the betrothal by
loving her, and they could probably convince his father they were going to marry; then he
would still be in exile... But that all depended on whether or not what Thane said was
true. Maybe Elle just needed to take one for the team. If she played along and was
believable enough, they’d all be able to live normally.
That was, unless a different heir was named. Perhaps Mias would be able to take
her and Tovi, and maybe even Thane, to her world. It would be somewhere where their
brothers would be unable to reach them. Afterward, Elle would part ways with them and go
back to her old life. It was a brilliant idea! It seemed as if a slight weight had been
lifted. She would pitch the idea to Mias in the morning. Surely he would see the genius of
her plan.
However, as she once again tried to fall asleep, she could not. Even her eyes
refused to close, eventually sliding open if she forced them to stay shut. Grumbling in
frustration, Elle swung her legs off the bed and walked out onto the landing. Down below,
Elle heard a crackling fire. She peeked over the railing and saw Thane sprawled out on the
sofa. Silently, Elle padded down the steps, the plush carpet of the narrow rug pleasantly
warmer than the chilled stone.
“Can’t sleep either?” Elle asked, leaning into Thane’s view. He wore an unlaced
tunic and loose britches, a stark difference from his daily wear. He was without his eye
patch, the dim light of the fire causing his scar to look darker than it was. Thane perked
up slightly, sliding closer to one end of the sofa to give Elle room to sit.
“Not even a wink. I suppose I feel guilty about what I said earlier.” He admitted
groggily. He rubbed his hand over the scruff on his jaw. “I said more than I should have.”
Elle gulped and gathered up her courage. She needed a definite answer, no matter
what it ended up being, “Was... was it true? Does... he?”
A small smile curved Thane’s lips, dimples appearing as he did. “Of course he
does. Even a blind man could see that.”
Elle allowed a smile to escape, her heart leaping a bit. “And you’re half blind,
so it must be true.”
Thane’s mouth opened in surprise for a moment before closing it and looking away
from Elle as he tried to hold back a laugh. “Wow,” he breathed, covering his smile.
Elle felt her grin fade. “I’m not sure if I... feel... the same...” She whispered
slowly, pulling her knees up to her chin. “I mean, I...” she was having trouble thinking
of the words to explain, “I just... I don’t feel as strongly about him. Sometimes I might
feel kind of a physical attraction, but... I suppose I like him, but I don’t love... I...”
Tears suddenly sprung from her eyes as she struggled to figure out her own emotions. She
quickly buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know how I feel.” She choked out in a voice
thick with tears.
Thane’s arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. He hugged
her as if sheltering her, and he held her tightly as her body was wracked with sobs. “I’m
sorry Elle,” Thane apologized sounding agonized. “Mias was going to tell you when he felt
you were ready to hear it... and I ruined that. I’m so sorry...” He said no more, letting
Elle cling to him until she was too exhausted to cry any more. All she could do was
sniffle every few seconds. Finally, Elle sat up, rubbing one eye. Thane looked remorseful
as he watched Elle regain her composure. She reached over and squeezed his hand reassuringly.
“You should go to bed.” Thane suggested, smiling weakly.
“I fully agree.” Mias’s voice drifted down from above. They both snapped their
heads up to see a shirtless Mias leaned over the railing, propping his head up with a
hand. “I was just on my way to comfort you myself, Elle. I’ve had a lot of things pile up
on my plate in the past few days... But it seems I wasn’t the only one unable to sleep.”
“Mias, I—” Thane started.
“—No, no. I know it’s nothing personal,” Mias interrupted, sounding surprisingly
calm. After a pause, he straightened and disappeared from view.
After hearing Mias’s door close, Thane sighed, “I’m not making things any better.”
“What? No, don’t say something like that!” Elle begged, “He’s probably still a
little peeved, and if anything I’m partially to blame as well.”
Thane shook his head, “I’ve outstayed my welcome... And besides, I’ve been away
from the village for too long. I think I’ll leave now and then he won’t have to see me
when he wakes up tomorrow.”
“No...” Elle grabbed his sleeve as he moved to stand. “You can’t leave. You
shouldn’t be by yourself—”
“—I’ll be fine.”
“Thane, don’t do this.”
“He can’t leave...” A soft voice rang in Elle’s ear. Elle nearly gasped in both
shock and joy; she was here with them right now.
“She says you can’t leave.” Elle announced triumphantly.
“She?” Thane asked hesitantly, his eye going wide.
“She...” Elle trailed off, listening as a name was whispered in the air, “Alyca.”
“A – how…?” Thane gaped at Elle, unable to form the question.
“Alyca,” Elle repeated, “she’s here right now. In fact, I saw her earlier at
sunset. She asked that we help you.”
Thane began to shake his head slightly, “T-that’s not possible...” Elle simply
nodded her head in response, but he continued to shake his. He stood and smothered the
flames until they were nothing more than glowing embers. “Elle, you should probably go to
Mias.” He said stoically, refusing to face her.
“Get some sleep, Thane. Please don’t leave.” Elle replied quietly.
He remained silent for a few seconds. “Go.” He said with a gesture, “Hurry, don’t
make him wait.” Believing it to be the best answer she would get from him, she complied.
Upstairs, Elle stood with her hand on the handle to Mias’s chambers. She wasn’t
sure what would happen once she was inside, and she was more than a little nervous about
that uncertainty. The handle turned and the door opened with a small click. Sitting in the
chair in the corner of the room, Mias’s head shot up. He immediately stood, “You came.”
Elle nodded shyly, closing the door. “Ah... go ahead and make yourself comfortable.” He
gestured to the bed as he picked up a book and sat back in the chair. “You need a good
night’s rest.” Mias had an air of relief about him, as if he was half-expecting to be
stood up.
Elle decided not to question it this time – she was too tired to. If he was
willing to leave her be, then she wasn’t going to complain. She crawled under the sheets,
becoming comfortably warm within seconds. After several minutes passed, Elle watched
through heavy lids as Mias laid the book down and attempted to sit comfortably enough in
the chair to sleep.
“For god’s sake, just get in the bed, Mias.” Elle mumbled, unable to sleep well
knowing he was giving up his bed for her. He blinked twice before standing and stripping
his night clothes off. “Mias, w-we’re not doing anything,” She squeaked bashfully.
“No, not this time. I’m just not fond of being tangled in clothes while I sleep.”
He was already down to his underwear.
“Then at least keep your trousers on,” Elle grumbled, turning on her side.
She heard a heavy sigh from him, “Very well, then.” In moments, she felt the bed
shift slightly as he climbed in. The lamps in the room extinguished at once, and a short
time after, Elle fell into slumber.
(¯`•-..•..-•´¯)
Thane felt as if he had only been sleeping for mere moments before daylight
streamed in, interrupting his slumber. Surely it couldn’t be morning already. It wouldn’t
have been that close to dawn when he climbed in bed. Thane stirred, blinking the sleep
away. Everything seemed white around him, nothing but white. He raised his hand to rub his
eye, but stopped. He was rubbing his left eye – his bad eye. Slowly he opened it,
squinting at first, staring in wonder as his hand came into focus. Cautiously, he touched
his lid, but did not feel the indent of his scar. Quickly, he brushed his fingers over his
chest where the other scars should have been. ‘What... is going on?’ he thought to himself.
“Thane?” A soft voice called – one that he had not heard in a very long time, one
that nearly brought tears to his eyes. He turned his gaze on the bare figure standing at
the end of the bed. The smooth ivory skin glowing in the light, and the warm, gentle brown
eyes that observed him – she was a sight for very sore eyes: his Alyca. He sat up at the
sight of her, unharmed and beaming at him. He attempted to call out to her, to say her
name, but his voice failed him.
Alyca walked to the side of the bed, his eyes following her as she did. Her honey
brown hair shone brilliantly as the light reflected off of it. She climbed onto the bed
and gently pressed her fingertips against his chest, prompting him to lay down. Her touch
sent electricity through him, standing the hairs on his body on end and raising
goosebumps. She laid atop him, on his chest, and cradled his head. She ran her fingers
through his hair, sending shivers down his spine. He stared up at her calm, kind
expression, unable to tear his eyes away from the woman that had been taken from him. He
could barely believe she was here now. He reached his hand up, hesitantly cupping her chin.
“Are you real?” He whispered against the rising, painful lump in his throat. He
continued to stare up at her in disbelief. He had witnessed with his own eyes the life
fade from her body... During his recovery, he had even made a special trip to attend her
burial, and several additional trips to visit her grave after that. Once he was living in
the village again, he’d sit against the cold tombstone and watch the sun set behind her
favorite tree – the Tree of Life, she’d called it because of the golden halo the setting
sun would cast behind it. She was gone. He knew better than all others that she was... So
how was it she appeared before him completely alive and unscathed?
“Of course I am,” She answered with a light chuckle, as if he was speaking nonsense.
“But... I saw you... You died...” He could barely get the words out.
She nodded, a somber expression spreading over her previously peaceful features.
“And you are torturing yourself because of it.” Her voice was stronger than his. “Why are
you doing this to yourself? Why do you blame yourself?”
Thane swallowed hard, the lump in his throat growing evermore painful. “I couldn’t
save you.” His eyes began to well with tears. All of this couldn’t be real – not
logically, but he wanted to believe it was with all of his heart.
“Thane,” Alyca said with a pained voice, “don’t. Don’t, please! It wasn’t your
fault, none of it was.”
“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have left and... and—” His voice broke. He
couldn’t stop as the hot tears broke free and rolled down his cheeks – a sensation he was
far from being used to. A small sob escaped him as Alyca pulled him close, burying his
face into her skin. “I could have saved you, kept you safe...” His voice was muffled. He
held his breath to stop the sobs, but it only made the pain in his throat and chest worse.
Thane squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears. Despite his own words, Thane
knew it couldn’t be true. No matter how many times he thought about how things could have
been different, in the end nothing would have changed. Hindsight was just an empty dream
of what could have been.
“Shh,” Alyca cooed softly, stroking his hair. “Don’t hold back, love. That only
makes it worse.”
Her words, quiet and gentle, were strong enough to break down what little control
he had. Thane honestly could not remember the last time he had ever cried – probably when
he was a very young child. He felt like a bumbling fool, sobbing and saying completely
incomprehensible nonsense as he tried to express himself. Alyca simply continued to hold
him tightly, repeated whispering, “I know, sweetie, I know...” though he doubted she could
understand his words in the first place.
It felt as if a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders once his breathing
steadied and he regained his composure. Alyca lifted her head from his chest, pulling her
bangs away from her face, her gold band gleaming on her ring finger. His heart skipped a
beat as he consciously felt his own ring around his finger. She smiled tenderly at him.
“I miss you.” He murmured. Her smile faded, and she rested her forehead against
his, closing her eyes.
“Promise me you’ll live.” She whispered, “Promise me you’ll grow old and
experience all there is in life... Live for both of us... And we’ll be reunited for
eternity.”
“...That’s so far away...” Thane breathed, his heart clenching.
“You’ll make it through... You’ll see... Everything’s going to be alright.” With
that, she pressed her soft lips against his and they held each other even tighter drinking
in each other's warmth.
Elle tried to force herself to sleep, but her mind was abuzz with the events of
the day. By all intents and purposes, Mias should be able to decline the betrothal by
loving her, and they could probably convince his father they were going to marry; then he
would still be in exile... But that all depended on whether or not what Thane said was
true. Maybe Elle just needed to take one for the team. If she played along and was
believable enough, they’d all be able to live normally.
That was, unless a different heir was named. Perhaps Mias would be able to take
her and Tovi, and maybe even Thane, to her world. It would be somewhere where their
brothers would be unable to reach them. Afterward, Elle would part ways with them and go
back to her old life. It was a brilliant idea! It seemed as if a slight weight had been
lifted. She would pitch the idea to Mias in the morning. Surely he would see the genius of
her plan.
However, as she once again tried to fall asleep, she could not. Even her eyes
refused to close, eventually sliding open if she forced them to stay shut. Grumbling in
frustration, Elle swung her legs off the bed and walked out onto the landing. Down below,
Elle heard a crackling fire. She peeked over the railing and saw Thane sprawled out on the
sofa. Silently, Elle padded down the steps, the plush carpet of the narrow rug pleasantly
warmer than the chilled stone.
“Can’t sleep either?” Elle asked, leaning into Thane’s view. He wore an unlaced
tunic and loose britches, a stark difference from his daily wear. He was without his eye
patch, the dim light of the fire causing his scar to look darker than it was. Thane perked
up slightly, sliding closer to one end of the sofa to give Elle room to sit.
“Not even a wink. I suppose I feel guilty about what I said earlier.” He admitted
groggily. He rubbed his hand over the scruff on his jaw. “I said more than I should have.”
Elle gulped and gathered up her courage. She needed a definite answer, no matter
what it ended up being, “Was... was it true? Does... he?”
A small smile curved Thane’s lips, dimples appearing as he did. “Of course he
does. Even a blind man could see that.”
Elle allowed a smile to escape, her heart leaping a bit. “And you’re half blind,
so it must be true.”
Thane’s mouth opened in surprise for a moment before closing it and looking away
from Elle as he tried to hold back a laugh. “Wow,” he breathed, covering his smile.
Elle felt her grin fade. “I’m not sure if I... feel... the same...” She whispered
slowly, pulling her knees up to her chin. “I mean, I...” she was having trouble thinking
of the words to explain, “I just... I don’t feel as strongly about him. Sometimes I might
feel kind of a physical attraction, but... I suppose I like him, but I don’t love... I...”
Tears suddenly sprung from her eyes as she struggled to figure out her own emotions. She
quickly buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know how I feel.” She choked out in a voice
thick with tears.
Thane’s arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. He hugged
her as if sheltering her, and he held her tightly as her body was wracked with sobs. “I’m
sorry Elle,” Thane apologized sounding agonized. “Mias was going to tell you when he felt
you were ready to hear it... and I ruined that. I’m so sorry...” He said no more, letting
Elle cling to him until she was too exhausted to cry any more. All she could do was
sniffle every few seconds. Finally, Elle sat up, rubbing one eye. Thane looked remorseful
as he watched Elle regain her composure. She reached over and squeezed his hand reassuringly.
“You should go to bed.” Thane suggested, smiling weakly.
“I fully agree.” Mias’s voice drifted down from above. They both snapped their
heads up to see a shirtless Mias leaned over the railing, propping his head up with a
hand. “I was just on my way to comfort you myself, Elle. I’ve had a lot of things pile up
on my plate in the past few days... But it seems I wasn’t the only one unable to sleep.”
“Mias, I—” Thane started.
“—No, no. I know it’s nothing personal,” Mias interrupted, sounding surprisingly
calm. After a pause, he straightened and disappeared from view.
After hearing Mias’s door close, Thane sighed, “I’m not making things any better.”
“What? No, don’t say something like that!” Elle begged, “He’s probably still a
little peeved, and if anything I’m partially to blame as well.”
Thane shook his head, “I’ve outstayed my welcome... And besides, I’ve been away
from the village for too long. I think I’ll leave now and then he won’t have to see me
when he wakes up tomorrow.”
“No...” Elle grabbed his sleeve as he moved to stand. “You can’t leave. You
shouldn’t be by yourself—”
“—I’ll be fine.”
“Thane, don’t do this.”
“He can’t leave...” A soft voice rang in Elle’s ear. Elle nearly gasped in both
shock and joy; she was here with them right now.
“She says you can’t leave.” Elle announced triumphantly.
“She?” Thane asked hesitantly, his eye going wide.
“She...” Elle trailed off, listening as a name was whispered in the air, “Alyca.”
“A – how…?” Thane gaped at Elle, unable to form the question.
“Alyca,” Elle repeated, “she’s here right now. In fact, I saw her earlier at
sunset. She asked that we help you.”
Thane began to shake his head slightly, “T-that’s not possible...” Elle simply
nodded her head in response, but he continued to shake his. He stood and smothered the
flames until they were nothing more than glowing embers. “Elle, you should probably go to
Mias.” He said stoically, refusing to face her.
“Get some sleep, Thane. Please don’t leave.” Elle replied quietly.
He remained silent for a few seconds. “Go.” He said with a gesture, “Hurry, don’t
make him wait.” Believing it to be the best answer she would get from him, she complied.
Upstairs, Elle stood with her hand on the handle to Mias’s chambers. She wasn’t
sure what would happen once she was inside, and she was more than a little nervous about
that uncertainty. The handle turned and the door opened with a small click. Sitting in the
chair in the corner of the room, Mias’s head shot up. He immediately stood, “You came.”
Elle nodded shyly, closing the door. “Ah... go ahead and make yourself comfortable.” He
gestured to the bed as he picked up a book and sat back in the chair. “You need a good
night’s rest.” Mias had an air of relief about him, as if he was half-expecting to be
stood up.
Elle decided not to question it this time – she was too tired to. If he was
willing to leave her be, then she wasn’t going to complain. She crawled under the sheets,
becoming comfortably warm within seconds. After several minutes passed, Elle watched
through heavy lids as Mias laid the book down and attempted to sit comfortably enough in
the chair to sleep.
“For god’s sake, just get in the bed, Mias.” Elle mumbled, unable to sleep well
knowing he was giving up his bed for her. He blinked twice before standing and stripping
his night clothes off. “Mias, w-we’re not doing anything,” She squeaked bashfully.
“No, not this time. I’m just not fond of being tangled in clothes while I sleep.”
He was already down to his underwear.
“Then at least keep your trousers on,” Elle grumbled, turning on her side.
She heard a heavy sigh from him, “Very well, then.” In moments, she felt the bed
shift slightly as he climbed in. The lamps in the room extinguished at once, and a short
time after, Elle fell into slumber.
(¯`•-..•..-•´¯)
Thane felt as if he had only been sleeping for mere moments before daylight
streamed in, interrupting his slumber. Surely it couldn’t be morning already. It wouldn’t
have been that close to dawn when he climbed in bed. Thane stirred, blinking the sleep
away. Everything seemed white around him, nothing but white. He raised his hand to rub his
eye, but stopped. He was rubbing his left eye – his bad eye. Slowly he opened it,
squinting at first, staring in wonder as his hand came into focus. Cautiously, he touched
his lid, but did not feel the indent of his scar. Quickly, he brushed his fingers over his
chest where the other scars should have been. ‘What... is going on?’ he thought to himself.
“Thane?” A soft voice called – one that he had not heard in a very long time, one
that nearly brought tears to his eyes. He turned his gaze on the bare figure standing at
the end of the bed. The smooth ivory skin glowing in the light, and the warm, gentle brown
eyes that observed him – she was a sight for very sore eyes: his Alyca. He sat up at the
sight of her, unharmed and beaming at him. He attempted to call out to her, to say her
name, but his voice failed him.
Alyca walked to the side of the bed, his eyes following her as she did. Her honey
brown hair shone brilliantly as the light reflected off of it. She climbed onto the bed
and gently pressed her fingertips against his chest, prompting him to lay down. Her touch
sent electricity through him, standing the hairs on his body on end and raising
goosebumps. She laid atop him, on his chest, and cradled his head. She ran her fingers
through his hair, sending shivers down his spine. He stared up at her calm, kind
expression, unable to tear his eyes away from the woman that had been taken from him. He
could barely believe she was here now. He reached his hand up, hesitantly cupping her chin.
“Are you real?” He whispered against the rising, painful lump in his throat. He
continued to stare up at her in disbelief. He had witnessed with his own eyes the life
fade from her body... During his recovery, he had even made a special trip to attend her
burial, and several additional trips to visit her grave after that. Once he was living in
the village again, he’d sit against the cold tombstone and watch the sun set behind her
favorite tree – the Tree of Life, she’d called it because of the golden halo the setting
sun would cast behind it. She was gone. He knew better than all others that she was... So
how was it she appeared before him completely alive and unscathed?
“Of course I am,” She answered with a light chuckle, as if he was speaking nonsense.
“But... I saw you... You died...” He could barely get the words out.
She nodded, a somber expression spreading over her previously peaceful features.
“And you are torturing yourself because of it.” Her voice was stronger than his. “Why are
you doing this to yourself? Why do you blame yourself?”
Thane swallowed hard, the lump in his throat growing evermore painful. “I couldn’t
save you.” His eyes began to well with tears. All of this couldn’t be real – not
logically, but he wanted to believe it was with all of his heart.
“Thane,” Alyca said with a pained voice, “don’t. Don’t, please! It wasn’t your
fault, none of it was.”
“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have left and... and—” His voice broke. He
couldn’t stop as the hot tears broke free and rolled down his cheeks – a sensation he was
far from being used to. A small sob escaped him as Alyca pulled him close, burying his
face into her skin. “I could have saved you, kept you safe...” His voice was muffled. He
held his breath to stop the sobs, but it only made the pain in his throat and chest worse.
Thane squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears. Despite his own words, Thane
knew it couldn’t be true. No matter how many times he thought about how things could have
been different, in the end nothing would have changed. Hindsight was just an empty dream
of what could have been.
“Shh,” Alyca cooed softly, stroking his hair. “Don’t hold back, love. That only
makes it worse.”
Her words, quiet and gentle, were strong enough to break down what little control
he had. Thane honestly could not remember the last time he had ever cried – probably when
he was a very young child. He felt like a bumbling fool, sobbing and saying completely
incomprehensible nonsense as he tried to express himself. Alyca simply continued to hold
him tightly, repeated whispering, “I know, sweetie, I know...” though he doubted she could
understand his words in the first place.
It felt as if a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders once his breathing
steadied and he regained his composure. Alyca lifted her head from his chest, pulling her
bangs away from her face, her gold band gleaming on her ring finger. His heart skipped a
beat as he consciously felt his own ring around his finger. She smiled tenderly at him.
“I miss you.” He murmured. Her smile faded, and she rested her forehead against
his, closing her eyes.
“Promise me you’ll live.” She whispered, “Promise me you’ll grow old and
experience all there is in life... Live for both of us... And we’ll be reunited for
eternity.”
“...That’s so far away...” Thane breathed, his heart clenching.
“You’ll make it through... You’ll see... Everything’s going to be alright.” With
that, she pressed her soft lips against his and they held each other even tighter drinking
in each other's warmth.
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My feels are shot. Completely shot.
Songs inspiring that second half of the chapter:
"Halcyon" by Ellie Goulding: [link]
"Reminder" by Mumford & Sons: [link]
"Below My Feet" by Mumford & Sons: [link]
URGH! Music, why you kill my feels?!
Yup, that's right. This scene is what I commissioned Jenny to illustrate a few months ago:
(Although, I didn't give her enough details to spoil the story.)
Oh, this chapter turned out completely different from its first draft. I changed my mind part way through the first part. There was gonna be a big explanation of the events leading up to Alyca's death... But I decided not to include that because it couldn't come before his encounter with Alyca in the second part of this chapter.
Pfffft. Sorry guys... I can't make up funny witty stuff right now. My brain children have worn me out tonight. =3=
~Anni
Mias, Elle, and the character "Tovi" belong to
.Thane, Alyca, and the name "Tovi" belong to
. © 2013 - 2024 fairygodpiggy
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Is there more??? Well done so far