Enchanted World: Elves and Vampires

4: Unfamiliar Place

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Nora knew something was off before even thinking about opening her eyes. She was exhausted despite just waking up and could not remember being awoken by her recurring nightmare, which was unusual. The bed beneath her felt unfamiliar, it was big and soft, as were the covers and it contrasted with the masculine scent around her that she could not place a name to. Wherever she was, it did not have the comforting, stuffy, flame-reminiscent smell of home or the familiar sounds of her friends’ breathing or morning whispering. Her eyelids tightened shut as her mind played over everything that had happened the last time she could recall being awake. She forced herself to remain calm and unmoving as everything came back. The last thing she remembered was staring at the blue flame hovering just above Arwin’s palm. Not wanting to open her eyes because of the fear of once again being surrounded by unfamiliar elvish people but knowing she would have to move eventually, Nora held her breath and let her eyes open slowly.

The first thing she saw was the unlit fireplace across the room, lined by a stone brick wall and then dark wood that made up the rest of the wall. There were not any pictures or art hung up, but rather little light fixtures mounted to the wall that were currently turned off. She sat up slowly and took in the rest of the room. Most of it followed the masculine theme of the wall she had first looked at but the wall on the far side directly in front of her was completely covered in grey and white curtaining.

Nora furrowed her brows seeing some light peek in through the cracks in the curtains. Was the entire wall made of glass? She looked beside her on the bed, immediately lifting a hand to her collar and was relieved to feel the cloth under her fingertips and know that she was still fully clothed before gasping and pulling the covers back.

“Oh no,” the whisper drowned into the complete silence around her as she climbed out of the bed realising the mess that had been made in it. Well, was it her fault that they laid her onto blindingly white linen when her clothing would clearly leave it stained with dirt? She glanced around in panic before looking back at the bed. There was no way for her to clean it.

She let out a breath of disbelief while stepping back to frown at herself as her hands lifted to her head. Why was she concerned about the mess and cleaning it?! She did not even know where she was! This place obviously wasn’t anywhere near her home because there were certainly no buildings with walls entirely made of glass there. Nora let out a strained breath trying to keep calm. Where had the elves brought her? Zac… Was he okay? She cringed trying to block out all of the worst-case scenarios that suddenly flooded into her mind at the thought of her brother.

Deciding to focus on the moment, she ran her eyes around the room until they spotted a door different from the others which basically blended into the wall. This one was solid black against the wooden brown wall. Was she ready for whatever could be on the other side of that door? Whoever? Probably not. Her head turned towards the windows. There might be a balcony; she could climb out and would even use the sheets if she had to to get out of there. They were already ruined anyway... It would be a little dangerous, but maybe with some luck it would turn out that the room was on the ground floor. Hopefully, it was so that the sheets would not be needed. Walking across the room, Nora grabbed one of the heavy curtains and pulled it open only to let out a surprised cough and stumble away from the glass as light flooded into the room. She barely heard the door as it opened, unable to move her shocked gaze from the view outside. There was a balcony but all that could be seen beyond that was endless dark water.

“Are you okay?” She instinctively stepped towards the windows to move further from the door and turned around when Arwin spoke. He immediately stopped walking towards her, taking the hint she hoped. Her first thought was that they were on a ship, but why had she not felt it? Although never having been on a ship before, she was certain there would be some rocking or at least noise showcasing the vessel’s movement. The elf glanced towards the glass and seemed to understand her reaction, “Oh – that is the ocean.” Nora looked at Arwin narrowing her eyes. Obviously, it was. What else could possibly have been that big? He gave her a smile that made it look like he caught the obvious statement as well and found it amusing. She didn’t share the same sentiment in humour. “Welcome, Nora. This is my family’s palace.”

Nora didn’t move her eyes from Arwin. Right. He was a prince. An elvish prince. The thought made her want to laugh because of how ludicrous the entire situation seemed. She had to be dreaming, had to still be sleeping. Maybe she had never woken up to her friends' screaming and the light flooding their home, all the arrows being thrown around, to begin with. Even as her thoughts tried to bargain that none of what was happening could possibly be real, she knew it was. All that fighting, all that pain, that fear and shock. She could not have slept through that nightmare. No, she was living it.

Arwin still stood across the room unmoving and seeing more of him while not feeling as frantic as the evening they took her made Nora notice how tall he was. As any prince would, he had impeccable posture and it made him look taller despite him already being tall, the crown of his head being just over a head higher than hers and, like any elf seen in pictures and billboards, he was beautiful but seemed surreally so. He looked like he belonged in a book with his almost-glowingly clear face, his waist-long, straight black hair and the jewels that decorated his head and delicately pointed ears. He was intimidatingly beautiful and still looked masculine even in the soft white silk shirt that draped over his torso and the black straight-legged trousers he wore. Never having been that close to an elf, she knew there was no way her mind was making all of it up. It was all real… The palace definitely was not anywhere near her home and there had to be strong, magical and possibly dangerous elves everywhere.

Nora gulped uneasily, backing further away from the man on the other side of the room as she crossed her arms over her chest trying to comfort herself by hiding behind them, though they barely served as any kind of coverage. She unconsciously tended to try to hide or shrink into herself when she was afraid, a habit formed in her childhood. Arwin glanced over to the bed before looking back at her.

“I will have this cleaned up. There are clothes in there that I am sure will fit you, the bathroom is through that door.” Arwin lifted a ring-clad hand gesturing to the doors as he mentioned it and Nora glanced towards them but made sure he was always in her line of sight.

The door to exit the room was shut behind him. He was inviting her to get cleaned up and changed as though she was a willing guest in his home. It almost amused her. How could he think she would even consider putting herself in that vulnerable a position in a house she knew nothing about with a man – well, people she did not know at all? Or… was he just giving her the option to do it without being forced ?

“Where am I? Why am I here?”

“Shall we create another condition?” He gave a small smile that seemed to intensify his beauty and if Nora was not so unsettled at the moment it may have left her breathless, but all it did was make her unsettled at how nonchalant he seemed, “Get cleaned up and I will answer all of your questions.” She glanced over at the doors again before looking back to him. He stood with his hands behind his back now and she figured that was how he usually stood but it made her uneasy, as if he was hiding something. Knowing that he could easily create a harmful arrow out of thin air with his finger made his hidden hands all the more unsettling. She could disagree to his ‘condition’, but where would that get her? Would it anger him? It didn’t seem like he would react angrily or aggressively, but she didn’t know him. She didn’t want to see an elf angry, didn’t want to find out what would happen if she refused the condition. Still, despite her fear, she wasn’t stupid and could not believe whatever he said.

“What guarantees that you’ll answer truthfully or at all?”

“I am an elf. We keep to our word.” Nora was certain not all of them did.

“You didn’t give your word to anything.”

“True.” The smile again, “I promise that I will answer your questions truthfully after you get cleaned up, Nora.” Her eyes darted to the door behind him. Even if she got by him – which she knew was impossible – there would be more elves… She would not be able to escape at the present moment. It was in her best interests to just be cooperative.

“T-two questions first,” she stuttered. He seemed to think about it as he ran his eyes over the curtains before giving a nod. “Are my friends alright… and… can-can you walk or see through walls…?” Arwin chuckled lightly, seemingly finding the second question funny and Nora clenched her jaw at the deep sound.

“They are fine, your brother is fine. No, we cannot do either. You needn’t be afraid of my entering the bathroom while you are in it, I will leave the room.”

“No.” They were both clearly surprised at how quickly that was said, but she would rather he be in the room to keep everyone else out than leave. Something told her he was not going to let anyone into the bathroom while he was close by and she was more comfortable with him being just outside the bathroom door than anyone else possibly entering. Better one on the other side of the door than several of them.

“Alright, I will stay here. Go ahead, Nora.”

She did not move until he took a seat on the edge of the bed which allowed her to then walk to the closet while not getting too close to him. She chose clothing pretty quickly as to just get it over with and was surprised to find a drawer full of underwear that was still either packaged or tagged. Even the clothes were still tagged. Was it his girlfriend’s or clothing he kept in this room he brought women to? Why was all of it still tagged? There were various sizes... Different women. Whatever it was about or whoever owned the clothing, Nora figured they would not notice any missing so she grabbed a pair before making her way back past Arwin while keeping as wide a distance between them as the size of the room would allow before walking into the bathroom. The bedroom’s décor flowed into a large bathroom that left Nora in awe and feeling afraid to break something while locking the door behind her. She glanced around considering shoving the massive pot plant in front of the door just in case but decided against it as it would make too much noise and would probably damage the marble tiles because it was way too big for her to lift off the floor to move. After laying the clothing onto the cold, dark granite counter beside the sink carefully, she looked around again in her paranoid state to make sure no one else was in the bathroom with her and only then did she begin to get cleaned up.

It took her a few seconds to figure out the mechanism before she showered quickly with the water low enough for her to hear the slightest noise from outside the walk-in shower. Once finished, she used the towel found on the outside wall to dry off before getting dressed into the silky soft long-sleeved shirt and trousers taken from the closet. She felt self-conscious in it, like they were much too expensive or luxurious to be on her body and she looked weird in or ruined them somehow but there were not any t-shirts and track pants in the closet so she would just wear what had been found until figuring how to get out of there. She bit her lip staring into the mirror at her visibly terrified face while tying her curly wet hair into a bun before gripping the edge of the sink and looking into the reflection of her dark brown eyes. Stepping back out of the bathroom seemed daunting. If she just played along, everything should be fine until there was a moment to find an opening or way to leave… Nodding at the reflection in the glass, Nora grabbed her old clothing and then stepped out of the bathroom clutching the fabric to her chest while unknowingly still trying to hide behind something again.

“The clothing basket is over there. Shoes are in the closet.” Nora paused to note that Arwin was now on a made-up bed; the sheets must have been changed during her time in the bathroom. She was relieved he had stayed, having no doubt he did not change those sheets or make the bed himself, which meant other elves had been in the room during her time in the bathroom.

She reluctantly walked over to drop her clothing in the basket before looking at the shoes lining the bottom of the walk-in closet. Most of them were stiletto and kitten heels, there were some pairs of flat pumps. Like all of the clothing and underwear, they seemed brand new.

“Whose-whose clothes am I wearing?” she mumbled uncomfortably while staring at the shoes. Whose bed had she slept in?

“Yours.” His answer made her head turn to the bed.

“What?”

“I will answer your questions now. Would you like to have lunch?” Lunch. So she must not have been asleep for a long time. She shook her head crossing her arms over her chest again and did not move, instead standing barefoot on the carpet beside the closet while watching the man seated on the bed. He smiled back at her, “Questions?”

Nora thought back to the car when he had refused to let her go, he said he could not let her go. Why not? She looked down at the clothing on her body before her eyes moved back over to the closet. The clothes… for her? There were so many… It made her breathing stop. She was not there to be punished for stealing. He planned on keeping her there… What did he want in return? She felt nauseous as a knot grew in her throat, her stomach tightening while answers to the question ran through her mind. It caused her arms to tighten protectively around herself.

“W-why am I here?”

“For now… so I have company,” he said.

“Company?” Nora gave a dry breath of laughter that hid most of her fear behind it as she decided being quiet was not the best option for her right now, “I’m not going to be your ‘company’. Please just let me go.” her voice did not convey how terrified she felt. If he was not going to let her go it really would not be up to her what she was to him, would it? He was clearly physically stronger than she was, not to mention the magic and they were in his house - palace.

“I told you, I cannot. As for being my company, I am not implying any physical relations if that is what you are afraid of. I have absolutely no intention of harming you, Nora.” He frowned slightly, “Just company. It can be lonely around here.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. With the number of people he had brought to her house, he was not short of anyone to be his company. She doubted even elves would have a choice when it came to being around him. After all, he was their prince: he could just order someone to hang out with him.

“‘For now'?” He smiled and Nora just knew that smile was his only answer to her question. She was right, because a minute of silence passed before she added, “You said you would answer all of my questions.”

“I have.” He replied before sighing as he stood onto his feet. The movement instinctively made her step back and Arwin seemed quite deflated by the retreat but did not advance toward her. She didn’t care about his reactions though as long as he stayed away from her. “Nora, I am not going to hurt you, no one here will. You will not be leaving, this is my – your room. If you need anything, Cullum is here to help you, he will be right outside the door. Are you hungry?” She shook her head, “You dislike the clothing? We can arrange others for the time-being if that will make you more comfortable. You can tell me what you want.” he insisted. She had constantly told him she wanted to be let go. He did not want to comply with that and there was no possible way for her to fight out of there, but if left alone, perhaps she could sneak out.

“Leave me alone,” Nora said finally. The look of hurt on his face caused her to feel a second of guilt that she immediately scolded herself for internally because she was not the one in the wrong and had nothing to feel guilty about. He literally kidnapped her and was keeping her there for God knows what reason while acting like there was nothing unusual or wrong with it!

“As you wish. I will be back in a few hours to check on you.” He began to leave and she wanted to call out for him to stay, fearing that someone else would walk in while he was gone but refused to let herself stop him and instead just watched as he walked out shutting the door, leaving her alone in the large room.

Nora stood still for a few seconds unable to hear any noise from outside the room before walking into the closet and tugging on a pair of socks, deciding against shoes. She then walked over to the curtains that were still hanging open and held her breath while staring out at the ocean. Holding onto the fabric of the curtain because she did not trust the windows or even the balcony to keep her out of the ocean, Nora stepped forward to have a closer look. She could not remember having ever been so close to it, it felt like floating and the only thing as far as the eye could see was more water. The palace must have been built on the edge of a cliff for a balcony like that. Biting her lip nervously, she reached to unlock the door and pushed it open wide enough for her to get through. She kept holding onto the curtain while taking a step outside and as the cold, salty ocean air hit her face, the oxygen seemed to be knocked from her lungs. It was beautiful, so mesmerising and yet terrifying. The balcony was long and it was shared with another room beside the one she had stepped out of. It seemed to go further around a bend. Would it eventually lead to a part of the house that faced some land? If it did, that was her best chance at an escape.

After glancing towards the room’s door again to make sure no one was watching, she slowly let the curtains go, stepping out further onto the balcony to place her hands on the cold concrete wall that made up the railing. Fighting past the voice in her mind telling her that she was undoubtedly not in a human part of the continent anymore and would run into more elves, Nora began to make her way along the balcony. She just needed to focus on one thing at a time and would figure out how to get home unspotted once finding a way to leave the building. Passing the room beside Arwin’s, that one’s wall of glass lined by white curtains only, she began past another room that caused her to pause because the doors and curtains were wide open. It looked like a lounge area and she hid behind one of the curtains that were left in place while peeking further down the balcony only to feel her heart sink. This room was where the balcony stopped, still above the water. Her eyes raised along the side of the building, there was nothing to climb onto or with and trying to find something would just lead to her falling into the water and possible rocks below. That would be disastrous because even if she somehow managed to stay conscious in the fall, she didn’t know how to swim.

Nora sighed in defeat as panic began to set into her chest but shook her head. No. She had to stay calm to find a way out of there. Freaking out would only make it harder to think and set her back.

“Who might you be?” The new voice made her jump back against the glass door with a gasp because it came from right beside her. Seeing an elf she did not recognise standing in front of her immediately made Nora freeze. He was a couple of centimetres shorter than Arwin, but his chest was bulkier. He had the same long black hair, somewhat tied back and decorated with small jewels that glittered in the sunlight as his head tilted while his light blue eyes studied her curiously. “Ah. You must be Arwin’s human.” He smiled running his eyes over her. She gulped, uncomfortable under his gaze. “I am Vaegon.” He held his hand out between them. Nora looked down at it but made no attempt to take it and he gave a chuckle that sounded similar to Arwin’s but slightly deeper as he extended his hand to take hers gently. She watched feeling uneasy as his larger hand clasped around hers. It was more than just him being an elf she had not seen before, something about him just seemed odd and unsettling. Maybe she didn’t like how he had run his eyes over her a few seconds prior, though his gaze had not held anything sinister. “Do not be afraid, Nora. I would not harm my brother’s lifemate,” he said.

His words made Nora look up from their hands quickly, “Lifemate?” The word was simple. Mate? Like with werewolves? She almost laughed at the thought. There was no way that was what it meant. She would be giving herself way too much credit even considering that.

“Nora –” She instinctively jerked her hand from Vaegon’s hearing Arwin call her name, “I found her.” He called out again keeping his eyes on her instead of looking towards whoever he was talking to. She was surprised by the frown on his face because it seemed concerned rather than angry, “You’ve met my brother? Vaegon, please leave us for a minute.”

“As you wish, King.” Vaegon seemed to be joking and it made Arwin smile as he shook his head at his brother, but Nora sensed an undertone to the words that she could not place as they watched him walk away and disappear into the room with the white curtains. Her attention turned back to Arwin when he spoke.

“Nora, do not try to escape this palace. It would be easy enough for you to walk out of the front door when you figure out where it is, but I know well enough this place is not safe for humans. I’m sure you know that too; your presence is not exactly common in this part of the country.” he said taking her hand and leading her back along the balcony. She looked down comparing the touch to Vaegon’s. Arwin’s hand was much colder, but it left her less uneasy. Something about his brother just unnerved her. It could just have been other elves in general. How naïve of her to think Arwin was any safer to be around than the rest of them. She reached out to take his wrist attempting to pry her hand from his but he did not let her do so successfully until they were back in the room. Now that she was close to him, it was clear that his scent matched the bed she had woken up in earlier. It was his room. She had slept in his bed. “Please just stay in the palace. I will leave with you if you would like that, but not right now.”

Nora frowned up at him. “You… you say you don’t want me getting hurt but you forcefully bring me to a place that you say is dangerous for humans?”

“I know, right?” She had expected him to be less amused by her question, “You are safe here,” he added. “Have lunch with me, Nora.”

“No.” The thought of dining with someone that nearly had her brother and possibly more of their friends killed did not make sense to her. If she had the option not to be near him, she was going to use it. That was just one of a few reasons not to eat him. She would also not feel comfortable pretending to be okay being there and eating with him while being worried about her family and would not be able to trust anything they made anyway.

Arwin seemed to think for a moment as he stared at her before shaking his head. “I'm going to let you skip it this time because you have not settled in yet, but you will be having dinner with us later. You are clearly underweight as it is.” Us? “Would you like to call your friends?” He motioned to a telephone on the nightstand beside the bed that she had not noticed earlier. She shook her head, none of them had cellphones so there was nothing to call. “Okay. I’ll see you later.” Nora looked over at the glass door that was still partially slid open before looking back at Arwin who was making his way to the door.

“Wait – um… No – No one’s going to come in here, right? Not… Vaegon.” Arwin titled his head seeming slightly surprised before he smiled.

“No, but you needn’t be afraid of my family, Nora. Vaegon is very kind.” She could not take his word for it, she did not know him, didn’t trust him and of course he would say that about his brother. He gave a nod as he pulled the door open to leave but not before turning to glance back at her once more and then disappeared into the hallway shutting the door again.

Nora instantly went over to the glass door to pull it shut and lock it concluding that Vaegon’s room was the one right beside Arwin’s. She then looked around wondering what to do. She was not ready to leave the room and figured that it would be better to do that in the evening when – hopefully – most of the staff and royals that were in the palace were asleep. Until then… her eyes ran over the room searching for something to do. There really was not anything to occupy herself with so she walked into the closet and shut the doors hoping to continue being alone and avoid meeting any other elves.

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