The Fae Princess' Hidden Fate

9.

I heard myself scream, but it was like the sound was coming from a different place entirely. My mouth was still closed, and yet the scream ripped through me like a knife. 

And suddenly, I felt strong arms around me. Sebastian's face swam to my vision, and in his eyes I saw a terrible fear which I had never seen before. 

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice full of concern. He held onto me delicately, like he was afraid I would break with the slightest touch. The warmth coming from his hands pulled me in, and it somehow pushed the screams and the voice to the deepest corners of my mind where they couldn't hurt me. 

"I'm fine," I muttered, even though I wasn't fine at all. I felt nauseous, and I wished for nothing more than to find somewhere to sit down and think about what had just happened. 

Sebastian seemed to get the message even without me telling him. He led me away from the dining hall, waving the guards away when they moved to help me. In a way, I was glad my parents didn’t notice the commotion since they were all deep neck into their conversations.

"Don't worry," he said tenderly. "I've got her."

They hesitated but I looked at them and nodded, which seemed to give them the confidence to let us be. Sebastian led me away, and down the hall we went. He seemed like he didn't know where he was going to, but I was surprised to see him heading in the direction of my bedroom. 

"I thought you said you got lost on the way to dinner," I murmured. "Then how do you remember the way to my bedroom?"

"I honestly can't say," he said, furrowing his brows confusedly. "To tell you the truth, I don't even know where I'm heading. But I have a feeling it's in the right direction. Or am I wrong?"

"You're not wrong," I admitted. "Keep going."

He smiled, but then winced as we rounded a corner. I remembered that he was still injured, but when I tried to stand straight, he kept my arm over his shoulder. 

"I can manage," he said. "You're not particularly heavy. And your room is not too far now, is it?"

Sure enough, about a minute or so later, we finally reached my bedroom. The guards stepped forward and tried to help me, but Sebastian led me past them and straight into the room. He didn't stop until I was laying down on my bed. Only then did he straighten up, but then he clutched his side immediately. 

"Are you okay?" I asked. 

"It's fine," he said, blowing out a breath and turning towards the window. While he did that, I took the opportunity to catch my breath. I felt like I had run up a hundred steps without pausing, and my head was throbbing painfully. 

"How did you scream like that?" he asked. 

"Like what?"

"Well, your mouth was closed, and no one else seemed able to hear the scream," he explained. "I was on my way to check on you when I felt this sudden powerful emotion of fear, and I thought it would knock me to the ground. I heard you scream then, but no one else heard it. And when I found you in the hallway, the scream seemed to be coming from inside you. How is that possible?” He asked, his brows pulling in tightly.

How on earth could I scream without anyone hearing me? That seemed like a silly thought. My fear had been real. I felt it. As real as anything could be. But the idea of the scream ripping through me so hard without no one hearing but Sebastian baffles me.

And it scares me as well.

That voice, it had been so terrifying that I knew it would haunt me for a very long time. When it spoke, I didn't feel like I was hearing it in my head. I felt like the person was standing right in front of me, and I could feel the evil coming from them. Was that all in my head, or was there a deeper meaning to all this? Was there something that I hadn't really figured out yet?

"Maybe it's the bond thing," he suggested when I didn't reply. "Maybe there's something which connects me to you, and I can feel your emotions if they are strong enough. Or maybe I can even hear your thoughts."

"Don't," I said, opening my eyes and staring blankly at the ceiling. I could still feel myself shaking, and I was more terrified than I was letting on. Thankfully, Sebastian seemed to recognise that, and he let me be. He leaned against the windowsill, and he proceeded to look at my room. He was humming silently, and the sound was beginning to distract me. 

Oddly enough, I was way too conscious of the fact that he was in my room, and he was looking around with an air of curiosity about him. I had never allowed any man to come into my bedroom before, and so far only my father was the man who had ever crossed the threshold of the room. 

But now, Sebastian was standing right there. He was quiet as he walked, and he ran his fingers over the windowsill, sighing to himself. He thought I wasn't paying attention to him, and yet he was the only thing I could focus on. 

When I looked at him, and allowed myself to study the little quirks about him, I realised that he was a distraction for me, and the pain I was feeling somehow dissipated. He was a calming presence, and I found myself grateful for him being here. 

Despite the fact that he was still a human, and I was supposed to be afraid of him. 

"Why did you stand up for me back there?" he asked suddenly, turning to face me. 

"What are you talking about?"

"You asked that I should be given a place to stay," he explained. "Why would you do that for me?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I guess it's because you need it. You can't be sleeping in the servant's quarters."

"I wouldn't mind," he said. 

"But I would mind."

"And why is that?"

His eyes focused heavily on me, dark pools of pale green with silver flecks near the pupils. He was really handsome, and I wondered what he would look like once he was healthy and strong enough. The sharp jawline would surely remain, and his prominent cheekbones would still stand out. 

For a human, he wasn't so bad to look at. 

"I don't know," I replied truthfully. "I don't even know why I made the request. But it seems wrong of me to let you lie around in the servant's quarters all day and do nothing while you heal from your wounds. I just thought you would prefer having something to keep you occupied until we are ready to leave for Cornia. For better or worse, you and I are stuck together now. And the sooner we start looking out for each other, the better it will be for us both."

For a while, he didn't say anything. He continued to look at me, and the darkness which was beginning to squeeze into the room hid his face partially. Along with the darkness came a chilly breeze, which made me curl my toes and move towards the torch which was hung on the wall. Sebastian didn't seem to care about the cold however. He was watching me so carefully that I was almost becoming uncomfortable from it. 

And then, he made his way towards me. My breath caught instantly, and I opened my mouth to speak. No words came out however. I sat up straight, and watched as Sebastian made his way slowly towards me. His eyes were fixated on me, and for some reason they had turned even darker. Maybe it was just the fading light, or maybe it was something in him that changed. 

He came to stop right in front of me, and all I could focus on was the scent of him. It drowned my senses completely, and made me want to reach out and hold him. I couldn't exactly pinpoint what he smelled like, but it was such an intoxicating scent that I found myself leaning in just a bit closer. 

Slowly, his hand came up to my face, and I was surprised that I didn't move away. The last time any man had tried this with me was Antonio, and when he did, I flinched away from his touch. But with Sebastian, I didn't move away. And when his hand touched my cheek gently, I felt like I would faint from the surge of energy which shot though me. 

It was as if lightning had sparked from his finger to my face, and the sensation was one I could never explain. The warmth of his hand pulled me in, and I wanted to drown in his hold completely. His touch was so light that it was almost nonexistent, and yet I wanted to lean in closer and never let go. 

"So, you still haven’t told me what exactly you are, Princess.” 

The way he said the word Princess felt as though he was mocking me. And I hated it.

“The air around speaks for itself.”

“Hmn,” he grinned a little. “First, a dark beautiful skin with a faint glow of green sometimes. The air of magic around. And then there’s you.”

“There’s me what?”

“You with the odd law than now binds out together. Are you a witch?”

“A what?” I snapped. “Do I look like a witch to you?”

“Well, in a way, you do.”

“Sebastian…”

“I didn’t mean that as an insult. I was merely asking to fill in my curiosity.”

“I’m a Fae.” I simply grumbled.

"A what?” He asked, the confusion on his face increasing.

“I bet you’ve never heard of something like that.”

He was about to reply when the door suddenly swung open and Abigail stepped into the room. Her eyes went from my face to Sebastian's, and then to his hand on my cheek. Her eyes widened in shock, and she balled her hands into fists. Sebastian wisely stepped back as she took a step forward and pinned her nastiest gaze on him. 

"You shouldn't be here," she said, folding her arms. 

"And why is that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"This is the princess's bedchambers," she said. "You should not be here. Men are not allowed here. Especially not a human."

"Abigail, that's enough," I snapped at her. "Calm down."

"Anyway," she said with a frown, "the guards are waiting outside to show you to your room, where you actually belong. It's right next to the stables, so you should feel right at home."

For a moment, it looked like Sebastian was going to say something. But then he held his tongue, and he sighed as he turned his gaze towards me. 

"I guess I'll see you soon," he said.

"Okay," I said, still breathless from the moment we had shared. 

He leaned in closer, and I could have sworn he was about to kiss me. Abigail thought the same as well, and she was ready to step forward and put an end to it before it even started. But then he shifted towards my ear and whispered, "If you hear that voice again, you will let me know, won't you?"

Now that his face was so close to mine, I was beginning to feel strange emotions bubbling at the pit of my stomach. I wasn't supposed to feel this way for anyone, let alone a human. And yet here I was, hopelessly lost in the eyes of a human who I didn't even know anything about apart from his name. How could any of this make any sense? 

He straightened up then, and he walked out of the room without another word. Abigail threw a nasty glare at him as he left, and as soon as he shut the door behind him, she turned towards me hysterically. 

"You shouldn't let him get so close to you," she said. 

"And why is that?" I asked. 

"Because he's a human, Layla," she said. "We cannot trust them. They may look innocent and friendly, but beneath all that pretence lurks an evil darker than anything we've ever seen before. You cannot trust him, regardless of this law that bound you two together. Keep him at arm's length, and don't trust him unless he earns it."

"You're just saying that because you don't like him," I said. 

"It's true that I don't like him," she grumbled, eyeing the door as though Sebastian was still there. "But you should consider how he is able to get so close to you after only knowing you for less than a day. Something is not right here. And the sooner you accept it, the better it will be."

She left the room then, too angry to stand in front of me again. My own anger was roaring as well, but I had to consider her words. Perhaps my closeness with Sebastian was too soon. With or without the law, I shouldn't allow him to get so close to me. At least not until I knew who he truly was. 

And I knew just the person I could go to for more information about him.

***

A/N;

Thank you so much for reading. Please, please, share your thoughts on the chapter with me. Have a nice day.