CHAPTER 5
Freezing...
Extreme cold..
It was the first sensation as soon as I regained consciousness. A heaviness weighed on my head and despite my efforts, I couldn't open my eyes. Is this it?? Is this how I am going to die? Although I was shivering from cold through and through, there was this burning sensation at the back of my neck. I tried hard to move my hand but it was futile....
"Elaara, Can you hear me?"I heard Aehannik calling out to me but I couldn't open my eyes. There was desperation in the way he spoke. He sounded confused and worried, I wanted to tell him I was fine. I wanted to tell him that I tried, but it didn't work, I wanted to hug him and tell him that I was sorry that I gave him hope.... I knew how it felt when all your dreams and hopes were buried in the ground.
This feeling of losing to the circumstances, giving in to what your fate has decided for you, not being able to pave your way, and living on someone else's conditions, was worse than anything, and if someone shows that sliver of light, you just hold onto it for dear life. Everything around me was fading out as I felt the sadness seep into me as moments of my life flashed through my eyes. This wasn't how I wanted to die. I couldn't even know about my mother. I was just 19...
''Please Elaara, Wake up!! You can't leave me alone now.... "he whispered in my ear as he held me close. The warmth of his hold gave me comfort and I felt myself relaxing in his arms...
'' Please just please.... don't leave me here alone..... " I wanted to wake up. I wanted to see him one last time. They say when you face difficulties together, your connection builds and I felt it. I had something strong with him and I wanted to at least say goodbye before I left his side... I tried to force my eyes open but the only thing that I saw was this fog. It's not time yet Elaara, go where you belong, you have to come here but not right now. I heard an echo around but it wasn't the voice that I always spoke to... This was different... A strong gust from the wind made me stumble upon something, I fell hard but instead of falling on the floor, I fell into the dark pit letting out a wild scream only to jolt awake....
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I gasped as consciousness flooded back, heaving uncontrollably. My mind raced, trying to grasp what happened.....
''you are safe...you are safe....'' I heard a murmur and I turned towards the owner of the voice. I looked into his eyes and suddenly everything came back crashing at me in full force...
" You are free'' I whispered groggily, my throat dry like a desert.
" Yes I am, Are you ok? What happened?'' He asked as he looked me straight in the eye.
" I don't know... I just felt-" A sharp pain at my neck interrupted me, and I instinctively touched the sore spot. It burned fiercely.
"It's a beautiful tattoo" He remarked as he moved his eyes to where my hand was. His hands which were holding me on the floor now moved towards my hand as his finger skimmed through the sore spot. I felt a tingle and a shiver ran down my spine as our eyes connected. It was incredible, this electrifying feeling...
" uhh... I don't have a tattoo...'' I said awkwardly and worriedly as I broke our eye contact. It was too much for me.
" uh.. we need to get out of here, they will be here soon." He cleared his throat and spoke up as he stood up helping me along the way. Damn, he was tall.... I wasn't short myself but standing beside him he made me feel smaller....
'' Yeah.. Just one minute..." I turned around to pick up the book from its position... All of the stones had fallen to the ground by now. The once enchanted circle now had cracks almost falling apart. The chain was now pooled at the chair's foot.
" What the hell happened here, How long was I out to have missed all of this" I spoke out loud as I located the book a few steps away from the circle. I Picked it up and moved towards him...
" You did this..." The prince replied as he started moving toward the entrance. I followed in shock. I did this, ALL of this, This chaos was because of me, did I lose control like last time... I didn't hear any reply like I used to.... Before I could say anything else... He shushed me as he placed his ear on the door to listen to what was going on outside... I followed close... hearing in on the outside. It was pin-drop silence. There was no sound coming from the outside meaning, the coast was clear...
" You can't leave in these same clothes, everyone can recognize you....? I whispered slowly as I suggested that he should change. He nodded as he moved towards the right and disappeared behind a bookshelf. As I waited for him, I tied my hair in a tight bin as I fixed my beanie and the hoodie to hide my book and keep in disguise. I fixed my attire and soon enough the prince returned with a plain t-shirt he had removed anything and everything that screamed royalty. He looked handsome even in these plain clothes...
" Shall we?" He asked as a formality as he held my hand and opened the door slowly.... I was feeling a lot of emotions. He pulled me with him as we glided through the same hallway that we had entered before... I looked around matching my pace with his as we moved through the hallway toward my original hiding spot. He was good at this sneaking around as if he had done this so many times before.
''Wait here" He spoke once we were inside the room. He made his way towards the end of the room to get something. The darkness of the room kept me from keeping track of what he was doing. I was curious, to say the least. He can e back a few minutes later and soon enough we were ready to leave the palace once and for all. Considering I had stolen a book and helped a prince escape, the consequences would be severe if I were to get caught, and that too with him, I can't imagine the consequences.
''I think..... ''I paused thinking hard on what should be my next step and then continued again" We should part ways here, The chances of us getting alone would be more than together..." He looked at me as if trying to search for something... He locked his eyes with mine as I waited for his answer. I wanted to stay with him, I didn't know why but I wanted to spend some more time with him in this kind of situation. We had things to do. We had our burdens, complications, and problems that we needed to deal with. It's what's best for now... His eyes never left mine as he kept on gazing at me. It was difficult but It was the right thing to do. He could get caught if he was with me and he needs to leave this hell of a place.
Without waiting for his response any further, I walked right out of the room and moved sneakily around the corridor toward the first floor. He followed suit." Stop following me" I whispered as I tiptoed down the stairs once I made sure there were no bodyguards on the first floor.
"I am not," He said following behind... I hid and moved around through the corridor. I could hear the hustle and bustle from the ground floor as people were going about their tasks. Maids were moving around cleaning the floor, Guards were marching through. How long were we in there? It was time to blend in the crowd to get out of this place. The task was to get down the stairs unnoticed. I was waiting for the guards to move around and that would be the right time to make my move. Soon enough the guards moved to change positions.
I dashed down the stairs navigating through the familiar stairs in a rush striding as quickly as possible. Once down with the prince following closely, I blended myself with the group of guys moving towards the exit located at the far end. I was close to my freedom now...
" you need to leave... The guards will recognize you.." I said as we moved in a rhythm towards the exit.
''No they can't....'' He said as he moved shoulder to shoulder with me.
" Nobody has seen me except the royal guards..." I turned and stared at him in pure shock. He was the prince and no one knew!!!
What is the King up to? What is he trying to save him from? Or he was deliberately hiding him the way he was chained?!! There were a lot of questions again but no answers.....
'' Stop staring, you're making it obvious...." He said as he saw me gawking at him... I turned my face only to notice we had now turned a corridor right beside the exit and were going away from it.....
" Why are you following me? I asked again but what he mumbled had me stare at him in utter disbelief....
"I don't know the way."