The Awoken: Freedom (Draft)

Chapter 6: Escape

Note: Grammar needs work!

Nora watched the elf close the gap between them, gazing upon the statue of his goddess, a silent prayer mumbled from his lips. Longingly, he struggled to peel away from the stone, keeping his gaze on her as he walked towards the opening of a maze.

"What happened?" Dmitry asked, legs moving towards the elf before he knew it. He noted Nora followed closely behind.

"Um," Nevien's cheeks burned a vivid pink, but muttered, "He caught me swiping the sleeping spell on his face." Dmitry then caught the torn sleeve, and the bloodied wound. Even a brittle hand was nursing an injury between the wrist and knuckles, leaving the extremities exposed. He focused back on the Awoken, leading them into the hedge maze.

His pale hands felt around for security when they entered the opening, keeping close to the hedge walls as a guide, "When I swiped it over him, he grew angry. I was afraid he'd stay awake, but before he could yell, he stumbled. He fell asleep, but I don't think it will last long." Nevien sputtered, making a sharp right turn, then a left to walk along a significant stretch between the deep green leaves rustling with the soft breeze.

"Are you hurt?" Nora noticed a bit of limp and the gash over his wrist. Some markings were showing above the neckline of the high collar of his dress. She wasn't sure if these were old wounds, but there were no bandages over his arm or hand earlier today.

"I'm fine." Nevien disregarded her concern, periodically looking back to the manor, the building steadily blending into the night as they gained distance.

"Are you sure?" Nora prodded, following the albino as he made another left turn. She stopped when he did, then off they went when he turned right.

"Yeah."

His response was short, unconvincing, but she chose to drop it. Nora figured he didn't want to speak of it and respected his privacy.

"How much further through the maze?" Dmitry broke their silence, easily keeping up with the shorter elf. Each step swung the wall of white hair, whipping side to side, while the little bag bouncing over his prominent hips.

Nevien frowned for a moment, peeking over to the right and left path. With squinted eyes, he pondered for a moment, "Not much longer." He took a step towards the right, hesitated, then kept moving forward. "Sorry, it's been a while since I've been through here."

"Take your time. We won't rush you." Dmitry hoped to ease him, but nearly stumbled back when the Awoken turned to glare up at him.

"I know you won't rush me, but Lucius can wake any second now." He spoke through gritted teeth, narrowing his eyes at the Bloodbeast, "If he wakes while we're in here you're both dead!!" Nevien sighed, continuing forward.

Nora snickered, finding her friend's narrow face trapped in disbelief. Clearly, he didn't expect the reaction. "We need to hurry." She heard him say, the noticeable tremble of his hand told her he was anxious given their warning.

They fell silent again, swerving every which way when the albino pointed out their next turn. Nora had grown worried they were winding around in circles, everything appearing the same to her. No obvious landmarks told her they were passing through new grounds, blindly trusting Nevien's memory. "This way. We're almost out of the worst of it." She heard him promise.

As small and dainty as the elf looked, he was quick on his feet. She had to jog just to keep up with him. Nevien was only inches shorter than Dmitry, but also towered over her and the other elves within the manor.