Magic and Mortality (DISCONTINUED)

Chap. 9 - Nightmares

KEY = Subtitle/POV change | Author's note |"Speech" | 'Quote/Thoughts' | Text | Emphasis

Dawn broke across the sky, heralded by the songs of bird as they fluttered and turned in the air. It brought with it the beginning of a perilous journey, although Belinda and Aelfric seemed at ease. 

Aelfric was definitely at ease, in his old denim pants that he'd borrowed to be more 'incognito'. He'd never felt more free. In the castle, he was usually cooped up inside. When he wasn't, there was a giant wall around the gardens that kept him separated from the rest of his kingdom. 

Belinda, on the other hand, was tied up in knots. The only thing keeping her from rushing as fast as she could to free her father was the almost familiar sound of Aelfric's carefree whistling. 

The pair had known that their journey would be perilous — they both dealt with that knowledge differently. Aelfric had wanted to go on a 'travelers journey' since he was a young elf. He kept his hand on the hilt of a rusty sword that Belinda had found once he'd mentioned he could brandish the weapon quite well. Belinda's hair had been tied up under a cap, not because she needed to hide the fact the she was a young human girl, but because she couldn't reach her bow and arrows nor could she properly throw her sharpened throwing knives with her heavy mop weighing her down. The unfamiliar lack of weight didn't help with the also unfamiliar places they were passing through.

Dusk stretched across the sky as the elf and human set up camp for the first time. Once the tent was set up — they only hand one, however it was big enough to fit two bed rolls as well as the rest of their luggage quite comfortably. The two ate a small dinner of biscuits and fruit leather before crashing onto their bed rolls.

BELINDA'S POV

My mind was plagued by nightmares of torture. My father held up by chains that dug into his wrists, slashes across his back, arms and face from where he had been whipped by his captors. I woke with a cold sweat with his piercing cries of fear and pain. I expected to be in my bed, not on a thin sleeping mat underneath an even thinner blanket. My head throbbed as tears silently rolled down my face. The darkness, the chilling air, the loneliness overwhelmed me as images from my dreams reappeared behind my eyelids. I sat on my bed roll as I cried — cold, alone — for the first time in my life. 

AELFRIC'S POV

Sobs pulled me from the comforting warmth of sleep into the cold air that had engulfed the tent. It was almost pitch black, yet I could still see the shuddering form of a human girl crying alone a few steps away from me. My mind tried to resist my decision as I pushed my blanket away from me, relishing the cold shivers that almost convinced me to stop, but my heart pulled me towards Belinda. I sat next to her bedroll, gently hugging her to my chest. She froze for a moment before wrapping her arms around me, her sobs slowing as our hearts began to beat together.