The Gift of Dreams

chapter VI

Eloise's heart raced frantically as she ran away from Rowan. Her legs felt like they were on the verge of giving up as they hurled her through the thick, dense, trees.

It was as if she were a fox, and him the hunter. Eloise couldn't see a thing. Couldn't see the bushes she was stumbling over. Nor could she see any traces of Rowan anywhere.

It was almost like he disappeared. She would've thought that he had left her, if it hadn't been for the occasional thoughts that he projected into her mind.

She felt like the point of them was to scare her, and if so, they were working. She was terrified.

Nobody ever truly understands the feeling of being chased until they are. Eloise did not think that it would be so haunting. But the only thing keeping her sane was the adrenaline pumping through her.

You're slowing down. Rowan's voice floated around in her mind.

So why are you chasing me? She wordlessly responded.

"Because it's fun." Eloise didn't hear him come up from behind her. Neither did she notice as he stopped her short and tied her arms with rope. Or when he disappeared once again.

"What in the Saints are you doing?" She squealed. The friction of her hands rubbing against the rope had her wincing at the thought of future bruises.

Her head whipped around from left to right. Right to left. Searching for where he disappeared to.

Eloise observed as Rowan shifted in to blend with the trees. How does he do that?

Want me to show you? His response was practically instant. Her vision faded slightly at the edges.

"Is this what you wanted? To train me how to...shift? You could have just asked, you know." She was quickly tiring of the constant telepathic conversation. It drained her energy and impaired her vision momentarily.

A minute later, he reappeared from a different tree. Thankfully, he was not holding any more rope to tie her up with. "Did you see how I did that?" He asked her.

"What? The shifting?" Eloise was confused, how could she have seen him if he was invisible?

"Of course. What else would I have been talking about?"

"No. I didn't see you shifting. And I didn't see how you moved to that other tree over there." She tried pointing her index finger to the tree he came out of but realised belatedly that her hands were bound. "Want to know why?"

"Do tell me." He prompted her.

"Because you were invisible." She answered.

A slow spreading smile crept onto his face, he shook his head gently as if he was amused with her response. Eloise could feel her cheeks heating with embarrassment. But what am I embarrassed for? It was the right answer.

"Not quite the answer I was looking for, no. Contrary to popular thought, shifting does not cause you to turn invisible." This greatly surprised her. She saw him turn invisible, he had disappeared.

"But- I couldn't see you. You disappeared." She argued even though she knew it was futile, Fae couldn't lie so he had to be telling her the truth.

"I merely glamoured the surrounding environment to benefit me. That is what shifting is." He explained. "You can be born with shifting abilities, if your parents are shifters themselves. But anyone can learn, even you." The last part he added sounded like an indirect insult to Eloise.

"So if I can learn, why aren't you teaching me? Can't you just untie me and help instead of chasing me down?" With her hands behind her back, she did not have a vantage point to see the damage that the ropes caused. But she would bet on anything that her struggling against them was not helping in the matter.