The Elementals - The Ice Princess

Chapter 22

Almost two hours have passed by the time I finish the recount of our journey thus far. I half expect that Jared will burst out into laughter now that I have finished. To my surprise, he doesn't. He is sitting quietly in a chair with eyes still firmly fixed on me. I am assuming he is trying to process everything I have just told him. Perhaps he is trying to decide if the police or the ambulance is better suited to deal with a situation like this.

It's been a couple of minutes since I have finished my story and I found myself turning my attention back to Alexander who still has not moved or awaken. He has some color back in his skin and the covers on the bed still move in the unchanging up and down pattern they have been in since we covered him when we got him into bed.

"That's quite the story," Jared finally says. "It almost sounds too outlandish to be made up!"

"You believe me?" I can't believe I ask this. Even I am surprised that he believes my story because it sounds so farfetched. Things must be really messed up for me to feel this way.

I take an odd comfort in the fact that Jared seems to be okay with everything and doesn't seem to be asking too many questions about my situation.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"I just need to keep those things away from my dad. So I am going to hide. Hide anywhere and anyway I can."

Jared puts his hand over mine. "I'm sorry about your mom and the way you found out about how she died."

"Thanks," I say, a little embarrassed that he is comforting me.

"What's happening here?" I hear a weak voice from the other side from the other side of the room.

Alexander has opened his eyes and he is looking at Jared holding my hand. I pull my hand away from Jared who seems to take the hint. I can feel my face going flush with color.

"I'm guessing we made it?" Alexander finally says turning his attention to Jared.

I let out a little bit of a laugh. "Yes, you got us here."

"Good! I was worried it wasn't going to work, I just didn't want to tell you." He turns his attention toward Jared. "You must be Jared. I am hoping that what Eira has told me about you is true."

Jared walks in a little closer to the makeshift hospital bed and introduces himself. He takes Alexander's hand and shakes it.

"Thank you for taking care of Eira. I always knew she was special but I just found out how special she actually is. You should rest a little while longer. You're all safe here." He makes a motion to the door. "I can show you to your room."

"It's ok, I am going to stay down here while he sleeps, just in case he needs anything."

"Alright, good night. If you need anything help yourself."

"Thank you." I say to Jared as he takes one more look at the both of us and leaves.

The moment that Jared is out of the room, Alexander takes my hand. "Are you sure we can trust him?"

"I think so." I tell Alexander who struggles to sit up in his bed. "We can worry about that later."

"No. We should worry about that all the time. I can't protect you like this. I need to know that you trust him."

The sound of Alexander's voice is almost panicked, like he is begging me to tell him that we can trust Jared. He takes his job of protecting me seriously. To be quite honest, it's nice to have him along, even though I have no idea what I am doing or where I am going. He has my best interest in his heart.

"I trust him," I finally say to Alexander who looks as though the tension in his body has left as soon as the words are out of my mouth. His body collapses back into the bed as if all his strength has left him again.

I reach out and rub his head. He is warm and slightly damp on his forehead. "Right now, it's important for you to rest a little and get your strength back. Try and get some sleep."

As if Alexander is fighting to stay awake he struggles to say, "Don't want to sleep, had a crazy dream..." and then he is back out.

The sound of the word "dream" echoes in my ears. Great! I think to myself, if he is having bad dreams, I wonder what is in store for me.

I pull up a big comfortable recliner and lay back into it. It's comfortable. Much more comfortable than the bed that was in my dad's "hideout". I let out a deep sigh as the thought of my dad hurts my heart. I miss him and hope he is alright. I sit justifying that leaving was the right course of action. It's an argument between my heart and my brain. One that is making me anxious so I try to think of other things.

I watch Alexander sleep restlessly and mumble some things in his sleep. Whatever dream he was talking about not wanting to have again, he is having. I can tell by the look on his face. I want to wake him and end his bad dream but choose not to as I know that rest and sleep will help him get better sooner.

I spend the next few minutes mindlessly watching him sleep and studying the way that he is reacting to his dream. It makes me wonder if I respond the same way. At times, Alexander's body looks like it's at war with itself. Every so often he twitches which sends his whole body into a convulsive state. It's almost like one moment his entire body is being shocked and all of his muscles tense, and the next moment he is able to relax.

It's an odd thing to watch someone else sleep. They are at their most vulnerable and really have no idea what is happening outside of their dream world.

As I lay watching Alexander, I don't notice how tired I've become. My eyes are beginning to feel heavy and it's not long before I have drifted off to meet Alexander in the dream world.