Oriana, Girl of Legend

Chapter Five

Tristan paced his room, the loud clunk of his boots echoing against the cave wall. He couldn't feel her anymore. It had two hours since he felt her and now he worried. Why was he worrying about a half fairy? Why were they able to communicate like that?

"Tristan, you are wearing a hole in the ground with your pacing." Queen Elveena stated from the chair she was sitting in. She had been in the room when Tristan fell into the waking dream. It felt like hours before he finally came out it. He had been restless since then.

Tristan had always confided in his aunt, especially after his mother had been murdered by the hands of Salome, the most vile fairy Elveena had ever met. She was a sharp contrast to Kheelan's calm and gentle demeanor. It was unbelievable when she heard he was supposed to marry her all those years ago. Tristan had been a constant visitor to the Forest of Andulin to see the young king. They had been great friends even though Tristan never aged and the fairy king aged slowly. But now her nephew refused to talk about the waking dream and why he was so restless about it afterwards.

You're making me dizzy, vampire. The angelic alto voice spoke with a slight chuckle into the young prince's mind. He almost could picture her smile when he heard her.

What happened? Where did you go? Tristan responded as he finally sat down and focused on the voice. Not that he really cared. But when he felt the dominance power rising in her he knew she could have been deadly to anyone near her and he knew she was surrounded by her friends and family. People she cared deeply for.

I had to speak with Kheelan. I had to tell him what was going on.

Did he have any answers?

Tristan felt her give a defeated sigh. He could feel the disappointment in her mind before she answered. No. He said he was going to do some research to find out what happened.

"Tristan?" the queen asked as she noticed the tension that had been building in her nephew finally seemed to leave. "What is going on? Talk to me."

Tristan focused his eyes on his aunt and could the love flowing from the woman who had been like a mother since he lost his own. "She's back."

"She?" Elveena asked surprised. Tristan had many women who threw themselves at his feet, but none of them made her nephew lose his temper and worry him at the same time. "Who?"

"Oriana." Tristan answered softly.

The queen sat up straighter in her seat at the mention of her childhood friend that she knew had died sixteen years ago. They were best friends when she found that human didn't fear her like others did. They're friendship was immediate and deep. Even when her human friend died, she felt it in her body and it crippled her mentally until Tristan was able to pull her back together. "Impossible. She died years ago." She told him sharply, thinking he had gone mad.

Tristan's head jerked her comment and tone. His aunt never used that tone with him, let alone accuse him lying. But he jerked more about having not known about any Oriana from his aunt or why she seemed bitter about the mention of the name. "What do you mean? Who is she?"

The queen stood and laid her hand on the cave wall, the dark blue dress flowing behind her, her black curls shifted only slightly with her graceful movement. "She was my childhood friend from years ago. She was human with the whitest hair I had ever seen. I truly thought I stood with an angel when were together. She was the first human who didn't fear me, but we were children, we didn't know we had to fear each other until our teenage years. But it never stopped us from meeting each other. She died sixteen years ago at child birth. The baby was never found."

"Who was the father?" Tristan asked gently when he laid his hand on her shoulder.

Elveena smiled at the question. It truly surprised her that he didn't know since he was very good friends with the fairy king. "Kheelan." She answered and watched as her nephew's eyes widen at her answer. "What? You didn't know. He was quite enamored with her."