Counting down the days until you see that I'm eternally yours...

Chapter 5 | Conflicting Realities

Reflecting upon the current events taking place, everything seemed incredibly bizarre. It was as if you had suddenly stepped into an alternate reality, brimming with adventure, creatures unknown and a very exciting tale. However, you felt that this would have been more enjoyable had you been watching it happen in a movie or read it in a book rather than actually living it. Whenever the female protagonist had encountered danger in a movie or a book, it had always been exciting and sometimes even comical in regards to how they reacted, but the reality was quite the opposite. This wasn't exciting, it was terrifying.
JR had shouted at you more than once now to go and hide. It was not until he had conjured a sword out of thin air whilst reaching for the door handle that you had managed to move from the spot in which you had been rooted, running to your wardrobe for sanctuary. It was incredibly cliché. Perhaps you were hoping that hiding in the wardrobe would in some weird twist of fate take you to Narnia. Sure Narnia was filled with adventure and strange creatures too, but it was far more familiar than life was currently. Unfortunately, poking around the back of the wardrobe was futile. There was no Narnia.
You could not see much through the gap in the wardrobe door, but you heard enough. There were a lot of shouts and screams, as well as the distinct sound of colliding metal. Somehow your flat had turned into a battlefield. How you'd explain this to your landlord, you were not quite sure. Of course, in amongst the entire ordeal, you had completely missed the fact that JR had used magic. Magic; it was a thing which was only known off in fantasy novels and fairy tales. Magic was not real...although part of you had always wondered what it would be like if it was...

The wardrobe door flung open suddenly. You inhaled deeply, a lump forming in your throat. Under normal circumstances, perhaps you would've screamed. In this instance though, no sound escaped your lips. You had seen your fair share of fantasy and even some horror movies, filled with strange beings, but nothing had prepared you for this. Before you stood the most grotesque looking creature you had ever laid eyes upon. It was tall, scaly, and green, with vibrant red eyes, piercing and menacing. It looked like a demon. This thing was enough to induce nightmares for a life time!
"The wretched human is in here!" It called out with a shrewd voice, whilst extending its lanky arm towards you. That was when you screamed. Within moments, the second most horrifying thing happened. A sword came down swiftly upon the branch-like arm, slicing it clean off. A ghastly scream escaped the creature's mouth before it fell to its knees, clutching at its stump-of-an-arm as a strange green liquid oozed out from the gaping hole. It took you a few seconds more before you could tear your eyes away from the horror in front of you.
You looked up and saw JR's warm gaze upon you. His hand was extended. There were words which he was saying but your mind was too frazzled to make sense of any of them. Instinctively, you took his hand, presuming it was what he wanted you to do. He pulled you in, holding you close. Then, he uttered foreign words, words which for some reason made sense to you. Had you been more aware of what was going on, you might have realised those foreign words he had uttered were in fact an incantation, instantly transporting you out of your flat to the park...

"I am sorry for putting you in danger like that," JR's soft voice whispered your name, whilst stroking your hair gently. "I will do my best to protect you better from now on." He held you tighter, the wind whistling past your ear. "Please, I am truly sorry. I can't bear seeing you so sad," he stated, kissing the top of your head lightly. It was only when he pulled away a fraction to wipe away your tear stricken cheeks that you realised you had been crying.
"What-what were they?" You asked him, rubbing your eyes, pushing the tears away and trying your hardest to remain composed, despite the shock you were clearly in.
"Goblins," JR told you without elaborating further.
"Those were goblins?" You looked at him in horror. "Are you sure they weren't demons?"
"Demons?" he gave you a funny look before shaking his head. "Those were definitely not demons. Demons aren't real."
"And you're telling me that goblins are?" JR nodded very slowly, his expression filled with concern.
"This-is all new for you, isn't it?"
"Which part?" You pulled away from him roughly, "Meeting an Elf King who claims I'm meant to become his queen? Or encountering goblins who keep trying to kill-" And then it dawned on you, your expression darkening. "Or how about the fact that-you can wield magic?!"
Your tone was on the verge of hysterical, but at this point you were beginning to feel like you'd gone mad anyway. None of this could be real. You pinched yourself, hoping that you'd wake up from this outlandish dream but to no avail. JR was still there, standing in front of you, as real as ever. Taking a deep breath, you turned away from him and began to walk in the opposite direction.

"Wait, where are you going?"
"Away from you!" You shouted over your shoulder. When you turned back to face forwards, you collided straight into JR.
"I can't let you do that!" he told you. Annoyed at his magical abilities thwarting your plans to walk away, you pushed past him.
"Do what you want. Follow me if it makes you feel better, but I'm done with this charade!" You sternly told him. "I don't want to have my life endangered just by being near you. No thank you. I'm quite happy returning to my old life. So you can just return from where you came from and leave me be. Find another queen for yourself. I'm sure your land has plenty of pretty elf girls!"
"You don't understand," he desperately tried telling you. "I cannot return, not without you."
"Then just stay here on Earth! I don't care!" You harshly told him as you continued walking away, unaware of just how much your words had cut through JR's heart.

It was at that moment, a small gust of wind whirled in the path in front of you. Within it, appeared a man, familiar to both you and JR. He was injured, bleeding profusely. Your heart sank.

"Dohyun!" JR ran to his trusted adviser's side, trying to help him sit up. "Where did they strike you?" Dohyun's hand shook violently as he pointed to the left side of his torso. "Can you hold Dohyun's hand whilst I heal him, please?" JR asked you cautiously.
Walking over to Dohyun, you knelt down and did as JR asked, if a little reluctantly. Then, you witnessed the most miraculous event take place. JR closed his eyes, crossing his hands over his chest whilst muttering more words which somehow made sense to you. After a few seconds, he placed his hands upon Dohyun's torso. A spectra of light spiralled its way up from JR's hands, capturing your attention entirely. It was an ethereal experience, something which surpassed anything you could have imagined. The light was vibrant yet soft and as the minutes passed by, the light slowly began to fade, much to your disappointment.

"You can let go of his hand now," JR told you. Shaking yourself out of the daze you had been in, you looked down at Dohyun. Your eyes widened as you watched him sit up properly on his own. He took a deep breath, releasing your hand and massaging his forehead. His wounds completely healed.
"No matter how many times I've had this treatment, it still makes my head spin," Dohyun chuckled. "Thank you, your Highness," Dohyun bowed his head towards JR in thanks. "As soon as we are back in Aranthi, I will give to you an offering as thanks for saving my life." You watched as JR's expression clouded over. He simply nodded at Dohyun before glancing towards you briefly, quickly looking away once he realised you were looking at him, his eyes watering, filled with immense sorrow and grief. Dohyun noticed JR's expression too but before he could say anything, JR had stood up, turned his back and walked away from you both.

You watched as he sat himself upon a backless bench in this snow covered park, his head turned away from you both. Something tugged at your heart strings as you continued to gaze at his lonely figure. It was moments later that you realised how you had thrown so many hateful words at him yet had not even thought to thank him for saving your life...