I belong to me

Waking up to darkness

My mind began to wake up, but my body didn't move. I tried to open my eyes and lift my head but it was useless so I gave up. I tried not to panic by the horrifying experience of being trapped inside my body. It felt as there was a weight holding me down. I could see some specks of light behind my eyelids so it wasn't completely dark and I thought that I could hear birds chirping. Something warm touched my cheek and I felt like flinching but all I could do was scrunching my eyebrows together. Slowly I began to stretch my fingers and move my head. I was laying on something soft and I tried to open my eyes. The light that flooded my sight was almost unbearable and I blinked a few times, adjusting to it. I stared up at a wooden ceiling, or more like wooden planks. I felt out of place and tried to remember what had happened before but all I could remember was trees and then darkness. My mind couldn't comprehend. A groan escaped my lips when I tried to move my hands, but something was wrong. I looked down. They were tied together by a thick leather rope. What? Was all my mind could put together.

I felt the panic starting to rise inside me but I tried to calm down. I carefully wiggled myself into a sitting position and scooted back until I felt a wall that I could lean on. My head was spinning and I closed my eyes. Breathe. I thought and took a deep breath and opened my eyes again. There was a small wooden shack with wooden walls except for the short side furthest away from me; instead there was some sort of fabric almost covering the outside world. But there was a small gap letting some sunlight stream in, creating a thin golden line on the wooden floor. The dust around me swirled in the sun. It could almost be a peaceful moment. Almost. I still didn't understand where I was and I looked down again on my tied hands. The knot was skillfully tied and I would need something sharp. Looking around the room, there was only a shelf with some wooden bowls and cups, a grey fur beneath it and the fur I was sitting on. Nothing sharp, not even anything breakable. Oh god. I let out a trembled sigh and put my face in my hands while trying to control my breathing.

"I'm fine." I mumbled in my hands. "I can do this."

"Do what?" The dark voice startled me and my heart hammered in my chest while I pressed my back harder against the wall. I met a pair of dark green eyes and everything fell into place. I remembered the night before and my breathing became shallow. Don't panic. Get up! As fast as I could I pressed back and pushed myself into a standing position, ready to fight if necessary. The elf only stared at me with amusement while crossing his arms.

"Where am I?" My voice cracked and I was terrible thirsty.

"Home." He stated shortly and I just stared at him with confusion and fear. This couldn't be happening. My brother. Edgard.

"My brother." I just said and the elf, Malik I remember his name was, raised an eyebrow at me. "He's waiting for me."

"Then I'm guessing he will be waiting for a while." My heart sank at his words. His voice was left without any emotion.

"Please." I pleaded with tears starting to form in my eyes. Malik ignored me and poured some water from his pouch in one of the cups.

"Are you thirsty?" He asked and gave me a quick look. I was shocked but nodded. I wouldn't gain anything by dying of thirst. He stretched out the cup towards me and I carefully took it, avoiding touching him. My bound hands held the cup and I drank fast, letting the cool liquid soften my raw throat. Malik took the cup from my hands and I immediately backed away.

"I won't hurt you." He said while eyeing me. I didn't trust his words though. His voice was dark and almost hollow and the dark green eyes didn't show any warmth. I missed my brother terrible. He had probably come home in the night, finding the door wide open and his sister gone. My heart clenched imagining the worried look in his eyes. Maybe he thought the worse. I sure did. It was quiet between us and all I could hear were the birds chirping from the outside. Maybe I could outsmart him? I looked at the fabric and Malik, who stood next to it. I was so close to being outside. Quickly I thought of a plan.

"Could... Could I get some more water?" I asked and Malik nodded. Slowly I moved sideways, taking very small steps. He opened the leather pouch and poured some water in the cup again and gave it to me. I took it and brought it to my lips, but just before I opened my mouth I threw the water in Malik's face. To my relief he actually seemed surprised and it was exactly that small distraction I needed. It was perhaps just a second since throwing the water when I took off running. I dodged his hand trying to grab me and stretched out my bound hands towards the fabric, pulling it sideways in one fast motion when the sun blinded me. I was going to make it. My foot expected hitting ground but instead it hit nothing. Time almost seemed to slow down and I felt leaves brush against my face when my body started to slowly drag me down, down towards the mossy ground that lay far below us. I was going to die. Edgard, no. I'm sorry." My mind went blank and I wondered if it would be a quick death. I sure hoped so. But before anything else happened I felt a strong hand grab my arm, spinning me around and dragged me back lifting me by my bound hands. I crashed into a hard chest and his arms wrapped around me. First I felt numb, then tears started to run freely down my cheeks and before I knew it I was sobbing in this strangers arms. The stranger that had brought me there.

"Hush, you are safe." Malik hushed me and carefully patted my back, and strangely enough it calmed me down. I could have died. He slowly pulled me away, holding me by my shoulders and looked into my eyes. I noticed he had golden spots in his.

"You need to be more careful." He said and I suddenly felt anger boiling up inside me.

"Careful? You brought me here!" He didn't seem phased by my sudden outburst. I suddenly remembered how far up we were and I pressed my back against the house. There were branches below, around and over us, full of green leaves. Some had started to turn yellow due to the change of season. We were surrounded by them. It hit me that we were up in a tree. Malik had built a house in the tree. We were also surrounded by birds and their choir, and I could see out over the forest through the tree tops. The sun almost seemed to shine brighter up there and the sky was clear blue. Down, down below I could see tiny flowers of different colors scattered around the ground, creating a masterpiece together with the moss. It was incredible. I stared in awe until I remembered why I was there and closed my mouth, which had been wide open. Malik chuckled beside me.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I ignored his question.

"I want to go home." My lip quivered when speaking.

"You are home." Malik stated coldly, the former amusement had disappeared. I sighed, tired and stressed from the situation. I held up my tied hands in front of me.

"Can you at least remove these?" My wrists had a rosy tone from the leather rubbing against my skin.

"Not until I can trust you." He walked towards me and I instinctively backed away, looking behind me and noticed the long way down. I would never be able to climb down by myself. It felt hopeless. He took a hold of my wrists and yanked me forward, pushed the fabric aside and pushed me inside.

"Sit." His tone was harsh and I did as I was told. I felt totally at his mercy when I discovered where I was, so I sat down on the fur again. I pushed my hair out of my face and felt like crying again. He could easily throw me down the tree if he felt like it, or if he got tired of me. I imagined leaves brushing against my face as my body fell, and the wind whistling in my ears until the ground got nearer and finally my life would end with a thud. Perhaps my brother would find me before the animals did, or what was left of me. I shuddered thinking about it. Elfs weren't known for their kind nature and it was horrible being trapped with one.

Malik poured some water in a cup and drank, putting down the empty cup on the shelf with a bang making me jump. He then walked towards me and squatted next to me. I immediately scooted back until my back hit the wall, which wasn't far enough. I felt a sense of dread staring into his dark green eyes. It was almost like he observed me and knew every single thought. I was terrified. He then began to smile at me, but it didn't feel right.

"Dear Isobel, I'm so glad that you are here." I noticed his pointy ears moving slightly. "But I don't want you to try anything again, like you did before. Are we clear?" His dark voice had authority so I nodded.

"Good, now we can get to know each other better."

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