The bond

2.The bond

The blinding light is fading now and my vision is clearing. I hope Mia and the others are okay. I blink a few times to correct my vision, looking around for my family.

Instead, I find myself in a large, old style banquet hall full of people, all sitting at long, calved, wooden tables, topped with illustrious mounds of food and drink, realizing I'm in the middle of one......straddling the beast.

Where am I? Who are these people? What is this creature? Where did it come from? Why did it attack me and my family? What was that light? How did that dagger appear, and where did it go once the creature had died? I have so many questions running around my head, with no sign of answers.

Three long, large, thickly carved wooden tables are perfectly parallel to each other. A long regal looking table at the top overlooks the whole room, I assume where the higher-ups sit.

Slowly I become more aware of my surroundings. The copper smell that breaches my nose makes me realize I'm covered in blood, the creature's...and I believe my own. I am in the center of a room, on a dining table, in the middle of what looks to be a celebration.... This can't look natural!

People begin to buzz around me, talking in a tongue I can't understand. From the higher-up's table, a large man in his late fifties rises from a large throne of red velvet, trimmed with thick gold.

He is reasonably good looking, tall with broad shoulders, and a small waist. His hair has soft swifts of grey that highlight his shoulder-length, dark brown hair, a short beard neatly lines his mouth and chin.

He is wearing tight-fitting black leather pants and a white shirt. His purple and silver silk waistcoat is fastened with four big, silver buttons up the front, that peeks through from under a long thick overcoat with a high collar, and perched neatly at his throat a deep purple top knot sits.

The gentleman has a soft look about him... A familiar look, I think to myself.

Striding towards me, his overcoat dances around his ankles. He walks with a very handsome man next to him... my eyes widen in surprise ........It's him! The man I saw in my dream.

This morning, when I saw this man, I was full of hate. I could feel it burning deep within me, an overwhelming desire to destroy him.

Nervously, I watch in silence, gauging him as he approaches me. His eyes don't leave mine as he makes his way down between the two long tables to where I am, still frozen, straddling the beast.

His eyes assess me with a hint of annoyance and slight intrigue. The man holds his head proudly, clasping his hands together at his back, alongside his king. He walks towards me, the king seems excited somehow, while the man doesn't seem impressed at all.

They both reach me at the same time, stopping just short of my position. The king says something directed at me, I assume. I stay quiet, staring wide-eyed, and confused as hell, as I have no idea what to say or do.

He lets out a light laugh, I believe at my expense. The man beside him whispers something quietly to him, and the king looks at me again in a quizzical way. Then he laughs, shaking his head, waving off whatever he said.

The king steps towards me, reaching out a hand, I assume offering to help me down from the table. I gingerly take his hand as he guides me away from the beast to the floor. He looks me up and down, looking very amused and still holding my left hand gently as his examination of me continues.

My jeans are torn, and I can feel there isn't much left of the back of my new shirt, I already know there are four gashes in the front. A sigh escapes my lips as I can only imagine how I must look.

His eyes scan my face and settle on my eyes. I only remember the presence of the younger man when he takes a step forward. Instinctively, I snap my hand back, retreat a step away from him, and immediately regret it.

He freezes, cocking an eyebrow at me. My reaction has not pleased him in the slightest. He stays on his spot, not risking me running, I think. I'm grateful for this. He folds his arms across his chest as he continues to discuss me with the king.

My more than an obvious desire not to be near this man, I believe has caused concern. They continue talking about me. This continues for a while.

I hate not knowing what's going on. The king seems to be agitated, and I believe, so is his younger companion. As he rests his right hand on his hip, he throws his left hand agitatedly into his hair.... He's annoyed.

My stance becomes rigid. He shoots a glare at me. Shooting forward, he grabs me around my waist with his right hand, stopping me from retreating again. He grabs my chin with his left hand quickly, and quite rough. I'm shocked by the sudden contact.

He has me. What do I do? I have nowhere to run. Is he going to hurt me? Everywhere he's touching feels like it's on fire, and the closeness of his face to mine is making me very aware of him. He's staring into my eyes. They seem to intrigue him, as they did the king. I feel his breath clashing with mine. He's so close!

My body starts shaking. In that instant, a shock shoots through my body. My blue light is around me again, but brighter this time. It feels different from before, this time, it feels like my magic is reaching out to him. He's surrounded by purple light, it's beautiful.

Our colors reach out for one another, our eyes transfixed, both of us frozen, unable to move. My heart is beating out of my chest. I can feel his, too, it's beating just as hard as mine. My head begins to spin with, pictures, places, memories...

I can't break away from the hold we are in. Still locked in place, unable to break away, blue and purple twist around us in a seductive dance of bright color, like they were two lovers who had finally found each other after so long, twisting like a rope around each other molding into one, wrapping us, tighter, closer, until our bodies are pressed together with no space left between us.

Our lights begin to fade, until finally, we find ourselves able to move again. A look of horror has appeared on his face. He quickly drops his hand from my chin, and takes a big step back from me. Running his hands down his face, then pushing them into his hair, where they rest on his head. The whole room was silently staring at us.

The room starts to spin, slowly getting faster. I don't know if my injuries have finally caught up with me, or if it's everything that has happened so far. I feel the room go dark. I begin to fall. The last thing I hear is...

"A BOND HAS BEEN MADE!"