Never Let You Fall (The Prophecy of Tyalbrook)

by Michele G Miller

  Cursing softly, Xander released my head and pulled me back against his chest; whispering for me to pretend to be asleep. He put the blankets back in order and then stilled.

  Tucked under his chin with my eyes closed and the blankets all but covering me, the only sense available to me was my hearing. The sound of Xander’s heart beating furiously and the heat radiating off of his body told the true tale of what had been going on between us.

  The hand that hid under the blankets was still clutching at my rear, tapping me and then rubbing in patterns. It reminded me of my own hands when I was trying to keep myself from doing something I shouldn’t do. The thought that he was trying to control himself made me smile. I was a girl, after all. And knowing that perhaps I’d just driven Xander wild with passion made me want to puff my chest out a little.

  “Xander…” I heard the sleepy and disapproving voice of Selene say. “Is that Skye in your lap?”

  “Yeah. She woke up a while ago crying and freezing, so I offered to hold her while she tried to go back to sleep.”

  “Xander, I don’t think you should allow her to keep getting close to you. What would Rioden say? Not to mention the Guardians when we reach Sheridan.”

  I had worked my hand back inside Xander’s shirt again, and I could feel his heart rate speed up. Anger?

  “What Rioden says doesn’t really matter right now, Selene. He already knows how I feel, so this won’t be news to him. As for the Guardians – well, if any of them had bothered to give up their lives or their families for her, then maybe they could have a say. But for now, they don’t.”

  The venom in those words cut me to the core.

  I snatched my hand from his chest and covered my mouth to keep from crying out. How could he say that? Is that really what he thought? He had sworn to me that he didn’t resent me for the loss of his parents or his childhood, but the anger in his words seemed to tell a different story.

  As he felt me tense up, he tightened his hold on me and rubbed his cheek over the top of my head. It felt like he was trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t get past what he had just said.

  “It’s a dangerous game you’re playing, Xander. Dangerous…and most likely you’re the one who will be hurt in the end,” Selene insisted, and then she added a quiet ‘Goodnight’ and all was silent again.

  After a few tense minutes Xander shifted me up a little closer to his face and whispered into my ear, “Skye?” I decided to ignore him and feigned sleep. He kissed me right next to my ear and whispered in an achingly sweet voice, “Sleep well, my Princess.”

  I fell asleep with the taste of his lips still on mine.

  TWENTY ONE - FOR YOUR OWN GOOD

  Skye

  If I never had to trek through the woods again it would be too soon! The next day brought rain. We had been awakened shortly after dawn with the arrival of cold, fat drops. It was futile to try to get anymore rest without shelter, so we grabbed our bags and set out again.

  I had barely spoken to Xander or Selene since the night before. It was taking all of our energy to see through the driving rain, just to keep our bearings.

  While I walked, I allowed the words I’d heard him say to Selene roll around in my head, and I decided to give him a free pass.

  I knew that he was angry that the Guardians here would try to tell either one of us what to do, when they hadn’t been put through the things we had. He was angry on both of our accounts, but it still hurt that he’d made the comment about his life being ruined. The funny thing about it all, was that it was exactly what I had told him. I had tried to tell him multiple times that it was my fault! I guess I’d just gotten so used to him denying it.

  I was such a mess! I couldn’t blame him for voicing what I had tried so hard to make him believe. He loved me. That one fact I knew without a doubt, and it led me to inch closer to him and grasp his hand as we walked through the forest.

  “You okay?” he called over the pouring rain when my hand took hold of his. I nodded to him and we kept walking.

  A few hours later we came to another rocky area, and it took a lot of finesse to navigate down the slick rocks. I had taken to sitting down and sliding over the rocks, using large tree roots to help anchor me. My dress was now covered in mud and was torn along the hem. I couldn’t wait to find cover and a hot bath!

  Xander’s jungle gym training had evidently done him some good as a child. He led the way, lightly jumping from rock to rock and ledge to ledge. He called out to Selene and me, warning us when there was a particularly steep step to make ahead and helping us when needed.

  It felt like hours of rock climbing had passed before we were finally back on smooth ground and the forest started to thin out a bit. It had long passed mid-day and the rain was still pouring down on us.

  I found myself wandering a good distance behind Xander and Selene, my brain contemplating where we would camp for the night. I wanted a warm fire so bad! My feet felt blistered, my hips, thighs and backside bruised from sliding on them so much all day.

  Lost in thought as I walked, I was taken completely by surprise when the ground beneath my feet suddenly fell out and I found myself being hurtled down a dark hole.

  “GAHHHH!” I screamed, as I fell and landed hard on my side. “Oomph.”

  “Skye!” thundered Xander. I heard him running back to me. Leaves and debris fell onto me as he came to the edge of the hole and dropped to the ground, peering down into the dark at me.

  “Skye! God - are you okay?”

  Feeling a bit dazed I called out to him, “I’m alright. It hurt like hell but I think I’m okay.” I sat up and dizziness overcame me.

  “What the hell is this?” I could hear Xander’s anger. “How far down are you?”

  I had no idea how far I’d fallen, maybe ten feet. The sky was prematurely dark because of the rain and storm clouds. Add the lack of lighting to the fact that I was covered in mud, and I’m sure they could barely see me.

  I could hear Selene telling Xander something, but the pounding in my head made it hard to concentrate. I sat down with my back against a wall that dripped with mud and closed my eyes, trying to make the pounding subside.

  “Skye - hang on! Selene and I are trying to get a rope together so we can pull you up,” I heard Xander mumble. Certainly he must have yelled that, but I only heard a faint mumble as my ears started to ring.

  “Skye!?”

  Xander

  “Crap! Skye, are you okay? Answer me!” I spun around to face Selene, totally panicked now. “What do we do, Selene? I need to jump down there, but I can’t see her!”

  My heart leapt to my throat at the thought of anything hurting Skye. It was too much for me to contemplate her being injured alone in a dark, muddy hole by herself.

  “Calm down.”

  Selene walked closer to the hole, her hands held out. She chanted something quietly and a moment later she held an orb of light. She dropped it into the hole and it lit the entire area up - including an unconscious Skye.

  Her face was lying on the muddy ground and blood ran down her forehead. I didn’t even take time to think; I jumped right in as soon as I saw her.

  “Xander!” hissed Selene, as I landed in a crouch in the hole.

  Ignoring everything but Skye, I gently placed my fingers on her neck, looking for a pulse.

  “She’s okay,” I called up with relief when I felt her strong, steady pulse. I carefully rolled her on her back ran my hands over her legs and arms, looking for any broken bones.

  I felt her head for any large lumps and found nothing. Her face was scratched and there was a laceration along her hair line on the right side of her face, but that seemed to be the extent of the damage.

  “I think she either has a concussion, or she just knocked herself out. She’s bleeding pretty badly from her scalp.”

  I looked around at the interior of the pit. It looked to me like it may have been placed there as a booby trap. It was too square to be a grave, and since it looked as if
it had been covered, judging by the larger branches and leaves laying on the floor, I assumed that it must have been dug to catch enemies encroaching on a camp.

  “Selene! I think this was a trap for people. We must be close to the village.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right. Rioden told me that it was about a two day journey. Let me scout ahead and see if I can find any trails.”

  “Go ahead and make your way to the village, and see if you can get help. We can’t lift her out of here by ourselves.”

  Selene nodded and threw down a blanket from her bag. “Here, use this to cover yourselves up and keep her warm. The orb will probably stay lit for a few hours. I’ll hurry as fast as I can, Xander.”

  “Be careful!” I hollered out as she left my line of sight.

  I sunk down into the corner of the pit and carefully pulled Skye onto my lap. Using a water bottle from my satchel, I cleaned her head wound the best I could. Then I pulled her to my chest and covered her with one blanket while covering both our heads with another.

  She moaned and groaned for the next hour or so. The floor of our mud pit was starting to puddle up from all of the rain, and I was starting to get worried that we would soon be in a pool if Selene didn’t hurry.

  Thankfully, the rain began to taper off a short time later. Our thick wool blanket, which fortunately hadn’t been soaked, wasn’t the best protection but it was all we had until Selene returned with help.

  “Uuuuggh,” cried Skye, raising her hand to her head. “Xander?” she called out.

  “I’m here baby,” I whispered, pulling the hood of her cape back so that I could see her face better. Her eyes were still closed, but her face was a mask of pain. She was shaking her head gently, her hands fisted in her lap. She looked like someone having a nightmare.

  “Nooooo, Xander. I can’t, Griffin! Please don’t…” she drawled out.

  Who was Griffin? What was she dreaming about? I shook her gently and spoke into her ear, trying to wake her. “Skye, wake up. It’s okay, I’m here.”

  Her brown eyes opened suddenly, and she looked like she didn’t know where she was for a moment. Skye stared at me like someone with amnesia before the recognition hit her and she groaned, “You’re alive! Oh my God, it was a dream?? Thank you!”

  Tears flooded her eyes and she began to sob as she kept chanting ‘It was only a dream’.

  I held her tightly against me and let her cry as she ran her hands over my chest and shoulders. She sat back and traced her fingers over my face and into my hair. Pulling my face to hers, she pressed a light kiss on my lips. Then she pulled back and angrily hissed at me, “Don’t you dare die on me! Do you get that? “

  I started to smile and then took in her serious look and agreed. “I promise you, I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.”

  I leaned in and kissed her again, because above all else I would always crave the taste of her mouth.

  “You’re okay? Does anything hurt?” I implored in between kisses.

  I lifted her up and straddled her over my hips so that I could see her better. Moving her knocked the blanket off of our heads, and I noted that the hard downpour had finally trickled to a light drizzle. I moved Selene’s glowing orb closer to my hip for better light, and I readjusted the blankets back over our heads.

  The once-blinding light that the orb had given off earlier was now closer to a small night light, letting me know that she’d been gone for a few hours by then. Soon, we would be in the pitch dark.

  “I think I’m fine, Xander, but my side hurts like hell and I’m freezing,” chattered Skye, as she leaned into me and rested her head on my chest. I tucked her face under my chin and pulled up my legs, cradling her body between my stomach and thighs.

  I couldn’t blame her - I was damn cold myself, and we were both soaked to the bone. Several ways to warm ourselves came to mind, but I quickly pushed those thoughts away. Skye deserved more than that. However, if it got much colder, we would have to find a way to produce some body heat.

  “Where’s Selene?”

  “Oh, I sent her to get help. You were out of it, and I didn’t know what else to do. I jumped in here when you wouldn’t answer me.” My voice sounded heavy with the fear that I had felt. “You scared the crap out of me, Skye.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened, I just fell.” Snuggling closer against me, she lifted her head and placed a soft kiss on my throat.

  “I love you, Xander,” she breathed. “No matter what happens from here on out, I love you and I need you to know that.”

  My heart stopped. Literally - I think it skipped a few beats. In my head, I saw me grabbing her hand and running back to the portal. I saw us running back to her dimension and hiding somewhere no one would ever find us. I saw me laying her down and loving her.

  Then I saw my parents. Her parents. Rioden and Selene, and those small bits of Tyalbrook that I had loved as a small child. Those small pieces that still showed up in my dreams. I heard my duty to Tyalbrook - to the throne -being drilled into my head over and over.

  “Always, Skye,” I whispered, shifting her further back on my legs so that I could see her face. “I love you.”

  I stared at her face in the shimmering glow of the orb. Her full lips were smiling. Her eyes glowed. Even covered in mud, she was still the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

  She wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned in, inches from my mouth; our warm breath mingling together as we stayed there. Her fingers were icy cold as they ran into my hair, but still she made no move to pull our lips together.

  “I’m scared,” she finally spoke. “I don’t know what I’m doing here, Xander. I came for you and Selene, but I don’t really know what my purpose is.”

  When I opened my mouth to speak, she stopped me and continued. “What if I’m not enough? What if I can’t be what these people need me to be?”

  The desperation was there again. I could tell she was like me - constantly fighting with herself. One moment I wanted to be what I was supposed to be; the hero, the Guardian. The next moment I just wanted to be the man in love with the woman who sat in my lap. I had a feeling that she felt the same way; always fighting her wants with her destiny.

  Pushing her hair up and out of her face, I held her head and leveled with her.

  “It’s in your blood, Skye. You will succeed at saving this Kingdom, and I’m going to help you.” I took a deep breath, and then forged ahead with what I didn’t want to say, but needed to. “Look, we need to step back from each other.”

  “No, I don’t care…”

  “Shhhh, listen to me.” I stopped her and swallowed hard. “Nothing will ever change how I feel about you, but we agreed. Our relationship needed to look like it was just business, or it could cause trouble.

  “I don’t care about me, but I care about you, and I want you to focus on being the Princess.”

  “But I know nothing of being a Princess! What am I supposed to do?” Her eyes were now panicked. She dropped her hands from my neck and fiddled with the front of my shirt.

  “Just think of some of the movies you’ve seen. What you say goes, and we’re all going to help you. You need to be ready to order me, and others, around. Skye, as crazy as it seems, this is your Kingdom. You are the rightful ruler of Tyalbrook. I think that blood will come out when you need it.”

  “What about us?”

  “There can’t be an ‘us’! I’m sorry - it’s my fault. I should never have voiced my feelings for you. I know it makes it even harder on you now.”

  Her eyes hardened and she slid away from me, knocking the blankets away as she stood. She swayed unsteadily on her feet and I hopped to my own to help her…but she pushed me back.

  “What the hell, Xander?! One minute you’re professing your love for me, and the next you’re pushing me away!”

  “I have to, Skye!”

  “Like hell you do! I’ll change the rules! Nobody is going to tell me who I can or can’t be with, and I want to b
e with you, Xander.”

  She was leaning against the muddy wall. Her dress was torn and she was tired, wet and injured. And here I was pushing her away. It broke my heart to look at her and see the pain in her eyes and on her face

  “Why? Why do you say you want me, Skye?” I roared at her, not having a clue what she would say.

  “Why?” she asked dumbfounded. I could see her struggle with an answer before she finally replied. “Because I love you! You keep me safe. My heart sings when I’m with you Xander, and I’ve never felt that before.”

  Keeping my face straight and my voice smooth, I added a jab. “That’s my job, Skye. You’re supposed to feel safe with me. That’s not love, not really.”