Finding Eden

by Camilla Beavers

  He breaths my name like a sigh of relief. I smile at him and attempt to speak just as my sense of touch comes back. Instead of words, a blood curdling scream rips through my throat. My sense of taste comes back before I black out and the coppery taste of blood enters my mouth.

  When I come to, I'm curled up on my side and I can hear Sahariel speaking; having a conversation with someone. But I don't know with whom. They sound so faint and far away. I don't know who he is talking to, and I can only make out part of what the other man says and only bits of what Sahariel says.

  I try to sit up but I can't. I give up and flop back onto the bed. Footsteps echo off the walls and I look over and see Marius walking up to me.

  “You're back.”

  “I came back as soon as I heard your highness.”

  His sapphire eyes look at me with concern and I feel tingly, but as I smile I can't help but feel guilty. Having been sort of reunited with Sahariel makes all of this new stuff with Marius a little more complicated.

  “How's the fifth division?” I ask.

  Marius sighs and rolls his eyes.

  “As good as they can be, I suppose,” he says, “I'm just glad you're feeling better. Say, how about when you're able to get out of here I treat you to another one of my amazing meals?”

  I smile at him, my eyes looking into his blue ones. I hear footsteps behind him and I look over his shoulder. My smile fades. Sahariel stops as soon as he sees Marius leaning against my bed. That same weird look crosses his face; anger mixed with something else. Damn colors.

  Marius looks over his shoulder. His body stiffens. Pink drains from him and orange self-control takes over, laced with green.

  “Sahariel.”

  “Marius.”

  I watch as Marius' shoulders slump and a mixture of colors take him over. He turns around and looks down at me. The pink, which is still there, changes shades and there's still that friendly yellow along with that ever steady loyal blue. Me smiles softly at me, squeezes my hand and quietly leaves the room.

  Sahariel watches Marius leave and as soon as the door is closed he is by my side.

  “Eden,” as soon as he says my name in my ear, he's the only one I want to hear.

  “Hi,” I say.

  “How are you?”

  “I've been better.” I say.

  There's an awful awkward silence that spans for what feels like hours. It's only seconds later Sahariel clears his throat and glances away.

  “I was really worried about you,” he says.

  “I'm sorry.”

  He stares at me for a long time, his gaze intense, his gold eyes swirling with emotions.

  “God,” he says. “I can't believe you did something that stupid.”

  “I'm sorry,” I know exactly what he's talking about. “I ordered him to.”

  “That's no excuse,” he says, “you ordered me away before, but I never left you. I never would.”

  He looks down at me and all the anger, frustration and worry is replaced by compassion, care and love.

  “I don't think I could ever leave you,” he says.

  “Sahariel,” I say.

  He drags a chair up next to the bed and pulls my hand into his as he sits down. He leans down closer to my face and my heart beats faster. My breath hitches and my hand tingles in his. His forehead touches mine. My heart feels like it's going to jump from my chest.

  “I'm never going to leave you again,” he says softly, “no matter what's happening, I will never leave you. I will always be there for you. I will always wait for you.”

  I'm speechless. I don't know what to say. I don't know if I can say anything. It's like I'm in the cafeteria again seeing him for the first time. He's just so amazing. The seeds of hope spring to life, spiraling up, blooming and attracting all those damn butterflies. And all I can do is look at him.

  “Now get some sleep,” he says, “you need to rest.”

  Sahariel gets up, slowly letting go of my hand and he walks away.

  “Wait,” I sit back up in bed, “how's Tobi? How is everyone else?”

  Sahariel chuckles.

  “Surprisingly, everyone is fine. The boy is fine,” he says, “in fact he's been in here every say to check on you. He's young, but he really cares about you. Now, get to sleep”

  He gives me a small smile as he walks out of the hospital room. I smile and my eyes close and I drift off to a comfortable sleep.

  I wake the next morning to a hand squeezing mine. I recognize that hand. It's Sahariel's. I open my eyes and smile up at him.

  “Hey,” he says, “how are you?”

  “I'm alright,” I say, “a little tired, but better than yesterday.”

  “That's good,” Sahariel smiles down at me, but his eyes are sad.

  “You're not planning on replacing yourself again, are you?”

  Sahariel looks away from me and glares at the man leaning against the wall. Kal flinches. If looks could kill then he'd be dead on the ground.

  “No,” he turns back to me, “I don't think I can do that. It seems that whenever I'm away from you bad things happen. It's like you're a magnet for bad things.”

  “Well, I'm glad you're going to stay.”

  I smile up at him and his smile widens and it finally reaches his eyes.

  “Anyway,” Sahariel says, “I have some news. You've been out of it for a little while and during that time I've put together a team to try and find out who did this to you.”

  “So you knew it was Illidan Sornova?”

  “Well, no,” he says, “but it's good to know his name. We were able to find trace evidence of him and my team is in the process of tracking him down. The only thing I can't really figure out is why he would attack you.”

  “I think he told me, but I can't figure it out even with what he told me.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said his family was once noble, but that my grandfather took that away from them.”

  “Well,” Sahariel says, “that sounds about right. If your father did happen to do that then no one would know him. I know a lot of names, both young and old, and I've never heard of that name. Though we might be able to find some clues in the records room. It holds family records and family trees.”

  “Then that's where we will go,” I say.

  “No. There won't be a 'we' going anywhere for a while. Bed rest for you, doctors’ orders.”

  “Fine, but you're not allowed to go without me. My orders.”

  He sighs.

  “Fine,” he says, “just promise me you'll wait until you're back to one-hundred per cent, alright?”

  “Alright,” I say, “but I'm really bored. Isn't there something I can do other than lay here and sleep?”

  “Well, you have missed some of your lessons.”

  I look at him, confused for a moment, but then it dawns on me and a disgusted look crosses my face.

  “Yep,” he says, “bed rest equals perfect time for studying.”

  “Being poisoned would have been better,” I say under my breath.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  “You know I'm not good with foreign languages, right?” I say to Sahariel after shooing Tobi from the room. He had come every day to check up on him, and although I do enjoy him being around, I don't want the distraction when I'm trying to study.

  “Is that so?” Sahariel asks me.

  “Yep,” I say, “couldn't even grasp Spanish when I took it at school a few years ago.”

  “Well, this is a little different than Spanish I think.”

  Even though we were apart for over a month, it only took a week for us to get back onto the same old, bickering page.

  “Have you ever learned Spanish?” I ask.

  “Yes.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep.”

  “Something tells me you know more than just Spanish.”

  Sahariel laughs.

  “Ye
ah,” he says, “I know French, Italian, German, Greek and Latin in addition to English, Spanish and Elfish.”

  I stare at him and realize my mouth is hanging open. I close it and feel my teeth snap together. Sahariel chuckles.

  “Surprised?”

  “A little, yeah,” I say, “How did you manager to learn so many?”

  “When you've lived as long as I have, you find things to do in your spare time.”

  “Wow,” I say, shaking my head and go back to the books in my lap.

  “How are you feeling today, your Highness?”

  I look up and see the now familiar face of Damien, the court physician.

  “Still bored,” I say.

  He laughs.

  “I meant as far as your physical state, not your mental one.”

  “I'm feeling a lot better. Just a little anxious to get out of here is all.”

  “Well,” Damien says, “today is your lucky day. After looking over your chart I've deemed you fit to leave.”

  “Oh my god,” I say, “are you serious?”

  “I could be joking if you'd really like to stay, but I highly doubt you'd want to.”

  Damien leaves after a few more moments, then he's gone and I'm so giddy I'm almost unable to wait for my actual clothes before I leave.

  “Excited, huh?” Sahariel asks.

  “Yep.”

  I smile at him and he mirrors my megawatt smile and my heart flutters. I'm so caught up in it that I barely notice that someone has brought me a change of clothes.

  “Do you want to spend more time in here?” Sahariel asks, “I'm fine with that. At least I'll know where you are.”

  I snort and grab the clothes that are on the bed next to me. I stand and quickly change, barely noticing that Sahariel has stepped into the hallway and more amazed that I'm finally able to stretch and stand.

  I step out into the hallway and Sahariel is leaning against the wall. He's waiting for me and I feel like I've struck gold. It's how I feel every time I see him when he's waiting for me. I feel like I've struck gold simply because he is waiting for me.

  “I'm curious,” I say, “you said you wouldn't mind me being in the hospital because then you'd always know where I am. Can't you sense me no matter what?”

  “Most of the time, yes,” he says, “though it's not something I want everyone to know.”

  “So,” I pause, “when can't you?”

  He sighs. We've reached my room and he pulls me in and closes the door quickly.

  “The only place I cannot sense you is in here.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” he says, “If you're in here and I'm outside, I cannot sense you at all.”

  “Why's that?”

  “Well, there's a barrier in the walls that nullifies magic. This is the only room in the whole castle that is like this.”

  “Why only one room?”

  “Well,” he says, “it's your room, and your emotions affect others. I guess it's for privacy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” he's embarrassed, “you're the Queen, and most of the time a Queen will have a King? And when couples are together they do certain things?”

  He looks at me and I can see a little bit of pink creep up onto his face. After a few moments it finally dawns on me. My face heats up and my eyes immediately fall to my feet.

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah,” he says.

  “Well, that wasn't embarrassing at all.”

  “You weren't ever curious as to why I always followed you in here?”

  “Actually,” I say, “no, I haven't.”

  “Really?”

  “Nope.”

  “How come?”

  “I don't know,” I say, “it's nice though. I like it. It just feels right I guess.”

  Sahariel looks at me, smiling, and I smile back. His eyes turning into liquid gold.

  “Okay, time to go to the records room,” Sahariel says.

  “Right.”

  We leave my room together and I'm just happy that he's the one guarding me again. The other elves in the castle see me and I can see their relief, their happiness that I'm alright. We're stopped many times so well wishes can be said all the while Sahariel keeps a protective stance at my side. Those who may have thought of doing something to be definitely won't do it now. Weird how it takes a near death experience to make you feel accepted, to make you feel like you're not alone.

  “I'm so happy you're alright,” a woman says to me, stopping me like all the others had.

  “Thank you.”

  “And now that you're well again you can protect us now, right?”

  I had almost forgotten. We're at war. Luckily I'm able to cover the slight look of confusion that comes over my face before she can see it.

  “I will protect everyone with all that I have.” I say.

  The woman seems satisfied with this answer, bows and quickly walks away from me. As she rounds the corner, it's just me and Sahariel in the hallway, and I turn my horrified expression toward him.

  “Sahariel,” I say, “I almost forgot.”

  “It's okay,” he says, “There hasn't been any movement since the day you were attacked. You needn't worry about that sort of thing right now. For the moment, let's do what we originally set out to do and find this Illidan Sornova in the record books.”

  “Alright,” I say.

  “Follow me.”

  He walks ahead of me and I try my best to keep up. Under normal circumstances it wouldn't be proper for Sahariel to walk ahead of me like this, but no one was around, and it feels more reassuring than anything. His strides are long and powerful and before I know it we are in front of the library doors.

  “I thought we were going to the records room?” I ask.

  “We are,” he says, “the records room is inside the library. A lot of people don't know this. All of the records are kept in a special vaulted room, and only authorized personnel are allowed inside.”

  “And who are those people?”

  We walk into the library, and the bookkeeper is nowhere to be seen. Sahariel walks quickly and quietly, looking around like he's trying to be sneaky, like he doesn't want to be seen. He grabs my hand and pulls me behind him. I'm taken by surprise. I curl my fingers around his and smile to myself.

  “Alright, here it is.”

  We're standing in front of a nondescript door. The only thing that makes it look different is the fact that it has no handle. From the looks of it, it doesn't look like it can be opened.

  “Uh,” I stare at the door, “how?”

  Sahariel looks around quickly and moves my hand to the door. He opens my hand and places my palm flat on the surface of the door. My hand tingles and I feel gentle warmth beneath my palm. Although no light actually comes from the door, I can see a glow from my hand as latches open and the door creeks open a few inches.

  “Whoa,” I say.

  Sahariel nudges the door open and we both walk inside. The door swings shut silently and automatically behind us. The lights come on automatically as well, gradually filling the room with light.

  There's a small table in the corner and several small wooden bookcases fill the room randomly. A thick layer of dust coats the shelves and the few books that are on them. The books are hard, leather bound volumes that seem like they haven't been looked at or touched in a very long time.

  “Alright,” Sahariel says, “here we go. Let's start looking.”

  “What should we be looking for?”

  “I don't know,” he admits, “but what we're looking for should be in one of these books.”

  Then we begin the search. I grab a book off the shelf and as I open it, the spine cracks and breaks. I cringe and hope that Sahariel doesn't see what I just did. But as soon as I open it, I know that this isn't the record book that I need to find. It's almost like the book is saying, 'I'm not it, keep looking.' I'm drawn to a shelf in the back corner, farthest away from the door and Sahariel. There are only a few
volumes on it, but only one of them has a pull. My hand finds the book and my fingers open it.

  I don't know how old the book is, but the pages in it feel leathery and the ink is faded. Each page has names on it, and each page is connected so the family tree within goes on and on and branches out almost infinitely. I turn the pages, the ink progressively becoming less and less faded. Then I get to the last written on page.

  The ink looks almost new, the page holds my grandfather's name, my mothers, my fathers, and even mine. But, unlike the other pages, almost all the ink is uniformly faded. It looks like everyone before my grandfather was written at the same time; like the page was rewritten. But that can't be right. Who would rewrite a records book?

  “Find something?”

  Sahariel walks up behind me and places his hand on my lower back. He leans down near my shoulder and I can feel his breath on my neck. Goosebumps start up on my neck. I hold the book up so he's able to read it over my shoulder.

  “This is the record book for my family,” I say to him.

  “Looks like it is.”

  “But something about it isn't right,” I say.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, look at the ink,” I point at the page, “you'd think that my grandfather's name wouldn't be as faded as my great grandfather's, but it is. It looks like the page was rewritten.”

  “Hmm, that is odd.”

  We stare at the page for a few seconds. Sahariel's head turns quickly, his gaze narrows and then his fingers are wrapped around my arm and he's pulling me behind a bookshelf.

  “Shh,” he whispers as a begin to protest.

  A few seconds later I hear the voices from the other side of the door. I hear the familiar sound of the door slowly unlocking and creeping open. I clutch my records book to my chest as I hear the uninvited guests pad into the room. They don't speak, and I can't quite figure out why it's so important not to be found, but I just know we shouldn't.

  I hear whispers, but I can't make out what these men are saying. Their voices are low and rough sounding, like they're arguing but are afraid of being heard. I hold my family records close to my chest, and that's when I realize how small a space I am in, and how close I really am to Sahariel.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  I'm wedged between a shelf and a wall, and my back is against the cool brick. But it's not the fact that I'm wedged in and that there are would-be bad men in the room that's making my heart pound. It's the fact that Sahariel is standing so close to me that has my heart thundering in my chest.