by Essen, JA
“I don’t know. I’m not sure that a runaway princess…” I slap my hand over my mouth. Oh, no!
His drooping eyes spring open fully and his mouth parts widely. “A princess? Whoa.”
Pulling the metal bowl from the heat, I add a small amount of the dried meat and continue stirring. I don’t immediately respond and keep my head angled down, attempting to not make eye contact. Several moments of silence pass and I hope that he’s going to let it go… for now.
“Ahem!” He clears his throat, not at all inconspicuously, and startles me.
“Okay, yes I’m a princess, but it’s not a big deal.”
“No big deal. Are you kidding me? It’s a huge deal. Surely they will have noticed that you have gone missing by now.”
I hadn’t even thought about it. “How many days has it been now?”
“Tomorrow morning will be day three since I brought you to the cave.”
“So that will be the fourth day since I left the kingdom. If I don’t return by tomorrow evening, they most likely will be out looking for me.”
I honestly have no interest in returning home. That witch of a stepmother that my father re-Joined with and their brat-spawn of a half-sister I now have, have given me no ‘longing for home’ desires. Maybe I SHOULD just run with Faudron. What reason DO I have to go back? The throne? I have no interest in one day becoming Queen just so some power hungry man can sit on our family’s throne.
“I don’t know that I can go with you. We have some amazing trackers, and they wouldn’t give up easily. That is, assuming you still want me to go with you now that you know the truth about me.”
“Of course, I still want you. More than anything I have ever desired.”
I take a long sip of the brew I have made and then offer it to Faudron.
“Sedative, huh?”
“Not overly powerful, but yes, it will help you sleep soundly.”
He takes a mouthful and swallows it, scowling as he does. “It tastes awful.”
“Don’t be a baby. It’s not that bad.” I laugh as he crinkles his nose, the taste obviously still lingering on his tongue.
Rising, he gathers the largest logs and applies them to the fire, stoking it so they will catch. “Guess we should rest then and see what the new day brings us.”
He lies down on the ground-covering, the light of the flames dancing off his skin and casting shadows in the dips of his muscles, amplifying their intensity. It isn’t two minutes before his breathing levels out, and I can hear the slight rumblings or snoring. Apparently, humans have less of a tolerance for Lumbule. I smirk.
I take one more sip and then toss the rest toward the back of the cave. Walking again to the entrance, I rinse the bowl in the rain that is letting up, and then return it to his bag. Faudron is on his back, right arm across his chest and the other splayed out across the cover.
I lie down on my side beside him and place my head on his strong arm. Even completely asleep, It’s almost as if there is some great force of attraction at work as he rolls and conforms his body to mine, his right arm possessing me and keeping me from harm. The feeling of security is like no other; I. Am. Safe.
*****
“Mother, what have I done? How have I let this situation take over so powerfully? How can I go on?”
“There, there ‘little fire,’ be calm. Your life is merely taking a new direction. Your sir-kuile may not be taking you in the direction you envisaged, but it’s never wrong. Everything happens for a reason, even if we are unsure what that reason may be.”
“But Mother, he’s not an elf.”
“The Great Elder wouldn’t have sent you down this path without a purpose. See it through, Edana.”
“What does that mean Mother...? Mother?”
I startle awake; Faudron’s arm still cast over me protectively. The light of day has still not broken through the shadows of the night, so I close my eyes once again and rest, peacefully.
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EXCERPT FROM SAVING ROBOR, Book 2 of the Changes on the Horizon Duet:
Chapter 4
Being the bride-to-be of the leader of Robor definitely has its perks. I’ve never had a handmaiden of my own; always been one, instead. Now I know why Edana was always so relaxed when I was around.
“Thank you Kalea. I don’t think my hair has ever felt this wonderful.”
“You’re very welcome.”
She holds a towel open for me as I step out of the bath. Wrapping myself up tightly, I take a seat in front of the full-length mirror. It was Taranis’ grandmother’s and is beautiful. The wooden frame has silver filigree inlaid throughout in delicate leaf patterns.
Kalea begins brushing my hair out and I can barely contain my excitement.
“So, are you going to spill the beans?”
“What are you talking about? There’s nothing to tell.” I look down at my fidgeting hands rather than at her face, glaring at me in the mirror.
“Oh, you’re such a terrible liar.” She pulls slightly on my hair.
“Hey! Not nice.” I whimper. Kalea has one eyebrow raised, smirking at me in the reflection of the mirror. “Alright, alright.”
I turn to face her and show her my finger which I’ve been careful to keep out of sight until now.
“Oh. My. Goodness! He finally asked you?”
All I can do is nod my head like a damn fool. She takes my hand in hers and looks over the dainty ring.
“It’s beautiful. It’s not like any design I’ve ever seen.”
“Taranis acquired it from a human craftsman while he was away. I can’t imagine anything more perfect to usher in this new time.” I clasp my hand over my mouth, knowing I have spoken out of turn.
“What is it?” Kalea asks.
“Well, it hasn’t been announced yet, and I’m not supposed to say anything until the announcement, but Princess Edana is not returning to rule over Robor.”
“So does that mean…?”
“Yes. Taranis will be leading, but not as King.” Her brow furrows in confusion. “From what I understand, he is being appointed as what is called a Governor, and will preside over Robor with a council. Decisions will be made by a group, rather than a single individual.”
Kalea just sits there, taking it all in.
“He and the council were formalizing everything today, and they will make the announcement tomorrow.”
“Okay, so enough about all of that. You and I have a wedding to plan. At least, I hope I’m going to be involved.” Kalea cuts her eyes back and forth.
“Hmm, I don’t know.” She chucks a pillow at me, missing wide. “Well, I hope your planning skills are better than your throwing.” We both giggle like school girls.
My mood quickly goes south though when I think about the one person that I really need here, and won’t be… Edana.
“What is it, Governess?” She winks at me.
I try for a smile and fail miserably. “It just hit me that the one person I really need here, won’t be here.”
“Edana?”
I nod my head. She puts her arms around me and gives me a much-needed hug. Wiping the tears away that are threatening to start pouring, I straighten myself and rise from my seat in front of the mirror. “Well, first things first, this Governess needs a court and a new room. There’s no way we are going to pull off a massive wedding by ourselves, and Taranis’ room is just too small for the three of us.” Shit! My hand flies to my mouth again.
Pointing to my belly, Kalea repeats me. “Three?”
“Yep!” I’m beaming.
“Remind me to never entrust any of my secrets with you, Breacca.”
We both double over in fits of laughter.
*****
“Where would you like this ma’am?” One of the guys Kalea got to help move my stuff into Taranis’ and my new room asks as he brings our bed in on one shoulder.
“Mm, how about over there.” I point to the wall with the window looking north out to the
royal forest.
“Scar’lyn sure is something else, isn’t he?” Kalea whispers to me as she nudges my arm with her elbow and winks as I turn to look at her.
“I guess.” I try to play it off, but she’s right. He’s absolutely gorgeous. His light blue hair is pulled back tightly and falls just past his shoulders. The tight muscles of his torso ripple under his golden skin as he moves across my vision and places the large, carved wooden headboard and footboard on the wall. Scar’lyn puts the cross beams and support beams together and then piles all of the cushioning and bedding on. Sweat is covering his skin, and as he places his hands on his hips and leans backward to crack his back, his pants shift downward and that sexy as sin Adonis ‘V’ shows prominently.
Kalea lets, “Oh my” slip out of her mouth loudly, and unabashedly. She is biting her bottom lip and twirling her hair around her fingers when he cuts his eyes at her. He stretches a little longer and when he rights himself, rolls his abs and winks at her before he starts to make his way out of the room.
“Um, Breacca, do you need anything else right now?” Kalea is already up and moving.
“Well, I was hoping…” I can’t even finish my sentence.
“Great! I’m going to see how low those muscles go and how much, um, wood I can handle.”
“Kalea!” She stops and turns, and I’m trying my best to look and sound indignant, but I break. “No heavy lifting. I need you back in one-piece tomorrow,” I grin, my face turning as red as my hair.
“Don’t worry. I’ve tackled trees that big before.”
Unbelievable.
I busy myself unpacking the chests the guys had brought in earlier and haven’t even made it through half of them when exhaustion strikes. I decide on a warm bath to relax, and while the water is being brought in, I take a seat by the mirror, and emotions start to hit me all at once as I think about Ithoran. My best friend, besides Edana, and her family were killed in the attack by Nathair and his army. They lived near the front of the village and had no warning; no time to get out.
My eyes well up with tears and I start to sob into my hands. One of the maidens bringing in water stops and puts her hand on my shoulder to check on me.
“Ma’am, are you alright?” She inquires.
Wiping the warm tears from my cheeks, I nod, “Yes, yes. I’m sorry, I’m just tired and thinking about Ithoran and friends I lost. It just all crept up and settled on me at once. Thank you.”
“Your bath is ready, ma’am. Is there anything else we can do for you?”
“No, thank you. I’ll be fine.”
They all hurry out of the room. I slip out of my gown and let it sink to the floor at the foot of the bed. Walking across the cool, stone floor, I pick up my pace. The tub is tall, and I have to use a step stool to access it, but as I sink down all the way to my neck in warm, soothing, lavender scented water, I’m grateful for it. Twisting my hair up on top of my head, I secure it and let the tears take over once again knowing that if I just let it all out, I will be better for it.
When the water has cooled, and the salty tears have finally abated, I wash my face off one last time and carefully exit the bath. The towel is hanging from a metal rack that is placed at the end of the tub in the edge of the coals, so it’s nice and warm as I wrap myself up.
Tomorrow will be a better day. I dry off completely, then slipping on a simple cotton gown, I let my hair down and crawl onto the pile of bedding, wiggling myself deep down into it. The light is fading outside, and it doesn’t take long before I slip away into oblivion.
The night sky seems to be burning. Yellows, oranges, and crimson fill the spaces between the inky clouds. Then there is something, something moving quickly through the air, casting shadows on the clouds.
Screams. Not of fear, but of pain. So much pain. So many voices are calling out.
“Someone, help us! Help…”
Chapter 5
“Breacca, wake up.” I try being gentle at first, but she is thrashing about.
“Breacca. Wake. Up.” I’m more forceful with my words, and I have her by both arms.
Finally, she succumbs to my summons and snaps out of her nightmare.
“Baby, what is it? What’s wrong?”
The tears are streaming down her cheeks, and she looks so completely shaken. I’ve never seen her this distraught before; not even after the destruction of Ithoran.
“Their screams. Fire. Something in shadows overhead.”
She’s having a hard time breathing and trying to make sense.
“I’ve got you. Everything is alright,” I assure her as I pull her into my lap and swallow her up in my arms. “Just breathe and try to calm down. Nothing is going to hurt you.”
Her entire body is shaking, and her breaths are short and shallow as she wipes away the tears.
“It wasn’t me. The screams weren’t mine.” She tries to make sense of the dream. “I don’t even know where it was. I didn’t recognize the area. There were mountains with caves, lots of caves, and they seemed to just explode up from the ground. The sky was eerily orange, like it was on fire. And the screams; God Taranis, it was children. They were in so much pain.”
Her tears begin to fall again, and she buries her face into my neck. I feel her hot sobs on my skin and all I can do is hold her, letting her know that I am here to protect her. I stroke my hand through her hair, and slowly I feel her rigid body begin to slacken against mine.
I lean back and slide back down into the bed; Breacca still entwined against my body. Her crying has stopped, and breathing has leveled out. I make one-hundred percent sure she is sound asleep before I allow myself to relax. It’s still the wee hours of the morning, but I doubt I will get much more restful sleep tonight.
*****
Breacca is twitting around the room, straightening this and rearranging that when I finally wake.
“Good morning, sleepy.” She leans in and gives me a quick peck on the lips.
“What time is it?” I rub my eyes and blink several times, trying to clear the cobwebs.
“Just about seven,” she responds, moving an empty trunk over to a corner of the room.
“How long have you been up?”
“About an hour I guess.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
She sits down on the bed next to me and taking my hand, presses it to her lips. “Thank you for last night. I was so terrified. I’m still not sure what it was all about, but you made me feel so safe. I slept so completely peacefully after, and just wanted to let you rest as long as you needed.”
“You are too good to me.” I take her face in my hands and pull it to mine, bringing her mouth to within a whisper of my own, “Thank you.” Softly, she presses her lips to mine, and we stay there for what seems like an eternity.
When we finally release, she queries, “What time are you meeting Ellyn and Carac today?”
“Sometime in the mid afternoon. Why?”
“No reason. Just making conversation.”
She is back to shuffling about, unpacking and arranging our new room.
“Okay. You are way too active. What’s really going on?”
She stops, turns to me, and her shoulders slump. “I’m trying to keep myself busy and my mind off of something.”
“Spill it.” I raise an eyebrow at her, and she knows I’m not going to let up until I get what I want.
Leaning up against a wardrobe, she fiddles with some knick-knack in her hands and starts without looking at me, “It’s just with all that is happening, the rebuilding, you being tasked with leading Robor, the baby coming, the wedding; I don’t have the one person here that I need.”
“You mean Edana.”
She nods her head. “I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the wedding without her here. I just knew that when that day finally came for me, even though I was her handmaiden, she would be there for me.” She shrugs her shoulders.
“I know it isn’t the same, but you do have Kalea.”
<
br /> “I know. And she’s being really great and all, but, well…”
“She’s not Edana.” I finish her sentence for her, and she nods. “Well, is there anything I can do for you right now?”
She finally looks up through her thick eyelashes, and a mischievous grin creeps across her face.
“Ooooh, no. Not this morning, you horny she-devil. There’s way too much that has to be done before the humans arrive.”
Breacca puts on her best pouty face. “But, you asked.”
“I just thought us guys were bad. This pregnancy has made you so fucking horny; I can’t keep up. You. Are. Insatiable.”
She starts walking toward me and slips the shoulders of her gown off, allowing the flowy material to fall to the ground. “Oops. It just fell off.”
Be strong Taranis. Focus. I turn away trying to seem disinterested, but the hard-on, pointing straight down my leg, straining against my pants is painful. Reaching across the bed, I grab for my shirt, but no sooner do I straighten up, then I feel her breasts press against my back, nipples cold and hard.
Her hand slides into my pants, grabs my dick forcefully, and she bites my shoulder blade. “Hey!” I yelp in mild pain. She is already pumping away and despite my protests, I know that she’s going to get her way.
As I turn around, she doesn’t miss a beat and her hand moves with me. She’s already undoing my laces with her free hand, and she nips at my chest, breaking the skin and drawing a trickle of blood.
“You wanna play rough?” Grabbing a handful of her orangey-red hair, I pull her head back, leaving her long neck bare for my mouth to attack. Dragging my teeth along the strained muscle running from just behind her ear to her neck, I send up a trail of red, heated skin in my wake. She growls at me as I sink my teeth into the top of her shoulder, leaving a perfect indention of both tops and lowers.
Both of her hands are pumping furiously away on my length, swirling up and down as they do. I put both of my hands on her shoulders and press her to her knees. Once again grasping a handful of that coppery hair, I command, “Open,” as I thrust the head of my cock against her lips, “and no teeth.”
