Chapter 7: Caught

Evanara

     I ran out, embracing my exposed flesh. My corset was visible and the swell of my breasts were exposed.

  "Nara! Wait Nara!" Sir Gilbert shouted as he ran after me. The passersby on the street stopped and watched as I ran. It was not everyday you saw a woman in a shredded gown running on the streets of Adarlan.

  "Nara...please!" Sir Gilbert shouted somewhere behind me. I stopped dead in  my tracks and turned around.

He panted on reaching my side. He handed me a woolen sweater and my hands trembled as I took it from him and put it on to cover my nakedness.

   "Words can not describe  how sorry I am for what Adrienne has done. If there is anyway I can  atone for his mistakes, please let me know." He said with joined hands.

I placed my hands on his and dropped it.

   "There is one thing though..." I was saying before the sound of bells filled the air and my fear grew. The Keepers. They knew and they'd found me.

   "I don't know what will happen to me now,Sir Gilbert. Take care of Kevan. Let him know how much I love him.  Take care of him for me." I said and took to my heels,trusting Sir Gilbert would help me. He was a good man and I would miss him.

   I ran for the forest for I knew the chances of being caught in the forest was slim.

  I looked over my shoulder and I noticed men in black chasing after me. My heart started racing but i knew i had to keep going. For my child's sake at least. Why not burn the Emperor alive instead of me? If they could smell a sin, they should've known that I was not a sinner.

I had done nothing but worked to earn some money for Kevan.

   Oh Kevan. Would I get to see his brown beautiful eyes again? I got unseen energy from thinking about Kevan and I increased my pace. Branches constantly attacked me and thorns dug into my feet. I winced as I ran but I could not stop.

   I could see tall trees and canopies and I knew I was in the forest. I ran for what seemed like eternity until I got into the darker and thicker path of the forest.

   A brown wood appeared from nowhere and I tripped. To prevent myself from landing on my stomach,I embraced my belly and I fell on my face with my stomach protected.

  My arm was surely bruised because it stung painfully. I suddenly heard rustling of leaves and I knew they were close by. My breath came in spurts,hot and nervous. I picked myself up from the muddy ground and resumed running. I stepped on something slimy and then there was a sharp pain on the heel of my foot. I looked back but I did not stop. There was a rustle in the leaves but I did not have enough time to check back.

   Using the thickness of the forest to my advantage, I ran sideways. I would confuse then outrun them first before crossing the forests between Astos and Inavern. They would surely think I was going ahead. The diversion would be enough to get them out of my way. It would be easy since I had put enough distance between myself and the men.

   I embraced myself as the air grew chilly. At some point,I felt extremely dizzy. It was probably because of my pregnancy. The throbbing pain in my legs increased until I could not run any longer. I could barely see where I was going as the forest had grown even darker. Then moonlight penetrated the canopies and i used it to see. Night had fallen. How long had I been running? My stomach churned.

  I sat in front of a tree and leaned my back against it. I brought my leg to the spot the light reflected and looked down at my leg as i strained to see the source of the pain. My eyes adjusted after much effort and I was able to see two bloody dots on my leg. Snake? That explained my dizziness. I tore the hem of my dress and tied it round my leg so it would not keep spreading. It would not do much but it sure was something.

    The rustling of leaves had stopped and the forest would have been silent but for the owl that cried from a distance.

   I was alone. Completely alone. I felt a movement in my belly and my eyes watered. On second thoughts,I was not.

I placed my hand on my stomach as I felt the urge to speak to it.

   "I will fight the entire world to protect you. I will not let you suffer like myself. This world is not a good place for us. This world does not deserve us. " I said as tears dropped on my hands.

  I cried pondering about how my life had gotten ruined in just one day. Perhaps if I had stayed home,nothing would have happened to me. Maybe it was my fault. My self respect put me here. Heavens please let me live. Heavens please let me live. Heavens please let me live... I prayed silently and I drifted off to sleep.

   A sudden sting on my neck made my eyes snap open. The light in the forest made me wince. It was morning already? It felt like it was only a few minutes ago I closed my eyes.

A movement at my side made my head snap sideways. I gasped. They were all looking at me. I had been found. As I looked up at them,my vision blurred. Which was it? The snake bite? The pregnancy? What made my neck hurt so much?

   I touched the aching part and there was something sharp there. I pulled it out something sharp and focused my eyes on it as my sight had weakened and so had I. It looked like a needle. I looked up to see their faces but I failed as I fell into a dark abyss that called to me.

  ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Kevan

   I opened the big beautiful book I was supposed to read. It was a history book on supernatural beings.

  I looked at the drawings on the book and read the things under it. I even laughed at some while I read. It seemed surreal.

  "Can I join you?" So engrossed in the book I did not notice Layna standing there. How long had she been there? It had been weeks and we had gotten acquainted with each other. She gave me her books and  in return I would teach her the things she did not understand. After all,I was the brightest student in the Academy now and Nara had a lot to do with it. I loved her very much. I was missing her a lot too.

   "Can I?" She asked again,bringing me out of my thoughts.

"You need not ask,beautiful." I smirked as I watched her turn red. She sat on the bench beside me and the air around me smelt like her. Every time she was close to me like this, I found it very hard to concentrate and that was exactly why I had run to the library today. Usually, I would read in the classroom along with her but it was too comfortable and I was beginning to like having her around.

  She leaned in slightly and flipped the page over. In doing so,her fingers brushed me,igniting strange feelings in me. I looked at her despite the warning my brain gave me not to.

Her eyes was fixed on the page and they twinkled with amusement. She tucked her hair behind her ear and licked her lips unconsciously. Heavens...what was happening to me?

   She then burst into laughter ,her eyes suddenly landing on mine. I laughed like I understood why she was laughing. I looked away from her and glued my eyes to the book. When I saw why she laughed,my smile dropped from my lips.

   It was a picture of a woman with sharp pointy ears like Nara's. My eyes wandered to the top of the page where the name was. It spelt out three letters. Elf.

   "What is it Kevan?" Layna asked and met gaze met hers. "It is just...my sister...she...her ears are just as pointy..."I said,totally forgetting i was not supposed to tell any one that and when I remembered, it was too late.

   " That is not possible Kevan. Elves are non existent. They would say extinct. Plus if she had those...there is no way she would still be alive. She would have been killed...except she walks around covering her ears with a scarf or something. "She said jokingly but on hearing the scarf part,I swallowed hard.

   I looked back at the book and read the note under it.

   

  

   Elves are faerie creatures are considered dangerous because of their strange and powerful abilities. It is not necessarily true that an elf is evil but once in the face of extremely grave danger,their powers surface.With power comes great change....

     "Sir Kevan." Someone called,interrupting my reading and I noticed the Academy's messenger standing by the bench. I frowned. What did he want?

  " You have a visitor." He said and I smiled. Heavens heard me. It must be Nara.

I dropped the book on Laynas laps and sped to the door.

   Stepping out I looked around. "Nara?" I called out.

  "Kevan."

I turned slightly as I was startled by the manly voice. What happened to her voice? Was she alright?

   Sir Gilbert came to view and I looked behind him. "Where is Nara?" I said,still looking around.

   "She could not come. She is...sick. Down with cold." He said but there was something in his eyes that told me something was wrong with Nara.

   "You are not lying to me,are you?" I arced a brow.

   He smiled at me. A smile that did not. reach his eyes.

    "No Kevan. I am not lying. She sent me here to check on you. To make sure you were well. She sent this as well." He said,extending a small satin bag that smelt like cakes.

   I grabbed it from him and from the texture of it,i was right.

   "Tell her to visit soon. I miss her. Tell her we have something to talk about as well. Tell her to bring loads of cakes too when she is coming."

I said and Sir Gilbert smiled. "Sure Kevan. I will be in  my way now." He said and turned too quickly,arousing my suspicion.

  I did not stop him though. I walked back to the library with a long face,holding the cakes.

"Who  was it?" Layna asked. I sat down.I did not reply as when I was worried about Nara,my irritability was always at its peak.

   "Kevan?"she said and I stayed silent and so did the library. We were alone in here and I felt weird about it. I stood suddenly,startling her.

"I am sorry,your Highness but I will be retiring to my room now. If you would please excuse me. "I said and turned around to go.

   " No. You are not excused Kevan. Until you tell me what is wrong." She said and the bench creaked behind me. I assumed she had stood up from it. I watched her with the corner of my eye.

   "Leave it ,Princess. It is not of your concern." I said,I knew fully well I sounded harsh but I could not help it.

  She took a few quick steps and stepped on her gown. Anticipating a fall, I turned quickly to stop her from falling but i miscalculated. She was directly behind me and rather than the gown tripping her,my foot tripped us both. I landed on my back and her,on my chest.

   I felt her heart beat increase against my chest. Mine was as fast. Her hair disturbed the view and I tucked it behind her ear gently.

I had no idea what I was doing but I was always one to follow my instincts.

   She leaned in,her eyes moving from mine to my lips. Something in my head screamed no as my gaze shifted to her lips too. I leaned in and when I felt her breath against my skin.

I swallowed, hard, leaning in. Gods, she was beautiful. So beautiful.

However, I couldn't bring myself to kiss her. I would be a fool to start what cannot be finished. Taking aside the fact that I was a peasant, there was also the burning hate between our families. The hate that left myself and Nara sleeping in an almost collapsed hut.

   I rolled atop her to my feet and I curtsied.

"Forgive  me your Highness." I said quickly and walked briskly upstairs to my room,leaving her there on the ground. It was not the right thing to do to a lady but it was best for us.