Chapter 6 - Awake.

Kyan's POV:

I stretched in the chair and tried to wake myself up after nodding off. I scooched over closer toward her and took her soft hand in mine, once again watching her sleep, wondering what she was dreaming of. All night she had been shaking, sweating, her hands were flinching and her breaths were erratic. I tried to speak to her, I tried to calm her, but it was only the last hour that she had finally calmed down and was resting silently.

"Please wake up Ellie!". I sighed as I looked at her soft innocent face.

Her eyes suddenly flashed open, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling as if in shock at her surroundings.

"Ellie!" I spoke softly as I quickly stood and hovered over her so she could see she wasn't alone. Her eyes darted to me, but still wide with fright. In one quick second, her hand slammed against my neck as her fingers wrapped around and began to squeeze, her face contorted into one of anger.

"Ellie!" I choked against her grip as I pried away her fingers and pinned both of her arms down. She started flinging and bucking against me, screaming and shouting as she flipped in a rage.

"ELLIE! ELLIE, CALM DOWN, IT'S ME, IT'S KYAN! ELLIE PLEASE!" I called to her, but still her legs and arms were trying to fight out of my hold.

Father dashed into the room and saw Ellie trying to fight against me. "Ellie, Ellie dear, it's ok!"

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" She screamed as one of her kicks landed a blow in my stomach. It made me flinch in shock, but I still tried to maintain my hold on her.

"ELLIE, IT'S TALON AND KYAN, REMEMBER WHO WE ARE!" He tried to reassure her.

"STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" She roared out and her whole face was consumed with rage.

"Let her go!" Father said to me.

"What? She's clearly confused, father. What if she does something wreckless, what if she hurts herself?"

"Let her go! She doesn't know where she is". He said as he quickly stood in front of her bedroom door and locked it. "Let her go and open the drapes".

I reluctantly did as he said. On the count of two, I quickly removed my hands and opened the drapes behind her bed. She jumped up from her bed and ran to the other side of her room as she looked at us, seething through her teeth, panting and shaking.

"Ellie!" I said calmly as her eyes darted from me and father as if she was completely unaware of who we were. "It's ok. You're back with us Ellie".

She began to rapidly blink, catching her breath and her chest heaved. She fell against the wall and tried to steady herself , her eyes now looking all around and I could see the confusion slowly start to fade.

"Who are you?" She asked breathlessly as she looked at father.

"I'm lord Talon, Ellie, do you not remember me?"

"I do! But I saw you! Are you dead? Are we all dead?"

"No Ellie! We're alive". He said calmly, daring to take a step toward her.

Her eyes flashed at me and I could see them begin to water. "You! You left me! You left me there all alone". Her voice shook.

"Left you where Ellie, I've been right here. Every day, every night! I haven't left your side!"

"But I saw you! You ran away and left me there!"

"Ellie, where did I leave you?" I asked, shaking my head in confusion.

"The... the forest! it was coming for me and you ran, you ran away from me!"

"No, Ellie! I wouldn't leave you!" I knew then, that whilst I had been sitting and sleeping at her bedside, facing my own worries. Ellie had been fighting demons of her own. I took a small step toward her and looked her right in her watery anxious eyes. "Remember.... remember that day in the forest, when we first met? I came to you... I didn't leave you. I took you home... remember? do you remember that Ellie? Please, try and remember that day!" I begged her.

She nodded as the memory came back. "Yes... I ... I remember... But, but there was something there and I saw you run away!" She looked back at my father, his brows burrowing with worry. "And you! You were dying... You had an arrow in your chest, I saw it! Then you left me too!"

"Ellie..." Father said as he reached out his hand to her. "Do you trust me as much as I trust you?" He asked, but she didn't move, just looked at him, unsure of either of us. "My dear. No arrow got to me, because you stopped it. You jumped in the way and it hit you instead of me. I'm alive! I'm alive and well because of you!"

She slunk back against the wall and slid down to the floor, resting her head and arms across her knees as she tucked them in against her chest. "The attack?.... I remember that too now. But... but where have I been? I saw so much blood and death... my mum, I watched them kill her!"

I decided to take the risk of her freaking out again and walked over to her. To see her like this, I couldn't just stand across the room and just watch her torment. I sat next to her against the wall, leaving only a small gap in between us. "Ellie, you nearly died when the arrow hit you and maybe... maybe with all the morphine and other medication you were on, while you were recovering, you must have been hallucinating. I could see you were shaking, but I didn't know why".

"But it felt so real. I saw it all... I saw them kill her, I saw you and Talon, even my father was there. But I was just... frozen, I couldn't do anything. Something was after me, something wanted me dead".

I put my arm around her and let her body fall onto mine as I sighed. "I'm sorry Ellie. I shouldn't have held onto you when you woke up. I just didn't know why you were so frightened".

She didn't reply, just hid her face in her hands. But I was fine with that, just finally having her awake and next to me was all I wanted. To know that her sacrifice didn't ultimately end her life before she even fully had one. I hated, though, the fact that she had woken up to a life that still wasn't safe and we'd have to tell her that we suspected some hunters were still out there.

I heard father shuffling as he leaned on his cane. I looked up at him as he gave me a quick nod, then quietly unlocked the door and left the room, leaving it ajar. I kept hold of Ellie as I let her body relax and her breathing soften. We just sat there together in silence as she tried to recall what was real and what was her dreams.