ELORA
I froze, my heart threatening to burst when the king got up from his bed and walked in my direction, a sudden night breeze bringing the strong smell of alcohol to me.
He’d been drinking?
Oh no.
I couldn’t have come at a worst time.
His eyes had apparently glazed over with sleep because even when he reached me, he kept calling me Erika.
He bent down, scooping me up before I even noticed him move and carried me bridal style onto his bed. It all happened in quick succession that I didn’t know when I landed in his bed. He lay down and covered us with his large blanket.
How did I go from tossing on my bed to laying in the king’s bed in a few minutes?
“Why do you smell so much like her…?” He mumbled.
He flung his hand across my small body and pulled me closer to him, wrapping his large arms around me as he tucked my back to his front, spooning me.
My heart thumped faster as I imagined how angry he would be when he woke up and realized I was the one in his bed.
His breath fanned out against my ear and I shivered at the pleasurable sensations that shot through me. The heat he radiated rid me of all the scary thoughts I had been holding on to. His usual woodsy outdoorsy scent was stronger than ever although punctuated with the alcohol on his breath. I was transported to my favorite place in the castle; the Red River.
His grip on me became tighter as if sensing me trying to escape. I wiggled again trying to move out of his hold. If he were to discover me here… Oh I couldn’t imagine how angry he would be.
What was I to do?
I pushed at the hand he had wrapped around me, trying to carefully free myself but it did nothing but make him snuggle even closer.
I was trapped.
I stopped fighting when he whimpered in my ear, deciding to enjoy his warmth while it lasted. Tomorrow would always take care of itself so I closed my eyes thinking of Red River and my visit to my siblings the next day, slipping further and further into sleep.
******
“Elora!”
I opened my eyes and looked out of my room to see Olivia screaming. Fire was raining in an endless stream from a blood red sky.
“Olivia?” I asked confused sitting up.
Two guards held on to her arm, pulling her and threatening to snap her neck if she didn’t quit screaming. She was dressed in a blood-stained nightdress and half of her hair was shaved off.
“Olivia! I’m coming!” I yelled jumping off my now too large bed, turning around to see flames leap from the large furnace at one end of the room unto the soft fur carpet, consuming it in quick bursts of smoke.
“Elora!” I heard another scream outside spurring me to move.
That was Bennet!
I looked over the balcony and just like Olivia, my brothers were being pressed into the floor by their necks. The guards looked like rabid wolves calling out for blood.
“Let them go!” I screamed just as the balcony seemed to move higher creating even more distance between me and my siblings.
Oh what was I to do?
I looked around confused as the flames had escaped the room slowly creeping into the balcony.
Just as I’d made the decision to jump, someone pulled my dress stopping me.
“Elora.”
I turned back to see Kain Kurt with a sinister smile plastered on his lips. “Your life belongs to me.”
He pulled me against himself and flicked out a knife.
In my peripheral vision, I caught the king standing with a large sword. “Your Majesty! Please help me! Please help my family!”
The king didn’t make a move. He put down the sword and stared at me. “My king! Help! Please!”
“Nobody can save you, Elora! You belong to me, I said!” Kain Kurt declared. “I will make you watch as my men slit your siblings’ throat. Yours will come after you watch your mother burn.” He dragged me, turning me towards my flaming room. Indeed, my mother was trapped in the midst of the fire, hitting the window, pleading to be let out.
“Please! Let me go!” It was useless talking to the king. He didn’t budge.
“Your traitorous family will be wiped out, Elora,” Kain said running the blade across my neck.
I screamed, jolting awake, running my hands along my throat expecting to feel blood but instead, I rubbed off a thick layer of sweat.
The pounding in my head had me throwing the bed covers off me, sitting up quickly to get fresh air that would hopefully cool off the night sweat.
I groped around the unfamiliar bed confused by the woodsy and grass scent and not the rose fragrance I was used to. I racked my mind, trying to understand how this had come to be.
Slowly, I remembered tiptoeing into the king’s chambers and falling asleep on his bed.
I placed a hand on my chest and calming myself. It was all a dream. Kain Kurt wasn’t coming to kill me.
At least not now.
I hoped.
The king was still fast asleep but unlike earlier his arm was flung over his face leaving space between our bodies. His breathing was still deep and slow with sleep and I envied him, the luxury. I wondered how it felt not to constantly live in fear. He slept peacefully, a total contrast to my condition.
I took the opportunity and eased myself out of his bed looking once more at his sprawled body. Beneath the anxiety of him finding me in his bed, his arms around me felt good like I was safe and secure. I tiptoed back into my room comforted by the familiar territory.
It was still in the early dawn and a few hours before I could meet my siblings so I splashed my face with cold water and lay on my bed, waiting for the sun to rise.
*********
It had been quite a while since I had ventured to the staff area of the palace because I wasn’t actually supposed to as the King’s mistress but I wanted to surprise my siblings. If I saw they were doing okay, it would at least take my mind off Kain’s threat.
The sun was up by the time I had readied myself so I tied a satin scarf around my head both for protection and hopefully a good disguise. I had become rather popular in the palace since the King announced my new position and I wasn’t still sure how the other members of staff felt about me.
“Good day, ma’am.” Somebody greeted bowing.
“Oh please don’t bow. It’s just me, Elora,” I muttered.
“I know. You’re the king’s mistress.” She answered, moving away.
I sighed and went over to my former room, knocking on the door.
“Who is it?”
My heart calmed quickly as I heard Olivia’s voice.
“It’s me. Elora.”
There was a pause. “Elora?”
She unlocked the door, poking her head out before looking up at me. It took a while before she could process my presence.
“Elora! It really is you!” She pulled me in an embrace.
I hugged her tight, not wanting to let go. She smelled good and was obviously doing fine.
“I missed you so much, Liv! Every day, I think about you.” I hugged her even tighter.
“Elora!”
I released Olivia to see the twins.
“Bennett, Brian!” I cried and stretched my arms wide. Unlike Olivia, they jumped in my arms and almost knocked me over. I chuckled.
“Hey, boys calm down.” Their hair was properly trimmed and styled back. They looked like identical little men with their matching grey uniforms.
“Elora, Elora. We’re going fishing later with Kano! You know Kano?” They pulled me into the small room.
The beds were properly laid, and everything was put in place. “This looks good. You cleaned up very well.”
“Lucy makes sure we clean up our room before breakfast. We get extra blueberries if we do it well.” Brian informed me. “During lunch, she sneaks in extra pork strips!”
Bless her dear soul.
“How is it living up there in the king’s chambers?” Olivia asked, leading me to her bed. I sat on it.
“It’s lonely many times. I wish I could have you around me every time.”
“Us too…” Brian snuggled by me. “But that’ll change, right? When you give birth to the king’s child?”
“Uh–I.”
“When you give birth to the king’s baby, will he let us up there with you?”
“Will mother come over here?”
“Have you heard from Alma and mother?”
These were not the kinds of questions I prepared for. I thought they’d be interested in my room and the beautiful breakfast I had. They were also worried, and I was worried that they weren’t living as children. Kain’s letter troubled me. They weren’t safe.
“I haven’t heard…” My mind went to Kain’s letter. “Mother is fine.” The lie burned on my tongue. I hated lying to my siblings but it was necessary to protect them.
“Are we going to be slaves forever?” Brian asked. This time he was expecting a solid answer.
“Of course, not!” I pulled them all in in a hug.
“It sure seems so. I miss mother…”
“I know…”
Their brown eyes shone with sadness. It broke my heart. “Tell you what? You can come over to my room later tonight!”
They perked up. “Really?”
I placed a hand on my lips. “But no one must know. Think of it as a secret mission to save me from boredom.” I giggled for good measure.
“Yes!”
At least, I had distracted them for a while. But they were getting wiser and it would be impossible to continue lying to them. I looked over at them and pushed the thought out of my mind. It was better to do away with worry and savour every minute spent with them.