ELORA
~•~
The sun always looked very bright and pretty at midday. I always envied how free it was, up there in the sky, with little or no worries.
I sat down on my reading desk and stared out of the glass window. The book I had buried my eyes in after I returned from breakfast with my siblings, was closed on the table in front of me.
While I continued to daydream of a life where I would be as free as the sun, a life where I would not be branded a traitor’s daughter, a life where I meant more to the king than a slave breeder, my door flung open with full force.
Alarmed, I turned sharply in the direction of the twin doors, blaming myself for not locking them after entering.
However, my panic died down once I caught sight of Lucy.
She jumped and hopped, as gracefully and blissfully as a kangaroo, towards me.
“Oh! Elora! You would not ever believe what just came in!” She called out to me. Her doe eyes were bright with joy, brimming with happiness.
She stood beside me and placed a letter in front of me.
“Would you believe it, Elora?” I noticed her hands were covered with kitchen gloves. She must have come straight from the kitchen.
Oh! Lucy. I could not help but laugh.
“It is a letter from my brother, Elora! Remember? The one in the South?”
“Hmm.” I nodded eagerly, just to match her enthusiasm. To be fair, I was happy for her. I had never seen Lucy sparkle with so much excitement before.
“Kano gave it to me on his return, but I cannot read what it says. Oh! Elora, could you possibly help me?” Her last statement was accompanied by a cry of urgency.
“Of course, I would love to,” I replied. Her pout turned into a bright smile. I shifted out of my chair to make space for her to sit. It was little, but both our butts found ways to fit in.
I read the letter to her, pointing out words that she thought were familiar. Lucy was quite a fast learner. She had picked up a few new words when we were done.
She jumped up and threw her hands into the air.
“Oh! Sweet heavens! I am so happy he is doing well, Elora. I prayed,” Lucy twirled herself around, before looking back at me.
“I prayed day and night, Elora. You have no idea.”
I continued to smile at her. I was sure I did.
“Everything is going so well today, Elora. First my brother’s message, and the people who tried to hurt you, Olivia, Bennett, and Brian are being punished.”
My eyes flew open as she spoke. I shifted in my seat and moved closer to her.
They were being punished?
She must have seen the numerous questions in my eyes because she gasped, and her hands flew to cover her mouth.
“Oh, my! Did you not know, Elora? Lady Skye has them all locked up for now. My, my.”
I leaned back in my seat. I could not help but wonder if it was the king that had ordered their punishment, or if Lady Skye had decided to do so herself.
Then again, why would the king order the people who had hurt me to be punished? He could not have cared for a mere breeder and slave that much.
“I’m so happy to see Kano too. I had never thought I would miss him so.” Lucy’s words slipped into my ears.
I found myself beaming at her words. I found it cute whenever she spoke of Kano. The way her eyes lit up, the color of her cheeks, the way she grinned from ear to ear, and drew invisible circles on the floor with her toes – even when she did not know she was doing so, it always made me smile.
“Do you like him, Kano?” I found myself asking. To be frank, I had been curious about their relationship.
Lucy appeared thoughtful for a while. She locked her fingers in front of her body and sighed.
“I cannot tell. I have never thought about it. We always have a lot of fun, he is good to me, but I do not want to think about a deeper relationship with Kano.” When she saw that my smile had dimmed, she heaved a sigh and continued.
“I plan to leave Hanearum, remember? Kano is too good of a soul to leave behind. I fear…” She encircled her right hand around her left wrist, she was dancing to and fro again – a reflex movement she made whenever she was shy or anxious.
“I fear I might miss him more than I ought to. I missed him a lot while he was at Blackfoot. I hated that he had to stay more days to find my brother and speak to him. I can’t imagine having to leave him forever…”
“You know you do not have to leave him forever, right?” I caught her hands in mine and pulled her closer to me.
She liked him, I knew she did. And I knew he liked her too. They had something really special, I would hate to watch any of them lose it.
“According to the letter, your brother has asked you to wait here, remember?” I tried to reassure her, but it didn’t seem to be enough. I continued either way.
“He said the rift between the Blackfoots, werewolves, and Lycans would soon be settled. The Blackfoots would no longer be considered outcasts and can unite with the kingdoms again. We can all live as one, and he has promised to come, take you, and marry you to a good man. He will be here to protect you soon; you do not have to leave.”
The color and flavor of her doe eyes slowly returned as I spoke. By the time I was done, she was twinkling Lucy all over again. It pleased me to see her that way.
“I am glad, Elora. But I will rather be by his side.” She eased her right hand from mine and moved to cup my right cheek.
“I never want to be apart from my brother again. Besides him, you and Kano are all I have. He is my only family, Elora.”
My emotions were, once again, getting the better of me. I rose from my chair and wrapped my arms around her, engulfing her in a tight embrace.
I heard her stifle a groan as her arms encircled me as well.
I could understand the feelings she had for her brother. I felt the same way with Olivia, Brian, and Bennett. I wished never to be parted from them, for any reason whatsoever.
I always wanted to be with them, and know what and how they were doing at every moment of their lives. However, since I could not be with them at that moment, I decided to inquire about their welfare from Lucy.
We disengaged from each other and giggled as we watched one another wipe our tears from underneath our eyes.
“How are they doing? My siblings?” I asked, fighting hard to hide my tears behind a strong tone.
Lucy smiled sweetly at me.
“They are splendid, Elora.”
I settled back into my chair, watching her speak again.
“There was a time I took them to the library. They read just as well as you do.” Lucy commended, and a proud smile stole across my face.
“Yes, they do. My father…he…” It was there again, the rush of emotions that enveloped me whenever I thought about him. I fought hard to swallow them in before I continued.
“He taught us how to read.”
“It’s so lovely, I tell you! The librarian is a friend of mine, so she allows us to sometimes. Kano is back now too, so the twins can resume going fishing with him. They’ll have so much fun, and he’ll keep them safe. You do not have to worry.” She flashed me a reassuring beam.
“They’ll be alright.”
I nodded. Everything in me wanted to believe her, but I knew that as long as Kain still had a level of authority in this palace, we were never going to be completely safe.
“Say, Elora.”
I hoisted my gaze to meet hers when she called out to me.
“Has anything happened between you and the king?”
Flashes of last night flooded my mind. My legs tingled as I thought of him, his hands all over my body while he pounded into me.
Flushed, I swallowed hard.
“I was shocked when he spooned you in his arms and hoisted you up like a princess! Oh, Elora! It was never like him! He was going to tear everyone down for your sake, Ellie! Can you believe it?”
The more she spoke, the more I thought about last night.
Could she be right? Was the king going to go that far to protect my siblings and me?
“… none of us had ever seen the king react in such a manner! It was the first time he was showing any emotion, especially to us, his subjects. I always thought he was incapable of feeling anything, until last night! It was the most shocking thing to happen since his Majesty came into power, I tell you, because…”
She stopped speaking and narrowed her eyes at me. I had neither noticed her gaze on me nor the dreamy stare in my eyes until she called me out.
“I know that dreamy look, Elora.”
I caught myself and jerked up immediately. It was too late. Lucy had seen through me already.
She stared at me, wide-eyed, as her lips parted. For a few seconds, she was silent, before the scream came.
“No way! Elora! You did it with the king, didn’t you?!”
I was amused by the way she jumped and skipped about the room, throwing her hands into the air. Had I not known better, I would have thought she was the one who lost her virginity to the king.
I blushed. I could tell by the heat I felt in my cheeks.
“This is wonderful, Elora!” She stood in front of me. Her smile started to slowly die.
“Say, I do hope you get pregnant before the court forces the king to take a queen.”
The thought stung in all the places it shouldn’t have. The thought of the king being with someone else, making love to someone else, taking someone else as roughly as he had taken me…it broke me.
“After what happened last night, the entire kingdom is against you and your siblings.” Lucy continued. She placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. I could tell it was a sign of reassurance, but I needed more.
I needed to tell the king the truth. Now that I knew we were mates, I could no longer stand him thinking I was a traitor’s daughter. I needed to tell him that we were mates as well.
He just has not known, seeing as Lycans rarely found their mates, but would he believe me?
I scoffed.
Of course not! The mere thought of being mated to a slave would repulse him. He would cast me away without listening to anything else I had to say.
Yet, I had to try. That was the only way out of this mess.
“Say, why don’t you try telling him the truth, Elora? Tell him that your father was lied against, and you and your siblings are innocent.” Lucy urged me.
I tilted my neck to look up at her. A faint smile escaped my lips. I placed my hand on hers and squeezed her fingers gently.
I wished it were that easy.
“Why don’t we go for a walk?” I asked.