The Silent sea

Chapter 8

Author's note: thank you so much for reading my story it truly means a lot to me 😊
Please leave and comment and vote if you like my story.

My eyes flicker to the river and I freeze at the sight before me, a huge wolf stands just a few feet from me. My heart thunders in my chest as I scream.

My pulse quickens as I desperately look around for Nolan and realise that he is not coming to save me. My fate is entirely in my hands now.  I curse myself for following him here.

Adrenalin rushes in my blood as I try to figure out what to do. Then I decide to just stop thinking as it is clearly not working for me and run for my life.

I run frantically through the trees trying to find my way back to the castle but it's nowhere to be found. Why can't I see a massive Castle that was perfectly visible two seconds ago?

My feet halt to a stop as the realisation kicks in, it's not real. Whatever, this is it can't be real. The thought of being asleep or in a coma seems unlikely considering the fact that I was just walking down to the village with Nolan and that seemed to be quite real.
This place doesn't seem like the northern village that I was in seconds ago, the grey sky and humid air are evidence of this change that I failed to notice before. Everything is dull and grey here, like a cage.

If this is indeed a dream then how do I wake up? What if I never wake up? I start thinking again which proves to be a bad decision because all is manage to do is give myself a panic attack.

A  voice interrupts my fruitless attempts to pull myself together.

"Hello, Alora,"  the voice fills my head and swallows everything else. As I look up, all I can see is a mysterious, figure looming over me, dressed in a cloak of black

"Who are you?" I say without noticing how frail my voice sounds.
"I am to help you and to save you from Adella" The voice is alluring and oddly calming.

"Save Me?"

"Don't you want to be free? Or perhaps you would prefer to be a slave to Adella?"

The word 'slave' swirls around my head. Valarie said that I was free and safe and that the Queen
Just wants to help children with magic to discover themselves.

The voice scoffs "Is that really what she has been telling everyone? As if I don't know how noble she really is"

How did she know what I was thinking?

The voice laughs "Silly girl, of course, I would know what you are thinking. We are in your head, after all "

"if you're just in my head then you don't exist" Great, now I am talking to hallucinations.

"I am not a hallucination, Alora and I will prove it to you. But first, you have to accept my offer."

"But you haven't even offered anything "

"It's quite simple darling, you just have to do me a small favour in exchange for immense power"

"What favour?"

"You will know soon enough" and with that everything turns black.
*****

Upon waking up, the only thing I can remember is my bedroom back at Ebba and the feeling of being wrapped in warm blankets in a comfortable bed, Maybe this was all a bad dream and Mother would soon call me down to yell at me for not completing my chores but instead, I hear a completely unexpected voice.
"What were you thinking?" I hear Esmarie say, I can't help but be annoyed at Esmarie despite the confusion. I never thought that I would ever find anyone more irritating than Hazel but there she stands with her hands crossed, giving Nolan what seems to be her signature glare.

The apologetic look on Nolan's face evaporates the second he sees that I am awake.

"You're awake, thank God you just scared the shit out of me, " Nolan says

"Where am I ?" That is all I can manage to say.

"Relax, it's my house and you are perfectly safe here" Nolan reassures me.

The bed frame creaks as I get up to look around my surroundings. In the small wooden room stands Esmarie and Nolan. Tristen and Nyla are sitting on a window nook that's also made of wood. The room feels like it was carved into a massive tree. Nyla smiles at me and tristen just stares at my face for a second before looking away.

An old man with crutches walks into the room and gives me one of those sunshine smiles that can improve anyone's mood in an instant.

"Meet my father Alora, Ambrose Lewis"
  
"How are you feeling dear?" Ambrose asks me.

"I am perfectly fine, sir," I say as he hands me a cup to drink from.

"What happened, Alora, you fainted" Tristen finally opens his mouth and speaks in a very deliberate tone.

"I am sure that the magic here is too much for her to take in. The vulgaris surely do not have this much energy in the atmosphere" Ambrose interrupts me before I can open my mouth.

"What does vulgaris mean?" I ask. Esmarie has called me the vulgaris girl before.

"Someone who belongs to the non-magical communities and Sir Ambrose is right, they don't have as much energy as the Sui generis do. That would explain why you fainted" Esmarie explains.

"Were you feeling overwhelmed, Alora?"  Tristen asks me with a forced calm voice.

"I am sure she was and she still is, we should give her some space" he again interrupts me.

Tristen lets out a frustrated sight and says "I am not talking to you, sir"

"You might not be, but you are still standing under his roof," Nolan says in a not-so-polite tone.

Tristen rolls his eyes and says "We should probably take her to the castle, it's getting late"

I look out the window to see the sun setting on the horizon, I must have been out for hours.
"Where are Milo and Hazel?" they must be worried sick considering the fact they last saw me all alone with a strange dude with Scarlett eyes.

"Don't worry about them, they were playing chess with Valarie when we left" Esmarie says. Oh, they are playing chess while their sister is...... Actually, I don't even know what's happening to me.

"Isn't it kind of the Princess herself to come and check up on you, Alora" Ambrose says.
"The Princess?" I say through the shock "Where is she?"
Ambrose gives me a look. I thought that you knew Princess Esmarie.

Authors note:
I hope that y'all like the ending and thank you so much for reading till the end.