Surviving the Palace

Chapter 5

I sat on the couch in the sitting room and looked down at my hands. My hands were not the hard caloused hands of a Warrior that had held a blade or the soft silky hands of a Royal who barely picked anything up for themselves. My hands were more... inbetween. Pulled from my reverie by the sight and feel of Xander landing on my palms he looked up at me his wings going still and his face worried as he did so.

He was beautiful. I smiled down at him as I saw that if he were my size most of our comon people would lust after him. He was pure. He glowed so beautifully. I looked into his blue eyes as I realized he smelled of freash rain on the grass and wildflowers. He smelled pure.

"Princess Ariah... you've been quiet for a long time... Are you ok?" His voice was so clear when he was this close. So clear and beautiful. I blinked and I kept my eyes closed for a few moments then I heard again. "We are worried about you..."

I smiled a tired smile and opened my eyes and nodded. "Thank you..." I then looked up to see the rest of my little group. Drake was near the doors his hand like always on the hilt of his magic kissed sword. I wonder what the name was... most magical blades had names.

Then Sinai was slowly walking around the room I could see him tracing his fingers over the walls. He was strengthening the wards around us. The smell of the magic was making my nose tickle, it smelled of ozone.

I then looked and spotted Deserai tending to the small fire in the main hearth.

Then closest to me was Killian. He stood only a few feet away and when he saw my eyes connect with him he knelt before me and brought the food on the table on the platter over to me with his hands. "Perhaps you need some food Princess. You've had a... a busy day." His eyes were worried.

I looked at the platter and noticed the apples. Not a single red apple. They were green or yellow. But no Red apples. I sighed and reached out my fingers brushed over the skin of a green apple but I couldn't bring myself to pick it up. I instead took a slice of freshly made bread and tore it in half and nibbled at it.

Killian smiled as if he had defeated a great foe. "How long..." I tried to ask how long had it been that I was quiet and in my head for but my voice was a little hoarse from unuse.

"About two hours." Killian looked worried again but I saw him still holding the platter and I pushed his hands so that he set the platter down on the table. He was very still under my hands. I pulled my hands away from him. I was getting used to touching the warm skin of another elf. It felt right. That was when Killian's non filtered mouth opened again. "Not every touch between elves is sexual Princess."

I moved away. Back into the couch and looked away from him. I heard Drake growl. "She's not ready for that talk Killian. Learn to keep your big mouth shut!"

I was blushing. I could feel the heat in my cheeks.

"We need the touch of others Snake Tongue! It's inside all of us! It's who we are. We may have learned to be ok with nudity between eachother but the longing for a comforting touch is in us all." Killian sounded as if this was one of the most important things he could say at this time. He was standing at the edge of the couch a few feet away and staring down Drake with conviction.

That's when a bit of Killian rubbed off on me. "Before I came to Underhill... I lived with as little touching as posible. After I was able to walk and eat by myself Warren never touched me again... He said he didn't want to risk me bewitching him through my touch...another power that my father possesed. Another way for me to ensnare others." I hugged myself and lifted my feet so that I was half sitting on them. I was in the corner of the couch looking into the fire in the hearth.