My Midnight Boy

Chapter 23

Ok i have to explain the first part of this chapter. I wrote it like this for a reason. She's drowning and her thought processes are not quite normal. It does become more normal later on in the chapter so if you really hate that bit and think its stupid just scroll down to get to the more normal part :)

Dedicated to xOUTCASTkidx (I think thats the name) because they were nice and talked to meeee on chat :D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rushing Roaring Gushing Flowing Freezing Tearing Pulling Pushing Dragging Breaking Hurting me.

No breath.

No hope.

No Chance.

Grey water rising. Filling my vision. Blurring my thoughts with hushed whispers of dry land. A promise of rocks to break my ribs.

I couldn't Breathe. Starved of air.

Too strong to fight. Too cold to move.

Choking coughing spluttering wheezing praying hoping I fell down the river.

Rapids rushing.

Flashes of red silver and black.

Aelfric shouting.

Shouting at me.

What did I do?

Shouting at his brothers.

What did we do?

Shouting names.

Who were they?

Washed away and thrown down.

Crack and splash once more.

Coloured dots spark in front of my eyes.

Iorn bars around my waist.

But before they could save me the river swallowed me hole.

Blackness.

The first thing I thought of when I came to was the cold. The first thing I appreciated was an entirely different story. There were to many to list but I tried. Counting them down in my head. I was alive, I was breathing, I was somewhere on dry land or floorboards to be precise, I was beginning to feel warmer, I was not alone, there was a fire near my head.

I didn't recognise the faces that hovered above me but I was grateful. They weren't human of that I was certain. But they weren't dark elves or light elves.

My relief at not being captured was marred somehow by not knowing who had me now. I felt like a child plaything being tossed around. From humans to Aelfric to Joel to Aelfric to the dark elves to the fiery being who may or may not have saved me by jumping into the river and now to these new elves whom I had never seen nor heard of.

I tried to move or ask them who they were but they shook there heads and instead laid a blanket over my body. There was something hard and crusted around my mouth and when I ran my tongue around my teeth some of them felt weirdly out of place. My nose was throbbing and I guessed that I must have hit my head on a rock. My ribs seemed to have experience the same ordeal. If there was more pain I did not feel it. I could not feel a majority of my skin all I knew was that I was cold.

And so so tired. I let my eyelids flutter and close.

When I awoke again my lungs were on fire. My feet and hands felt warm and I realised that they were being held. I felt rather stupid but said nothing. I didn't think my mouth would let me. I slept again.

The third time I awoke there was a young elf leaning over me with a ladle. He looked around Aelfric's age and bade me to drink. I did as he asked although it set my throat alight with a new fire and made my stomach turn. I knew it would make me stronger. And I needed to be strong. So that I might make my way back to Aelfweald.

Days past, I slept drank down the soup and then slept again. It was have been on the fourth day that I awoke to see four light elves around me.

I knew immediately that they were Aelfric's brothers. No doubt the ones that had been out chasing Aelfgar all the time I had been at Aelfweald.

I tired to push myself up on to my elbows but the tallest broadest one pushed me back. "Rest dear one. We ride at dawn."

"-where?" There was more of my sentence but the words never came out.

"Back to the fort. Do not be afraid, I am Godwine."

"who were they?" I whispered.

"Wood elves, our allies." He explained and pulled his jerkin off and rolled it into a ball, he tucked it behind my head to make me more comfortable. "Sleep now and sleep well."

I did as I was told.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Comment and vote pleases and thankies :D Larf from wombatty x

Stolen away is a reasonably new project for me. So could you take a look for me? thanks for your time :)