Faethfully Yours: Unbound

Chapter Five

We were escorted back to the rooms where I was allowed to stay with Kheelan. His apartment was on the same wing as Queen Aeval's (not a surprise) and Elena's was down the hall. I wasn't too thrilled about us splitting up. For one, I didn't trust anyone, but Elena had proven more than once that she could handle herself. Elena was also equally pissed that we'd be staying a week, instead of the two days Kheelan promised. As soon as she was shown her room, she walked in and slammed the door without a word.

Since it was clear Elena wasn't going to divulge any more information regarding Ivan becoming Grace, I didn't mind staying with Kheelan. Unfortunately, in reaching our room, there was an entire wait staff...waiting, which meant I'd have to wait longer for my answers.

As Kheelan passed out orders for new garments, food and other things that blurred in my ears, I struggled through the rooms, needing a shower and a bed, in that order. I found the bathroom at the end of a tunneled hallway of closed doors. The circular room was inviting. Sheer white curtains hung from the cieling, draping onto the marble floor. A circular tub of crystal blue waters sparkled in the middle of the room, and from the ceiling, water cascaded into the pool indefinitely. Floating above the sparkling blue waters were the red flowers from my vision. Making mental note to ask Kheelan about the flowers, I shooed the thoughts from my mind. I couldn't think any more about it, not there, with the promise of cleanliness a few feet away.

Closing the door, I met my reflection, the pale remnants of the girl I once was staring back at me in the mirror. Barely blond, my unruly hair hung lifeless against my face, the red making me look paler...unfamiliar. Once blue irises were darker, cradled by black circles under my eyes. Twisting my hair into a knot, I turned away from my ghostly image and dropped the cloak from my shoulders.

I bit my lip to the point it bled as I peeled off the sweater, having to tug at a few places where it was encrusted onto my skin. By the time I was done, the warmth of my blood trickled down my back, absorbed by my already drenched jeans. Sliding off the stained pants, I took a robe from behind the door and put it on. It was wrong of me to ruin it, but I had nothing else to wear, and I didn't want to stay in those clothes any longer while waiting for Kheelan to heal me.

Trancelike, I walked toward the tub and sat on the wide edge. The flowers floated peacefully, barely disturbed by the waterfall. I twirled one of them with my fingertips, remembering my vision clearly. I tried to look past the shadows that I saw, to the faces of silhouettes laughing in the distance, but it was impossible. Maris had something to do with these memories, and obviously Kheelan...did Ivan? And why was Maris showing me them all of the sudden? Ivan told me not to trust her, but I wanted to know. Bombarded by questions, I closed my eyes and tried to reach her for Maris. There was only black.

Frustrated by the lack of answers at every turn, I pushed the flower away. It gently knocked into the surrounding flowers, setting off a chain reaction, much like what my life had become. Outside, the front door closed and my stomach flipped a little. Finally I would get to ask Kheelan about Ivan. I was tired of all the cryptic talk and lack of answers. It was clear I wasn't going to get any from Elena, and Maris was too busy playing peek-a-boo for me to get a straight transmission.

The door creaked open behind me. Turning, I opened my mouth-

"Turn around," Kheelan cut me off. His voice was a whisper, but in the quiet bathroom, it echoed all around me, inside of me. Though not in glamoured state, I could still smell it on his skin, the residual effects of desire adding a golden hue to his skin.