Heir of Fire and Ice

Discovered

Elentiya awoke to find Aelin beside her, fast asleep. What had happened? She remembered with shocking clarity the fear and dread of the past few hours, but Aelin was here. Had it been a dream? She wanted to believe so, but knew it was unlikely. Anyway, it was much too... normal to be a dream. Her dreams, anyway. So what had happened? It seemed wrong to wake Aelin when she looked so tired, so she did her best to creep out of bed without disturbing her. 

Through habit, not desire, she bathed and dressed. Once outside, she realized that she was famished, so crept down to the kitchens. There were a few people there, but they just smiled and offered her small portions of what they were making. She hardly noticed, and once she had eaten, went back up, into the library. It was her favourite place in the castle, even above her room (on her request, it had been filled with bookshelves, and had a balcony that she could jump off to fly). It was her safe haven, and she headed to the oldest section, where the books all had yellowing pages and were only preserved by magic. This was where the books in the old language were. 

She had brought blankets in once, and forgotten to take them back, so they formed a little den in a corner where one shelf met another. From outside, it was invisible, and as far as she knew, only a few knew it was even there. Crawling deep inside, she drew her knees up to her chest, enjoying the silence. She was safe here. Wriggling herself to pull a book out, she sat. And read.

...

Aelin had woken up, and immediately visited Elentiya's room, desperate to ensure her safety. She had watched her for a while, but exhaustion had weighed her down. Now awake, she was alert. Elentiya had gone. Gods - what had happened? Maybe she had just woken up, gone for a walk... Please let it be that. Where should she look first, though? The garden? The kitchen? The library. Yes - Elentiya loved the library as much as Aelin, and it it had become her safe haven.

Should she go straight to Elentiya's den? Maybe she just wanted to ve alone - didn't want company. That would defy the whole point of her coming. Anyway, what if Elentiya was hirt or something? She had to see.

...

Elentiya had been trying to read for what seemed like an age, but couldn't concentrate. It wasn't the book - she had been enjoying it - her eyes just  couldn't focus. She was worried, but didn't really know why. Everything was okay now... Wasn't it? Was it? Aelin had been there earlier, but what had happened before? Worry gnawed at her stomach like a hamster. Maybe that had been a dream and Aelin hadn't really been there. Maybe-

Aelin's face appeared before her.
"You better come out as I can't fit in."