Shadow and blood

Four

Astryns excitement had long worn off after proper consideration on the matter of Ailluin leaving for war.

It may have been good news for her. Not to have Saelum lurking the castle in the shadows, to delay the answer to Lierin's proposal and to escape Ailluin's hatred for her. But such news wouldn't be so delightful for the humans fighting in the war to hear.

Tarus was barely half the size of Grelle, and though she had heard of Ashath allowing some of their troops to give a helping hand to Tarus, they were barely keeping hold of the boarder. With the crown prince, elf lord and fae fighting, the king would win the war with ease.

Astryn jumped when the door to her small room was shoved open, the hinges shrieking in protest was sign enough of the force used. All her previous worries left as Ailluin appeared in her room.

"Come here," Ailluin snarled, suddenly at Astryn's side with her wrist in his crushing grip. Astryn let the folded clothes she had been holding, drop from her hands, unfolding themselves as they hit the ground.

She knew he would visit tonight. She had been waiting for his arrival, trying to keep herself awake. If he had caught her sleeping soundly with the news from tonights dinner, he would have made his visit unbearable.

She didn't fight as Ailluin forced her to turn her back towards him. Grabbing her free hand, Ailluin raised her arms above her head and tied her limbs together with a rope. He shoved her against the stone wall behind them after he turned her to face him. He made another bond that confined her to the wall, forcing her to stand subject to him.

She stared at Ailluin from underneath her lashes, watching as he clenched and unclenched his jaw before finally grinning at her in that sadistic manner of his.

A bolt of lightning shot from his hand before she could even blink. Pain shot down her leg from where he had hit but she refused to let it show, biting down on her tongue instead.

Ailluin didn't go easy on her that night, obviously furious about his father's order to send him to the front lines. Astryn swore it felt like a lifetime had passed when Ailluin had finally decided he was finished with her.

She could only be glad that he hadn't left her strung up. Once he cut her loose, he departed from the room, leaving her to sag in a heap.

She was in too much pain to even crawl to her blankets on the stone floor, that served as her bed, a few feet away from her. Though, it didn't bother her much as her exhaustion kept her from caring about the chill in her room or the discomfort of how she was slumped on the floor. All she wanted was sleep.

And when she closed her eyes, she received her wish.

~~~

"I can't believe father sent him to the battlefield!" Elmyra expressed, letting out a small chuckle. She twirled, her dress billowing around her as a small breeze blew.

Astryn was still sore from last nights events but regardless she had to bare the pain and do her chores around the castle. Astryn was just thankful that she had Elmyra, her ignorance made it easier for her to forget about all that she hated for a moment.

"I know he hasn't been..." Astryn tried searching for the right words to use. She could say many things about Ailluin but non were nearly nice enough to say to his sibling. "The kindest person, but do you think you'll miss him?" Astryn asked.

Elmyra sighed, dropping to the ground in a manner that wasn't ladylike at all. "No. As you know, my brother wasn't always as he is now, to this day I'm not sure what changed but I'll always miss the old Ailluin, not this one. The Ailluin now is better off dead."

Astryn wondered what her friend would think or even do, if she found out how he had been treating her for the last few years. How much would Elmyra's hate for him intensify?

She groaned, leaning back slowly so she could stretch out on the grass beside Elmyra, ridding those thoughts from her mind. "It does feel great doesn't it, to have no one spying on us all the time," Astryn admitted.

"It does."

She closed her eyes, letting herself be consumed by her thoughts. Now that Ailluin was gone and Saelum wasn't prowling around in the shadows of the castle, there was no one that could stop her from leaving. Except, of course, the thought of leaving Elmyra by herself.

But was she really going to give this chance up for the same kind who had killed her people and enslaved her, Astryn thought. She had waited eleven years for an opportunity like this to come by.

She arched her back, lifting her legs out and stretching her arms above her head before she sat upright.

"Well, I better do my chores before the King finds that I've been slacking off and has me spend the night in the dungeon again," Astryn explained, standing up.

Elmyra pouted. "Fine but remember you and I are going to spend the afternoon together I still have questions to ask you."

She nodded, "I'll try."

~~~

Astryn wasn't able to see Elmyra that same afternoon, she was too exhausted after running around for the elves and instead retired to her room to sleep.

A week passed with the usual treatment Astryn typically endured, yet she found herself growing frustrated by each day. Thoughts of escaping the city kept her awake at night and even played in her dreams.

Elmyra had noticed the change in her, but Astryn refused to tell her friend about any of her thoughts. She wouldn't understand, Astryn told herself.

By the end of the week Astryn couldn't take it any longer, she'd go crazy if she missed this opportunity. She wasn't going to let herself be a slave, a toy or a trophy for the Elves any longer.

As for Lierin's proposal, Astryn had already come to an agreement with herself that she was not going to accept. She refused to travel to another country, entirely inhabited by Elves and all sorts of magical creatures — there was no telling what Lierin wanted from her and for that reason alone Astryn didn't dare take that risk.