Ellora's Sun

Chapter Ten

Despite how exhausted she was, Adelaide barely slept throughout the night. The smallest sound or movement would send her into a panic, and she'd lie awake in the dark until she could calm down again. Eventually, she was able to fall asleep, but her nightmares didn't take the night off.
Around the time the sun was starting to peak it's head out, Adelaide was awoken to the sound of rustling leaves nearby. Her eyes flew open and her breath caught in her throat. Unlike the sounds in the night that had been in her head, Adelaide was positive this was real.

She heard the sound of leaves crunching, as someone walked quickly through the forest floor. She remembered the sound of Stefan's boots crushing the leaves, and she started to panic that he had found her.

As the sound grew closer to her, Adelaide felt her breath quicken. Whoever was coming was so close, she could hear their labored breathing as they rushed through the forest. She huddled closer into the tree, hoping she would somehow blend in with the forest.

"Adelaide?"

She looked up at the sound of Christoph's voice, shocked it hadn't been Stefan. He stood a few feet away from her, but as soon as she made eye contact with him, he rushed towards her. Adelaide barely had a second to sit up before he had fallen to the ground next to her and pulled her into a crushing hug.

"Oh my god, I've been searching for you all night." Christoph breathed a sigh of relief into her ear. Adelaide sat still for a moment in shock, but as his warm arms cooled her frozen muscles, she felt herself melt into his embrace.

"Are you alright? What did he do to you?" Christoph asked, growing angry. He pulled away, keeping his hands on her shoulders and looking over her for signs of missing limbs. Adelaide remembered what Stefan had said hours before.

He doesn't actually care what happens to you.

She grew angry at the thought, and pushed Christoph away from her. She picked herself up from the ground and dusted off her jeans.

"I'm fine; he didn't do anything to me." Adelaide told him, avoiding his concerned gaze. He stood up slowly, analyzing her movement as she took a small step away from him.

"What did he tell you?" Christoph asked, realizing why she was acting odd. Adelaide glanced at him, and shrugged. She saw no point in going through the details. He'd deny it, and tell her not to trust Stefan, and she'd still be in the same place fo not knowing who to trust it.

"He told me a lot of things."

"Adelaide," Christoph said her name softly, reaching a hand out and touching her arm. When she glared at his hand, he dropped it quickly, "you can't trust him, okay? Stefan's not a good person."

"Funny. That's exactly what he said about you." Adelaide responded, her voice flat and emotionless. Christoph looked hurt at her words, but she didn't care. Well, she did care. But she couldn't care.

She was starting to realize that as much as she wanted to run away from this problem and ignore it, it wasn't going away. Adelaide knew that she was being lied to by both sides, but she also knew that some things were true. She just needed to figure out what the lies were, and she couldn't let her emotions cloud her judgement.

"Adelaide..." Christoph started, searching for words to try and convince her she could trust him. Adelaide held a hand up to cut him off.

"Look, I'm not dumb - I know he lied to me about things. But I also know that you and the others are lying to me too," Adelaide told him, "so just, please, take me back to Ellora. I need to see James. Then, we can talk."

Christoph clearly wasn't expecting that from her. He didn't respond for a moment, thinking carefully about his choice of words.

"Okay, I'll take you back" He finally said. Adelaide nodded, making a move to walk away. Christoph grabbed her arm gently, stopping her so she would turn and look at him, "but I need you to know that I haven't lied to you, Adelaide. I don't know what he told you about me, but I promise I've been honest with you since the beginning."