Finding Elora

Prologue

A couple of things to note before beginning the story:

Update Schedule: a new chapter is posted every Friday

Trigger Warnings: kidnapping, threat of physical abuse, detailed depictions of violence.

These are the big ones, but since the book is still in progress, more things may pop up as I continue writing!

General Notes: this book is explicit, so please be prepared for that. The romance is MMF, but there's no love triangle. Patreon is always several chapters ahead (I typically put how many at the bottom of each chapter), so if you want to read ahead, you can do so there!

Happy reading & hope you enjoy!

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20 YEARS AGO

Abby flattens her sweaty palms against the smooth blue interior of the slide, her shoulders straining as she struggles to find a good foothold. Why can't she get this?

Everybody else in her first-grade class can climb up the slide, and she's tired of hearing their frustrated sighs whenever she tries. They say she's too slow, and it's embarrassing.

Her right palm slips with a loud squeak, prompting her to flail and kick her legs even further to the sides. It's the wrong move, one she's made the mistake of doing over a dozen times already, and she grunts as she loses her hold and tumbles to the bottom of the slide.

There's no reason for this to be as hard as it is.

"Hi."

Annoyed, Abby rolls her eyes and shoves her damp blonde hair out of her face before turning toward the newcomer. Her brown eyes meet a pair of vibrant purple ones, the sight only worsening her already sour mood.

It's Lillian.

She and her mom are new to the neighborhood, and already Lillian's managed to ruin Abby's life.

Abby's older brother Aaron no longer wants to play with her, and, after much deliberation, Abby's decided it's Lillian's fault. Tommy Knocker, Aaron's best friend and the absolute love of Abby's life, doesn't think she's cool anymore, and all they want to do is follow Lillian around.

That's all anybody wants to do, and now Tommy Knocker and Aaron run away from Abby the first chance they get.

They think Lillian's exciting with her purple eyes and stark white hair, but Abby doesn't think it's that cool.

"Can I try?" Lillian asks, gesturing to the slide.

Abby crosses her arms over her chest and glares at Lillian. There's nobody here to yell at her for her bad behavior, so there's no reason to be nice. Aaron was supposed to come to the park with her, but his eight-year-old legs are fast. He and Tommy Knocker ran away the moment they stepped outside, and Abby couldn't keep up.

She has no idea where they are, and it's all Lillian's fault.

Everything was perfect before she moved into town.

"No," Abby says, wiping her sweaty palms on her pants. "It's my slide."

Her pants are new, but the stretchy pink fabric is already covered in stains. There's also a tiny hole behind the knee, a blemish Abby's been working hard to hide from her mom.

Lillian presses her lips together and rocks back on her heels. She's wearing a long blue dress, and while the color is pretty, it looks about two sizes too big on her.

Abby takes pleasure in that, and she turns back to the slide with the determination only a six-year-old can muster before beginning another attempt. This time, she makes it halfway up before losing her grip and falling back down.