Intertwining Destinies

Chapter 29

Emerald stirred awake, stretching her arms and legs luxuriously, feeling the warm velvety covers slide over them. Keeping her eyes closed, she vaguely wondered where she had gotten such soft bedclothes. She could sleep under these blankets for days!

As sleepiness receded, her awareness took over. Opening her eyes gradually, she found herself in a strange bed in a dark room, with glowing green orbs of light floating below the ceiling. Sitting up, she realised that she was in Nuada's room. It was the same as when she had last been there. She yanked the covers away and saw to her relief that she was fully clothed, and the bed appeared to have depressed only in the middle where she had lain. A shaky relieved laugh escaped her lips.

The closed dark cavern gave no indication of the time of day, and she wondered what the date could be. Wink had said that she and the prince had been gone for over a month, though it had hardly seemed more than a few hours that she had spent by the lakeside with the three elves. She wondered too, what had happened to Kalidren and Breanne, and whether they would be able to get back on their own. Thoughts of Hellboy and Liz crossed her mind. It was good to know that Carol was okay, but she wanted to make sure of it herself and not rely completely on Nuada's word.

Nuada had saved her, claiming that she was an elf, too. He had even gone out of his way to call on others to heal her from the injuries inflicted by those unearthly hounds. He had been so kind and patient while she questioned him about the events that had taken place. She had almost started to like him. Almost. But he had then revealed his old face by lashing out at that little girl who was just there picking fruit with her woody friend. Protesting his actions had resulted in her being thoroughly roughed up, and dragged back into this dank hole of a hideout. Her hand brushed over her bruised arm but she felt no pain, and was surprised to see it looking as normal as ever. At least Mr. Wink was nice enough to have given her a generous dinner but after all, it had been Nuada who had asked him to provide for her. Also, he had given up his bed for her use. "What kind of sick Elvish mind game is he playing?!" she thought furiously. She decided to wait until she discovered what information had led Nuada to believe she was an elf, and then she would look for a way to escape.

Getting up from the bed was harder than she had anticipated, as she didn't want to leave its soft warmth. The room was cold and she shivered, wondering if it would be okay to stay for a while longer in bed...Nuada's bed. Her thoughts of what Nuada and Wink might be up to, finally brought her to her feet, and she decided to go back towards the kitchen area. On approach, she heard grunts and thuds coming from the far-off entrance chamber. Edging slowly towards the noises, she stepped past the kitchen where she could hear something boiling sluggishly. Ignoring it, she made her stealthy way to the place that had once been her holding cell.

Nuada, bare to the waist and with lance in hand, was then executing a martial art training routine; weaving a lethal dance. Emerald stood transfixed, captured by the grace and deadliness of his movements. When he suddenly performed a high jump that sent him flying up to the ceiling, she let out a gasp. Nuada landed as lightly as a cat, with no more sound than that of his boots touching down on the stone floor. He remained crouched for a moment, his chest muscles rapidly expanding and contracting, his face hidden by the length of his hair dripping with sweat.

Emerald had enough training in martial arts to realise Nuada's immense power and skill. Not even the best human masters could match their moves with his in terms of speed, stamina or grace. She could feel the pulsating aura of strength emanating from him. Fear of discovery by the elf prince in such a state made her take a step back, but at the slight scrape of her shoes on the stone floor, he looked up. His eyes were aglow with anger and hate; the emotional drivers he often used to power his ruthless drills. When his gaze fell on her wide petrified eyes, something changed within him. He could feel the tension draining out of his body and he gradually relaxed his taut stance.