"I'm heading back to the palace. You should come with me. Maybe the Queen can help you with... this." He says looking me over again. Should I take him up on the offer? Or should I just continue wandering around like this?
When I think about being in a foreign land, I decide to follow him. "I would appreciate that..." I say with a strained smile. He watches me closely before nodding and saying "It's a day walk from here but it shouldn't be too rough for you."
I watch him turn around and walk over to his white horse. The elf's long white-blonde hair was almost blinding under the sun but it looked magical. He unties his horse and says "I'll walk with you since you can't... since you can't ride like that."
When he looks me over again, I cringe and say "You called it an Enchanted Forest but it was more like the Forest of Horrors." He smirks a little and says "I can see that... you're lucky to come out alive." His smirk has me freezing in place.
He sees my shock and asks "What's wrong?" I take a shuddering breath as I ask "What's your name?" He c.o.c.ks his head to the side and says "Kiandaz of Aorza, and you?" I struggle to catch my breath as I say "Eris Hallows..."
He tilts his head to the side again and says "It's a beautiful name but slightly odd... I guess you're from a Kingdom far away from here. Let's get moving before the sun sets." He turns around and pulls the reins on the horse as he starts walking.
Kian... isn't he a demon? How... I don't understand what's happening. I numbing start following him as my world threatens to cave in around me. Where have I gone? This is clearly, waaay in the past. Way before my time and the time of my mother. How and why did this happen?
I silently follow Kian as we make our way down a dirt path surrounded by trees. When the sun begins to set, he ties his horse and tells me to stay put while he grabs stuff to make a fire. I numbly nod and sit next to the horse as I try to wrap my head around everything.
When he finally comes back, it's completely dark but he has several sticks to light a fire. He sets everything up and with a wave of his hand, a blue flame jumps to life. He sits on the other side of the fire and looks at me with an intense gaze.
"You said you were heading back to the palace... Do you work there or something?" I ask watching him closely. He nods his head and says "I work directly with the Queen. That's why I asked about your eye color. She's the only elf with blue eyes and even though yours aren't as blue, they're still blue. Just a lighter shade. Are you related to the Queen?"
"What's the Queen's name?" I ask with a tremor to my voice. He watches me closely and says "Queen Cara. You don't know her name?" I struggle to keep breathing as I slowly nod and say "Oh, I know her... I guess you can even say that I'm related..."
He looks at me in shock and quickly stands up asking "How are you related?" I swallow hard and say "A distant relative." His white-blonde eyebrows draw together in confusion but he slowly sits back down with a suspicious look.
I traveled back in time where the very first witch is alive and somehow, met Kian. Suddenly, our first meeting replays in my mind. 'I wasn't expecting... you.' he said and when we kissed... the feeling of being drawn to him and how familiar he was... had this all already happened?
In some twisted time leap? My head starts to hurt as Kian asks "Are you hungry?" I look up to him and shake my head 'no' as I say "I... can I call you Kian?" He looks at me in surprise but he smiles a little and says "No one has called me that before but sure. It has a nice ring to it."
I give him a small smile as I slowly nod my head. He's so nice... so innocent. What happened to him? Could I somehow stop him from becoming a demon? I hug myself and try to organize my thoughts. I need to think of a way to get back but I need a few things to do that.
Maybe Queen Cara can help me? Oh no... what if she's evil and wants to wipe me off the face of the earth? When I feel something heavy and warm drape over my shoulders, I jump and look up to see Kian placing his cape-like thing over me.
"Sorry, you looked cold. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" He asks with concern in his silvery-green eyes. It was him but the color was all wrong. His eyes were no longer a dark red and his hair wasn't pitch black.
His white hair was nearly glowing under the moonlight, much like mine. I swallow hard and shake my head no as I say "Thank you..." He gives me a warm smile and sits beside me as he says "Once we get back to the palace, I'll introduce you to the Queen and help you get settled. Are you trying to get back home?"
I tighten the warm cape around me as I nod my head and say "I seem to have made the wrong turn.." He chuckles and says "That can happen to the best of us. We'll get you back home." I turn to look back at him as he turns to look at me.
His smile fades a little as he looks into my eyes again. He slowly reaches out and pushes a strand of hair back behind my ear but when he sees my ear, he freezes. "It's round..." He whispers in surprise. I watch his silvery-green eyes closely as I say "I'm not an Elf."