The next few days passed by relatively uneventfully. She watered the plants, checked the mail, all the mundane housekeeping tasks that her aunt had asked her to do. It had become so mundane so that she had almost pushed the memory of the strange man out of her mind. She might have forgotten him entirely but for one thing. Her nights seemed to be plagued increasingly by nightmares of dark, shadowy figures lurking in the woods, waiting for the right moment to snatch her away. One night, when she woke up from one of those horrible dreams, she could have sworn that the same kind of dark figure she had dreamed about stood in the corner of the bedroom. For several terrifying long moments, she fumbled for the switch on the lamp on the bedside table, knocking her cellphone and all her books onto the ground. When her trembling hands finally found the switch and the safe, precious yellow light of the lamp had flooded the room, she found that the figure was gone.
Laura felt safe in the daylight, but as soon as the sky outside began to darken, she could not help the nervous terror that began to fill her body. She knew that those feelings were not rational, and she tried to do her best to forget them, but she could not shake the horrible feeling that she was being watched. The feeling would strike her at random moments. She would be curled up on the couch under a warm blanket, with a book in one hand and a cup of hot tea in the other, and the hair on her neck would suddenly rise. She had turned on all the lights in the house and searched every closet and possible hiding place in the small house. As expected, there had been no one there. But no matter how many times she crept through the house, with a kitchen knife clutched in one hand, and threw open the doors to an empty closet, she never felt completely at ease.
So, it was after one of these search expeditions, that she finally decided to crawl into bed. The black, plastic alarm clock beside the bed proclaimed that it was already one o' clock in the morning. She was not really surprised. In the past few days, she had never fallen asleep before midnight. Though she had once thought that this trip was going to provide some relaxation and a much needed getaway, she now could not wait to be back in D.C. and into the familiar rhythm of her busy schedule. She curled up under the comforter of the bed, facing away from the door as she knew that it only served as a source of her anxiety. Suddenly, she felt sleepy, sleepier than she had ever felt in her life. Her eyes flutter closed.
The elf king crept into his bride's room as soon as he heard her quiet breathing begin to fall into a rhythm, meaning that his sleep spell had worked. Her face, which had been so bright and healthy when he had first laid eyes on her only a few short days ago, seemed more drawn. Perhaps Girzal was right, he thought. Was his hesitance to bring her to his kingdom harming her health? He sat down on the bed beside her, brushing her hair out of that pale and worried face. The girl sighed in her sleep, rolling over closer to him. He let out a sigh of his own, wishing that he could have her as his wife to fall asleep beside every morning, but knowing that it would take months, perhaps years, before she would willingly sleep so close to him. Sighing, the elf king whispered the words to the spell that would wake her from slumber. He watched as she began to stir, rubbing her hand over her eyes. She blinked sleepily, not seeming to have realized that he was there yet.
Laura stared at him for a few seconds utterly in shock, before she let a shrill little scream and scrambled out of bed. She faced him from the opposite side of the bed.
"What are you doing in here?" She demanded
The man laughed, a full and deep musical sound that made Laura falter for a moment. " I'm not going to harm you."
Laura turned and bolted for the door. Just as her hand was about to reach the doorknob, she heard the soft clicking sound of the lock sliding into place. What the hell? She thought, frantically pulling on the knob. How could the door be locked? It could only be locked from the outside and it was impossible that this guy could have somehow pulled this off. No,no,no, she kicked the door in frustration. She whipped back around.
"Please, I don't have any money." Her voice shook. "Please don't hurt me."
"Calm down, I am not going to harm you, my dear."
The man walked forward slowly, his hands in front of him. He was so handsome that it made it hard to think. She stepped backwards as he came closer, her back hitting the door.
"Please," she begged in a whisper, feeling herself begin to cry.
His expression changed, becoming almost tender. She was too shocked to do anything but freeze as he wrapped his muscular arms around her small frame. Her face was pressed against the soft fabric of his shirt and she felt a tear begin to fall down her cheek.
"I am sorry to have frightened you," he said. "But this was the only way."
"The only way to what?" Her voice cracked. She was afraid of the answer to her own question.
The man took her hand and began to guide her over towards the bed. Laura felt her heart race and she began trying to free her hand from his grip. She kicked and punched at him. She was not going to go down without a fight. To her terror, all her fighting didn't seem to even bother him anymore than a fly buzzing annoyingly around her would.
"Please, don't, no!" She sobbed.
The man let her go and she stumbled forward, falling onto the floor. Scrambling on her hands and knees, she quickly propped herself up again, her back against the bed. The man backed away, holding his hands in front of himself again.
"Laura, please calm down. I am not going to harm you."
After the man said this, it felt as though a wave of tranquility and peacefulness washed over her. She frowned at the strange sensation.
"How do you know my name? Who are you?" She whispered.
The man sighed, running his hand through his curly, black hair. "I know that you know of the old tales that surround this area, but they are not merely fiction. My name is Aganir Etu'An. I am the Elf King."
She stared at him blankly. This guy was obviously insane or on something. For the first time, she noticed what he was wearing. He was dressed in a long, green tunic and pants, with soft brown boots that came to the knee. His curly black hair brushed the hood of the cloak that he wore around his shoulders, but most terrifyingly of all, she saw a knife with a stark, white blade, hanging from his belt. Was he going to kill her then? Or did he have something even more terrible planned for her?
Thinking it might better to play along with the man's delusions, she replied. "What do you want with me then… uh sir?"
The man grinned. "You do not have to refer to me so formally, my dear. I wouldn't expect my fiancee to call me anything but my given name."
"F-fiancee?" She sputtered.
"Every Elf King has to marry a human in order to have an heir. I have been picky, waiting for the perfect woman. So long so that my advisors have grown impatient. But I have watched you and I know that you will make the perfect bride."
Laura stared at him open mouthed. "What if I don't want to marry you?"
"Why would you not? The man replied. "You will live in my forest, the most beautiful place in the world. You will be loved by my people, and you will bear our son who we can raise to be the next great leader of his people."
She stared at him with a mixture of outrage and shock. "I've never heard anything more offensive in my life. I don't want to marry you and I certainly don't want to have your children." She spat. "I don't even want to have children at all."
He gazed at her with what she was surprised to find was sympathy. "My kingdom is still weak. It would not survive for very long if my forefathers did not have to show some cruelty in taking their wives."
He strode forward towards her, and knelt down down beside her. Laura froze as he gently took both of her hands.
"But I will make it up to you. I will do everything in my power to make you happy."
She felt a tear roll down her face. "Please," she begged. "I have a career, a future. My family…"
His face set. "I am sorry, but I have already decided that you will be my wife. I shall give you three more days to settle your affairs. But now, you must rest. You have had a long night."
Before Laura could raise a protest, he touched her forehead. He picked the sleeping girl up and laid her gently back onto the bed.
