A World without you, chapter 4

Author's note: Ok, sorry this has taken so long to upload. I hit a bit of a brick wall. Anyway, please review this; I'm willing to take any feedback (good or bad). I'm also thinking of starting another fanfiction about Celaena, Chaol and Dorian.

Let's go!

Aelin's POV

"Hello?"

"Hello?"

"Hello!" Aelin groggily raised her head. The first thing she felt was the mud coating her hair, face and body. Her clothes were soaking and she was cold and sleepy.
"Can you hear me?" Aelin pushed herself up on her knees, and faced the person speaking.

A young man, no older than twenty, was looking at her, curiously. He had shoulder length auburn hair and silver eyes. He was muscular and slightly tanned. Aelin looked him up and down before blurting out:

"Where am I?"

"On the bank of the River Avery," the young man said, "In Adarlan."

"Adarlan?" Aelin asked, shocked. Her parents, Lady Marion, they had all wanted her to get away from Adarlan. She had repaid them by being careless enough to fall into a river that led directly to Adarlan.

"Are you an orphan?" The man questioned, almost as though he could sense that she wanted to change the subject.

"I…Yes." Aelin stuttered.

"Do you have a name?" He asked her quietly.

"I do, but I-"

"Want to forget your past?" the man laughed. "I can give you a future. I can give you a home and a name too." He paused, waiting for Aelin's reply.

"What do I need to do?" Aelin asked quietly.

"I'll train you, I'll feed you and clothe you, but you will need to pay me back eventually." He said, before adding, "but you can do that in sections."

Aelin thought for a moment. She had no idea what it was like on the streets of Rifthold as an orphan, but she'd seen some beggars once when she visited the kingdom. She'd seen how some had resorted to stealing because they didn't have enough money for food.

"What will my name be?" Aelin asked quietly. Her eyes were on the ground.

"I've got a few you could choose from," the man replied. "Do you accept my offer?"

"I would like to go with you and learn from you and repay you in time." Aelin announced.

The man stepped back. He smiled at her, his silver eyes sparkling slightly.

"What name would you like?" he asked, his mouth twitching slightly.

Aelin thought for a while. She didn't want to completely ignore her heritage, but she was also ashamed of running away in Terrasen's time of need. Instead of acting like a leader, she just lay around.

Lay. Laena.

"Can a name be made out of Laena?" she asked the man.

"Laena? Why do you want a name made out of Laena?" he asked, looking slightly amused.

"I… I don't know," Aelin admitted. "It just sounds cool to me."

"I thought about the surname of Sardothian for you. I think it would sound good. But Laena Sardothian doesn't."

They were both silent for a moment. His silver eyes were fixed on her turquoise ones. The river rippled in the background.

"Celaena." He said, destroying the peace and serenity of the river bank. "Celaena Sardotheian."

Aelin stared at him, before slowly nodding. She felt free, calmer and somehow safer. He began to walk towards his horse before turning to Celaena and gesturing for her to follow. He helped her onto the horse before he set off towards the city.

Dorian's POV

Dorian was sitting on his horse. They were riding back towards Adarlan, leaving behind the destroyed remnants of Terrasen. His father rode ahead of him with Duke Perrington next to him. Queen Georgiana rode next to Dorian. Her baby bump was beginning to become more obvious by the day. Dorian would have usually plagued his mother with questions on long journeys; however he sat on the back of his horse in silence.

"Are you alright Dorian?" Queen Georgiana asked, "You're awfully quiet today."

Dorian looked up into his mother's concerned eyes. They were sapphire blue, just like his own. A lock of dark brown hair had fallen from her bun, obscuring her vision slightly.

"I'm fine Mother," Dorian said quietly, "I'm just tired."

"Yes, I heard that you and your friend were rampaging around the castle every night. Other people were trying to sleep, Dorian."

Dorian looked away in embarrassment. He didn't want to admit his guilt to his parents; they wouldn't understand. He could see the glass castle on the horizon.

The sight of it made Dorian want to vomit. It was not a beautiful creation, but a show of the power Adarlan had gained from slaughtering and enslaving innocent people. His title made him feel sick.

Chaol's POV

"I don't want to be Lord of Anielle." Chaol shouted at his father, his voice echoing through their house. "I want to work with Dorian."

"You're obsessed." His father said, calmly. "You're only twelve Chaol. You'll soon grow to understand."

"I don't want to be Lord!" Chaol repeated. He was slightly calmer now, though not much.

Chaol's mother entered the room quietly. She coughed, alerting Chaol and his father to her presence.

"I need to see a healer." she said quietly.

"What?" Chaol's father almost shouted.

"The baby."

Chaol's parents left immediately, leaving Chaol alone. He sighed before retreating to his room. He picked up a map of Erilea and sat on his bed, studying it. Ever since his parents had started fussing over his soon to be sibling, he had taken to studying maps, since he didn't have the patience to read many novels. He enjoyed learning about his life.

Hours of studying passed and it grew dark outside. Chaol made himself some stew and continued studying until his parents came back. He didn't even look up.

"Chaol, say hello to your little brother." his dad said.

Chaol put the map down and stood up. He looked at the bundle in his mother's arms. A small, pink faced creature had its eyes closed.

"What's he called?" Chaol asked.

"Would you like to name him, Chaol?" his father asked.

"No."