Chapter 10

When I woke up from where I lay on the ground, I couldn't stand up. My entire body ached and screamed at me to not move a muscle. Where... am I? That's when I remembered everything that happened today. My head was spinning and it hurt like no tomorrow. Erik! What did those men do with Erik? Suddenly, I doubled over in pain and spilled what was in my stomach next to me. The puddle reeked and I was barely able to get away from it so I wouldn't end up doing the same thing again.

I lay on my back and stared up at the sky. It was filled with stars and the moon shone brightly down upon me. The mountains in the distance danced in the moonlight and the world around me began swaying to and fro. In the background of the sickening motion, hoofs thundered through the forest coming straight towards me. Dear god, don't let it be that man who tried taking me to Maxwell!

As quick as I could a stood up and hid behind a tree. Very soon, a familiar voice sounded in my ears. Erik! I let myself fall to the ground next to the tree before passing out. Right as my eyes were shutting, I smelt the scent I longed to smell in a very long time

...

Suddenly, I saw a body fall next to a tree. Accipitrem nudged me towards it and I stared in horror of what I saw. My angel was covered in dirt from head to toe, there were many cuts on her arms and face, which were bleeding, and there was a giant bump on her head. What has happened to my Hazel? Gently, I scooped her up into my arms and carried her to Accipitrem. When I made a clicking noise, he knelt down so I could easily put Hazel upon his back.

Twenty minutes passed and we were back at the carriage. I saw that the man who used to lay unconscious on the ground was gone. I pulled out a quilt from inside the carriage and laid it down on the ground so I could put Hazel there. As soon as I made her as comfortable as I could, I eagerly set to work on cleaning her up. I wiped the dirt away from her skin, dressed her wounds, and placed a cloth wet in the river upon her forehead.

I sat there next to her for 5 days. Not once did she stir, nor speak. When I was on the brink of giving up all hope for her survival, I noticed that she was saying something under her breath. Barely, I made out what she was saying my name and a few other non-understandable words.

"Hazel, I am here. How do you feel? Do you need anything?" I asked.

"How about a ki..." she mumbled. A ki..., what is that? "Erik, a kiss... for you...r child..."

My heart stopped beating. My child... I hadn't even done that! I then realized she was dreaming. I pondered what she was dreaming about and didn't see her sit up as fast as she could. "ERIK!" she screamed.

...

I was sitting in a very soft bed staring out the window to the ocean. 'Where am I? Where's Erik?' I thought. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I lifted up the covers and saw a giant mound where my stomach should have been. 'A child? I am bearing some man's child?'

"Mistress, are you okay?" came a voice from the other side of the door. The door was opened and I saw a young girl wearing and apron. "You finally woke up. Master Destler has been so worried about you. After you became ill, he locked himself in his study and refused to come out." 'Who is this Destler guy?'

"Who are you and where are we?"

The girl looked puzzled, but answered my question. "Mistress, I don't know why you are acting strange, but I am your maid, Maria DeChalent, and we are at your seaside home, in Nante."

"Thank you Maria, now I'd like to know where Erik is?" I asked but realized she was no longer in the room. There were boots thundering down the hall way outside the room I was in. The door flew open and Erik was standing there smiling.

"How are you faring today, love?" he asked. 'Erik, how I have longed to see you'

"Fine, quite fine, Erik." I replied. Before I knew it, Erik was lying beside me stroking my stomach. 'Well this just got a heck of a lot awkward..."

"Do you need anything, Hazel?" Erik asked me. "How is our child?"

'Erik is the child's father?'"How about a ki..." I mumbled sleepily. "Erik, a kiss for your child..."

I looked to find Erik but he was no longer beside me. I stood and walked into the ill lit hall. At the end of the hall was Maxwell ant I made a hasty retreat when I saw the knife in his hand. The door slammed open and I hid farther into the back of the closet.

"Hazel, do come out. I have something for you!" Maxwell said with a tone that scared the dickens out of me. My body was pressed into the corner of the closet, but I still felt too exposed due to my rotundas belly. The closet door opened and I soon saw Maxwell smile at me. 'No! No!' Maxwell closed the door behind him and licked his lips.

"That child could have been ours, Hazel." Maxwell licked his lips yet again and took a step towards me. "But I now see that you have something that does not belong to me on the way." I stared at the glimmering dagger in his hands as he brought it up. "Maybe you shall someday bear a gift of my child." Maxwell's tongue swept across the blade and I screamed for Erik as he brought the dagger down upon my stomach

"ERIK!" I screamed. My head was pounding and I felt like I was dying. I looked around and found that Erik was sitting next to me with a frightened look on his face. Tears began streaming down my face.

"Shh, Hazel, don't cry." his voice soothed my headache and I felt safe in his arms. For quite some time we sat there in the forest; Erik hopelessly holding me close to his body. When I finally calmed down, it became deathly silent, but Erik's voice soon broke the silence. "You must be filled in on what happened while you were unconscious." I was quiet as Erik told me about when he found me how he brought me back here and fixed me up.

"Thank you, Erik." I said staring up at him. The sun shined down and mad the edges around his face glow. I smiled at the thought of Erik being my angel and remembered: he is!

"Hazel, while you were out, you were mumbling about something quite strange." Erik said. I grew rigid and held my breath for what was coming. How much had I said and what did I say? "You said..." my heart lurched to a halt as he said the exact words I said "You asked me to give a kiss to our child." I slapped myself in the face. Why must I sleep talk!