Chapter 2
Opening her eyes, Electra looked around her. She lay in a soft down bed, with warm covers all around her. She snuggled down in them not wanting to wake up yet. Her eyes flashed open and she turned her head to look around. Where was she? She did not recognize her surroundings. Even with her low-light vision it was hard to see for the oil lamp that was across the room did not produce much light. She could make out that she was in a large room with heavy drapes. They were drawn closed, and a small crack of light shone from under them. Placing her hands on the bed, she tried to push herself into a sitting position. The pain in her wrist screamed at her and she fell back onto the bed. Her entire body hurt as if she had just been in a terrible battle. What had happened to cause such injuries to her body? She could tell from the pain in her wrist that it was broken. She held it up to see that someone had already set it and put a splint on it.
She could not remember what had happened the night before. She remembered playing at the Dragon Song and getting her drink. A strange man had invited her to join him and his party. However, she couldn¹t remember anything after that. Had a fight broken out in the Inn? Again, she tried to sit up. She succeeded this time. She could look around the room now. Her lute, bow, and arrows were on a chair near the bed. On another chair near a dressing table was a blue dress that looked like it might fit her.
Looking down she realized that she was naked. Taking the blanket, she tried to stand up. The pain was too much and she sat down again. Again, she wondered where she was. The door opened. She dove under the covers to hide her body from who ever was entering the room.
In the doorway, she saw a half elf. His long straight blond hair fell around his shoulders. His almond shaped eyes were a crystal blue that stole her breath away. She knew those eyes. They were the eyes of her past.
"Ah," he said looking at her as she peaked over the covers. "You are awake. I was starting to wonder if you would ever come out of it."
He walked over and helped her sit up while she held the blankets close to her. She was confused and didn¹t know what was going on. Why was she here? He looked at her head and ran his finger over her forehead. Her forehead burned with pain and she flinched.
"Your wounds seem to be healing well." He said turning to the door. "There is a dress for you to wear over there. If you need help getting it on, you may pull on the rope by your bed and a servant will come and assist you. Lunch is almost ready if you feel like eating. The dinning room is down the hall so come along when you are dressed." And with that, he was gone again, leaving her shocked and bewildered. How had he found her?
Leaning over she reached for the bedpost to pull herself up. She stood and with shaky legs went over to the dressing table and looked at herself in the mirror. There were bruises all over her body. A feint cut went from her stomach to her neck. The wound was healing well, and the skin was knitting back together well. Most of the bruises were almost healed, turning an ugly yellowish colar the ones between her legs, on her breasts, and a few on her back were different. The bruises on her hips, legs, breasts, and arms all looked as if someone with large hands had grabbed her. There were cuts on her nipples that seemed to have been treated and were healing well. She blushed to think that someone had touched her naked body to treat her wounds.
Reaching for the dress, she pulled it on over her head. The blue material fit her like a glove and she wondered where this man had gotten such a lovely dress for her. She turned the flame up on the oil lamp and looked around. On the dressing table was a brush with a silver handle and stones set into it. She started brushing her hair as she limped around the room. The way it was decorated, it seemed to be a woman's room. Going over to the dressing closet, she opened it and found many dresses in it. They were all the same size as the one she wore. She wondered if this was the half elf¹s daughter¹s room. These dresses were excessively small to belong to a human adult. Besides, they all seemed strangely familure.
Electra finished brushing her hair and looked out the window. The view was amazing. There was only one thing that concerned her. She was about 20 stories up looking at the ground below. She realized at that time that she must be in a tower. That¹s odd, she thought, the only people that lived in towers in that town were mages. Thinking about that she realized that the half elf must be a mage of some sort. When had that happened? Her stomach began to make noises telling her that it must have been quite some time since the last time she had eaten. Putting down the brush and checking herself in the mirror, she headed for the door to meet her host.
Leaving the room she had been in, Electra headed for the dining hall. Examining her surroundings, she noticed that the tower was desgined in an elfish fashion. Every surface sparkled and, unlike the room she had been in, the hallway was illuminated with a pale blue light coming from orbs that floated near the ceiling. The tower was the loveliest thing she had seen since she had left home when she was 250 years old. At the age of 276, she had seen many things during her travels but none reminded her of home the way the tower did.
Walking down the hall, she saw many doors. She tried a few of them to see what was inside but the doors were locked. Pondering on what could be in them, she continued down the hall until she reached a set of double doors with a servant standing in front of them.
"The master is awaiting your arrival." The man said to her as he opened the door.
As the door swung open, a warm summer breeze swept over Electra. She stepped through the door. Before her lay a set of stone steps leading up a hill of soft grass. Closing her eyes, she felt the air pass over her body. She felt like a small child again, remembering how she and Sebastian would run up these exact steps for dinner every night when she was still at home.
"Hey 'Lectra, hurry up! If we are late mother will be upset." Sebastian yelled down the hill.
The small girl looked up the hill at her brother. Her bruised leg hurt as she took her time going up the stairs. The fall she had taken was bad. The stone steps of the dinning hall were very hard and unforgiving. Her mother would be very mad with her when she saw Electra¹s dress. The beautiful dress that her mother made for her was torn. There were grass stains all down the front from where she had fallen down the hill. It served her right for picking a fight with her older brother.
She pouted as she walked up the stairs. At the age of 150, she was still just a child. She dreamed every night of the world outside the elven homeland. She had heard stories the bards told of Gilthanas and Tanis Halfelven. She wanted to be a bard. She wanted to travel, sing, and write about the heroes of olden times. However, she still had 100 years before she would be permitted to leave the home of the elves. Sebastian was lucky. He only had 43 more years to wait until he could leave but still he was content with staying there. Shaking her head, she looked up at him.
"I¹m coming," she shouted to her brother as she started climbing the stairs again.
Looking up she could see the structure at the top of the hill. The city had been built by the dwarves, on the face of a steep mountain. They had carved it into the side of the mountain. The dinning hall was out doors. It was customary for the entire city to dine together every evening. The dinning hall consisted of fifteen long tables placed on a slab of stone with pillars of white marble surrounding them in a circle. Just past the dinning hall was another set of stone stairs that led to the city itself. Everything in the city was open and without roofs. The city was built of the same white marble that the pillars in the dinning hall were made of. A spell had been placed on the city to protect its buildings and inhabitants from the elements. Deep within the mountain were the elven burial chambers. All the great kings and queens of the past had been laid to rest in those tombs. Other people like her father had been cremated and their ashes were placed into an urn. There was a special place for each family in the vaults below the mountain. Her ancestors had been laid there, and some day she and her brother would be placed there as well.
Reaching the top of the stairs Electra saw that the whole city was almost there. Her brother, who had run ahead to tell her mother what had happened, was standing on the far side of the dinning hall with her mother. He was talking quickly and gesturing rapidly with his hands as if telling a story. When he finished her mother looked up and Electra knew she was in trouble. Bowing her head, she walked toward her mother.
As Electra walked around the edges of the great hall, a pair of hands reached out from behind a pillar and grabbed her around the waist and mouth. She was yanked back behind the pillar and the hand on her mouth was replaced with the softest lips she had ever felt in her life. Well, they were the only lips she had ever kissed and she was happy to keep it that way. She melted into his kiss for a few moments before she pushed him back and slapped his face. Donnaman was the love of her life. Two braids woven into the sides of his head, held his long blond hair back. He rubbed his cheek and smiled at her, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief.
"What was that for?" he asked in a mocking shocked tone. Then he looked at her in that way. That way that made her knees buckle and her heart skip a beat. She knew then that she would love him until the day she died.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to do this in public? I am going to talk to mother about us tonight. I asked you to be discrete. Please don't make this any harder than it has to be," Electra begged.
Placing a finger to her lips, he silenced her. "I just wanted to steal a kiss, my love." with that, he was gone. Sighing she turned and went to face her mother.