Bella Raven

"So, his name is Dimitri?" The silence was suffocating Bella Raven as she sat with her head between her knees. Turns out that Elf travel didn't agree with her at all.

"Did he not even tell you his name?" he asked, amusement in his voice. "Oh, how foolish of him. He wanted to force you to marry him and yet didn't even give you the courtesy of his name."

"Didn't tell me why I had to marry him, nor did he even ask me. How could he expect that I'd want to marry him? I don't even know him! And he claims to be some kind of vampire prince. Why on earth would someone like that want to marry me?!"

"Yes, it is very peculiar."

The dizziness that had overwhelmed her seemed to have ebbed and she slowly sat up, relieved that she was no longer hunched over. The room they'd seemingly transported to was barely furnished, instead the floor and walls and even the ceiling looked to be made of stone, while there was a small seat (also made of stone) that the Elf had taken a seat on while she'd been on the floor unable to move. At least the room she'd been locked in had been furnished very nicely. The bed was rather comfortable too.

She climbed to her feet and turned to him. "I don't even know your name."

"We were quite preoccupied with escaping when we last met," he teased.

"I didn't know your name when we kissed!"

"Did you mind?"

She fell silent. The kiss had been something else entirely. It had felt powerful, as if everything she could ever want could have been unlocked with it. Not to mention the fact that he still looked angelic, like someone who she could trust in a heartbeat. Dimitri, on the other hand, she wouldn't want to pass in a dark alley.

"My name is Eldrin," the Elf said.

"Eldring?"

"Eld-rin."

"That's what I said. Eld-ring."

"Eld-rin. But, as you seem to have trouble, you may call me El, if you'd like."

She nodded. "El. I like that. So, El, where're we? Will Dimitri be able to find us? I really don't want to go back. I'm only sixteen, I can't get married!"

"We're somewhere safe right now. It might actually be the safest place for you as we're in Elf territory and his kind cannot just venture here freely. I have no doubt that he has already found us, so I wouldn't want to be with him right now," he explained. "Although now that you're able to stand, I think it might be best if we left this room. This was just the closest place I brought us to just in case your stomach failed us."

Bella Raven blushed and ducked her head, letting her hair cover her face. She felt ridiculous not having been able to endure the transport method. Perhaps if she'd been told of it beforehand, she might've been okay with it. That must've been why she had become overwhelmed with dizziness. It had been sudden and she'd been unprepared. That's enough to make anyone sick.

The Elf - Eldrin, she told herself - led her out the room and to some stairs that descended into the ground. She gave him a puzzled look before she slowly went down them, the light becoming darker each step of the way. Did Elves live underground? That was very strange of them. They were supposed to live in forests or tree dwellings, not in dark underground lairs, as she could envision these steps leading to. She would've expected the vampires to live in the dark rather than the Elves.

She stopped at the bottom, now unable to see anything, and felt him grab her hand as he began to led her down what she assumed was a hallway. There was no light until a door ahead was opened and she was exposed to light that made her have to shade her eyes. "Eldrin! What is this trickery? Word has it that the vampires have her."

When her eyes adjusted she saw that the voice belonged to a man who looked just as angelic, if not more, than Eldrin did. He honestly looked as if he were glowing, and she was awed enough that she had to be pushed into the room for her to begin moving again. She felt compelled to approach him and bow, as if he were some kind of god.

"I saved her from wedding that prince."

"That was foolish, brother! You should know that we are not welcome in their territory."

"You would have preferred I left her to be put under the control of Dimitri?" His voice held an outrage Bella Raven was surprised about. She hadn't yet asked why he had saved her from the apparent arranged marriage, but his words had it seem as if he was all too familiar with what happened when someone wed the prince. That thought made her somewhat sad, in a strange way. She'd been told she was to marry him and yet he might have been married before? That wasn't entirely fair.

Eldrin's brother approached them and eyed her critically, making her draw back unconsciously. "How did you bring her here? Surely he would've had her under heavy guard."

"It took a while, hence why I've been gone for such a long time. However, you'll be pleased to know that she asked me to rescue her."

The look on his face confused her. Why would that be so surprising? She had been kidnapped and was about to be forced to marry a vampire, why wouldn't she ask to be rescued?

"I wonder," he muttered before staring straight at her. "What exactly did Dimitri tell you?"

She shrugged. "Nothing really. He didn't even tell me his name or why I was there. Just locked me in a room, forced me into a wedding dress and would've forced me to marry him if El hadn't saved me."

"So he didn't speak about a prophecy?"

"A prophecy?" she frowned.

"Perhaps, brother," Eldrin interrupted, "it is we who should educate her."

"I don't know much about Elves, okay, but a prophecy? Really? We don't have prophecies nor do we actually believe in them. I don't know how much you guys know about humans--"

Eldrin interrupted her. "You're not human."

She faltered, taking a step away from the Elves. "What? That's crazy," she exclaimed.

"It's part of the prophecy."

"I don't care about some prophecy! I'm human and that's all I'll ever be. All I'm interested in is being able to go home and not be forced into a marriage with some vampire prince who I don't even know and have to wait to be rescued by some angelic Elf who insists I'm not human. When I am human."

Eldrin took a step towards her which made her take yet another backwards. "Bella Raven, please," he said. "Did I not rescue you? I mean you no harm, truly, but this prophecy is very important. You are very important."

"I'm not! I'm just plain old Bella Raven. I go to school, I'm ignored by everyone, and I'm not pretty enough to get any attention. That's who I am."

"And why do you think you never received any attention?" Eldrin's brother interrupted, making her look towards him puzzled. "Humans are naturally drawn to beauty and yet you have never received an ounce of attention in that manner. Surely you must have realised that something was amiss?"

Bella Raven stuttered, uncertain of what he was trying to imply. She didn't receive any attention because she was ugly, dull, not worthy of any. "You're wrong," she replied feebly.

"Part of it was also to do with the binding you have with the prince, but the rest is entirely because you are not human."

"You're wrong!" she insisted again.

"You know I'm not."

Before she could reply, Eldrin spoke up. "What did you feel when we kissed?"

A blush rose to her cheeks at the memory and her eyes snapped to his brother, unsure about his reaction. The Elf remained expressionless. "Well," she began, wondering what she could say. She should say that it felt powerful? Surely that was not worth mentioning. It had been her first kiss - it was probably how every girl felt after their first kiss. "I dunno, nice? I haven't really experienced any kisses before then."

"You didn't feel anything else? Nothing lurking beneath it?"

"I said no," she snapped, not wanting this conversation. "I'm not who you think I am, and I certain am not anything other than human. I just want to go home and go to bed, that's all."

The two Elves shared a look but she didn't care. She was tired of being around species that weren't her own. "Very well," Eldrin said, giving her a nod. "We can provide you with somewhere you can sleep, but once you've woken you must at least let us explain it. You need to hear everything, regardless whether you believe it, in order to understand why the moment you leave our company, you'll be in danger."

"Fine," she agreed begrudgingly, grateful when he then began to lead her out the room. This time he led her down a dimly lit hallway and opened a door that revealed a room made of stone but also a bed within it.

"There is a small bathroom adjoined. You are not a prisoner here, Bella Raven, not like you were with the vampires, but I do stress that being here with us gives you protection. You are free to leave this room whenever you wish, but I do wish you don't stray too far otherwise Dimitri could find you and then I wouldn't be able to prevent him from forcing you to wed him."

She shuddered at that idea and agreed, allowing him to close the door. She waited for the sound of a lock and heard none, relived that he had been telling the truth. Without even removing the dress, Bella Raven hurried to the bed and flopped down, instantly falling asleep.