Page 8 of To Love A Monster
AYLIN
A blush rose over my cheeks as I glanced again at Daegon, seated across from me at the small crystal table, the chairs carved from rock and covered in layers of soft blue silk. Daegon was incredibly handsome, but I saw him in a new lustful way. I was craving his touch and kisses, and the ache between my legs was begging for his fingers again.
Was this the mating lust that Daegon had been overcome by? I knew Daegon wanted to wait until we were back in his village to make love, but my body was shaking with the mere thought of it. Touching his member had awakened a fear that it would cause me great pain when we finally became one, but I trusted Daegon when he assured me it would only hurt for a moment.
"You are blushing, my beloved." He whispered as my hand covered my smile, my stomach feeling knotted as I nervously looked towards the entrance of the small dining hall. Any moment, my mother and the man whom my mother hid me from my entire life would enter. I was not scared to meet him. I was worried that he would try to hurt Daegon or keep me from him.
"I was thinking of your kisses and your touch," I whispered as a smile formed on his face revealing his fangs again. A shiver went down my spine as I remembered how I could feel them when he kissed me. His tusks always felt smooth and cool against my cheek as we kissed, a welcomed sensation.
"Aylin." A soft yet commanding voice said as I turned to see a tall elf enter the hall with my mother, my heart racing as I stood and nervously looked over to Daegon, who gave me a reassuring look. I immediately noticed that I had his nose, lips, and sleek elven ears. He was just as regal as my mother described. However, how he glanced at Daegon made a chill run down my spine. I was grateful that my skin was not my father's pale, sickly color. All the elves of Oryndaas had pale, almost blue skin.
Mother explained as we journeyed to Oryndaas that the Elves of the Ice Mountain had lost their once ivory-colored skin due to the extreme cold. They were once part of the mountain Elves that lived side by side with the druids of the old worlds, but a small group obsessed with dark magic migrated into the Ice Mountains and built the Kingdom of Oryndaas.
"My child." My father said as he held out his arm and embraced me, tears forming in my eyes as I hugged him tightly. My mother hugged us both as we all cried tears of joy. "You are home now, my child, and your mother as well." I looked up at him curiously, my eyes going from him to my mother as I felt a dark feeling overtake me.
"What are you saying? Mother did you not tell him of my intentions with Daegon."
"Your mother informed me of your—ill-fated mating, and after much convincing, we both agree that union would be a cursed one." I gasped as my father shoved me behind him and drew his sword. Several guards surrounded Daegon as I cried out for him. "Do not let him reach for his dagger! Kill it now and throw his body out in the cold for the cave beasts to feed on!"
"NO! DAEGON!" I cried out as strong hands grabbed my arms and pulled me from the dining hall. "NO!" I cried out as I watched, horrified as a guard stabbed Daegon with a dagger into his stomach.
"You cannot do this, Paeris! I thought you wanted peace! Killing him will court war!" A strong voice yelled from behind me as he pushed past the guards. It was an elf the handmaidens called Ivasaar. He was my father's right hand, a trusted friend, but his words were clearly falling on stubborn ears.
"I will never let an Orc mate with my child! Take him to the edge of the Kingdom and leave him there to die! I want others to heed his death as a warning to others! Any orc that enters Oryndaas will meet the same fate!"
"NO! PLEASE, NO! DAEGON! PLEASE, FATHER, NO! MOTHER! I screamed as they pulled me down the long dark hallway, my arms burning in pain as I tried desperately to free myself from their grasp. I was thrown into my chambers, the doors guarded as I tried to open them. I screamed for Daegon as I pounded my fists into the door, my body feeling weak as I sank onto the cold floor.
I pinched my arm to see if I was having a nightmare, for that was the only explanation for why my mother had just betrayed me. Watching the dagger go into Daegon flashed before my eyes, causing me to cry in utter pain.
"No!" I sobbed as I pulled my knees to my chest, my heart shattering as I prayed for death to take me. How could my father be so cruel upon first meeting his child? How could I love this Elf as my father when all I felt now was pure hatred?
"Aylin." The door pushed open as I hurried to my feet, my body stumbling on the fabric of the gown that I wanted desperately to rip from my body. I wanted no part of my father or the Kingdom of Oryndaas.
"Mother! How could you! How could you allow him to kill Daegon? How—" I froze as my father entered the chambers, his face stern, and calm as he motioned for my mother to leave. I turned away as he kissed her, my heart yearning for Daegon as I had to go to him. I had to save him. My father clasped his hands together and stood by the fire, his pale skin seeming to glow under the light.
"I know you are angry with me, my darling child, but in time you will see that a union with that filth would only be a curse." His words angered me in a way I had never felt before, my heart racing as I shoved him against the hearth.
"You are filth! I am ashamed to be your daughter" My father raised his hand and slapped me so hard to tumbled to the hard floor, my nose and mouth bleeding as I looked up at him in shock. I had never felt the sting of a strike, even when my mother was angry with me.
"You are forbidden from leaving this Kingdom until I know for certain that that filthy orc is dead. What you are feeling is not love, my child. It is disgusting mating lust. Those filthy orcs and their disgusting rituals, which you shall never be a part of, Aylin! In time you will forget him; one day, you will mate with a proper elf, a knight." His words drew more tears down my cheeks as I sat up and pulled my legs to my body, anger and hate filling my soul as he finally recused himself.
My face burned in pain as I slowly sat up, my gown stained with tiny drops of blood, as my lip felt big and swollen. More tears stung my eyes as I noticed a small feather on the bed, a feather that must have fallen from Daegon's hair. I cupped the feather into my hands and sank into the soft silk fabric that covered the bed. I gasped as the door opened once again, Ivasaar's expression warm and one of sorrow.
"Forgive me, Lady Aylin. I know that you are more than just in your tears. I am here to offer my condolences. I have tried to reason with your father, but his hatred for orcs knows no bounds." His long black robes dragged on the floor as he sat beside me, his cool hand taking mine as his kindness was welcome and unexpected.
"Why are you so different from the others? Why do you look upon others with favor instead of hate? Is there nothing that can be done to save Daegon? Please." I begged as I cupped our hands with my own, hot tears flowing freely down my cheeks as Ivasaar hugged me gently.
"When they dispose of his body, I will sneak away and drag him to the edge of Oryndaas; there is a lone dwarf named Halla who runs a small farm for the Kingdom. Daegon was not dead. Lady Aylin, Paeris wanted him alive when the beast found him. She will find him and hopefully mend him." His words brought little comfort to my broken heart, but I knew he was right. Daegon was alive; one way or another, I was going to escape this frozen prison.
DAEGON
Pain. Pain all over. Pain and utter sadness were all I could feel as I slowly opened my eyes. I was surprised when I felt a large cloth over my wound and a fire to warm me. “Ahh good—you are alive.” As a small figure came into focus, a kind and gentle voice said, a female dwarf with long dark blue hair and intricate braids throughout. She was small and robust, unlike any other female I had ever seen.
Her lips were not a soft pink as other maidens but a light shade of indigo, her people, no doubt, adapting to the cold of the Ice lands. Her chin was covered in a thin layer of blue hair, a common feature of most dwarves. I had seen several dwarfs in the markets of Fairhorn, but I had never seen a dwarf like her. She was short, but what she lacked in height, she made up for with strength. Her arms and legs were strong and muscular like mine, but her softness was a healing nature.
“Wh—ere am I?” Each word felt like the dagger was back into my stomach, my eyes welling up with tears as Aylin’s terrified screams were the last thing I heard as everything went dark. I hesitated as the woman held a small bone cup to my lips, the water tasting refreshing as I drank every drop.
“You are safe with me on my small farm up at the base of the ice mountain. I stumbled on you yesterday morning when I was checking my traps. I feared you were almost dead, but I nursed you back to health.”
