Abandoned (Born From Shadows #2)

Tatianna sat outside in the gardens, listening to the sound of the birds singing and the winds creating a beat for their melody as it brushed through the trees. It was peaceful and calming to her. Nylif shuffled beside her, trying to get as comfortable as anything could with chains around their body.

“Tatianna, we have to go soon,” Tyrion warned her.

“Just five more minutes,” she replied not wanting to go back to the chaos of the palace.

“You still need to pack,” Tyrion reminded her of what she needed to be doing.

“Just five more minutes,” she repeated to the Fae male.

“You would love Faitn,” Tyrion said.

“That’s the capital of Zarenda right? The Fae Kingdom?” she asked unsure.

Tyrion nodded his head in confirmation. “There are fresh water streams flowing through the Kingdom, thick jungles filled with life and mountains taller than the clouds. It can be difficult to navigate without wings but it is truly stunning,” Tyrion said.

“The Queen would never let me out of her reach to visit,” she sadly replied. Although the Elven Kingdom was breathtaking, she loved having a change of scenery. Visiting the same gardens every day for eternity was going to get repetitive.

“Well you are going to Haveenté, which is why you should be packing right now not staring at the sky,” Tyrion told her, yet again reminding her of her obligations.

“I spent my whole life in Haveenté, I’d rather be free to swim in a warm fresh water stream,” she replied. Tatianna knew that she couldn’t swim, but just standing in the water would be enough for her. She hadn’t been able to get the image of the beaches in Faithorn out of her mind. How magnificent and free the water was, stretching out for miles.

“One day,” Tyrion replied. “One day, when the Queen passes down her crown and you become the ruler of Lyracris, nothing will stand in your way to freedom.”

She stayed mute knowing that if that day ever did come, she would still be the Red Prince’s captive. His to manipulate and torment, no matter the crown that she would wear upon her head. Tatianna stood up, as if only just realising now that this would be the last time she could see Nylif in months.

It was like the more times she saw the wolf the more it hurt to walk away. It wasn’t normal, it couldn’t be. She didn’t feel this way towards Ida, nor any other creature. That connection within her mind, the string tugging her in close. Why? she asked herself within her mind.

“What?” Tyrion asked, making her realise she asked the question out loud.

She didn’t want to explain it to him, it meant explaining her feelings to the man who was sent to guard her. Imprison her. It would be wrong to open up to him, but for some reason it felt right to do so. What did she have to loose? she thought. “Why do I feel so connected to Nylif?” she bit the knife and asked.

Tyrion looked away from her for a second, telling her he knew something. He was yet again having one of his debates in his head whether or not he could tell her. But there was something else in his eyes this time, was it sadness? It was pain, she realised after looking more closely, a feeling she was all too familiar with.

“I…um,” Tyrion stuttered. “We call it the fusion,” he said answering her question to her astonishment. “It’s when your mind latches onto another till the point where they become intertwined. Elves latch onto and animal, Fae to a…a person. Some reject the bond, distancing them from the other. The more time you spent with the other the stronger the bond gets till you practically of one mind and body. There are different stages of fusion, you are currently in the bonded stage, I think. Where you can feel each other and feel the connection, but are not quite one yet. ”

Pieces started to come together in her mind as she stared at the wolf. It explained so much, but not everything. “Then why does everyone make a big deal that I am bonded to a wolf?”

“Because,” Tyrion replied. “The Elves fuse to small creatures-”

“Like the Queens bird,” Tatianna interrupted him. “Sorry,” she muttered realising that interrupting her guard wasn’t the best idea.

Tyrion did not seem to mind. “Yes. So having Nylif was out of the ordinary. Not once throughout history has and Elf bonded to an animal of such calibre. The largest known was a feline,” Tyrion explained. “It’s dangerous, adds to the Queen’s fear of you to have such a ferocious beast at your side.”

“Then why let me still visit her?” Tatianna curiously asked. Logically it didn’t make sense to her. If the was afraid of the wolf, why let their bond strengthen.

“Separation…it’s the worst pain and Elf or Fae can go through. You may not be fused yet, so you wouldn’t have notice it at first but as your days continued you will feel more and more split. Half of your soul not there…it’s…the Queen isn’t that cruel,” Tyrion said with repressed pain that she could only tell from hiding her own feelings.

“Does anyone never find their other half? Just don’t have one.” she asked one of the so many questions running through her mind like a marathon.

“No, some say it’s nature’s way to counterbalance the strength of the magic flowing through our veins. That it’s a way to connect us to the mortals, to love another so much they become our vulnerability. We may not be able to be harmed by physical means but take way the one we have fused with, and the emotional damage is impossible to bare.”

Tatianna looked down at the wolf lying in her lap, running her hand along Nylif’s head. “Will the Queen let me bring her to Haveenté?” she asked.

“It could be arranged,” Tyrion replied. “Which reminds me, you need to pack.”

“Ok,” she said, finally leaving the garden.

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“It’s time,” Tyrion said as Tatianna pressed the last of her annoyingly long dresses that the Queen made her wear into the bag. She was given one pair of shoes and an assortment of dresses that did not match. She didn’t mind though, after living in the streets for so long she learnt that the aesthetics don’t matter, as long as its purpose works than its all good.

“Ok,” she said grabbing the bag. At that same time another unfamiliar guard knocked against the open chamber doors.

“Yes?” Tyrion asked the Elf.

“The Queen has requested your presence, your highness,” the guard told her. She was definitely not used to the way the guard spoke. It was respecting, as if she had the higher power over him and although that feeling wasn’t familiar, she could definitely get used to it.

“I told you it was time,” Tyrion said smugly. “Thank you,” Tyrion then told the guard, dismissing him from the chambers.

Tatianna carried her heavy luggage over her shoulder all the way to the throne room. Her muscles had been getting stronger, but the added weight of the bag made it difficult for her to walk.

There was no one but the Queen in the Throne room, waiting for her to arrive.

“I asked you to be here half an hour ago,” the Queen’s angry voice echoed through the vast room. “If you are ever tardy again, I will be less forgiving. As we are on a tight schedule, we will have to delay this conversation. Tyrion, take her outside where you will see an escort with horses.”

Tatianna not only still didn’t know how to ride a horse but couldn’t even mount one due to the chain around her ankles. How was she expected to travel? She decided not to ask and risk enraging the Queen further. It was going to be a difficult trip, that she knew. She only hoped it would be better then the journey to this Kingdom. Most of all she couldn’t believe after going through so much effort to get here, risking other’s lives in the process, that now she was to go back.

It was like the universe just wanted to taunt her until there was nothing to taunt.