Chapter 4

Cold hearted, or not, Alrich stays with me for hours. By the time I wake up, it's getting dark out. When I open my eyes, I'm met with his soft gaze. He's moved us to sit beside a boulder and wrapped his jacket around me.

 Hey, there, lovely." He whispers.

"Hey." I answer back, slowly sitting up.

"How long have we been here?"

"I don't know. Does it matter?" He answers softly

I look away. "Yes, I need to get back to my family."

He shrugs. "I think that you needed rest more, dear." Suddenly his face shifts and he smirks. "You snore."

My face feels as if it’s set on fire. My eyes widen. "I do not!"

He chuckles. "Oh, but you do!" He smiles widely at me. "It's cute, though. Tiny little noises." He laughs, full blown laughs, seeing my blush rise on my cheeks.

Mortified, I stand up quickly. "I really need to go." I glance around and notice that there is only one horse there. "Where's my mare?"

His face immediately becomes serious, as we remember the reason that we are out here. He stands up and grabs a hold of my hands.

"I sent her to your home. Your sister-in-law rode her back."

"Oh."

I guess he hears the disappointment as he frowns. "I didn't think that you would mind riding with me." He says, sounding a bit disappointed himself.

I glance at him, and blush. "Why would you want to ride with me? I'm a nobody." I ask genuinely confused.

He wraps me up in a soft hug."I like you. Can’t you tell?" I look at him questioningly. He laughs, shaking his head in bewilderment, causing my face to heat up more. "Do you think that I spend an entire night at a ball with someone that I don't like?" He teases.

"Maybe. You could have been using me to get out of your obligations." I answer him honestly.

His boisterous laugh causes me to smile, shyly. "Obligations!" He bends over attempting to stop his laughter. "I'm not Christopher. I don't have obligations."

The reminder of Chris causes my heart to crash. My breathing stops, and I can feel the tears forming. I attempt to give him a smile that probably looks more like a grimace. His face falls for a second before he regains his composure.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stop that beautiful smile." He wraps me up in another hug. It feels warm and safe. "The prince is a fool." His light chuckle reverberates through my chest. "I guess that's why he needed to go off and learn how to be a King."

I know that he's trying to help but that only makes me hurt more. I know that it's time to move on but it's hard. I don't know why I can't get him out of my heart and mind. I grasp ahold of Alric into a tighter hug, taking a deep breath, and take control of my emotions.

"Thank you, Sir Alrich."

He shakes his head. "No, don't call me sir. Just call me Alrich."

I nod. "Alright, Alrich."

He smiles and grabs my hand. "Come. Let's take you home. You're right. Your mom is probably worried."

I nod my head just as a cold shiver wracks my body. I glance at the sky. Something doesn't feel right. I feel darkness coming. Something darker than the night sky.

Alrich looks back, notices my gaze, and follows it. I don't see anything there so I grab a hold of his elbow. He nods and we walk to his horse.

“So, little lady, want me to help you get on?”

I snort. “Does it look like I need help?”

He chuckles. “Of course, not. I’m just trying to be a gentleman.”

“Right.” I stop abruptly, and face him. “Alrich.” I say, softly. I’m nervous about how he’s going to react to what I have to say.

“Rae?” He smiles, encouraging me.

“I think that you might like me, as you say.” I tilt my head down. “However, I’m not ready for anything more than friends.”

He smiles and nods. “I understand.” He grabs a hold of my hand. “Friends?” He asks with a raised brow.

I smile back. “Friends.” I agree.

I climb onto his beautiful horse and chuckle at the expression on his face. He shakes his head and climbs up behind me. “Hang on tight. We’re going to fly.”

And fly we do. His horse moves gracefully and expertly, all the way back to my house. It allows me to keep my mind off what I am about to walk into to.

Mama rushes out of the house when she sees me arrive. She wraps me up in a hug, nearly toppling me over. “Oh, my baby! I was so worried about you!”

I burst into tears. “I’m so sorry, Mama. I passed out when Alrich told me the news about Daddy.” I apologize.

She stiffens, very subtly. Looking behind me, she straightens up. “Sir, thank you so much for taking care of my baby.”

“It’s no problem, Ma’am.” He glances at me. “She looked like she needed rest, so I waited until she woke up.” He looks back at Mama “What else are friends for?” He asks with a wink.

I blush when Mama looks at me with a questioning look, and I shrug. “We’re friends, I guess.” I give her a small smile and Alrich laughs loudly.

He smiles at my mom. “As of today, we are friends.” He turns to me and looks at me apologetically. I must get back to my own step mom. Plus, the King has called for a meeting in the morning to discuss what was witnessed.”

I shiver and glance back out at the sky. “What if they’re out there right now?” I whisper. I’ve been having this feeling of being watched since we left. “I feel like there’s danger out here.”

Alrich and Mama both look out into the night. “Rae.” He whispers. “Go back inside. Lock your doors. Everything will be okay. We’ll figure this out.” I shudder.

I’m not so sure that I believe him. “Rae.” He says, sternly. “The King has all kinds of allies. There are things that you don’t know about in this world. Trust me. Go inside. It will be okay.” I hesitate.

He looks me in the eyes. “I’m serious. Just trust me. We will figure this out. In the meantime, friend, go back inside with your mom. I’ll see you at the funerals.”

He kisses my forehead before he turns around, and climbs his horse, which is named Tor. Mama and I head in. As soon as the door shuts, she pulls me into her arms and cries. I hold her, too shocked for words. It isn’t long before my own sobs wrack my body.

We clutch each other until my brother comes out of his room to join us. We all stand in the middle of the living room crying until we can no longer stand. When there are no more tears to spend, we go our separate ways to our rooms. Twenty minutes later, I feel my mom crawl into bed with me. I slowly turn to face her.

“I can’t sleep in there. I smell him everywhere.” I see her try to control her tears.

I reach out and pull her in my embrace. “It’s okay, Mama. I understand.”

“Thank you, baby,” she says. She kisses my forehead, as she lays down, and I hold her until she cries herself to sleep.

Exhaustion takes me, and before I know it, I’m running. I don’t know what has me scared. Something is chasing me, but I can’t see it. I look behind me. I can’t see anything. I just know it’s there.

My heart rate spikes. I turn around and run faster. I jump over fallen logs and crash through branches that are hanging too low. However, no matter how fast I run, it feels like it’s right on my trail. I screech when it feels like something tries to grab my hand and I run faster.  I can barely breathe. That touch ignites the adrenaline in my body. I attempt to shift my direction in hopes that I can throw them off. It doesn’t work. I can still feel them on my heels.

The hairs on the back of my neck start to stand as something cold grabs my arm. I scream. Then I feel myself fall out of my bed. Panting, I look up and see the shocked expression on Mama’s face. I look around, trying to control my breathing. It was just a nightmare, but it felt so real!!