Chapter 6

Roisin pov

I was nervous standing in the shower. I had washed and rinsed, my mind was just running a mile a minute. I turned the water off and wrapped myself in the towel and headed to Torin's room to see what I was to wear. Torin stood grinning at me holding a pair of black leather pants, flowers and filigree designs covering the entire length, they were very beautiful. The black matching shirt was the same as the dark purple one I had worn earlier. I put them on and Torin has me sit while he does my hair. I had small braids framing my face. I took a look in the mirror and smiled.

"I look lovely," I grin up at Torin's beaming face.

"Oh yes you do, my little female," he smiles and kisses my cheek. I sit on the edge of the bed and put on the long black boots, taking my time lacing them up the whole way. They were very comfortable and I could walk easily in them. I twirled around and Torin nodded.

"No one will look down at you, you carry your namesake very well. He comes in front and pulls the necklace he gave me from under my shirt and lays it on the outside. I question him with my eyes.

"So others know you are mine," he smirks, looking into my eyes, and making me smile. He hands me my bow and quiver and takes my hand. We are to meet Cadac and Adrit at the horses. I found it difficult to run the branches with boots on. I admired Torin as I watched him run. He had dressed in regal elven clothes as well and he had no difficulty with the boots he wore. I grin as he stops and wraps his arm around my waist and jumps to the ground. He made me feel so safe. I kissed him when we hit the ground. He pulls me out towards the other two. They both looked dashing as well.

"Roisin, will ride Midnight," Torin smiles at his friends.

"You're letting her on your horse," Adrit scoffed. Torin nods, eyeing him.

"She's the black countess and needs to ride a black stallion," Torin chuckles. I watch as he leads a huge beast of a horse to me. I raised my hand to its nose and scratched the softness. The horse raised its head and shook its long mane. "Beautiful horse," I gushed.

"Have you ridden before?" Torin asks. I laughed and nodded.

"Yes, my parents owned several," I grin, putting my foot in the stirrup and pushing myself up and in the saddle. I grab the reins and steer Midnight around the area. Torin chuckles and shakes his head.

"Is there nothing you can't do as a female?" he smirks.

"Have children, that's about it," I chuckle, kicking Midnight and racing around the open prairie.

"Let's hurry before she beats us there," Torin laughs, mounting the gray gelding. We all head towards the elf capitol. I spy an apple tree in the distance and kick Midnight, the large beast sprung quickly. I neared the tree and stretched out to grab an apple and was blessed with two. I rein Midnight for him to stop and jump from the saddle. I offered the horse an apple and he gobbled it up, sniffing for the other one I had in my hand.

"She's spoiling your horse Torin," Adrit chuckles. Midnight whinnies and I give him the second apple. I run my hands down his neck and pat it. I get back on and ride slowly with the others. I glance at Torin and he winks at me. I mouth love you and he makes me a heart sign with his hands. We seemed to ride forever, I surveyed the scenery and it appeared not to change much. Don't get me wrong it was very beautiful but seeing the same thing and it not changing felt like we hadn't traveled far.

"How long is this going to take," I mumble to Cadac. He chuckles at me.

"A few more hours and you'll be able to hear the contestants," he smirks at me. Lovely, I can't wait, more chauvinist elves men to deal with. I grit my teeth and kick Midnight's sides. Going faster I race around the others to pass the time. I laughed out loud when Cadac's horse got spooked and took off in the wrong direction. Torin shook his head at me with a grin on his face. I was having too much fun. We continue and I start to hear voices, lots of voices and I start to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. My nerves were causing Midnight to get jumpy and I had to pull harder on the reins to calm him and take big gulps of air for myself. I noticed Tarin riding up next to me eyeing me with concern.

"Are you okay?" he questions me. I shake my head and look at him with panic-filled eyes. He grabs my reins and jumps from his horse. Stopping Midnight. He helps me down and holds my face in his hands.

"You are a very skilled and strong female, you will do magnificently Roisin, we all believe in you. I believe in you, believe in yourself," he sighs and pressed his lips to my forehead. I grin slightly, embarrassed by his praise. He gets up on Midnight and presents his hand to me. I put mine in his and he pulls me up into his lap. I rest my head against him as he continues down the valley into the throngs of people. I was too uncomfortable to notice all the looks that came our way as we rode our way through the crowds. Cadac and Adrit rode on either side, they were greeted by several elves, and they nodded their heads as we rode through.

"Look up Roisin and see the elven capital," Torin smiles down at me. I look up and my mouth drops. It was amazing. It was a large city made of bright white opalescent colors. I could see an actual castle on top of a hill in the center of it all.

"Where are we going?" I mumble.

"To stay with my family," he smiles down at me. I wrap my hands around my middle and glance up at him.

"So you're taking me to meet the inlaws?" I laugh. He nods his head and glances down at me.

"Be on your best behavior, love, they are royalty after all," he smirks. Oh for fuck sake, I behave, highly unlikely. I chuckle at my thoughts causing him to eye me strangely.

"I'll be good Torin, I pinky promise," I grinned, offering him my pinky finger. He eyes me and chuckles. We continue through the busy streets, heading up to the castle.

"Where do your parents live," I squeak, my heart thumping. He grins and nods towards a large home next to the castle. Oh shit, his parents are super important. I frown and start to get more nervous. "You're going to be fine Roisin, they are very laid back and easygoing, remember my mother is a human," he grins. I sigh remembering he was also a halfling. I started to feel a little better. Torin wrapped his arm around my waist and kicked Midnight's sides and we raced up the cobblestone streets. My hair whipped around me as we got closer to our destination. When he pulled the reins to stop, we had arrived at his parent's large beautiful home. He jumped down from behind me and helped me down by grabbing my waist. I slid down his front and kissed him on the way down. He smiled at me and wrapped his arm around my waist. Cadac and Adrit arrived next. "Take the horses to the stables," Torin grins at the pair. They nodded and did what they were told.

"Are they your servants?" I ask, watching them do his bidding.

"Something like that, but I consider them my friends," he says casually. He takes me up the stairs and stops in front of a pair of massive doors. He takes a big breath of air and opens the door. We stepped inside and my eyes widened at the sight before me. Definitely, Versailles-inspired. I grin, it was lovely but just not something I could live with. An older woman smiles at us and I grin back.

"Son, I didn't know you were arriving," the old woman chuckles and hugs Torin. She looked like a sweet old lady. How old is Torin, I purse my lips at the thought. "Mother, I'd like to introduce you to Roisin, my intended," Torin smiles between me and his mother.

"Oh my, you must be related to the black countess, I'd recognize that hair color anywhere," she laughs, giving me a strong hug. I smile back and nod.

"She's my mother," I mumble. She nods happily and pulls me and Torin into a sitting area.

"Your father is with the king, your brother at the moment," she giggles. I look at Torin and mouth what the fuck at him. The king is his fucking brother. Just what in the hell is Torin? I give him a glaring look and he shrugs his shoulders at me.

"Now do tell me how you met, I love couples stories," she cooed, looking at Torin. He told her about how I had crossed into their land, about my archery skills, and how we ended up together. His mother was clapping her hands at the end.

"If you'll excuse us mother, I'd like to take Roisin to my room," Torin smiles at his mother. She nods and grins at us both. He takes my hand and we go up a tall staircase and enter a large fancy room. I look at Torin with my toes tapping.

"I have some questions, first your a fucking prince and second how can your brother be king if your mother is a human," I mumble, scowling at him. He grins and has me sit down.

"The king, my brother is actually your stepbrother, your mother and my dad, had a thing," he coughs, looking down at the floor.

"Your dad and my mother did the ugly and made my stepbrother who is the fucking elf king," I snap out, rising to my feet.

"How do you think I had her clothes, the black countess is your mother," he mumbles.

"Is this thing between us even real," I sigh, sitting back down on the lovely couch. Torin comes to me and grasps my hands. "Oh I love you very much Roisin and want you for my wife," he states matter of factly. I look into his eyes and smile at him.

"I want that too, and I don't care about being related to the elf king, I do hope he's a good one for all your sakes," I chuckle at the absurdity of it all. There was a knock at the door and Torin went to answer it. Cadac entered and smiled.

"I got her registered on our team using her mother's last name," he grins brightly. Torin nods and grabs his arm.

"I told her about her stepbrother and she's acting strangely about it," he mumbles softly. Cadac nodded his head, his eyes filling with concern.

"Will she be okay for tomorrow," Cadac frowns.

"Yes, she's strong, she'll be great," Torin smiles and pats him reassuringly.

"You and Adrit can stay together in my brother's old room," he grins. Cadac smiles and thanks him before leaving. He wasn't gone but a few moments and there's another knock and Torin grits his teeth. He opened the door and a tall, large man stood there. He looks similar to Torin. "Father, I wasn't expecting you so soon," Torin smiles and gives him a hug.

"You came for the competition, plan on winning this time," his father chuckles. He noticed me sitting on the couch and looked down at his son.

"Who is the female Torin, that's not Esmeralda," he quizzes, his eyes scanning me.

"This is Roisin, my intended," Torin grins at his father. His father comes into the room and eyes me curiously.

"She's Fiadh's daughter isn't she," he snaps, frowning at Torin.

"Yes father and I love her," he smiles. His father sighs and rubs his eyes. He looks at me and smiles.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Roisin, daughter of the black countess," he nodded his head to me and side glanced at Torin. Torin just keeps grinning like a fool, until his father finally bids him goodnight and leaves. Torin exhales and plops down beside me.

"Want to go to bed," he smirks at me. I yawned and nodded. He takes my hand and walks me towards another room where a large bed was. I start removing my clothes with sleep the only thing on my mind. I fell into the soft mattress and instantly crashed.