Bound by Destiny

Chapter One

Nolan

Pushing myself up from the bed, I leaned heavily on my side, using my elbow for support. Pain pulsed in my head from a torturous headache that felt like it was splitting my brain in half. I exhaled deeply to ease the tension in my aching body, then sat up on the edge of the bed.

Resting my elbows on my knees, I dropped my head in my hands and applied pressure near my eyes in a circular motion. What the hell did I do last night to cause me to feel on the brink of death? Thinking back, I tried to figure out what I’d done before falling asleep, but my memory was fuzzy. All I recalled was bits and pieces of a fight at the castle.

After sitting on the bed for several minutes in a pointless attempt to ease the headache, I lifted my head and glanced around the empty room. Hoping that Alyse might have some answers about last nights events, I forced myself to stand and go in search of my closest friend. Pausing at the six-inch thick wooden door in front of me that led into the valley of Menar outside the mountain, a sudden hollow feeling settled in my chest, making me gasp from an unknown fear that hit me out of nowhere.

I took a deep breath and pulled the door open. As soon as I stepped outside, the blindingly bright sun caused pain to shoot from my eyes to the back of my head, instantly worsening my headache. I grimaced in agony, squeezed my eyes closed and held my hand up to block the light.

Nolan. You’re up. An excited voice drifted in the air toward me.

I opened my eyes into slits and saw Alyse coming toward me. The brunette Pixie - half my size – seemed cautious as she approached. I was beginning to wonder when you were going to wake up.

Just the sound of her high-pitched voice grated on my nerves, increasing the pain in my head. What the hell happened to me last night? I grumbled and stumbled backwards. My balance seemed affected by my headache. Leaning back against the door I had just exited, my knees felt weak and I slid down to the ground in more of a fall than a controlled slide. My head is killing me.

Alyse knelt down in front of me with her eyes searching my face like she was looking for something. Nolan, are you okay? Concern filled her voice.

Hell no, I’m not okay. Something is wrong. I don’t feel right I growled with heavy breaths.

Lila! We need you Alyse called over her shoulder.

A few seconds later, an older Pixie woman hurried over to us. What is it? Lila asked and looked at me with an odd expression.

Nolan is in pain. His head hurts Alyse said.

The two women stared at each other with strange expressions and I got the feeling they knew something I didn’t. Before I could say anything, Lila stepped toward me and placed her hand on my forehead. Not wanting to be treated like a sickly child, I turned my head away from her.

Be still she ordered and closed her eyes in concentration.

I knew that she was trying- to help by seeing if she could tell what was wrong with me, but I didn’t want to be touched…not even by a Healer.

A minute later, Lila shook her head and dropped her hand. I’m sorry. I’m afraid I can’t heal you. A deep frown pulled down the corners of her mouth as she lowered her head. Sorrow flittered across her face before she covered it with a look of uncertainty.

What’s wrong with me I asked.

She hesitated to answer. I don’t know.

I noticed Lila and Alyse exchanging worried glances.

You should go back to the room and lay down Alyse said and reached for my arm to help me stand.

Instinctively, I pushed her hand away and glared at her. I don’t want to lay down. I want to know what the hell happened to me last night? Why can’t I remember?

Fear flashed in Alyse’s eyes a moment before she dropped her gaze to the ground. Her refusal to look at me as she spoke, made me question the validity of what she was about to say. You took a pretty nasty blow to the head when we rescued Sara and Gary from the castle Alyse said then shifted her gaze up to me briefly. You do remember them, right?

I have a headache, Alyse, not amnesia I snapped as another pain sliced through my head like a blade of a kithu through the air. Of course, I know who they are. They’re the humans you became friends with in the human world whom that bastard Drycus kidnapped.

That’s right Alyse agreed with a slow nod of her head.

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was definitely something off about the way Alyse was acting. She didn’t seem like her normal self.

Nolan, you need to rest Lila said and motioned for Alyse to help her pull me to my feet despite the warning look I shot her.

Between the two of them, their half-pint bodies were able to get me up without me having to put too much effort into standing on my own. The thought of being incapacitated even for a second gnawed at my pride, making me angry with myself.

As a Lenoi warrior, it was ingrained in me from the time I was a young boy that I should be the one providing help, not receiving it. But knowing there was a good possibility I might not make it on my own if the pain worsened, I held my tongue against refusing their help and allowed them to take me back to the room I had woken up in.

Alyse and Lila started toward the bed on the far side of the room against the wall, and I shook my head. No. Just help me to the sofa.

They did as I asked without objection. I plopped down and tried to ignore the way they stared at me, but it was hard not to notice the sadness in their eyes. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why Alyse looked like she was on the verge of tears. I was the one in excruciating pain…not her.

Can I get you anything? Alyse offered, her voice shook as she spoke.

I glanced up at her with a raised brow and considered telling her to give me a big ass bottle of Motrin. Or a sledgehammer to beat my brains out with if the pain didn’t stop soon. Instead, I simply said no.

Well then, if there is nothing we can do to make you feel more comfortable, we should go and let you rest Lila said and headed toward the door.

When Alyse didn’t make a move to follow her, Lila clear her throat to get her attention. Alyse and I both, looked Lila’s way and she smiled. Alyse, will you join me? There is something I need your help with.

She posed her sentence as a question but I couldn’t help but feel it was more of a demand. Especially with the tense way she glared at Alyse.

In a minute Alyse responded before turning her attention back to me. Are you going to be okay alone? she asked.

I laid back on the sofa and did my best to keep the agony I felt from seeping into my voice as I spoke, I’ll be fine. Whatever is wrong, I’m sure it will go away soon.

The look Alyse gave me clearly said she doubted my assumption, but she kept her opinion to herself. A moment later, she followed Lila out of the room.

Soon afterwards, I was out cold. I’m not sure whether I fell asleep on my own or the pain became too much to handle and my body shut down to protect itself. Either way, being unconscious did nothing to make me feel better. I was still in pain. Only now, it wasn’t just in my head…it consumed my entire body. Even my skin hurt.

It wasn’t until a tiny light appeared in the darkness around me that the pain slowly started to ease a little.

I forced my mind to focus on the light as it drew closer and became bigger. The shapeless light shifted into an image of a young girl with blindingly white hair and porcelain skin. She couldn’t have been more than a few years old…perhaps four or five. She was running through the woods. Smiling and laughing at something or someone behind her. Something about the child pulled at my subconscious mind, urging me to look at her.

I was stunned to realize that the more I focused on the child, the less pain I felt. Eager to break completely free of the pain, I studied the girl carefully in an attempt to see who or what was behind her, but the dream-like image suddenly faded. A brief moment of total darkness filled my mind before another image appeared. It was the same young girl only she seemed a few years older. She was sitting alone in the dark on a bed, clenching a pillow in her arms as tears steadily streamed down her face.

My heart ached as I watched her cry and scream out in agony. I wanted to go to her. I needed to go to her…to ease her pain. But as soon as the thought entered my mind, the image disappeared…leaving my subconscious totally alone in the dark again. This time, as soon as the light was gone, the pain in my head returned with a vengeance. A sudden, intense loneliness gripped my heart and made me feel like I was sinking into an endless pit of despair.

*****

Three days passed and I still suffered from a massive, unrelenting headache. Nothing I did made the pain go away. The only thing that gave me the slightest bit of relief was when I slept and dreamed of the young girl with white hair. I’d seen her a lot over the last few days.

Each time I dreamed about her, she grew older. But every time the dreams ended, the pain returned and I woke up in a cold sweat as I clung desperately to the image of the girl and attempted to will her back into my mind. It never worked, but it was worth a shot.

Sitting with Alyse and Adora under an apple tree in the farthest corner of the valley a little after noon, I carefully studied the Lenoi and Pixies as they talked and mingled with one another. I couldn’t put a finger on exactly what was wrong, but there was definitely something strange about all of them. They weren’t acting normal. Especially whenever I was around. I’d already caught several people watching me with concern in their eyes. Some even openly stared at me with pity…as if they felt sorry for me.

The thought really pissed me off. I didn’t want or need anyone’s pity. I was learning not to show how much pain I was in. It was hard but not impossible to survive the days pretending I was doing better. But inside, I was much worse now than I’d been a few days ago. The pain that racked my body reached all the way down to my soul.

Biting into a juicy red apple, I looked over at Adora. Am I missing something? I asked, attempting to sound casual.

What do you mean? she replied and glanced nervously to Alyse.

And there it was…the same look I had been getting from everyone since I woke up the day after the fight at the castle. It was starting to get on my nerves.

I’m talking about how everyone seems so damn nervous around me. Every time I come outside, I see people watching me but when I attempt to make eye contact, they look away.

We’re all just worried about you, that’s all Alyse said, unconvincingly.

Yeah Adora agreed. Everyone knows you haven’t been feeling well.

I studied them both. Whether they were telling the truth or not, I didn’t know. But I highly doubted it. Not wanting to start an argument by calling bullshit on their lame excuse when the sound of raised voices would only worsen the headache pounding my brain, I remained silent and glanced over to a group of Lenoi and Pixie children. They were playing a game of hide-n-seek. The sight of the blond-headed Lenoi girls reminded me of the girl I’d seen in my sleep and a tight feeling stirred in my chest.

Is there a young girl here with white hair and skin so pale that her veins are visible through her skin? I asked out of curiosity. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew the girl in my dreams. But how? Had I seen her in the valley?

Adora gasped. And Alyse’s eyes widened so big that I actually worried for a minute that they were going to pop out of her head. Neither of them offered a response.

Well, is there a girl like that here or not? I asked after a few seconds of waiting for one of them to speak.

No Alyse said quickly. No one here like that. Why do you ask?

I thought about her question. I wanted to keep the dreams of the girl to myself. But I needed to find out who she was. I needed to know if she was real.

Reluctantly, I answered her question. I’ve been seeing a girl in my dreams…only they’re not really dreams. Just fleeting images of the same girl at different stages in her life. And I have a strong feeling that I know her.

Adora suddenly straightened her back and glanced over at Alyse before turning her attention to me. If she’s not one of the girls you see here she said and pointed to the children playing. Then I’m sorry to say I don’t think she exists. She’s probably just a figment of your imagination.

Alyse dropped her eyes to the ground and didn’t offer to comment. But her silence and the sorrow written all over her face, said more than her words ever could. She knew the girl I described. I was certain of it.

Alyse, do you know who I’m talking about? I asked and narrowed my gaze on her.

Without looking my way, she jumped to her feet, suddenly in a rush to leave. No. I don’t know her. She paused and let out a deep breath. I’ll talk to you later. I have a long list of chores that I need to get done.

Before I could challenge her statement about needing to do chores, Alyse hurried inside the mountain. When I looked back to Adora, she was also on her feet, ready to leave. I guess you have chores to do too, huh? I said sarcastically.

Yeah Adora replied and hurried across the valley to where her warriors had gathered by the fire pit.

And just like that, I was sitting under the apple tree completely alone.

Thoughts of the girl from my dreams filled my mind. As soon as I saw her face, pain even worse than what was in my head - suddenly gripped my chest tightly - making me feel as if I was being ripped apart from the