Waking Up Next To You

۝Elspeth's POV۝

"It's another sunny morning, not to mention yesterday's big event, the annual winter festival and I saw a lot of friends there."

"That's right Marcus, I even got to talk with the royal family. Did you see the gown the queen was wearing talk about expensive?"

"They are the royal family, looking good is in the job description and Prince Rain definitely had his choice of the ladies. Can you believe it’s been eighteen years since that little guy was born?"

"I still remember the birth ceremony, such a cute little one he was. Talk about time flying by…”

“And now I feel old.” Laughter followed after the simple remark.

“Well for everyone who was old enough to remember here is a special song for the Prince."

"Maybe he reme...." A hand smacked the off button on the alarm clock, the fingers were slender with the occasional chipped fingernail. The hand slithered back looking for warmth beneath a comforter and rested alongside a fair almond beige colored cheek. The covers rustled around the bed concealing the young adult beneath. The voice of a congenial woman from outside of the room flooded the pleasant stillness from the night.

"Elspeth it's time for you to get up, your exams begin today and being tardy is not an option."

"K." the girl replied in a muttered, still only half in the real world, and in all honesty she truly wanted to stay within the unexplainable, completely undeniable world that created her many wondrous dreams. Although she wished to stay in the realm of dreams her brain had already began waking from its slumber and slowly caused her eyes to become exposed to the brilliant rays and face the fact that morning had come.  She laid on the cloud-like mattress with a pair of feathered pillows below her head and a warm blanket laid above her. For what reason would anyone ever want morning to come when a bed and a dream are far better.  Elspeth blew her air with her bottom lip in an attempt to remove the lonely strands of hair that found themselves dancing over her eyes. She turned the comforter corner over, thou the room was fairly warm Elspeth's body shivered for a moment and all she wanted to do was return to the warm quiet place she had been for the last nine hours. She scooted herself to the side of her large bed. Her toes hung inches above the floorboards, not do to her height but because the deep mahogany wooden structure set the bed itself off the timber floor. As she placed a lone toe on the ground she pulled it back from the icy boards. She glared at the floor, obviously it was at fault here. She placed both her feet upon the floor and scurried to a wardrobe, aged by both time and use. Five drawers with two rounded nobs on each were on the right along with a cabinet above them. Clutching one of the decorative bronze handles she pulled the top draw open. Her eyes bounced about her attire, taking a quick second to find what she needed. Pants and skirts rested neatly on in the draw. Switching to the third drawer she grabbed a pair of white knee-high leggings and a green plaid tie which were all thrown in the single drawer. She dropped onto her toes and pulled out the bottom drawer. Sat beside the vibrant colored tops. Beneath was a shelf folded shirts, mostly short sleeved but there were two long sleeved. They were all white. A grossularite green vest laid a crossed them, unlike the shirts it was only folded once. On the left of the wardrobe was a spacious hanging area with a mirror on the inside of the door. Though you may presume to see a dinning dress, or possibly ceremonial wear, this space was filled with armor. A leather breastplate leaned to one side, chainmail laid in an unorganized pile. Shoulder armor laid on its side and a pair of shoes hid themselves below the messy armor. Hung above the armor was a sheathed blade with a length of 30".

          Elspeth grabbed closed the wardrobe completely and with a shirt, vest, skirt, and tie that match. Along with her undergarments and stockings in hand she rushed over to her bed and jumped onto the still warm bedspreads. She pulled her night shirt off and tossed it to the wood floor. Her back stretched out as she put her bra in place, re-shifted her breasts and pulled her shirt over her head. The shirt was lined with buttons down the front but what was the point of undoing them all just to re-button them, Elspeth found no reason to waste on trivial matters such as this, so she always kept her shirts buttoned and slipped them over her head and arms all at once. Every once in a while she found a button missing, and on the rare occasion she found the seams unhemmed. She pulled her tangled hair out from the shirts collar. Sitting on her bed she looked a crossed her room, antique furniture lined three of the walls while a window occupied the fourth and opened up to a balcony overlooking the backyard. Her floor was cold and bare with thick bamboo boards lined perfectly. Her mahogany bed set directly across from the door, the headboard had Celtic knot work and ancient runes carved throughout it. The silent clock set on the side table along with an oil lamp, only a few hours ago it was topped with a warm spark. The wax slowly collected at the base and the smoke dispersed throughout the room. A silver pique and tortoiseshell hairbrush's handle laid slightly under the lamp's curled handle.

          She feel back onto the pillows, her arms spread wide allowing her to stretch. Her body resembled that of a cat slightly awake but unwilling to move from its space of sleep. Without moving her head off the cushions she slipped her skirt over her smooth pale legs, thou they were not skin and bone her legs where quit thin with very little muscle tone showing. She rolled onto her right side, using her hand to clear the hair out from in front of her. Her hands grabbed the cold handle of the brush and unraveled the hellish disorder upon her head. Her auburn-brown hair flowed down her back, small strands of gold lined throughout her lengthy hair. Her hair was completely natural and as the summer drew closer she had an increasing amount of gold in her hair. After she thoroughly brushed her thick strands the hair settled nicely from shoulder to shoulder down to her thighs. Her feet once again dangled from the bed, she slid each of her legs into a stocking, the tops were lined with two green strips and the royal emblem, five waves intertwined with an owl in flight, was embroidered between the two strips. She never did understand the reason for stockings, they were of no use. In the winter she had to run to school to keep her legs from freezing. The stockings came to just below her knees. With the help of her hands she pushed off the bed and landed on the heels of her feet. Setting her toes down a cold chill crawled up her body. She walked around the bed, her hands spun her body around the bronze posts, and she picked up four books, four inches wide and seven inches across. The books were double bound; once with horse leather, then the spines were re-stitched in order to protect the old books from the many ravages of time. Each outer corner was covered with a thin piece of copper, two ninety degree triangles on the top and bottom. The titles were written in black ink, while the authors name was in gold leaf, along with the images in the center of each textbook.  Their titles were as follows,

Magic and the Art of Healing

Beasts, Dragons and Deities Vol. 2

The History and Theory of Magic

Galade Magic: Combat Manipulation

Opening a small leather satchel she placed each book inside, one at a time. A knock came from the thick wooden door followed shortly by a deep voice.

"Elspeth c'mon, I don't want to be late because of you." She turned to the door with a gentle sigh and her eyes closed.

"Ok, I get it." she replied with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "You're always late anyway, so don't go blaming me." She said to herself as she tossed the Combat Manipulation book toward her bed, she didn't need it anyway. She had spent her entire life reading the same text over and over. In an attempt to understand how to use her magic, and no matter what she tried it never worked correctly. Sure she could use magic but she never used the right kind, if something needed healed she always seemed to use fire type magic not earth type. As she walked to her door a clatter came from behind her, she turned to her balcony window. Her eyes widened and her bag slowly slid off her shoulder and found itself leaning against her leg. She slowly moved toward the now shattered window. An elongated sigh came from her lips as she knelt down to all the shards.

"Hey, what are you doing up there?" the guy's voice echoed from a farther distance. Elspeth stood and ran to her door, standing against it she pushed all her weight onto the door. 'Please don't come up here, please please.' she thought as she replied.

"Nothing... I... I just dropped something. Don't worry, I'll clean it up. You go on ahead, I'll catch up." She was not the best liar so keep others from checking on her was hard. As the house's entrance gate glided closed and her mother yelled something outside. She knew she was clear.

"Well at least I can fix this faster now that they're outside." she said as she walked back to her balcony. She stood above the shards, careful not to cut herself with the pieces. She kneeled just before the glass. She put her hands together, palms touching and opened them until only her fingertips touched then she whispered with her eyes closed.

"Amin aino Xeo naham Nin na ant tûr helcë." Her hands began to glow a teal color, and her hair blew backwards, as a small wind picked up around her. The shards began to levitate, each piece swirled in a tornado shape they returned to their original positions. "I did it!" Elspeth clapped her hands, she performed magic and it actually worked. "I can't believe nothing went wrong." she said unable to hold back her excitement, however she soon stopped with entire disappointment.

"Why can't I ever do anything right when it comes to magic?" She placed her hands behind her and sat on the wooden balcony floor, away from the still broken glass. As she laid back, her eyes flew open 'What is that? It wasn't there before. It feels rough, but soft.' Her hands touched just the mysterious object behind her. 'Fur? But how did an animal get on my balcony?'

"God she's heavy! That idiot, this is his fault." A deep rumbling voice snapped from behind her. Elspeth's head slowly turned toward the animal, until her eyes met and comprehended the features of the animal. All Elspeth saw at the moment was a pair of deep amber eyes staring straight at her. They were mesmerizing, the amber color seemed almost nonexistent. As Elspeth stared at them she forgot everything around her, the floor seemed to disappear, the sounds outside vanished. It was as if she was alone with the animal and they were in the darkest of places. Yet she felt safe, warm, and completely relaxed. She could almost see the whole universe in those eyes.

The animal closed its eyes causing Elspeth to shake her head and everything seemed normal again. As it stood off the floor, its legs stretched out and the fur shifted as its body shook.

"Wolf?" she stuttered quietly.

          Steel gray claws extended from the wolf's large black paws. Black fur with silver tips stood up. The wolf's long snout cringed, his lips were tight and pulled forward. His ears were pointed slightly forward, while his forehead, neck hair, and hackles raised. Ivory teeth appeared between the jaws, its tongue moved about inside its mouth. The occasional sneeze came out. As it stepped toward Elspeth she glanced at its paws, large black paws with dark colored nails. Its paw was larger than her hand and once it was standing she had to look up to see its eyes as she leaned on her hands.

"At least you know what is going to kill you. So I can kill something smart for once." The wolf snapped stepping closer to her. 'I have do something, what? What do I do?' Elspeth's heart beat faster with each passing second. The wolf lifted its right paw partly above the floor; its claw glistened from the rising sun. 'My voice won’t come work! Why won't it work? D****t to inferno!' Elspeth pulled her legs to her chest, blocked her head with the back of her arms, and closed her eyes.

"Kedna down!" a voice beckoned toward the wolf, it was too deep to be a women’s and it did not sound familiar. As her eyes slowly allowed colors and light back in; she saw a figure standing between her and the wolf. There was not anything wrong with him. He appeared normal; well as normal as a well-toned person could. Her eyes moved across his backside, he was wearing the school uniform. 'Maybe he is a knight trainee. I should ask.' she thought only to contradict herself a second later. The wolf stepped back and retracted his claws as much as he could.

"Are you okay?" the guy asked turning his head toward her and scratching his scruffy copper colored hair.

'He's got a strange energy aura around him; I've never seen one like that before.' Elspeth thought as she stood up while wiping the dirt off her skirt.

"I'd be better if your pup didn't try to kill me."

"Did you just call me a pup, girl!?" Kedna snarled almost going at her again; however the guy interfered again.

"I told you not to go around attacking humans." the guy yelled at the wolf. The wolf's eyes meet with the guy's shoulders. Elspeth stared at the enormous wolf, it had to be at least 5' 6" possibly bigger. Although most devil dogs didn't reach 5' and a hypocanis was only 5' 4" so maybe it was just big. But either way just the size of the animal peaked her interest, not to mention its fluency in human tongue and the fact that it listened to a human.

"Yeah well I'm not the one who used magic to win a sparring match."

"I didn't cast that spell and you know it. You're just trying to win that match."

"As if, I could beat you any dame day!" Kedna growled back.

"Um... excuse me." Elspeth started until the guys voice covered hers to yell at the wolf. Her checks puffed out and turned red, like a small child when they get upset.

"Hey, I'm trying to tell you something. Now listen will you." She spoke louder grabbing his forearm and turning him around, but when he did she fell quiet and starred for a moment. His nose fit perfectly between two deep sapphire eyes, which as strange as it seemed they matched the wolf's down to the last detail. He also had a devilish grin from his lips, which only made his face more kissable. Elspeth felt his arm slipping out of her hand.

"O' no you don't." she said tightening her grip. As she stopped moving he spun his hand and grabbed Elspeth's wrist. In doing so she stumbled forward landing on his chest, which felt very well-toned. Elspeth's heart began to pound faster with each passing second.

"Well at least you find me attractive." he said with a teasing smile.

"What are you talking about?!" She stuttered stepping back and pulling her hand away, rubbing it.

"That's very interesting." he muttered while looking at the palm of his hand. Kedna sat down next to him annoyed at both of the humans.

"O yeah it is very interesting." he replied in a half yawn.

"Sorry, but what's interesting?" Elspeth asked with an intriguing sounding voice. The guy looked down at her, which was normal for him but strange for her; seeing how she was as tall as most 17 year old guys. His strange colored eyes made Elspeth smile and her heart slowed back down. They seemed very calming, yet complicated, like a puzzle that has yet to be solved or a game without a set end.

"What?" he asked with confusion on his face and irritation in his voice.

"Nothing." She said closing her eyes and smiling even more, the sunlight hit her face at such an angle that her hair was a dull gold and her skin almost glowed.

"I was just thinking how..." Elspeth's voice trailed off at the sound of a bell chime. "The school bell! We're going to be late." Elspeth said grabbing and pulling him into her room.

"Hey, wait a minute." He said as his face finally turned a different color, he could have pulled off being a demon or vampire with such a pale face and emotionless posture.

Elspeth turned and pointed her index finger at him.

"It's your fault that I'm going to be late in the first place. So there are no waits or buts until we get to the school and in class." Elspeth pulled him through the door, down a stair case and threw the front door yelling back. "I'm leaving now!" Yoko leaned over the counter with a confused look on her face.

"What's with her?" the woman's large, in muscle, husband asked.

"I bet its love." Yoko answered finishing her dishes as the man started to choke on his drink.

"Love!" he yelled in anger and disbelief.

"Yes dear, it's when two people like each other. Well maybe just one person, but always involves two or more people."

"I know what it is dear. But why does Elspeth have to fall in love first? I don't know how to deal with lovey-dovey girls." Yoko smiled with entertainment as she sat down with a wet plate in her hands.

"Honey, Von fell in love with a girl many years ago." She laughed as her husband's face fell deeper into depression. She whispered as her hands turned a green teal color and all the dishes dried at once. "Cheer up honey, Von has yet to figure it out. Something he got from you."

With the gate closed Elspeth let her feet guide her, the feeling of running was something no one could give you. The fresh air in your lungs, your chest feels like it’s on fire, but most of all you feel like you could do anything. This was the rush that she got every time she ran somewhere, be it for only a moment or most of the day. Growing up on these streets she knew every corner, side road, shortcut, and back alley. The sky was not any blue color, it was a combination of bright yellows, vivid oranges, and crimson reds. Even the occasional violets appeared across the vase sky. This was nothing new to Elspeth, she was told that on the surface the sky changed from reds to blues to pink and purples every day. It was said that on parts of the surface had streaks of green across the sky. She could not even imagine a sky other than the bright one that spread around the city, however many traders and merchants spoke of this unknown sky; that she could not help but believe this almost impossible notion.

Not everyone who lived on the island could say they knew everything about it, but Elspeth made it her task to remember each road perfectly, nothing else better to do when you can only go so far before falling off. She also knew exactly what route to take in order to get fresh bread from the bakery, Panadeiro Pastel always had something for her whether it was a fresh baked meat pie or a handmade turnover pastry, and she made sure to have time before school previous years to be able to savor the smell that Pastel artistically designed each morning. Creating a bread for every person that could walk by his shop. He once told her that creating a pastry was similar to casting a spell, thou many mages us fire magic each one has their own specific flavor that makes it one of a kind. She found it interesting that he compared his pastry making to magic using, however her taste buds really did not care what he compared pastries to.

The school was the furthest building from the living area of town. She did not need to think while her legs ran, they knew exactly where to go. She turned right after the metal work section of town, the three owners where brothers and although their jobs were very competitive they seemed to always get along. The large buildings once owned by Ferro and Parta Jamento, the original silversmith and his wife. They created the first silver and leather work for the air ship docks. When the two of them gave a third of the business to each son they went from brothers to competitors. Elspeth, like most locals, found their rivalry fun to watch and harmless to anyone. Across the broad street was a building with many windows and a wooden sign attached to a pole above the door, upon which was an image of a wolf’s head. The tips of the fur curled out into small clouds. Above the image read ‘Elvish Earl’ while below the image read the word ‘Inn’ in slightly larger letters. It shared its building with The Emerald Raven Tavern. Down the street was Coitelo's Butchery, thou you would assume that he chopped up pigs, cows, and the occasional deer. In truth he rarely saw these kinds of animals but found it more profitable to cut the meat of a wyvern or a mokin, beast that lived on the outskirts of the city. He was a master at cutting smaller animals such as rabbits, birds of prey, and small goats. He talked about his journey on the surface and how he had even butchered a dragon for the king of Hia. A nice way to get the younger children to respect him, as time went on Elspeth found it harder to believe he had left the island. As Elspeth continued she heard something behind her, small pebbles skipped across the cobblestone footpath as she slowed herself to a complete stop.

Author's Note

this story is told in different people's perspective so the POV stands for Point Of View. It will change from person to person.

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