"This can't be happening. It's not possible. Eric would never...He would never...he would never just lie to me. Would he?"

Laya rocked back and forth on the cool marble floor after having locked herself in the master bathroom of the cottage.

When she had woken up, in the cottage bed, Eric had been there. Eric had explained to her that she had fallen and had been knocked unconscious. But Laya could tell that Eric knew; he always knew what she was thinking. Still, Laya had to be sure, so she had asked one question, hoping and fearing what the answer would reveal to her.

"Is it true?"

Silence.

"I SAID, IS IT TRUE?!"

Laya felt her blood run cold.

So, was it was really true then? Would she never be able to return home?

But, Laya thought feverishly, he had said, no PROMISED, that she would, someday, return home. She had never been told that her hopes were not possible. Furthermore, she had never been informed that Narthalls was Eric's HALF-brother.

Laya had always assumed that she would someday make it back home, maybe just to visit. After all, she would have been gone who knew how long. But now she knew that this option was never a possibility. Eric had lied to her and she had believed him.

Laya realized now that she had known all along that she would never get home again, the invisible thread between her world and this world had been severed, it had just taken a while for her to see that.

So now she rocked silently against the bathroom floor. Silent tears slid down her face like a waterfall and choked sobs wrenched themselves from her throat.

"Laya...I'm sorry. I...I'm sorry." Came the defeated voice on the other side of the thick door.

Eric did not dare enter the room, knowing that it would do him no good if Laya saw him.

"Just... GO AWAY!" Laya sobbed between sniffling.

"Can...can I get you something? Anything?" Came Eric's persistent voice.

"No"

"Well then, would you like to go back to the castle?"

Laya paused.

"Yes."

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The ride back to the castle had not been a harmonious one. Laya covered herself in a long black veil, hiding her face from Eric. She didn't want to see his tortured face or face his attempted apologies.

Elves gathered, confused, along the streets. They wondered why no one waved back to them. Soon the happy and joyous mood in the air evaporated, turning gray as they sensed that something was off. As the royal procession went onto the palace grounds, leaving them behind, the elves were left to ponder amongst themselves what was amiss.
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When Laya had arrived at the castle, she practically raced away from the carriage and had barreled to her room, wishing to hide the tears streaming down her face.

Gwen stared after her with a worried expression, but as Eric hurried up to her and whispered in her ear, Gwen's eyes had opened in shock.

Laya didn't care for any of it anymore. She was tired of it all. The lies. The deceptions. All she wanted now was to be alone, and the only place she knew of was in her room. Laya raced into her room, flung the door shut, and flung herself onto the bed. For a few minutes, nothing happened. Then, a soft nudge on her shoulder made Laya peek out of between her hands.

Smoke sat on the bed, head cocked, and paw raise to her shoulder, the cat-flap on the door to the room swung slowly. Laya smiled feebly.

"Well, at least there's one person, no...cat, here that I can trust."

Raising one shaking hand, Laya gently stoked Smoke and attempted a smile. It seemed that Smoke always showed up at the best of times.

Smoke arched his back and purred, rubbing his face against hers. Sighing, Laya picked up Smoke and turned around so that she could place Smoke on her stomach.

But as Smoke settled himself on her stomach,  neatly tucking his paws beneath him, Laya was reminded of what Narthals had said. Fresh tears streaked down Laya's cheeks.

After a while, even Smoke left after having failed in his mission to cheer Laya up. So Laya laid in the dark for awhile, having shut off the light in the room. Finally she sunk into a troubled sleep.

Laya was running through a wooded area back in Alaska. As she ran, the woods got darker, and suddenly, Laya was in the woods outside of her grandparents house. She looked behind her shoulder, fearfully, and saw a horde of black shadows pursuing her, gaining closer each second. Laya's heart raced and she scrambled to go faster, stumbling over logs and roots. Suddenly she tripped and fell. Fell right onto a human shape. Before the shadows descended upon her, she saw that she was staring into the lifeless eyes of her grandfather. Laya let out a horrified shriek.

Laya jerked and awake, the eyes of her dead grandfather still lingering in her mind. The room was still unsettling black. A chill crept up Laya's spine and the hairs on the back of her head lifted ever so slightly. Laya quickly scanned the dark room, almost certain that someone was in the room with her. Suddenly, as her eyes adjusted the the dark, she saw a shadow peel itself from the other shadows.

"Who's there?" Laya croaked out.

"How does your Prince in shining armor look to you now?" Narthals voice seemed to echo around the room.

Laya's limbs locked in fear and she found that she could scarcely breathe. The air in the room seemed to solidify. She stared in terror as Narthals slid closer to the bed.

Laya thought tried to get her vocal cords to work so that she could scream, but her vocal cords wouldn't respond to her attempts. All Laya could manage was a strangled squeal.

Her eyes had become so used to the dark that she saw a smile creep up his face. Wait. He HAD a face. No glamour covered him.

Laya also noticed an odd object in his hand, it was thin and curved at the tip and jagged.

"Poor Laya, all alone. No one will miss you." Narthals said slowly, raising his hand that the object was in.

Laya's eyes widened as she saw the crooked dagger plunge towards her. Then, Laya felt something happen inside her, like butterflies but more intensely. Laya opened her mouth and--

Suddenly, Laya's door flung open and a whole artillery of soldiers swarmed into her room, Eric at the head.

"Laya!"

Laya, although she didn't want to admit it, was happy to see him. But not enough so that she would completely forgive him.

Eric swooped to Laya's side and patted her clammy face with his sure hands.

"The intruder alert went off; I came as fast as I could. What did he do to you? Did he hurt you? I am going to take you to my mother. Laya please talk to me." Eric begged pitifully.

Getting a grip on her vocal cords, Laya nodded to show that she was okay, but as Eric still picked her up and proceeded to carry her put the door, Laya continued to stare somewhat perplexed into space.

Because she had almost been certain that she had felt a nudge inside her just a few moments before.