MASTER SEBASTIAN

Chapter 18

A little rough?? I almost broke my neck!

I struggled to rise from my bent position, scraping the tangled mess of my hair away from my face, breathing hard. My insides were a mess. Nausea churned in my gut and dizziness hovered threateningly.

Footsteps approached me. The smell of leather told me it was Sebastian.

"Eleanor." Hands on my shoulder, pulling me up carefully. "Are you okay?" A gruff question.

I blinked up at his face. Had we somehow gone to the wrong dimension? "I'm--" my words caught in my throat when I saw where we were.

Bursts of green. A heavenly atmosphere. Vibrant colours.... Fairies.

A breath left me. The chirping of birds filled my ears, accompanied by the smooth crashing of water against boulders. Something unimaginably sweet teased my nose and a surge of energy filled me, growing in it's intensity until I thought I would burst from happiness. A laugh escaped me and I had the most embarrassing urge to twirl on my feet.

Sebastian watched me. In words that meant more than I could grasp, he said silently, "You belong here."

I finally gave in to the urge. Giggling without care, I spun around, throwing my face up to the sky. The warmth of the sun embraced me, wrapping me in its reassuring cocoon . A devastating sense of belonging engulfed me and my eyes stung, a wide grin splitting my face.

Something fluttered close to my face and I stilled a gasp to see not one but a battalion of little fairies. They stared at me in open wonder, excitement making their gossamer wings beat faster. They suddenly dove for me, burrowing into my hair, stroking my face. Tiny whispers filled my ears: 'princess...' 'goddess, she's returned...' 'the king would be free of his sorrows...' 'how beautiful our princess is...'

Their caresses tickled and I giggled, feeling like I'd just landed in a disney movie when a group of fairies flew away, only to return with a crown of flowers. My hair was pulled away from my face and I felt a multitude of hands on my hair, twisting, braiding. Slowly they placed it on my head, flying a distance to appraise me proudly. Something warm swole in my chest.

Feeling a heavy stare on me, I turned, my gaze connecting with Sebastian's. The look in his eyes slowly robbed me of breath.

The neigh of a horse had us breaking our stare. Sigrid approached me, an unseated horse in tow. A few other warriors rode behind him. Here to escort me to the castle? Sebastian grabbed the reins of the empty horse. He turned to me. "Come."

I hesitated. I wasn't going to ride with him.

He saw the look on my face and said coolly, "Would you rather die of a broken neck?"

Turning up my nose, I walked over to him. Shock slid through me when he grabbed my waist, lifting me onto the saddle. He came up behind me and I was immediately engulfed in warmth, his broad chest like a solid rock behind me.

His muscular hands reached around me to grab the reins, effectively caging me in. My heart leapt and, irritated, I struggled to calm my breathing, reminding myself vampires could listen to heartbeats.

We started to move. The feeling of riding a horse was alien to me as it was exciting. I looked around. We were in what seemed like a scant clearing, a forest town. Small wooden houses hung off tree barks, little ladders rolled out of them. Canopies of trees covered a cluster of more oak houses, fairies tripping in and out.