For the past month, Elowyn had been plagued by the darkest nightmares. Dreams of her home on Suditi being burned. Her mother being tortured and her friends dying horrible deaths. She would wake sobbing. Her grandmother, whose room was just across the hall, would hear her and come to comfort her.
Each night the nightmares got worse, so vivid Elowyn could smell the blood and the burning. She would sit awake longer and longer, unwilling to fall asleep, but sleep would take her and her terror would start.
Physicians were called and they came to the conclusion it was something demonic. Lumomancers were called in to weave protective webs of light around her room at night. This would help somewhat in keeping the nightmares away, but the sleep would be light and she wouldn't feel rested in the morning.
On the fifth week, Elowyn thought she would break down and die from exhaustion. She was getting paler and paler but her eyes got darker. She was nodding off during the day when she was supposed to be reading or sewing. Her lessons with Chord stopped completely as she was too weak to fight. Her grandmother urged her to take naps, but even short naps gave her visions of death.
Elowyn began to see the demons even when she wasn't asleep. She would close her eyes for a second and black monsters would swim in the darkness. Sometimes red or yellow eyes would peer back at her behind her eyelids.
Then Erik came home. She was excused from meeting him in the great hall with the rest of the family, but she rand into him in the hall as she shuffled her way to dinner.
When he saw Elowyn, she was pale, her hair was messy, she had purple around her eyes, and she was so skinny the dress she wore was practically falling off her.
He laughed at her. Anger flooded Elowyn. She drew back her hand and slapped him. She didn't even stay to see his reaction, just turned and ran outside to the barracks, Chord following close behind as always. She was sure to hear about her rudeness for missing dinner.
In the barracks, Elowyn picked up a practice sword and tried to swing it at a target. Her arms gave out on her before she could even make contact. She dropped it pitifully to the ground and knelt next to it. Chord was about to help her up when a voice stopped him.
"I'm sorry I laughed at you."
Erik appeared and put his hand on her shoulder. She hadn't even heard him coming.
"You just looked so..." he looked to be fighting back a rude description.
He gave up and wrapped his arm around her's, helping her up. He motioned for Chord to step away, Chord obeyed and stepped outside the builing. Erik lowered his voice and leaned toward her.
"Look, I know what's making you sick."
Elowyn scoffed.
"Everyone knows. The whole kingdom knows. I was supposed to have my coming out party this month and now it's been canceled."
Erik made a face.
"So early?"
"Her Majesty said I should come out early because the aristo... aristi..."
"Aristocrats." Erik finished for her.
"Yes. They don't know who am and want to meet me and I am already engaged so it doesn't matter how old I am because I won't get any boys who will want to marry me."
"Yes, that's certainly true. Who would want to marry you."
Elowyn started to cry, too tired to get mad again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't... Look," his voice dropped to a whisper, "I know how to fix it. Get rid of the demons."
Elowyn stopped crying.
"How?"
"You're being hunted. Word has gotten around that there is a price on your head, a King's ransom. There are thieves and assassins. And demons."
Elowyn thought she was going to faint. She started to collapse, but Erik grabbed her arm. He wrapped her arm around his shoulders and started to stumble back toward the castle. Chord followed them far enough behind to be out of earshot.
Elowyn had grown taller than Erik so he struggled to keep her upright.
"Corporeal demons haven't been able to get into the city without being killed, our walls are too protected. But some non-corporeal ones did make it to you."
"I don't know what that means," Elowyn mumbled.
"Ones that aren't solid. Ones that are made of shadow and nothing else. They made it to you. They can't harm you physically, so they are haunting your dreams."
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