The Princess of Light and Dark

2. Lord Lupin's mountain

His rough hands grabbed my frail bicep and yanked me up, I flew into his chest, the hardness of his muscles connecting with my nose brought tears to my eyes. I sniffled and he pushed me away from his body.

“Don’t touch me.” He growled, I tried to pull away from his hold but his hand only gripped my arm harder, his long legs ate up the space and I had no choice but to let him drag me up the stairs. As we neared the top my eyes burned in pain, the light, it was much too bright to be inside a mountain. He pushed me through a threshold and I stumbled onto my knees. I hissed as I felt the tiny stones cut into my knees and hands. I lowered my head, my hair fanning out around my face, I was vulnerable in this position, on my hands and knees, at his mercy. I opened my eyes, slowly, the light obscured by the long thick strands of my wild red hair, making the adjustment softer on me. I took a deep breath, the first in many months. My lungs filled with a soft warm aroma; I could smell nature. Being a forest elf, my connection to nature was strong, I could always sense mother nature and her creations around me, but down in those cells, our connection had been cut. Now I was feeling it again, my heart filled with hope. Maybe I am not inside a mountain, maybe I am in a forest and once I am stronger, I can escape.

My hopes died as quickly as they came to life when two sets of hands grabbed each of my arms and hauled me unceremoniously to my feet. The gasp I had tried to contain in my throat at the sudden movement, escaped as I eyed my surroundings. We stood, smack bang in the center of a village, a village carved inside of a mountain. My eyes darted from one corner to the other, houses built into rocky walls littered the sides on the mountain, between them, jagged staircases climbed the mountain walls all the way as far as my eyes could see, at the very top of the mountain a giant crater allowed the sunlight to shine into the mountain, I could hear the fain sounds of water running. Impossible! I turned my head, looking behind me to see a lone black door, heavily guarded by not only elven warriors but chains and locks from top to bottom, beyond it, tall, gnarly tress grew haphazardly on top of each other, their leaves black as night. It was the definition of a dark forest. I caught a slight movement at the corner of my eye and turned slightly right, the movement had been my kidnapper removing his helmet. My eyes widened and my heart raced. He was enormous, his hands could easily crush my skull like a walnut, his shoulders were broad and powerful, his arms and legs thick like tree trunks. His hair was long and wavy, a fascinating shade of silver that made it shimmer and sparkle in the sun. His grey eyes were focused on me and my movements and I knew as I had observed him, he had observed me.

“Ah, the child of light and dark.” A scratchy voice startled me and I turned my head forwards to face a tall slim man, with a thick peppery beard and greying hair. His eyes shone a bright brown, the smile on his face was creepy and sinister. “I am Lord Lupus, welcome to my kingdom. Are you impressed?” I nodded and he reached forward with his hands, his meaty hand landed on my shoulder and I felt my skin crawl. “You may release her now.” He spoke quietly but his voice boomed around the mountain like a horn. “Walk with me child. We have much to talk about.” He motioned for me to walk but my legs were weak, my body swayed and I felt faint, my body crumbled from under me and I prepared for the harsh pain of hitting the floor, but instead I felt warmth.

“Good catch son, looks like the princess is feeling weaker than I expected her to be. Are you not being fed enough child?” He asked.

“No...” I croaked in a quiet voice.

“Ah, well, no problem. Shall we take this walk another day? Maybe you need to rest more. Take her back down.” He ordered.

“No!” I screamed “Please, don’t send me down there again.” I begged. The minute his harsh features turned into an evil smirk I knew he had me in the palm of his hand.

“That’ is what I thought, follow me princess.”

Sarnarel never put me down, he followed his father with me in his arms, like a rag doll, across the village to the very back wall of the mountain, a wall that had no stairs or houses. Just a large square piece of wood, with thick ropes tied to every corner.

“Pull us up” Lord Lupus ordered and I turned my head to see a large elven warrior pull at a round wheel like lever. As he turned it over and over, we started moving upwards, towards the top of the mountain.

“I call it an elevator, because it elevates you to the top.” He clarified. “I live up there,” he pointed to the gaping hole at the top of the mountain,” you can live up here with me for as long as you want, so long as you obey my rules and pay me for my kindness.” He smiled and licked his lips and I felt my body shiver in Sarnarels arms. He tensed under me, his arms pulling me closer to his body, almost protecting me.

“Oh relax, “Lord Lupus laughed “You are but a child. I just want unrestricted access to your powers.”

****

Lord Lupus’ Mountain top quarters were in fact worthy of a king. The top of the mountain had been strategically dug in a way that from the distance, the mountain looked untouched, but from beneath, the giant crater like hole provided the village below with sunlight, fresh air and somehow even the power to have running water inside. On the top layer of this hidden kingdom, lay an airy palace. The elevator as he called it stopped by the ridge of the inner mountain ring and as we got off, I slowly roamed the scenery with my eyes. I tried my best not to move in Sarnarel’s arms, every 20 feet or so there was an inconspicuous watching hole with a warrior placed beside it, all the rooms up here were more or less roofless. We walked quietly into ruined structure and as we crossed the threshold, I realised it was all a ploy, inside the magnificent building, it was a luxurious as any castle out there, far more than my fathers. The walls and glass ceilings were decorated with golden trims and leafy designs. The first room we stopped at was a grand hall, it was vast and airy, I noticed all the windows had some sort of mechanism around them and there was levers and pullers by each one, Sarnarel softly placed me down, my feet touched the cold floor and I shivered, his arms gently pulled me toward his body, his warmth invading me. I sighed and continued to look around, at the far end of the room were two black doors, the knockers and handles were a sparkling gold, and next to the doors Lord Lupus had sat on a golden throne. He beckoned me to him and I hesitated, Sarnarel’s hand on my back pushed me forward and my body obeyed his silent command.  I had spent months in darkness and solitude, and now I had been given a chance to see the light and I knew I would have to take it and plan an escape. I stopped in front of the throne, and watched as the old lord under the mountain smirked at me.

“Beyond those doors are the kitchen, my bed chambers and his... “he pointed to Sarnarel causing me to sheepishly look over my shoulder at the man behind me like a shadow “and yours if you prove me your loyalty.” I turned my eyes to him again and watched as he stood slowly and walked towards me, his feet softly touching the ground beneath them, approaching me like one would a feral beast. His big rough hand cupped my cheek and his forefinger and thumb pinched my chin and lifted my eyes to his. I couldn’t contain the tears that threatened to spill. “Don’t cry, princess. No harm will ever come to you, so long as you remain my loyal sorceress.” His touch was rougher than it needed to be and even at my young age I knew the threat it was implying. I lowered my head and the tears flowed freely down my cheeks.

“You have my loyalty and my powers. My lord.” I whispered, the words leaving a sour taste on my tongue as they fled my mouth. I would bid my time, and as my uncle Idril always taught me, ‘never show your true strength to an enemy, not until they believe you to be the weakest link. Then when they least expect it. Strike them down with all your might.’