I sit on the edge of the bed, refreshed and clean of the past 24 hours. I can hear the shower still running as Elijah finishes up. The clothes I wear feel different that the ones I’m used to but they’re comfortable. The shower turns off and a few moments later Elijah walks into the room in his boxers.

“Hey beautiful.” He says, running his hands through his wet hair.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” I smile, drinking in his body.

He comes over to me and leans down, kissing me. Little droplets of water land on my nose from his wet hair. I smile and pull him closer, feeling tingles throughout my body. He pushes me further onto the bed and begins to crawl on top when a knock sounds at our door. He chuckles quietly and straightens up, pulling me with him.

“Sorry to intrude,” Eileen begins as Elijah opens the door, “but dinner’s ready.”

“Thank you, we’ll be out in a moment.” Elijah smiles and closes the door back.

I watch him get dressed quickly before we head back out of the room. The house is quaint and homey, nothing at all like the castle I am used to. There are no dark, foreboding rooms or decorations. I don’t feel the fear of running into someone that hates me every time we turn a corner. We emerge into the dining room to find Eileen setting the food on the table.

“Hey guys, you can sit anywhere you like.” She smiles at us.

We take the two closest chairs and sit down. I grab a small plate of food and Elijah grabs the plasma juice that Eileen had set out.

“Is uh, is it just you that lives here?” I ask her.

“Oh, no, this isn’t my house. Well, not the house I live in. This is our vacation home. I live in Isla Paradisio with my husband and children. I’ll be going back tomorrow. You two can stay here as long as you need to get on your feet and get acclimated to the modern world.” She explains.

“Oh, okay. Thank you.” I say.

She’s right, I will need to get used to this modern world. There’re so many things in it I know nothing about. I begin to feel the familiar dregs of fear rise up, but I look to Elijah and they go away. We can do this, together. He already knows of this world, so he’ll help me understand it.

“So, how did the battle go? Have you heard anything?” Elijah asks.

“Yes, I was talking to Levi before dinner. We won, and the queen and king are dead. However, the prince is still missing. We haven’t heard anything more about that, but we assume that he’s in hiding now. We can only hope to find him before he has the time to raise an army to retaliate.” She tells us.

I finish my dinner and lean against Eli. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me close to his cold body. Shivers run through my body, but this time they’re not of pleasure. Victor is still alive. I try to push the thought from my mind and focus on something else.

“Why was there even a battle? I mean, how did it happen? Why did my family show up that night instead of twenty years ago?” I ask.

Eileen smiles sadly at me and looks to Elijah. “It’s getting late; I think I’ll get going. If I could answer that question to its fullest I would, but you’ll have to ask Elijah.”

She takes our plates to the kitchen for us and grabs her coat by the front door.

“Guinevere, I just want you to know, your parents, your family, have always loved you. Whatever the king and queen told you was all a lie. I can’t imagine the anger you must have built up over the past twenty years but your father and mother, they’re good people, some of the best I know. If they could have come to your rescue twenty years ago, they would have done so in a heartbeat.” With that, she was gone.

I look at Elijah and he smiles at me, standing. “Come on; let’s get somewhere a little more comfy. It’s kind of a long story.” He takes my hand and leads me to the living room and onto the couch.

I throw my legs over him and he pulls me close, smiling. He stays quiet for a few minutes, probably trying to figure out how to start this.

“Your last name is Belle and your family has a long history with supernaturals. Your bloodline has always been one of immense power. Hundreds of year ago, your ancestor had been the Fairy queen. Something happened between her and my mother. Since then, she’s had a seething hatred for your family. However, she got distracted by other things and your family fell from her priorities. Your great-grandma, Athena Belle, was a teen when my mother’s interest came back to your family and it’s been there off and on since.” He stopped for a moment and moved a little. I yawned and switched to a different position as well to get more comfortable.

“When you were only a few months old you were stolen from your crib by Sidney and Adam. Your family has been searching for you since, but Dragon Valley has a special ward around it, so only people who already know where it’s at can find it. The night that I was taken, I managed to escape before my brother killed me. I ran to your parents. That’s how I learned all of this, and that’s how we were able to come and attack. I was able to lead them into Dragon Valley, and through a secret passage that ends in the catacombs, in your secret room. I’ve explained to your family what you were brought up to believe about them, so they know you are wary of them. While it pains them to have you so close but not be able to have you back, they understand. They just want you to know that they love you, and miss you, and cannot wait until you are ready to go to them.”

I sigh once he’s finished. It’s a lot to take in. It’s almost too much. I don’t know what to say or do, so I just lay there, letting it soak in. Elijah sits patiently with me, slowly rubbing my shoulder. After a while I give up trying to take it all in at once. This is something I’d need to sleep on, more than once.

“Let’s go to bed.” I whisper.

Elijah nods and before I Can get up, he slides his arms underneath me and lifts me up, cradling me against him. I smile and lean into him, closing my eyes. It doesn’t matter if it’ll take me time to be okay with my family, or to get used to this world. As long as I have him, it will all be okay.