Archer of the Lake

by Kelly R. Michaels

  ***

  She didn't fight the current and used it to move herself faster until it deposited her at a small embankment, bashing her against the rocks. ?Shaking, she managed to pull herself to land.

  She pushed her hair from her face, trying to think quickly. ?Her heavy, wet clothes stuck everywhere to her skin. ?She still had her bow, but all of her arrows were gone, lost in the stream. ?Powerless, the only thing she could think to do was to climb a tree, and she did. ?She continued running and left the riverside for the heart of Sal'Sumarathar. ?The night was silent, but Caelfel's ears were filled with the sound of rushing water. ?Her muscles ached and spasmed, but she ignored the pain and continued running.

  She didn't allow herself to think of time, but her weariness made her head pound and her bones ache. ?She only stopped when the innocent, twinkling lights of Sal'Sumarathar rested below her. ?The tree where she took her break guarded a crossway that intersected between empty forges on the fringes of Sal'Sumarathar. ?She slowed her breathing, looking around for the militia.

  She felt alone but Caelfel did not trust her senses. ?She watched for movement.

  But then a breeze blew, and everything shifted in its wake. ?Caelfel tensed, muscles clenching painfully, and wished her clothes would dry.

  Something sharp pierced the flesh on the back of her right calf. ?A gasp stuck in her throat as she fell out of the tree. ?She collided with the ground face first, the rest of her body crashing into the earth a moment later. Caelfel stayed still, only aware of the dull throbbing that she felt pulsing through her entire body. Her vision blurred.

  The voices that had risen up around her in the forest town were quickly silenced with a shrill command of, "Find her!"

  The patterned cadence of marching boots sounded as if it came from everywhere, all looking for her. ?The militia, she realized. ?She had to move.

  She struggled to lift herself from the ground, first her head and then pushing herself up with her arms. ?She steadied her left foot on flat ground. ?It held her weight as she dragged the right foot.

  Her knee buckled, and a sickening wave of pain caused her to sink to the ground again. ?She bit down on a groan and reached around to feel an arrow protruding from her calf, rivulets of blood coating her fingertips.

  She couldn't walk; the arrow embedded deep in her muscle made sure of that. ?Caelfel could only lamely drag herself along the ground in a feeble attempt to escape the clearing. ?The nearby sound of approaching warriors told her she would not make it in time. ?She resigned herself to capture and stood as tall and straight as she could.

  Her leg shook violently and then crumpled beneath her. ?Caelfel plunged toward the ground again.

  But she never hit the ground. ?Instead, something-someone caught her, wrapping their strong arms around her. ?They pressed a hand over her mouth to silence the instinctive scream that rose in her throat. ?Caelfel couldn't see their face.

  For a brief moment, she thought she had fallen into Markis's clutches at last, but when the figure carried her away from the exposed intersection and into the protected crevice between two buildings, Caelfel realized that this was not the case.

  She did not know whether to fight or to trust this person, but her weakened and injured position left her little choice. ?Rendered immobile, all she could do was wait.

  She began to formulate a string of muffled questions. ?The elf-at least she assumed it was an elf-pressed a hand harder against her mouth, though not threateningly, and pointed a gloved finger to the open space they were just at moments ago.

  Caelfel watched.

  Markis entered the clearing, an expression of utter rage on his face. ?He paced the spot where she had been moments before, and Caelfel did not dare to even breathe as members of the militia joined him.

  "She was here-right here! ?Only seconds ago. ?She disappeared. ?No one can vanish like that."

  "Perhaps you were mistaken," someone suggested. ?When Markis angrily whirled to face him, holding a sword to his throat, Caelfel instinctually moved to defend the nameless soldier, but the elf who held onto her kept Caelfel securely in place. ?She only managed to twitch slightly.

  "I know I'm not mistaken. ?Do you know why? ?Because I shot her out of the tree. ?Wherever she went, she could not have gone far with an arrow sticking out of her leg. Maybe if we're lucky, she is bleeding to death at this moment." ?Something in the soldier's face made Markis smirk. ?"Find her," the Chief Executor spat.

  The soldiers automatically fanned out across the clearing and the surrounding area, combing the city and forest for her. ?In moments, only Markis remained, pacing the very spot where she had landed. ?He inspected the ground, crouching over spots of blood Caelfel had left behind, and then he inspected the trees before disappearing into the night himself.

  Caelfel could not help but wonder why no one searched the crevice where they were hiding. ?She wanted to turn and confront her rescuer, but no matter how much she moved, the elf kept her firmly in place. ?Eventually-after several long minutes-the grip on her relaxed. ?Realizing that the elf had held her pinned upright against their chest, Caelfel now tried to stand on her own.

  But her injured leg could not support her weight, and she fell again. ?The elf caught her before she could hit the ground. ?They deftly wrapped her arm around their neck and then half-supported-half-carried her away from their hiding spot. ?She realized that they were headed to the horse meadow but Caelfel did not dare to speak until she had been safely deposited in a grove of trees.

  "Why the meadow? ?Don't you think they could easily find us here?" she asked. ?The hooded figure turned from her before her eyes could penetrate the shadows of the hood and identify the face.

  "They won't think to look here," her rescuer said. ?"You can't ride a horse with a lame leg."

  Caelfel blinked. ?"Feraan?"

  He lowered his hood, revealing his familiar hair. ?She had to admit to herself that she wasn't very surprised.

  "How did you-" ?But Caelfel did not have the words to voice her shock. ?He turned to meet her face with a characteristic smirk in place.

  "I imagined you would be happier to see me," he mused with a twinge of disappointment.

  Caelfel was reminded of Sir Kennyratear's words about Feraan's loneliness and she saw it reflected for that moment in his distant face. ?She shivered in the night. ?"I'm not unhappy about seeing you. ?I am surprised. ?I am grateful that you showed up, because I don't know what I would have done otherwise." ?Caelfel shivered again but not because of the cold.

  A smile touched his face.

  "But," she interrupted harshly, before he could change subjects. ?"I want to know how you found me." ?She struggled to keep her voice even, for it came very close to erupting in short, gasping hiccups. ?The smell of smoke from Sir Kennyratear's burning house still smoldered in her memory.

  Feraan seemed to notice how close she was to hysteria because for once, he was quick to explain things. ?"I confronted Luewyn about your aura," he said. ?"She dropped the hint that you could be in danger, so I went looking."

  Caelfel exhaled shakily and kept her eyes trained on his knees. ?She was admittedly impressed he confronted Luewyn instead of hiding in his house. ?"Then do you know about Sir Kennyratear?" she asked.

  Feraan said nothing, so Caelfel was forced to look at his expression, which suggested he knew nothing of the fate of his greyling friend. ?Caelfel angrily wondered how he could not; the smoke from the fire should have been seen for miles around.

  But his confusion garnered her pity, so she tried to explain what had happened in a series of teary gasps that quickly turned into uncontrollable sobs. ?Her teacher, her father's friend, her friend had been murdered, and she felt largely responsible. ?She could not voice this to Feraan, reduced to irrepressible shaking as she was, but to her astonishment, she felt his hand touch her shoulder lightly in what she assumed was a comforting gesture. The contact made her hold her breath for a long time, hiding her face with her hands. ?Feraan did not say anything until she f
inally regained the nerve to look back at him.

  His expression was endearingly soft. ?"Right now, I need to look at your leg."

  Sudden apprehension replaced her moment of grief. ?She dragged her lame leg protectively to her chest, feeling the hot stickiness congeal on her pants. ?She winced when her hand brushed past the arrow. ?"Why?"

  "You've got an arrow lodged in your muscle and you can't walk. ?I'm not a healer like your precious Thoroth but I know that it's not good for you."

  "We should take it to Thoroth. ?You're not a healer, so I don't want you touching it," she said aggressively.

  "We don't have that option," he told her. ?"The city is swarming with the militia. ?I'm afraid you'll have to settle with me as your healer."

  She remembered their first encounter and the medicine he had given her then. ?She sighed and nodded her consent.

  "On your stomach," he merely instructed. ?After a while, Caelfel relented and bit down on the folded layers of her cloak as Feraan pried the arrow from her calf. ?It was a long process that made tears stream down her face and her legs jerk about violently. ??She only had to kick him in the nose once before he tied her legs together to restrain them. ?When he finally released the arrow, the mangled nerves in Caelfel's leg made it shake horribly.

  Caelfel wanted to curse his name and all his ancestors but remained silent to not betray her tears. ?He was surprisingly gentle after that, using a warm liquid he had in his pocket to numb the trembling pain. ?He ripped something-Caelfel didn't see what it was-into long strips and wrapped the bandages tightly around her leg. ?When he tightened her boot laces and helped Caelfel to her feet, she hardly felt any pain. ?Standing on her own still proved difficult, however, so Feraan kept an arm around her.

  "We need to leave the meadow," he said quietly, his eyes darting about. ?"They may not suspect you to take a horse, but it's only a matter of time before they check."

  "Where are we going?" she asked.

  He turned to look at her slowly, and a smile lifted half his mouth. ?"I'll take you back to my house. ?You can't ride with that leg, so there's no point in leaving the Fey Forest just yet."

  Caelfel remembered their conversation about leaving and although she still did not want to leave Honey Water, she did not have the energy to put up an argument.

  So he carried her away from the meadow, too impatient to let her limp on her own. ?He seemed to know where guards patrolled and expertly dodged certain streets and corners until they were safely out of Sal'Sumarathar. ?When they reached his dwelling, he didn't use the front door, entering the back way through the garden.

  "What if the militia comes here?" she asked as he squeezed through a library.

  "Even if they managed to find it, the entire house is protected. ?It's even safer than the college."

  "How can you be so certain?"

  "Because I set up the wards myself."

  They entered a dark room, and Caelfel was momentarily unable to see through the shadows. ?He set her down on a soft mattress, and she realized just how exhausted she was. ?He sat on the other end of the bed, doing nothing to illuminate the dark room.

  "You saw Sir Kennyratear today," he prompted carefully.

  She nodded but hesitated when she realized he could not see her. ?"Yes," came her hoarse whisper. ?"Markis and the militia killed him today, executed they claim."

  "For what crime?" Feraan asked, sounding bewildered.

  "He was put on trial for endangering his students, because Markis exploded my aura." She breathed through her nose then, and it felt sharp.

  "But you got out safely," Feraan pointed out.

  Caelfel wasn't sure if he was being curious or suspicious. ?"I had an arrow sticking out of my leg and I fell in a half-frozen river. I hardly call that safe." ?She tried rubbing the warmth back into her arms.

  Feraan left the bed and went to retrieve something on the far end of the room. ?When he draped it over her shoulders, she realized it was a blanket. ?She felt his hand linger against her neck before he drew back.

  "You might want to take off your wet clothes."

  She turned her horror-struck face where she thought he was standing and drew the blanket tighter around herself.

  The words hung awkwardly in the air after he said them, and he must have sensed that because he quickly amended them. ?"No, it will help your body warm up if you're dry. ?Besides your clothes are ripped to pieces. ?I'll leave the room and find you something dry."

  He did as he promised, giving her privacy. ?She tried to settle her nerves by breathing deeply and, keeping the blanket firmly wrapped around her, she wriggled out of her sodden, ruined clothes and threw them to the floor. ?She was about to remove her breast band before deciding to leave it on. ?The thought made her wonder how exposed her ripped shirt had left her. ?She knew he would have noticed, although he never mentioned it. ?Eventually, Feraan returned, cracking open the door.

  "I found some clothes for you, but they may be a bit big. ?Do you want me to bring them to you?"

  Caelfel almost banned him from entering the room but then realized she would not be able to get off the bed to retrieve the clothes. ?She nestled deeper into the blanket and summoned him.

  He crept into the room and set the clothes beside her. ?"You should sleep and give your leg time to heal. ?You must be exhausted."

  "I want to know about my aura. ?Did Luewyn give it to you? ?Can I get it back?" she pressed stubbornly.

  With her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw his outline heading for the door. ?"We can talk about that later," he dismissed. ?"I haven't gotten everything figured out yet."

  Caelfel knew he was prolonging an inevitable conversation, but there was some truth to his words. ?The longer she settled on the bed, the more she felt her own exhaustion. ?Her eyelids felt heavy, until they flew open with a sudden realization. ?"This is your bed," she realized rather slowly.

  "It is."

  "I can't sleep here," she whispered in the darkness.

  "Would you rather sleep in the garden?"

  "Yes," she answered automatically, sitting up. ?She heard him draw near, and he gently pushed her down by the shoulder

  "You are ridiculous. ?You need sleep."

  "What about you?"

  "I can sleep with you, if it will make you feel better."

  She felt her body grow warm with the thought but fiercely rejected the offer. ?Caelfel heard him laugh quietly as he left the room.

  10. Underground

  Caelfel awoke two days later.

  She was surprised by how much she had slept. ?Obviously Feraan was worried too, because when she finally opened her eyes, he was hovering over her. She kicked herself free of the blankets and suddenly realized her leg had completely healed. ?She gingerly touched the back of her calf for inspection.

  "You slept an entire day and night," he said. ?"There were a few times when you started babbling, but I don't think you were conscious."

  "What did I say?" she asked warily.

  "Nothing coherent. ?Something about a wolf."

  Caelfel rubbed her head, having no memory of dreaming about wolves. ?"And that was enough reason for you to spy on me while I slept?"

  Feraan visibly shrank. ?"I was only worried."

  She swung herself out of bed and tested her walking abilities. ?To her surprise, she found her bow leaning against the wall. ?She thought she had lost it during her flight. ?She turned a questioning gaze onto Feraan.

  "You left it at the meadow. ?I went back for it, but I didn't find your quiver or any arrows."

  Caelfel sluggishly recalled the events of the night Sir Kennyratear was murdered. ?"I dropped all of them in the river." ?She tugged at the baggy shirt, recalling it did not belong to her, given to her by Feraan. ?She turned to him. ?"I want to know about my aura."

  He sighed and tensed, as if he were bracing himself. ?"I do not know where it is."

  "Did Luewyn not have it?" Caelfel asked, confused.

  "I suspect she does, but when I
spoke with her, I had to make a choice between you or your aura. ?Logically, I chose you."

  "Why did you have to choose?"

  "Because Luewyn dropped obvious hints that you were in danger. ?Good thing for you too, because I don't know what Markis would have done to you if I had not come along."

  "But Luewyn still has it?" Caelfel insisted impatiently.

  Feraan hesitated, and his expression suggested he was hiding something from her.

  "We can go back and get it now-"

  "No." ?Feraan stood and blocked her path to the door.

  Caelfel gave him an odd look. ?"No?"

  "We can't leave the house," he told her.

  She blinked. ?"What about my parents?"

  "You can't see your parents. ?Markis had the entire militia searching Sal'Sumarathar for you. ?It's too dangerous. ?If your leg wasn't injured that night, we would have left the Fey Forest altogether."

  Caelfel breathed through her nose, mustering all of her patience to face this dreaded and unwelcome conversation. ?"So we are supposed to hide out in your house?" she asked crossly. ?"For how long?"

  Feraan gave an irritatingly uncertain shrug. ?"Until I feel it is safe."

  Caelfel felt her face slip into a glare. ?"I don't have my aura, and you won't get it back. ?I can't see my parents and I'm stuck here for however long you see fit. ?Does that mean I'll be here for about eighty years?"

  Her sharp words stung him, but Feraan quickly recovered. ?"That sounds about right," he retorted. ?"And there are upsides to missing an aura. ?It makes you more difficult to detect."

  "My aura isn't missing. ?My aura was stolen from me," she hissed

  Feraan shrugged again, and this time the movement felt callous. ?"Humans aren't even born with auras. ?Be grateful that you aren't dead."

  He turned his back and left the room then. ?Caelfel trailed after him. ?"But why?" she demanded of his back.

  He stopped and turned so suddenly that Caelfel ran into him. ?He caught her by the elbow before she could fall, and there was a flash of amusement in his eyes. ?"Why aren't you dead?" he asked.

  "No. ?Why are you keeping me here? Why would you take me away from Honey Water?" she asked.

  "I'm protecting you," he answered, as if it were obvious.

  "But why are you protecting me?"

  His eyes grew distant as he gazed over her shoulder. Then he turned his bewildered expression on her, and for that moment, Caelfel saw the centuries line his face. ?"Because I'm responsible for you."

  He released her elbow and continued down the hall, but Caelfel wasn't finished with him yet. ?"You mean the life debt?" she asked.

  "I don't believe in the life debt."

  Days later, Caelfel would have argued that point with the way he stubbornly kept her in his house. ?He would let her venture to the garden but no further, so after she pestered him for an entire day, Feraan set up an archery range for her to practice. ?But Caelfel's aim was flawless, and she soon grew bored with the pastime. ?She resorted to following him around the surprisingly enormous house and harassing him with questions about himself. ?This was how she learned Feraan was five hundred and thirty-six years old. ?For some reason, she expected him to be older, although he certainly didn't act like it. ?He had also attended the college during his first century, like she had, except he had been expelled for kidnapping the headmaster-twice-and setting the grounds on fire.

  "I am the reason they have wards around the college now," he told her proudly, though she wasn't sure why that would make him proud. He refused to elaborate why he did those things.

  Her endless questions didn't seem to truly annoy him, and he picked up on the habit of calling her Hen. ?When she inquired on the reason behind the nickname, he only shrugged and smiled to himself. ?Caelfel rolled her eyes and just hoped it wasn't an insult. ?She had plenty of experience with being called hurtful names; it came with being the youngest of a city. ?It was an arduous task to prove to everyone that she should be taken seriously. ?But what surprised her with Feraan was that he did not seem to mind her young age. ?Although he enjoyed teasing her to no end, he spoke to her in a way that did not sound condescending or suggested that he thought her inferior. ?Caelfel slowly found herself craving their conversations because of it.

  Since Feraan had made it clear on numerous occasions that he had travelled abroad, she pleaded for him to share stories of his travels. ?The request initially made Feraan reluctant, but it was that night he told her about the werewolves.

  "Since I had been expelled from the College of Sal'Sumarathar, the Board of Wizardry would not allow me to learn magic in the other colleges. ?I left Honey Water hoping to learn magic elsewhere. ?I was greatly surprised when I learned that there were very few places outside of Honey Water that taught magic," he began.

  "Why's that?" Caelfel asked, resting her chin on her hands. ?They sat outside in his garden next to his forge that offered warmth in the waning winter.

  "I've told you that humans aren't born with auras, Hen," he said. ?"Because they don't have auras, very few practice magic. ?The ones that do only know the mundane magic-alchemy and such. ?More or less, I taught myself to use my aura on my own. ?During my travels, I encountered a pack of werewolves. ?I met their leader, Lycaon, and he took me in like a brother. ?Lycaon is perhaps the closest friend I've ever had. ?He lives in a city called Haradrop, a fortress he keeps to protect the werefolk of Umfeld."

  "Why would the werefolk of Umfeld need protecting?"

  Feraan's face turned grim. ?"The people of Umfeld are prejudiced and hateful towards the werefolk, particularly the werewolves. ?Most of it is based on a misconception of the race. ?Humans tend to fear things they do not understand. ?People with the ability to transform into various animals confuse them, frighten them. ?The humans of Umfeld still hold up one of their own as a god-Saint Hubertus. ?Hubertus was just a man, but a famous werewolf slayer. ?He all but exterminated the race in Umfeld. ?His efforts spurred this bloodbath against the Haradrop fortress. ?Many did not survive. ?Lycaon was one of the lucky few. ?Unfortunately, Refurinn was not."

  "Who is Refurinn?" Caelfel asked.

  "Refurinn was the wife of Saint Hubertus. ?She did not approve of his werewolf raids and often rebuked his actions. ?Then one day, she discovered Hubertus had been unfaithful to her, so Refurinn revealed her true nature. ?Refurinn was a werewolf. ?Hubertus grew angry and murdered her. ?In his rage, he led an assault against Haradrop where many werewolves were killed. The battle ultimately took his life."

  Feraan fell silent, pondering on the events that played through his mind. ?Caelfel looked at her hands and eventually mused, "The irony of it is that he married a werewolf in the first place."

  Feraan smiled back at her. ?"And Hubertus could not see past his blind hatred to realize that werewolves were people-extraordinarily gifted people, but people all the same."

  He released a sigh, and Caelfel was reminded of the blind hatred the people of Sal'Sumarathar harbored for Feraan. ?She didn't understand it, though she desperately wanted to. ?The time she spent with Feraan showed her that Feraan was not a person who deserved the burden of a scornful people.

  Then again, if she knew what happened eighty years ago, perhaps she would feel differently about him.

  The amulet hanging from his neck caught her eye. ?She remembered it belonged to her. "Why do you stay here?" she asked him suddenly.

  Feraan's smile was erased by his confusion. ?"Because it is dangerous to leave the house now."

  "That's not what I meant. ?From what you've told me, you are fond of your werewolf friend in Haradrop. ?Why do you stay here in Honey Water where all the elves hate you when you could be elsewhere?" she asked.

  The light of the forge embers reflected in Feraan's eyes, and Caelfel saw something dark and unreadable in them. ?He took a while to answer. ?"I am here because this is where I belong."

  Caelfel didn't believe that. ?"You belong to a place that makes you happy," she countered.

  He considered h
er words for a few minutes. ?"You are insightful for one so young, Hen. ?However, you are wrong. ?I've done many things in my life. ?I have interfered in the affairs of humans and I have paid for it. ?I have a duty to pay my penance."

  "I don't understand what you mean," she sighed. ?"Is this about your reputation?"

  His responding silence told her it was.

  Caelfel had taken to sleeping in Feraan's bed, though she was unsure of where he slept. ?She had also picked up the habit of wearing his clothes. ?The clothes she had worn her first night were ruined from when Markis had chased her through the forest, but she didn't mind, preferring the comfort of Feraan's baggy clothes. ?Secretly, she had grown attached to their smell.

  The next morning she found him already in the garden, bent over something. ?He straightened when he saw her.

  "For someone who was such a pest about having those archery targets, I have not seen you use them," he said.

  "I used them once," she said defensively.

  He looked at her pointedly, and rolling her eyes, she retrieved her bow to practice target shooting some more. ?She shot three arrows but quickly grew bored. ?The practice was not challenging for her. ?She glanced in Feraan's direction and saw him hunched over again, this time black sparks flying above his shoulders. ?Curious, she continued watching him until he finally rose and came to join her. ?He stood in front of the target.

  "Shoot me," he instructed.

  Caelfel gave him a mystified look. ?"I'm not doing that."

  "It's all right. ?I've been working on something. ?You won't hurt me."

  Caelfel wasn't convinced, so she aimed above his shoulder. ?The arrow seemed to glance off an invisible shield. ?"What was that?"

  Feraan looked pleased with himself. ?He removed something from his neck, and Caelfel panicked when she saw an amulet in hands. ?Then she realized it was not the same amulet she had given him, so her nerves settled. ?He handed her the new amulet for her to wear. ?"I had an idea. ?Without your aura, you are largely defenseless against other magical attacks. ?The humans are aware that they are at a disadvantage when it comes to magic as well. ?They developed protective charms, but those don't usually work. ?I decided I could make another amulet for you that would protect your from magic or other projectile attacks."

  Caelfel smiled at his proud expression. ?"That was very thoughtful of you."

  He looked sheepishly to the ground. ?"I'm sure I could develop it some more to protect you against other things or maybe even enchant it with offensive spells. ?It's not a complete substitute for an aura, but it's better than nothing."

  Caelfel looked down at the amulet which looked much different than her first one. ?It was silver, and the pendant had been crafted into the shape of a crescent moon. ?She appreciated his gift and pressed the cool metal of the pendant to her face.

  He gave her a strange look and told her to take his place by the target. ?She did, feeling less confident than he had. ?He took her bow and fired an arrow. ?Caelfel flinched when it came into contact with her invisible shield and screamed when he sent a ball of fire after it. ?Feraan laughed at her just as the fire disintegrated when it came in contact with the amulet's shield.

  Even with her personal archery range set up and the gift of a new protective amulet, Caelfel often found herself wandering around his house with little to do. ?Feraan began to instruct her in the basics of blacksmithing, which she discovered was strangely liberating work as she pounded metal into shapes. ?The monotony and exertion of the movements she found much more enjoyable than when her father had attempted to teach her alchemy. ?

  Feraan started by helping her make the blade of a dagger. ?At first, Caelfel had felt ambitious and wanted to try making a sword. ?Feraan discouraged her, which was well enough because even the smaller blade of the dagger took a great amount of time and effort. ?He instructed what temperature the metal had to be for shaping by judging the color it turned. ?He taught her to quench her work to prevent the metal turning brittle. ?By the time she had a chunk of metal remotely shaped into a dagger, an entire day had passed. ?She was pleased with her work until she saw some of his creations, which were far more elaborate and superior than what she made.

  But her energy had been spent on the endeavor and after a meal of tubers and mushrooms from Feraan's garden she climbed gratefully into his bed to await sleep.

  Only sleep did not immediately greet her. ?She fingered her new necklace with a captivated restlessness. ?She speculated at the effort it took Feraan to make and the consideration he put into it. ?She knew of many who called him a murderer, but Caelfel could not bring herself to believe such accusations. ?Feraan was a quiet and often lonely elf, but she did not think those were the qualities that defined a murderer.

  Then she remembered his stories of mischief at the college. ?To the elves, he had a history of mischief and arson. ?Perhaps that was enough for the making of a murderer, not to mention his myriad ventures among humans. ?Humans were always fond of war and bloodshed, as evinced by his story of Hubertus.

  Feraan has always isolated himself from others. ?I believe you are a blessing to him.

  Despite Sir Kennyratear's pleas, Caelfel's curiosity bested her, and she crept out of the room.

  Sometimes Feraan would eat with her in the evenings, whenever he did eat. ?Caelfel did not often see him eating alone so she usually took pride in reminding him to take his meals. ?That night, he had joined her silently with his soup of tubers but slipped away on his own when he had finished. ?Caelfel did not bother him then; she noticed he turned rather pensive at night.

  His house was larger than what it looked from the outside. ?There were numerous rooms, spare bedrooms and several libraries. ?They mostly appeared unoccupied, so Caelfel thought Feraan did not frequent them often. ?She never saw where he went to sleep, but when she went to bed, she had seen him slip out to the garden on various occasions. ?She had never followed him before tonight.

  She imagined a secret entrance somewhere in his garden that led to a small room or chamber and when she didn't find him as she wandered the house, Caelfel was certain that was where he was. ?The trouble was finding it.

  Night in the garden was alive with the sound of insects. ?The approaching spring warmed the forest, and creatures of all sorts would venture from their winter slumber. ?A breeze wafted through the garden, but it brought warm air instead of the cold winds characteristic of winter. ?She scanned through the darkness to search for an entrance to the room she suspected Feraan retreated to. ?The only logical answer her search found was a tree.