Chapter 20

Dusk came early in the deep of the forest, and Kate didn't care for it.

The Urut attack had shaken her enough that she started at every noise, and the swiftly encroaching darkness did not help. But Aduil wasn't kidding when he said the path they rode was a shortcut—a journey that had taken Jex weeks had only taken them a day. Of course, he had been (or would be) wandering hurt, starving and half delirious, (not to mention, nowhere near a road), but still, the palace was smack dab in the middle of that massive forest, there had to be some kind of magic involved to get them out that fast, especially if that creepy tickle crawling across Kate's skin was any indication. Or maybe that was just a lingering case of the heebie-jeebies. Either way, when they rode out of the forest into the rose-gold light of the setting sun, she sighed, slumping a bit in her saddle. There were still dangers outside the forest, she knew, but at least they wouldn't be blasted enormous bugs.

Probably.

Aduil pulled Merenfaer to a stop just past the treeline and took a long look back at the forest, wearing a pensive, somewhat apprehensive expression, before facing forward again as Kate drew up beside him.

"What's up?" she asked, adding with a small laugh, "you do know the way, right? Because if we're relying on me, we're screwed."

"I know the way," he asserted with a smile. He pointed vaguely to the left. "It is a near straight shot across the plains until the Siné River, where we cross on the Erchon Ford, and then a few days more to Cirbannin."

She looked to where he indicated, seeing nothing but grass in that direction, or any direction outside of the forest, and was more than glad to have him with her. She had a terrible sense of direction—even if she had a map, she doubted she would have found Havenvale on her own.

"Come," Aduil gently urged Merenfaer into motion. "We must set camp before nightfall, and I would not halt too near the Meadowood."

"Good call," Kate agreed with a shudder.

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The day's last light was just beginning to fade when they stopped to make camp on the wide-open scrub grass plain, with nothing but the occasional bush or boulder to obscure the view of… well, more scrub grass. Still, after so long cooped up in the palace, it was a welcome sight.

Aduil dismounted easily as Kate carefully slid to the ground, stiff and sore from the day's ride as she had never been before. It had been years since she'd last been on a horse, and her lessons had never lasted the entire day, but she suspected her fall had something to do with it too.

She took a moment to stretch before joining Aduil in unsaddling the horses and giving them each a good rubdown with a body brush until their coats were gleaming. When that was done, and the horses watered, fed and happy, Aduil showed Kate how to light a fire with some sticks and moss they had gathered when they'd stopped for lunch, and a couple of greenish stones with a name she couldn't pronounce.

They sat together in the warm glow of the fire as the stars came out to play, sharing a meal and chatting quietly. Kate picked at her waybread, a savory and surprisingly hearty pastry, as the conversation turned to the Urut.

"It is in the deeps of southern mountains, just beyond the borders of the Meadowood, where they make their home. As close as they are, it is not so strange to find one within the wood," Aduil explained. "Yet it troubles me to find them so far in. I did not wish to frighten you Kate, but the Urut which attacked you was small, newly hatched, like as not there were far more than the two we saw."

He paused, shaking his head before he continued, "I cannot understand, the Urut have lived in the mountains for ages, and lived well. Why should they seek to invade the Meadowood now?"

Kate studiously picked another small chunk from her waybread. She knew the answer. It was in the first book of the Talerian Chronicles, the one safely tucked away in her pack. Thanks to the movie, Kate even had the passage memorized; 'And so it was that a darkness had crept into the Meadowood, an insidious magic of ill will and despair such as had not been seen in a great age, calling forth the fell beasts of the land to gather in strength, and prepare for their master's return.'

The Urut were just the beginning, a herald of things to come. The elves would fight them off of course, but it wouldn't be easy, and before the end, Meadowood Forest –a good deal of it anyway— would become a dark and twisted place that would come to be known as the Wizenwood.

"You know the answer," Aduil said.

Kate sighed. There was no point in hiding it.

"It's a book thing." She shrugged.

He nodded slowly, his expression turning thoughtful, but to his credit, he didn't ask any more questions. Kate wasn't sure she would've been able to show so much restraint, had their roles been reversed. Maybe she didn't have much of a family—just her mom, a distant aunt, a pair of uncles and a cousin—but if it had been them in danger and there was a book within her grasp that would tell her how to protect them… she didn't like to think about how far she might go if the life of someone she loved was on the line.

"How are you doing that?" she asked quietly.

"Doing what?"

"Not asking questions. Not demanding answers. You know I know something, and it's not good, and you have nothing to say?"

"I promised you I would not. I hold to my word." He shrugged. "It is not so difficult. You have sworn all will turn out well. I trust you."

"Why?" That had been weighing on her for a while, now. She just couldn't wrap her head around it. "How can you still trust me when you know that one of the first things I ever told you, at least the first thing that mattered, was a lie. And a pretty big one, too."

Aduil leaned a little closer, looking deep into her eyes as if searching for something. What, Kate couldn't guess.

"Do you truly think," he said at last, "that I care for you so little that such a thing would matter?"

Kate didn't know what to say to that. She really didn't. She tried to form some response, but it was like her brain stopped working, even as her heart seemed to jump into overdrive.

"Yes, you have lied," he went on, saving her from floundering for an answer, "but I understand why you did, and it was not even for your gain, but my own. And beyond that…"

"What?"

He didn't answer.

"Aduil?" He didn't even blink. He seemed to have frozen. She waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, are you alright there?"

He sucked in a slow breath and put on a smile. "Yes, I am well," he said, but he didn't look at her.

"Are you sure? You kinda looked like you short-circuited."

"Yes, I am."

"Okay or short-circuiting?"

He grinned. "As I do not know 'short-circuiting', I suppose I must be okay."

"…Alright then. So, what were you going to say?"

"Hmm?"

"You were explaining why you still trust me. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad you do, I just don't get it."

"You are…my friend," he said softly. "Need I truly say more?"

"I guess not," she said, though it was a bit disappointing. That wasn't the answer she'd expected. For a second there, it had almost sounded… But it didn't matter. That was off the table, anyway.

If only she could convince her stupid heart of that.

A chill breeze blew in, whipping Kate's hair around her face and scattering sparks from the fire into the night. She shivered, brushing the hair back before she pulled the hood of her cloak up, and inched a little closer to the fleeting heat of the guttering flames. The cloak had proven warmer than she'd thought it would be, even after the, ah, other warmth she'd felt when Aduil gave it to her had worn off, and she'd been almost comfortable throughout most of the day. But now that the sun had set, and the wind seemed to be in a mischievous mood, her chill had returned with a vengeance.

It was going to be fun trying to get any sleep with that. A tent might help, especially if it was like a tepee and they could put it around the fire. Unfortunately, that seemed a little unlikely, considering she hadn't seen any tent sized bundles with their things.

They had to have something though, right?

She watched Aduil toss a few more sticks onto the fire, and bit her lip, searching for a way to ask without coming off as a complete noob. Then again, she was a noob. Might as well just own it.

"Hey, I have a question, and it might be stupid, but I've never camped before," she said. "So, do we, um, have a tent, or something?"

He cocked his head. "A tent?"

"Yeah, you know, like a little cloth house that you build every night and take down again every morning?"

"Ae. But why should we need a tent?"

Kate raised an eyebrow. "To sleep in?"

"But there are only the two of us." Aduil said, as if that should explain everything.

"And?" Kate pressed, because it did not.

"Well, an army may travel with tents, for they have many guards to keep watch through the night, and strength in numbers, but for a small party such as ours, a tent would only block sight, leaving us open to attack. We may have left the Urut behind, but there are still dangers out here, and I would not be caught unaware."

"Ah." Well, that made sense. "So, we just sleep on the ground, then?"

"No, I have brought for you a… Hmm. I do not know the word. A Tawcaern?"

When Kate shook her head—she didn't know either—he said, "I will show you."

She watched curiously as he moved around the fire to where they had left their packs and saddlebags and such in a neat pile and rummaged around a bit before returning with a canvas bundle, rolled up and tied with a dark leather strap on either end. Kate gave him a questioning look—she still didn't know what it was—and he unrolled it on the ground beside her.

"Oh, a bedroll!" It even had a little pillow sewn in. "Nice."

"Bed-roll," he tried the word out. "Yes, you may sleep in there."

"Okay. But what about you?" She had noticed the bedroll when they'd set out, even if she hadn't known what it was, but she'd only seen the one. "Where are you going to sleep?" she asked, not that the idea of sharing it was an unpleasant one—far from it— but it wasn't one she'd allow herself to entertain.

At least not for long.

Aduil smiled, and for a panicked second, Kate thought she had somehow telegraphed her thoughts, until he said, "I will not. My people seem to need far less sleep than do yours, and I did so before we left. I will be…" he paused with another small smile before finishing, "as you would say, 'good' until we reach Cirbaninn."

"But that's almost two weeks. You can really go that long without sleep?" Why wasn't that in the books?

He nodded, then seemed to reconsider and amended, "Well, without true sleep, in any case. I do not know the word for it in your language, but I can take my rest in other manners while still remaining aware of all around me, and even preforming small tasks if they do not require great care."

"Sort of like being in a trance?"

Aduil shrugged. "Perhaps. But you may rest assured I will remain on guard through the night. No harm will get a glance at you."

"Okay, but…" Kate scratched her cheek. "Well, I mean, as handy as that is and all, are you sure you don't want me to take a turn keeping watch? It doesn't seem right to leave you with all those long boring hours to fill by yourself." Not that she particularly wanted to get up in the middle of the night to stare at—hopefully—nothing, but still.

Whether or not he picked up on her reluctance to carry out the offer, he insisted, "No, it is well. I will be awake in any case, and far more suited to meet any danger—"

"Hey, I can yell 'run' just as well as you can," she protested.

Aduil chuckled. "Yes, but I may be able to stop a threat before there is a need to run. It is well," he repeated. "Rest."

That was easier said than done. As tired as she was, Kate had done nothing but toss and turn since she crawled between the surprisingly warm and comfy covers. She tried counting sheep, even imagining the sweet, fluffy critters lining up and hopping over a fence, but it was less than helpful. Her imagined sheep kept turning into Urut, coming at her stinger first. Kinda hard to sleep with that in your head.

Trying to banish the nasty images, she focused on the world around her instead. Without opening her eyes, there wasn't much; the wind whispering past as one of the horses snuffled in sleep, the pop and crackle of the fire. That, at least, was a comforting sound, conjuring up childhood memories of curling up on the couch at her mom's side on a crisp Christmas evening, lightly dozing while listening to her read a story as the fireplace channel played in the background.

Unfortunately, soothing as it was, even that didn't help.

She turned onto her side with a frustrated huff, squeezing her eyes shut, willing sleep to come. That never worked, but there comes a point when you're willing to try almost anything.

It wasn't long before another sound drifted over to her, a gentle song so quiet, she almost didn't hear it. When she cracked an eye open, it was to see Aduil, sitting on the other side of the fire, illuminated by the soft orange glow of the flickering flames, eyes reverently closed as he sang.

Kate lifted her head and listened. Whatever he was singing in that deep, lilting voice of his, it was in Elvish, and though she couldn't make out all the words, she caught a few, like stars, bed and sleep. A slow smile crept across her face as she quietly lay back down to enjoy the show.

Her heart swelled at the sight. She couldn't help it. It was just so easy to imagine him bowed over a crib, murmuring the same gentle song and—and what was she doing? She pushed the thought firmly away, because wow, was that ever putting the cart in front of the non-existent horse.

Still, she couldn't bring herself to turn away. He just looked so sweet. Until he opened his eyes and froze, looking like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Then he was downright adorable.

"Aduil," she asked, her grin only growing, "were you singing me a lullaby?"

"I..." He glanced away, rubbing at the back of his neck. "A lull-a-by?"

"A song to help someone sleep. Usually for kids."

"Ae. Then, yes, I suppose I was. It is an old soothing song my father would sing when I was small and woke in fear." His gaze settled on the fire. "If it is a bother, I will stop."

"No!" she called, just a bit too loudly. Hopefully, he couldn't see her blush in the low light. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I mean, no. I like it. More please?"

"As you wish," he said with a warm smile, and started again.

"Anem malldhen ama

Onem maul gais enol

Wae taluin elaen

Anem aul tif daun

Anem rithilren sil

Wae taluin elle telioni

Maneth esít vil

Faemaedh eaul

Ranil sít, ollo mellor

Laedh daud tel nire irann

Acaran sít, ollo mellor

Nadh maneth te wail itawin

Niren sít, ollo mellor

Anem rian onem alei idore

Síth sít, ollo mellor

In iras ardwen ente chuin…"

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Translations

"Anem malldhen ama The golden rays

Onem maul gais enol Of the day's bright sun

Wae taluin elaen Have come to violet

Anem aul tif daun The day is done

Anem rithilren sil The dancing stars

Wae taluin elle telioni Have come out to play

Maneth esít vil Time now to bid

Faemaedh eaul Farewell to day

Ranil sít, ollo mellan Hush now, little love

Laedh daud tel nire irann Lay down your weary head

Acaran sít, ollo mellan Be calm now, little love

Nadh maneth te wail itawin Tis time you were abed

Niren sít, ollo mellan Sleep now, little love

Anem rian onem alei idore The path of dreams awaits

Síth sít, ollo mellan Peace now, little love

In iras ardwen ente chuin…" I will be here when you wake…