Chapter 19

Kate was already up and pacing the room, abandoned porridge congealing on the table, when the first blush of the rising sun painted the sky outside her window.

She couldn't eat. She'd barely slept. Sometime after a sturdy and beautifully embroidered canvas pack had been delivered the day before, as she'd rolled a few outfits into tight cylinders and stuffed them inside, it had hit her. For the first time, it had truly hit her.

She was going to see Taleria.

She'd been in this impossible land of myth and magic for…she didn't even know how long, a month, maybe more, and in all that time, all she'd managed to see was a bit of forest and the palace. Granted, the palace was amazing, but there was so much more out there, and now, at long last, she was going to get to see it for herself. Not fanart, not a movie set, but real, and right before her eyes!

From the Wandering Islands where the Tolar made their homes, to the Stone Forest of Marthain, to the erratic Palace of Stelarion—a glittering edifice so vast, it had been a city unto itself, and the greatest city in all of Taleria until it had been cursed to vanish and reappear at random times and places—there was just so much to see. And that was just what was mentioned in the books, who knew what other hidden gems might be out there, just waiting to be discovered?

Of course, they were only going to Havenvale, not touring the world, so unless one of the Wandering Islands happened to walk their way, or Stelarion popped up in front of them, chances of seeing any of it were pretty slim.

Still, just the thought made sleep almost impossible. Every time she'd begun to nod off, she'd remember something else she wanted to see before she went home and find herself wondering if maybe Aduil wouldn't be opposed to a detour, and suddenly she was wide awake, forcibly reminding herself that whether he was opposed or not, she had to be. Home was the goal. She couldn't let herself forget that.

Even if it meant leaving Aduil behind.

It was for the best, really. Because as much as she cared for him—and it was pointless to keep pretending, she was head over heels for that elf, and had been for some time—it could never work between them. Even if she didn't have her mom's tear-choked voice begging her to come home echoing in her head, even if she could stay in Taleria for the rest of her life, even if Aduil actually returned her affections, it still couldn't work between them. He had a soulmate out there somewhere, and it wasn't Kate.

The trick was going to be remembering that.

Borrowed cloak fastened securely around her neck and pack slung over one shoulder, Kate continued to pace, glancing between the window and the door every time she turned. Aduil had said first light, but the sun had started rising awhile ago, and he hadn't shown up yet. Maybe he meant when the sun had fully risen. Or maybe she was supposed to meet him somewhere? He did say she'd be free to leave this morning, maybe that meant she'd also be free to find him on her own.

No, that didn't make sense. She shook her head and kept moving, nervous energy spurring her on like a caged animal. No, if that was the case, he'd have told her, and at least given her a meeting place, if not directions. So where was he?

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the knock on the door finally came, and grinned as she opened it.

"Aduil, finally! I thought—Oh." Her face fell when she saw the blond elf at the door. "Uh, Good morning, Beletir. I thought…to see Aduil," she said, switching to Elvish.

"Good morning." Beletir smiled, and not just a twitch this time, but an actual, genuine smile. It suited him. "Prince Aduil has asked somethingsomethingsomething. Come." He spoke too fast for Kate to catch it all, but she got the gist. She nodded with a relieved smile of her own and followed him from the room for the last time.

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Somewhere between the third staircase and the sixth or seventh turn down a new hall, Kate began to wonder if Beletir was just screwing with her, leading her around in circles for his own strange amusement, because yes, the palace was big, but it really shouldn't take half an hour to get anywhere. And she was pretty sure she'd seen that statue before. Twice.

She was just trying to piece together a proper accusation, when they finally stopped in front of a pair of great doors—which also looked vaguely familiar. It took her a second to remember why, though in her defense, she'd only ever seen them from the other side, and from a distance. Still, as soon as he pulled one of the doors open (with surprising ease, those suckers looked heavy) and a warm golden light spilled out, accompanied by the sounds of a forest just waking up, an impatient whicker and snort and a soft chuckle, all suspicion, tension and anxiety just slipped away like it never was.

Beyond the massive tree shaped pillars standing sentinel just outside the doors, and just before the wide stone bridge, Aduil waited with a pair of horses, his back turned as he murmured something to one of the mounts and gently patted its nose.

"I wish you safe travels," Beletir said, pulling her attention back to where he stood, just inside the doors.

"Thank you, Beletir." An odd lump formed in her throat as she spoke, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. Why should she be sad at saying goodbye to Beletir? It wasn't like they were friends, even if he was being nice to her now. Must be lack of sleep, she decided as he nodded and swept out a hand for Kate to pass. She stepped outside.

Awash in the soft glow of the early morning sun, Aduil crouched before the horses, checking the cinching on one of the saddles. Kate paused and leaned against one of the pillars with a small smile as she admired the view.

With his hair tied back in its customary half ponytail, Aduil wore a forest green tunic over a gray shirt just a scant shade lighter than his leggings. A wide belt and matching boots completed the outfit, and with a bow and quiver strapped to his back and a sword sheathed at his side, it looked quite similar to the traveling clothes his brother had worn in the Talerian Chronicles movies. It looked better on Aduil than it had on Lindolir, Kate mused, but then, she might be a bit biased.

Aduil turned at her approach with a wide grin which quickly fell into a concerned frown. "You tremble, Kate, are you ill?"

She was shivering, just a bit, but she hadn't thought he would notice. "No, I'm fine, just a little cold," she said with a dismissive wave. "This cloak is nice, but it's not very warm."

"Ae." He brightened, and held up a finger. "A moment." He turned back to the horse he'd been attending and rummaged through one of the saddlebags, returning with a neatly folded bundle of cloth.

"This may help," he said, as he unfurled the bundle to reveal another cloak, this one colored a deep, dark green and embroidered with almost imperceptible sweeping lines and swirls in a thread of a slightly lighter shade.

"Oh, um. Thanks." She accepted the new cloak with a smile, though she wasn't sure what good it would do. It was certainly prettier than the one she was wearing, but it didn't look all that much warmer.

"May I?" he asked, stepping closer.

She quirked an eyebrow. "May you…what?"

"May I help you exchange your cloak," he said, with some amusement.

"Oh! Oh, uh, yeah um, yes. Sorry, I didn't... Never mind," she babbled, a bright red blush burning its way up her face.

Aduil, gentleman that he was, ignored it, a soft smile the only indication he even saw it, and that wasn't so bad. He could have laughed at her. Though, if he had been that type, she probably wouldn't be making a fool of herself in front of him in the first place.

Her heart gave a little flutter when they both reached to unclasp the cloak and their fingers brushed. Aduil grinned again, and this time he did let out a little huff of a laugh, but there was nothing mocking about it.

It wasn't long before he had the new cloak settled comfortably over her shoulders and the old one bunched carelessly under his arm. He stood close, head bowed as he secured the cloak with a small, silver pin shaped like an oak tree, and when he glanced up at her from under his lashes, it set her heart to fluttering again.

Now, stop that, you, she silently admonished, but couldn't quite suppress a smile.

Aduil gently brushed at her shoulders, wiping away some fuzz or something probably, before stepping back. "Warmer?" he asked.

Kate could only nod, not trusting her voice, because she was warmer, but she wasn't sure it had anything to do with the cloak.

Aduil smiled. He had that soft look again, the one that made her want to do stupid things that would only hurt in the long run.

"So," she squeaked, and that was why she didn't trust her voice. She cleared her throat and tried again. "So, do you want to introduce me to your friends?"

Aduil just tilted his head slightly with that same sweet smile, as if his mind was far away.

"Aduil?"

"Hmmm?"

"The, um." She pointed. "The horses?"

"The…" He blinked, then straightened suddenly as if snapping back to himself. "Oh! Oh, of course, yes, the horses. My apologies. Kate, may I introduce Merenfaer and Celeirgil," he said, indicating first the chestnut mare then the slightly smaller white stallion. The stallion brushed past Aduil to sniff at Kate, and she giggled.

"Hello there," she cooed, reaching out a careful hand to gently stoke his neck. "Hi Celeirgil, aren't you beautiful?"

Merenfaer snorted, tossing her head indignantly. Aduil laughed. "Peace, Merenfaer, you are beautiful as well," he chided fondly. Merenfaer nuzzled Aduil's neck and he chuckled softly, returning the affection with a soft pat.

"Wait, can... can they understand us?" Kate asked, because despite her city-girl upbringing, she was no fool when it came to horses. Like so many before her, and countless others after, she'd gone through a horse girl phase in her early teens. She'd become fairly obsessed with the beautiful beasts and had learned everything she could about them. She'd been over the moon when she found a small ranch on the outskirts of the city offering riding lessons, and had begged her mom to take her. She'd said no, of course, because it was way too expensive, and impractical because, 'when are you ever going to need to ride a horse?'. Despite that rather large stumbling block, Kate hadn't been deterred; she'd gotten an afterschool job and saved up her pennies and she had gotten her lessons.

All this is to say that Kate knew about horses, and knew how intelligent they could be, and intuitive, and elven-bred horses probably more so, but Merenfaer had seemed to respond to Kate's—and Aduil's—words as if she truly understood them. Which didn't make sense because, "How do they know my language? No one else here does."

"They have no need of language," Aduil explained, "they sense intent and can see to the heart of a being. As Celeirgil clearly has done, he likes you. But do not worry overmuch on Merenfaer, she can be... overly sensitive at times. Hush, you know it to be true." He added fondly when Merenfaer whinnied in protest.

Huh. The books hadn't said anything about that. Then again, she thought, as Merenfaer tossed her head in a clearly offended 'hmmph!' and Aduil soothed her with another soft pat and a few quiet words, then again, the books seem to have left out more than a few pretty amazing things.

"Well, are you ready to go?" Aduil asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." It was an odd thing to say, Kate realized, even as she said it. Leaving the Meadowood, leaving Taleria had been the goal from the start, after all. Yet, looking back at it now, at the forested hill fortifying the rear of the palace, the very tip of the balconied towers just barely visible through the trees, Kate was struck with a faint tightness in her chest, a strange sort of sadness knowing that once she left, she would never see any of it again. Not outside of a movie screen, anyway.

"Kate?" Aduil looked down at her from atop Merenfaer with a vague air of concern.

"I'm good," she said, and, gazing up at him, the tightness eased just a bit. She mounted Celeirgil, gave him an affectionate pat, and grinned at Aduil. "Let's go."

So what if she had to leave the Meadowood and all its hidden wonders behind? She was taking the best part of it with her.

For awhile, at least.

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The path they'd set out on had been wide enough for the two horses to easily trot along side by side, but they hadn't been riding long when Aduil led them off the road onto what looked like a little more than a hiking trail. When Kate had asked, he'd explained that, while the wagon road was an easier ride, it was a trade route and would add weeks to the journey as it wound its way through all the villages on the east side of the forest, but the new path was a more direct route out and would take them closer to their goal. Being far more narrow than the wagon road, they had to ride single file, which didn't allow easy communication and made for a quiet ride.

It wasn't as awkward as it could've been though, as Kate had feared it would be as she had tossed and turned in bed the night before. But then, there was still plenty of time for awkwardness to rear its ugly head. Like when they stopped for the night, for instance. She had never camped before, and wasn't sure exactly what that would entail, aside from a fire and maybe a tent.

She pushed the worries aside, instead letting her mind wander to the music of the forest, a cheery soundtrack of birdsong, accompanied by a gentle wind rustling through the leaves and the burbling of a nearby stream.

Though they stopped twice on their way out of the forest, only the first time was intentional. The second, well, Kate would be kicking herself for that for a good long while, because the way she saw it, it was on her. She knew this forest, knew what it would become, knew what dark and nasty things would slink, slither and skitter their way in, spreading their blight as they tried to claim it for their own. She'd read it, she'd watched it, she'd fought against it in video games, she knew what to expect. Yes, the story hadn't started yet, but that was no guarantee of safety; the forest began changing long before Jex ever found the amulet. Kate knew this. She should have been prepared. If she had been a bit quicker on the uptake, she might have been.

As it was, riding behind Aduil and Merenfaer, she had only just begun to wonder when it had gotten so quiet, when it hit her. Literally. It slammed into her face, big and cold and furry, and suddenly she was flat on her back, breathless, with a sharp pain in the back of her head. She flailed, batting, scraping at the thing, fighting to suck in some air, but only got a mouthful of coarse, oily fur as something hard and prickly wrapped tight around her skull.

With an ear-splitting screech, the thing was wrenched from her head, taking a good chunk of hair with it. She only managed a to heave in a single lungful of sweet, cool air, before a movement above caught her tear blurred eye as a dark form came at her from the side. She bolted upright with a strangled cry, swinging wildly at the shadow, only to have her fist caught in a firm grip.

"Peace, Kate, it is only me."

It only took a few blinks for the shape to resolve itself into Aduil as he knelt beside her. Kate slumped with a long, shuddering sigh as her racing heart began to slow.

"What. The hell. Was that?" she spat. She could still taste the vile tang of its fur.

"Urut." His mouth set in a grim line, he glanced back to where the thing lay, curled in death a few feet away.

The size of a housecat but infinitely less cuddly, the Urut looked like the product of an unholy union between a tarantula and a wasp, minus the wings—thank god for small miracles—but with a wicked looking stinger as big as a baby's arm protruding from its bulbous behind.

She'd always known Urut were the mac daddy of disgusting, of course—the suckers were all over the movies—but in faced with one in the flesh, even dead… And that thing had been on her face. In her mouth.

Kate retched, just barely managing to lean away from Aduil before her lunch came back to say hi.

"Are you hurt?" Aduil asked when she was through.

She shook her head and spat out a last bit of bile. Well, that took care of the taste, at least. She'd never been grateful for vomit before, but it was almost sweet in comparison.

"No," she said when she caught her breath. "Well, I hit my head, but it seems fine now."

She looked back to roundabouts where her head had hit the ground and found a fist-sized rock half hidden in the short grass. She picked it up and gave it a quick once over. No blood, which was good, but still… Maybe there was something in the Talerian air after all, because she was sure she'd hit the thing, and she should have been sporting a hell of a bruise, at the very least.

"May I see?" Aduil asked. He chuckled when Kate held out the rock. "No, your head. I wish to look for a wound."

"Ah." That made more sense. Reaching back to point out the should-be-sore-but-isn't spot, she turned her head so he could see, careful to look anywhere but at the dead Urut. She probably didn't have any more lunch to lose, but why take the chance?

With a touch as light as a gentle breeze, he parted her hair and felt around for an injury. Kate watched her hands as he worked, a half-formed idea slowly coming together. Might not the smartest idea, she mused, turning the rock over in her hand, but worth a try?

Mmm, maybe not with the rock though. That might cause too much damage. She dropped it on the ground and cast about for something else to use. A pointy stick, or something.

"You do not look to be harmed," Aduil said finally, sitting back on his haunches. "Nor have I found any sign of a sting. We have been lucky, it seems."

"Yeah, uh, look, do you have a knife on you? Something smaller than your sword."

"Of course." He pulled a small hunting knife from a mini sheath on his sword's scabbard. "Why?"

Instead of answering, she took it from him and, before she could think better of it, slashed it across the back of her hand.

"What are you doing!" He snatched the knife back before she could do any more damage and tossed it aside, taking her wounded hand in both of his.

"No, wait!" She pulled her hand away. "Wait, just…just watch."

The wound wasn't very deep, but it stung like a son of bitch, and was bleeding pretty well, too. That wasn't a bad thing, necessarily; like mom had always said, the more a cut bleeds, the better, because it's washing away all the nasty infectious germs. Not that infection was likely—Aduil seemed the type to keep his knife pretty clean, and anyway, he could probably just do that glowy-fingers healing thing that Lindolir had done if it came to that.

"What are we watching for?" Aduil asked.

"This happened before, back at the palace," she murmured, not taking her eyes off the cut. If it was going to heal itself, she was going to catch it this time. "When the guards were holding their swords on me. One of them accidentally cut my chin, but when I got back to my room, it was gone. And before you say anything, I wasn't imagining it. Not then, not now. I know I was cut, and I damn sure hit my head on that rock. Something's going on here, and I intend to find out what."

"Your wounds have been simply disappearing, and you did not think to speak of it?" Aduil scooped his knife up and clipped it back into its pocket.

"Well, it only happened the once, until now. Besides, I didn't see you until three days after it happened, and by then, I had a few other things on my mind."

Though he didn't seem too happy, Aduil didn't have anything to say to that, and just shifted, making himself more comfortable as he settled in to wait. Kate kept a close eye on the cut as the blood seeped between her fingers and drip, drip, dripped onto the grass below, marking the seconds like a macabre water clock.

Minutes trickled past. Nothing happened. Well, the bleeding slowed, but that was it. The cut didn't visibly heal, or mysteriously vanish, it just…acted like a normal wound.

Aduil huffed out an impatient sigh. "Nothing is happening."

"Sure it is. It's bleeding, isn't it? And hurting."

Aduil didn't laugh.

"Will you allow me to heal it then?"

She shook her head. "Maybe it just takes a few minutes."

"It has been a few minutes. I do not like this, Kate."

As determined as she was to catch the cut doing whatever it was going to do, something in his tone made her look up—just in time to see the Urut dangling over his head, bigger than the last, hairy legs flexing as it prepared to attack. She reeled back with a gasp, snatching up the abandoned rock, and threw it. It slipped out of her blood-slicked hand, just missed Aduil as he dodged, and hit the Urut off center, sending it into a spinning swing with a high pitched, "SCREEE!"

Aduil was on his feet in a second, sword in hand. He sliced the Urut's web before it could swing too far, and it tumbled into him, forcing him back a step, before it hit the ground with a whump.

It scrabbled to its feet, pincers open wide in a soundless snarl, and launched itself at Aduil, only to impale itself on the end of his sword. He thrust the blade deeper, pinning it to the ground as it shrieked and shook, then slumped, dead.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked, climbing to her feet. He nodded as he yanked his sword out of the giant creeper with a wet shlick, and pulled a cloth from his belt pouch to clean it with a quick wipe.

"I am well," he added. He returned the blade to its sheath and turned to Kate. "Though, perhaps we should not linger. Allow me to see to your wound, and we can be away."

"My… Oh, right." In all the excitement—which was a nice way of putting 'scared out of your damn mind'—she'd almost forgotten the cut. She lifted her hand and—it was gone. And not just the cut, but the blood, too. Like it had never happened. "See, I told you!" she crowed. She wasn't even upset to have missed the disappearing act in action, too relieved that it had actually happened, and with a witness too. Despite what she'd said, she'd been starting to wonder if she was losing her wits.

"This…" Aduil frowned, taking her hand, and lightly traced a finger over the place the cut should have been, before turning it over and spreading her fingers as if looking for blood. "This can not be… This is no mere healing."

"What do you mean?"

He turned her hand back over again, as though to double check the cut was still gone. "Even had I used my magic to heal your wound, you would not be unmarked," he said. "There would be a small line of new skin, for a time at least. And that is to say nothing of the blood…"

"So you've never seen this before?" Her shoulders slumped as he shook his head. "Dag."

"You are certain you have no magics? Not even those which work without effort?"

"No, human, remember? Not a drop of magic in me."

"Yet it seems to follow you."

"Like a bad smell," she muttered.

Although, spontaneous healing really wasn't a bad thing. Could even come in handy. Still, she'd feel a lot better if she knew where it came from.

"We will ask Lord Altharion." Aduil said. "He is a Master Healer, and has far greater knowledge of magic than I. He will know what this is. He will help."

Kate nodded. He was right. Altharion was supposed to be one of the oldest and wisest of all the elves in Taleria, after all. Not to mention kind. 'And as kindly as a warm spring breeze,' the books said.

Yes. Altharion would help.

If he could.