Part 7

Two weeks had past since Halabrad, Pharra, and Strider had arrived in Avonlea. It seemed that the argument between Halabrad and the other rangers was near coming to an end. The three were scheduled to head back to Tiriki in three days. Meanwhile, Strider was thoroughly enjoying his stay in the port city. Pharra had been a wonderful companion on all their adventures.

This bright and sunny day in early summer found the two headed to the shore. The two decided it would be more fun to walk to the beach rather than ride. They could enjoy the scenery, and besides they had ridden their horses yesterday and felt the animals deserved a break.

Upon reaching the beach the two young companions made their way down to the ocean. The waves lapped against their bare feet as they walked along the shore. Pharra pushed her wavy hair behind her ears and complained aloud, "I knew I should have worn it up. The wind is blowing it everywhere."

Strider bent down and picked up a seashell from the sand and rubbed it with his fingers. As the sand fell away he noticed it was a light blue and shone beautifully in the sunlight. He let out a sigh and put the shell in his pocket. "Pharra, what's all that there on the docks? It looks like they're getting ready for a party."

Pharra looked over toward the docks and nodded. "They are my friend. The Feast of the Stars begins tonight. They'll have music, dancing, story telling, and a scavenger hunt."

The young man looked over at his friend, "Are you going?"

The young woman smiled, "I was thinking about it, but I don't like going by myself. It's no fun since just about all the activities require having a companion."

Strider smiled, "I could go with you."

Pharra looked over at the young man to see if he was serious. When she saw the smile on his face she knew he was. "You wouldn't mind?"

Her companion shrugged as they continued on down the beach, "Sounds like it could be fun. Of course mom and Hal will probably rag us about it."

Here Pharra groaned, "Uh, I forgot about that part. We are old enough for romance aren't we?" She smirked and continued, "Still I think we should go anyway. There's just way to much fun to be had."

Strider smiled with delight. He had always thought Pharra was pretty, but for some reason romance with her just didn't feel right. There were two reasons really. The first was he and Pharra despite only knowing each other for a short time, knew way too much about one another. It would just be odd. Secondly, Picket had confided in Strider that he cared about Pharra. It wouldn't be right to try and take Pharra away from him.

"Hey Strider, are you with me?"

"Huh, what did you say?"

Pharra only laughed, "You are a very strange human Strider. How do you survive with the way you always zone out?"

The young man smirked, "Luck."

The twenty-year old just laughed harder than before. "I'll say. Come on we better get back and get ready for the party."

Later that evening after Gilraen put up quite a fuss, Strider was finally able to escape the house and meet Pharra by the docks. Just like he had suspected his mother had thought he had found a girlfriend. Truth be known, Strider had at one time found her very attractive. In fact she was his first crush. But he would never ever admit to that.

It didn't take long for Strider to reach the docks and find Pharra. She was waiting at the archway dressed in a light blue dress and matching shoes with her hair pulled up in a ribbon. Strider offered her his arm and together they walked into the crowd of people gathered at the docks.

Lanterns offered light, but they were kept to a minimum so that the stars could still be seen. Music was playing on flutes and fiddles. And several couples were dancing on the largest section of the docks. Pharra leaned over and asked, "Have you ever danced before?"

Strider suddenly became nervous. "Um no actually I haven't. I'm very clumsy."

The young woman pulled him by the arm and laughed, "Come on I'll teach you. This one is really fun and easy to learn."

Strider soon found himself in the middle of the large dock following Pharra's lead to learn the dance. He was surprised to find that it was indeed easy to learn and caught on quickly. The two swirled round and round again, bright colors dancing in their vision. The song finally ended minutes later and the two companions wandered down to the shore.

The young woman climbed up onto a group of rocks overlooking the ocean. She sat down on one of them and glanced back at her friend. A lot had been on her mind as of late and she wasn't sure what to do. It was funny how they both seemed to be feeling that way, tossed and driven in a fast paced world where everything seemed to be changing.

Her hair swirled about her face and she pushed it away with her slender fingers. She hoped that Strider did not think she was fancying him. This wasn't to say that she didn't find him attractive, but her heart belonged to another. Yet she was still hesitant to take the plunge. As Strider took a seat beside her she spoke calmly, "You know we seem to be in the same boat my friend."

Strider looked over at his companion with an inquisitive stare, "What do you mean?"

Pharra smiled back slowly, "We're both in complicated situations right now, and have no idea what to do about them. You and I both don't know where home is. What road will lead us back where we truly belong."

Strider was still confused yet he waited patiently for his friend to continue. Somehow he guessed and quite rightly that this had to do with Picket. He leaned back on his elbows and waited.

His companion confessed, "Picket has asked me to marry him."

The young man wasn't surprised. He asked casually, "You're not sure if you want to marry him?"

Pharra smiled slowly, "Well, I do want to marry him, but there's a complication." Seeing her friend's inquisitive stare she continued, "When I was young I was infected with poison, and the healers say that it will kill me before I'm thirty. I don't want to leave him alone like that."

Strider was stunned. He had no idea that such a thing was wrong with his friend. "What about the elves?"

Pharra smiled, "Elrond told me the same thing. Unless he can figure out where the poison came from and what it is, he can't cure me. The medicine I'm taking now only delays the inevitable. Eventually it will stop working."

"Does Picket know?"

Pharra smiled shyly, "Yes, and still he asked me. But is it right of me to say yes?"

Strider stared deep into her eyes and replied, "Yes, if you don't you will regret it."

She sighed. "I know you're right." Pharra turned slowly and began walking away. But she soon stopped and called over her shoulder, "And you know what else?" The girl turned her head to look into Strider's eyes. Her green eyes sparkled in the night sky. She whispered, "You will regret it if you never go home again. You'll always wonder if they would have taken you back." She added sadly, "I know I do."

The young man let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, I'll go home. But you have to tell Picket that your answer is yes." He couldn't help but add, "And Pharra, who knows maybe someone, will find a cure for the poison."

Pharra gave him a half smile, "Maybe, but even if they don't at least I won't die alone."

TBC...

A/N: I finally updated. Ducks from all the flying objects. I'm so sorry this took so long to get updated. I promise the rest of this story will be put up much faster. Now the sequel you may have to wait a while for, since I've only just gotten started on it good. Well I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter.