A/N1: This chapter is dedicated to Jennifer and Brukus, my parents' miniature burros. The little stallion, Brukus, at full growth, only came three inches above my knee. They do mate for life and their foals, when born, are about the size of a large rabbit – and most of their size is ears. These two made excellent babysitters for the newborn calves on the ranch and had been seen more than once running off stray dogs that had gotten too close to the cattle. Brukus took on a 450 lb. Black bear that came too close to the stall where Jennifer had been in the process of foaling but after he had fallen and got wedged under the last rail of the fence, Dad put our attack dog on the bear and it finally left. Brukus recovered and later on that night, the foal was born and all was well.
A/N2: The poem I Shall Not Live In Vain is by the wonderful poetess, Emily Dickinson.
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A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.
Leo Buscaglia
Chapter 35
Cyrano
When the two horses entered the entranceway leading to the tunnel system, Greyfell began to stir and although he was not truly conscious, he seemed to sense that he was safe. He sighed deeply and when that simple, small movement caused a ripple of intense pain to surge through his body, he gave a small moan and tried to raise his head.
"Sh. Just rest my friend for you are safe."
Anayah caressed his head soothingly and was relieved when the elf sitting in front of her on Elias, relaxed once again. She was glad to be "home" for she knew that Greyfell desperately needed medical attention and when she saw Rahan, her remaining two Guards and Aragorn walking towards them, she sent a silent prayer of thanks to the Valar – it was done.
After Semoro and Saeros gently eased Greyfell off the tall stallion's back and had carried him into the main cavern, Rahan helped her dismount, noticing as he did so that she was trembling from exhaustion. At the same time that he shook his head, he admitted two very important facts to himself. First, there was no way any of them could have kept Anayah from going after Greyfell and if they would have said something to her, all she would have said in return was that it was her dream and therefore her responsibility. Secondly, he knew that his young Charge was probably not in the right frame of mind to hear him lecture her about taking rest and that rest was necessary for the healing process. He would say something if the situation became significant but other than that, he was too fond of retaining his immortal grace, so for the present he would remain silent.
Aglarion took the two horses away to groom them and bed them down and after Rahan saw that all was once more well, followed the others into the cave.
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Rahan stood at the foot of the sleeping palette that was being assembled and watched as Aragorn and the twins assembled the healing supplies they would need to treat the injured being. Súrion walked up to his Captain to give his report.
"I'm glad that I went after her, boss man."
Rahan frowned.
"There was trouble?"
The Silvan Guard nodded.
"It turned out that her dream wasn't just a dream after all."
"Wolves?"
"Yes – four of them – just like in the dream."
Rahan nodded.
"They were handled?"
"With lethal intent. Those four will bother nobody ever again."
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Elladan helped Aragorn remove Greyfell's clothing so they could better see his injuries while Elrohir went to mix a pain relieving tea. Anayah sat beside the palette, holding the unconscious elf's hand so that in the eventuality he did wake, she would be there to calm him and let him know that he was safe. When they heard Anayah's breath hitch, all three looked up and saw the tears running down her cheeks but before any of them could respond, comforting arms were placed around her shoulders and Legolas sat down beside her. She laid her head against her friend's shoulder.
"He could have easily gotten away from them, Legolas, but he chose to stay – then let them do this to him – just to give me a chance to get away."
Legolas dipped a clean cloth into a small basin of cool water and after wringing the excess moisture from it, handed it to Anayah. She gently wiped the sweat off the unconscious elf's face.
"Anayah, nobility isn't the sole property of those who are born into royal families although I do believe that such a characteristic is part of who a person is whether it comes late to bloom or not."
He settled himself into a more comfortable position before he continued.
"When I was a 'guest' of Ostara in the Palace, I would occasionally see Greyfell working with the other prisoners and would occasionally have a chance to interact with him myself. Although I did not do this openly, I studied him and even though I did not know that he was peredhel at the time, I could easily see that there was something different about him. Not once in the whole time that I knew him did I ever hear him raise his voice nor did I ever see him physically impose his will on others. All he had to do was look at one of the jailers or Palace 'Orcs' …"
"Legolas!" Aragorn and the twins said in unison.
The blonde elf shrugged his shoulders.
"Sorry. I know that wasn't very noble of me to say, even if it was a truthful statement in the telling. Anyway, as I was saying, all he had to do was look at one of Ostara's guards and they would instantly turn into sullen children then do everything they could to please him. It was there, and nobody wanted to see it unleashed and so did whatever they could to make sure that didn't happen. It takes someone with an extremely strong character – a noble character – to do that without having to resort to bullying or fake bravado."
He hugged Anayah and when he felt her shivering, retrieved an extra blanket from a nearby palette and wrapped it around her shoulders. She smiled her thanks at him before once more turning her attention to what was going on in front of her.
Sometime later, after Greyfell had been poulticed, stitched and splinted to within an inch of his life and after Anayah and Aragorn had managed to get him to drink the pain relieving tea he had earlier refused, everyone but Anayah went off to get at least a few hours of sleep. The elves and human all knew that it would have been useless for them to even try to get her to rest so none of them even bothered to start the argument.
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Anayah had been dozing and was still sitting in the same spot she had been in when the others had first laid the injured elf down. When she began to feel as if she were being watched and opened her eyes, she looked down to see that Greyfell was watching her intently. She smiled at him then reached out and felt his forehead with the back of her fingers, frowning at how fever-hot his skin still felt.
"You look tired – you have not recovered from your ordeal?"
His voice was raspy sounding and weak and after grabbing a nearby water flask, she carefully lifted his head and helped him drink a few sips of the cool liquid. His attention could not be diverted, however.
"You didn't answer me, young lady."
Anayah pulled his blanket higher on his shoulders.
"I didn't answer you because you didn't ask a question. Usually a being of sound mind would know these things already and wouldn't embarrass himself by demanding answers to questions he had not even asked."
"Point taken." He said with a small smile.
Neither of the two elves spoke for a time and even though she could tell that Greyfell was deeply troubled by something, she did not pry and by handling the matter in that fashion, allowed him to keep his emotional space to himself. After a bit, she placed his hand back on his blanket and got up to get a cup of hot water to make him another pain relieving tea and when she returned to the palette found him laying with a hand over his eyes while his shoulders shook.
Putting the cup down, she again took his free hand in her own then smoothed the hair away from his eyes and tucked it behind his ear. After a time, when he once more had his emotions under control, he removed his hand from his eyes and looked at her.
"When you came for me, I thought you were a part of my dream."
She patted his hand gently.
"For awhile I was."
He frowned in confusion but remained silent for he sensed that what had happened was a conversation best left for another time.
Anayah lifted his upper body then after propping him up against some extra blankets handed him his cup of tea but after seeing how badly his hands were shaking, wrapped her hands around his and in that way helped him drink. After he had drained the cup, she took it from him and set it aside then as he waited for the tea to take effect and start rolling back the fiery pain that felt as if it were consuming him, he reached out and took Anayah's hand. He held on to it as if it alone gave him the courage to endure his pain and when he finally raised his eyes to meet hers, she saw that they were once more filled with tears.
"Talk to me Greyfell." Anayah's eyes were filled with the compassion she was feeling for his physical and emotional pain.
"There have been many times over the long years of my life that I have been wounded in battle – and sometimes seriously. However, I endured these wounds knowing they along with the job I was doing were bed mates and just punishment for what I was asked to do in the High Chieftain's name. But no matter how I felt about what I had been asked to do or what I had to endure, I always tried to do whatever I could for the slaves. Forced servitude is something I could never tolerate, especially considering that was how I had spent the early years of my life – as a slave.
My occasion help, though heartfelt, was all that I could give and I did what I could fully understanding that it was never going to be enough and this my mind and my heart knew with certainty. I could never give the slaves what they needed the most – I could never give them back their dignity and freedom and that is really what they needed – and deserved."
Anayah reached out and brushed his cheek with the backs of her fingers.
"But you did what you could for them, Greyfell. You did not turn your back on their condition nor a deaf ear to their torment."
She reached up and brushed a tear off his cheek.
"That night I got to experience the cruelty and brutality of Ostara and Garm first hand and I felt violated and diminished beyond what I thought I was capable of enduring. It was at that moment that I finally fully realized that what was being done to me and what I was feeling was what the human slaves of Hoth have to go through every day – what your friend Legolas had to go through. I finally see how very little I have really accomplished."
He looked away from Anayah.
"I am not liking myself very much at this moment."
Anayah sighed deeply then frowned as she desperately tried to think of something to say that would be of comfort to the elf. Her eyes lit up as she remembered something she had read in one of the books in her father's library and scooted herself just a little closer to Greyfell's palette.
"Greyfell, I know that I do not have the same life experience as do you and although I can say that I know what a brutal hand feels like from a personal standpoint, I cannot know what you have gone through. I can assure you, however, that you are not alone in this and the burden your heart now carries will become lighter as time passes. And even though this burden and the sadness that goes with it will never be completely vanquished, it will not always weigh your heart down and be a burden to it in the same way it is doing so now. As a comfort to you, I want to share something I read once in a book written by an elf who truly had the soul of a poet and an unbiased view about life in general. She said:
'IF I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.'
I think you have accomplished this in an admirable fashion, my friend."
She noticed that the elf's eyes kept trying to close and after helping him lay down she pulled the blanket up to his shoulders.
"Now you get some rest. There will be more time for talking later."
A small smile was all he could manage before his eyes closed and he finally fell asleep.
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For a time, Anayah just sat and watched him sleep. She jumped slightly, when her Captain sat down beside her. The big elf smiled.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
She nodded and patted his arm in acknowledgement but otherwise remained silent.
"How is he?"
Anayah shifted her position then looked at her Captain.
"I think that in time he will be just fine. Right now though, he is quite restless and emotionally unsettled but considering his injuries and how he got them, I think that is to be expected. He will settle down eventually – of this fact I am most confident. I just don't think he's used to waking up without having an enemy looking back at him."
She sat in silence for a few moments, frowning in concentration before she continued her thoughts.
I have been sitting here trying to figure out what it is about him that intrigues me so much and I think it is because he has a presence about him that demands respect without ever saying a word. We could be standing in a room with our backs to the door and when he walked into that room, we would know that he had arrived without even having to turn around. But – and here's the thing, Rahan – I think that part of this personal power is used as a defense mechanism – he uses that power to keep people from getting too close to him because relationships hurt and he wants no part of them."
She looked at Rahan carefully.
"Rahan, after almost 3,000 years of being on his own do you think he will be able to adapt to a normal life – a life in a world other than Hoth and one in which there are those of his own kind?"
"What do you mean by normal, young one? Life with your family, or knowing your family?"
Anayah rolled her eyes.
"You've got a point there – he's doomed from the beginning."
The two chuckled quietly then Rahan put a hand on her shoulder.
"Why don't you go get some rest – at least a couple of hours - before our 'volunteers' start showing up?"
She nodded.
"I think I might just do that although I want to take a walk first to relax."
When she saw her Captain looking at her with a raised eyebrow, she laughed.
"I promise Rahan – it will only be a short walk and I also promise that I will not leave the tunnel system."
Nodding in agreement, he helped Anayah to her feet then sat himself next to the injured elf's palette.
"I will make sure he is not left alone. Now be off with you!"
She smiled at the elf then turned and walked away.
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Anayah walked around the tunnels for a bit, looking at all the bits and pieces of weaponry and other devices that were in the act of being assembled. Picking up one of several Y-shaped pieces of wood, she looked at it closely then pulled back the leather band and looked at it.
"Hm." Was all she said.
She marveled at how many different kinds of weapons there were, the rock throwers, the spear casters as well as the more mundane weapons like swords, daggers and bows.
"Estel, you sly dog, you." She said softly.
"Even the old and weak will have weapons they are capable of using – you have included everybody in your little war. Now I can see why you are going to be the king instead of me … well I can see two reasons why I'm never going to be king … but we're not going there!" She giggled to herself as she continued to look at the weapons.
A soft non-rhythmic tapping noise at the door of the tunnel distracted her from her tour of the weapons then after drawing her dagger, she silently walked to the door. When she looked through the small hole that was used to see the person on the other side, she saw nothing but after she heard the same noise again, she looked out the hole and when she again saw nothing, decided to open the door a tiny bit and see who was knocking. She was not quite prepared for what she saw.
"Awww." She said as she opened the door a bit wider to admit the one who had knocked.
She knelt on the ground so that she could look the tiny creature in the eye. The thing leaned into her hand as she rubbed the sweet spot behind his ears and kissed his soft nose.
"Cyrano! What are you doing here?"
When Aglarion walked up to the two then knelt beside Anayah, the diminutive creature did his version of "dancing in place" after which he shoved his nose into Aglarion's hand.
"I take it you know each other?" She said while raising an eyebrow at the human.
Two other humans arrived and walked their horses inside while Aglarion and Anayah were kneeling and petting the tiny creature but when the tiny thing saw the strangers approaching, it practically ran to Elias then looked up into the air at the tall stallion as if begging for his assistance. Anayah pointed at the thing as she turned to Aglarion with an extremely puzzled expression on her face.
"What is that, Aglarion? Is it a new kind of a horse? Is it a baby?"
Aglarion shook his head.
"He is full grown, Anayah, and he is not a horse. Tathrin bought him off a slaver that came through Hoth about three years ago. Actually, he's called an …"
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Everyone was stirring in the main cavern and it was only because they had just woke up that they were slow to react to the incident that later became known as the Second Battle of Dagorlad.
The peace of the early morning was suddenly broken by the sounds of yelling, banging and things crashing and being thrown. Then they all heard it.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY ASS!"
There were more banging and crashing noises then a new voice could be heard.
"YOU BIT ME!"
Additional banging and crashing noises were heard followed by a few extremely unladylike dwarvish curses.
"YOU KICKED MY ASS!"
Those inside the cavern, now fully awake – for to be otherwise would have been impossible at that point – grabbed their swords and ran for the door, ready to defend Anayah's honor if she hadn't already killed the one who had been improper. Súrion was the first being to reach the door. His mouth dropped open in astonishment as a very small creature ran between his legs, its four tiny appendages moving at what it probably thought was an extremely high rate of speed, its long ears bouncing in time to its moving body. "Cyrano" made a beeline for Greyfell and when he reached him, dropped down and hid his eyes against the injured elf's shoulder.
Though still extremely groggy, Greyfell put both arms around the tiny animal and drew its trembling body close to his own.
"Cyrano, old buddy. What are you doing here? And where is Irildë?"
Súrion and Rahan went to "supervise" the incident in the outer cavern and hopefully save somebody's life in the process. Soon apologies had been made and the disturbance formally ended with promises all around that everyone involved would start acting their age. The three elves as well as Aglarion then came into the main cavern and walked to where everybody was standing or kneeling, looking closely at a quivering Cyrano. Greyfell looked up at everybody.
"This is Cyrano. He is called a donkey although technically he could also be called an Ass."
He looked pointedly at Anayah who still had a twinkle in her eye.
"Our little friend here as well as others of his kind were bred to be this size, for such an oddity can bring its owner a lot of money in the right market, for the tiny things are quite rare."
Having calmed down a bit, Cyrano withdrew his head from Greyfell's shoulder and began to look around at everyone that was looking back at him with great interest.
"He had a mate – they always mate for life – and since Irildë was due to foal at any time, I cannot understand why they are not together. Unless …"
He got Cyrano's attention and looked into the tiny donkey's eyes.
"Is that why you are here, Cyrano? Is Irildë in trouble?"
Cyrano got to his feet and after turning to face the door, let loose with the most mournful brays imaginable. Greyfell looked at Rahan.
"You need not even ask it, Captain." Rahan inclined his head. "If Master Cyrano would consent to it, two of my elves would be more than happy to go to the aid of Lady Irildë."
As if in answer, Cyrano walked up to Rahan and after rearing put his tiny hooves on the Captain's leg and looked sadly into his eyes. In turn, Rahan looked at Súrion and Saeros.
"Why don't the two of you follow this faithful mate to his Lady and see what you can do to assist her then bring them both back to the cave."
Nodding to their Captain, Súrion gave a slight bow then motioned toward the door after which, with much pride and bearing, the donkey exited the room and began leading the elves to the place where his mate was hiding.
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Everyone was still highly amused and fascinated at what seemed to be the latest addition to their family but they had to put their amusement and interest aside for the moment as the slaves started arriving and the day's work and training began in earnest. Everyone agreed that at the rate things were progressing, they would probably be as ready for the rebellion as they could be within a week's time. Until that time finally came however, there was still much work to be done.
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It was almost evening before the two Guards, Cyrano and the Lady Irildë arrived back at the tunnel system. As the four beings, two very tall and two very small, walked into the large cavern, everyone there couldn't help but notice that either one or the other of the two donkeys always had an eye on Súrion. In turn, Súrion had an extremely pleased look on his face and a very large lump on his stomach. Aragorn and Legolas rushed toward the Silvan Guard thinking that he taken hurt in Irildë's name but when Aragorn had inquired after his well being, the elf had just opened his tunic a bit.
"Aw!" Everyone said in unison.
While the twins hastily made a small nest for the newborn, Súrion knelt beside Greyfell's palette where Anayah was sitting with the elf propped against her, helping him drink some warm broth. Súrion again opened his tunic to reveal the sleeping newborn.
"Boy or girl?" Anayah asked as she reached over and gently petted its soft nose.
"It's a colt – and healthy as well. The Lady Irildë was having a bit of a problem birthing him but after we turned him in the right direction, he quickly made his way into the world. The Lady Irildë is doing quite well, herself. Your wishes, Anayah?"
"Let the three sleep in the cavern with us tonight so that we can make sure the baby stays warm but tomorrow, after I speak to Elias about watching where he steps, I think in the outer cavern would be a better place for them. I don't know how the others feel, but personally, I would have an aversion to stepping in fresh donkey poop first thing in the morning!"
Greyfell almost choked on his broth but when he saw Anayah and Súrion both looking at him with a raised eyebrow, he apologized and became silent once more. When the twins had finished making the tiny baby's new bed, Súrion rose and went to bed his adopted "son" down for the evening with both parents in attendance.
Anayah looked down into Greyfell's face and saw him smiling.
"'…Or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.' Be careful, elf-man. You're letting your heart show."
He didn't answer her, but reached up and gently patted her hands.
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Later that evening Anayah sat beside Greyfell's palette keeping careful watch over him for he was having a difficult time with bad dreams, which in Anayah's opinion, were probably more a by-product of what she called "Palace withdrawal" than they were of the fever caused by his injuries. She was fletching arrows for Huan to pass the time as it had always been a habit of hers to do the fletching on Huan's arrows herself for she had a personal relationship with the Great Long Bow and would never allow another to make his arrows. It was a personal thing between the two of them.
Aragorn and the twins had escorted Legolas outside to look at the stars for the blonde elf had been getting irritable and snappish with everyone and when his healing physical injuries had been ruled out, it was then decided that the correct medicine for this particular problem was a walk outside.
She looked up from her work as Rahan, and the other three Guards approached where she was sitting.
"A moment of your time, Anayah?"
Semoro and Saeros both looked as if they expected the hand of doom to fall on them at any moment. Anayah frowned, for she truly had no idea what could possibly have happened to make them feel this way. Setting her work aside, she turned her full attention to her Guards.
"Sure, Rahan. What can I do for you?"
Rahan sat on his heels beside her.
"On the night you had your first nightmare about the wolf attack, I sent Semoro and Saeros out to try and find Greyfell or find out where he had been taken. They did not find him and this fact sits heavy on their minds. The two now wish to present themselves for disciplinary action for they feel as if they failed in their duty for they are both trained trackers and feel they should have been able to find him. Súrion and I stand as witnesses to whatever you decide would be an appropriate disciplinary action in this matter."
She looked at Semoro and Saeros then back to Rahan. It was extremely difficult for her to keep a straight face, especially when she realized that Rahan and the others were serious.
"You aren't joking, are you?"
Rahan just shook his head while the others stood at attention. She patted the ground.
"All of you sit, for I fear I will injure my neck if I have to look up in the air at all of you for much longer."
After her Guards had settled themselves on the ground they waited for her to pronounce judgement on them.
"I want the four of you to listen carefully to what I am going to say to you then I want you to do some serious thinking about it. If any of the four of you were to actually do something wrong or if you do actually fail in a task that has been assigned to you because you were not diligent in your attempts to complete your assigned task, I would not wait for two days to tell you about it. Rest assured that my foot would have connected with your respective butts a loooong time ago.
Now, as far as the two of you feeling that you failed in your duties I say this. While you may not have achieved what you initially set out to do, this did not happen because of negligence on your part and you did actually come back with some vital information – whether you realize it or not."
She looked at Rahan.
"While I am not particularly pleased that I did not hear this from you, Rahan, and had to get the information second hand, I do believe that it was valuable information and I thank you for putting the cosmic wheel in motion that brought all this about. While the two of you," she pointedly looked at Saeros and Semoro, "feel that you were in some way not as diligent in your duties as you could have been, I feel that in this, you were both wrong.
Who can say for sure that the same hand that put two dreams in the same place at the same time might not also have put the two of you on the streets of Hoth so that you could have heard that conversation and brought what you heard home and to our attention?"
When she saw the confused looks on the faces of the elves around her she sighed.
"Because the two of you were there that night, a new problem has been brought to light and which I am going to bring to Estel's attention tomorrow. There is a force in Hoth that we have not considered and who may be hurt by what we are planning to do. You two," she nodded her head towards Saeros and Semoro, " heard the people putting voice to their political thoughts and feelings about Ostara and what she had done to Greyfell. These people were not singing Ostara's praises, my friends. To this point and time, we have not considered the innocents in this venture – the silent ones of Hoth. I commend you for listening closely then reporting that fact to your Captain who, I am sure, in the future will remember to always make a full report to me."
"So your decision is …"
"My decision, Rahan, is that since we have all learned a lesson from this incident, that no disciplinary action is necessary. Everything happens for a reason, no matter how strange or out of place it may seem at the time it happens. Just like you may think it strange or odd that the next being through the cavern door will be Estel who will trip over something on the floor. Legolas will catch him and keep him from falling all the way to the floor then the twins will walk in, point at Estel and laugh at him."
She had no sooner finished her sentence than Aragorn walked through the cavern doorway. He tripped over something on the floor and with a small girlie-shriek lunged forward and would have fallen if not for the quick hands of Legolas who was following close behind him. Elladan and Elrohir then entered the cave, already roaring with laughter and pointed at their youngest brother while he tried to slow his racing heart while glaring at them.
Anayah picked up an arrow and continued with her fletching. The heads of her Guards turned towards her and all of them had a wide-eyed look on their faces that almost made her laugh out right. Just before they turned and walked away, Súrion looked at her while shaking his head.
"I don't want to play with you anymore. You're too scary!"
Still shaking his head, the Silvan Guard finally left. Rahan stopped and frowned.
"How …" He crossed his arms over his chest. "How did …" He began again.
Without looking up from her work, Anayah answered him.
"I heard their footsteps. Estel walks differently than an elf so I knew it was him that was walking in front and also knew that as clumsy as that boy is that he would trip on what was in the doorway. Of course Legolas would try to save him – that's a given. Then, knowing the twins like I do, I was positive that they would make a point of laughing."
"I see." Rahan nodded his head. "Deductive reasoning."
She shrugged her shoulders, then again without looking at her Captain, smiled devilishly.
"Just wait until Estel finds out what he tripped – or slid – on."
It wasn't but a heartbeat later that the entire cavern was filled with the sound of her brother's voice.
"CYRANO!"
Rahan just shook his head as he walked away from the now-giggling she-elf.
TBC
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kukumalu: You weren't imagining things about the repetitive phrases. I was kind of thinking outside the box on this one but hopefully not too many people were confused by it. There were definitely "echoes" in the dream world. I'm glad you enjoyed that part.
What was Anayah thinking? Anayah wasn't thinking … but Aglarion went with her – as did Súrion – so things worked out ok in the end and just remember that everything that happens in my stories does so for a reason. LOL!
I am also glad that you understood the deeper meaning of Legolas' dream. Thank you. Gee whiz kiddo … I hope your week perked up a bit after Friday! As usual … thank you for your review.
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nanahalfelven: I'm lightening up this chapter just a touch because things are going to start getting serious for everybody.
The dreams could be taken as predictive although predictive of what, exactly is going to be explained later. Greyfell was caught in the ripple or did he cause the ripple or did Anayah cause the ripple or was she the stone in the water or was Greyfell the stone? I think you will just have to keep reading to find out what I have hiding up my sleeve! Mwahahaha! (Alariel running away while cackling madly!)
(I've missed something?) Not really … it just hadn't happened yet.
I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter and hope that continues to be the case. Thanks for the review!
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CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: You're afraid of boats and motorcycles? Let's start our own club – I am too! Thanks for the review!
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Karone Evertree: Just who actually had the dream and who was actually the part of the other's dream – or were they actually a part of each other's dream or part of a third party's precognitive dream? Don't worry about being confused – I confused myself for a minute when I was writing that part.
Poor Greyfell … oh well, he lived and is now back with people who will take care of him.
Thanks for the review and I hope you like this chapter as well.