Web lay on his stomach, his head on his hands on the floor before the hearth. He heard the solid sounds of Zionel's axe outside, splitting wood. Anialia was in the kitchen, making stew while her husband stood outside in the chilly fall air with his son.

Ilune waved her paper in his face and Web jerked back to reality. He took the drawing as Ilune gurgled and looked at him with a cocked head as she chewed on the end of her red wax crayon. Red stained her lips and chin.

Web looked at the squiggles on the paper. He looked at Ilune with a doubtful expression. He was not sure she should be chewing on the crayon but he did not feel like taking it away and making her cry. Anialia would not be happy. The thought of being targeted with displeasure made him cringe inwardly.

Anialia came out of the kitchen to take a quick look in his direction with her wooden spoon in hand, stained with juices from the spicy smelling stew pot. Web mustered his courage and asked, "Can she chew on the crayon?"

"It will not do her any harm, being made mostly of wax and colored with beet juices," Anialia said as she stepped back into the kitchen. "It is fine."

Web relaxed. Ilune shoved a crayon into his hand and ran hers across the white sheet of paper in front of her. Web joined her with his, making loops and spirals across the length of the paper.

Web noticed the sound of the axe had faded into nothing. He looked up as the door opened and Ilune abandoned him, running for her father. Galleon avoided her, as his arms were full of split wood as he carried it into the kitchen and stacked it by the fireplace. Ilune followed after him. Zionel carried his wood across to the fireplace heating the main room and deposited it. He looked over his shoulder at Web.

"Come sit with me and I will show you how to play checkers," he said.

Web scrambled to his feet but sank down to his knees with a groan as a wash of dizziness hit him. He fell backward and hit the floor but the world was spinning so crazily he felt not the impact. He groaned, Zionel's face spinning above him in a blur. He could hear running feet and Anialia shouting but blackness swooped in across his vision.

Zionel had seen Web collapse and he had been the first one at the elfling's side. His parents rushed from the kitchen, he looked up at his mother with worried eyes, Web's head in his lap.

"He fainted," he said.

Anialia knelt beside him and felt Web's forehead. "He has no fever. I do hope there is no internal bleeding. After years of being shut away in a cellar and suffering the cruelty of Eigil, he may be damaged inside."

"No!" Zionel cried. He knew internal bleeding could be fatal and the sudden idea of losing Web was too much for him to bear. His parents looked at him, startled, but he was cradling Web to his chest and praying hard to the valar there was no internal damaged. Galleon and Anialia exchanged looks.

"I will put him to bed," Anialia said. "Bring him to your room, Zionel. Galleon, stir the stew and make sure Ilune does not take it into her head to burn herself."

Galleon departed with a last look at his son as Zionel rose to his feet with Web in his arms and followed his mother across the room. Web's face looked pale, the old bruises standing out against his skin.

Anialia pulled the blankets on Zionel's bed down, taking a quick survey of the room. As always, it was neat. Zionel leaned down and slid Web to the bed with gentleness Anialia found startling again. She tucked the blankets around the unconscious elfling.

"I will sit with him," Zionel said, planting himself on the edge of the bed. "He might someone if he wakes up."

"Thank you," Anialia said. Her face captured by a thought in her mind, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Zionel listened to Web's breathing; afraid he might suffocate or suddenly stop breathing in life. As he listened to the calming sound, he tried to sort out his emotions. Upon hearing Web might be damaged inside, he felt worry but stronger then he would have expected to feel for anyone other then his own family. Somehow, over the days, Web had become closer to him then he had expected until he was almost a . . . brother. It was hard to bear for Zionel knew Web had to return to the healing wing as soon as he was well. He had tried to treat Web only as a friend for he did not want to grow to close to the orphan boy knowing he would be a part of his life for a short time but fate had other plans, it would seem.

He looked at Web and ran a hand over his cheek, wondering how Web felt. Would it break his heart to leave Zionel and his family? Zionel buried his face in his hands and rested his elbows on his knees. He could not see inside Web's head or undo what had been done. But he knew he would feel as though a piece of his heart had been cut out when Web left.

Web opened his eyes with a small groan. He felt Zionel shift beside him and lay still. He wriggled to the side of the bed and slipped out from under the covers. The air was chilly so he hurried into the main room and stood for a minute by the dying fire in the hearth to warm up. He crossed the room to the kitchen and went in. The chimney of the kitchen fire warmed Anialia, Galleon's, and Ilune's room but the fire there was also burning low, unable to drive back the cold.

Web stilled his nervous hands. Even after doing this for the past few nights, he still felt a bit guilty and every noise made him start. He clenched his teeth as he opened the low cupboard to the left of the sink and reached for the bottle inside.

The kitchen door opened and Web froze, whirling around. The blood drained from his face and the cold hand of terror wrapped around his heart. Galleon stood in the doorway, staring at him with wide eyes, in his blue dressing gown.

As Galleon came toward him, Web back up feeling as though the world had come to an end. He hit the counter behind him and cringed back.

"What were you doing?" Galleon asked.

"N-nothing," Web stammered.

"I saw the bottle you were reaching for," Galleon said. "Do not lie to me!"

Web froze as he heard the anger in Galleon's voice. His eyes slid to the floor, unable to meet the smoldering gaze targeted on him. Galleon banged the cupboard door close. The small show of anger escaping in violence brought terror to Web's pounding heart. For a moment he was back in the dark cellar and Eigil was coming toward him.

He fled, bursting past Galleon. The door to outside was right before his grasping hand but the sound of running feet behind him stopped and a hand, strengthened by woodcutting, grabbed him and held him fast.

Web shrieked and fought against the elf, the comfort and safety he had felt torn away in his fear. His hands clawed and his teeth snarled but Galleon held him tight. He was dragged across the room and shoved into the armchair by a grim Galleon. As the tall elf stood over him, his shadow shattered Web's confidence. He curled into a tight ball and sobbed.

Two doors flew open. Zionel rushed out from one and Anialia came from the other, disheveled and holding a sleepy Ilune.

"Web," said Galleon in a tone Web had never heard. "Tell me why you were in the kitchen and how long you have been eating the ginjali."

Anialia gasped and her hand went to her mouth.

Web shook his head. He could not tell his reasons.

"You will answer me now, Web, or you are going back to the healers!" Galleon snapped.

Web's shoulders shook.

"Ada!" Zionel cried. He pushed Galleon back. "You are terrifying him! He has suffered terrible abuse and your tone is not what he needs to answer you!"

Galleon drew in a deep breath. Anialia set Ilune down and rushed to the kitchen to check the jar of ginjali. She came back with the open bottle and a pale face.

"He has eaten half the bottle," she said. "No wonder he fainted!"

Galleon knelt down beside the armchair. The firelight flickered over Web's skinny arms and shaking shoulders. He reached out and slid his arms around the elfling and pulled him down into his lap. Web shuddered, whimpering. Briar raised his head from the hearthrug at the sound and pricked his ears.

"I am sorry I yelled," Galleon said gently. "You know ginjali will make you sick. So why? Why would you eat it?"

Web drew in a deep breath, feeling it pound against the inside of his ribs as he quaked in Galleon's arms, his face hidden in the warmth of Galleon's robe. He felt a hand snake under his chin and lift his head up. His teary eyes met Galleon's, tears still dripping from his cheeks and seeping from his eyes. He felt a little better when he saw the anger was gone.

"I-I-I did not want to leave," Web gulped. "I-I heard you w-would s-send me b-back when I-I was he-healed. I-I would have rather stayed sick all my life then l-leave . . ."

Galleon regarded the elfling with half-surprise half-sadness. After a moment, he pressed Web's head to his chest and let him cry.

Zionel's face fell as he heard Web's words. It felt wrong to send the elfling away and break his heart but, at the same time, it did not seem like he could stay.

"A-are you going to send me b-back now?" Web asked, swallowing his sobs.

"No, Web," Galleon said kindly. "Not yet. I am sorry I threatened you."

Anialia beckoned to her husband. "We need to talk, dearest."

Galleon could not have agreed more. The peace of the night had been disrupted and a hundred doors had opened. It was time for wisdom to decide which one to take. He shifted Web to Zionel's lap as his son knelt to receive the weeping boy and met Zionel's saddened eyes as he rose to his feet and followed his wife into the kitchen.

Zionel sat and hugged Web to him, rocking the boy in his arms. He said nothing, feeling as though words were useless but tried to let his feeling speak for him. Web cried, seeing his future as bleak ad hopeless. He felt Zionel's love but no longer wanted it for he knew once he left, he would never have it again. As his tears and desperation mounted up, he shoved Zionel away and crawled into the dark corner behind the armchair to weep into the dust and cobwebs.

"Web," Zionel said in soft distress, the one shove of rejection feeling like a knife stab.

Web pressed his face against the wall. As Zionel came toward him, Web jumped to his feet and ran for the door. This time he made it and fled into the cold night. Zionel stood in the doorway with a helpless expression on his face as Web disappeared into the night. Briar leapt past him and ran after Web.

Zionel turned to meet the eyes of his parents with a hopeless shrug.