Ch. 3
"Emmy, wake up, dinner's ready," Aunt Marie said, shaking her gently. Emmy's mind rose from its slumber at the sound of a voice.
"Mmm…" Emmy replied sleepily and turned over.
"Wake up, Emmy. It's time to eat," Aunt Marie repeated gently.
Emmy opened her eyes to the lovely sight of her bedroom wall staring her in the face. That's nice. "What is dinner?" she asked groggily.
"Tuna fish mulligan."
Ew… disgusting. "Mm." Emmy pushed herself into a sitting position. "I'll be down soon, okay?"
Aunt Marie smiled. "See you at the dinner table," she said, and left the room.
Emmy sat, staring into space. Her eyes wandered to the window and the forest outside it. Is that a horse? she wondered, sighting a horse-like figure moving just inside the edge of the forest. No…it isn't a horse. At least, I don't think it is…
"Emmy! Come down here," Aunt Marie called from the kitchen. "Dinner is ready, and it'll get cold if you wait much longer!"
Emmy hurried out of her room and made it down the stairs without tripping over her feet. She entered the living room, turned down a hallway and entered the kitchen.
This is nothing like my kitchen, Emmy thought in dismay at the sight of pots and pans lying on the counter, some clean, some dirty. What did I expect, though? That everything would be exactly like home? Yeah…that is what I expected.
The dining table was pushed against the far wall. Three plain metal chairs were situated around it, two at either end and one facing the wall. A sliding glass door behind the table opened onto a white deck with a turquoise bench swing off to one side. Wooden railing encircled the deck, stopping at the stairs next to the house. The forest was slightly imposing this close, thought Emmy.
"Emmy, get in here. You can explore the forest later."
"Okay..."
Dinner went slowly. Very little conversation was made, mostly because nobody knew what to talk about, and the few questions Aunt Marie asked Emmy were answered curtly. When dinner was finally over, Emmy took her dishes over to the sink and set them in the steaming water to soak, glancing out the window as she did so; it was almost dark outside. As she climbed the stairs to her room she heard the front door slam and Uncle Cecil call out, "Marie, I'm home! Did you leave any dinner for me?"
"Of course I left you dinner," Aunt Marie replied, laughing as she did so. "How was work?"
"Same as always. How's Emmy settling in?"
Emmy paused on the stairs to listen.
"I suppose she's doing ok. It is her first day here, after all; you can't expect her to jump into our way of life head-first just after losing her mother, can you?"
Uncle Cecil sighed. "No, I guess not..."
Emmy had heard enough. At least Aunt Marie has sense enough to know that I can't just pretend what happened didn't happen. She continued up the stairs and entered her room, intending to lay down and sleep. She paused directly across from her window as a thought flashed through her mind. Just out of curiosity... Emmy crossed to the window and looked out to the darkened forest. OMG! What the heck is that?
A centaur stood just clear of the forest border, bold and unafraid of being seen. The rising moon shed its light on his lean, muscular body, causing him to glow slightly with ghostly luminescence. The horse half of his body was a dark chestnut brown, as was his long, straight hair, which fell past his shoulders. He carried a quiver of arrows and a strung bow across his broad back; a sheathed saber lay perpendicular under the quiver, held in place by a black belt which crossed his chest and made an X with the quiver belt. His hands hung at his sides, his rugged, angular face was turned toward her, and Emmy swore she could feel his black eyes boring into her soul.
Emmy pulled back from the window as if she had been stung. She slammed the window shut and pulled the curtains across it.
"I just saw a centaur..." Emmy gasped in shock. "A real centaur! But they can't exist! They're only in myths and legends!" She moved slowly to her bed and sat down. "A real centaur..."
"Emmy, come down here please," Uncle Cecil called.
Emmy walked downstairs in a daze.
"I know this is your first day here," Aunt Marie said, "but we need to know whether or not to enroll you in school next week or wait until next autumn."
Uncle Cecil cleared his throat. "There's no need to make the decision tonight. Think on it and let us know in a day or two, OK?"
Huh? What-oh, right; when do I want to go to school, Emmy thought distractedly. "Uh, I'll take the autumn," she said. After all, that'll give me time to investigate the centaur; a whole summer's worth of time, and more. She smiled at her aunt and uncle.
"Are you sure?" Cecil and Marie asked in unison. "We don't want to over-burden you," Aunt Marie added, looking at her niece with concern.
"I'm sure."
"Well, then. We'll do our best to remember to register you when autumn comes around again," Uncle Cecil replied.
Emmy smiled again and turned to ascend the stairs once more.
"Emmy," Aunt Marie called.
"Yes?"
Aunt Marie hesitated, then said, "Good night."
Emmy smiled. " 'Night, Aunt Marie, Uncle Cecil."
Ten minutes later Emmy was staring out her window again. Where did he go? she wondered, saddened that the centaur had gone. Determination soon replaced the sadness, and she resolved to find that centaur. She listened for her aunt and uncle, not really expecting them to have gone to bed in such a short time. I thought not, she thought with wry humor when she heard voices downstairs. Out the window it is. First, though: packing... Emmy looked at her room. Nah, I'll be back before the night is over. She smiled, thinking that if her aunt and uncle ever found out, it'd be extremely funny watching their reactions. After all, it's not like I haven't done this sort of thing before. Emmy opened her window again, planned a quick route to the ground, and escaped the confines of her room. She landed on the ground with a soft thud; she froze, waiting to see if anyone had heard the noise. Seconds seemed like minutes as she waited. Finally, she decided it was safe to move and headed for the forest.
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Hm... Leilita thought from the forest boughs as she watched Emmy leave her house and follow Jaredan. Her lips curved in a vicious smile. Here's another chance to cause trouble between the humans and the centaurs. A war would be exactly what we night-elves need. She chuckled to herself as she watched Emmy enter the forest. Yes, that's what we need...