After two days of travel, they arrived at the small cabin set back in the woods by Castle Redmont. The stones of the keep glowed their eerie red with the light of the setting sun as Gilan slammed his fist into the door.
A few seconds later, Will pulled in the door and checked it over for dents. "I don't appreciate you trying to break down my door in the middle of dinner, Gilan." His tone was teasing though and the two men embraced. Will pulled the other Ranger inside and shut the door.
Gilan said his hellos to Alyss, who now stood in the kitchenette by the stove to warm herself, then got down to business. "Where's Halt?" he asked looking into each of the other rooms.
"He's at the castle," Will replied, "trying to enjoy the rest of the evening with his wife."
"Right," Gilan had just remembered that Halt and Pauline were now married. "It's really hard to think of him as a married man. He just never seemed like the marrying type."
Alyss immediately thought of her mentor, "Well, I'm glad for Lady Pauline's sake that he is." She turned to look out the window into the descending night.
Will turned back to his friend, "Sorry, I guess you'll have to wait until morning to—"
"Gilan," Alyss interrupted Will, which was totally out of character for her. Both of the men turned their attention to her.
"Yes?"
Alyss was peering out of the window. "Who is that?"
Will joined her and saw immediately what she was talking about. He whistled and turned back to Gilan, "Jenny is not going to be happy about this," he said, a wide grin spreading across his face. "That girl better watch her head."
"Jenny has nothing to worry about- that girl is my business with Halt," Gilan felt himself getting defensive, but he was determined not to let it show.
"I'm sure Halt will be pleased to know that his former apprentice has business with him and a young girl." Will received a baleful glare from both Alyss and Gilan this time.
Gilan sighed and continued, "Any possibility we could sleep here tonight?"
Will cast a doubtful eye around the cabin, "Maybe you could," he said. "I don't know about your guest though."
"She can't be too objectionable," Alyss put in. "If she wants, she can stay with me up at the castle for tonight."
"That will be for her to decide then," Gilan walked out the door to tell Astrid of the arrangements.
He found her with Blaze a little way out from the cabin. She was singing softly to the mare and stroking her nose. The little horse was blissful until her master stepped out of the house- she whickered a greeting to him as he approached.
"Well," began Gilan, "the man we need is spending the night in the castle with his wife. We will have to talk with him in the morning when he comes down here."
"What will we do until then?" she asked, still gently stroking Blaze. The elfmaid's strange eyes shone out at him in the failing light and her skin seemed to emit the faintest silver glow.
"I will be spending the night here in the cabin. You can do the same, but there are only two beds and Will snores, or you can go up to the castle with Alyss."
Astrid smiled, "I think I'll go with this Alyss girl."
They walked back to the cabin where Will and Alyss were standing on the porch saying good night. Gilan introduced them when they reached the porch.
Astrid directed her words at Alyss but kept the whole group involved, "I have decided, if it is alright with you, that I shall spend the evening at the castle." Now she spoke only to Alyss, "You don't seem like an objectionable girl, thank you very much for the invitation."
"Of course," Alyss smiled warmly and took up her arm. "Come," she said, "you must desperately want a hot bath."
Two hours and a tub of very hot water later, Astrid was sitting before Alyss in front of the vanity, allowing her to play with her hair. She wore the white sleeping gown she had been loaned and her wet hair was almost translucent as Alyss brushed through it.
"You're so young," Alyss mused, "but your hair is so white."
Astrid smiled, "I am not nearly as young as you think."
"You can't be that old and have a complexion like yours."
Turning around to face Alyss, she said, "I am one hundred and twenty-six years old. I was born with white hair though. Most of my people have white or silver hair." Astrid had already explained the plight of the elves to a more than sympathetic Alyss and thinking about them now made her feel guilty for indulging herself like she has been in this country. She understood though, that in seeking help as she was, she couldn't do anything more from this distance and she had to take care of herself.
"You're one hundred and twenty-six?" Alyss's eyes almost doubled in size.
Smiling sadly, Astrid nodded and stood. She made her way over to the window and looked out at the sliver of moon in the sky. "All elves are long lived," she said simply.
"It must be awful." The statement caught the elfmaid off guard; she wasn't used to humans being able to see the truth of living for so long. The room lapsed into silence as both girls listened to the night sounds. Outside, a chill breeze stirred the trees and the last of the season's crickets chirped their eulogy for summer.
Alyss added another log to the waning fire and sat in the chair Astrid had just left. "What's it like being immortal?" she asked softly.
Astrid took a few breaths before answering. "It is terrifying. If you live for so long, you will see many things. Most will be forgotten, but some will be so strong, they never fade," her voice broke and she struggled to regain composure, looking to the moon for strength. "Some things will stay with you forever, whether they are good or bad." Memories Astrid had tried to bury sprang unbidden to the forefront of her mind; memories of times before the Blood Elves had tried to seize control, of her mother, smiling, happiness. Then images of the fires, the blood, the violence, the mangled and broken bodies on the floor of the lyceum.
Suddenly, the world was fuzzy and she couldn't breathe right. Astrid squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to stem the flow of opalescent tears splashing to the stone below her. She heard the soft foot falls of the human girl then felt the warm concerned embrace and murmured consolations breathed into her hair. This frail human knows nothing of the horrors of the world and what they can do to people. She has not seen my sorrows, and yet, she grieves with me. Funny creatures to be able to relate to someone they know nothing of.
Alyss led Astrid over to the fire and sat her down in the cushy armchair in front of it. The elfin girl wasn't crying outright, but silent tremors shook her slender frame. She curled into a ball in the chair and allowed Alyss to cover her with a blanket and gently dab at her face with a warm damp cloth.
The warmth combined with the light, rhythmic strokes of the cloth lulled Astrid into an uneasy sleep…