Dragonknights

Chapter Nine

"Hey, Evalon?" Elen asked a few hours later. They had spent the day together, walking around the village and eating the rolls from the basket, and while Evalon was still unsure about how her uncle would react to her outburst last night, she felt somewhat more at ease.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Can I ask a favor of you?"

Furrowing her brows in confusion at what she could possibly do for Elen, she said, "Uh, sure."

"I've got to go pick a frying pan up from the blacksmith. Would you go with me so I don't have to be alone with Miss Sunshine?"

"The blacksmith's daughter? Sure, I guess."

"You're my hero," Elen said earnestly as they began to make their way there.

"Why do you dislike her so much?" Evalon couldn't help but ask.

"You'll see," Elen said in a warning tone.

Deciding the blacksmith's girl wasn't the best topic for conversation, Evalon changed tactics. "Why do you need a frying pan? I'd have thought your mom would have plenty of those tucked away safely in the kitchen."

"Oh, she does. It's just that her favorite one-- the one she got at her and my dad's wedding-- broke, so she took it to be fixed."

"Oh." Unable to resist the temptation, Evalon asked, "How did it break?"

Elen broke into a laugh. "It's a funny story, actually. You see, she was making--"

"Hey, Elen," a friendly voice said. The voice came from a young boy who looked about a year or two older than Evalon.

"Hi, Keaton," Elen replied as the stranger approached.

Ah, so this is the Keaton Elen says every girl is in love with, Evalon thought. She could see why. He had dark curly hair that was neatly styled, not a strand out of place. His eyes were a muddy green color, and when framed by his olive complexion, he looked very handsome. He was tall and lean and walked with a kind of confidence that Evalon could never muster.

"Hey, sorry I couldn't make it to the slick ball game yesterday," the boys said. "I was hanging with my friends at the field and totally spaced."

Elen shrugged. "Eh, no biggy. It was Fin who wanted to play, not me."

"Fin sure is competitive," Keaton laughed. Shaking his head with a smile, he seemed to notice Evalon standing there for the first time. His face broke into a friendly smile as he said, "Hello. I don't think we've met. I'm Keaton Williams." He held out his hand for Evalon to shake.

Evalon tried to speak, but no words came out. She sat there opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and she clutched the book she had been reading the night before closer to her chest. While she was comfortable with Elen, the appearance of this new stranger made Evalon want to run and hide.

"This is Evalon," Elen swooped in, coming to her rescue. "She just moved here and she's a little shy."

Keaton gave Evalon a brilliant, dazzling smile. "Nice to meet you, Evalon. And don't worry, the folks around here are really nice. I'm sure you'll warm up to them in no time."

Evalon could not think of a response, so she said nothing.

If Keaton felt awkward at Evalon's silence, he did not show it. Not missing a beat, he smiled at Elen and said, "I'd better get going. My father is expecting me. Talk to you later." He turned to Evalon and said, "It was nice to meet you, Evalon. Welcome to Mydalr."