River Horse

Chapter Fifteen

WHO IS AWESOME
WHO UPDATED HER CHAPTER IN LESS THAN A WEEK
WHO UPDATED A DAY EARLIER THAN BEFORE
I COULD CRY WITH PRIDE

And I cried at the fact that I broke 6K reads :') I couldn't thank you guys enough, you are the ones who inspire me to keep on going.

ANYWAY
ENOUGH MUSHY STUFF
LEZ GET DOWN TO BIZNESS

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ALICIA

The elves had provided us kelpies each with our own quarters. But for some reason unknown to me, everyone always came to mine to talk and hang out. At the moment, Kye, Jocelyn and Karri were lounging on comfortable floor cushions.

I sighed from a whicker chair in the corner, and Kye grinned at me. "Sorry for crashing again," he said without an ounce of remorse. He and Jocelyn were currently debating the benefits of a sword over a spear while I sat quietly. Karri, Joltin's younger sister, was sitting nearby, watching and listening. She was mute, and only rarely talked to us mentally. She smiled apologetically at me. She was as gentle as her brother was rough, with long golden brown curls and large gray eyes.

I waved my hand dismissively and said, "It's fine. I don't really mind."

In truth, I was thinking about something completely different. Last night, during my run, I had encountered a beautiful garden, one of the many in the Elvish halls. It had been so quiet that I had assumed it was empty. But as soon as my hooves touched the small bridge that arched over a stream, a quiet gasp had drawn my attention to the two people I had been fearing to see; Hans and Gareth.

While Gareth had only looked astonished, Hans' expression had become that of recognition. A wave of fear had overcome me and I sprinted away as fast as I could. I had been up for hours later, lying in my bed and staring up at the ceiling.

I rubbed my eyes tiredly. I had gotten absolutely no sleep, and I was already feeling the effects. A coffee would have been perfect just then. I closed my eyes and wistfully thought of white porcelain mugs of coffee until a knock on the door snapped me out of my reverie.

Hilden peaked his head in and grinned. "Can I come in?" he asked, already stepping over the threshold.

I glowered at him. "It looks like you already did," I said grumpily.

He frowned and asked, "Are you okay? Your eyes are all bloodshot and you have bags under them."

"I'm fine," I told him. "Just had a hard time getting to sleep."

"Do you want us to leave so you can take a nap or something?" Jocelyn asked, concerned. "We really don't mind if you-"

"It's okay," I interrupted. After my hissy fit the day before, I didn't want to make myself a nuisance. "I really am fine."

Kye shrugged. "I believe you. Come down and join the conversation. It'll wake you up a bit." Karri moved aside to make room for me.

I shook my head and stood up. "I'll pass. You guys can stay, but I'm going to go lie down." But just as I turned to go into the bedroom, there was another knock on the door. I briefly checked with my mind. It was Mandel, and he was obviously worried about something.

Come in, I told him. He opened the door, but didn't step inside.

"They need us all in the barracks," he said tersely. "Right now."

I frowned. "What's the matter?"

He licked his lips nervously, turning to look over his shoulder. I can't say it out loud, he told us mentally. The Lady doesn't want there to be a panic.