Verange

Chapter 18

Elis walked slowly around her room. Her head still ached terribly but sleep would not come, a usual after effect of Finfernel. No sleep for a day or so and a headache for the first 10 hours or so after regaining movement and mind control.

Her mind wandered to what she had told Hayden and she sighed sadly. Her mind was still foggy after last night and she wished she had been in the right state of mind. She may have said something differently.

It wasn't that she didn't return his feelings. Sure, her feelings were just friendly towards him, but there was something else. Something she couldn't and wouldn't place. It had previously been her hope that he wouldn't show any sort of emotion like that towards her and they could remain friends without awkwardness. Now she would have to distance herself from him, just like she had to do with every other human male she met.

Elis groaned and stormed out of her room. Why couldn't men control themselves? All she wanted was someone who could be a friend to her and not get too attached. Someone who wouldn't object when she needed or wanted to be alone. Someone who understood how uncomfortable she was with physical contact. Someone who could be a steady and constant companion before they tried anything romantic. Someone like Keni.

She found herself in the stables and she mounted her black steed. Once again her thoughts had drifted to the love of her life. Literally. Elis had chosen him early in her life. Most elves didn't choose a mate until they were at least a century old and many waited much longer. They had received a lot of questioning from the older members of their race, but after seeing them together, they didn't ask so much.

So she settled down with the man she planned to spend the rest of her days with when she was 42. They often traveled together and were only separate when he was required elsewhere. For 31 years they lived happily as a pair in and out of the Verange, wherever their duties called them. For the most part, they and the other few elves lived in several tents with the Verange as they traveled throughout the kingdom, making many trips back and forth to the elves. Many times, Keni stayed behind for long spans of time to live among their people. It was right before the last Comatose Celebration. They gave themselves just enough time to get to the Verange and back before the Celebration started. She spent most of it unconscious.

Although elves do not just choose one mate for life, many do not leave their partner for hundreds of years. Why should they? As long as they still love one another there is no reason for change. Elis had imagined herself spending at least another hundred years with Keni before they went their separate ways. Instead, he was stripped from her just as they were about to make things as permanent as they could be.

Elis sighed and rode her horse hard up the mountain. She mustn't think of him. Thinking of him brought about one of her episodes and she couldn't afford to have them anymore. It had been nearly a year since she had one and luckily, she had been with Arya. Every now and again, Elis would collapse. Not because she was sick physically, but because when she was much younger, she had sustained a serious head injury. It caused her to fall asleep at random. Usually, it happened when she got worked up about something. The strain it put on her mind became too much and she would simply fall asleep and be none the wiser. She had dealt with them all of her life and had finally managed to get a hold on them. Even two nights previous, she had controlled it by playing music and keeping her mind active, but not strained.

She pushed her steed farther up the mountain and took deep breaths. It was getting colder up here and her sleeveless tunic did not provide much shielding from the cold. With a sigh, she got upp and walked beside the horse as she thought. She couldn't spend anymore time with Hayden than she needed to. That much was clear and that much she could do, at least until they left for Kokoum.

She mentally contacted Belden and relished in the familiar contact of their minds. "Hayden trusts you and he needs to get used to how elves act. I'm putting you in charge of teaching him our customs and rituals so he does not shame himself or us upon our arrival."

Belden replied fairly quickly. "Why not yourself? You know better than I what should and should not be revealed."

"Because I have other duties and cannot spend all my free moments teaching a simple human our customs. Besides. He is much less likely to become distracted by you." She hoped he did not question her argument and with luck, he did not.

She then told Arya to oversee Hayden during the next week. She Asked her to make sure he sparred everyday with either herself of Fartha and asked her to take him to Gerard and Belden, two hours each, every day so he could learn what he would need during their trip. She made sure his days would be busy so he would not have time to question where she was or what she was doing.

As she rode back, she made a list of everything they would need for their trip. The first leg of the journey could be made with minimal supplies. The mountain passes were fairly low and they would have no need of a fire. Food and water was readily available all throughout the mountain range and they could maneuver within it for the first half if their trip. After that, they would have to pass through a desert. The trip through could take 1 day, or it could take 3, depending on the path they took. If they skirted it and just passed through the edge, there would still be minimal plant life and water, but it would add 2 days to their jpurney. If they traveled straight through, it would be three long days with almost no water or food and incredible heat. A large prarie would follow the desert and several days following a river would put them at the edge of the forest that the elves lived in. another day would put them at the outskirts of the elven city, Kokoum. The whole ordeal should only take a week and a half.

The preparation of their supplies would only take a day, max, but getting the council ready for her absence would take the remainder of her time here and she vowed to not speak to Hayden during that time with hopes her heart would realize it could function just fine without him.

During the next week, she didn't speak with Hayden, as she promised herself. The council proved more ready than she imagined and her job was fairly easy. Sooner than she realized, she, Belden, Balue, and Heelio were in the stables, awaiting Hayden's arrival so they could leave.

A/n

So this one is shorter than the rest. Kinda just a filler chapter. Just know, I stayed up till midnight writing this because I said i would update today. Well... Here it is. It's not my best, but i promise the next chapter will be full of excitement, tension, and some death. Well... The death may be in chapter 19, but it'll happen soon. Leave a comment and tell me how you feel about this whole story. Vote for it! Help it get noticed by everyone.

Picture of Arya in full armour on the side.