“Not braver than those of you staying behind, My Lord. I feel like I’m running away.” Aleatha drew a deep breath, gave her brother a cool glance. “Take care of yourself, Pait.”
“You, too, Thea,”
Arming himself, Paithan headed down toward the lake at a run.
Aleatha watched him go, a horrible, smothering feeling in her breast-a feeling she had experienced once before, the night her mother died.
“Mistress Aleatha, let me escort you.” Lord Durndrun kept hold of her hand.
“No, My Lord. That’s nonsense!” Aleatha answered sharply. Her stomach twisted, bowels clenched. Why had Paithan gone? Why had he left her? She wanted only to escape from this horrid place. “You’re needed here.”
“Aleatha! You are so brave, so beautiful!” Lord Durndrun clasped her close, his arms around her waist, his Hps on her hand. “If, by some miracle, we escape this monster, I want you to marry me!”
Aleatha started, jolted from her fear. Lord Durndrun was one of the highest ranking elves at court, one of the wealthiest elves in Equilan. He had always been polite to her, but cool and withdrawn. Paithan had been kind enough to inform her that the lord thought her “too wild, her behavior improper.” Apparently, he had changed his mind.
“My Lord! Please, I must go!” Aleatha struggled, not very hard, to break the grip of the arm around her waist.
“I know. I will not stop your courageous act! Promise me you’ll be mine, if we survive.”
Aleatha ceased her struggles, shyly lowered the purple eyes. “These are dreadful circumstances, My Lord. We are not ourselves. Should we survive, I could not hold your lordship to such a promise. But”-she drew nearer him, whispering-“I do promise your lordship that I will listen if you want to ask the question again.”
Breaking free, Aleatha sank in a low courtesy, turned and ran swiftly, gracefully across the moss lawn toward the carriage house. She knew he was following her with his eyes.
I have him. I will be Lady Durndrun-supplanting the dowager as first handmaiden to the queen.
Aleatha smiled to herself as she sped across the moss, holding her skirts high to avoid tripping. The dowager’d had hysterics over a dragon. Wait until she heard this news! Her only son, nephew of Her Majesty, joined in marriage with Aleatha Quindiniar, wealthy trollop. It would be the scandal of the year.
Now, pray the blessed Mother, we just live through this!
Paithan made his way down across the sloping lawn toward the lake. The ground began to rumble again, and he paused to glance about hastily, searching for any signs of the dragon. But the rolling ceased almost as soon as it had started, and the young elf took off again.
He wondered at himself, wondered at his courage. He was skilled in the use of the railbow, but the puny weapon would hardly help him against a dragon. Orn’s blood! What am I doing down here? After some serious consideration, given while he was skulking behind a bush to get a better view, he decided it wasn’t courage at all. Nothing more than curiosity. It had always landed his family in trouble.
Whoever the person was wandering down around the lake’s edge, he was beginning to puzzle Paithan immensely. He could see now that it was a man and that he didn’t belong to their party. He didn’t even belong to their race! It was a human-an elderly one, to judge by appearances: an old man with long white hair straggling down his back and a long white beard straggling down his front. He was dressed in long, bedraggled mouse-colored robes. A conical, shabby hat with a broken point teetered uncertainly on his head. And he seemed-most incredibly-to have just stepped out of the lake! Standing on the shoreline, oblivious to the danger, the old man was wringing water out of his beard, peering into the lake, and muttering to himself.
“Someone’s slave, probably,” said Paithan. “Got muddled and wandered off. Can’t think why anyone would keep a slave as old and decrepit as that, though. Hey, there! Old man!” Paithan threw caution to Orn and careened down the hill.
The old man paid no attention. Picking up a long, wooden walking staff that had clearly seen better days, he began poking around the water!