She sat on the bed, twisting the rings on her fingers. (I saw that she’d forgotten to take off her funeral jewelry. We dwarves aren’t particularly superstitious, but if there was ever a bad omen, that was it. I meant to tell her, but just as I was about to say something she started to talk, and I never had the chance.) “Grundle,” she said, making up her mind to astonish me. “I’m in love.”
I decided to amuse myself a little. It’s fun to tease Alake, because she takes everything so seriously.
“I’m sure I wish you two all the best,” I said slowly, stroking my whiskers, “but how do you think Sabia will take it?”
“Sabia?” Alake was startled. “Why, I suppose she’ll be happy for me. Why shouldn’t she?”
“She’s unselfish. We all know that. And she loves you dearly, Alake, but she’s pretty fond of Devon, too, and I don’t think—”
“Devon!” Alake could barely speak for shock. “Do you . . . Did you think I meant I was in love with Devon?” “Who else?” I asked as innocently as possible.
“Devon’s very nice,” Alake was going on, “and he’s been very kind and helpful. And I will always think of him with the highest regard, but I could never fall in love with him. After all, he’s little more than a boy.”
A boy who’s about one hundred times older than you, I could have said, but I kept my mouth shut. Humans tend to be touchy about their age.
“No,” Alake continued softly, her eyes glowing like candlelight at dusk, “I’m in love with a man. Grundle . . .” She gulped, swallowed, then said, in a rush, “It’s Haplo!”
Of course, she expected me to fly backward around the room in shock and was considerably put out when I didn’t.
“Humpf,” was all I said.
“You’re not surprised?”
“Surprised! Try painting ‘I love you’ in white paint across your forehead next time,” I suggested.
“Oh, dear. Has it been that obvious? Do you … do you think he knows? It would be dreadful if he did.”
Alake glanced at me sidelong, pretending to be afraid, but I could tell that deep down she was hoping I’d say, “Yes, of course, he knows.”
Which I could have said truthfully, because the man would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb and a fool on top of it not to have known. I could have said this and it would have made Alake happy, but, of course, I didn’t. It was all wrong and I knew it and I knew Alake would get hurt and the whole thing made me cross.
“He’s old enough to be your father,” I pointed out.
“He is not! And what if he is?” Alake argued, with the sort of logic one comes to expect from humans. “I’ve never met another man as noble and brave and strong and handsome. He stood there alone, Grundle. In front of those horrible creatures, naked, no weapons, not even his magic.
“You see, I know about the water and how it affects his magic, so don’t say anything to me about that!” she added defiantly. “We humans can’t do rune-magic ourselves, but our legends tell about people who could once, long ago. Haplo obviously wants to hide his power, and so I’ve said nothing.
“He was prepared to die for us, Grundle.”
(No use my saying a word. She wouldn’t have heard me.)
“How could I not love him? And then, to see those dreadful dragon-snakes bow down to him! He was magnificent! And now they’re sending us home, giving us gifts, promising us a new homeland! And all because of Haplo.”
“That may be,” I said, feeling crosser than ever because I was forced to admit that what she said was true, “but what is he getting out of this? Have you asked yourself that? What does he mean, coming around asking me how many men my father has in his army and asking Devon if he thinks the elves would fight if they had to and whether or not they still remembered how to make magical weapons and wanting to know if your Coven could persuade the dolphins and whales to be on our side if it came to war?”