“What happened?”

“She saw him attacking me.” I felt myself being held in a strong pair of arms and a cool hand wiping my brow.

“How?”

“You know that she can hear others thoughts.”

“Yes, but I didn’t realise it was so strong, she heard them all the way from the other side of the castle?”

“Yes.”

“And she ran from me, to here before he had even time to put his knife in you?”

“Yes.”

“I thought she had been exaggerating about her speed.”

“So had I, we were both wrong.”

“So what happened when she got here?”

“She got him off me.”

“Then what?” the words were all faint and distant.

“Is he alive?” I managed to say.

“Ilea!” I heard Rowan exclaim

“Is he alive?”

“I don’t know.” Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked into Rowan’s I could see the concern in them. Slowly I stood up and unsteadily walked over to where the feather man lay on the floor. I bent down over him and heard his breath, it was shallow and uneven, but it was still there. “He’s breathing.” I said.

“I’ll take him to the infirmary.” Isaac said quietly and looked at me in awe as he passed. Once he was gone I turned to Rowan, “Are you hurt?”

“No, are you?”

“I am not sure yet.” I said simply, he looked in my eyes again. “Thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me? I should be the one thanking you, you saved my life”

“If it were not for you, he would not be alive and I would have become a murderer.” I shivered and closed my eyes, the memory of the moment passed in my mind. What would Jacob and Johanna think of me now?

He held me in his arms and I put my head into his chest again, hearing his heart beating there, just like before. With a start I realised I was not listening to his thoughts, I had created a barrier with my mind to keep them out. Slowly I realised the barrier and felt the thoughts of the castle wash over me again.

He kissed the top of my head and I felt a single tear roll down my cheek, knowing that it would hurt me, not to be able to ever be held by him, to ever be in his arms again.

I stepped away from his embrace and asked him the time, it was half past twelve. Suddenly I realised that I was late. I kissed him gently and swiftly on the cheek and ran to see Orion; I moved so fast that Rowan could not see me properly, only the blurred outline of my figure. I wiped my cheek with my fingertips as I ran. I must regain the hard outer shell that intimidated Orion and the other men.

I ran through the corridors and into the room, not stopping until I was standing in the centre. I had been so quick and so quiet that the normal humans in the room had not seen me come in and they hadn’t even realised that I was standing there; they were too busy talking to each other. Orion had seen me, but stood there without making a sound. Shortly a shout rang out as a man noticed me waiting patiently for them.

“Ilea, you are late.”

“Yes, I apologize for my tardiness; I had to sort something out.”

“What do you mean?”

“The feather man just attacked my guard; he tried to kill Rowan so I nearly killed him in return, fortunately I was able to regain control of my anger, but not before a little slip up. He is alive, but I dont think that he will ever be able to speak again.”

A cry ran through the crowd of men sitting around the room. “Why?” someone asked me.

“I burnt his voice box.” I said simply. Outrage spread around the room. Orion looked at me with a strange look in his hard, blue eyes “You were able to regain control?” he asked.

“Yes, I got so close to killing him, but I regained control of my body and let go.” I said, retaining the finer details that he did not need to know.

“Well you should not have slipped in the first place.” One man called out from the crowd.

“I do not usually, but he was intent on killing Rowan, for simply being my guard. He was trying to take away his life when he had done nothing wrong, I couldn’t help but get angry. He was not finished trying to hurt me, when I had originally done nothing to him.” As I spoke I could feel myself get angrier and angrier, I took a deep breath and thought of the way his heart had beaten inside his chest, slowly I calmed down.

Another man shouted “What just happened to you?”

“I got angry and then calmed down again.” I said

“But your eyes…” I looked at him and he didn’t finish his question.

“Orion we need to go now if we are to take guards and get to the first camp spot by sundown.” I said to him, “Oh, but you are not coming with me; you want one of these men to take me instead.” I said laughing lightly. He looked at me with distain.

“Very well, I will choose. But it would be a lot quicker if you just told me the instructions and let me go on my own. Okay, okay, I understand, there’s no need to be so rude about it. Yes I agree he will be fine, but which guards? No, not Frasier, I don’t think he really likes me, what about Rowan and Isaac and the first guard that looked after me, Emanuel I think? Okay, so which one do you suggest instead of Emanuel? Yes, he seems fine. I will meet them and Lord Rico at the stables in one hour, make sure I have a change of clothes to journey in.” I turned to walk out of the door and realised that it would seem like I had just had a conversation with myself, I looked at their open mouths and could not help but laugh, I was laughing as I walked through the large wooden doors, “I would prefer a white horse.” I said to Orion and walked down the corridor to my room.

Half way there I met Isaac and Rowan, “You two took you time.” I said with a cheeky grin.

“Sorry, we do not all have wings on our feet,” Rowan said to me and laughed, he was happy to see the glimmer in my eyes.

“So have you two found out already or do I need to tell you?” I asked them, reading their puzzled faces and thoughts.

“Ah, I see you have not been told, well, you are going on a journey in one hour, it will take you seven days, you will rest for one night in the place that you journey to and then you will both come back along the same path.”

“But we won’t be here when you leave,” Isaac said, downtrodden and misunderstanding.

“No, you will be leaving with me.” I said smiling at him. “Apparently, even elves need escorts.” They both smiled at me, Rowan had a strange look on his face and there was a part of his thoughts that I could not read, I looked at him, but he avoided my gaze.

We walked down the corridor and I sent Isaac off to get his things, requesting Rowan to stay for a moment. I asked him what was wrong.

“How did you know that something was?”

“If you try to block something in your mind, I will not see it, but I will also know that you have purposely blocked it from me.”

“Oh, so it doesn’t really work.”

“It does, as in I don’t know what you are thinking, but it doesn’t as in I know you are thinking about something that you want to keep from me.”

“Oh.”

“So are you going to tell me?”

“Yes, but not with words, this way it’s a lot easier for me, and I can go and pack my things, just be patient and try not to judge me. I will unblock my mind when I am in my room, go to yours.” He lightly brushed my cheek with the back of his hand and then walked away to his room. I ran to mine, eager to find out if I had any new clothes, well, that’s what I was telling myself.

I found the clothes folded neatly on the bed, they were made of leather, but blue in colour. There were some new boots, black around the foot and calf and then blue around the top. There were also knee protectors for when I was riding, a short blue dress like item which looked foreign, it was like a wrap around dress that folded around my body and tied at the front of my left hip. Then there was a skirt, made from a sturdy cloth, it was long and did not join together along a seem at the front, but rather tied in the middle at the top, I knew that it was so that if I were to run then the skirt would fly out behind me and not get in my way. There was also a small, empty shoulder bag, that I assumed was for my other clothes. The whole outfit was cleverly designed. Then I noticed another package on the bed, this one was wrapped up in brown paper, I slowly unfolded it. Inside were a pair of leather riding gloves, they were black and blue and matched the boots that I was now wearing. I put them into the bag, knowing i would not need them.

As I was sitting on the bed I felt the barrier on Rowan’s mind being lifted and saw what he had been thinking; He was wondering what would happen between us on the journey. He wanted to know what we would spend the nights doing and whether we would be together, wanted to know if he would get another chance to hold me, to smell the perfume of my hair, to feel my lips against his again, but was ashamed to think the thoughts. I did not know the answers to his questions, I did not know what we would do, whether I would let him close to me again, whether we would ever kiss again, I could not tell the future, all I knew was that the possibility was there.

I tried to do something that I had never done before, I reached out to Rowan’s mind and then thought the words, Who knows what the future may bring I came out of his mind and heard his thoughts bound against each other, he had heard me, he thought he had just heard me but could not see me anywhere, a grim smile set my mouth; another new power.

‘Don’t worry you’re not going mad, I’m just trying something new.’

‘Ilea?’

‘Yes?’

‘What are you doing in my head?’

‘Talking to you?’

‘Haha, very funny.’

‘Do you want me to go.’

‘Not really, couldn’t you tell?’

‘No, not while I am doing this, I only hear the thoughts that you want me to hear’

‘So you can’t hear my thoughts when I do this?’ he began to picture me with my clothes on and then slowly made me walk towards him in his mind and reach around to the back of my top.

‘Yes, I can see that.’

‘But I thought you said…’

‘I was wrong, apparently, I hear the strongest thoughts that you are thinking. And I have to ask, why has my skirt grown shorter and my top been cut lower in your head?’

‘That’s besides the point.’

‘That is completely the point.’

‘Not anymore, the point is did you mean what you said before about the future?’

‘Yes, so there is a chance that we…’

‘I do not know, but I am not promising anything to you, I do not know what will happen, I might get killed on the journey for all I know.’

‘Don’t say that, don’t ever say that!’

‘Okay, okay.’

‘That was a really stupid thing to say.’

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’

‘it’s okay, now will you please get out of my head, I need to get changed and it feels wrong with you in here.’

I withdrew my mind from his but still kept hold of his thoughts, he carried on with his daydream. ‘I may not have been in your head, but I can still see your thoughts!’

‘that’s not my problem.’

‘I will see you in half an hour… with all my clothes on!’

I withdrew from his mind again and heard him direct on last thought at me ‘well that’s a shame.’ He was so cheeky! But I guess it was kind of nice for him to like my mind and still really want my body. The one thing that bothered me was that one bit of his mind was still blocked off from me, I couldn’t see into it and it worried me a little, it made me feel slightly insecure, but I suppose that he was allowed at least one thing from me, it was his mind.

Half an hour later I arrived in the stables in my new clothes, I had ran and slowed down when I got into sight. I enjoyed the thoughts in Rowan’s head as I arrived, he really appreciated how the long skirt blew open when I was running, and how the short skirt underneath it showed off my legs. I did not look at him but entered his mind quickly, ‘I wonder how your daydreams will appreciate this outfit…’

I walked over to the man who I knew as Lord Rico, “Hello.” I said to him pleasantly.

“Look here elf, I do not want to take you on this little trip, I have better things to do with my time, other than baby sit a spoilt teenager, do not believe that I like you or that I will talk to you on this trip.”

“Just so you know, the feeling’s mutual. And I would be careful where your thoughts slip to while you are near me Lord  Rico, I can see into the minds of lords just as well as I can see into the minds of the servants and I know that their thoughts can be a lot more civilised that the thoughts of your kind.”

He turned red and got onto his horse stiffly. I looked at Rowan and laughed, he was staring at me, I had forgotten that he had never seen me speak to someone like that before. ‘That was brilliant, I’ve never seen anyone of his rank been put in their place in that way.’

I smiled at him and swiftly jumped up onto my horse. It was a white mare and I rode it without a bridal, linking it’s thoughts to mine and telling it where I wanted it to turn, when I wanted it to speed up and what direction I wanted it to go in. It was like talking to a small child.

When everyone was on their horses, we started to move towards the gates of the stable and out onto the streets of Elmira. “You’ll need a bridal with a strong horse like that, it’s hard to control.” Lord Rico said to me as if he were talking t a child of seven years.

I gave him a withering look, “I do not need one.”

“Yes you do.” He said indignantly “It’ll buck and throw you off.” ‘…and I hope it does you foolish child.’

“No she won’t.”

“Oh and you know that for certain do you?” he said snobily.

“Actually, I do.”

“Pack and extra bridal,” he ordered the other guard, “And how do you know that?” he asked me.

“You are to close minded to understand.” I said and walked out into the streets, heading towards the gates. Rowan followed me, then Lord Rico, Isaac and the other guard followed at the rear. We walked through the city at a slow pace, I could see and hear my horse’s building frustration; I patted her on the flank and talked to her soothingly with my words and my mind.

“Don’t blame me if she bucks on you!” Lord Rico said, thinking that she would.

“You forget, I know she wouldn’t buck on me.” Lord Rico snorted rudely and I turned around on my horse, I could not be bothered fighting with him over such a trivial matter.

As we walked through the streets I could see frightened faces and inquisitive thoughts in the people that I passed, I saw myself through one young man’s eyes; I was a complete contrast to everything around me, the pale streets the white horse, I looked supernatural and mythical, I walked passed him and he saw my face and thought how striking I was. He thought I was exactly the sort of thing he expected from and elf; Mysterious, clearly in command, in control, slightly proud and above the others in the streets, not fitting to where I was, I clearly stood out from my surroundings, I was not where I was meant to be, but walked around as if I owned the it, he saw me as the perfect leader. He respected me.

I closed my eye and re-opened them through my own, I looked into his eyes as I passed, “Thank you.” I said and he gave a start, “What for?” he asked in a slightly confused and dazed voice.

“For your respect.” He looked at me dumbfounded and I rode on through the city and finally came to the gates.

“Open them.” I called to the guard at the top. Slowly they swung open and I walked out of the only home I ever had, not knowing if I would ever get the chance to return.