Awakening (Born From Shadows #1)
Chapter Forty-Three

Tatianna looked over at Ida and another horse she did not recognise, both ready to make the trip to the capital with her. She still didn’t know how to ride one without the help of someone else, so she got onto Ida with Riley behind her to take the reins. He hadn’t talked much since coming into the light of his injury. The Elven doctor had places straps around it to try and support it as well as brought out a unique saddle for Freya. She couldn’t ride on her on either, but the saddle given to her was designed so that she could ride with her broken leg.

“You should be set to go,” the Elven doctor said.

“Thank you,” Tatianna told him with gratification.

“My name is Kayter, I thought you ought to know considering I will be riding the next couple of weeks,” the Elven doctor informed her. He then got onto Freya’s horse to help her ride.

“You didn’t have to leave your home,” Tatianna said. They had managed to get this far on their own, what’s another couple of weeks.

“I need to keep a check on their injuries, plus you need someone who knows exactly how to get to Lefernen,” Kayter replied. “We will ride at a canter, trotting will be to jarring, a walk too slow and a gallop also requires at lot of work from the rider.”

“Ok,” Riley said, and kick started the horse into action.

“Come on Nylif!” Tatianna called out to her wolf as Ida’s feet went into action. The grey wolf came running beside the horse, keeping up to pace.

“That’s interesting,” Kayter noted looking down at Nylif.

“Yeah, she just sort of follows me, I don’t know it’s weird. I just assumed it was because I am Elf,” Tatianna said referring to Kayter’s curious looks. If he found it interesting did that mean it wasn’t normal? She wanted it to be normal. She wanted to feel like everyone else and not a circus act. She just wanted to feel something different.

“Animals are naturally draw to us and we to them…but not to this extent,” Kayter replied which helped relieve her doubts slighting. Then a different look went through his face, understanding? She couldn’t quite depict it.

“That is very interesting,” he mumbled more to himself this time.

“What is?”

Kayter took a moment to respond to her question, “I can not say, just know that you are very special.”

Special? She didn’t want to be special didn’t he see that? She wanted to be normal. She wanted to live in a home with her children and husband, with the largest worry on her mind was what to cook for the night. She wanted his green eyes to be staring at her with a smile. She wanted to laugh at some silly jokes. None of that encompassed that she wanted to be special. Different as always, even as an Elf in and Elven city or a human in a human city she was still an outcast. “Why can’t you tell me?” she asked. Was it her eyes that separated her from everyone else?

“I just…I just can’t,” he replied.

“Well can you tell me why you look twenty, other Elves look fifteen and some look forty. I thought we were immortal?”

“You truly know nothing,” Kayter said in surprise.

“Exactly, so enlighten me,” she replied. She wanted to know if she could age. If she would grow old and die. If she could be with him as her heart craved.

“We are immortal. We do not age,” he said, just confusing Tatianna even more.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Freya piped into the conversation.

“It all depends on…how old are you?” Kayter asked Tatianna interrupting his own sentence.

“Eighteen,” she replied, her voice quizzical.

“So young…,” Kayter said, his words drifting off. So young for what? She wanted to ask, but she was tired of receiving these half answers to any inquiry she had.

Maybe she should try for one last question, one that had been pressing on her mind since she arrived. “Why did you react to my name like that when we first reached Sylfin?”

“Look, I would be happy to answer your questions, but you have to realise it is more complicated than that. I hope that everything going through your mind will be answered in due time,” he replied. She had not the patience for that, but neither did she have a choice. She finally had a source of information, and it was locked away from her. It frustrated her to know end, but she liked it. The frustration meant she was feeling something other than the void. Perhaps if she kept pretending to be fine. Kept talking the void would disappear entirely. She just had to keep repressing it.

“So…” Freya said trying to start a new conversation. “What’s a game we could play other than twenty questions?”

“Game?” Tatianna replied confused. She had never actually played a proper game before. Perhaps this could be interesting.

“Ok I’ll go first. I spy something with my little eyes starting with…L,” Freya said looking around the forest.

“I don’t get it,” replied a very confused Tatianna.

“Me either,” Kayter responded. She was glad she wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand Freya’s antics.

“Leaf,” Riley said from behind her.

“Correct,” Freya beamed.

“How did you get that?” she asked Riley, not understanding how the game worked.

“Basically, someone replaces something around them and says its first letter. Then everyone else has to guess. Me and Riley played it all the time as children when we were bored in the house. Riley your turn,” Freya answered.

“This is ridiculous,” he said unenthused.

“No, it’s fun. Ok I will go again. I spy with my little eyes something started with H.”

“Horse?” Kayter answered.

“Yes! See Riley, Kayter enjoys it,” Freya exclaimed. “Ok Kayter, now its your turn to choose.”

They continued on like this during the ride until they needed time to stretch out their legs. It was nice, for once there was joy heard on their journey instead of rumbling stomachs. She found herself looking behind her shoulder less and less. If this was what the rest of her life entailed, then maybe she would be alright. She would feel ok.