He hefted his heavy pack. "We shall see in about two hours more." Harlen pronounced. "I'm sorry for pushing you so hard yesterday, but it did get us most of the way." His face took on a apologetic look.
She stood and kissed his cheek. "We will speak no more of it." She pronounced, and left him smelling the cinnamon scent lingering in the air as she stepped away.
The forest was rich with sounds as they walked through it, and the floor springy beneath their feet. Soon, they passed a small farmstead, one of many around Morrovale. As they walked down its fence row, Hyandai saw a group of three children playing in the yard beside the main house. They looked to be between three and six years of age. She stopped and watched them play. There were two little girls and a boy. The boy was the middle child, probably about five. The kids caught sight of the travelers and ran toward them, screaming happily.
As they drew close, they started saying "Harlen! Harlen!" And they stopped at the low stone wall at the edge of the lawn, jumping up and down. Harlen laughed and stopped beside Hyandai.
"Hello there, children, is the household well?" He asked.
The kids nodded in unison, causing Hyandai to giggle. This drew the kids' collective attention, and the eldest girl gasped. "You're an elf!" She said, smiling and her eyes went wide. "You're an elf-girl!"
Hyandai said, "Cormamin lindua ele lle." And bowed to the kids. The eldest girl giggled at that and bowed back. The other two simply stood an gawked. She said. "It means 'My heart sings to see you.'."
The boy asked. "Harlen, is she your wife?" He was awestruck. "She's very pretty."
Uncomfortably, Harlen said. "No, she's a friend."
Hyandai leaned over the low wall and beckoned to the boy with a finger. He got closer, and she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "And you are very handsome, young man." She said, her face serious, but smiling.
The boy covered his cheek and blushed almost purple, then dashed toward the house screaming gleefully that an elf-girl had kissed him. Hyandai and the eldest girl giggled at him. "He's a silly boy." Said the girl.
Hyandai nodded agreement. "All boys are silly." She said. "But they are sometimes cute."
Three small cloth-wrapped bundles appeared in Harlen's hand, and he handed them to the oldest. "Here, share with your brother and sister, now." He said, and the girl took them and immediately gave one to her sister.
She unwrapped hers and it seemed to be some sort of sweet roll. They started eating them happily calling, "Darvid." Then the girl said. "Thank you Harlen." Then sped off toward the house.
He watched Hyandai's eyes follow the children and watched them sparkle as she did so. "You like children?" Harlen asked as they resumed walking.
"Oh, my, yes." She said, looking at him curiously. "Does not everyone?"
Harlen nodded. "Pretty much, I suppose." He said. "But you looked almost like you wanted to run off with them."
The elf-maiden blushed a bit. "I did." She said. "Children are such a blessing. We have few in our village at any one time. The bane of a long-lived race." They had entered a large orchard, the trees planted in regimented rows. They were pecan trees and not yet ripened. The two walked along at a brisk pace through them.
Finally, they came to a unpaved road, just two ruts in the ground, half muddy, but with a well-beaten foot-path alongside. They followed this road. "Just a bit farther, Hyandai." Harlen said.
They were walking past several small cottages of the half-timbered design that seemed to be favored by the people of this land. No one seemed about, and Harlen said. "It is the day of the Market, so they're probably all in town."
Hyandai asked. "Market day?" She looked at him. "A special day?"
He shrugged. "Sort of, I guess." He said. "We have it every week on this day."
She smiled. "Will we be going to market?"
"Yes, after we go by my home." He replied, then a moment later, pointed off the road at a small house set back among some trees. "And we're there."
She gasped and looked down the foot path. The grass in front was tall and lush, and the trees around it thick and heavy. "It is lovely." She said. She examined the house, another half-timbered home, slightly larger than most, smaller than some. He opened the gate and they proceeded down the path.
He came to the front door and opened it. There was no lock. A boy was dozing on a bench inside the door. He looked to be about twelve to Hyandai. When they came in he came to wakefulness quickly. "Wha. Huh? I'm awake." He said.
Harlen laughed. "Hyandai, this is Trevir, he's my groundskeeper." He said, holding a hand out to indicate the blinking youth. "One day, I'll teach him to hunt, but until then he sleeps and runs errands for me, and now for you, too."
Trevir looked at him, then at his companion, then his eyes went wide. "Harlen, she's an elf." He stammered out. Then he looked at her more, and said. "Gor, but she's pretty." Smiling and gawking quite unabashedly.
Hyandai blushed at this. "Thank you, Trevir. I am Hyandai, and I am pleased to meet you." She bowed low, and winked at him. She followed her elven tradition by saying. "You look to be a strong and smart boy." She said.
Trevir gawked a moment more then said. "Wow." Then sat back down.
"You can go home early today, Trevir." Harlen said. "Just after you fetch me the perishables from the market." He added, and gave the boy a small number of coins.
Trevir absently took the coins, still staring at Hyandai. "Sure, Harlen." He said. "The usual?"
Harlen nodded, then said, "Yes, and please get a variety of fruits, also."
The boy looked at Harlen a moment, then locked back onto Hyandai. "Fruit, right." He said and started for the door, walking slowly, and backwards.
Hyandai simply stood with her hands behind her back and her feet together, and smiled at the boy.
"The fruit is for her, Trev. Don't forget it." The hunter said to him.
He blinked. "No sir! I won't then!" He turned and with one last glance at Hyandai, bolted out the door."
"Well, now you shall not be a great surprise to everyone in town." Harlen said, grinning.
Hyandai looked at him curiously. "Why is that?"
He chuckled. "Because they are being informed even now by the unofficial town crier." He pointed out the door toward where Trevir had left the door ajar in his haste.
She giggled. "I see." She said. "Perhaps you should have made for me a cloak." She said, nodding seriously.
"Well, let me show you around the house." Harlen said, waving her in past the entryway. They entered a large room that took up over half of the ground floor. "This is the common room." He said, waving his hand expansively. There was comfortable, but very functional-looking furniture in here, a couch and two rocking chairs, along with a long table and chairs about it. A small kitchen led off to the right. To the left was another small room, with a closed door. A stair led up and down to their immediate left. Harlen pointed to the closed door. "Tanning room." He said. He pointed to the downward stairs. "Root cellar." Then up the stairs. "Bedrooms." Then he led her to a door on the far side of the large room. Opening it he said. "And the grand finale, the bath room." He waved at a massive wooden tub set over a low, squat fireplace. "My pride and joy." He said, beaming at it.
Hyandai looked at the massive water-filled tub. "That is quite the luxury, Harlen." She said.
He smiled. "The dukes bounty has been generous to me, and I always wanted a bath." He said. He bent and lit the fire beneath it with a lamp. "It takes a while to heat, and I wish to use it later." He explained.
Hyandai nodded. "I would as well." She said, looking about the room. There were no windows at low level, but the entire upper two feet were of large sheets of glass. "The glass alone must have cost you dearly." She said with some awe in her voice.
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