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Chapter 21. Aliendre and Moonlight
Back to: Chapter 20. Birger's Keep Next: Chapter 22. Roe Listens to her Heart

Roe could feel their scent long before she could hear them or see them. The wind was blowing against her, bringing the well known scent of Thorundur together with the scent of an unknown elf and an animal that she couldn’t recognize.


Roe dropped her jaw when she saw them. Thorundur looked as he always did, with a green tunic and a smile. But the Elven girl was sitting on the back of a snow white animal. Roe almost forgot her good manners but pulled herself together and greeted the two elves and the white animal.

“This is Aliendre, Princess of the Light elves,” Thorundur said.

Aliendre dismounted the animal. Thorundur did a gesture towards the white animal and said, “This is Aliendre’s horse.”

Roe had never heard of horses before. How could that be? And why did the horse carry Aliendre on its back. “Is she a prisoner?”


“No, she’s a …… servant,” Aliendre said, uncertain by the unexpected question.

“Servant” was a word Roe didn’t understand. Thorundur was looking down on the ground. Wrinkles had formed in the corners of his eyes and his shoulders were shaking slightly. He cleared his throat and looked up. “Aliendre meant that the horse is her friend,” he said.

Roe was doubtful. To her the horse looked like a prisoner. Why else would it accept to carry someone on its back? When she was a child a storyteller had told her that humans kept animals as prisoners but obviously elves also did so.

“Her name is Moonlight,” Aliendre said.


Roe put her hand on Moonlight’s neck. She could feel the warm breath from the horse’s nostrils when it turned its head toward her.

“I am pleased to meet someone from the Forest people. Thorundur has told me so much about you Roe.”

Roe turned her attention to the Elven princess. The appearance of the horse had almost made her forget Aliendre. Thorundur had told her that the Aliendre was very beautiful but to Roe Aliendre looked like all other elves. Although Aliendre had the same kind of blue eyes that Thorundur they lacked his liveliness.


When Roe’s parents, Wolf and Otter, saw the horse they were just as marveled about it as Roe had been. Aliendre was friendly and nice and gave compliments to Roe’s parents. Apparently they must have been charmed because Otter invited Aliendre into their home. Roe was almost certain that she could see a small wrinkle on Aliendre’s nose when she looked into their hut.


When it was time for the elves to leave Aliendre said, “Please come and visit us tomorrow Roe.”

Roe felt hesitant. She had visited Thorundur’s home before but not often. Although Thorundur’s brother and Liandra had always been polite and friendly, Roe had a feeling that they didn’t really like that Thorundur was together with her. “Thank you that’s very kind of you,” she answered finally.


Aliendre seemed delighted to see Roe and insisted that she would share lunch with them. The elves treated her like a respected guest. Roe did her best to behave like the elves but all the furniture and the cutlery confused her. Why did elves complicate everything so much? The looks Toraldor and Liandra exchanged when they thought that Roe didn’t see made her feel that they were amused by her.


After lunch Aliendre told a story for them. It was a story about Human and Elven kings and queens during the war against the Dark elves. Aliendre was a good storyteller and Roe couldn’t believe how fast the time had passed when she realized that it was getting dark and she had to return home.


Aliendre had brought a completely different world to Roe. Roe had been shocked to learn that elves had killed each other on purpose during the war. Her own people were hunters and killed for food but she had never heard of Forest people killing each other. When she was a child she had been horrified by the stories about the humans’ cruelty but the more she learned about elves the more they seemed to be like humans. Apparently Thorundur hadn’t told her very much about his own people. Despite the shocking details, or maybe because of them, the story had been enthralling and left a strange yearning feeling within Roe.


Aliendre showed up alone early next morning. “I hope you don’t mind me coming alone Roe, but I asked Thorundur to stay at home so that you and I could spend some time together.”

Roe was a little annoyed because she always looked forward to seeing Thorundur but she was also intrigued by Aliendre’s wish to spend time alone with her. The princess seemed to really enjoy Roe’s company and asked her about the life in the forest.

“Tell me more about humans,” Roe said. “Is it true that they have hair in their face?”

Aliendre closed her eyes and smiled. “I have only met one human myself. It was Crown prince Alexander. He was very young then so he only had very light stubble. I think it makes them look …. stronger.” Aliendre’s smile was sad now.

Roe remembered that Thorundur had told her about the human prince who according to Thorundur had flirted with Aliendre. Was it possible that the Aliendre had feelings for the human prince?

“Tell me more about the prince,” Roe said.


It was as if Aliendre had waited for that question for a very long time. She described every little detail about Alexander. “He always made me laugh with all his crazy jokes. But he was also very kind and considerate. He will become king one day because humans don’t live forever like elves do, and he thinks a lot about his future duties and how to become a good king.” There was no end to all positive details that Aliendre could tell about Alexander. From what Aliendre told it was difficult to believe that Alexander could belong to the same species that the storyteller had told so many scaring stories about at the Forest people meeting many years ago.

“Do you know that Thorundur actually behaved very badly towards Alexander when he visited us? Sometimes it made me a little angry but as you probably know it’s impossible to be angry with Thorundur for very long. He speaks very warmly about you Roe. He even calls you his sister. I think that Thorundur is very fun to be with. You’re lucky to have him as your brother.”


Aliendre’s blue eyes met Roe’s. “I was born in the shadow of my brother. He was killed by dark elves and his death was a great tragedy for all light elves. My parents will never forget the sorrow and therefore I will always walk in his shadow. I wish I would have met him because everyone speaks so warmly about him.”

Roe thought that although Aliendre’s large blue eyes were not as vibrant as Thorundur’s they expressed her feelings in a very touching way. Aliendre’s smile didn’t reach her eyes that were filled with sadness. How sad it must be to always walk in the shadow of someone who had been dead for centuries.


Roe was surprised when Aliendre spontaneously hugged her when they said goodbye. It seemed to surprise Aliendre too because she looked down and seemed slightly embarrassed by her own spontaneity. She lifted her head and looked at Roe with large blue eyes. “I’m so happy to have you as a friend Roe. I’ve never had a girl in my own age as a friend before.”


Roe was moved by the sincerity in Aliendre’s voice. Thorundur had described Aliendre as a magnificent Elven princess, but the princess that Roe had met today was just a lonely girl with sad eyes and a longing heart. “We’ll meet soon again,” Aliendre said and mounted the beautiful white horse. Soon Aliendre and her horse Moonlight were out of sight in the twilight.

Click Next: Chapter 22. Roe Listens to her Heart to continue...

 
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