[Kates Frodo Temp]

Elhor paled as he heard Nahai's words. Trembling, he looked at her, terror showing on his face.

He was not afraid of her. No, she could be trusted; he had known that since the first time he saw her. Nor did he fear for Nahai; Morwyn, he saw, would be faithful to her friend, no matter what.

The answerless questions whirled in his mind. Was this why his parents had feared for him? Was he one of them...the Beornings? They had let him leave without ever trying to stop him. Did they hate him? Or were they trying to protect him? His mother, if she was his mother, had said he had a "look." Nahai looked perfectly human. Maybe this had nothing to do with that night, and he was overreacting.

Someone was speaking to him, now, and he was answering. “I said I never desert my friends. Now I tell you this: I never break my word. Take courage; you are no longer alone.”

Elhor did not even try to determine where the words came from. The words he was saying seemed unimportant. It was what he felt that mattered. Nahai knew, even if she did not know she knew. She knew him; she could give him answers. She understood!