“So, if Natalia’s claims are true, then that means, Maija, you’re an elf?” he said. He recalled seeing the slight points to her ears earlier that morning. Anders hadn’t thought it strange at the time, just a unique attribute that made her that much more interesting.

“There’s one simple way to check and see if Natalia’s claims could be true,” Nadir said, walking over to the side of the cot where Maija and Anders stood. Nadir moved, reaching toward Maija.

Maija jumped back in a defensive stance. She held her hands up ready to block herself from Nadir.

Nadir dropped his arms to his sides and backed away saying, “I don’t intend to harm you.”

Anders leaned toward Maija and said softly, “I think he just wants to see your ears?” Anders glanced to Nadir, who nodded.

Maija slackened in her stance slightly but remained on guard.

Anders stepped closer to Maija. He stopped, gesturing toward her and asked, “May I?”

She nodded.

Anders pulled back her hair to expose one of her ears. Maija leaned away awkwardly but let him hold his position.

Ivan leaned forward, placing his hand on the side of the cot. Nadir did the same. Before she pulled away, Anders saw her ear in its entirety. It was pointed like an elf’s, but much shorter than others he’d seen. Even Natalia’s protruded through her hair as it hung loose, where Maija’s did not.

Maija moved toward the tent door. Flushed in the face, she said, “I, um, I need to go.” She turned and left the tent before Anders or anyone else could stop her.

Anders moved to follow her, but Ivan called to him, “Let her be, Anders. She’ll need space to think.”

Anders stopped.

“He’s right,” Natalia said. “Let her be.”

Anders turned and walked to the bedside where the others stood.

“They are pointed;” Nadir said bringing the focus back to the discussion and confirming Natalia’s assertion, “however, I have never seen an elf with ears so small.”

“Perhaps she’s only half elf,” Ivan suggested.

“No,” Natalia said emphatically. “She’s my sister, not half-sister. She’s the little sister that my parents had to send away in the face of danger, to protect her life.”

“Weren’t you separated as well?” Anders asked.

“When we were young, our parents were powerful sorcerers, bonded with the two most feared dragons among the five kingdoms. After Merglan began his conquest to rule Kartania, the elf king sent our parents to ride out and stop him from taking any more territory. Underestimating his power, they were unable to stop him. During one battle they became locked in combat with the dark sorcerer. Merglan broke through our father’s mental wards and glimpsed into his mind, learning of his two daughters. I’d just been paired with a young dragon, bonding with her at a young age, but Maija was still a toddler at the time.

“Our father was able to force Merglan from his mind at that point, but before the channel was closed, he discovered Merglan’s burning desire to stop a prophecy from coming to fruition. After our parents were forced to retreat, Merglan focused on hunting them down. They suspected Merglan believed one of us could become involved in the prophecy of his demise. Our parents didn’t want to endanger other elves when Merglan came for them, so they went on the run, taking the two of us with them.

“He chased us for nearly a year; every time he came close we managed a narrow escape, until one day. On that day our parents sacrificed themselves, ensuring our survival. Our mother managed to free herself, but not before our father and his dragon were killed. Merglan fatally wounded both our mother and her dragon, but she survived long enough to hide us from the evil sorcerer.

“The spells our mother cast just before her death were so powerful not even Merglan could get around them. Before she separated Maija and me, she made me promise that I would not look for Maija until Merglan was gone forever. For sixteen years I kept that promise, struggling each and every day not to take up the search. A year ago, I thought Merglan had been defeated, so I began looking for her, but my mother’s spells concealing Maija’s location were much too strong, and, as is obvious today, I was unable to find her… until now,” Natalia said, tears welling in her eyes.

Anders stood in silence, amazed by her story of their separation.

“Natalia,” Ivan said after several long moments of silence. “There’s something of importance we need to tell you. Something that’s already been delayed for too long.”

Natalia’s expression hardened as she looked to Ivan. Anders suspected by Natalia’s reaction she already knew what Ivan had to say.

“It’s about your dragon. She, well, I’m sorry, but she didn’t make it.” As Ivan spoke, Anders could see tears trickling down her cheeks.

“And Keanu?” she asked in a shaky voice.

Ivan pursed his lips, shaking his head, “I’m sorry, but they didn’t make it either.”

Natalia looked away, sniffling. Anders knew he didn’t need to be in the tent for her mourning. He nodded to Ivan and turned to exit the tent.

As soon as Anders stepped outside, he stopped. Maija was sitting on the ground next to the door, legs crossed and picking at the grass.

“Maija?” Anders said surprised to see her still at the tent. “Are you okay?”

Maija shivered as if to expel her transfixed stare at the ground. “Did that really just happen?” she asked reaching for Anders and grasping him by his forearm as he helped her to her feet. “She said I was her sister and our parents were dragonriders killed by Merglan?”

Anders nodded slowly, rubbing his hand up and down the small of her back comfortingly. “She did,” he said softly.

“How can that be?” she said furrowing her brow and looking into Anders’ eyes.

He saw her confusion and tried to comfort her by saying, “It may not make a whole lot of sense now, but perhaps Natalia can provide you with some answers about your past, about the early years of your life you can’t remember, or about your heritage. I still don’t know that much about my parents either and less now than I thought I did when I was younger. Theodor avoided telling me much about them, other than that my mother – his sister – was just like his mother: sweet, kind, caring and thoughtful. He never talked about my father at all. Ivan’s told me more about him than Theodor ever did, and he’s only told me one story about the guy. Try to look at this as a positive. If we find out that what she’s saying is true, then you have a sister,” he said, cautiously excited.

She cracked an awkward smile and began to chuckle, “It’s really hard to take you seriously right now.”

Anders furrowed his brow in confusion.

“It’s just that you look like you went and rolled in a pig pen, then dunked your face in brown goo.”

For all his efforts to comfort Maija on an emotional level, Anders appeared to be failing because he continued to wear the remnants of the previous night’s events. “About time that I washed up?” he said looking at the filth caking his body.

Still giggling, Maija said, “Yeah, I think it’s about time. I’ll meet you back at the tent. Zahara’s probably still sleeping, and I saw the others packing up. Judging by the movement in camp, we’ll be leaving soon.”

Anders noticed the bustle of camp for the first time. Rollo Island warriors were breaking down their campsites and hauling their belongings down to the beach. “Alright, I’ll see you back there after I clean up,” he said and gave her a peck on the cheek.

Maija tried to dodge him, but his filthy lips were too close.

As Anders walked through the crowd toward the beach, he saw that they’d somehow acquired new ships. The vessels anchored near shore were not the same style as the shallow-hulled Rollo longships he’d sailed on before. These ships were much taller and looked to have several levels of cargo holds below the main deck. The masts were much taller with black sails. The sight of the black sails snapped like a piece to a puzzle in his mind. Those are the ships Thargon attacked Grandwood with, he thought to himself. It made perfect sense now that he thought about it.

During the attack at the fortress, the soldiers must not have had time to move them elsewhere. At least now the warriors won’t have to walk the long way back to civilization to get more ships, Anders thought.

He walked down to a small stream flowing near the fortress walls and into the coast. He stripped off his clothes and tested the water. He’d walked far enough away from camp that nobody would be able to see him bathing. The water’s chill shocked him at first, but with the heat of the sun bearing down, the frigid flow felt refreshing. He used the sand along the stream bottom in place of a sponge and scrubbed the dry blood and dirt off his skin.

When he finished, he put on his dirty clothes; he’d have to walk back to get clean ones. Before leaving the stream, Anders noticed a small mint plant growing on the bank. He smelled its pungent scent on the light breeze and remembered an old trick Theodor had taught him when he was younger.

“Take a handful of mint and rub it liberally in the crotch of your arm. The girl you’re courting will appreciate it more than you think,” Theodor had said with a laugh.

He had done it when Anders had a crush on the miller’s daughter. They were relatively young, and she didn’t seem impressed by the fragrance. Still, it was worth a try. He pulled up a handful of mint leaves and rubbed them in his armpits. My clothes may be dirty, but at least I won’t smell like a dead rabbit, he thought to himself.