(ZOOM FOR DETAILS!) Mubela and Bellikor had sailed for nearly two weeks to the Elf island of Den'Tuillan and met with immediate success. Their inquiries had created quite a stir: The Elves had been preoccupied with a great war and had simply forgotten the peaceful little kingdom of Aeriteuin. Due to their extreme long lives, time did not mean the same as it did for humans and they had simply lost touch with the tiny enclave. The Elves answered their questions and provided the materials Bellikor requested. Several of them prepared to travel to alert the High Elf hierarchy to Aeriteuin's plight. In addition, two warriors came forward and offered to return with them - to provide the Elf protection that royal blood demanded. Mubela and Bellikor briefed Lord Jobil on their return, and he immediately dispatched Mubela and the Elf warriors to retrieve Aranée from the Disputed Lands. The Elf party traveled day and night without rest until they encountered the besieged party - and waded in to save them. Aranée did not know what to make of the Elf warriors. They too had mixed emotions at first: They were upset at Mubela's "disrespectful" familiarity with her, then momentarily confused upon realizing she was half-human - and accepted her at once when she elegantly greeted them with kind words in their own tongue. In the end they flanked her at a respectful distance as if she were a queen. That evening Mubela quietly told Aranée about the Den'Tuillan trip, apologizing for Lord Jobil's secrecy. He was certain someone within his own court may have led to his deceased brothers and to the downfall of Aeriteuin. And that meant both he and Aranée might also be in danger now. The Greeners seemed to have vanished and the trip back to Jobil lands was amazingly uneventful. Aranée was unwilling to pen up Kuila at the castle, so they went directly to the comfortable familiarity of the hunting lodge. The soldiers and Elf warriors made camp inside the woods a discreet distance from the cottage. Galen and Aranée invited Mubela to join them for dinner, but she demurred saying she preferred to help the others set up a watch schedule. She didn't tell them she also wanted to dispatch a rider to Lord Jobil to inform him of the near-fatal ambush. That evening, Galen became aware of Aranée hovering near him. As they talked or bent to their chores, she would touch his arms or shoulders, or stroke his hair, a small smile on her face. Unable to fathom her actions, he finally sat her down. "Alright Aranée, you have been acting a bit odd all evening - what is going on with you?" Looking deeply into his eyes, she took him by the hands and pulled him down beside her. Cupping his face with her hands, she caressed him with her fingers. "Galen... I... I am carrying your child... our child... within me." --- TO BE CONTINUED! View episodes in sequence for the entire story. Yep, still VERY busy, but I promise to visit your galleries soon... Please leave a comment yea or nay, you give me the energy to carry on... Image and story © 2010 by Larry Hodge