Chapter 11: Farewell
The next day Evanna got to work, she only had that day to get her things in order, then the following morning she would be leaving before first light. Once her bag was sorted and a few other errands were completed, she went over to the stables to see to her horse, Midknight. The black stallion was a gift to her from her father once she turned to the age of 10. At the time she could not choose between the names of midnight and knight, so as all children do, she became creative, merging the names together.
Midknight was not just any ordinary horse though, of course the king would buy the best for his little girl, but he also unknowingly brought a ’friesia’ horse as suggested by her mother. These were a very rare breed; they were very smart and protective of their owners. Evanna would speak to the horse and know that he understood every word, their bond was so strong that he would also complete tasks without her breathing a word. Although they were technically magical as their ancestors were of unicorns, King Osian could not separate the pair, especially after watching the stallion protect his daughter from a wolf in the woods. Unless a human was an expert on horses, they could not tell it was different from any other.
Evanna whispered to the horse for a few minutes while grooming his mane, she told Midknight of her plan for the next morning and where they were going. Once she finished with his mane, she got a stable boy to attend to the horse’s hooves before she left to go to her mother’s room.
As soon as she arrived, she saw her mother sitting outside in the sun on her balcony, Evanna stopped walking and took a moment to look at her mother’s serene face. Until she moved her head to look back at her, reaching her hand towards Evanna who quickly stepped forwards to take it. Loraven squeezed her daughter’s hand gently, sensing some urgency and stress radiating off of her.
"Let us go have a walk in the garden."
Evanna smiled on hearing her mother’s suggestion, it was a beautiful day and if her mother felt well enough to get some fresh air then she was not going to stop her. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with her today, she was unsure on how long it would take for her to get the gemstone and return. She knew it would not take more than 4 months. Enough time to get the gemstone and return to her mother before her demise.
Soon after making their way to the garden, Evanna knew that her mother was exhausted, they sat down on the bench that stood across from a pond surrounded by flowers. Evanna lay her head on her mother’s shoulder, closing her eyes as she listened to the wind rustle through the leaves on the trees. Her mother started to stroke her hair gently, which she had ’wildly’ left down, as most nobles put it. They stayed still in this position without speaking for a few minutes, happy in the peaceful moment between mother and daughter. Her mother then sighed.
"* I can tell, just by this action that you will be gone soon,*" Loraven whispered, who was also cautious and aware of the servants nearby. Even if they were unable to speak and understand the language, she did not want rumours spreading around the castle that they could be elves, especially if word were to get back to the queen.
"*Tomorrow,*" Evanna replied, her mother moved away from her, looking at her daughters face in shock.