From The Ashes

07

It was disconcerting to say the least when dinner came and Alassëa was subjected to wondrous looks sent her way by Tilda. Looking up from her meal, Alassëa simply smiled at the younger girl.

"What is it?" She whispered so only she could hear. Tilda's other siblings were talking, which was slowly turning into a bicker, Bard was silent for the moment before telling them to quieten down. Dinner wasn't time to argue amongst themselves, but rather to enjoy some peace and quiet and be thankful for the meal they were eating.

"I heard about your talk with the Master." Tilda said while a wide curious smile spread across her face.

"I suppose everyone has, Tilda." Alassëa commented while pushing her plate away from herself. "What is it you wish to ask?" She knew that look, that curious spark in her eyes.

"How old are you?" Tilda asked her voice pitching perhaps a little too much.

"Tilda, that's rude! Don't ask such a thing." Sigrid intervened and scolded her sister.

Tilda looked sadly down at the table. Alassëa reached over and patted her on the head gently. "Add all your ages up, and perhaps double it. You may be close then, just may be." Alassëa mused and rubbed her chin in thought. Was it bad to admit that she had actually forgotten her exact age? It wasn't that she had lived a long life – unlike her elven counterparts – just, she had lived a mixture of both mortal and elven that it was hard to pin the exact number down.

"You must have seen so much change." Bain piped up pulling her from her thoughts. She looked over at him and frowned thoughtfully.

"Perhaps," she answered slowly. Letting out a hum she shrugged and left it at that. She couldn't exactly think of anything else to say on the matter. It seemed that this feeling was shared by the small family around her. The rest of dinner was eaten in silence and the same peaceful silence hung in the air as everyone did their bit to tidy away and clean the table.

—

"Five minutes," Alassëa groggily said from underneath a mountain of pillows and covers. The only thing which could be seen of her was her hand which she casually waved in the direction of the door.

A few minutes prior to her speaking, Bard had had the pleasure of trying to wake her up, and it seemed he was somewhat failing in some degree. Sure, she was awake, but up? No, she was certainly not succeeding in this. "You've been summoned." He said with no pleasure in his tone. This got her attention, sitting bolt up right, Alassëa shook off the covers and threw the pillows off of herself to kneel on the bed and stare at him intently. "I'm not joking, you need to get up now." He said just as seriously while not moving away from his leaning position at the door frame.

"Wait," she held a hand up and promptly climbed off of the bed. The shirt and trousers which she had been given to sleep in got quickly straightened out, before she tottered over to stand in front of him. Narrowing her eyes, she leaned forwards slightly. "Summoned by whom?"

"Who do you think?"

"This is about yesterday, isn't it?"

"Did we not say it wouldn't be the end of it?"

"Will you come too?" Alassëa asked throwing him off slightly. Bard double took to make sure he had heard her right. She stood with a sincere expression on her face while fiddling with the sleeves of her shirt. "If I'm to go into a meeting with this Master of yours, then I would like someone to be in my corner to back me up." Alassëa said when all she received was silence and a passive look. She guessed he needed a little persuading to come with her. "Please, Bard." She clasped her hands together in front of her and looked to him with hopeful eyes.