Roe’s pulse was starting to slow down to a more normal rate. The fresh night air was soothing and the sky was a very welcome sight. When the human prince had shown her the tunnel she had almost refused to go down but she had realized that she didn’t really have a choice. She had almost lost all her self control when the hatch was closed behind her. It had felt like an eternity before she reached the hatch that led to her freedom on the other side of the tunnel. But it was still dark outside and she wasn’t very far from the castle so it couldn’t have been that long after all. She was ashamed to admit that she had never felt more afraid than she had done in the dark tunnel. The moat was between her and the castle so the tunnel must actually have been under the water. It was a good thing she hadn’t known this while she was down there in the darkness. Roe promised herself that never again would she be enclosed in a space under the ground.


The headache was still bad but after a few breaths of the fresh air a feeling of joy was starting to fill Roe. She couldn’t believe her luck. After the hopelessness that she had felt in the dungeon just a short while ago everything had turned. It was lucky indeed that she had heard the prince say Aliendre’s name and it was also very lucky that the prince had come down to the dungeon alone. She smiled triumphantly to herself. It had been so easy to tell that the prince had been afraid of her. Although Roe knew that self control was important she gave way for the feeling of invincibility that filled her. After all she deserved to feel this good after this night’s experience. The last ingredient was in her pocket. Against all odds she had succeeded. The prince hadn’t noticed that she had taken a hair that had fallen on his shoulder when she embraced him. Now, that golden hair was attached to a piece of resin in her pocket. She laughed silently when she thought about the prince’s surprised expression when she had bowed just like Aliendre had shown her that human’s bowed. It was always good to be polite.



Dawn would come soon and she needed to find a safe place to sleep. The feeling of invincibility mixed with weariness made her bold enough to dare to hide in the soft straw in a barn not far away from the castle. She clinched her teeth. The head hurt so much that it was difficult to think. She hadn’t more than lied down in the hay before she fell into a deep sleep. It was afternoon when she woke up and it worried her that the distant sounds from the farm hadn’t wakened her sooner. She must have been really exhausted to sleep so deep. Her head was still hurting, but not as much as yesterday. Now the hunger was a more acute worry than her head but this was a problem that was very easy to solve.


Roe found more food in the barn than she could eat and was filled with new energy. Full and content she waited patiently in the barn for the darkness to fall. There was one thing about this expedition that worried Roe. She had accomplished the most difficult and dangerous part of the task but there was one weak point that she hadn’t given enough thought. The elves might come home before her and she was supposed to be travelling together with them. If they came to her home and asked for her she would have a very big problem. Darkness fell and Roe climbed down the ladder and went silently out of the barn.


A soft neigh caught Roe’s attention. She had already felt the smell of the horses without paying much attention to it but a new plan was beginning to take shape in her aching head. A horse could run faster than she could and they accepted to carry humans on their back. If she asked nicely maybe a horse would carry her. It was an exciting thought. Silently she approached the enclosure where the horses were grassing. A big black stallion came to greet her. He accepted that she put her hand on his cheek and nudged her friendly with his soft muzzle.



She opened the gate, took a firm grip in his mane and swung herself swiftly on the back of the horse.


The horse stepped nervously and tossed his head but he didn’t try to get rid of her. Actually he seemed to be filled with anticipation. Roe leaned forward and the horse started to trot. She found that it was not difficult at all to communicate to the horse the direction she wanted him to take. He was sensitive to every movement of her body.


Soon Roe was flying over the ground on the back of the black stallion. This experience alone was worth everything that she had been through. She would never know the uproar the disappearance of the human knight’s best stallion would cause next morning.