To my complete and utter despondency, it was not Elijah.

As I drew closer, I found the person tending to the draft-horse to be a brown-haired boy of similar height and build, yet the grace he possessed was not within a mile of my beloved, nor did his features look nearly as celestial as the ones etched into my retinas.

My quivering breath must have alerted him to my presence, for his large brown eyes caught on me like a startled deer. He backed away from me, fumbling for something in his pockets with his right hand, holding up his left in front of him defensively.

“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll yell.” He told me, his voice shrill like a maiden’s and tinged with fear.

It dawned on me that this child could not have been older than fourteen or fifteen. I wondered if I dared tricking him me into giving me a clue as to the whereabouts of my lover, without alerting anyone else.

I raised my hands, showing their palms bare of arms, and slowly stopped in my tracks as soon as I found myself between wagons and out of the viable sightline of any patrolling guards.

“I mean no harm.” I whispered. “I am but a benign visitor, looking for someone akin to you.”

“What do you want with me? Are you a demon?” he hissed, withdrawing his right hand from his pocket to present a small knife.

A demon, now that was an outrageous notion. Rather than deem me a thief, a bandit or even a murderer, he figured me for some hellish fiend. His imagination sure was something. I wondered if he was more likely to be of assistance if I made myself out to be a hero. 

“I did not come here from the depths of the underworld to claim your soul, dear boy. I’m merely a traveller on a sacred quest to reunite with his lost love, can you please help me find him?”

His posture seemed to relax a tad as I put out my request, but he did not pocket his knife just yet. “Him? Your lost love is a man? Wait, are you a lady? You don’t look like a woman. You have very long elegant hair, though… Are you an elf?”

The notion that I was more likely to be a mythical being than a human man in love with another man amused me more than it offended me. Also, the gullibility of this dim-witted fledgling could be useful. 

I decided to play the cards I was dealt. And, as I was used to in card games, I wouldn’t mind using some sleight of hand to gain an advantage.

“Yes, I am an elf.” I breathed in a low a whisper, looking about as if I feared detection. Which, in fact, I did, so that wasn’t hard to display. “Please don’t raise any alarms, for I will have to cast a spell to erase your memory of me if you do. If you help me though, I can bless you with good fortune.”

“So you can do magic?” He asked me, his face radiating his fascination.

I gave him a conspiratory smirk and nodded, hoping that was enough to keep the suspense. “Now could you please fetch me Elijah?”

“Who?” His empty gaze made my blood run cold.

“He should be a colleague of yours. He works with this caravan, tending to the horses.” I elaborated, hoping he would reply with an: ‘Oh you mean mister so-and-so.’ Yet the boy only shook his head in confusion.

“Is that a trick question? I’m the only one working here in that position, mister elf.”

My jaw clenched in frustration, they must have him locked up somewhere. This boy must have been hired overnight to fill his post.

“The man I’m looking for, Elijah, but you may know him by a last name, he was working as an animal handler in this caravan up until your last stop at Glaudran. Please tell me you know of his current whereabouts.”

“Are you deceiving me?” the boy eyed me suspiciously, and I saw his hand glide to his pocket to retrieve the knife.

“No, I would do no such thing. Please tell me what happened to your predecessor.” I pressed upon him, not caring about the knife. The dread that was creeping up on me was worse than any grievance the kid could do to me with that tiny piece of steel.

“Terrance? He died. Bandit attack about a year ago. My father was really sad about it. I’ve been tending to the horses ever since. Sometimes my little sister helps though.”

Like a carrier-pigeon shot from the sky, my heart dropped and as it fell lifelessly to the floor, revealing the message: ‘you’ve been duped.’ It struck me harder than a punch to the face would have, the ringing in my ears carrying judgement in Edmund’s gruff voice.

“Why are you crying?” A soft voice beside me tentatively spoke. “Are you sad because Terrance died?”

I reached for my handkerchief and wiped my eyes, nodding. How could I possibly explain to this boy the depths of my despair? Swindled by my soulmate, my heart shattered as if it was made of mere glass.

As the pain protruded all my senses, until there was only torment, my mind conjured up the image of Elijah’s face. His eyes upon me in his state of dishevelment after our more passionate conjunction. Those blue irises like deep whirlpools, stirring with emotion. Love. How could they have lied?

A man’s tongue could lie, sure. I had now undisputable proof that his, amongst other things, had spoken untrue. But his eyes?

No. Eyes like that cannot lie.

A looked up at the boy standing over me, and was sure of what I should ask. I described my lover to him in great detail, for I remembered everything about the one that stole my heart. 

And by the gods, I was saved, as something seemed to click in the young man’s memory and he told me that, yes, he had seen the one I sought so desperately.

The relief I felt was overwhelming. I could feel my chest expand when the hope I nigh lost, returned to me in full. Alas, the boy hadn’t recognised my lover amongst his fellow travellers. But he had seen him near the inn’s stables earlier, corroborating Elijah’s statement that he slept there.

Exhilarated as I felt that my beloved’s words had been verified, the situation bewildered me. For if he had told me the truth, why was he not in this caravan?

Unless…

“Was there a second caravan departing this morning?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Couple of wagons headed West for Aesmirren, or something like that.”

I couldn’t hold back my euphoria and hugged the young man before me. For his words had breathed new life into my soul, new determination in my mind, and a slightly awkward feeling in my gut humiliating me for chasing down the wrong damn caravan like a confused puppy.

I whispered some words in Mercian as I slowly let go of the boy, pretending it to be a chant of some sort. Mercian was a language with an inflection and grace closest to what I imagined fantastical beings to sound like and was virtually never heard in these parts.

In truth I thanked him for his wonderful performance. Which was clearly nonsense, but the only Mercian sentence I had heard enough times to be able to confidently repeat. My other option was the one phrase I had committed to memory, which translated as ‘I deem your appearance worthy of a queen,’ which would have been a lie of enormous proportions.

As expected, the kid was convinced it was an Elvish blessing, and thanked me heartily. After which I, in true Elvish fashion, sneaked back towards the edge of the forest and disappeared into the night.

My determination renewed, I was stalking back towards Andante with great stride, when suddenly and unexpectedly, something hit the back of my head, and I succumbed to darkness.