“Strings! Strings” Asha kept repeating the words with a sing-song tone when Tay entered the room! How could a four year old be so energetic so yearly in the morning when she literally just woke up?

“Tay!” Asha dashed and threw her arms around Tay’s legs in hug.

“Morning, ready for today? Tay asked more out of necessity than curiosity, a bout of giggles were the only reply she got before Asha started stripping out of a ‘nightgown’ her mother had dressed her in before sneaking her into bed, taking care not to wake the already sleeping girl. Dashing for the bathtub Asha waited patiently for Tay to fill the tub with water while a fire warmed the room and some water for the bath.

Soaked from trying to ‘quickly’ bathe Asha, Tay was starting to get frustrated with the little girl!

“Calm down, little one!” Tay scolded Asha in a friendly tone as she tried to get Asha to stand still, getting her in her aqua blue dress, one of Asha’s favorite dresses, was a chore she wasn't expecting for such a simplistic design!

“Do you want to know the real name for the strings?” Tay coaxed Asha into standing still by making her wonder on a thought for a while.

“Mmmmmm… Strings?” She asked causing Tay to hide a sly smile, the girl was so truly innocent and naïve, why had she not noticed it before?

“No, it's called a Violin!” Tay informed her having finally gotten her dress over her head, no need for a scarf as the dress buttoned up the neck and with frills it framed Asha face beautifully! All that was left was to tie hair into two buns around the two small lumps that was her horns.

“Vio! Vio!” Asha again started dancing about the room singing half the word now.

“No, Asha, Violin.” Asha stopped tilted her head repeated the word and then smiled.

“Violin! Violin!” She started again, she was too excited and it was contagious as Tay noted that not even she could hold a grudge against the girl! Coaxing Asha to sit still Tay finished her hair into two buns that was tied around Asah’s small horns.

“Tay?” Asha paused momentarily, starting so intently at Tay, the young woman felt naked before the girl.

“I love you, Tay!” Asha gifted the surprised Elf with a charming smile before dashing out the room and down the stairs! Tay stood there, shocked, the girl ‘loves’ her? But she hasn’t done anything for Asha to even ‘like’ her!

She ignored the girl like a disease, if she could, only sparing some time to help out Theo as he requested… Theo… He was supposed to be her Master in teaching her the arts of healing and yet he rarely ever had her assist him as an aid these last few years; instead treated her more like a maid or rather a nanny for Asha… But still… Tay clutched her chest, taking the seat where Asha and just sat, she peered at her reflection in the mirror.

“Why am I afraid of her?” She remembered the dread that for some reason had settled in her the day Cetcily was carried into the house by Theo, Asha finally ready to enter into the world… She and Cetcily had become good friends, over the months. When she thought Cet was about to lose Asha… When she thought about losing Cet, her only friend in the village, since she herself was only a Halfling… She was afraid!

When she listened in on Cet telling Theo of her past, the growing realization that both Cet and Asha would one day fanish before her very eyes filled her with dismay...

Understaning dawned on her, she isn’t afraid of what Asha is, rather that becoming closer to the little girl, and losing her later because of what she is…

“I think I’ve been a fool…” She whispered to herself. After tidying the room Tay headed downstares. Never having noticed the small speck of light that had been playing over her head in Asha’s room…