Aeron cuffed Raefindan’s hand that grasped his belt but, considering how much trouble he was already in, stopped and flashed a grin at him. No chance of escape…drat. Apparently Mellonin had a moonstruck brother who fancied himself to be an elf lord. Aeron chuckled: a mortal pretending to be an elf. It was ludicrous. He wondered if the brother knew any elvish.
With exuberant glee, Mellonin asked Ravion to accompany them and, giving his word that he would help her, Aeron knew that he would keep his promise, which would therefore help him because it would put him far out of his pursuer’s clutches. Gwyillion, he thought, could use a bit of excitement in her life. He sighed. Every since they had quit stealing together, she had been rather lonely at home.
Thinking of Gwyllion brought to mind the frown that had creased Ravion’s brow when he had mentioned her. Sweat pricked his brow as Aeron considered that Ravion might not want to have a young woman in tow. He could still find himself shackled to a cell and Gwyllion could scrounge around as best she could. He shuddered.
He looked at the merry group: one young woman, one so-called honorable ranger, and one foreigner who had shocking red hair. Aeron narrowed his eyes at him. Who knew what his intentions were? Banging the table with his fist, he said, “Ahem. As you all know this ranger --” he cast a baleful glance at him -- “offered to have me bind myself to him which I consented to do if he took my sister -- my older sister -- with him. He has not yet answered the question so I would like to suggest a few things. One woman with two young men (three if I go along). That sounds rather…” he paused, and raised his eyebrows, nodding his head solemnly. He let the sentence drop, sure that the others would catch his meaning. “Ahem. That’s where my sister would be rather useful. But she could also help cook --” never mind the fact that she doesn’t know one herb from another and that the food was usually bland -- “ wash the dishes” -- she’ll be more careful about getting every bit of food off since they’ll be traveling in company -- "and do anything else that needs to be done.” He looked at them and added, “She’s not really that bad --leastways, I don’t think so.”
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