the Spell of Restoration had cleansed some of that from their minds, and replaced it with dimmed memories. No one deserved to have the memory of that kind of inhumanity on his shoulders.
Kaari and Veikko had already been sent home with Urho pulling their sledge. They would be living in Annukka's house for now….
And now the four who were left were waiting for the Godmother's sleigh that Rosemary had sent, and surveying the changed landscape.
“Spring will be beautiful here,” murmured Annukka, at Aleksia's left. “And if ever there was a place in need of a Wise One…there are vacant homes in plenty here, sad to say, and if I were to remain, Veikko and Kaari would not need to build a place of their own.” She smiled a little crookedly. “Kaari will make a good Wise One, I think.”
“I am too old to be a warrior anymore, Autumn Flower,” Lemminkal murmured. “But it occurs to me that it might be in me to be a good leader of such a place. Of course, if you would have me — ”
Annukka's enthusiastic embrace would have confirmed her thoughts on that subject to the most skeptical of men — which, of course, Lemminkal was not.
“It is time for me to go back to my place.” Aleksia sighed. “I will be glad to sleep in a bed…and have someone cook for me…and, yes, even to steer the lives of feckless children who are not careful of what they wish for.” But she felt a pang as she said it. She was going to miss having adventures. And she was going to miss the company of others. Ilmari, especially….
He cleared his throat. “As to that,” he said cautiously. “Would you be averse to a neighbor? There is much I can learn from you. And perhaps I can give you a little help with those feckless children.”
She smiled, broadly, feeling warm inside. “A neighbor would be very welcome,” she replied. “And a little help would be useful.”
He coughed, and looked down at his feet a moment, then up into her eyes, as he flushed. “And more than that?” he asked hopefully.
She smiled, as unaccustomed warmth filled her heart. “One never knows,” she said.
“We'll….. see.”
Footnote
THE SNOW QUEEN
ISBN: 978-1-4268-1773-1
Copyright © 2008 by Mercedes Lackey
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Worldwide Library, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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