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perfectly still, not even daring to breathe. A few seconds later a muscular arm appeared, brandishing the sword. Finally, a man of a strong constitution made himself visible.
    “I see that hospitality in the highlands is as frigid as always,” Haradin commented with a smile.
    “Only a crazy man or an idiot wakes a sleeping bear in the mountains in the dead of night,” the man gruffly replied as he lowered his sword. “Mirta! You can put down your bow; there’s no danger here. It’s just our friend Haradin,” he said toward the inside of the house.
    “Are you sure, husband?” answered a woman’s voice.
    “Yes, it’s all right. Come out and welcome him.”
    Mirta came to the door with the string of her bow still drawn back, the arrow still nocked. She smiled and relaxed when she saw the unsteady traveler at her doorstep.
    “It’s been a long time, my travelling friend. It gladdens my heart to see you in one piece. You look very tired. How is it that you’ve arrived in the middle of the night during a fierce winter storm? You hadn’t notified us of your visit like you’ve always done. Is everything all right?” Mirta asked, her face showing profound concern as if she sensed the danger.
    “Everything is fine, Mirta. I just need to catch my breath.”
    Ulis approached the Mage, a smile beaming on his face as he prepared to hug him.
    Haradin put his hand up stop him.
    “I bring with me a small travelling companion who requires immediate attention. He is hungry and tired,” he said as he opened his coat and showed them the little boy with emerald eyes.
    Ulis stared at the baby in astonishment. “But... what in the world... I don’t understand... What are you doing with a baby in the middle of a snowstorm, you crazy Mage!” he exclaimed, completely stunned.
    Mirta, however, reacted immediately upon seeing the child. She dropped her bow and went running to the Mage to take the baby into her protective arms.
    “I knew something was going on; I felt it in my gut.”
    “Norriel women have always had that virtue,” responded Haradin with a wink.
    “Let’s go in where it’s warm—you both must be about to faint from exhaustion!” exclaimed Mirta as she guided them inside, all the while rocking the baby in her arms.
    A feeling of relief and immeasurable solace radiated from Haradin’s very soul, as if all the fatigue, all the pain in his weary muscles, all the tension of the long and dangerous escape had disappeared in an instant to be replaced by a feeling of wellbeing as sweet as honey.
    “Refuge at last...” he murmured.
    And he collapsed, exhausted.

Norriel
     
     
     
    Komir crouched down, hidden behind a rock and surrounded by tall undergrowth, waiting for his elusive prey. He felt fidgety. The sky was clear... just two small, white clouds dotting the celestial canvas. The sun shone radiantly that morning, its smile shedding a golden glow over the fields and lighting up the great forest to the East.
    The much longed-for spring had finally arrived, marking the end of a tortuous winter. The whole forest had awakened from its extended hibernation and now pulsed with a lively effervescence, an essence of renewal wrapping it in a contagious spirit of happiness. Komir turned around slowly, trying not to make any noise. A low-flying robin caught his eye and he watched as it glided toward the basin from the edge of the river that, like a gigantic silvery serpent, zigzagged down the valley in the direction of the distant village.
    He breathed in the fragrant mountain air and pulled back his long, dark hair with a leather tie. The sun was blindingly bright, so he lifted his hand above his emerald eyes to try to make out his village, Orrio, in the distance. He looked around him. Nice day today . Spring and the emergence of new life it brought with it always raised his spirits. But what would really make this a perfect day would be to succeed in getting the deer that he had been stalking all morning. Winter had