The rest of the week seemed to pass by in a flash. It was strange, how time flew when you weren’t bored out of your mind.

I supposed I hadn’t been bored before this whole thing happened, but every day was practically the same. There hadn’t been a single new thing in ages. Perhaps that was partly why we loved it when Bards came over to our secluded little village.

But now I had someone to talk to, which was quite nice. Two of them, really. Though my conversations with each of them were very different.

It was strange, talking to someone who probably knew more about me than I did. Bláithín was pretty good at keeping her thoughts somewhat concealed, but I, apparently, was not. However, I often found it easier to talk to Elouan. Perhaps it was because our conversations went along at a normal pace, rather than the split second thinking that happened between my familiar and I.

Honestly, though, both of them were quite strange. Elouan tolerated me easily enough, usually with a smile on his face, which I was slowly getting used to. Oftentimes I would catch myself in rants and stop, but he would encourage me to continue. Usually people got bored of me before anything really happened.

And Bláithín was just . . . I couldn’t explain her at all. She was understanding, but also very argumentative. Still, I appreciated her company. I knew she would be there if I needed a friend who understood me completely, which was wonderful.

Though apparently I had been too quiet. Elouan’s voice suddenly startled me out of my thoughts.

“You’ve been rather quiet today, are you okay?”

“Isn’t my silence more welcome than rambling?”

“Not really, no. You must have something you want to say, don’t you?”

I caught myself staring at him, baffled. I’d found myself doing that far more often than was probably normal. Still, I wasn’t used to him and too many years of being told to stop had ingrained themselves into my head.

While I enjoyed my new friend, his behavior was quite confusing.

“Well, what do you want to talk about?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “That’s why I’m asking you. Surely, you must be better at coming up with conversations than I am?”

I giggled. “Not really. I just comment on unusual things and then think about them too much. But I can’t seem to keep those thoughts stuffed in my head.”

Don’t say that, Bláithín interrupted. You leave plenty of thoughts behind for me to try to make sense of. Though, I’ve begun to learn that it is an impossible task. Your head is quite unorganized.

I giggled again. Oh, hush. She huffed in response, but fell quiet once more.

“Does Estel ever make fun of you?” I said to Elouan.

He laughed quietly. “All the time. Her jabs are quite subtle, though, and it took me a long time to realize what she was doing. Still, she jumps on every opportunity to embarrass me.”

I smiled as Estel tried to nip his ear and he swatted at her. “Bláithín is rather irritating. She says my thoughts are far too chaotic for her, though I doubt she can be that much different.”

Ouch, she said. You’re annoying too. My familiar sounded amused more than anything, though, so I didn’t think much of her words.

“Then again,” I said quietly. “She muffles her thoughts quite well. Probably far better than I do.”

Elouan chuckled. “Familiars are usually better at concealing their thoughts, or at least, that’s what I’ve heard. That’s been my experience as well, so don’t think too hard about it.”

I smiled, happy to have a relatable friend.

We chattered most of the day, stopping every few hours for small breaks. All too quickly, night fell and we had to set up camp. I almost decided to pester Elouan about teaching me some more music, but thought better of it. We were both tired, and the Elders were not far off, now. Better to rest well and get farther the next day than to tire ourselves out even more.

The stars were dim tonight, so I decided I would do the first watch. My friends quickly fell asleep afterwards.

But my decision proved to be a terrible one, however, because I quickly felt my eyelids drooping. I desperately tried to stay alert, watching every movement in the trees that I could make out. But I was so, so tired.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I glanced over at my companions and envied them, though I knew I would spell doom for us if I joined them. Those thoughts kept my eyes open as I watched the moon creep across the sky over the course of several hours.

I was almost ready to wake Elouan up for his turn when I heard the wail.

The eerie sound pierced me to my very core. It stung me, reminding me of dark times I couldn’t bear to think about. A single, cold tear slipped from the corner of my eye and I hastily wiped it away.

No, I had to be strong. I was strong. I wouldn’t let this shake me.

I didn’t want to let myself be hurt by memories.

“Now, what is a little girl doing, staying up all night by herself?”

A cold voice broke me from my anxiety. I flinched and swerved my head to the opposite side of the dying campfire, where a handsome stranger now sat. He smiled at me, dipping his head in greeting, but something seemed off about him.

“W-who are you?” I whispered, suddenly very frightened.

“That doesn’t matter,” he said sweetly. “What does matter is that you are tiring yourself out for no good reason. Should you really be losing sleep like this?” His face twisted in concern.

“I . . . I have to. I don’t want them to get hurt.” His gaze focused on my companions behind me. His eyes narrowed at Elouan.

“Is he really worth your time?” He said suddenly, in a very sharp tone. It quickly softened though, as he looked at me again. “Couldn’t you come with me?”

I flinched as he stood up and slowly walked towards me, but I didn’t say a word. He crouched next to me before speaking again.

“What’s the matter?” He asked me. Now that he was close to me, I realized he smelled . . . strange. Almost like pond water, or mildew. I shuddered as he carefully caressed my cheek.

It burned.

“No!” I suddenly shouted, standing up. “No. I won’t go. Leave me, now.” My cheek stung, as though he had slashed me with a knife. I carefully reached up and touched it, and when I brought my hand down, my fingers were trembling. I stared defiantly at the man, whose face was twisted bitterly. Now that I was more awake, I noticed his stance was strange, almost as though his feet weren’t quite right.

I looked down and saw hooves. Then I remembered the girl who had disappeared with a stranger like this, years ago. Stars, how was this happening?

“Leave,” I told the creature in front of me coldly. “There is no place for you here. Run back along to your waters.”

The thing’s face twisted with rage, but it listened. It turned and ran back toward the trees, shifting into a black horse as it fled.

My knees gave out underneath me and I collapsed. Oh, stars. I’d heard myths and legends, but I had never thought I would see a kelpie in person. Weren’t they just stories? They were just there to keep the little children in their beds at night. Right?

No, this had been real. And now I knew what to watch for.

I didn’t feel tired anymore. Not after what had just happened. So I decided I would keep watch for a while longer. I was sure Elouan wouldn’t mind the extra sleep, at any rate. I certainly wouldn’t on a regular night.

The hours passed by slowly, and finally, the sky began to lighten. I breathed out a sigh of relief as the shadows slowly retreated and the sun crept over the mountains in the distance. My companions quickly woke up after that.

“Why didn’t you wake me for my turn?” Elouan asked me, and I jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Oh, uh, I wasn’t tired,” I told him quietly. I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck, leaving a prickly feeling.

“Somehow, I find that hard to believe,” he said, coming to sit by me.

“Why?” I asked him. He chuckled.

“Because I’ve been traveling for almost seven years now, and I still haven’t been able to stay awake all night. Estel has always had to take over at some point.”

I smiled. “I suppose I’m just that much better than you.” He snorted.

“Alright, let’s call it that.” He went silent, though only for a moment before his expression turned concerned. “Are you sure you’re alright, though? You look paler than usual.”

I looked at him, baffled. He gasped and reached out toward my cheek before stopping himself. “What happened?” He asked quietly.

I looked away quickly, feeling my face. “What do you mean?” I whispered.

“There’s a black mark on your cheek. That wasn’t there before just now.”

Was there? I hadn’t had a chance to look at my reflection, so I hadn’t known. But I supposed he must know more about my face than I did. “It’s nothing,” I told him quickly.

He carefully turned my face toward his, examining it. “That’s definitely not nothing,” he murmured. “Tell me what happened.”

I sighed. “Later. I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

Elouan finally nodded in resignation. I slumped in relief when he didn’t say anything else. Bláithín, however, decided to not leave me alone.

You have to tell him eventually, she said gently. Don’t let this fester like a wound. It wouldn’t be good for you.

What do you know? I asked her bitterly. I’ll survive. If I managed to live through the encounter itself, surely the memories won’t do anything to me.

Of course they will! She retorted. What do you think grief is? Or love, or grudges, or just about anything? Nothing happens because you stop thinking of the past. Problems don’t go away if you run from them, they just become harder to get rid of.

You weren’t there for me then, so stop trying to be here for me now! I shouted at her before deflating. I’m sorry, but this is how I recover from trauma.

I’m sorry I couldn’t be there when he came to you, she said quietly. But this isn’t healthy.

I sighed. Alright, fine. But . . . give me time, please.

She came to land on my shoulder and started preening my hair. Alright. But don’t take too long.

And so the morning quickly ended, and we continued on our way.