Elven Roses

"About a year now," Mericlou said. "He lets me guess as many times as I want, but so far, no luck. I get tired of it from time to time, but sometimes he goads me, and so I start back up … like I did today."

"There is only a limited amount of numbers to work with," Sedriil said after a moment of thought. "An elf's average lifespan is around eight hundred and fifty-six years. I assume that you've guessed all possible numbers up to that point, right?"

"Well, yes," Mericlou replied, "as many years as I think he might be. But it's impossible to tell the age of any elf before they reach seven hundred. They always seem to look young. Either way, he can't be older than that, or much younger than a hundred. But any elf younger than that doesn't look quite like an adult."

"There are two options that remain, then," Sedriil said. "Either he is lying, or you simply have forgotten some years within your age range."

"I know," Mericlou answered. "But elves don't lie, at least not outrightly. And I don't think I've forgotten any of the years."

"Well, logic dictates that both cannot be true at once," Sedriil said.

Mericlou snorted. "Well, the way this seems, logic can take a long walk off a short pier. But anyway, little brother, I'd like for you to do me a favor tomorrow, if you can."

"For the garden?" Sedriil said, as if reading her mind. "I'm available."

"If it's not too much trouble?"

"Helping you is never too much trouble, sister," Sedriil said pleasantly. He rarely smiled, except for her, and Mericlou cherished them all. "After all, I've been curious about this garden myself."

"You flatter me, brother," she said, removing the data disk from her hip satchel. She handed it to Sedriil.

"Assimilate all of it, okay?" She said. "It's a lot of data, and you're going to need it. Trust me."

***

Alaema kept still and silent in the hallway as she listened in on her siblings' conversation. Thinking back to the garden a year ago, she thought that Aldrec, though as handsome as any of his race, was boring, and not worth her interests. But now, she felt that he was just mysterious enough to warrant further investigation. It was obvious even a year ago that he and Meri liked each other, and her sister's confidence had increased to where she talked about him rather frequently, even in her presence, as she was for once being a "good girl," in the presence of her family.