Suddenly remembering, she stiffened, then sat bolt upright once more. But she was tired to the point of exhaustion, giddy with lack of sleep, and occasionally she would nod, her head snapping up with a jerk. Wordlessly, Ralph, ignoring her feeble, sleepy protests, remedied her discomfort by removing a blanket from where it was tied above one of the saddlebags, wrapped it snugly around her, and drew her to him, comfortably. She fell asleep almost instantly.
As she slept, from time to time, Ralph ventured a worried look behind, trying to catch a glimpse of the wagon which bore Theuli, Deborah, and the children. But the wain was far behind now, and he could see little through the ranks of mounted Elf soldiers. He sighed, taking the cool night air deep into his lungs. Inadvertently, the clean smell of Malina’s hair filled his nostrils; he found that he was unable to ignore the almost impossible softness of her white-blonde hair and the feel of her cheek and her warm breath against his neck; shortly after falling asleep, he had shifted her crosswise so that she could lay more comfortably and securely against him.
Yet he found his thoughts drawn irresistably to Nevana, and found himself wishing guiltily that it was the Elven girl who rode asleep before him. Even as such thoughts intruded themselves, Malina’s very essence seemed to change from that of a desirable young woman to that of a young girl tagging along on a date, sent by her parents to act, without her knowledge, as chaperone.