Chagrined, for a moment he almost choked with laughter. ‘Too bony? Me? Malina, I’ve been trying to lose this blub for ages!’
She frowned, though trying at the same time not to smile. ‘I miss Rowf’s soft belly, like you have when you first hold me, remember? When I first came to your world, and you hold me in your chair, in front of the fire? You melting away.’
He rose and, without thinking, kissed the top of her head. ‘The soft part on the outside, maybe,’ he said. ‘But I think you’ll find that the inside hasn’t changed at all.’
After breakfast, they visited Deborah and Theuli in the infirmary. Malina stayed behind with Deborah, as Deborah seemed starved for company. Ralph, however, was soon bored (and ignored) as the two girls chattered away, so he left to find something to do, and asked one of the Thane’s guards for directions to the armoury’s forges. The guard spoke in a thick accent; Ralph found it difficult to understand him at first (and vice versa). But finally he had the needed directions. Just as he was about to leave, however, he discreetly asked the guard about his speech. The guard told him in succinct terms that he was from the far Northeast reaches of the Kingdom, and Ralph left it at that. The Elf man seemed none too friendly, he thought.