Malina knew this as well, but put a brave face on it, and hid her grief until Ralph left her to join the other soldiers gathering on the outskirts Wel’adai. She would have broken down and cried her heart out then, but the sight of Zuic and Rani’s anxious faces made her dig down deep for resources she hadn’t known were there.
And somehow, some way, she managed to be strong.
Later that morning, Theuli finally left her room. The look she gave Malina, as the Pixie had just made the children’s breakfast, and now sat with them at the kitchen table, was both grateful and chastened. Malina pretended not to notice, and smiled to put her at ease.
‘Breakfast is still warm. I hope you’re not going to waste my inedible cooking.’
Theuli said nothing, but joined them quietly. Rani and Zuic tried not to watch her, but in their occasional glances there was a wide-eyed worry which Malina had never seen in them before. Instinctively, she decided to try to avoid having Theuli burdened with this as well, until the Elf woman had come to grips with her grief, if grief it was.
‘Come,’ Malina said to the two children, ‘let’s eat, and then get some things done. We have a lot to do today.’