Faurim smiled as he watched the two young people, Sarah standing there chattering away happily at the young man, he looking up at her from where he sat, seemingly spellbound by the mere sight of her. To his mind came the unbidden image of another young woman, clad in a cream colored dress, which nearly matched her hair. In his mind's eyes he saw he beautiful face, and the radiant eyes that seemed had always seemed to sparkle at him with a touch of magic. He sighed heavily and pushed the thoughts aside.
Why do you think of the past so often? Shade's questioning thought floated into his mind. There long time together had formed a nearly unbreakable bond between the two, and at times Faurim found that the horse could sense more of his mind than he necessarily wished him too. On some of those occasions, such as this evening, he found it rather irksome, rather than comforting.
I think of Miranda because I loved her so, he tried to keep his impatience with the horse out of his answering thought. That is how it is with my kind, when true love is shared, sometimes.
Shade made no response, other than to turn his confused thoughts away and back towards his own dinner of hay.
Faurim began to slice away pieces from the section of roast on his plate, and ate thoughtfully, his mind still distracted by memories of his beloved Miranda. She had died much too young, though he doubted that he would have ever been prepared to loose her from his life. Miranda had made him feel complete, and loved, in a way that no other woman ever could. Even when he would share his bed with a woman for a night, during the long years since, still it did nothing to fill his emptiness. No matter how warm and inviting their embrace, no mater how enjoyable their love making, it did not even recapture the merest shadow of what he and Miranda had shared. There's had been a love that comes once in a life time, perhaps not even that often.
Suddenly his thoughts were disturbed by something. What he was not sure at first, yet then he thought he felt the tug of another mind. Yes, he was almost sure of it. Somewhere, not too far away, was another with at least similar gifts of mind as his, though they seemed chaotic and disordered, even as his own thoughts had been when he had first discovered his talent. Faurim glanced about the room, and then his eyes rested upon Sarah and the young man that she talked with. From somewhere under his cloak, the young man had produced a small ferret, and while Sarah watched in awed delight, the creature sat upon the table, sitting up, rolling over, and doing other simple tricks at a word from the young man.
Sarah watched fascinated as the small creature stood up on its hind legs and begin to do what looked like a dance. She clapped her hands, giving the young man a beaming smile, which made his face flush. At last Sarah whispered something to the young man, and then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning and scurrying back towards the kitchen, her own face going red as she went. The young man watched her go, and then placed his head in his hands with a dreamy, far away look, his eyes staring at the door through which Sarah had retreated.