Raven Part Eleven

~Chapter Eleven~1

Thinking over the information I have just received, I leave the room with Anora.  She shows me to the garden and tells me to spend all the time I want in it.  I thank her gratefully, and she walks back inside to speak with Aidan and Hawk.2

I sit in a lawn chair, thinking so hard that I get a headache.  I stop thinking and look around the garden.  To my right are some wild roses and to my left, some tulips.  I breathe in deeply, taking in all of the scents in the garden.  3

"Hey there," says a voice from my far left beyond the tulips.4

I turn around to see a young man about my age standing there.  I stare at him for just a moment, then reply to his greeting.5

"Hello," I say quietly.6

"Do you mind if I join you?" he asks.  "I was just returning some books to Anora."  He held up a few books.7

"Go ahead," I say, gesturing for him to enter the garden.8

He does so, thanking me all the while, saying that I was the first person willing to talk to him all day.9

"It's no problem, really," I say as he sits in the lawn chair opposite of me.10

"You must be Raven," he says in an assuming tone of voice.11

"Why, yes I am," I say.  "How did you know?"12

"Well," he begins, "Anora's a friend of mine.  She said you were ill."13

"Oh," I reply.  14

We fall silent, sizing each other up.  He's a handsome young man.  A slightly pale complexion.  Black hair and green eyes no different from mine.  Narrow boned.  Handsome.15

He smiles at me, almost shyly.16

"My name is Shadow," he says.17

"Shadow," I repeat.  "That's a nice name."18

"I think Raven's a lovely name," he says smiling once again.19

We fall silent again as the door opens.  Anora, Hawk, and Aidan emerge.20

"Hey there, Shadow," says Anora, grasping Shadow's hand in a hand shake.  "Good to see you again."21

"Good to see you too, Anora," Shadow says.  He hands her the books he showed me when he first arrived.22

"Thank you for returning them so soon," Anora says, taking them back into the house.23

"I see you've met Shadow," says Hawk.  "You know for a boy who didn't know you, he seemed awfully concerned."24

Both Shadow and I blush at this statement.25

An awkward silence hangs in the air.  I don't know exactly how long we sit there, but everyone is glancing around, waiting for someone to speak.26

"So, Hawk," I say, "was that you singing earlier?"27

"Yest indeed," she replies.28

After that, we break into random conversations.  Shadow and I don't speak to one another at this point, but catch each other's eye and just smile.29