They reached the edge of the woods and waited there, expecting to be met and challenged, but no-one came and they crept timidly a little closer, peering into the darkness between the trees. “This is very strange,” said Lirenna, stepping past the outermost trees, leaving the last straggly patch of grass to stand on the carpet of fallen leaves that lay beneath the forest canopy.

     She took another couple of steps, but Thomas took hold of her arm to hold her back. “We shouldn’t intrude without invitation,” he said. “Let’s search for a shae in the University and talk to him. There’s bound to be one around somewhere.”

     “No, this is wrong,” said the demi-shae, though. “There’s always a shae on lookout. Always. We should go in, see if everything’s alright.”

     “You’d look funny with donkey ears,” said Thomas, making Derrin giggle. “Seriously, let’s go back. This is wrong.”

     Lirenna pulled herself free from his grasp, though. and moved forward. Thomas gave a sigh of resignation. “We’ll wait here, then,” he said, taking Derrin’s hand. “They just might allow you in, but they won’t tolerate a pureblooded human.”

     Lirenna nodded, but before she could take more than a few more steps the expected shae finally appeared, seeming to appear out of nowhere, blocking her way. His hand was raised in the shayen gesture of greeting and he smiled in what appeared to be genuine pleasure at seeing them. Like all shae folk, he moved with an effortless grace that surpassed even that of Derrin, and Thomas felt himself wilting with shame as he imagined how clumsy and awkward his own movements must appear in comparison. Humans who'd never met a shae simply could not imagine that such perfect beauty could exist in the material world, and those that had met one felt inadequate and inferior for the rest of their lives.

     Then his heart was wrenched with sympathy for his wife and son as he saw that they were also cowed by the appearance of this awesomely perfect being. Most of their relatives were shae folk, after all, amongst whom they'd lived for most of their lives, and he'd expected this to have prepared them for the meeting. If the truth were told, though, the northern shae folk had intermarried with humans more often than they'd have liked to admit. Even Dallon had human blood in him, although it might only be one part in fifty or so, and that was just enough to take the edge off his shayen perfection. The entity approaching them now, though, was one hundred percent pureblooded shae, and small though that two percent might be, it made all the difference to the impact it made to those of mixed blood.

     Lirenna's hand flew instinctively to her dark hair, as if she were acutely aware of the physical traits that betrayed their partially human heritage. In doing so, though, she had also drawn attention to her hand, which was just a little too large with nails that were just a little too wide. At least Derrin had luminous blue eyes, a trait that he shared with more than half the pureblooded shayen race, but Lirenna had dark eyes and Thomas saw her try to hide them by dropping her eyes to her feet and allowing her hair to fall across her face.

     The worst thing, though, worst by far, was her height. Although she was small and dainty by human standards, Lirenna stood almost half a head taller than the pureblooded shae, forcing him to look up into her face as he came to a stop in front of her. Lirenna shifted awkwardly on her feet, clearly regretting her decision to come, and even Derrin was looking as if he wanted to be swallowed up by a hole in the ground. Thomas felt an irrational anger towards the shae man for making the people he loved feel this way, but of course the man had done nothing to deserve it. The only crime he was committing was existing.

     "Welcome to the shaewoods," said the shae man in a soft, musical voice, bowing low before them, and Thomas was reminded of their racial politeness; a trait that was as much a part of their make-up as their slanted eyes and their pointed ears. They even killed politely, and the thought made him glance around at the surrounding woodland nervously. He couldn't see any more shae folk, but that meant nothing. The shae folk's ability to move around silently and invisibly was legendary. "May I enquire as to your reason for coming here? It was our understanding that the shaewoods would be for our exclusive use, and that no-one of any other race would ever come here."

     He's telling us, very politely, that we've got no business here and that he wants us gone, thought Thomas nervously. An image flashed into his head, of the three of them stripped naked and forced to walk back to the University buildings in shame and humiliation. He opened his mouth to speak, but was beaten to it by his wife, who was curtsying in reply.

     "We beg your pardon for the intrusion," said Lirenna as meekly and humbly as she could. "We expected to be stopped and challenged long before reaching the trees, and when no-one arrived we grew anxious, wondering if all was well with you."

     "All is well with us," replied the shae, put off his stride by his visitors' polite attitude and their more or less plausible reason for being there. “I am the one at fault, I was… distracted. I saw a particularly beautiful rindell flower and paused a while to look at it. May I ask what day it is?”

     “Er, the fifth of firspring, I think,” replied Thomas, trying to remember how long they’d been convalescing in the infirmary.

     The shae relaxed. “Only two days, then. Not as long as I feared. Thank you for your concern, but now that you can see that it was unwarranted I would not want to keep you from going about your legitimate business."

     "We wanted to offer you our help," continued Lirenna, ignoring the shae's thinly veiled demand that they push off. "We heard that there are few shae folk in Lexandria Valley at the moment, and since some of my son's ancestors are of your race we felt honour bound to offer you our assistance. To help you spread the load."

     Thomas stared at her in astonishment. They'd only just arrived and had hardly had a chance to talk to anyone! When had she had the chance to learn news of the valley's small shayen community? Then he saw her fingering the ring she wore on her right hand. Her wedding ring. The ring that had once belonged to a certain Lord Basil Konnen and that allowed its wearer to read the minds of those around him or her. She was reading the shae's mind! he realised with a shock of surprise. Why the little... Whenever he asked her to read someone's mind, nine times out of ten she would reply with righteous indignity that it was a terrible thing to invade the privacy of another person's thoughts and that it should only be resorted to in an emergency, as a very last resort. Now that she wanted something, though, there she went, invading someone's private thoughts without the slightest twinge of conscience. Lirenna was many things, her husband thought in amusement, but consistent she was not.

     The shae stared at her blankly, not suspecting that the female demi shae facing him was listening intently to the little voice inside his head. "Your offer is a kind one," he said, his politeness now beginning to sound a little forced, "but we have no need for any assistance..."

     "Not even with the dwelling trees?" said Lirenna, breaking all the rules of protocol by interrupting him. "I've made a study of them and they fascinate me! I've heard that they require a great deal of work to keep them in condition, and with so many of them standing empty at the moment, those of you who are left must be hard pressed to look after them all. I would take it as a personal favour if you would permit us to spend a couple of evenings a week helping you to look after them."

     Thomas and the shae alike stared at her in astonishment and Thomas thought back on what his wife had told him about dwelling trees, years ago. Ordinary buildings could survive being empty for a while, barring accidents and disasters, but dwelling trees were living things, constantly changing and growing. When occupied by a family of shae folk, that growth could be directed in ways that made them better, more comfortable places in which to live, but when they were empty they were free to grow in whatever direction they chose. After a few years they could become totally and permanently uninhabitable, undoing all the hard work of decades, perhaps centuries.

     If there were, indeed, fewer shae folk than usual currently living in the shaewoods, therefore, each family was probably looking after another tree in addition to their own, keeping it in good condition in preparation for the day when the numbers of their race in Lexandria rose again. All that work ate heavily into their spare time, though, leaving them less time to do the things they really loved. Dancing, singing, making music and creating works of art. Even so, though, Lirenna's offer to look after a tree was ridiculous and all kinds of objections were rising in his mind.

     "Your offer is a generous one,” said the shae, striving to maintain the necessary politeness, “but dwelling trees require a great deal of attention. With the best will in the world, there is no way you could do everything that has to be done in just two evenings a week. They have to be lived in, to be continuously inhabited. That way, just by being there the occupants are doing most of what is necessary to maintain the tree."

     "I see," said Lirenna, lowering her head, and Thomas struggled to hide his admiration and delight that his wife had manipulated the shae to just where she wanted him. "And I suppose you would never agree to our inhabiting a dwelling tree, even if there was one that was separated a little way from the others. Yes, I seem to remember hearing about one such tree. One of the shae apprentices told me about it when I was a student here. It’s close to the edge of the wood if I remember correctly. The rest of your people would never see us there, and we would never have any reason to go to the centre of the wood." She shook her head sadly. "A pity. It would have been the ideal arrangement."

     The shae stared at her intently, occasionally flicking glances at Thomas and Derrin. Shae folk weren't stupid, Thomas reflected. He probably knows exactly what she's doing, what she wants. If she thinks she's fooling him, she runs the risk of offending him, of making an enemy of him. Maybe this was the time to come right out with the truth.

     "The fact is," he said, therefore, "we're going to be staying in the valley for a few years, and my wife, who is three quarters shayen, cannot abide the thought of staying in those horrible brick buildings, as I'm sure you can understand. We thought you might let us live in that little dwelling tree near the edge of the woods if, in return, we do all the work of keeping it in good condition. If it is indeed separated from the other trees, none of you would ever see us, and with less work to do you would have more time to devote to more important things. It makes sense to both of us. What do you say?"

     The shae's mouth hung open like a goldfish. He seemed completely lost for words, unable to digest this new idea, and he could only stare at one of them after another, as if he couldn't decide which of them was the craziest. "A human in a shayen dwelling tree..." He finally managed to croak out.

     "If I'm the problem," said Thomas, "I would be willing to stay in a room in one of the teaching buildings, like the other junior wizards, while my wife and son stay in the tree. Would half shae folk be permitted to occupy one?"

     "No, I don't like that," said Lirenna, though, grabbing his arm. "I don't want us to live separately. I'd rather stay in the conjuration building with you."

     "But you'd hate it!"

     "I'd hate being away from you more." She turned to the shae. "We're sorry to have wasted your time. It was a ridiculous idea, and we were fools to even think of it. Come on, Tom, let's go."

     "Please wait a moment," said the shae, though. "You would really take upon yourselves the upkeep and maintenance of the tree?"

     "Yes, we would," replied Lirenna, her face lighting up with renewed hope. "Of course we'd need somebody to show us what to do at first."

     The shae wavered in indecision for a moment longer, then seemed to come to a decision. "I will have to consult the others, and we will consider it," he said. "You must understand that none of us has authority to speak for others. Shae folk do not have leaders as you humans do. Permission can only be granted if the consensus of opinion is in your favour."

     "We understand," said Lirenna with barely concealed excitement. "Thank you for trying."

     "Please wait here," said the shae. "I will return shortly." He then turned and headed back into the woods, leaving the Gowns standing alone at the edge of the meadow.

     It wasn't until an hour had passed that it occurred to Thomas that shae folk have a different sense of time than humans and that 'shortly' could mean anything up to a week. He remembered an old shayen legend about two 'young' shae folk, each less than a hundred years old, who'd come across each other in the golden woods of Glarien. They'd fallen instantly in love with each other and had just stood there, each struck dumb by the beauty of the other, for about twenty years, just staring at each other.

     Thomas still didn't know much about shae folk, but he knew that they could indeed go for long periods without rest or food, and it was just possible that twenty years wasn't entirely out of the question. They could slow down their metabolisms or something. A nagging fear crept over him that they could be waiting there for some time and so, with a sigh of resignation, he lowered himself to the slightly damp grass and rested his back against the nearest tree.