Hey, The Ironic Authoress here, just a few ANs before we start.
First, the boring stuff. The characters mentioned in this story, exempting the original ones, listed at the bottom of the chapter, do not and never will belong to me and I will never have any public rights to them. When I am done playing with them, they will be returned, safely, to bubble-wrapped, peanut-packet, extra insulated safety.
And let me just say, that this story wouldn't be the same without the help of my wonderful beta, Siriusgirl1!
Snip snip! Cut cut! Redo Redo! Thank you Calenlass Greenleaf1, Siriusgirl1, and They-stole-my-name. I appreaciate ya'll telling my about my error and I hope this is a little better!
Oh and to the two people who were kind enough to put this on StoryAlert, sorry about the half a dozen "Chapter Two" Alerts. That was me being kinda lazy and not wanting to have to delete the entire story, again. Sorry....
She was in her garden, as usual, when she saw them. An elf, chained and struggling, being taken into the Tower ruins. It was his hair that caught Emyne's attention. It had shined in the sun and caught her eye. A group of men surrounded him, pulling the chains that were connected to his wrists and waist. When one of the men tripped him and when he fell the others kicked him and hauled him to his feet.
Emyne's heart went out to the poor elf. She knew that if he entered the Tower, it would take a miracle to get him out. Swallowing, she gathered her things and hurried away from the scene. She saw so many just disappear in that cold place, a place that had once held cherished memories for her, and never return. Seeing that she had now reached her cottage , she walked inside and set her basket on the table. Dashing her fist across her eyes, she wiped away tears that had no consequence; tears that would make no difference.
A few calming breaths later, she began sorting her herbs, hanging bunches to dry, and picking out ones to stew for oils to put into soaps. After her basket was empty she went into the upstairs and took the bedclothes from her room, piling them with practiced ease in to the basket. Grabbing a small cake of soap, she made her way down to the stream that ran not far from her home. A few moments later, she reached the stream and began to wash her clothing. She scrubbed at the sheets, lathering them up and trying to enjoy the sweet smell her lavender washing soap emitted. When she had finished and had piled her now clean laundry into her basket, Emyne made her way back to the cottage. She had just begun to hang the damp sheets over the lower branches of the oaks that surrounded her cottage, when she heard the scream.
It was a high pitched almost animalistic sound that forced a shudder down Emyne's spine, even as recollections of the Elf she had seen earlier came back to her. She felt her eyes begin to water once more and squeezed them shut.
When she heard a roar and the gallop of horse hooves thundering toward her, however, her eyes flashed open. Staring down the forest path, she soon saw a short man with red braids and dressed in what appeared to be dwarven clothing. He was astride a tall white horse, and when the animal halted next to her, Emyne saw that the rider was, in fact, a dwarf.
"Hail, Master Dwarf. What brings you to these parts?" she said. Her voice was horribly shaky and she struggled to get her emotions under control.
"Nothing that concerns you, maid." was the gruff answer she received as she watched the Dwarf struggle atop the horse. "Tell me, have you seen an Elf around in these parts? He would be tall, with yellow hair, like spun gold."
"Yellow hair..." Emyne murmured, visions of the Elf's glimmering hair clouding her mind's eye.
"Aye," The Dwarf paused, shifting uncomfortably astride the tall horse. "I fear that..he was captured, not a week ago on the Plains."
Emyne's breathing quickened as she noted the Dwarf's evident worry, recalling the eerie screams she had heard.
"He is in the Tower ruins, Master Dwarf, and I would not recommend you following him," she found herself saying, before she could stop herself. Seeing the Dwarf's questioning glance, she elaborated. "I know the mistress of that Tower and she is cold woman. He is not to be trifled with." She paused. Your friend is gone, Master Dwarf. Elves that enter the...Tower, they...don't return alive. I...am sorry. "When she finished, Emyne saw that the Dwarf's eyes were watering and her heart hardened with a resolve she did not think she possessed.
She had seen Garniwen take many people captive into that tower. But, this Dwarf, this Dwarf, was the only one who had ever followed. She knew not his relationship with the Elf she had seen, but it was evident that the kinship was strong enough for the Dwarf to follow the Elf here.
"Master Dwarf…"
"My name is Gimli, maid."
"I am Emyne the Red." she returned. "Now, Master Gimli, I could get into the tower and possibly negotiate his release. The mistress of that place and I...we...know each other, and I could, at the very least, speak with her."
"That would be very kind…but I cannot allow it."
"Please, you have no knowledge of how many innocent souls have been dragged into that Tower and...have never returned. Please let me help you."
Gimli thought hard for a moment, before reluctantly answering,"I have kin waiting for me in the Glittering Caves. I fear that if I do not arrive on schedule, they will become worried and that I could not allow. The journey there, and back, will take me a few days…and who knows what could happen during that time…?" He paused, staring hard into the distance. "Yet I must meet with my kin first…" He turned to Emyne. "If I return in a few days, a week at the most, will you show me the way to this tower you speak of? Or even take me to see its'…Mistress?"
Emyne did not like the thought of leaving the poor Elf there for that long…for she had some idea of what could happen to him, yet she knew that it would be pointless to argue with the bearded rider, even more so as he was a Dwarf. So she nodded.
"Of course, Master Gimli. I will aid you in any manner I can, so that you may see your friend once more. This I promise you."
The Dwarf nodded, a grave expression on his face as he stared down at her from atop his steed.
"I thank you, young maid. I had best be off then… Keep an eye on things until I get back, but do not get involved. If the mistress of the Tower is as…dangerous as you think her to be, I would not risk your involvement in this…"
Emyne nodded solemnly, as she raised a hand in farewell.
"Farewell, Master Gimli."
As the dwarf rode off, she thought on all she knew of Garniwen and the old Tower Ruins. Garniwen, the Tower mistress and a dark witch, was the cruelest person she could think of. She had heard more than one tale of what the witch had done to the poor souls who had entered her Tower.
But, the problem was, that Emyne could also remember the years that she had known a different Garniwen. The tall redheaded woman who had been her mentor. Her mother's sister had taught her many things about the magic that she used almost everyday of her life. Unfortunantly, Emyne had shown no aptitude for magic. After Emyne's mother died and her father, Taurion, had a falling out with Garniwen, Emyne left her aunt, beginning her life as a travelling healer.
Emyne's cottage was at least three miles away. She had only been able to see the Elf due to the fact that her parents had been Elven. Her father had met her in Lothlorien, when she was a handmaiden to the Lady Celebrian and he had wed her four hundred years later, as was customary for Maiar courtships. Emyne had been two hundred years old when her mother passed on from a wasting sickness. A spell of some sort. Taurion had searched for many months, attempting to find who had killed his wife, to no avail.
Emyne's father had taken over her education then, teaching her elven medicine and mortal herblore alike. He had helped her carve her willow wood bow, and had taught her how to defend herself. He had coped with the pain of Merenwen's death for as long as he could before journeying to the West when Emyne had been three hundred.
Merenwen had never been on good terms with her sister, and their enemity had only increased as they grew older. Garniwen had loved Taurion from afar, and her hatred for her sister grew even blacker when Merenwen married the Elven healer. Hoping that her sister's hate would stop at her, Emyne's mother had kept the strained relationship from her husband and child. Emyne and Taurion had loved Garniwen as a member of their family.
When Merenwen died, Garniwen tried to capture Taurion's heart, to no avail. With this rejection still frech in her heart, she journeyed to Orthanc, seeking refuge and power. Saruman had taught Garniwen many things, sharing her new found love of destruction and pain.
She wanted revenge on her brother-in-law, but, strangely enough, could never bring herself to even attempt to harm her niece. .
Thinking of her parents and her aunt, Emyne walked back to her cottage and began gathering medicinal herbs from her stores and setting them in groups. Some would be boiled for a sedative, others for disenfectants, and others still for stewing and mixing into ointments. Judging by the screams she had often heard from the Tower, this elf might be injured, and badly so. She brought her various herbs and ointments upstairs and laid them out on a table after which she filled the pot hanging over her unused fire with water and set kindling into the fireplace.
Emyne busied herself with putting new sheets on the bed in an attempt to distract herself from what she was about to attempt. When she had finally finished preparing for her visitor, she changed into the leggings and a tunic that she used for traveling. After eating a light meal, Emyne gathered her staff and whistled for her mare, Isla.
Mounting the mare, the young wizardess took one last look at her little cottage, then turned and set off at a fast pace for her aunt's tower and the captive elf.
Original Characters:
Emyne: Main character, Elven healer.
Garniwen: Emyne's aunt. Had been tutored by Saruman the White.
Taurion: Elf, Emyne's father. Passed over to Valinor.
Merenwen: Elfmaid, Emyne's mother. Desceased.