Author Note

I have posted a version of this story elsewhere, So if you recognize it that would be why. However, I have spent some time reworking it. This is pre-LOTR, hell this is pre-The Hobbit by twenty-two years.

Fair Warning to all, this story deals with rape aftermath/recovery pretty heavily as I originally started writing it as part of my own recovery process. If that is a trigger for you I recommend skipping this story. This is your one and only warning.

Enjoy!

Story

Smoke and fire clouded her vision, screams echoed through the night air as the small camp was attacked. A clawed hand grasped her shoulder ripping the young elleth from her hiding place under one of the wagons. There was rough cruel laughter from the creature holding her. The last thing she saw before being dragged off into the night was the wide staring eye of her mother as one of the brutes thrust into her lifeless body.

Eglan sat up with a small gasp. Her heart pounding as the nightmare ended. Years of abuse had trained her to keep quiet even upon waking from the horrors of her past. Even now free of the orcs who had tormented Eglan for so long, after brutally murdering her family, she remained quiet. Eglan wiped her brow with a shaking hand forcing the memory out of her thoughts reminding herself that dwelling on it only brought more pain.

A faint noise from the valley below caught her attention, that was odd nobody ever came this way that was why she had chosen to make her home here. The auburn-haired elleth peeked out from the cave she had made her home in for the last 50 years. Below she could see a small band of Orcs. She was unsure where they came from, this was the wrong side of the Misty Mountains for them to have come from Moria. However, that was the direction they were heading. This valley wasn't a typical way for Orcs to get there so why were they here?

Surely they couldn't know she was here. No, she thought with a frown nobody remembered she even existed. She crept closer hoping to discover why they were here. And perhaps she could kill them before they caused any trouble for someone innocent.

As Eglan watched she noted they were starting a cook fire but what could they have caught? There were only a few edible plants that she survived on and the occasional rabbit or squirrel. That was the way she preferred it, after the things the orcs had eaten and forced her to eat over the years she had been their captive Eglan couldn't stomach meat anymore.

As she watched the beasts, they dumped what at first glance looked to be oddly colored logs from sacks. Looking closer she felt a wave nausea wash over her and vomited into a nearby bush. The 'logs' were arms and legs of men and she thought perhaps the more pale ones might have been Elven. Where would they have gotten elven remains this far from any of the kingdoms or the routs traveled between them? Imladris was the closest but the pass used to travel between there and Lorien was much farther south.

Then she spotted him. Was he even alive? The body was whole but so very still. And there was so much blood on the cloak he wore. Its grayish cloth turned to the color of rust. The long silvery hair gave away that he was a Sylvan elf. Surely he was of the Golden Wood. His leather armor alone supported that theory. What was he doing here, so far from home? An argument broke out among the beasts below pulling Eglan from her musings.

The monsters were talking of butchering the ellon soon so he must be alive. The other fresh meat was running out. Cold anger flooded through Eglan, even if he was dead he didn't deserve to be hacked apart and eaten by those things. Inching silently back up to her cave, she grabbed her fathers old bow and sword. The orcs had taken them as trophies when they attacked and killed her kin. She had regained them when she slaughtered the ones left to guard her. Now the same anger and thirst for blood raged through the slim female, lighting a fire within her green eyes.

Her instincts cautioned her, however, telling her to wait until nightfall. These orcs foolishly thought they had chosen a secure spot to rest, as such they were getting thoroughly inebriated. All she needed to do was wait for nightfall, and hope none decided they were still hungry.

She spent the afternoon and evening watching and planning her attack. She had limited arrows so each shot would need to count. As soon it was dark and Eglan crept down to the camp below. The moon was no more than the barest sliver and the fire burned low. The Orcs would never know what was happening before they were slain.

A cold detachment came over her as she took out the first guard as it snoozed. They were nothing but beasts. Things to be destroyed. And destroy them she did, her arrows flew with deadly accuracy. All were dead before any of them could even try to shout in alarm.

'Fools,' she thought.

There was little of the fight she could remember afterward. However, it was always like that, and had been since she had first escaped. It almost seems as if she left her body during a fight and when she awoke again the creatures were always dead.

Full awareness came back to her as Eglan knelt by the elf. The elleth could hear his labored breaths now that she was so close. She sighed in relief, he lived but for how long was the real question. Each beat of his heart seemed weaker than the one before. Getting him up to her cave would be a struggle. He was heavy especially with all his armor, but Eglan didn't dare remove it until she had him somewhere she could treat him. Chances were the armor and cloth under it were the only things keeping him from bleeding to death. She fashioned a stretcher of sorts to move him as gently as possible.

It was almost sunrise by the time she got to the hidden entrance of her little cave and it had started to snow. The climb had been very slow as she tried not to disturb the wound she had yet to examine. Once situated within her home the elleth set to work removing the fancy armor that covered the ellon. His wound was bad but not unmanageable. The armor had taken much of the force and would need to be replaced. Her stocks of healing herbs would be depleted but she could replenish them come spring. Besides she almost never needed them anyway. Old habits were the only reason she still went to search for them, that and boredom.

Eglan cleaned and stitched his injuries applying the knowledge she had gained in her younger days studying to be a healer. Once his injuries were taken care of she cleaned him as best she could. His identity was soon revealed once she cleaned his face, Haldir the March Warden of Lothlorien. Eglan would know him anywhere! Last she had seen him her family had been heading back to Imladris. How could he had ended up so close to death and so far from home? She had no answers.

Would he know her when he regained consciousness? If he regained it at all that was. They had only met briefly and she had been young then and so innocent. No, she wouldn't think of that. Once he was resting as comfortably as she could make him Eglan refilled the water buckets before curling up near the fire to sleep. She had given up her bedroll and blankets to the injured ellon.

The next days were spent burning the Orcs and burying the remains of men and elves she found in their camp. It had been a long time since she had prayed in any form but the dead deserved some respect. She did her best to mark each grave. It seemed only the Marchwarden survived whatever battle had killed the others. Her goal became keeping him alive. It felt good to have a purpose again even if it was only temporary. As soon as he was able Haldir would return home and she would find a new place as she had before. Days passed and when the morning came that he stirred she started preparing to find a new home, knowing she could never return to her kin.

The battle raged around Haldir, he was part of the guard returning Lady Arwen to her father when the orcs attacked. The lady's brothers had her safe between them as he and his Wardens covered their retreat. They were being overwhelmed and he could hear his bottlers calling for him. But he was cut off from them when two of the beasts attacked him. He deflected the attack from one of them and knocked it aside, the other slipped passed his guard and into a weak spot on his armor its sword stabbing into his side. His sword flashed out cutting its head from its body and the blade slipped free with a gush of blood. The other one had regained its feet and brought its weapon down across his back slicing through the leather and skin alike.

Time stood still as he fell to his knees, he couldn't comprehend what had just happened. His vision became dark around the edges, time restarted as several rangers jumped into the fray. Everything went black before he could even wonder where they had come from.

The throbbing pain was the first thing Haldir was aware of when he awoke. It radiated from his back and side and stabbed at his nerves every breath. He slowly managed to pry his eyes open and saw a rough stone ceiling that looked like it belonged in a cave. Where was he? Had he been too injured to move? Was he with the rangers then? Or had he been entombed in the mountains? He frowned that didn't make sense. None of the elves would have allowed that, his brothers definitely wouldn't. They would have taken and made sure he was actually dead and then returned his body to the Golden Wood.

There was a fire crackling nearby he did not think the men would light a fire in a tomb. With great effort, the ellon turned his head taking in his surroundings. He was in a cave but it didn't appear to be a tomb. It was small with the fire to one side. There was a figure sitting next to the fire their back to him. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was his brothers calling the retreat then agony exploding across his back. He shifted slightly and groaned drawing the attention of the person near him.

"Do not move my lord. You will reopen your injuries."

His rescuer was a female! Haldir was more confused than ever. There had been no ellith in those that guarded Lady Arwen save the lady herself. Yes, there were female wardens but all had stayed behind to guard the Golden Wood. So who was she? Was she perhaps mortal? His pondering was cut short as she came closer. Her deep auburn hair catching the firelight and the tip of her pointed ear peeking through, she was most definitely an elleth.

"How are you feeling?" Her voice was soothing.

She seemed uncomfortable with his appraisal and smoother her hair to hide the tip of her ear. Haldir tried to speak but his throat was dry and his tongue felt thick from thirst. The girl quickly offered him a cup that he was delighted to find held cool water that he quickly drank.

"How did I get here?" the ellon asked.

"I found you, my lord. You were being held by a band of Orcs."

She was polite but he noticed she refused to make eye contact.

"Where are we?"

"A small valley a few days or so north of the Great East Road," she fidgeted under his gaze. "I must go collect more water."

She stood to leave but Haldir had one last question.

"Wait. I would know the name of the one who saved me."

There was a long pause her back to him. Haldir thought she would completely ignore his question until she whispered reply as she seemed to flee from him

"Eglan."

Who would name their child that? How could they curse her with the name of Forsaken? Haldir noticed evenings arrival by the change in lighting across the ceiling he had heard footsteps crunching through the snow outside more than once but she didn't come back in until well after dark. Was she avoiding him for some reason?

"I need to check your stitches." Her face was hidden by the shadows and her long hair.

He nodded doing his best to help her roll himself onto his side. Her small fingers were gentle as they ran along the injury. He felt exhausted by the time she was done and the Marchwarden had to rely on Eglan's strength to lay back down without hurting himself any more.

"The infection has cleared up but you still have a ways to go before you are fully healed, my Lord."

Haldir had his eyes shut tight against the pain when her hand lifted his head and pressed something against his lips. Cracking his eyes open revealed a cup and his nose told him it was likely some medicine. The taste was worse than anything he had been given in a long time. It reminded him of something Lord Elrond would mix. Horrible on the tongue but extremely effective if the demising pain only a few minutes later was anything to go by.

He wanted to ask her more questions but she must have mixed some sleeping potion into the pain draft. His eyes started to close as she tucked the thin blanket around his shoulders. He was mildly surprised when she pulled his cloak up around him but drifted off before he could say anything about its cleaned and repaired state.