Hey everyone, second chapter. Hope you like it!
When she arrived, he stood with his back to her. His horse neighed in aknowledgement of her, but he continued his long, slow brushes. Light filtered in through slits in the stall panelling, illuminating the dust. His familiar black hair was braided down his back. He wore a long riding tunic. It looked as though he were ready to ride, ready to travel. Élia waited for a minute, watching him.
'I suppose you wouldn't want to collect with me tonight,' she offered wryly.
He didn't answer. It was as though he hadn't heard her.
'Elrohir?'
She walked toward him – her footsteps falling softer and softer as she approached him.
Nearly behind him, she spoke again, 'Ro?'
She reached her hand out to his shoulder. His tension was palpable – it rolled off of him in waves. Gingerly, she stepped to his side. Looking up into his face, she could see no emotion. Her eyebrows knitted.
'What is wrong, Ro?'
He turned to look at her. The tension melted quickly away from his features, and he smiled.
'Nothing is wrong, Éli. I am distracted – that's all.'
'Oh, alright.'
'Have you picked out your dress for this evening? I'm surprised, actually, shouldn't you be getting ready with Arwen?'
She shuffled her feet a bit.
'I... have to collect tonight, really. We don't have enough Lissuin flowers...'
He nodded, 'Where do you collect those?'
'The valley beyond the river and the creek – the one with the high grass, near to the mountain top.'
'Oh, of course! I had forgotten that they were there!'
She laughed, 'yes, you were the one who showed me.'
'I remember like it was yesterday – you had been begging –'
'– I did not beg!'
He laughed, 'no, no, of course not, you had been 'asking' me where I found mine for months, and, finally, when I showed you, you disturbed a colony of fire ants that followed us down the mountain nearly to Rivendell!'
She gave him a mock glare, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
'If I remember correctly, I just disturbed them... It was you who tried to 'deter' them down by throwing water on them! Only after that did they chase after us. Then, remember? We raced down the mountain past Arwen who was picking flowers in a field. We tried to get her to run with us, but she didn't understand what we were talking about so she just stood there until the ants were but a few paces from her skirts...
'I think I've never seen anyone run faster in my life!'
His full laugh filled her heart with an aching happiness. She watched him with a grin.
Just at that moment, a sound caught their attention. Their laughter died – it was the sound of an incoming party. They were arriving. Elrohir looked at Élia, his eyes indecipherable. She looked down.
'Is it true, Ro?'
'Is what true?'
'Will you really leave for Mirkwood once you are married?'
She looked up at him. Her eyes brimmed with tears. His expression became pained.
'Yes... I must, but know, Éli, my little one, know that should one thousand years pass before I see you again, I will always love you, always think of you. You will always be my little elanor.'
With that, he wrapped her in his arms as she shook with repressed sobs. He patted her head, and whispered a stream of words into her hair. It was a language unknown to her, but she felt at once uplifted, calmed, brave. She released him. She took a step back. She paused for a minute. Then, quick as the wind, she kissed Elrohir on his cheek. She stepped back again and looked him in the eye.
'Goodbye, Ro. I will miss you.'
Without waiting to hear what he had to say, she dashed away.
A stunned Elrohir held a hand to his check. Though the kiss may have been that of a sister to her brother, it scorched his skin like that of lover to her beloved. He could not determine what she had meant by the kiss nor what he felt in response. She was as dear to him as his own sister. Little Élia. He would never forget when he found her - crying amidst the smoke and cinders. He had never felt anything so strong as his impulse to rush to her and take her in his arms. From that point forward, he was hers.
With that thought, he resolved, that the love in his heart was that of the deepest, familial sort. And her kiss... well, it was a kiss from a sister to a brother. And her farewell... it was a true farewell. Somehow he knew that after this celebration, he would not see her for a great, great many years. The thought pained him.
Later that evening...
The night grew darker and the path grew wilder as Rivendell disappeared in the distance. Élia adjusted the pack on her shoulder, climbing through slowly through tall grass. Mountain winds whipped the open fields. The night was crystalline, and the stars were as pale and cold as diamonds.
Élia was accustomed to hiking; she liked it even. Ever since she was a child, she would creep to the corners of the realm – relishing the quiet, the still. It was only then that she could remember her snippets of her family – her mother's smell, her sister's laugh, the golden brown of her father's hair. Though she had barely known her kin, she missed them. Somewhere, she thought, they were in the Halls of Mandos, waiting for her..
She couldn't remember what happened – how they died. She knew how they died, of course. Elrond had told her when she was old enough. Her village had been raided. Everyone had died except for her. It was never known why they had attacked with such ferocity that night nor how she had survived. Perhaps there was no reason. Orcs are senseless creatures.
She shuddered at the thought of orcs, and turned her mind elsewhere. The flowers. Where were they, she wondered. They should be... right there. In the center of the field. She sat down next, hidden by the tall grass. The flowers, blue as midnight, were fragrant when crushed, smelling of mint and jasmine. In the many, many times that she had been injured, she never once minded the sleeping balm simply because of how good it smelled – so fresh and clean. The compound responsible for the effect was present only within the petal. Thus, the petal had to be crushed for the compound to be available. For this reason, Élia was sure to be careful.
She plucked half of the blooming flowers, making sure to leave the stems intact. The rest of the blooms she left to propagate. Each of the flowers she dropped into her satchel. She picked up one, the last one. She was nearly done.
The moon had risen fully and was glowing down upon her. Elrohir, she knew, had met Uruviél. By now they would have danced and sung and feasted together. They would have held each other in front of the court, every eye alight with happiness. She choked back a sob. How could this have happened? How could he love her?
The smooth cheek beside her own – his skin beneath her lips – the smell of his hair – the sound of his laugh – the strength in his arms. How? How could? How could he? She breathed in sharply, the pain in her chest suddenly so overwhelming. She struggled for breath. In an attempt to slow her breathing, she brought her hand to her chest, which worked... very well. She felt immediately so calm, relaxed. It was as though, as though...
She looked down. The last Lissuin clung to her chest... crushed. The blue fluid dripped slowly down the skin on her chest and her hand. It was all but certain that she would the night, somewhere outside Rivendell in a drug-induced coma.
Panic and drowsiness warred with one another. Her choices, she realized sleepily, would be to sleep here or somewhere on the road. The road was often passed by strangers, especially at night; yet, it was closer to home and frequented by the patrol. The place she sat now was completely unvisited by the patrol; yet, the mountain wind and the tall grass might hide her from untoward eyes and noses. And it was so... comfortable.
She wrapped her cloak around her and lay down. Sleep crept up her body. The wind, once so calm, seemed to sing more sinister notes as she lay immobilized. If she weren't so terrified of making anoise, she would certainly have cried. If she didn't die tonight, Elrond would certainly kill her once she was home...
Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions that you may have!
All the best,
Elvina
