Chapter Two
Glorfindel had been out with his patrol on the border of Imladris for the past month. It had been a quiet almost boring month. It sounded silly for an elf lord as old as him to be bored but he was. A sigh escaped his mouth.
"Bored, mellon nin," Fuirion asked with an amused grin on his face.
"Yes," Glorfindel admitted to his friend reluctantly. "This patrol has been too peaceful for my liking. I want some action."
"Careful what you ask for Glorfindel," Fuirion said with a note of caution in his voice.
As if the weather had been listening the beautiful blue sky gave way to dark gray clouds that threatened rain began to pour from the sky. Lightening lit up the evening sky and thunder boomed.
"You just had to say something," Fuirion said sarcastically as the wind blew the rain on the outside of their shelter.
Before Glorfindel could answer his friend Breniriel the youngest member of the patrol came running up to the pair.
"Hir-nin Glorfindel," Breniriel called. "Gwestril sent me to get you somebody has crossed the border of Imladris."
"Orcs?" Fuirion asked the younger elleth.
"No Gwestril thinks the person is human," Breniriel answered.
"You have done well Breniriel." Glorfindel praised the young elleth. "Tell Gwestril we will be right there and to just watch for now."
The elleth nodded her head in understanding before darting off to relay her message.
"Exciting enough for you now," Fuirion asked as they gathered their weapons before heading off in the same direction as Breniriel. Glorfindel just glared at his friend. They walked the short distance to where Gwestril and Breniriel were at watching the intruder. The elleths just nodded at the new arrivals. Glorfindel looked at the intruder from his vantage point in the trees. The intruder was still a quarter of a mile away. Glorfindel could tell the intruder was a young human woman even from this distance.
"Strange for a young human woman to be out on her own." Glorfindel thought to himself as he watched her.
"Anyone with her?" Glorfindel asked.
"She appears to be alone," Gwestril answered.
"She seems harmless. She probably got turned around and crossed our border on accident." Glorfindel whispered as the rest of the patrol joined them. "We will stop her and get her back to the border. Just incase she isn't harmless I want Breniriel and Gwestril on my right. Bannor and Galon I want you on my left. Wait for my signal."
The patrol nodded their heads in agreement before slipping into position. Glorfindel watched as the young woman drew closer. She stared straight ahead as she walked as if she wasn't really aware of her surroundings. Then as she drew near to where they were her eyes lost the blank look. She looked around her in confusion like she wasn't sure where she was. Glorfindel noticed she looked around as if she sensed them watching her and she reached for her weapons.
"Halt," Glorfindel called.
Brina froze at the sound of the commanding voice. As she searched for the owner of the voice a golden-haired figure with piercing blue eyes and a dark-haired figure with gray eyes dropped to the ground in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw four more figures drop from the trees on her right and left. She was wary of these strangers and backed up a little. These people didn't seem human but they didn't seem evil either. They seemed otherworldly.
"Whoever they are I'm not speaking a word." Brina thought to herself her trust in everyone completely shattered.
Glorfindel watched the young woman back away in wariness when they dropped from the trees.
"You have crossed the border of Imladris stranger. Are you lost?" Glorfindel asked.
The young woman just stared at him not uttering a word.
"We can't show you the way back until we are sure you aren't a threat." Glorfindel tried again. Still nothing but silence from the young woman.
"Is she deaf?" Fuirion whispered to his friend.
"No she isn't deaf or she wouldn't have stopped when I called out. She is just choosing not to speak." Glorfindel answered with a sigh of frustration.
"If you don't answer me we will have no choice but to keep you as our prisoner until you answer our questions." Glorfindel tried one last time. Still nothing.
"You leave us no choice then please hand over your weapons or we will take them by force," Glorfindel said.
As he moved toward her he watched her tense up and reach for her weapons. He immediately stopped. He could feel the tension come off the young woman but he could also feel the tension coming from his patrol. Somehow he needed to find a peaceful way to resolve this without anyone getting hurt.
Breniriel took a step toward the young woman with a sincere smile on her young face. "Will you please give me your weapons? I don't want you to get hurt." Breniriel said approaching the young woman like one would approach a wounded animal.
Glorfindel held his breath waiting to see what the young woman would do. He watched the young woman stare at Breniriel for a moment as if trying to decide what to do. Then she slowly relaxed letting go of her weapons. She looked as if she was about to give her weapons to Breniriel when Bannor almost caused a disaster. The young woman obviously wasn't moving fast enough for the elf that hated humans. Bannor made a move toward the young woman causing her to tense back up reaching for her weapons again this time there was a touch of fear in her eyes.
"Bannor stop and go back to the shelter." Glorfindel hissed at the elf.
Bannor stopped what he was doing and turned to head back to camp but not before turning a hate-filled look on the young woman.
The woman relaxed again once Bannor was gone.
"Can I please have your weapons?" Breniriel tried again.
The woman hesitated for a moment before nodding her head yes and slowly handing the weapons to Breniriel.
Breniriel slowly took the weapons from her.
"Thank you," she told the woman.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Breniriel and I will take the woman to Lord Elrond," Glorfindel told Fuirion quietly.
Fuirion nodded his head in agreement before adding. "Bannor could have caused a disaster."
"I know and I will deal with him when you return in a couple of days," Glorfindel said before taking their prisoner to Lord Elrond. The young woman never spoke on their journey she just followed silently behind him with Breniriel bringing up the rear.
Brina was lost in her thoughts as they walked. She wasn't sure of much in her exhausted state but there were two things she was sure of. One, that one male back there hated her and was to be avoided at all costs. Two the female behind her seemed nice and could possibly be someone she could trust maybe, Brina was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice they had arrived until she almost ran into the golden-haired being outside the door of what appeared to be an office.
"Wait here with Breniriel," he said before knocking on the door and then entering when a voice from inside called to him.
Brina stood there in silence to exhausted to even thinking about trying to escape at the moment. Something told her that even if she tried to escape she wouldn't make it far. So she waited.
"Mellon nin you are back early." Elrond greeted his commander and friend as he entered his office.
"Yes, we ran into a complication on the border," Glorfindel told him.
"Oh, what kind of complication?" Elrond asked curiously.
"Well, Elrond not so much a what as a who. We found a young woman who crossed our border." Glorfindel said.
"Did you get her back on her way?" Elrond asked.
"Not exactly we have brought her here to you as our prisoner."
"Prisoner? Is she dangerous?" Elrond asked shocked.
"We don't know she hasn't spoken a word but she can clearly hear and understand us. We weren't sure what to do with her so we brought her here."
"Bring her in Glorfindel," Elrond said.
Glorfindel opened the door.
The door to the office opened suddenly startling Brina.
"Come in." The golden-haired being told us.
"What is going to happen to me?" Brina thought to herself with a touch of fear as Breniriel guided her into the office