Haldir had not seen something like this in a long time. He felt the elf shiver against him in his arms. If it hadn't been for her scream, she would have died. He was the one who had seen her in the first place. After the warg riders were taken care of, he saw a body sinking in the river next to him. His instincts made him grab the cold hand and pull out the mysterious person. When he looked at her, he was stunned. He was shocked to find an elf maiden with a sword at her hip in the water. But, he was also stunned by her blue eyes. They were as blue as a spring sky, full of innocence. To his dismay, they fluttered close, giving her face a look of death. Her face was almost blue from the cold waters, and her skin was as cold as winter ice. He heaved her up in his arms, carrying her towards his horse.
Her tan leggings and skirt were sopping wet. Her white cloak that came down to her waist was also drenched. The top layer of her hair was pleated into four thick braids while the rest of it came underneath her braids. Her silver, blonde hair came all the way down to her elbows. As he placed her next to a camp fire, he wrapped her up tightly with a blanket to prevent her shivering. He also noticed the cut and bruises that were on her head. He assumed that when she landed in the water, she must have hit her head hard against the river floor. He quickly bandaged her head, looking to see what else had come upon this elf. His sharp eyes scanned her arms and legs to see if anything was broken. To his grief, he found a piercing in her side, most likely to have come from an orc arrow. What concerned him the most was the black color that ran in her veins. As he looked at her side, he could her veins outlined in a venomous black color. He cursed silently as he realized that there must have been ors poison on the tip of the arrow that plunged into her side. He bandaged that too, feeling remorse that he could not have arrived earlier to have saved her.
Lothlorien was less than a day away if he traveled swiftly on his gelding. The elleth was not much of a burden, he realized as he placed her on top of the gelding first and jumped on after. He grabbed the reins of his gelding and in doing so, wrapped his arms around the elleth. As her head rested against his shoulder, he felt her cold body. It made him angry, the way her fragile body shook against him. There will be orc blood splattered over the ground of the Valar. Her sudden gasp tore him away from his poisonous thoughts. He suddenly felt his mind shatter when he heard her whimper. He remembered the innocent look on her face when he pulled her out of the water. He kicked the sides of the gelding harder as he sped down a rocky trail. If he could get her in time to Lorien, she would be able to receive the elvish medicine she needed.
It was night fall when he entered the city of Lorien. It had begun to drizzle and there was not a sound to be heard. Without hesitation, he rushed his horse to the healing house. When he arrived at the main entrance, he quickly hopped of his gelding and took the elleth in his arms. By the time he ascended the steps to the talan, it began to pour. As he carried the elf inside, stunned faces turned to see him. He saw the shock in their eyes and the fear. Laying her on the nearest bed, a healer rushed toward Haldir. As Haldir pointed out the elleth's wounds, the healer scanned her.
"Who is this?" Haldir's face looked up to see who had uttered these words. An elf with great height leaned over the healer. His grey hair swept back and his grey eyes turned towards Haldir.
"I found her near the eastern side of the forest. She was sinking in the Hallowed River when I pulled her out," Haldir mumbled. The old elf pushed aside the amateur healer and laid his hands on her head. He softly looked at her head to see the cuts and bruises. Haldir looked at the old elf as with wonder. He could see information passing through the elf's eyes as he inspected the female one. Telling the young healer to bring fresh bandages and nemal, the ancient elf sighed.
"I am afraid friend that she has hurt herself in a bad place on her head. This part of the brain is where the memory lies. She hit her head badly enough to lose some of her memory, it seems," the grey elf muttered. Haldir's heart skipped a beat. "We must remove the venom now from her side, before it spreads too far. I must ask you to leave Haldir,"
"You have no authority," Haldir whispered angrily. He did not like it often when people told him what to do. Especially Bromin.
"You will be the cause of her death if you do not leave immediately. Don't try me Haldir. I will win anyway, as usual," Bromin threatened. Haldir stared straight into his friend's eyes, giving Bromin a look anyone else would walk away from. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Haldir spun for the entrance door. He hated it when someone had dominance over him. No one actually did though, except the Lady and Lord of the Wood. He reluctantly mounted his gelding and headed towards the stables.
Black images clouded her mind. Screeching and sorrow filled her ears. She desperately wanted to escape this world. She couldn't breathe. Darkness filled her lungs. She looked around for help but could not find any. She suddenly heard something that scared her the most.
I promise I will come back to you and marry you. I promise.
Catch me. Catch me. Demtren. Catch me Demtren.
She was suddenly falling. Falling into darkness, losing herself to despair. She could not bear it. She could not alone. Before she fell into the black sea, she screamed. She was waiting for the painful slap against the black water. She did not hear the sound of her back cracking. Instead she felt someone holding her.
It's alright. You didn't fall. I am here.
The light hurt her eyes when she opened them a crack. Her thick eyelashes covered her view. She slowly began to open them, blinking once or twice. When her eyes were fully opened, her vision became clearer. She breathed in a deep breath. She felt beads of sweat roll down her throat. Her throat was so dry that she coughed hard. Thankfully, she felt a cup of water brought to her lips. She felt a cool liquid go down her dry throat, calming her. She was soothed by the freshness and began to relax. Then, she could finally see clearly. The first thing the light blue eyes saw was a pair of cold, piercing grey eyes. She felt uncomfortable under their gaze. The owner of the eyes was someone whom she had never met before. The elf had silver, blond hair with a sharp nose and fine mouth. The face was handsome, but it had a complexion of seriousness. He cocked his head at her, as if studying her.
"She's awake," was all he said before he got up and walked away. As he got up, he looked almost bored. The confused elf suddenly became insulted at this look. What ever her thoughts were of him before were completely lost. He left her as if he got bored of her. He walked with such an air, as if he was the only important being in the world. She immensely disliked him, his arrogance, and his stare. But before he walked through the entrance doors, he turned his head to look at her one last time. For a second, he looked like he regretted something. And during that second, she saw a completely different person. Compared to the serious, arrogant face, this one was full of compassion and a little bit of tenderness. Her heart fluttered when he walked through the doors. No one had ever looked at her like that. No one. At least, no one that she remembered.
"Ah, I hope you are well rested."
The young, fair face turned to look up at an old, ancient face. Before she could answer, he proposed another question. "Do tell me, where do you hail from?" The question seemed easy enough, or it seemed at first.
"I…hail from…"
Bromin looked sadly at the elleth who struggled with the question. Poor child…
As this question raced through her mind, others entered. Why was she here? Where was she? She had been too captivated by the serious elf from before to question her surroundings. Where do I hail from? She felt her stomach flip as she became more and more nervous. With her eyes closed and brow furrowed, she thought hard. She became scared. "I don't…know."
"I see."
"Where am I?"
"You are in Lothlorien's healing house. And, you are under my care. I am Bromin son of Brominé"
"Lothlorien…Lothlorien…Lothlorien! What on earth am I doing here! In all places, Lothlorien! But, why am I in the…healing house?"
She saw the old face become grave.
"You were found by one of our wardens and…"
Once Bromin had finished, the elleth was swamped with her thoughts. Bromin began to explain her medical condition, but nothing entered her pointed ears. She simply stared at her hands, trying to grasp that her memory was lost and that recovery of it would be unlikely. In fact, she did not hear anything. All the sound around her slurred over her, and she felt strangely alone. What if I have a family? Am I married? What is my name? When is my begetting day? Why can't I remember my life? Why can I only remember places, and customs? Why was I found in a river? Who pulled me out?
As if glass shattered, the opening of door pulled her out of her pool of thoughts. She looked up to see the same elf from before. As her eyes met his once more, he quickly looked away. He walked over to her bed and cleared his throat. Bromin stopped lecturing and looked up to see Haldir.
"My lady, this is Haldir, Lothlorien's march warden. He happens to be the very person who rescued you."
The word "rescued" bothered her. She never liked being weak, especially to people with big egos. She was saved by this so called march warden, but she did not like it one little bit.
Haldir had to focus. He had almost walked into the door the last time he locked gazes with this elleth. To save himself from embarrassment, he decided to remain quiet in her presence. Although he hated it when people made him feel nervous, he was still happy to see her lovely blue eyes again. After bowing slightly to her, he beckoned Bromin to a corner of the room.
"I found this with her other items," he said. He took out a small sac and delicately took out a long chain. On the silver chain, there was a white pendant. It was crystal and very ordinate. On the pendant was inscribed Uruviel.
"Her name must be this," whispered Bromin.
"My Lady and Lord find it necessary to meet her. Since she was found in such a strange situation, something important must have occurred," Haldir mumbled. Bromin sighed. They walked back over to the bed where the elleth waited eagerly.
"My lady, do you recognize this?" Bromin asked. Haldir placed the necklace delicately into her hand. His fingertips brushed lightly against her palm in doing so. He felt an electric shock go through his body, making himself numb. As if she felt this too, she looked up at him. She locked her gaze with his. Realizing their staring, she turned her stare towards the pendant.
"Uruviel. I don't remember it."
Seeing her face fall, Haldir said, "It is most likely your name since you were found with this necklace."
She looked up at him.
"Yes, I suppose."
Mustering all of his strength to speak properly without stuttering, he said "The Lord and Lady of this Wood would like to make your acquaintance. They are wise and can help you in you situation."
Taken off guard by this statement, Uruveil simply said, "Oh"
"Now, I think it is best if you make your self comfortable here. You may wish to bathe and if that may be the case, a maid will help you," Bromin said kindly.
After both ellon exused themselves, a maid entered and began to prepare a bath. Gratefully, Uruveil sank in the warm waters and felt every single part of her body relax. She sighed and closed her eyes.
"The Lord and Lady of this Wood would like to make your acquaintance. They are wise and can help you in you situation." Uruviel swallowed and sank in the water at the thought. She had read, heard and seen great things done by Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. Now, she would actually meet them. Her stomach flipped like it had earlier. This brought her thoughts to Haldir Lothlorien's famed march warden. Hidden one, the name meant. That was for sure.
She moved into a new room, one that was more friendly. She slipped into the silky sheets and placed her head on the soft pillow. Her large, blue eyes observed every part of the room. She noticed that a pair of fresh clothes were ready for her.
In all of this mess, at least I am in a warm, safe bed.
With that in her head, her eyelids grew heavy and she quietly fell asleep.
Haldir could not close his eyes. He had so much thought in his head. He had not had one hour of sleep. He was too restless to sleep. He needed to go outdoors and find peace there. He quickly slipped on his tunic and leggings and left his talan silently into the crack of dawn. Even in the quietest places, his mind would not let him rest. The one thought he would try to push away kept on coming back. He could not help it.
Uruveil
How am I doing? Sorry it took a while to update….
