Disclaimer: See chapter 1
I wish to say sorry for any mistakes I might have overlooked!
The stars twinkled. The moon glowed. And Rubah Foxson lay in the branch of a tree.
If you were far enough away, you could claim that he was relaxed, and perhaps even sleeping. But, as you came closer, you would realize that his every muscle was tensed and his eyes were open wide, scanning the clearing from left to right and then right to left and never staying still. His mind absorbed every detail and he could tell which blades of grass had turned in the wind.
He took a deep breath and pain shot through his chest, causing him to gasp at the suddenness of it. He placed a hand on his left lung and exerted pressure there until the tendrils of anguish began to lessen. Idiot. He chided himself, You know you can't breathe deeply. The wound was too internal.
Unbeknownst to Rubah, 'Ro was a healer and his senses were well attuned to the sounds of pain in case a patient needed help in the middle of the night. Rubah's gasp had awoken the elf, who had watched the entire time.
Rubah's constant sweep of the clearing had been momentarily interrupted by the old wound and he had not seen the elven eyes that gazed upon him.
"What happened?" 'Ro asked in a clear voice. Rubah jumped and then wanted to slap himself for being distracted and missing bright and glowing eyes from the form of the now sitting elf. He shifted slightly so that 'Ro couldn't see his own eyes and laid his head on the trunk of the tree.
"Nothing, I'm fine." His voice was flat and empty.
"Your lying." The sentence was not an accusation, it was in a light and teasing tone, "I have two brothers and a gwador. They love to use those words, especially when they are most definitely not fine." The light timbre of the voice was absent and the tease was almost completely overshadowed by overwhelming sorrow. "I'm a healer. Let me see." The teasing note was now totally gone, replaced by steel. It was not a suggestion or a request, it was a command from someone whose commands were to be followed. 'Ro's eyes that were large earlier were now slitted and hard. They cut into Rubah and somehow he knew, he could not argue with the will of this elf.
With a sigh, Rubah launched himself into the air and landed in a crouch before the dying embers of the fire. The grace in the leap startled 'Ro, giving him one more question about his strange savior. It was the vault of an elf, with precision and hours of practice an adan could not come close unless he had an elvish teacher. Who is this uncanny man? He almost reminds me of Estel- if Estel was twenty-years younger and had no idea who I was. That brought a smile to his lips, but it was gone as quickly as it came.
'Ro moved his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He decided at that moment, he never wanted to see Estel again. Estel would want him to go home. He never wanted to go back there.
He blinked tears out of his grey eyes. He had more important things to worry about. Namely, whoever this human was and whatever injury he was hiding. "Take off your shirt." He told Rubah, but Rubah didn't move. "Take off your shirt." The command was harsher, more forceful, meant to be obeyed. Yet, Rubah didn't so much as twitch. "You've met elves before, haven't you? They have something to do with whatever wound you're hidden under your tunic." The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. They were a statement, not a question.
Rubah's stillness' was broken by that question and he turned his surprised gaze to 'Ro's understanding on. The elf felt suddenly ashamed and turned his vision to the ground. "What happened?" The inquiry was not a command like his previous sentences had been. It was a plea.
Rubah took a deep breath and began in a whisper, his voice growing slowly louder with each word until it had a higher volume than a normal voice, but not yet a shout. Halfway through, 'Ro thought with an amused smirk, Erestor would never allow this in his precious library. His smile turned to a grimace when he realized that Erestor would be in charge of Rivendell now. And that is why I can never go back, never see Estel again. He reminded himself.
Rubah's story gave 'Ro two emotions to choose to feel, anger at what is kind had done or sadness at what had happened to Rubah. Rubah's story began as a normal day and ended as a terrible experience. A terrible experience that 'Ro was all too familiar with.
"I had been traveling near the elven kingdom of Mirkwood. I had step up camp a mile outside their bounders. That was where I met the elves." He gave a small growl. "We shared a camp. I didn't know their names, we just picked the same clearing and slept there. I have one night a week I sleep, the rest I keep awake and watch. I choose that night to sleep, as I was with elves and thought that we didn't need two watchers." Rubah laughed, a clear humorless laugh, and shook his head. "How wrong I was then... I awoke that night with a cold steel knife pressed to my neck."
Authors Note:
Sorry 'bout the cliffhanger! In case you didn't know, Erestor is Lord Elrond's chief advisor and is described as being kind of a bookworm! I hope you've figured out who 'Ro really is. If you haven't... well, you will soon enough!
Translations:
Gwador: Sworn Brother (Sometimes used to say brother-by-blood, but its usually used to name a heart brother or soul brother)
Estel: Hope (This is the name Aragorn was raised under to keep his identity secret at Rivendell until he was old enough to understand who he was.)
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