Chapter 3: When East Meets West
Hawk watched with fascination as the deer walked right in front of her. He was a magnificent creature, and she hated to have to kill him, but her family was counting on her to bring home something to eat. And this animal would keep them for weeks. She reluctantly raised her bow and fired. The deer dropped where he was standing. Hawk went over and paused. She felt like this animal was a part of her; it was the weirdest feeling. She could have sworn she heard him say something just before he fell. Sometimes she thought she heard other things calling to her as well. Like when she took walks in the woods, the trees would whisper among themselves. But that was ridiculous, animals didn't talk and definitely not trees. So she knelt down, dressed the animal and then made her way back home.
While she walked she hummed a tune, it made the journey go faster and her burden lighter. She had grown into a beautiful woman of twenty, yet she still felt like she was young. Her hair was as black as the night sky and fell in waves just below her shoulders. She liked her hair but she didn't let it get overly long, because she had been told at an early age that she would have to conceal her identity. So whenever she traveled she wore her cloak that had been given her, and went by her nickname, Hawk. Her eyes were the wonder of the entire land. They were green with enough blue to make it difficult to tell the real color. She wasn't tall, but nor was she short. She was just small, in both height and frame, but she didn't let that stop her from doing anything.
She was the best fighter that her father had ever seen. She could shoot with deadly accuracy and when she used the sword, it was like trying to stop the wind. She could easily beat him at the age of seven. And now she was the best in the whole area. She had even taken to training her sister to defend herself. Her sister, Cat, was her best friend in the whole world. She would always stick up for her when others picked on her. And Cat would do the same for her.
"Lendemel," her mother called hearing her humming, "did you get anything?"
"Of course I did." She replied coming around the house.
She laid the deer down for her mother's inspection. Nora smiled and motioned for her to get cleaned up for dinner. Hawk left and washed her face and hands in the basin by the door. She would go for her evening bath later.
Then she turned and went off in search of her twin sister. The girls were the exact opposite in coloring and looked nothing alike. Whereas Hawk had black hair and green eyes, her sister had sandy blond hair and her eyes were so brown they almost looked black. But they were as close as any two people could be.
Hawk found Cat sitting under the tree in their front yard. She snuck up behind her and covered her eyes with her hands.
"Hawk, stop." Her sister said knowing immediately who it was.
"How did you know it was me, Cat?" Hawk pouted.
"Well let me see, oh yes, there happens to be a very lovely ring on your left hand." Cat replied trying not to laugh.
"Sometimes I wish I could take it off, but at others I'm glad I have it on. And don't ask me why either, because I really don't know." She said sitting down next to her sister. "So what did you do while I was gone?"
"I helped mama get some of the chores done and then I came out here to bask in the sunlight." she answered laughing.
At that moment they were spotted. Hayden walked confidently into the yard. Hawk scowled at him. Cat looked at her sister and tried not to laugh. Hayden had been coming around for years and Hawk had yet to show him any courtesy.
"Hello Lendemel." He said when he reached the sisters.
"Go away." She replied turning away from him.
"Do I have to go to your father about this, Lendemel?" he inquired innocently.
"You know the way to a girl's heart isn't through her father." She snapped.
"It doesn't matter if I have your heart, just your hand." He smiled cruelly.
"You won't have either, because I'm not going to marry you." She said rising. "Now if you'll excuse us, my mother is calling us for dinner."
"Isn't that a coincidence, because your father invited me over for dinner." He replied taking her arm and slipping it through his own.
Hawk jerked away and grabbed Cat's hand and ran to the house. Hayden followed slowly. He was going to marry her if it was the last thing he did. He couldn't let her slip away from him.
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Elrohir looked on the familiar sight of Middle Earth fast approaching. He had been sent back from Valinor. He was to be the new watcher of the keeper of Valin, and to tell the new bearer about the trouble brewing in Middle Earth. He hadn't really wanted the job, but his sister had persuaded him to do it.
"Ro, I really think you should go do this." She said after the Valar explained the need. "I would go myself but my time is over. Please do this for me."
He looked in her eyes and shook his head. He had always had a soft spot for her. She could, if she had wanted to, tell him to drown himself and he would have gladly done it. It had always been that way. He would give his life to make sure she was happy.
"Alright." He agreed, "I'll do this, for you."
He thought back to the conversation they had right before he left.
"Ro," she said coming over to him, "be careful and be sure to look in on my children while you are there."
"Don't worry, I'll look in on them. In fact," he said, "I planned on staying in Minas Tirith and waiting till Valin's keeper came to me."
"And why would they want to do that?" she questioned having possessed the ring most of her life.
"Because the Valar gave me this ring." He held up his hand for her to see the gold band on his right ring finger, "They made it so that Valin will be drawn to it, and that it and Valin will start to glow when they get close. But then once I've found Valin it turns into a plain ring and Valin goes back to normal."
She smiled at him, "Well good luck in your search. And Ro, do be careful, I couldn't stand to lose another brother."
Elrohir was brought from his musings as the ship reached shore. He stepped onto the land and tied it off. Then he went back on board and gathered his things. He needed to head out soon but he was reluctant to leave the ship. Since it was late he decided to stay there overnight and head to Minas Tirith in the morning. So he went on shore and laid down for the night.
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Hawk woke from her sleep. Her ring was bothering her. It was strange, like warmth spreading through her hand. It wasn't enough to burn her, just make her uncomfortable. She looked out of her window; it was still dark out. What was going on? Her ring had never bothered her in the past. She thought about taking it off and going back to sleep, but something stopped her. She knew that that would cause more problems. So she rose and went into her sister's room.
"Cat?" she whispered hoping that she didn't have to go to her parents.
"What is it, Hawk?" she asked lighting her lamp.
"I need to tell you something." Her sister replied, "Um, I'm going to go away for a little while and I want you to tell mama and papa not to worry."
"Why?" Cat looked at her confused, "What's going on?"
"I don't know, but I really feel like I have to go somewhere." She said biting her lip, "I can't really explain it but I really have to go."
"Alright." Her sister yawned, snuffing the light, "I'll tell mama in the morning. Good bye and Good luck."
Hawk went back to her room, pulled on the mithril shirt and threw on some clothes. She then strapped on her weapons and wrapped her cloak around her. Then ever so quietly she slipped out of the house. She was good at being quiet, she didn't know how she did it but she could walk right up to anyone or anything without them so much as sensing her presence. She turned and headed west knowing that that was the direction she needed to go. She traveled all that night and most of the next day before she decided she needed to rest.
When she awoke it was dark again, but she could still see so she continued her journey. About an hour after she had set back out she saw something through the trees. It looked like a fire. She rushed over thinking the worst but stopped before she entered the clearing. There was a fire but it was a campfire. On the other side of it there was a man sleeping.
Hawk looked at him amazed. He looked like he was an angel fallen from the heavens above. He had golden blond hair and chiseled features, but she couldn't tell much more because she was still quite a ways away. She didn't want to disturb him but she had this strong desire to go over to him. She took a step forward and paused. She really just wanted to go over and touch him, to make sure he was real. He was so beautiful. She almost laughed at the track her mind was taking; she was just being silly. He stirred and Hawk, not wanting to get caught by him, turned tail and ran.
Elrohir woke up and looked around. He shook his head; he was just being paranoid. But he could have sworn he felt someone watching him. Maybe he wasn't cut out to be a watcher. He smiled wryly; he had always been a watcher, but before he didn't worry because his sister knew about Valin. He laid back down and tried to sleep again, but he couldn't. So he put out his fire and headed to Minas Tirith.
