Never opened myself this way 3
He had been alarmed when Elladan had stormed into his study, not even pausing to knock and had informed him that their guest Carnil had fainted without apparent reason. Elves did NOT faint! There were only three reasons that made an elf faint: mortal injury, a broken heart or a intense vision.
While he knew that the first was not the case as the other elf would have otherwise fainted much sooner, there had been no indication for the second: while their guest seemed rather subdued compared to his own children he could not be sure of the cause but doubted that it was because of a recently broken heart. This left only the third option, the one he feared most for it was the only option that left him completely helpless.
True, he himself was experienced with visions but that made the thought that someone else had also to suffer under them all the more horrifying. He KNEW that one would not faint just because of a normal vision – no, for that to happen the vision had to be horrifying! It had been a while since he had had vision that had caused himself to lose conscious, it had been shortly before Arwens birth – he would never forget the pale dead face of his only daughter.
Most elves had a small gift of foresight but in only a few it was strong enough to let them see years into the future, see events unfold that had yet to be set in motion. Even Galadriel, the Lady of the Light was not able to see more than shadows without the help of her Mirror and Nenya. The reason why Gil-Galad had given him Vilya was, that he had seen with the help of the ring that he would not survive the battle and had wanted to make sure that the ring of Air, the most powerful of the three survived. He knew, that Cirdan had given Mithrandir his ring Narya because he had seen that the Istari would need the ring at a later time, though he had never told anyone what it was that he had seen.
He had immediately recognised the "young" elf that lay unconscious on his bed. How could he forget someone who had saved his life nearly three millennia ago? There were not many elves with red hair that looked remarkable like the life blood of the edain and even fewer who also had green eyes but what erased all doubt he had had that this really was the elf who had saved him were the five small scars on the back of the elf's neck. The scars had glowed eerily like fresh blood in the red light of Mount Orodruin and even now in the light of the sun did they look fresh.
What could have caused such wounds, wounds that were still visible after nearly three thousand years? Who could have gotten close enough to the elf before him to inflict them?
Elronds eyes widened as it dawned him in what pattern the scars were arranged, hesitantly he closed his hand around the pale neck of his guest and flinched as he drew it back having his suspicion confirmed.
The five half-mooned shaped scars had definitely been caused by fingernails and the position they were in indicated, that whoever had given them to Carnil had meant to strangle him. Oh yes, he knew very well what the unconscious elf before him had done for several years but these scars had already been present when he had first seen him when he was clearly no older then one or at the most two centuries. Furthermore they were not defensive wounds, no, Carnil had been clearly the one who had been attacked – but why and by whom?
Even more puzzling was the fact that the scars were still visible after all these years, normally every scar would fade after a year at the most except they were caused by a great evil! Also these scars could have been only caused by either men, dwarfs or elves - and dwarfs were definitely not tall enough to reach the neck of an elf; but what would cause a man or worse yet an elf to strangle one of the First Born?
Before the Lord of Imladris could follow that train of thought the elf before him stirred and his eyes flew open. Only his quick reflexes saved Elrond from being attacked by his guest for as soon as Carnil had opened his eyes his hand had shot out to defend himself from the supposed attacker.
"Forgive me, Lord Elrond - I mistook you for someone else."
Was the only explanation he gave his host as he had recognised him.
Before Elrond was able to inquire about the cause of his fainting he continued in a urgent tone.
"Your wife is in grave danger, she can not leave your valley or she will fade! She must stay here, no matter what happens, she can not leave!"
Elrond had paled at the first words he heard, he would do everything for his wife and children but the one thing he could NOT do was what his guest demanded: to keep his wife from visiting her parents in Lothlorien!
His voice trembling he demanded of the other to tell him his vision to which the other hesitantly complied.
"Your wife and her guards were on their way back to Imladris when they were accosted by a band of Orcs; they were outnumbered more then six to one and while the guards were slaughtered your wife was taken and tortured.
I don't know if she will survive for there are more then one possibilities: if you were to search for her you would both be killed after she would be tortured in front of you.
If no one were to go after her, her mutilated body would be brought back to you; but if someone else than you would search for her you would see her again but she would still fade.
She CAN'T leave Imladris, no matter who will go after her she will be lost, only when she stays here will she be safe.!"
The panic in the elf's voice puzzled Elrond but he was to shocked to pay it more mind. He could not forbid his love to leave the Last Homely House but if she left her life would be forfeit. He had begun to pace without even noticing that he had stood up, hoping to find a way to save his wife but knowing that there would be none. For only the outcome of her abduction had been uncertain, not the abduction in itself, there was no way to prevent it, even if he were to lock her up in her room.
"Was that your first vision? Do you have any doubt that your visions will come true?"
His only hope was that the other had visions that were unreliable or came only partly to pass but seeing the other shake his head destroyed even this last hope.
"No, so far all the visions I have had have been fulfilled, especially those I feared. Only the outcome of this vision is uncertain: if she leaves Imladris she will die as will those who are with her. I don't know when it will be fulfilled but mostly my visions have been fulfilled within a century if not earlier."
With a defeated sight Elrond sat down on the chair next to the bed in which he had sat earlier. He could not bring it over himself to keep his wife confined to the valley but even less was he able to bear the thought of losing her. Almost absently he murmured to the elf who was still laying before him:
"I will speak with Celebrian about it - it is not for me to decided to keep her here as much as I want to keep her locked safely inside one room."
Pulling himself visible together he continued, changing the subject to something that had caught his curiosity but lay already in the past:
"When we met for the first time nearly three thousand years ago and you saved my life I noticed scars on the back of your neck - and now after all these years they are still as visible as they have been then...may I inquire who gave them to you, Carnil?"
Fascinated Elrond watched the emotions playing behind the green eyes of the other elf while his face stayed completely emotionless. Never before had he seen someone who was so in control of his emotions even for an elf, who were normally able to conceal their emotions far better then the other races of Middle Earth. As he watched the exhausted elf on the bed he marvelled where he had seen those eyes, that hair before and in his shock as he recognised the face before him one word escaped him:
"Silruinel!"
