Disclaimer: I do not own a single thing in Arda
For years Glorfindel had walked amongst the peoples of Middle Earth. He had seen many deaths and passings, changes and tides, ends and beginnings. However, he had never been so terrified, so frightened, to see blood flowing from an arrow wound Varilerin bore. Her pale face shattered his happiness over the book he was holding, as if a beast had gnawed on his life. Hastily, he dropped his book to the floor and ran to meet the Rivendell rangers and the arriving Greenwood Elves. He pushed his way through the gathering Elves, who was curious and horrified by the state of the arriving company. Their fair complexions were covered in black blood, Orcs' Glorfindel knew, and their clothes were dirtied with dust and soil.
"What has happened?" Glorfindel asked Ruindoldir as he helped the Elf to unmount Varilerin carefully from a white horse. Glorfindel looked at the face of his daughter, unmarred but weak and motionless. Ruindoldir didn't answer Glorfindel and brushed past the ellon in an incredible haste, his face full serious and anxious. Ruindoldir skipped towards the healing chambers, his figure dishevelled but still full of strength to run a thousand miles.
Elrond arrived with Arwen on the scene, their familiar eyes confused of the situation. Elrond saw Ruindoldir carrying Varilerin to the healing chambers, and without sparing a glance to his battered guests, followed Ruindoldir. Arwen scampered behind Elrond, ignoring her dress over the worry of her dear friend.
Knowing that Elrond wouldn't be interrogating his sons for a while, Glorfindel took the liberty to question what had happened.
"Ellain, please lead the guests to the rooms," Elladan told Ellain. Ellain nodded reluctantly and turned to the Greenwood Elves, clearly impatient to change their clothes after such an event.
"Please follow me," she directed them. All of them followed her, except Legolas who seemed to be insistent in telling the details of the event.
"You should be going as well, my friend," Elrohir told him. Legolas gave him a scowl and brushed his thumb to clean off a speckle of blood on his face.
"No, I should probably the one explaining, and questioning in fact, because I am the closest to the enemies when the attack began," Legolas said surely as he folded his hands. Elrohir sighed and shifted his attention to Glorfindel, who was folding his hands in a same manner.
"Shall we start from the beginning then?" Elladan started. "We met the Greenwood Elves on road after our errand and so we decided to travel with them-"
"That's really the beginning isn't it?" Glorfindel interrupted with a sigh, disbelieving Elladan and Elrohir's occasional illogical explanations. "No, start from the even today."
"We arrived in Imladris this morning," Legolas explained before Elladan could speak. "We were greeted by the two rangers, as well as several others. We were then escorted on the Elven road with the rangers, though my eyes caught movement from the trees-"
"Which was Varilerin, for your knowledge. Definitely Varilerin," Elrohir intervened. "Anyway, our journey remains undisturbed, until after a long while Varilerin emerged from the trees like a wild boar. An arrow had been impaled on her thigh and she was bleeding, limping in pain."
"At first I thought her as an enemy, and I pointed my arrow towards her head," Legolas continued, his tone slightly regretful. "But she warned me, warned me of the enemies' coming. Not a second later, we were greeted with several packs of Orcs emerging from the forest. The rangers as well as my people clashed in a battle with them, something I couldn't remember clearly, but I remember she fainted as soon as the battle started."
"We managed to defeat them without losing our lives of course," Elladan added hesitantly. "Though not unharmed…"
There was a long silence among them, with Glorfindel assessing their stories and the other three gulping anxiously, reimagining the scene unfolding during their previous battle. They had managed to kill all the Orcs yes, but they had suffered as well. None had a mortal injury, but their souls were still stunned by the arrival of the creatures.
"How can several packs of Orcs pass through the borders of Imladris?" Glorfindel wondered. "Imladris is always well protected, guarded, safe-"
Glorfindel paused when he realized something vital in the incident. For decades after Sauron's fall had the valley been in peace, not disturbed by any evil creatures bred by the Dark Lord.
Until Varilerin arrived in Rivendell as a recently orphaned infant.
"Varilerin might know the answer," Glorfindel said after a while, though in his voice lay hesitance. "Answers to the many questions I have for her right now, though I don't know for sure whether she can answer them."
"Father will cure her surely," Elrohir assured Glorfindel, who seemed to lose his faith once he said Varilerin's name.
"Orc's poisons are heavy and often deadly, but Lord Elrond's healing is better than the evil they carry," Legolas remarked. Glorfindel didn't seem to light up even after hearing their words of reassurance, but he smiled weakly.
"In time, we shall know," Glorfindel muttered, staring down to the cold earth. Even with the gift of vision he wouldn't be able to know the future, not now.
Varilerin was surprised that her arrow wound did not hurt as much as she expected. When she opened her eyes she was no longer staring into the blue sky, but the wooden ceilings of Rivendell she rarely saw throughout her life.
I am alive, she thought, thinking that she must had died back in the forest. Slowly she rose from the bed and glanced around. There was no one in the room who greeted her, only a tray of food lying on the desk next to her. She didn't spare a second to look at her food and left the bed, grimacing slightly from the pain of her wound. Are they alive? She thought worriedly.
"Varilerin, are you awake?" a familiar voice came as the door was slowly pushed opened. From it came Glorfindel, his face surprised to see her standing strong on the floor. "Thank the Valar you're fine," Glorfindel said as he embraced Varilerin lightly. Varilerin couldn't react to Glorfindel's gesture, only smiling secretly as he did so.
Glorfindel finally pulled away from Varilerin. "Are the others safe?" Varilerin asked before Glorfindel could speak. Glorfindel nodded hesitantly.
"Yes, they are. Many of them are wounded, but without your efforts of warning us we might suffer worse."
"I should have followed your advice, Master. I should not have ventured in the woods alone," Varilerin said regretfully. She was ashamed of her own actions, because she had always followed his instructions until that day.
"Do not mind those things, Varilerin, it is only in the past. Now, you should tell me what has happened, because I might be cornered by Lord Elrond and the guests if I have no plausible explanation," Glorfindel suggested, urging Varilerin to sit back on the bed. Varilerin stayed silent, remembering the horrifying vision she had seen in the forest, and how terrible it was when it became a reality. She found her mouth transfixed, as if her frequent silence had become permanent for her.
"I was watching the Greenwood Elves from the branches," she started hesitantly. "And the next thing that happened…. I cannot believe it, nor will you," she said, turning to look at Glorfindel.
"Do not worry, I have all ears," Glorfindel assured her. Varilerin nodded and drew a long breath.
"I heard voices, Master. Evil voices coming from nowhere. They said, 'Kill them!'," she explained in a whisper. "At first I thought it was only my imagination, or illusion, but the voice came again, this time louder. My mind was shaken and my heart beat faster. And as if my body knew where the voice came from, I turned to face the darker parts of the forest…"
Varilerin paused and held her breath in agitation, her eyes wide with horror as if she was seeing the Dark Lord himself. Glorfindel brushed her back gently to calm her, though he knew that he could do little to his own daughter.
"Then I saw something beyond my imagination. I saw an elf ranger dying. A dark sword impaled his chest. It all seemed real, but suddenly the sight disappeared. Curious, or frightful I think, I followed the darker paths of the forest. Then I encountered several pack of Orcs slaughtering the rangers. I ran to warn Ellain and Ruindoldir-" Varilerin stopped and heaved. Unconsciously she had been breathing faster each time a word was uttered from her mouth.
"I didn't realize that I was actually bringing them to you, endangering you," Varilerin muttered in disbelief. "Forgive me, Master. My reckless actions have endangered our kin-"
"Varilerin, it is not your fault," Glorfindel intervened before Varilerin could continue and possibly lost her mind. "You have done what you could, and you've saved us from greater dangers. What matters are the good you have done!"
Varilerin didn't move and stared blankly to the wooden floor. Glorfindel had never seen Varilerin so frightened as this and he frowned. Deep inside he regretted his action to interrogate a traumatized youngling and now he couldn't withdrew his words.
However, to his surprise, Varilerin finally relaxed and looked at him. "I understand, Master, but it is still such a shame that I cannot fight them myself. Maybe the aftermath would be much better if I have been stronger…."
"In time, you will, Child," Glorfindel said gently. Her eyes were still sad, but a flicker of determination burnt deep inside them. Glorfindel smiled, knowing that Varilerin had returned to her usual state. "But for now, you should rest. I should be reporting to Lord Elrond as well."
Varilerin nodded slowly. Glorfindel patted her back and then left her alone in the room, ready with answers to questions he would be receiving from their guests.
The night was falling, but not the anxious hearts of the Elves in Rivendell. The event that had occurred in the morning was still bewildering them, and frightening them. None of the guests, particularly the Greenwood Elves, were enjoying their meals in the dining hall. Celeborn and the Lothlorien Elves, who had just arrived in the evening, didn't stop throwing the peredhil questions regarding the matter. Thranduil continued to frown as well. They remained quiet in their tension however, waiting for Glorfindel to attend the dinner with presumably, answers.
The said Elf arrived in the hall not a minute later, his usual cheerful face frowning in worry. Elrond rose from his seat once he saw his friend. Celeborn and Thranduil also followed.
"Thranduil, Celeborn. It's nice to meet you once more, my friends," Glorfindel firstly greeted.
"Indeed it is, though the situation says another," Celeborn responded seriously. "Now, tell me, how in the Valar did several packs of Orcs penetrate the barriers of Imladris?"
Silence conquered them for a brief moment, giving Glorfindel time to answer properly. He told them all he had learnt from his child, slowly and hesitantly. The others listened attentively, their reactions the same and terrible.
"Vision you said?" Elrond wondered after Glorfindel had finished telling her story. "I've never heard such gift being wielded by other than my family."
"I think it's brief, though it was enough for her to be convinced that danger was coming. It wonders me as well why she has just received it today," Glorfindel added. "It is possible that this vision only comes when danger is at bay…."
"That is a plausible answer," Elrond said.
"Varilerin…. Is this the child that is unknown even to Lady Galadriel?" Celeborn asked. Elrond nodded. "The child that arrived with the presence of Orcs are the one that has warned us of their presence."
"This child… Her mother is a peredhil, yes?" Thranduil suddenly asked, surprising the others. "I have heard the shadows covering this child's past and I've heard as well that her mother is a half-elven of Noldor ancestry. Regarding her father I cannot tell, but regarding her mother's identity…."
"You're saying that you know who her mother was?" Glorfindel asked.
"Yes, though it is very unlikely… One of my servants knew a peredhil that fits her description, and she is here with us." Thranduil stopped and looked to the sitting Elves. One of them instantly stood up, a blonde elleth wearing a green dress. "Ara."
"Yes, My Lord," she said as she approached them. "My name is Ara. Years ago a female peredhil came to my house. She was carrying a baby and was about to give birth, as such I pitied her and gave her a place to stay. I learnt that her name was Caladin and that her husband had disappeared, though she didn't say anything more than that. I didn't tell anyone because she requested me to," Ara explained. "She also showed me her necklace. It was beautiful, a single jewel clasped in vines and wings. I have never seen such craftsmanship from our kin before. If the description you have given about the necklace the child wields are true, then she is without doubt the daughter of Caladin."
"And you haven't receive any news of her once she had left?" Elrond asked. Ara nodded and pursed her lips.
"She was a good woman, yet strong. She must have sacrificed so much to protect her daughter from evil," Ara said again, holding back sadness from her heart. They stood quiet for a long moment, trying to swallow the new information she had just given.
"Why would Orcs chase such random child in her infant years?" Thranduil wondered after a while. "And they came from far lands, didn't they?"
"Unless that she's actually important to them," Celeborn said, drawing a long breath. "They have grown bolder despite Sauron now losing his power. The wind bears news that evil stirring in the lands of Men, slowly but steadily."
"Sauron has fallen, Celeborn," Thranduil responded. "His servants haven't made a move, not in these two centuries."
"But the Ring still exists," Elrond added. "They will keep moving until the Ring is found. It is forgotten, but not lost."
"But for the servants to move this far!" Glorfindel said. "They've grown too bold, Elrond. It is a matter we cannot ignore."
'Yes, and we will not ignore it," Elrond said. "Come now, we should not stand here and keep this matter to ourselves. I am afraid that again this matter must be discussed in our gathering, just like many before."
Elrond turned to face his guests, who had been staring curiously at them for a long time. "Farewell, shall we start then?"
A/N: Hello there ^_^ here is another chapter. It is a filler, I need to warn you, but things will get real for the next chapters. Please forgive me if the quality of this chapter is rather nasty (because I am no elf) since I have so many matters regarding school. The next update might be late because of Mid Term Exams, but I'll post immediately after it has ended. (Fellow students, you are not alone.)
Please rate and review, gently :3