The sound of the horn blaring through the air brought Elrond from his thoughts. The horn continued to be blew, sounding louder and much longer than the normal signal of arrival. Leaning over the ledge of the balcony he could see that Glorfindle had returned, riding like he was being chased by a warg and his arm wrapped securely around something. His elven eyes never failed him, from the height he was he could see the long red hair that was blowing over the warriors shoulder. Elrond pushed from the ledge and quickly made haste down the steps and around corners trying to reach the company as quickly as he could, shedding his thick outer robe as he went.
Glorfindle was beginning to become anxious. Elena had been falling in and out of consciousness since arriving in Rivendell, the dark pool was spreading between her legs and she was growing paler by the second. No, he told himself, he will not let these two die. Kicking his horse to charge faster he made his way into the courtyard that sat just beyond Elronds home, coming to a stop before a large staircase with an elf running down them.
"What has happened, Glorfindle?" The elf he immediately recognized as Lindir spoke quickly as he watched the golden elf climb down from his horse with a limp but semi-conscious woman in his arms. Lindir gently grasped the lady's cheeks, his breath catching at how chilled and clammy they felt. Her eyes opened from a brief second before closing tightly in pain, her body tensing and a small cry to pass her lips.
"She was being attacked by Dunlendings and is heavy with child. The bleeding began on the ride here and I'm afraid that she is dying." Glorfindle spoke quickly with a hint of sadness in his tone. Yes, he was warrior and had fought in many wars, killed numerously but he couldn't sit back and watch as someone innocent is harmed. It was in his nature to protect, not stand aside and say that he could have done something.
Lindir nodded at what his friend said and grasped her cheeks again. "My lady, please open your eyes." He called sternly yet softly and watched as the young woman fought hard through the pain and opened her eyes. Dark green eyes bore into his browns and he could see the fear, pain and tears in them. She was scared to death and yes, she was on the verge of dying.
Before he could say anything else, she closed her eyes and fell back into Glorfindle; her breathing becoming erratic and body shuddering. "My friend, we need Elrond." Glorfindle was becoming impatient and with every second going by she was losing hers.
Elrond appeared at the steps and quickly ran down them and reached Glorfindle with a sharp breath. Even from the steps he could see her condition and now that he was close enough to the blood in-between her legs, he had to act quickly to save her.
"Bring her to the healing chambers while I gather my supplies." His command held no room for talk as the elves did as they were told and hurried up the stairs and practically running across the palace to their destination. Elrond paced to his study and gathered as much of everything he needed. He knew that this woman was going to give birth, there was no stopping it. Whatever trauma she had endured had quickened the delivery and stressed the baby to its limit; he just prayed that he could save both. Quickly grabbing all the medicinals he would need, he called out the door and soon a young elleth stood before him.
"I need the best midwife in this palace and I need them now. Please, find Grondwen and send her to the healing chambers immediately." The elleth bowed and ran the opposite direction as Elrond made his way to the healing chambers where screams and cries met his ears. Valar be with me, please spare these two souls. He prayed his request was heard as he opened the door to see that two elleths were stripping the woman and placing a soft cotton gown onto her. She was wide awake now, screaming and holding one of the elleths hands like a vice as her soiled clothes were thrown to the other side of the room. Already Elrond could see the blood seeping through gown and he knew that had to work quickly.
Shooing away the elleth that held her hand and placing a soft hand to her sweaty forehead, his ring sparkled dimly and her cries began to lessen. The more pain he could block the better. "Tell me your name." He spoke softly trying to divert her attention but soon a deep cramp flowed through her like a wave, a cry hissing past her lips and toes curling.
"Eā¦Elena." Her green eyes opened to show him her fear that poured over him like a waterfall. His heart constricted and his breath caught as this little human woman beckoned him for help and peace. Elena reached over and gripped his hand tightly, her shaking fingers gripping his like they were her only hope. "Please help us; I can't take this pain much longer." A sob fell past her lips that turned into a crumpled cry as another jolt of pain made her raise her torso from the pillows.
Elena could feel it when every pain hit her. She was having contractions that were perfectly timed with each other; tears fell down her cheeks as she pulled her hands to hide her sweaty face. It was too soon, she wasn't supposed to be here yet, it was just too soon. Trying to focus on the pain and control her breathing she never noticed another person entering the room.
A tall elleth with long wavy chocolate hair in a light green gown sauntered into the room with an ease of grace, her blue eyes taking in the sight of the bloody human on the bed. A breath hitched in her throat. This little human woman was covered in blood and was paler than a ghost. Looking toward Elrond, she nodded and pulled her sleeves up and began to work.
After asking her name and smoothing the sobbing woman's hair back, she began to explain what was happening. "My dear, you are going to be a mother in the next few moments. I need you to relax for me and ride out those contractions the best you can and when I say push, you push hard and stop when I tell you." Pulling a thick but soft blanket over the trembling woman, she moved her legs to where they needed to be and thanks to the blanket, Elena couldn't see the blood that was continuously accumulating around her bottom half.
Grondwen wiped away the blood so she could see what she was working with and bit her lip at the sight. She was bleeding heavily. She's helped human mothers give birth in the past but only few of them had bled this much and she noticed that it was dark and clotted. She sent a gaze toward Elrond and nodded at him for them to begin.
Elrond sat on the bed and held Elena's hand, eyes locked on hers as she breathed deep and fast. His ring began to sparkle once more and inwardly sighed as her body relaxed to a degree where she could comprehend what Grondwen was instructing her to do. Elena gripped the man's hand tightly as another contraction flowed through her middle, though it was less strong than the others it still made her hiss.
"Elena push now." With a deep intake of breath Elena held it as she leaned forward, pushing hard and listened to the woman's melodic voice count. Elrond kept his grip on Elena's hand tight and firm, squeezing it every few seconds to help her though the push and letting the healing power of his ring flow into her. He knew that if she gave birth without the help of ring, the shock alone would kill her before the babe was even born.
"Okay Elena, three more pushes." Grondwen spoke gently as she cleaned away the blood from the woman; finally seeing that a little bit of the baby's head could be seen. She was doing fine at the moment and said a silent thank you that the baby was not feet first. Many years ago when she was asked to help a woman give birth, the babe came out with his feet first and from the trauma of the birthing, the mother bled way too excessively and passed before she could hold her child.
Elena pushed a third time and fell back onto the pillow already exhausted, sweat was pouring down her face and she could feel the hair sticking to her face like cement. It was uncomfortable but she couldn't bring her arms to wipe her face, she was too tired and wanted nothing more but too sleep; then a soft hand was on her cheeks and she could feel the hair being brushed away and then a cool cloth. She sighed at the sensation until her grip became a vice and a violent spasm rocked through her lower half.
Screams ripped through her throat like sandpaper and tried to lift herself from the bed to ease the pain but the man beside her prevented that. Firm hands gently grasped her shoulders and held her down toward the pillows, thumbs stroking the bit of exposed skin and spoke softly spoke to her.
"Elena you are doing well and are almost finished. You will see your child shortly but you must keep going." His voice was strong but soft and Elena sobbed at the words, she wanted her daughter right now in her arms, she wanted to forget this pain and look upon her creation.
"Why does it hurt so much?" She cried and fixed her back onto the pillows, another pain crashed through her and the urge to push was stronger than before.
Grondwen wiped away the blood and saw that the baby's forehead was out and she could see the eyes were beginning to come through. She rubbed Elena's leg soothingly and called up to her.
"You're almost there, dear. Just a few more pushes." Grabbing a clean rag and wiping her hands, she braced them at the baby's exposed head and gave the command for Elena to push. Sucking in a breath and holding it, she leaned forward and pushed as hard as she could. The building tension in her lower half was beginning to fade, making her push even harder before she ran out of breath and fell back onto the pillow.
Elrond squeezed her hand and wiped the hair that had fallen back away from her face, her green eyes locking onto him making him freeze. He could see that light was flowing back into them, her color was coming back and strength was oozing off of her in waves. He smiled knowing that Vilya was giving her the strength she needed to continue, making a shot of happiness flow through him.
Grondwen firmly grasped the little baby's head, gently rolling it to the side and wiped away the blood that rested on her face. The instant at seeing the features of the babe she could tell that it was girl; soft curls of dark red sat atop her head and eyelashes that brushed her cheeks were to be envied. She had yet to cry and that sparked a bit of worry in the elleth. This human did not go through what she has to lose this bit of light.
Wiping the little nostrils clear from the liquid she gave another command and Elena leaned forward and pushed as hard as she could, Grondwen gently guiding the little one through before finally sliding free into the elleth's waiting hands. Elena crashed into the pillows for the final time, air rushing through her mouth like she had been underwater for an hour, eyes sliding shut from sheer exhaustion.
Elrond released Elena's hand and glided toward Gronwen and stared at the silent babe in her arms. Quickly the cord was severed and the little body was wrapped in a soft blanket, gently being passed over to the Lord before she could start working patching Elena back up.
Elrond stared at the babe that he cradled; she was possibly the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her hair was a mass of light curls that sat atop her little head, a darker red than her mothers. Softly he brushed his finger through it, reveling in the soft feeling of the tendrils. Her eyelashes added to her beauty, dark feathers shadowed her cheeks and now he was dying to see her eye color.
Opening the blanket and placing his palm flat to the baby's chest he paled; there was no heartbeat. Elrond held his breath as he gently but firmly rubbed the babe's chest, kneading the area hoping to spark a breath to escape her but yet, nothing passed through her lips. Cold fear settled into his chest as he continued to rub life into her tiny body. No, this could not happen; he would not let it happen. Stilling his hand and keeping it flat to her chest, he willed his ring to unleash more power from within it, more than he had given to Elena during the birth. The blue gem began to glow brightly, words slipping through Elrond's lips as he again firmly rubbed the area above the baby's heart. He poured his life into the prayer, filled it with life that he hoped would flow into the tiny being.
After a few minutes of this ritual, Elrond was shocked to see that her ashen color soon began to turn pink and her lips began to tremble ever so slightly. Elena opened her eyes and looked to that her baby had not been placed in her arms yet and from searching her mind for a split second, she couldn't remember hearing her cry at all.
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked around the room then at her hand, seeing that the man who was holding it was gone. Fear settled in her heart and franticly looked around the room before falling on a tall form that stood at the edge of her bed. His long brown hair flowed down his back, clashing nicely with the gold outfit he adorned but she noticed that he was holding something. He turned toward her and locked his eyes with hers, showing just a small bit of the babe that he held so gently.
Tears fell down her cheeks but because of the experience that had occurred; she could no longer hold her eyes opened. Slowly her vison began to fade, the colors of the people and the room melting into each other but before she could completely lose consciousness, a sharp wail broke through the silence.
