A/N: Thanks to all who sent in reviews! Here's the next chap. Legolas has entered the story (finally!) and, well...you'll see for yourself. I'm open to ideas and suggestions, so if you have any send them in with the reviews. Thanks!
Chapter 3: And Loss
When Kathara awoke, she didn't know how much time had passed. She didn't even remember her own name, although she did not realize that until later. She regained consciousness with her eyes closed, and kept them that way and listened. She could hear birds singing, wind blowing, and voices coming nearer.
"We found her running into a tree branch and knocking herself out," a voice said. The voice sounded male, young, and worried. It had almost a musical quality to it, which was also shared by the next voice she heard, also male.
"Why would she knock herself out?" the second voice said. "Is she mad, or was she under some sort of spell, or what? It certainly doesn't sound like rational behavior to me."
"No, just panicked," Voice #1 replied. "We found out why soon after - about twenty orcs were after the girl. I can't blame her for hitting that branch. She probably ran into it changing directions suddenly after hearing our horses."
"I still don't think it's normal. And did you see her hair? Even after we got the blood out of it, it had a reddish tinge. It's not right."
"It may well be normal, for her. There are a few recorded cases of hair that color. Auburn, I believe the humans call it."
"You mean like Palinye the Kind, who was tortured to death by orcs? If that's what's in store for her, maybe we should save her the horrors and kill her now."
"You are sounding like a human now, Tienthe! Besides, who would have the heart? She's so young!"
The voices were very close now. Kathara had not been awake enough before to really pay attention to (or understand) what they had been saying, but now she felt a bit restless, and opened her eyes in preperation to sitting up. She heard the first voice say "She's awake!" and then a worried face came into view. It was a young man, or elf, rather, who had longish blonde hair with braids leading behind his ears. Kathara began to sit up, but the elf gently pressed her back.
"You're not recovered enough yet. Relax." the elf said.
"Who are you?" Kathara asked, as she lay back down. "For that matter, where am I? And what happened?"
"I'm Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood, and you are in the woods of Lothlorien. If I and the rest of my patrol hadn't found you two days ago, you'd be dead by now, killed by the orcs that pursued you."
Kathara was shocked. "Two days?!!! I was unconcious for TWO DAYS?!?!?!" she cried.
"Calm down! You must rest!" the second voice identified himself as a darker haired elf, a little older than Legolas. "Now that you're awake, we can go to the city in the center of Lothlorien, and you can get proper care."
"But I'm perfectly all right!" Kathara protested. Other than a monster headache, she thought. Then Legolas asked a question that was to scare her out of her wits.
"May we know your name, maiden? Then we could send word to any relatives of yours that you are safe..." Legolas trailed off as he saw the terror on Kathara's face.
"I don't remember..." Kathara trailed off and searched her memory. Finally a single memory surfaced. She and another girl, both much younger, running through a forest, and the other girl calling to her "Come on, Kenturiel!". So that was her name.
"Kenturiel. My name's Kenturiel," she whispered.
Legolas had been worried when he had seen the panic his simple question had caused in the maiden. Could the knock on her head caused her to lose her memory? But it seemed not, for she had replied quickly after all. Kenturiel. It was a beautiful name.
"Do you have any relatives, and if so, where? We would like to reassure them. I don't know whether they were worried or not, but they undoubtedly deserve to know you're safe. We'll be heading to the Inner Forest in a couple hours, and we could send off a messenger when we got there."
Kenturiel seemed confused again. "I don't think so...No, I don't. I'm fairly sure of it."
Legolas was puzzled by her answer. How could she be unsure about such a thing as that? Had the blow caused her problems after all? He shot a look at Tienthe, his darker haired companion, and found the same confusion staring back at him. He took a deep breath. Whatever had happened to the girl, it would not be good for her ease of mind if he seemed unsure of himself. So he cleared the confusion from his face, and prepared himself for a day of the same confusion.
"Very well. We'll leave in a couple hours. You should rest until then." Legolas left to find the other three members of the patrol. They had to get to Galadriel. She, at least, would know what to do.
Kathara watched as Legolas turned and walked away. Did he really think it was that simple? That he could tell her to rest and she would be able to? She sighed. He was probably right, anyway. It WOULD be a good idea for her to conserve her strength. But it was so difficult! Why could she remember so little about herself? She could remember ordinary things, things that had nothing to do with experience. For instance, she knew the trees around her were mallorns, and that she and the other two were elves, and she would be able to recognize an orc if she saw one, but she couldn't remember the important things, like who her friends and family had been. She got the feeling she really didn't have a family at the moment, though.
"I'd better go get the horses ready. You will rest, won't you? Legolas would never forgive me if I left and you climbed a tree or tried to run around or something else like that." It was the elf with the dark brown hair talking. Kathara mentally shook herself back to reality.
"I'll try. What's your name? I'm sorry, but I don't think I caught it." The elf smiled. "I'm sorry. My fault; I never introduced myself. I'm Tienthe."
"Thank you, Tienthe. Yes, I will try to sleep. And I promise I won't try to climb any trees." Tienthe laughed and left. Kathara grimaced. It would be very difficult to get to sleep. Her mind seemed to be on hyperdrive. But despite her predictions, Kathara soon fell into a troubled sleep, filled, unfortunately, with nightmares of the black void in her memory.
A/N: Please review!
Chapter 3: And Loss
When Kathara awoke, she didn't know how much time had passed. She didn't even remember her own name, although she did not realize that until later. She regained consciousness with her eyes closed, and kept them that way and listened. She could hear birds singing, wind blowing, and voices coming nearer.
"We found her running into a tree branch and knocking herself out," a voice said. The voice sounded male, young, and worried. It had almost a musical quality to it, which was also shared by the next voice she heard, also male.
"Why would she knock herself out?" the second voice said. "Is she mad, or was she under some sort of spell, or what? It certainly doesn't sound like rational behavior to me."
"No, just panicked," Voice #1 replied. "We found out why soon after - about twenty orcs were after the girl. I can't blame her for hitting that branch. She probably ran into it changing directions suddenly after hearing our horses."
"I still don't think it's normal. And did you see her hair? Even after we got the blood out of it, it had a reddish tinge. It's not right."
"It may well be normal, for her. There are a few recorded cases of hair that color. Auburn, I believe the humans call it."
"You mean like Palinye the Kind, who was tortured to death by orcs? If that's what's in store for her, maybe we should save her the horrors and kill her now."
"You are sounding like a human now, Tienthe! Besides, who would have the heart? She's so young!"
The voices were very close now. Kathara had not been awake enough before to really pay attention to (or understand) what they had been saying, but now she felt a bit restless, and opened her eyes in preperation to sitting up. She heard the first voice say "She's awake!" and then a worried face came into view. It was a young man, or elf, rather, who had longish blonde hair with braids leading behind his ears. Kathara began to sit up, but the elf gently pressed her back.
"You're not recovered enough yet. Relax." the elf said.
"Who are you?" Kathara asked, as she lay back down. "For that matter, where am I? And what happened?"
"I'm Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood, and you are in the woods of Lothlorien. If I and the rest of my patrol hadn't found you two days ago, you'd be dead by now, killed by the orcs that pursued you."
Kathara was shocked. "Two days?!!! I was unconcious for TWO DAYS?!?!?!" she cried.
"Calm down! You must rest!" the second voice identified himself as a darker haired elf, a little older than Legolas. "Now that you're awake, we can go to the city in the center of Lothlorien, and you can get proper care."
"But I'm perfectly all right!" Kathara protested. Other than a monster headache, she thought. Then Legolas asked a question that was to scare her out of her wits.
"May we know your name, maiden? Then we could send word to any relatives of yours that you are safe..." Legolas trailed off as he saw the terror on Kathara's face.
"I don't remember..." Kathara trailed off and searched her memory. Finally a single memory surfaced. She and another girl, both much younger, running through a forest, and the other girl calling to her "Come on, Kenturiel!". So that was her name.
"Kenturiel. My name's Kenturiel," she whispered.
Legolas had been worried when he had seen the panic his simple question had caused in the maiden. Could the knock on her head caused her to lose her memory? But it seemed not, for she had replied quickly after all. Kenturiel. It was a beautiful name.
"Do you have any relatives, and if so, where? We would like to reassure them. I don't know whether they were worried or not, but they undoubtedly deserve to know you're safe. We'll be heading to the Inner Forest in a couple hours, and we could send off a messenger when we got there."
Kenturiel seemed confused again. "I don't think so...No, I don't. I'm fairly sure of it."
Legolas was puzzled by her answer. How could she be unsure about such a thing as that? Had the blow caused her problems after all? He shot a look at Tienthe, his darker haired companion, and found the same confusion staring back at him. He took a deep breath. Whatever had happened to the girl, it would not be good for her ease of mind if he seemed unsure of himself. So he cleared the confusion from his face, and prepared himself for a day of the same confusion.
"Very well. We'll leave in a couple hours. You should rest until then." Legolas left to find the other three members of the patrol. They had to get to Galadriel. She, at least, would know what to do.
Kathara watched as Legolas turned and walked away. Did he really think it was that simple? That he could tell her to rest and she would be able to? She sighed. He was probably right, anyway. It WOULD be a good idea for her to conserve her strength. But it was so difficult! Why could she remember so little about herself? She could remember ordinary things, things that had nothing to do with experience. For instance, she knew the trees around her were mallorns, and that she and the other two were elves, and she would be able to recognize an orc if she saw one, but she couldn't remember the important things, like who her friends and family had been. She got the feeling she really didn't have a family at the moment, though.
"I'd better go get the horses ready. You will rest, won't you? Legolas would never forgive me if I left and you climbed a tree or tried to run around or something else like that." It was the elf with the dark brown hair talking. Kathara mentally shook herself back to reality.
"I'll try. What's your name? I'm sorry, but I don't think I caught it." The elf smiled. "I'm sorry. My fault; I never introduced myself. I'm Tienthe."
"Thank you, Tienthe. Yes, I will try to sleep. And I promise I won't try to climb any trees." Tienthe laughed and left. Kathara grimaced. It would be very difficult to get to sleep. Her mind seemed to be on hyperdrive. But despite her predictions, Kathara soon fell into a troubled sleep, filled, unfortunately, with nightmares of the black void in her memory.
A/N: Please review!