~Memories II~

by Ola

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A/N~ Huh, haven't updated for a while, have I? *grins sheepishly* Sorry. Blame school and laziness. I WILL finish this story, sometime. I promise. It may just take a while. A long while. I'm trying to finish all my stories, and if you are a writer, you'll probably understand how stories that you have left lying around for a long time don't seem to want to finish themselves, eh? I think I just got out of the mood for them. one major writing block. So it may be a while before the next part is up. It was supposed to be a long story. I had it all planed out. Well, I still do, but I don't know if I'll write all of it or if I'll abridge it a little. We'll see. Anyway, thank you for the reviews =) it means it a lot to me. I hope some of you still enjoy this.

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Part 7~

Damn it. Damn it! Sindarin heaved and tried to calm down. Relax. Cracking the asshole's head will only bring trouble. It's not worth it…Oh but how he wished he could…one more kick? He hurt her! He dared drag her away like a servant! He…The young guardsman clenched his teeth painfully and walked away without a backward glance at his downed opponent.

As soon as he was clear of the ring of observers, he resolutely walked toward the edge of the market. Good thing I followed her home last fortnight…to that place she calls home anyway…knew it would come in handy…But when he entered into the dimly lit, narrow and dust smelling shop, he was greeted by…silence. No shopkeeper…and definitely no Lan.

"Hello? Excuse me?" Sindarin's voice echoed against the walls and came back to him warped, but still the only sound audible. She won't answer idiot…maybe she's hiding. The other two rooms downstairs were as devoid of life. But…he looked at the dark stairwell and wringed his hands…I can't go up there…it's…I'm not…damn it! After one last glance outside to make absolutely sure no one was watching him, he darted upstairs, his bootheels reverberating loudly against the muffled sounds of the street below…to find it as empty as downstairs. Shit. There wasn't much of anything there, and it worried him. Have I mistaken the place?...No, I'm sure this is the one…but then…none of her belonging are here…she has to have had more than the skirt she was wearing today and I don't think she's borrowing everything from someone else and…he knew he was babbling; he didn't want the babbling to end, because if it did, when it did, he would have to acknowledge that she left. Dear God…she ran away…his knees felt weak, and for a moment, he sat on the edge of the bed, smoothing the coarse blanket absentmindedly, and letting all his emotions wash through him without restrain. And it hurt. It hurt so damn much to have found her only to loose her again.

He found himself on the street, sitting on the ground beside the shop's door with no recollection of coming down. He brought his knees to his chest and hid his head into his hands, staring at the space of road in between his boots from behind his fingers. She left. She didn't even acknowledge my presence…she…she acted as if she didn't know me! Doesn't she love me anymore? But…she…I… I mean we…I thought…damn it! Damn it all!! He squeezed his eyes shut against the sting of tears. I will not cry for her! If she wants to leave, fine! If she doesn't speak to me, fine! If…if she doesn't love me…he sobbed without finishing the thought. ~I will follow you to the end of the world~ I promised. And I will. If only to watch over you from afar. To keep you safe. He clenched his hands and stood up.

"Excuse me, have you seen a young woman coming out of this shop?"

            "Excuse me, I'…"

"Sir? I'm looking for a young woman. Black hair, green eyes, dressed in a brown skirt…Thank you sir."

                                                            "Miss? No, she hasn't…she was this tall…"

            "Excuse me…"

"Did she have a tray of lace?" Sindarin turned on his heels, searching for the owner of the new voice and found…a young boy.

"Yes…"

"She told me t'say she went to Gilvar for a d'livery."

"Did she? Go there, I mean?" the boy shrugged. "Do you know her?"

"No. Seen her in market s'metimes."

"Since when?"

"A few weeks only. Has she done something bad?"

"No. This has nothing to do with the guard. She is…a friend of mine, and I haven't seen her for a long time. I need to talk to her."

"Ah." Another shrug.

"Thank you boy."

"Uh huh."

He was out of the city gates before he thought to ask the boy whether she had ridden a horse out. But she wouldn't have been able to keep one in the city easily, had she acquired one beforehand. She certainly didn't have one before she…disappeared. And she didn't seem to be too prosperous now. Thinking about that day, he wondered how exactly she had lived through the rockslide, and that in turn made him think about their relationship prior to the accident. And the child. What had happened to it? Had it lived through the ordeal as well, or died prematurely? A lump formed in his throat, but he forced it down. There would be time to think about it later. He had to find her first. Hopefully before it began to rain. But the air was still clear and the long stretch of straight road ahead was empty but for a lone mule driven wagon heading his way. And then it hit him like a stone. She hadn't left any possessions back in her room. She had asked a boy to tell whoever was following her exactly where she was going.

The old man on the heap of turnips hasn't seen a soul on this road for the past two candelmarks-at which time she had still been in the city- and neither did he now see any traveler or even the dust of anyone moving on the horizon. She ran away. In the opposite direction. Damn it. The old annoyance with his ex-partner briefly flashed through him before he remembered it wasn't so anymore, and the ever-present pain and sadness returned to squeeze his chest. It was just like her too. She hasn't lost her edge. She knows perfectly well what she's doing. Why then is she running away from good work and a room into the unknown? Why is she running away from…me?

But there was no time to loose; she had a good advance on him. Dared he stop on the way for a hunting dog if there was only one other road out of the city anyway? But what if she left it and walked cross country through the forest? What did you do through guard class, sleep? You're a tracker, damn it. Yes…and she's an even better one. With a grim tightening of his lips, he remembered the time she had lost him in that little piece of forest. Mandatory stop at the hunter's barracks then.

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