Are We Done Yet?
Emily smiled, running her hands through her hair. She closed her eyes and turned her face up, feeling the summer sun beating down. It was a beautiful day, and the first in weeks that she had been allowed outside. Things were finally getting closer to normal, but every so often Mary-Sue would throw a fit about something or other and things would start to spin out of control. The girls had spent hours arguing and shouting, which only increased the chaos. Out of respect for the inhabitants for Middle-earth that only wanted sanity, Emily was now trying her best to hold back her anger.
The past three weeks had been spent in bed. After her foray out to dinner with Legolas, Emily had been put in lockdown mode. Luckily she had spent most of that time sleeping, or else she was sure she would have been getting hell from everyone; she'd ripped the stitches in her back. After a couple of days they had let her get up to pee in a bucket instead of a beadpan, which she figured was a little bit more dignified. But it didn't help that Meril had had to hold her hands while she squatted the first couple of times. A week after that she could walk through the hallways, only a few steps back and forth, but it was something. She would spend those minutes talking to whoever could spare a few minutes. Now they were letting her outside, and if she hadn't still been in such bad shape, Emily was sure she would be plotting her escape. But for now, she was just happy to be walking with Meril. They had spotted Haldir and Emily was making her way over to him with a big smile on her face.
"Don't hurt yourself," Meril said quietly.
"I'm fine, Meril. I missed the sun..."
"Well, just be careful. Every moment that we spend tending to you because you were careless could be a moment someone else is dying of an unattended infection or a terrible bleed..."
"I know," Emily said with a sigh. She had knows that she was being an irresponsible shit when Meril, the nicest, quietest girl she'd met here was scolding her.
"Come back in thirty minutes or I will send Gwyn after you," Meril said. Emily returned her small smile before the girl left.
"I see they let you out of the dungeon?" Haldir asked.
"Yes, I'm finally free, but I'm on strict orders not to hurt myself again. Three weeks in bed for some scratches on my back and arm!" Emily laughed.
"Emily I saw what you did to yourself, and they should have tied you down. Men have died of less. If you had gotten those infected..."
"Please, let's just talk about something happy? Please..." Emily frowned, staring at her feet. "I know I fucked up."
"Well, I am just happy to have you up and alive. You need to have a talk with that cousin of yours."
"What god-forsaken awfulness is she up to now?" Emily asked, rolling her eyes. "I'm not supposed to do anything stressful, you know."
"Oh, nothing more than her usual antics," he replied. "She spends her days chasing Legolas and her nights crying for him to come to her. I'm surprised you have gotten so much sleep with the spectacle she makes."
"Of for fuck's sake," Emily scoffed. "I don't know how to deal with her shit. I've tried. She won't listen to reason."
"This one could sleep through the end of the world."
"Probably," Emily said. She turned to smile at Erestor.
"But in all honesty," Erestor said. "Find a way to control her. She spends her days and nights pining after him. It is only a matter of time before one of the men becomes too bold and assumes..."
"It is lucky she follows Legolas around so closely, she is never alone! Either that or she is with the other one..."
"Don't even bring her up," Emily said. "I can't wait to get the hell out of here. Not that, I mean... what I mean..." She looked up a second too late, and neither of them was looking at her. "Sorry," she mumbled.
Haldir excused himself shortly afterwards. Emily hardly noticed, she was too busy staring out at the sky. They were so high up. She had hardly spent any time staring out the small window she had, but now that she was outside, walking through the fresh air, she could stare down at the rings of the city. People were always moving, cleaning and repairing what damage they could. Her eyes dropped further down to the black, burning piles on the fields that stretched out below. Erestor followed her gaze.
"They will burn until nothing is left, or animals carry them off for dinner," Erestor said. "Though I wonder if even they would touch orc-meat."
"I don't even notice the smell anymore..." Emily said quietly. "I think I should go back inside, the sun is starting to go down, I'm sure I've passed my time limit." Erestor nodded and they walked in silently.
"You know," she said once they were inside. "I didn't mean to be rude. This place is perfect for you all who know what's going on, but I'm a fish out of water here. If Mary-Sue ever stops going crazy and I get to go home, I'll miss you all terribly. It's just, I know I had her help staying alive as long as I did, and now I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."
"Quiet," Erestor said. "We know what you meant. Our people do not belong here either. It is only a matter of time before we cross the sea. Now, go dream about your home and in the morning you can come eat with us all and tell us about it. Glorfindel has been asking of you. He has been very busy, but concerned."
"Thanks," Emily whispered before retreating to her room. She closed the door softly and tiptoed over to her bed. She was just about to slip under the covers when she heard Gwyn's voice.
"I will eat my words the day you learn to follow direction." Gwyn shook her head and walked over. She stood over Emily, staring down at her, a strange look on her face. "At least you have the sense to go to bed, you may learn yet. Your stubborn head will get you nowhere here. The war is over; there is no need for a woman who would ride into battle with men and elves. I have arranged for some ladies to come and visit you tomorrow. Should the king decide to honor you by marrying you to some small lord, they can teach you how to behave. If not, I can always use a spare set of hands. Meril will come and help you get ready in the morning."
"What are you talking about?" Emily asked. She was sitting up in bed, refusing to lay down until this discussion was over. "I'm not marrying anyone, I'm going home."
"I never said you were, I said if. You are pretty enough, plain enough not to be ugly, I guess. But you are a strong-headed woman alone, with too many male friends. Perhaps the king will reward you for your deeds, which would surely bring suitors calling. Most other women here have nothing after their husbands or fathers died at war. You wouldn't even need that. If he so much as praises your deeds publicly, all those men too cowardly to go to war would be after you. Perhaps if they married you, he would forgive them that, hm?"
"You are completely missing the point here," Emily said. "I want to go home!"
"Do not raise your voice with me, child!" Gwyn shouted. "I kept you from death's doors and now I am setting you up for a life of success. You should be thanking me. Most low-born girls would die for this opportunity. Now, go to sleep before I change my mind." She spun on her heel and stormed out of the room, leaving Emily to stare and wonder what had caused the sudden nasty change in her attitude. Once the door was closed, she let out a long breath.
"I'm not most girls," she whispered. She closed her eyes and filled her head with images of home. She remembered her parents taking her to Disneyworld when she was eight. She'd met Goofy and Minnie Mouse. She remembered starting college, nervous as hell, finally meeting friends, and all the nights they'd spent out dancing or at a diner, drinking coffee and talking. She remembered the first time her dad had taken her out to drive. It had been snowing out and she had crept down to the end of their street, where she sat for five minutes, too worried to drive in the snow. But she'd done it eventually.
But, when she finally fell asleep it wasn't home that she dreamed of.
It was still in the small hours of the morning when her shouts rang throughout the quiet room. Surprisingly, it was Sparkle who was the first to come wondering what had happened.
"Emily!" Sparkle gasped at her cousin, who was on the floor by her bed, clutching her shoulder. Tears were running down her face. She'd stopped shouting, but didn't look like she was getting up anytime soon.
"Fuck!" Emily said to herself. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
"Get her help," Sparkle shouted over her shoulder. Emily peered up. It was Legolas. She decided she didn't want to know what those two could have been doing together at this hour. But he silently did as she asked. He didn't have to go far, though. The one good thing about having a room near the elves was none of them slept very soundly. Help was only a shout away.
"Emily, look at me!" She wrenched her eyes open and saw Haldir and Sparkle both in front of her. Panic shot through her and she scrambled to push herself across the floor and away from them with her feet. Tears were still falling down her cheeks, and she was as confused as she was afraid.
"Don't, don't, don't," she repeated, moving away from them. "Please, don't..."
"Emily, were you dreaming?" Haldir asked. "What happened?" He reached out to touch the arm she was cradling, but she only started sobbing harder. And that set Sparkle off bawling as well.
"What happened?" Erestor was at the door.
"Dreams," Haldir said. "I fear her fever is back. She will not let me touch her. I think she fell, and her shoulder has been knocked out of place before..."
"Emily," Erestor said, walking over to her slowly. "Shh... I need you to stand up."
"Don't let them hurt me... I'm sorry..."
"It is okay, no need to be sorry. I want to fix your shoulder." He turned to the others. "The cousin can stay, the rest of you go."
Sparkle stood at the back of the room a second after Haldir and Legolas left before slipping out. Is Emily had been in the right frame of mind, she would have demanded to know what the girl was up to, but she could barely think straight at the moment.
She was starting to calm down, taking in ragged breaths of air. He took a hold of her good arm and helped her to her feet.
"Tell me about your dream," he said as he gently felt her shoulder. "How did you do this to yourself?" It was definitely popped out, which is a relatively easy fix. He just hoped that she would take it easy and not hurt herself further.
"I was so confused; everything was so loud and so messy. I saw myself. I was fighting. It was like going back in time and watching myself. All I could hear was screaming and crying. People were dying, there were so many... I saw Haldir, and he turned and looked at me. He ran right up to me and stabbed me in the gut. I... I looked down and I was bleeding. Disgusting, black blood was falling from me. I woke up, fell and tried to catch myself, but I hurt my arm again... I want to forget it..."
"You are awake now," he said. "And you are strong. You cannot let this haunt you. The dreams will stop one day. If you ever need to talk, come to any one of us. Ready?" She had her arm hanging by her side, and he was holding her forearm so that it was bent and facing him.
"Yes," she said quietly. She slammed her eyes shut when he started moving her arm back and forth. She would have yelled if not for the sweet relief that she felt after a couple of movements back and forth. With a loud click, her shoulder fell back into place and her pain began to fade. He placed a hand on the shoulder and helped her roll it backwards and forwards a couple of times.
"Well that certainly puts a damper on plans, doesn't it?" Emily asked with a sour smile on her face.
"And what plans were those?"
"Anything that would take me away from here," she replied. "Gwyn says that my options are either get some money from the king and buy and husband or work for her... She's pretty convinced I think that I'll get something. She set up a playdate for me tomorrow with some proper ladies, she says."
"Who would she have you marry?" Erestor asked.
"I don't know. The way she puts it, there's so many girls left with nothing at all, that if Aragorn so much as smiled at me, much less gave me anything, they'd be lining up. I don't want to get married here, to someone I don't know."
"It is the way of men," Erestor replied. "Though I do not hold your weariness against you. I have always found it an odd way. They marry for politics and schemes, nothing worth living for. But I do not doubt that you will be well taken care of."
"I don't want to be taken care of. I want to take care of myself! That's why I have to get away from here!"
"Shh, no one will let you be married to some horrible man. Now stop shouting or Gwyn will be here in an instant. It can only be a miracle that she has not shown up yet. Sit here, I will go find something to use as a sling for your arm." He smiled and left at a quick pace.
Emily sat down on the edge of her bed. She brought her good arm up to touch her shoulder. It already felt so much better. It was hard to believe something that hurt that badly could be fixed so easily. She tried to keep her mind off of this marriage business, but it was hard. She pushed the thoughts down and out of her mind. Only Gwyn had brought it up, for all she knew the old woman was crazy, or upset at the nuisance Emily had been and wanted to scare some sense into her. She looked up as the door swung open, but it wasn't Erestor that stood there.
"Get dressed and come with me," Elrohir whispered before gently closing the door again. Emily got up and, as quickly as she could, took off her nightclothes and pulled on clean underclothes. What was he doing here? Emily asked herself. Did Erestor tell him about the wedding scheme? Are they going to sneak me out of here? She doubted it, but just in case, she dressed in men's clothing. Breeches were much better for running away in than a skirt. To her relief, though her shoulder still ached dully, her back felt nearly good as new. She'd snuck a peek in the mirror, and though the skin was fresh and pink in some areas, the cuts were all closed up. She nodded at herself in approval and opened the door.
"Lovely ensemble," Elrohir said with a grin. He nodded at her arm and lifted up a large piece of cloth, which he tied into a crude sling. "It should be fine so long as you don't go trying to use it."
"Where are we going?" Emily asked.
"There is a wedding coming soon, the entire city is celebrating. Come sit and talk with us."
"Thank you," Emily said. With a smile, she followed him out into the hallway.
I know right? You're all freaking out that I actually updated this story. I promise it is not abandoned. I just need to figure out how to finish it. Oops. I guess I should have figured that out a while ago. I promise I'm back into it now. I had a big move shortly after posting the last chapter and life has been so hectic since. But now I'm going to buckle down and get into it! I promise!