Chapter 20

She woke up in a tent, alone. Panic seized her for a moment and she froze. She closed her eyes, ordering herself to breath; everything was okay and the dream had passed. Voices, muffled by distance reached her ears, and she made out her group of friends.

A breeze ruffled though the flap, and gaining her attention Túrante noted the stack of clothes laid out for her, making her realized her tattered clothes were hardly covering her. A blush threatened to flash on her cheeks, if it were possible. The company had seen much more of her than she was happy to admit, however, there was nothing to do about that now. She gathered the clothes and quickly changed.

Stepping out from the tent, she walked quickly and silently to the creek that was flowing nearby. Explanations would have to come soon, but first she needed to be alone, to ease her mind and body. So much had occurred in the past few hours and had her emotions in turmoil. After her actions tonight, she knew that everyone gathered would have to be informed of hr connection with Legolas, there was no hiding it now and it weighed heavy on her mind. She did not want something so private being publically known.

In the distance she heard them talking again, louder this time. They had found her gone.

"She is not here; I was not gone more than a few moments." Legolas said to the others.

So that is why she slept peacefully, he had been in the tent or right by it.

"She is not far, child, I expect she needed to clear her head." Galadriel's voice was soothing.

"That would be correct." Túrante spoke, walking into the small clearing. With the exception of Hallon and Larcien, they all startled at her voice. "Let us get this over with as painless as possible, were do we begin?"

"At the beginning," Galadriel offered, "with your vision."

"Very well," She sat on a nearby log, pondering her next words carefully.

"From the moment I was captured and turned, I never remember what happened. I was an elf one minute, then the next a vampire. I would have dreams, but they always ended as soon I was taken. Until tonight."

"what made tonight different?" Gandalf asked, leaning forward against his staff.

"She has not slept in days, I presume." Larcien answered. "Whilst at home, during her arrival, none of us did, and she was already weary, it was present on her face. And neither did she last night, am I correct?"

Túrante gave her a hard stare but answered, "Aye, that would be correct, exhaustion must have played a key part, or help from Eglanon, or both, I cannot be sure." She paused here before continuing.

"As of late, I have been getting more and more flashbacks as I sleep and sleep comes difficult these days."

"I do not understand, even with so much going on, our kind does not exhaust so." Hallon said confused.

"We do when poisoned it seems. Eglanon shot me with a tainted arrow in Rohan. It stripped me of my powers gifted by the valor, Elrond healed me but it came with a price." She pulled down the shoulder of her gown and exposed the scar, still purple. "I no longer heal as I should; it is accelerated but greatly diminished." She watched the men glace at each other, knowing what they were thinking.

Aragorn spoke first, "What about Legolas, we saw what happened each time." Now the others looked confused as well.

She sighed, "Galadriel, this is what I had hoped to speak with you about, now is as good a time as any, I cannot keep it hid much longer." She looked at Gandalf, "I suspect you have some idea as to what I infer?"

"Aye, it has been brought up."

She nodded. "I knew of the stirrings when the wraiths were sent out to find the ring. I felt their presence. I followed as far as the Shire, though I only had a guess to reason they had been sent forth. I kept my distance, their presence always put me on edge, but curiosity always did get the better of me." She stopped at Galadriel's snort of laughter before continuing. "I felt drawn towards Rivendell after a short time, and gave in; not seeing what harm could come of it as I could be in and out without so much as a whisper. There was a part of me that thought it was thing ring, I knew it was there, but it sickened me to be near it. I realized then it was a person, not an object that drew me there. It was a sense of peace to best put it, something I had not felt in a long time. The rest of my interventions from there you all know of by now."

They nodded, Legolas remaining silent. Gandalf spoke, his voice soft, "The person you were drawn to it was Legolas?"

"Aye, it was."

Eyes began darting around, looking between the two of them, none seeming sure of what to say.

"This connection, can you explain it more?" Galadriel asked of her, placing a warm hand on her arm.

"I do not myself understand it, it just felt that there was where I needed to be, there was a sort of calming in my soul. Following the fellowship started off on merely my selfish reasons of liking the feeling. Of course that changed over time, which is why I stopped them the night they were attacked by Eglanon's minions. Then things started to change"

"How so?"

"It was when Aragorn was attacked and bitten by a vampire." She stopped and gave a sharp look to Hallon and Larcien, silently telling them to do nothing, but she saw them tensing. "I had to suck out the poison or he would die and I gave Faramir a time frame for which to kill me, if I failed." She smiled at Faramir. "I almost did." She stopped and took in a deep breath here and Larcien took the chance to speak.

"How can that be? You are still here, you are…" she faltered here, not knowing what to say.

"Still in control?" Túrante put it, and Larcien nodded, "I never drank the blood, I spit it out once I could no longer taste the venom, but it brought the thirst back as it was when I was first created."

"Is it not always so?" Elrond asked, it was the first time he had spoken since they had started.

Larcien, eyes still boring into Túrante's answered him, "No. when we were first created the thirst was debilitating, and it was as if there was a fire always burning in the back of your throat, never ending. The first few hundred years are the worst. It takes all your body and minds control to rein it in and what is left of our elvish ways. This would also explain the exhaustion." Her voice was hard, she was mad at Túrante, but she said nothing after that.

"What change did it bring about? What was different with the connection?" Elrond then asked.

"The healing?" Faramir questioned, "Most of us have witnessed it."

The others all started chiming in, all the questions bogging her down. She held up a hand, and though it was not instant, the voice faded away, all except one.

"Afterwards, you fled. I found you on a nearby knoll, shaking. I remember turning you around. Your eyes were red, then all of sudden they were not. The look on your face, I cannot describe it, but you had all but screamed asking what I had done." He paused, "What changed?"

She pried her eyes from the ground, where they had been starring while Legolas talked. With a long sigh, she looked at him. "You took it away." No one noticed the single tear that slide down her cheek and she thanked the darkness for that.

Hallon and Larcien both sucked in an audible amount of air at her words.

"Took away what?"

"Everything. There was no burn, there was no need, no urge, and there was nothing anymore." Her voice was quite, but she knew they all heard her. She left out the fact that it was only when she was near him that it diminished and gone with his touch. If Legolas knew that, she did not know how he would feel, or what he would do. Some things could still be kept to herself.

Before they could ask her to elaborate she went on, "As some of the remaining fellowship has seen, whatever is there speeds my healing process. I do not understand it or know what it is before you have to ask."

"I think," Galadriel spoke, "That is enough for one night. We are all weary and need rest."

They must have all agreed, as they began to get up and brush themselves off to leave. Hallon and Larcien laid a hand on her shoulder before vanishing into the night to their tent. She sat back down on her log, facing the creek, she could barely see through the trees. She felt him leave, as the burning slowly came creeping back. Someone sat beside her, without speaking.

"It has been has been many a long nights since we have watched the stars."

"Aye, it has been my friend." She smiled at the elleth beside her.

They sat there through most of the night, not speaking, but simply enjoying the company of the other. She sun was just peaking over horizon when they stood to go into the city.

Túrante made a stop buy their camp, ordering some to sharpen and collect weapons, others to ready battle gear, and organize everything they had brought with them. With her she brought Hallon and Larcien to the city. Many things needed to be done and rebuilt, but she did not want to bring her people inside and cause more chaos then need be.

Faramir found her before she found Elrond. They were on the ground level, trying to clear away debris and see what could be salvaged. That level took the biggest hit.

"Where are the others?" she asked, moving large portion of stone Faramir was struggling with, getting a nasty but playful look.

"I would punch you for that, but I doubt it would hurt." He joked getting a laugh to escape her lips.

"No it would not, I am sorry."

"They, however, are somewhere. Gimli is probably trying to find Galadriel; he took a likening to her on our trip through Lothlorien. Last I saw Gandalf, he was in counsel with Elrond, Éomer is set to leave the healing wing in s few days," She felt a twinge of guilt, in the past days she had been so preoccupied with gathering her people and her our worries she had forgotten Éomer had been badly injured in the battle. "And Legolas was speaking to Aragorn about getting word to his father."

"Thranduil?"

"Aye, see if we can get the aide of his people as well. With many of the elves native to Rivendell hurt, there are not many left who can fight."

She nodded, knowing he was correct, they needed more aides. Humans however, would be easier to train; they were more forgiving and understanding than elves. They lived shorter lives, and valued their time much more. In this choice, though, she had no voice.

"He seems unhappy to do so."

"Oh?"

"It is just an assumption; he has been short tempered since Elrond asked him after the council meeting the other day." Faramir replied.

"I doubt any would want to put their people in such danger happily." She told him, gazing off to the upper levels, where he was…somewhere. That could explain his behavior of late, though she was sure there was more to it that a letter.

"Aye."

They worked in companionable silence, and got a good bit of work done; Hallon and Larcien had joined them. There was still a large mess, but the biggest rubble was moved to be examined by their craftsmen to see what they could make of it. She decided that she should pay a visit to Éomer in the healing wing. Her visit was way past due, and so she bade goodbye to her company and walked briskly away. Keeping busy was her priority now.