Hope and doubt

As the rest of Elrond's host moved north, he could not stop thinking of Helene and her arrival in middle earth. The timing, her changing more and more every time he looked at her, and the calmness in her voice, even though she had been taken from all she knew. Was it the shock? Or disbelief and ignoring the reality of her situation? Who knew?

Helene was shocked at what was happening, and her calmness was disturbing her. For every step she took, she thought of her family. Would she see them again? Did they know what happened to her? Will they think she ran off with no warning or explanation?

No, they knew she cared for them and they embraced her though she was a nerd that prized things from ages past. It was a blessing and a shock. She was in the realm she admired, seeing characters she had read about more times than she could count. Even following one of them like it was the most natural thing and an amazing nerd moment in her life. But why was she here? And why so long before the War of the Ring? Could it be that Tolkien hadn't made this world but had been a part of it himself? The more she thought about it the more ridiculous it sounded. With that, she stopped thinking of questions she had no answers. Who had? Nobody here, most likely.

With that, a scout came riding on a horse from the northeast.

"My Lord Elrond," he said and bowed his head. As Elrond raised his hand for them all to stop. "Refugees ahead, many hundreds at least dressed in the cloths and banners of Eregion. Citizens and warriors mixed in long lines and not spread about"

Helene looked at Elrond feeling her arms, legs, ears, and face everything burning. She had wanted to bring it up at the next stop. But she could not tell him now. There were more important things to worry about. Their safety and the safety of the refugees.

"Turmaner, Meston" Elrond called out and two male elves came running to his side. "Divide our force to defend the refugees. All sides hurry"

"Yes Lord Elrond" was all they managed to say before running off splitting the forces to make sure the refugees would be as safe as possible.

"What can I do to help My Lord?" Helene said as she did not want to be just a burden.

"You will follow me penneth, you are untested in battle and have changed a lot in a short time. If I had not seen it myself, I would not believe you once looked human. Now come stay close to me. We cannot stay here for long."

With that, they hurried up to the lines of refugees and Elrond made himself known to those that had led them so far. An elderly elf named Tulare.

"The high king sent aid oh thank the Valar" Tulare said excitedly with the rest of the refugees hearing it also burst into excitement and hope. Helene had not the heart to tell him, nor was it her place, but Elrond pulled him aside and explained the situation. The elderly elf was shocked and sad, but pulled himself together and said he would help out all he could to get them all to safety.

With that, the lines started to move through slowly Too slow Helene reckoned as they could not hold the pace up with all these people. Some were wounded and others were in despair of losing family or simply not knowing what happened to them. A feeling Helene knew all too well with her own family. Even though she knew they were alive.

She gave Elrond a look of fear as she could feel a darkness coming from the south and it was on the hunt. The hunt for them.

"We are moving too slowly are we not My Lord?" He looked at her and gave her a slow nod.

"I think we are, but we must do what we can, few stops, and march through the night at the very least."

With a comforting smile and hand on her shoulder, he tried to comfort her.

"How are you feeling? You have changed much in a short time and still are. No pains or hurts?" Elrond asked.

As she had not said anything before and the pain was manageable she didn't want to make a scene or slow them down even more.

"I feel fine thank you, Lord. Though it does feel like growing pains from when I was little."

"You are sure? Nothing more than that?" He asked questionably at her.

She nodded as she wanted to get as far north as she could and hopefully save as many as possible. Though the pain in her body was getting worse. After all, what hadn't changed a great deal? Would she even know herself if she looked in a mirror?

With the day passing and dusk getting closer and closer the pace slowed down even more. The few wagons they had were now filled with young and old. Soldiers helped to carry those that there was no space for in the wagons and if they could help so could Helene as she saw a mother carrying her little elfling child on her back with bags in her hands.

"Please let me help you," Helene said to the mother who looked up at her terribly tired and struggling to keep up. Only able to smile and nod in agreement with what sounded like thank you in elvish. It was little, but at least she could help them some.

Dusk turned to night and night into light and the kids now woke up and so did the little elfling Helene now had on her shoulders and leaning on her head. Moving about like she was searching for something and then her Lil voice uttered

"Nana? Nana? NANA?"

Helene tried her best, but her elvish was broken and rusty at best compared to them

"Your mother is right here beside us," Helene said and the elfling screamed in joy when she saw her mother tired but there.

"Halt," Elrond said holding his hand up. "We all need a break and something to eat, but be ready to move again soon" Helene sat the elfling down with her mother and told her she could keep carrying her as soon as they were moving again. The elf woman thanked and Helene moved up to Elrond.

"Is there anything I can do Lord? Give out food? Water? I want to help" He looked at her and smiled.

"No Penneth, eat rest. I saw you carrying that elfling for her mother. That is enough for now. Regain your strength. We are still not in safety here." Helene looked at him and bowed her head some and told him to please ask her if she could do anything with a nod and smile from Elrond she walked over to get some food for herself the elfling and her mother as she sat with them.

With what food they handed out Helene grabbed 3 portions for herself, the mother, and the elfling. "Here you go," She said with a smile sitting down beside them.

"Thank you for all your help warrior of Elrond," the mother said. Helene shook her head and looked at her. And responded as well as she could in the Elven language she had taught herself and with YouTube videos of others that seemed to have some grasp of the language.

"I am no warrior, just someone they picked up by the road out of pity, maybe. I was lost and surrounded by enemies and there was Lord Elrond. Quieting me down in a very dangerous situation. I am no more than another refugee in all of this"

The woman looked at her with curious eyes.

"That is hard to believe, Lady. You carry a sword as the warriors and I suspect they would not hand that out to just anyone. I do not wish to offend, but your speech is very different from ours, though I mean no offense, lady."

Helene smiled and looked down at it, at her left side hip and back at the mother, a little embarrassed over how bad she felt speaking elvish was going.

"Elven speech is not my first tongue. It is a long story, and I have trained some with the sword, but by no means have I mastered it as the true warrior here, and the situation is still desperate. I have no doubt they will take the sword back when we are in safety and I am no lady. Only Helene. May I ask your name?" She smiled at the mother.

The woman nodded as her elfling daughter was eating away on the bread cheese and little meat they got. Still looking curiously at Helene.

"My name is Ingólemien and this is my daughter Tuve. Helene, what a strange name is it from your first tongue? I have not heard that before by any of our kin. May I ask where you are from?"

Helene thought to herself that her name would be weird to anyone she would meet, and what could she answer to where she is from? How could she explain a world that would seem like magic to them? Even her changing from human to one of the elven kind was hard enough to understand herself.

"First let me say it is very nice to meet you both," She smiled and bowed her head a little to them. "Second, yes, my name is strange and there is also an endless story about everything around me. Maybe one day I will tell you. This isn't the time or place."

Ingólemien nodded and started eating herself. With food devoured and everyone resting except a few guards at some points around the host, Tuve decided she was bored and started to fool around and play with Helene as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Helene loved it, she felt like she was back in her own world for a few moments with her own little sister or any of her younger sisters. It really took her mind off the current situation and all that was happening. Her pains were getting worse though still manageable. But she could not shake the feeling of darkness whenever she looked south and sent Elrond a worried look as he was all over talking to refugees and caring for wounded warriors.

"I will be right back Ingólemien, I just want to see if we are moving again soon" Ingólemien nodded and got her daughter to sit on her lap even with her protesting fiercely. Moving up the line was not as easy as Helene believed it to be. She got questions from everyone and had to comfort some of the young. It was something she always did for her sisters and felt natural to her. But she could not give any answers as she was not the warrior or leader some believed her to be. She felt just like baggage and not useful.

The sights of the wounded haunted her and wish she could help them and it became another reason to not tell Elrond of her own pain. They needed him and the other healers a lot more than she did.

"Helene" She heard someone cry out for her. It was Elrond. She hurried up to him and bowed some to him.

"My Lord?" She answered, as she was right by him. "Thank you for helping with the young and calming them and the older. I am still thinking of where to go and there are few places here that will protect us. All I know of is a valley a day's hard march from here that can be made into a defensible position. But my heart tells me we are moving too slow"

Helene listened and nodded when he mentioned the valley and looked at the people around them when he mentioned his fears of moving too slowly.

"If I may Lord" He looked at her and nodded "By all means, Helene speak" She nodded back "When you found me I let out I know things that will happen and if I may say so the valley is the right choice from my knowledge of what will happen. But you are also right we are moving slowly. But we will make it" As she spoke he looked at her still worried about her foreknowledge and did not really know how she could know or even if she did.

"I do hope you are right Penneth or I will fail a second time in a short time" Elrond looked sad. He had the weight of a leader on his shoulders and he felt responsible for the fate of Ost-in-Edhil.

Helene smiled at him and gave him a hug out of nowhere whispering "Thank you Lord for saving me and taking me with you. You did not have to." He smiled as she hugged him as he realized she had grown much from when he first met her. At that time, she could barely reach his chin and by now they were almost equal in height

"There was not much choice penneth. Had I left you I would have failed for a second time already in a short time. Though I found your arrival appearance and outfit strange, if not planned by a higher power as I think it is with your physical changes as well. She looked at him and his thoughts. He was right. It was all weird even for someone with her fantasy.

"Still Lord, I am very grateful for it and I know there is nothing I can say or do right now for you to trust me more than you do. But I hope to earn that trust. As well as I swear on my heart. I do not want to hurt you or any of these people. It is the last I would want." Looking down a little shamefully "I just wish I was more useful and helpful. But I will earn the trust you need for me to be so to you and all of them"

He looked at her in wonder as she spoke. There were no lies in her voice face or spirit that had grown stronger with her changing from the race of men to that of the elves.

"I am sure we will find a way for you to feel useful Helene. But on the road fleeing an enemy like this is not the place for it." He smiled and hugged her again. "Help the woman and child you were carrying earlier. It will be a long road ahead and she will need the aid more than I"

Helene nodded and smiled. "I will and thank you again, Lord." He smiled as she said it and walked fast back to the mother and child at the end of the lines of elves and with that he gave the order to get ready to move again. What a strange yet courteous girl. He thought to himself. Getting back to his task of ordering the lines to keep moving.

Helene moved as well though down the line as Tuve saw her and smiled and her mother still seemed tired yet more hopeful than earlier. Food and rest do marvelous things she said to herself. With that, her thoughts were broken as the guards started yelling in elvish. Faster than she knew what was said and panic rose. From the tree line, dark shapes were seen and at least one had a bow.

"Tuve, Ingólemien." She screamed as she started running towards them. No point pulling her sword as whatever evil it was too far away. They looked at her worried as she reached them she pulled them to her and turned them around quickly to use her own body as protection from the evil behind. With that, she pushed them both hard as she could not know if anything would hit her, but she would not risk them getting hurt. Too many were hurting as is and no girl was to lose her mother or mother her daughter like that.

At that moment it felt like she was kicked hard in the shoulder. Helene blinked as time slowed down. Breathing got heavier and she could see Tuve and Ingólemien scared and screaming. Slowly she looked down seeing a black arrowhead sticking out from mid between her shoulder and neck. Blood started to rush to the wound and she felt wet under the clothes and armor she was handed by Elrond so a short time ago. She heard an echo of Elrond screaming as well as the two captains from earlier as elven arrows flew past her head barely missing it.

"Elven archers truly are skilled," She said to herself as her legs gave out on her and she dropped down onto her knees, the pain from her changing and the arrow that had pierced her shoulder took over. Slowly looking at Tuve and Ingólemien and then at Elrond running towards them and grabbing her before she fell over.

The last thing she managed to say was.

"Poor Boromir. One is painfully enough"