Chapter Eight
The elfin band traveled along the edge of a small stream for a while which glowed silver in the pale moonlight that was bathing the land. Legolas pulled up beside Candria, who had been riding in silence ever since she had healed his cut with her miraculous touch.
"Thank you," he whispered as their path slowly turned south, "I didn't have the wits to say it before and I am sorry. The others do not understand, but they shall in time." She smiled gratefully and tentatively asked:
"What…what did it feel like? I felt as though warmth were passing from my heart into my fingertips and through your skin." He turned and looked into her eyes, the moonlight playing with shadows in their depths. For a moment he seemed hesitant, as though he was unsure of what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. He lowered his voice even more, so the others would not hear his words.
"I saw your heart, if but for the briefest moment. It was an organ of fire that consumed me, and the tears of your heart poured into the warmth of your blood and passed into me. I…I felt warm and yet cold, as if your touch was a blanket that covered my shivering body. It…thank you." He lowered his eyes and nudged his horse forward to the head of the group.
Candria stared ahead into the darkness, her heart filled with stirrings that she had never known before. It was as though Legolas now carried a part of herself within him. She could not explain what she felt, it was as though she could not keep her thoughts from spinning, or her heart from beating wildly in her chest. A warm rush followed an icy wave that swam through her body and caused her head to spin. Just as she looked ahead to see if she could see anything in the forest beyond, she heard the unmistakable sound of an orc breathing in the tree just to her right.
She suddenly felt terror strike her to the core as she cursed herself for not paying closer attention to the forest than to the wanderings of her heart. Candria realized that the moment she reached for her bow, the orc would fire the arrow she knew he had already pointed at her chest. For a second she paused, and then with the speed of lightening, pulled an arrow from her quiver while simultaneously bringing her bow up to her side.
The arrow sunk into her chest just below her ribcage, as she loosed her own arrow from her Lebethron bow. There was a loud crash as the orc fell dead from the tree, Candria's arrow embedded in his heart. She fell from Moreaui with a cry, and landed on her side, pushing the arrow deep into her skin.
Just as Goli had run to her side, an arrow whistled in the darkness and sheathed itself in his chest. There was a horrible shrieking as orcs jumped upon the elfin band from all sides, their attention turned from Candria whom they believed to be dead. She lay in silence, the pain in her side leading her slowly into blackness as she curled up in agony.
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Sunlight landed in bursts across her eyes. She was moving through shadow and light quickly, the forest veil above her was flying by with the speed of the wind. There was motion, the steady rocking of horses' hoofs upon the soft ground. She was traveling through the forest, at whose hand she could say not, for she was also riding in and out of consciousness, her last memory the black mane of Haldras' horse whipping in the wind.
^^^*^^^
"Candria?" She stirred and felt the warmth of a bed underneath her. Thick blankets were pulled around her snugly, tucking her in and enveloping her in comfort. There was a light coming from somewhere nearby, it flickered and danced across her closed eyelids, as did the flames of candles that she usually lit at nightfall. For a moment, she caught the smell of earth and moonlight as they wafted across the breeze that was coming from, she assumed, an open window.
"Candria?" The voice came again, a man's voice full of concern and at the same time flowing with relief. How long had she been sleeping, how long had it been since…and then she remembered the arrow. Her fingers moved down to her ribs, and thence to a patch of material, soft and oddly warm to her touch.
Candria opened her eyes, the light from a nearby candle glowing in the darkness and barely illuminating her face. For a moment, her eyes could not adjust to the darkness; there were shapes and shadows she could not account for. As the world came into focus, she realized that she was not in her own quarters, but a smaller room, which served as the healing quarters for the castle. Her body felt limp as though she had not moved for days, and her hair was spilled all around her face, framing it in wreaths of mahogany. She turned slowly to the side, to see who had been calling her name. To her great surprise she recognized Legolas, sitting alone next to her bed, his golden hair kissed with the moonlight that was pouring in from an open window.
"Legolas…" she muttered in half-surprise and half-happiness. He smiled and nodded, pausing for a moment to look into her eyes before arising to shut the curtains of the window. The cool night air was shut out and Candria noticed a small fire in the opposite corner of the room, glowing merrily and expanding to fill all the corners with warmth and light. He returned to his seat and watched her as she turned to look about the room.
"We have kept you here for the past week, you can return to your own room now that you have awoken." Candria turned to face him again, her eyes wide with surprise.
"A week? Have I been asleep all that time?" He nodded, commenting that she had occasionally been caught having fits of feverish dreams that had woken her for but a moment. For the rest of the time, under the watchful eyes of the healers and Thranduil, she had seemingly been at peace, only talking vaguely in her dreams from time to time.
"Talking in my dreams? What did I say?" Legolas turned away and looked into the light of the candle seemingly to ignore her question. His eyes seemed to flicker as quickly as the flame from thought to thought, arousing Candria's suspicion and apprehension.
"I hardly have the heart to tell you Candria, but it must be said. All were killed in the attack of the orcs, save only yourself, Jindrui, Hali, and myself." His change of subject was devastating; nothing could have prepared Candria for this blow. Before she knew it she was crying uncontrollably, her heart heavy with grief. Legolas turned away from her for a moment, tears brimming in his eyes as well, before he faced her again and knelt down beside her. He ran his fingers through her hair and across her cheek, trying to console her as best he knew how.
"Shhh, it is alright Candria, there was nothing you could have done to prevent this from coming to pass." He whispered to her amidst the tears that streamed down her cheeks and onto her pillow. She turned away from him, pushing away his hand and continuing to cry.
"I could have saved them." Candria said to him over her shoulder, her voice shaking in bitterness. Her body was weakened, every time she began to cry, the dull pain in her side would become unbearable, adding physical pain to her emotional agony. She noticed that her hands were not covered, and she looked at her fingers through a blur of tears, hating them with all the strength she could muster. Each fingertip was flawlessly beautiful, the skin and lines meeting at perfect fingernails, so white that they resembled the shape and flesh of almond halves. She clenched her fists, digging her nails into the skin so deeply they started to bleed.
"You could not. You were gifted with healing, not with the power to foresee the future. There was nothing to be done for them, the wounds were all fatal, they died too quickly for you to have helped them. You could have done nothing, had you been awake." His lies did not bother his conscious, if Candria blamed herself and lived a thousand years never again smiling, it would not bring back the others. Legolas could not bear to hear her crying any longer, the grief weighing upon his heart could not handle the tears she shed.
"Please Candria," he rounded the bed and again knelt beside her, picking up her hand in his, "please stop crying, it does no good to dwell in grief." A great wave of sadness washed over him as the grief of Candria passed through her palm and into his. He resolved not to let go, until all the hurt had passed into his body, leaving her in peace. For a moment, they stood transfixed, her tears silenced as she stared at his closed eyes. Legolas' eyebrows flinched as her heart's agony poured into him, filling him again with the sadness that had overwhelmed him upon his return to the castle bearing the lifeless Candria in his arms.
She removed her hand from his, his eyes still shut and his breathing now shallow and quick. He opened his eyes with a start, his chest heaving as he stared at Candria. She was completely silent, her heart's grief gone and replaced again with the same feeling of warmth she had felt after curing Legolas' wound.
"Why did you do that?" She looked deeply into his eyes, the flames in the depths now steady and serious. He looked down into his palm and noticed it was flecked with blood. His head shot up as he looked at Candria's palm where her fingernails had pierced the skin. A brief moment lapsed, each regarding the other as emotions they had never known swept through their bodies.
"I…because I…" He faltered, his eyes saying more than even he knew. She suddenly felt frightened by what she sensed in his eyes, and what hers might be saying to him. With one movement she turned her head away and pulled the blankets of her bed closely around her chin.
"Please leave." She needed only say it once. As the door shut, she could feel coldness creeping beneath her skin, as though he had left with all the warmth of the room.
End of Part I
The elfin band traveled along the edge of a small stream for a while which glowed silver in the pale moonlight that was bathing the land. Legolas pulled up beside Candria, who had been riding in silence ever since she had healed his cut with her miraculous touch.
"Thank you," he whispered as their path slowly turned south, "I didn't have the wits to say it before and I am sorry. The others do not understand, but they shall in time." She smiled gratefully and tentatively asked:
"What…what did it feel like? I felt as though warmth were passing from my heart into my fingertips and through your skin." He turned and looked into her eyes, the moonlight playing with shadows in their depths. For a moment he seemed hesitant, as though he was unsure of what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. He lowered his voice even more, so the others would not hear his words.
"I saw your heart, if but for the briefest moment. It was an organ of fire that consumed me, and the tears of your heart poured into the warmth of your blood and passed into me. I…I felt warm and yet cold, as if your touch was a blanket that covered my shivering body. It…thank you." He lowered his eyes and nudged his horse forward to the head of the group.
Candria stared ahead into the darkness, her heart filled with stirrings that she had never known before. It was as though Legolas now carried a part of herself within him. She could not explain what she felt, it was as though she could not keep her thoughts from spinning, or her heart from beating wildly in her chest. A warm rush followed an icy wave that swam through her body and caused her head to spin. Just as she looked ahead to see if she could see anything in the forest beyond, she heard the unmistakable sound of an orc breathing in the tree just to her right.
She suddenly felt terror strike her to the core as she cursed herself for not paying closer attention to the forest than to the wanderings of her heart. Candria realized that the moment she reached for her bow, the orc would fire the arrow she knew he had already pointed at her chest. For a second she paused, and then with the speed of lightening, pulled an arrow from her quiver while simultaneously bringing her bow up to her side.
The arrow sunk into her chest just below her ribcage, as she loosed her own arrow from her Lebethron bow. There was a loud crash as the orc fell dead from the tree, Candria's arrow embedded in his heart. She fell from Moreaui with a cry, and landed on her side, pushing the arrow deep into her skin.
Just as Goli had run to her side, an arrow whistled in the darkness and sheathed itself in his chest. There was a horrible shrieking as orcs jumped upon the elfin band from all sides, their attention turned from Candria whom they believed to be dead. She lay in silence, the pain in her side leading her slowly into blackness as she curled up in agony.
^^^*^^^
Sunlight landed in bursts across her eyes. She was moving through shadow and light quickly, the forest veil above her was flying by with the speed of the wind. There was motion, the steady rocking of horses' hoofs upon the soft ground. She was traveling through the forest, at whose hand she could say not, for she was also riding in and out of consciousness, her last memory the black mane of Haldras' horse whipping in the wind.
^^^*^^^
"Candria?" She stirred and felt the warmth of a bed underneath her. Thick blankets were pulled around her snugly, tucking her in and enveloping her in comfort. There was a light coming from somewhere nearby, it flickered and danced across her closed eyelids, as did the flames of candles that she usually lit at nightfall. For a moment, she caught the smell of earth and moonlight as they wafted across the breeze that was coming from, she assumed, an open window.
"Candria?" The voice came again, a man's voice full of concern and at the same time flowing with relief. How long had she been sleeping, how long had it been since…and then she remembered the arrow. Her fingers moved down to her ribs, and thence to a patch of material, soft and oddly warm to her touch.
Candria opened her eyes, the light from a nearby candle glowing in the darkness and barely illuminating her face. For a moment, her eyes could not adjust to the darkness; there were shapes and shadows she could not account for. As the world came into focus, she realized that she was not in her own quarters, but a smaller room, which served as the healing quarters for the castle. Her body felt limp as though she had not moved for days, and her hair was spilled all around her face, framing it in wreaths of mahogany. She turned slowly to the side, to see who had been calling her name. To her great surprise she recognized Legolas, sitting alone next to her bed, his golden hair kissed with the moonlight that was pouring in from an open window.
"Legolas…" she muttered in half-surprise and half-happiness. He smiled and nodded, pausing for a moment to look into her eyes before arising to shut the curtains of the window. The cool night air was shut out and Candria noticed a small fire in the opposite corner of the room, glowing merrily and expanding to fill all the corners with warmth and light. He returned to his seat and watched her as she turned to look about the room.
"We have kept you here for the past week, you can return to your own room now that you have awoken." Candria turned to face him again, her eyes wide with surprise.
"A week? Have I been asleep all that time?" He nodded, commenting that she had occasionally been caught having fits of feverish dreams that had woken her for but a moment. For the rest of the time, under the watchful eyes of the healers and Thranduil, she had seemingly been at peace, only talking vaguely in her dreams from time to time.
"Talking in my dreams? What did I say?" Legolas turned away and looked into the light of the candle seemingly to ignore her question. His eyes seemed to flicker as quickly as the flame from thought to thought, arousing Candria's suspicion and apprehension.
"I hardly have the heart to tell you Candria, but it must be said. All were killed in the attack of the orcs, save only yourself, Jindrui, Hali, and myself." His change of subject was devastating; nothing could have prepared Candria for this blow. Before she knew it she was crying uncontrollably, her heart heavy with grief. Legolas turned away from her for a moment, tears brimming in his eyes as well, before he faced her again and knelt down beside her. He ran his fingers through her hair and across her cheek, trying to console her as best he knew how.
"Shhh, it is alright Candria, there was nothing you could have done to prevent this from coming to pass." He whispered to her amidst the tears that streamed down her cheeks and onto her pillow. She turned away from him, pushing away his hand and continuing to cry.
"I could have saved them." Candria said to him over her shoulder, her voice shaking in bitterness. Her body was weakened, every time she began to cry, the dull pain in her side would become unbearable, adding physical pain to her emotional agony. She noticed that her hands were not covered, and she looked at her fingers through a blur of tears, hating them with all the strength she could muster. Each fingertip was flawlessly beautiful, the skin and lines meeting at perfect fingernails, so white that they resembled the shape and flesh of almond halves. She clenched her fists, digging her nails into the skin so deeply they started to bleed.
"You could not. You were gifted with healing, not with the power to foresee the future. There was nothing to be done for them, the wounds were all fatal, they died too quickly for you to have helped them. You could have done nothing, had you been awake." His lies did not bother his conscious, if Candria blamed herself and lived a thousand years never again smiling, it would not bring back the others. Legolas could not bear to hear her crying any longer, the grief weighing upon his heart could not handle the tears she shed.
"Please Candria," he rounded the bed and again knelt beside her, picking up her hand in his, "please stop crying, it does no good to dwell in grief." A great wave of sadness washed over him as the grief of Candria passed through her palm and into his. He resolved not to let go, until all the hurt had passed into his body, leaving her in peace. For a moment, they stood transfixed, her tears silenced as she stared at his closed eyes. Legolas' eyebrows flinched as her heart's agony poured into him, filling him again with the sadness that had overwhelmed him upon his return to the castle bearing the lifeless Candria in his arms.
She removed her hand from his, his eyes still shut and his breathing now shallow and quick. He opened his eyes with a start, his chest heaving as he stared at Candria. She was completely silent, her heart's grief gone and replaced again with the same feeling of warmth she had felt after curing Legolas' wound.
"Why did you do that?" She looked deeply into his eyes, the flames in the depths now steady and serious. He looked down into his palm and noticed it was flecked with blood. His head shot up as he looked at Candria's palm where her fingernails had pierced the skin. A brief moment lapsed, each regarding the other as emotions they had never known swept through their bodies.
"I…because I…" He faltered, his eyes saying more than even he knew. She suddenly felt frightened by what she sensed in his eyes, and what hers might be saying to him. With one movement she turned her head away and pulled the blankets of her bed closely around her chin.
"Please leave." She needed only say it once. As the door shut, she could feel coldness creeping beneath her skin, as though he had left with all the warmth of the room.
End of Part I