Meanwhile, in Mortal Lands far from Mirkwood, Lorelein stood still and
silent on a balcony of a great castle built by men.
Her dark brown hair flowed down past her fair face and rested gently on her shoulders. Golden braids hung limply in front of her face. Her eyes, grey like the stones found worn in the Valley Rivers, gazed out at the stars that covered the night sky.
She thought back as far as she could. Back twenty years when she first awoke from her injury. Never recovering any memories from her amnesia, her past now remained a mystery to her. She was told simple facts about herself but never of her life before hand.
They told her 'Your name is Annalise, you're the daughter of the King. What is there else to know?'.
She was left lost, confused, and troubled. The years went by and she learned her daily routine, how to live, what to do and don't do, but nothing ever really became familiar. And now, twenty years later, she still feels to be a stranger in her life.
"Annalise?" a young man called after her but she took no notice of him.
"Annalise?" he called again. No answer.
"Annalise? I know you can hear me." Walking cautiously toward her, he continued to speak softly.
"You can't just block everyone out of your life. Why make things so hard on yourself?"
Still, not a single movement. She was listening to him speak but it didn't seem worth her time. Nothing seemed worth her time. She didn't know of any reason as to why she should do all that she has. It wasn't getting her anywhere and no one really expected too much out of her. She was just….there.
"Annalise! Speak to me. I haven't any reason for you to be angry at me and still never will you speak to me. Why is this?"
Lorelein turned toward him. He was her brother, or so they told her, but yet he looked nothing like her. His eyes were blue as the sea and his hair a dirty blonde. He was a short fellow with a stern look to him unlike herself. No one she knew really looked like her. That's something that baffled her even more.
"Persistence is a strong characteristic of yours, isn't it?" she said, then turning to walk out of her room.
"I guess you could say that."
"Then why don't you go put it to good use instead of stalking me like some prisoner? I'm of your family, am I not?"
There was a pause and the young man fidgeted as if uneasy.
"Am I not?" she turned around, repeated herself.
"Why would you not be? You live here, don't you?" he replied.
"Well then, Xander. How hard is it for you to say yes or no to such a simple question?"
"Is it wrong to be surprised? It's not everyday that one questions their own heritage."
Lorelein sighed with frustration before walking out to the courtyard and away from him.
Looking up at the stars once more she spoke to herself.
"Aduial." She said. It was part of a language she had once known. She wasn't fluent in the language now by any standards but she was still forbidden to speak the little she knew.
So she practiced that little and when given the chance tried researching it in the books available to her in the castle. But the books weren't much help for all books in the language other than the one she was allowed to speak were prohibited to her study.
As she gazed on at the stars she began to wish that all was different. She couldn't bare her life any longer and as days past she felt as though she shouldn't be there. That she should leave. And the more she thought about it, the more convincing it seemed that she was better off away from the Castle. A plan began to form in her mind not to long ago and she was ready to go along with it.
"For so long I've lived here cheerless and troubled. Maybe now the time has come for me to leave this place and away from this land. Whether I make it or not would not matter. Death would be a relief from this place and by now I'm willing to risk such a consequence just to flee here." She whispered softly to herself. Then, turning back, she returned to her room, slipped quietly into bed, and fell asleep.
Her dark brown hair flowed down past her fair face and rested gently on her shoulders. Golden braids hung limply in front of her face. Her eyes, grey like the stones found worn in the Valley Rivers, gazed out at the stars that covered the night sky.
She thought back as far as she could. Back twenty years when she first awoke from her injury. Never recovering any memories from her amnesia, her past now remained a mystery to her. She was told simple facts about herself but never of her life before hand.
They told her 'Your name is Annalise, you're the daughter of the King. What is there else to know?'.
She was left lost, confused, and troubled. The years went by and she learned her daily routine, how to live, what to do and don't do, but nothing ever really became familiar. And now, twenty years later, she still feels to be a stranger in her life.
"Annalise?" a young man called after her but she took no notice of him.
"Annalise?" he called again. No answer.
"Annalise? I know you can hear me." Walking cautiously toward her, he continued to speak softly.
"You can't just block everyone out of your life. Why make things so hard on yourself?"
Still, not a single movement. She was listening to him speak but it didn't seem worth her time. Nothing seemed worth her time. She didn't know of any reason as to why she should do all that she has. It wasn't getting her anywhere and no one really expected too much out of her. She was just….there.
"Annalise! Speak to me. I haven't any reason for you to be angry at me and still never will you speak to me. Why is this?"
Lorelein turned toward him. He was her brother, or so they told her, but yet he looked nothing like her. His eyes were blue as the sea and his hair a dirty blonde. He was a short fellow with a stern look to him unlike herself. No one she knew really looked like her. That's something that baffled her even more.
"Persistence is a strong characteristic of yours, isn't it?" she said, then turning to walk out of her room.
"I guess you could say that."
"Then why don't you go put it to good use instead of stalking me like some prisoner? I'm of your family, am I not?"
There was a pause and the young man fidgeted as if uneasy.
"Am I not?" she turned around, repeated herself.
"Why would you not be? You live here, don't you?" he replied.
"Well then, Xander. How hard is it for you to say yes or no to such a simple question?"
"Is it wrong to be surprised? It's not everyday that one questions their own heritage."
Lorelein sighed with frustration before walking out to the courtyard and away from him.
Looking up at the stars once more she spoke to herself.
"Aduial." She said. It was part of a language she had once known. She wasn't fluent in the language now by any standards but she was still forbidden to speak the little she knew.
So she practiced that little and when given the chance tried researching it in the books available to her in the castle. But the books weren't much help for all books in the language other than the one she was allowed to speak were prohibited to her study.
As she gazed on at the stars she began to wish that all was different. She couldn't bare her life any longer and as days past she felt as though she shouldn't be there. That she should leave. And the more she thought about it, the more convincing it seemed that she was better off away from the Castle. A plan began to form in her mind not to long ago and she was ready to go along with it.
"For so long I've lived here cheerless and troubled. Maybe now the time has come for me to leave this place and away from this land. Whether I make it or not would not matter. Death would be a relief from this place and by now I'm willing to risk such a consequence just to flee here." She whispered softly to herself. Then, turning back, she returned to her room, slipped quietly into bed, and fell asleep.