Nori slept for nearly a day.  When she finally awoke, she found herself in a deep, soft bed in a luxurious room.  Pushing herself up with her left hand, she turned to her right to find Glamren sitting beside the bed.  His eyes stared sightlessly at a point on the far wall, and seeing him like that startled Nori a little, though it was not the first time she had seen an elf sleep in that manner.  She called his name softly, and he stirred in his chair.

"Norusell, you are awake.  This is good to see!  How do you feel?"

"Hungry," came the answer, instantly.

Glamren blinked, and then snorted laughter.

"That will soon be remedied," he said, standing and going to a table by the door. He returned carrying a tray of lembas and a small glass of wine.

"This should speed your recovery quite nicely.  But do not eat too quickly," he added as Nori reached eagerly for the food.  "You would only make yourself ill, and Legolas would be very angry with me if I allowed that to happen."

Nori sipped the wine slowly.  It was pale gold in color, and sweet, but stronger than what she had been used to drink at home.  Between sips she took bites of the lembas, which tasted wonderful and seemed to bring strength to her limbs.

"Now how do you feel?," asked Glamren as Nori finished.

"A little tired, and my shoulder is stiff, but food and wine have been a great help."

"You're shoulder will probably be stiff for a few days, but if you rest well tonight, you should feel much better in the morning."

"Was anyone else hurt?"

"No, and you might not have been, but for your skill with sword and knife.  The great spiders can tell Men and Elves apart, and probably discounted you as the least of their worries.  I'm sure they did not expect that you would attack them so forcefully."

Nori understood the comment was not meant as chastisement or insult, and accepted it in silence.  Her mind moved quickly on to other things.

"Where is Legolas?," she asked.

"He has been all day with King Thranduil.  The manner of our arrival and news of the assault caused much confusion, for we have rarely known the spiders to attack a group of our people on the open path.  It seems the defeat of Mordor has made many of the evil creatures desperate.  My King wished to hear from his son of our journey and the goings-on of the southern lands."

They talked a little longer, until finally Nori began to yawn.  Glamren then left her to sleep, and went to tell Legolas of her improvement.

When he was sure Nori was asleep, Legolas quietly entered her room and crept to her bedside.  She had turned onto her left side, toward a pair of doors that stood open, leading to a balcony shaded by trees.  This allowed Legolas to examine the wound without disturbing her.  Seeing that it was healing nicely, and more quickly than he had supposed, he applied fresh dressing.  He then sat for a while, watching her sleep, before finally slipping away to his own room to rest.



The next day, Nori felt well enough to leave her bed.  She spent most of the day on the balcony outside her room, watching the Elves at work below.  Hearing of her rapid recovery, King Thranduil was planning a feast of welcome and celebration for the following night.  This news and the company of Legolas were the only things keeping Nori's patience in check, for she felt quite well, and hated being confined to a sick-chamber.

The day of the feast finally arrived.  Nori felt in perfect health, and with a hot bath even the stiffness in her shoulder disappeared.  Two elven-maids were sent to help her dress and fix her hair, treatment Nori was quite unused to and had not expected.  When they were done, she added the gifts that Arwen, Eowyn, and Thalestel had given her in Minas Tirith.  Finally, she looked at her reflection in the mirror, her mouth open in surprise.

'I'm almost pretty,' she thought to herself.

At that moment, Glamren arrived to escort her to the feast.  With a final glance at the mirror, Nori turned to make her first appearance in the King's court.