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Broken Mirror
By Nezumi
Chapter Four: Whispers
Holding her wrapped hand over her amber eyes, Skairukh tried in vain to see the owner of the footsteps that now approached her. A familiar scent wrapped around her and she relaxed slightly but her curiosity would not allow her to give up on seeing her visitor. She squinted but it was all to no avail, she could not see him. Her eyes weren't accustomed to the brightness. "You're already up?" the voice asked, and she knew the rough coarse-ness of it. "The Amandil..." He glanced at her apprehensively. She was beautiful, even though she bore numerous bandages. "The Healers, they told me you were still unconscious."
"Then why did you still come Haldir?" she inquired and closed her eyes. The brightness was nauseating her - and she didn't want to black out whenever Haldir, the Gweth Gilith Commander ever showed his face. He'd think her weak, she knew how these kinds of men worked - and Skairukh wasn't about to let that happen. "You could have left and come back later to check on me - to see if I was up, I mean... so you could take me to Galadriel..." She shook her head. She had trailed off the subject again. "So, yes, why didn't you?"
"You intrigue me," he replied examining the light. They were simple, if one exerted a small bit of natural energy within the hroa with the fea, they could ignite it. It was a simple explanation, he liked simpler things sometimes. Skairukh was not simple. Most visitors were so easily read, he knew their intentions within seconds; how else could he have ascended so quickly to the position of a Knight Commander in the Gweth Gilith and personal companion guard to the Lord and Lady of the Wood? This was as high as one got to royalty without being royalty. And he most certainly did not wish to be a ruler!
She gave a sigh of relief as the light dimmed, "Its obvious. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."
"You said you got your name from the yrch," he mused wandering around the room. He wasn't used to speaking with many elven-women, though he doubted she was hardly a regular Silvan elf. "What are they like?"
"Who?"
He gulped, "Orcs. What are they like?"
Her eyes glazed over, whether it was love or hate he could not tell, but she was not with him. She was far away, probably deep in the mines - where they had dug too deep. "They are loud, smelly, almost like an oversized pack of wolves. They understand most Sindarian, believe it or not and are quite intelligent beasts. Despite being cannibalistic they are rather family-oriented."
"Family oriented?" he broke in.
"The mothers will protect their children at any cost, as will the fathers to the mothers. They travel in large groups so they can be near their family unit. They do not enslave their own children - as I've heard rumors before. The only way an orc is enslaved by other orcs is if its parents are purposefully killed by orcs... if that made any sense to you at all. Orphans are taken into families. Orphans are those whose parents died in combat with dwarves, elves, and men."
"Too bad elves don't work like that," Haldir snickered. "How long?"
"How long what?" she was confused, too tired to read his mind and he only spoke in phrases!
He shifted onto his other foot, clearing his throat, "How long were you in bondage?"
"Little over half a thousand years," she replied. "512 to be exact... if I counted right and this year is 3021..."
"How... how do they treat slaves?"
"Depends on the master... I-I was traded to an Uruk-hai for awhile, nasty creatures..." she shuddered, and unexpectedly she burst into tears. Though in a sticky predicament, Haldir rested a hand to her shoulder blade as it sobbed. And as soon as he lowered himself slightly she latched onto his tall frame. "Nothing's changed here! Nothing! Still nobody cares of my passing and coming... is it better to be or needed? Is it better to be beaten or be alone?" she choked.
Her floor length hair draped down in a braid over his elbow, as she sobbed onto his shoulder with never ending waterfalls of tears cascading down her face. She did not wail like many of the elven women did when they mourned. Her cries were near silent, hushed by years of what he supposed was necessity. "What good is an elf who doesn't remember her civilized name?" she inquired of him, despondently. "I have no use here..."
Orophin cocked an eyebrow up at the sight he saw through the window of the House of Healing. Had it been the previous day Haldir had yanked the now-bandaged elf from a horse? And now he held her like Orophin held his beautiful love - Loteliel when the poor elf had sobbed and mourned for her mother's passing? Was it not? Wasn't that when Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood had requested that the three brothers care for his older sister? Wasn't that when Orophin had fallen in love with her?
"Ah, don't you remember it, love?" Loteliel asked with a nudge.
"And Haldir hasn't a clue what he's doing."
"Oh, by the looks of it... I'd say he's doing better than you were."
"What?!"
The elf's laughter resounded through the trees. "My brother sent word while you were away; he, Gimli, Elladan, and Elrohir are expected to arrive in a few days."
With one last glance through the cocoon of the room the healers had put her in, Orophin grinned, "Oh yes! I'm happy now... it seems as if Rumil will be the only bachelor left among us! Permitting you're still allowing me to marry you formally... Haldir doesn't look like he's at any loss for a love."
"Oh yes, that would be a joy to finally trap you!" she winked. "Rumil will be very grumpy indeed about your brother's new friend."
.-*-.
A.N. Wow! Two days of consecutive posting! Isn't that amazing? Hee-hee Haldir and Skairukh already have rumors about them and they still can hardly stand each other! ^.^ R & R!
Translations Very little elvish this chapter!
1. Hroa - body
2. Fea - spirit
Broken Mirror
By Nezumi
Chapter Four: Whispers
Holding her wrapped hand over her amber eyes, Skairukh tried in vain to see the owner of the footsteps that now approached her. A familiar scent wrapped around her and she relaxed slightly but her curiosity would not allow her to give up on seeing her visitor. She squinted but it was all to no avail, she could not see him. Her eyes weren't accustomed to the brightness. "You're already up?" the voice asked, and she knew the rough coarse-ness of it. "The Amandil..." He glanced at her apprehensively. She was beautiful, even though she bore numerous bandages. "The Healers, they told me you were still unconscious."
"Then why did you still come Haldir?" she inquired and closed her eyes. The brightness was nauseating her - and she didn't want to black out whenever Haldir, the Gweth Gilith Commander ever showed his face. He'd think her weak, she knew how these kinds of men worked - and Skairukh wasn't about to let that happen. "You could have left and come back later to check on me - to see if I was up, I mean... so you could take me to Galadriel..." She shook her head. She had trailed off the subject again. "So, yes, why didn't you?"
"You intrigue me," he replied examining the light. They were simple, if one exerted a small bit of natural energy within the hroa with the fea, they could ignite it. It was a simple explanation, he liked simpler things sometimes. Skairukh was not simple. Most visitors were so easily read, he knew their intentions within seconds; how else could he have ascended so quickly to the position of a Knight Commander in the Gweth Gilith and personal companion guard to the Lord and Lady of the Wood? This was as high as one got to royalty without being royalty. And he most certainly did not wish to be a ruler!
She gave a sigh of relief as the light dimmed, "Its obvious. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."
"You said you got your name from the yrch," he mused wandering around the room. He wasn't used to speaking with many elven-women, though he doubted she was hardly a regular Silvan elf. "What are they like?"
"Who?"
He gulped, "Orcs. What are they like?"
Her eyes glazed over, whether it was love or hate he could not tell, but she was not with him. She was far away, probably deep in the mines - where they had dug too deep. "They are loud, smelly, almost like an oversized pack of wolves. They understand most Sindarian, believe it or not and are quite intelligent beasts. Despite being cannibalistic they are rather family-oriented."
"Family oriented?" he broke in.
"The mothers will protect their children at any cost, as will the fathers to the mothers. They travel in large groups so they can be near their family unit. They do not enslave their own children - as I've heard rumors before. The only way an orc is enslaved by other orcs is if its parents are purposefully killed by orcs... if that made any sense to you at all. Orphans are taken into families. Orphans are those whose parents died in combat with dwarves, elves, and men."
"Too bad elves don't work like that," Haldir snickered. "How long?"
"How long what?" she was confused, too tired to read his mind and he only spoke in phrases!
He shifted onto his other foot, clearing his throat, "How long were you in bondage?"
"Little over half a thousand years," she replied. "512 to be exact... if I counted right and this year is 3021..."
"How... how do they treat slaves?"
"Depends on the master... I-I was traded to an Uruk-hai for awhile, nasty creatures..." she shuddered, and unexpectedly she burst into tears. Though in a sticky predicament, Haldir rested a hand to her shoulder blade as it sobbed. And as soon as he lowered himself slightly she latched onto his tall frame. "Nothing's changed here! Nothing! Still nobody cares of my passing and coming... is it better to be or needed? Is it better to be beaten or be alone?" she choked.
Her floor length hair draped down in a braid over his elbow, as she sobbed onto his shoulder with never ending waterfalls of tears cascading down her face. She did not wail like many of the elven women did when they mourned. Her cries were near silent, hushed by years of what he supposed was necessity. "What good is an elf who doesn't remember her civilized name?" she inquired of him, despondently. "I have no use here..."
Orophin cocked an eyebrow up at the sight he saw through the window of the House of Healing. Had it been the previous day Haldir had yanked the now-bandaged elf from a horse? And now he held her like Orophin held his beautiful love - Loteliel when the poor elf had sobbed and mourned for her mother's passing? Was it not? Wasn't that when Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood had requested that the three brothers care for his older sister? Wasn't that when Orophin had fallen in love with her?
"Ah, don't you remember it, love?" Loteliel asked with a nudge.
"And Haldir hasn't a clue what he's doing."
"Oh, by the looks of it... I'd say he's doing better than you were."
"What?!"
The elf's laughter resounded through the trees. "My brother sent word while you were away; he, Gimli, Elladan, and Elrohir are expected to arrive in a few days."
With one last glance through the cocoon of the room the healers had put her in, Orophin grinned, "Oh yes! I'm happy now... it seems as if Rumil will be the only bachelor left among us! Permitting you're still allowing me to marry you formally... Haldir doesn't look like he's at any loss for a love."
"Oh yes, that would be a joy to finally trap you!" she winked. "Rumil will be very grumpy indeed about your brother's new friend."
.-*-.
A.N. Wow! Two days of consecutive posting! Isn't that amazing? Hee-hee Haldir and Skairukh already have rumors about them and they still can hardly stand each other! ^.^ R & R!
Translations Very little elvish this chapter!
1. Hroa - body
2. Fea - spirit