Chapter 5
`Was your life truly so painful?' Elrond asked Gilraen gently.
She looked at the wine cup in her hands, seemly reluctant to look at him. `I know you have suffered much in your life, my Lord, and compared to what I know of your sorrows mine probably sound like the whingeing of a spoiled child. But try being 17, married to someone you dislike, your family turned against you because of I person's lies, and no where to go, nothing you can do about it, and no one to talk too.'
`Actually you are wrong, you don't sound at all like a spoiled child to me. You have been very strong, Lady; you had a terrible experience for one who was not much more than a child.' Elrond took the now empty wine cup from her hands, and asked `Why did you have no one to talk to? Did you have no friends? I know that your family refused responsibility for you when Arathorn died, and that his family never accepted you, but were things that bad that your friends abandoned you too?'
`Oh, no my friends didn't abandon me, that was the trouble. After 3 of my closest friends helped me to run away a few days before my wedding they were forbidden to see me,' Gilraen replied.
`You ran away!', said a very startled Elrond
`Yes, there didn't seem any other option at the time. Of course, the Rangers soon found me; Mother went nearly mad when I was returned home, Father thought she was going to kill me, and hid me from her.'
Elrond had a black look on his face as he turned back to face Gilraen. Seeing the look on his face frightened her, and she shrank back in the chair. `I am not angry with you; I just cannot understand why some Mortals are so cruel to their children', Elrond said to her
`Are Elves never unkind to each other then?' Gilraen asked timidly
`Yes, of course we are. We are human after all, but we reserve such behaviour for those who deserve it, and are old enough to defend themselves', Elrond answered her.
Gilraen was silent while she thought of what Elrond had said. Then spoke again, `you said you knew of my family's and my in-law's refusal to help me when I was widowed. I didn't know that you knew that. Is that part of the reason I was asked to live here in Rivendell?' she asked, uncertain whether she should bring that subject up.
`Yes, all here know of your circumstances, and it was decided that the mother of Isildur's heir was not going to be turned into the Wild to fend for herself while the Elves of Rivendell could prevent it', Elrond replied, looking even angrier. `I personally thought some of your family needed a sharp lesson in the responsibilities of parenthood, but my good friend Glorfindel counselled me to leave things be; he said that all I would do is make life hard for Aragorn when takes over as Chieftain if I created hatred between him and your family. It was hard to do, but I know he was right, and I stayed here instead of being part of your escort here as I originally planned.' He looked at Gilraen, `I have never hit a woman, but I did very much want to take a belt to your mother, all the more now you have told me she forced you into an unwanted marriage. How she managed to have such a lovely girl as yourself as her daughter is beyond me!'
Actually, she is my stepmother, my real mother died when I was a child. I think that is part of why she dislikes me,' said Gilraen.
`No excuse', snapped Elrond.
`Oh, I am not excusing her, just explaining', Said Gilraen. `After all the kindness I have been shown here, the least I owe you is the truth'.
Elrond looked at Gilraen without saying anything for a minute. She had the oddest feeling that he was almost reading her mind, and she wasn't sure that she liked it. In fact she was sure she didn't.
`I think that you have something else on your mind, Lady Gilraen. You want to tell me something, and do not know how to start', Elrond said after the silence which had seemed to stretch on forever to the lady.
`Yes, I do', she said, `and you are right, I don't know how to say it, so I will just come right out and say what is on my mind. I want your permission to undertake Ranger training'.
`Was your life truly so painful?' Elrond asked Gilraen gently.
She looked at the wine cup in her hands, seemly reluctant to look at him. `I know you have suffered much in your life, my Lord, and compared to what I know of your sorrows mine probably sound like the whingeing of a spoiled child. But try being 17, married to someone you dislike, your family turned against you because of I person's lies, and no where to go, nothing you can do about it, and no one to talk too.'
`Actually you are wrong, you don't sound at all like a spoiled child to me. You have been very strong, Lady; you had a terrible experience for one who was not much more than a child.' Elrond took the now empty wine cup from her hands, and asked `Why did you have no one to talk to? Did you have no friends? I know that your family refused responsibility for you when Arathorn died, and that his family never accepted you, but were things that bad that your friends abandoned you too?'
`Oh, no my friends didn't abandon me, that was the trouble. After 3 of my closest friends helped me to run away a few days before my wedding they were forbidden to see me,' Gilraen replied.
`You ran away!', said a very startled Elrond
`Yes, there didn't seem any other option at the time. Of course, the Rangers soon found me; Mother went nearly mad when I was returned home, Father thought she was going to kill me, and hid me from her.'
Elrond had a black look on his face as he turned back to face Gilraen. Seeing the look on his face frightened her, and she shrank back in the chair. `I am not angry with you; I just cannot understand why some Mortals are so cruel to their children', Elrond said to her
`Are Elves never unkind to each other then?' Gilraen asked timidly
`Yes, of course we are. We are human after all, but we reserve such behaviour for those who deserve it, and are old enough to defend themselves', Elrond answered her.
Gilraen was silent while she thought of what Elrond had said. Then spoke again, `you said you knew of my family's and my in-law's refusal to help me when I was widowed. I didn't know that you knew that. Is that part of the reason I was asked to live here in Rivendell?' she asked, uncertain whether she should bring that subject up.
`Yes, all here know of your circumstances, and it was decided that the mother of Isildur's heir was not going to be turned into the Wild to fend for herself while the Elves of Rivendell could prevent it', Elrond replied, looking even angrier. `I personally thought some of your family needed a sharp lesson in the responsibilities of parenthood, but my good friend Glorfindel counselled me to leave things be; he said that all I would do is make life hard for Aragorn when takes over as Chieftain if I created hatred between him and your family. It was hard to do, but I know he was right, and I stayed here instead of being part of your escort here as I originally planned.' He looked at Gilraen, `I have never hit a woman, but I did very much want to take a belt to your mother, all the more now you have told me she forced you into an unwanted marriage. How she managed to have such a lovely girl as yourself as her daughter is beyond me!'
Actually, she is my stepmother, my real mother died when I was a child. I think that is part of why she dislikes me,' said Gilraen.
`No excuse', snapped Elrond.
`Oh, I am not excusing her, just explaining', Said Gilraen. `After all the kindness I have been shown here, the least I owe you is the truth'.
Elrond looked at Gilraen without saying anything for a minute. She had the oddest feeling that he was almost reading her mind, and she wasn't sure that she liked it. In fact she was sure she didn't.
`I think that you have something else on your mind, Lady Gilraen. You want to tell me something, and do not know how to start', Elrond said after the silence which had seemed to stretch on forever to the lady.
`Yes, I do', she said, `and you are right, I don't know how to say it, so I will just come right out and say what is on my mind. I want your permission to undertake Ranger training'.