AN: Hiya folks. There wasn't too much of a response for this. *Sighs* How sad! …But oh well. I've worked very hard on this fic and I really just want to share it with anyone who wants to read it. Yeah… I haven't read the Silmarillion yet, although I do plan to… ^_^
I don't own anything… not even the books. I borrowed the trilogy from a friend and he's not getting them back. *Laughs insanely* What? He's not as big of an LotR fan as he SHOULD be.
Chapter 2: Acceptance
Legolas ran to the little girl and surveyed the damage the orc had done. Looking down at her face, he gasped with worry as he noticed its severity. He leaned down and whispered reassuringly into her ear, "You will be alright." Her ragged breathing turned into a steady, shallow struggle and he knew that she had lost consciousness. In the matter of mere moments, he tore at his shirt and began to wipe the blood from her face. So much blood. Seeing there was nothing else he could do to help the facial damage, Legolas turned his attention to the girl's arm. It, too, was severely damaged. Ripping another piece from his shirt, he began to dress her injury and wrapped the cloth tightly over her wound.
The little girl shivered. Removing his cloak, he wrapped it around her. It was overly large but suited its purpose. Hearing the sound of elves running toward him, Legolas gently placed the girl on soft, mossy ground near the tree. He could not be seen missing from his teachers. Dashing away, his mind began to wonder how he would explain to his father his missing cloak and torn pieces from his shirt.
* * *
The news of Auruin's blindness spread quickly amongst the curious elves of Mirkwood. Every day for her was a struggle. Dreams would haunt her nights and everything that had happened to her in the woods would play over in her mind. She would wake up every morning believing that somehow she would be completely healed but was always mistaken. Eventually, the scars on arm and face faded away making her appear as though she were never hurt. The emotional scars left by the ordeal, however, would never heal.
Her parents often worried about her. Auruin would stay within the confines of her house and talk softly to herself about what happened in the forest. The girl would repeatedly murmur in her sleep and cry quietly. She had once described to them the boy, telling them that he was her savior. Her parents were thankful for his rescue but would never know who he was.
Centuries passed and her dreams quieted. The face of the orc was replaced with that of the invented image of the boy who had rescued her. As she grew, his image grew with her and she found his once youthful face matured. She clung to his memory believing that the orc attack was not random but destiny; she believed that her fate was intertwined with the boy's. The elven girl felt she owed him her life and so, wanted to thank him for saving her… but she had never found the courage to seek him out and face him with her disability.
Even as she aged, Auruin still refused to venture too far from her home. Whenever she did leave and walk through the city, she would hear whispers and mutterings as she passed by. They pitied her, something she despised. She felt bitter hatred for what happened to her and blamed no one but herself.
Her parents loved her dearly; Auruin was their only child. And out of love, they felt a great need to bring her from her cocoon of self-loathing and doubt. One day, her father pulled her from bed and brought her into the woods she feared so greatly.
"Ada!" she cried, "Ada, where are you?" Auruin was terror-stricken. She felt an intense panic well up inside her as she thought of the orc.
Her father stood off silently to one side watching her. His heart ached as he saw his daughter grasp at the air but he knew that she could not live her life shut in her home.
"Father! Please do not leave me here! I will die!"
For weeks, he would go every morning to the forest with his daughter. Every time she would memorize their path, he would take her to a new site. Soon, she was forced to learn to find her own way through the thick trees by using her other senses. Auruin no longer looked at the forest as threatening. She began to expand her mind to her surroundings and found the beauty in all the sensations she experienced.
It was then that her father placed a bow in her arms. A puzzled look crossed her features, "Father? What is this?"
He taught her how to nock the arrow and how to release it from her fingers. Finally, when she was ready, he whispered into her ear, "It is a bow. You must use it."
She was still confused but listened to her father. Closing her eyes, she allowed her senses to work on their own. Her father pulled out a small wooden brick and threw it into the air. As though by magic, her arms raised to point at the falling object. She used her ears to find the brick and let her arrow fly. She was disappointed to hear the arrow miss. She turned to her father.
"I still do not understand… Why?"
"Because, my dear daughter, it is time you learn you are not so vulnerable. You are capable of many things." He helped her nock another arrow and together, they practiced. It took her many tries, many weeks, and much hard work to finally hit her target.
Years passed on and Auruin's skill greatly improved. Although she would never be quite as talented as a seeing elf, she would be able to keep herself guarded and safe. The girl took a liking to the forest, a fact she found rather ironic. She often visited the brooks and streams that flowed hither and thither and always proudly carried the bow with her.
* * *
Legolas sat atop a tree branch lazily surveying the forest below him. He had been arguing with his father and needed some time to clear his head. His father denied him permission to join an expedition to the northwest. There was no reason why he had to be left behind; it was merely a lack of experience. I cannot go unless I gain experience, and I cannot gain experience if I do not go! Exasperated, the prince sighed and settled down into the branch on which he sat.
Below him, the slight movement of bushes caught his attention. His eyes darted through his surroundings searching for the source. It may have been one of his father's servants who were searching for him. To his surprise, an elf maiden appeared. It wasn't so much the fact that she was a maiden; it was rather that she was a maiden that held a bow in her hands and carried a quiver of arrows on her back.
Curious, he began to investigate. He swiftly and silently leapt from the tree to land on the ground below. The other elf stopped and seemed to examine something but after a moment, she continued on, with Legolas stalking behind her. He was quite confident that the girl wouldn't find him, he was after all the best soldier in his father's army, and followed dangerously close. This was quite ridiculous of him as the easiest way to find out what the girl was doing was to ask, but elves are fickle creatures and Legolas was no different.
Suddenly, the girl stopped again and raised her bow up to nock an arrow. Legolas watched her with interest as she pulled her arm back then turned her body slowly until the arrow was pointing directly at him. His mouth dropped open in surprise; she had heard him. His eyes roamed over the girl. Her eyes were a lovely and peculiar shade of gray—as though clouded over. She didn't seem to see him and her gaze would dart back and forth searching for his hidden form. There was something remarkably familiar about the girl and it was then that he noticed the green leaf brooch holding her cloak in place; she must have been the one he had saved from an orc countless centuries ago…
"Identify yourself."
* * *
Thanks to everyone who did review! That was mighty nice of ya… Those "That was good, write more"s are really great (and I'm not saying to stop writin' 'em! They really boost your spirit), but I love the long ones ever so much more! They give me insight on what's wrong with my writing and help me fix it so that I can make it better! So… I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have. Flames too! They can be pretty useful stuff. ^_^