Born to Love Again, Again, and Again
Part 6
I was Catriona Oran, born on the Green Isle across the sea from the lands
of Middle Earth in the fourth age, year 86. I married at age 18, and
lived in the little settlement of my Clan in a place called Kinndenfarr.
There were about 15 families in all. My husband and father were fishermen
as most of the men in our community. After being married for one year,
both my husband and father were lost at sea. I grieved for many years.
There was no one on the isle I wished to marry.
My grandmother was born in the Highlands across the sea. She was kidnapped by a band of Raiders when she was young and brought to the Green Isle where she escaped. My grandfather helped to save her life and married her later. My grandmother knew how to read, write and count, which were rare in my community. So she taught me many things about the culture and main language of Middle Earth, which was Common Speech. She told me that I was exceptionally bright and that one day I would be the teacher of many.
I always wanted a lot of children, but with never remarrying, I had none. I became a tutor to the children of my Clan, and dearly loved them. They were a large part of my life and brought me much joy.
One day when I was forty-nine years old, a band of Raiders came to the Green Isle and attacked our settlement. They killed anything that moved and burned anything that could be ignited. I was up in the hills, many miles away, gathering nuts and herbs at the time this happened. I saw smoke rising from the village and ran as fast as I could to see what was burning. As I ran I tripped and fell on a very sharp rock, cutting an extremely deep gash in my leg above the ankle. Bleeding, I dragged myself back to the settlement. All was destroyed. There was nothing left, not even the remains of the Clan members...... my mother, my fourteen little students, all my friends and kin ...... all gone.......... no home, no food, only water left........
At that moment I wanted to die too. Perhaps the Raiders would return and kill me. But my instincts told me to hide. I went up into a rocky area into a well hidden cave which no one knew about, save the Clan members. Here I nursed my wound and wailed and mourned.
I do not know how many days I was in the cave as I began to run a fever. My grief was so deep I almost wished I had been there to leave this existence with the others. One morning when I was feeling particularly sorry for my self and my predicament, I screamed in pain and in pity. Then I lay down in a deep feverish sleep.
I awoke to sounds of men talking. I looked up and there stood a man that looked like an overgrown leprechaun, and an amazing taller man with long hair and who looked like a beardless giant leprechaun. Even with their countenance, my first thought was that they were part of the gang of Raiders and had come to kill me.
"Are you going to kill me?" I asked.
"No, Lady, we are not," said the tall one. "I heard your cries, then they stopped, so we started searching for you. I see that your village has been attacked and destroyed, as well as a boats down at the shore."
"Are you some kind of leprechauns?" I asked.
"No," said the shorter one with the red beard and fierce looking demeanor. "I am a Dwarf, and this is my friend, Prince Legolas of Mirkwood, who is an Elf."
I sat up a little and rested on my elbow. "What!" I cried. "My grandmother told me of such beings, but I never thought any of you would come over the sea."
"We have been traveling, mostly by ship. By the way, my name is Gimli." He asked me my name and I told him Catriona.
My elbow could no longer hold me up. I fell back in weakness, and drifted in and out of consciousness. Sometimes I thought I heard voices, sometimes not. I was delirious and I thought I was dead and in the Realm of Afterlife. I finally woke to the soothing awareness of a cool compress on my forehead. Tea was brewing on a little fire, and Legolas slowly poured a few drops at a time in my mouth as Gimli held me up. I became conscious, but the fever still raged. Legolas then began to apply herbs and a dressing to my injured leg. His hands radiated heat unlike any emitted by human hands.
Legolas and Gimli became concerned that there may be more victims who had been injured and left for dead by the Raiders. Gimli decided to go search while Legolas stayed with me. I told Gimli that there were no other settlements anywhere within walking distance, but he insisted that he make an effort at least in case there were any more survivors.
I began to get cold again and started to shake. The Shadow of Death was beckoning to me as my body grew colder and colder. I told Legolas that I wished I were as tiny as a bird so he could hold my whole body in his hands and warm it. He took off his cloak and his shirt and walked towards me. I was shaking and confused and did not know what he was about to do. He turned me on my left side and he lay down with me with his hot chest against my back. He put his long legs against the back of my legs and his right arm reached around my cold body. He pulled his cloak over us, and we lay together for a long time, and the terrible chill began to subside. The heat from his body felt like it penetrated my every cell, making me drift off to sleep with such peacefulness, I felt as if my soul merged with that of Legolas. He had saved my life. =========================================================================
My grandmother was born in the Highlands across the sea. She was kidnapped by a band of Raiders when she was young and brought to the Green Isle where she escaped. My grandfather helped to save her life and married her later. My grandmother knew how to read, write and count, which were rare in my community. So she taught me many things about the culture and main language of Middle Earth, which was Common Speech. She told me that I was exceptionally bright and that one day I would be the teacher of many.
I always wanted a lot of children, but with never remarrying, I had none. I became a tutor to the children of my Clan, and dearly loved them. They were a large part of my life and brought me much joy.
One day when I was forty-nine years old, a band of Raiders came to the Green Isle and attacked our settlement. They killed anything that moved and burned anything that could be ignited. I was up in the hills, many miles away, gathering nuts and herbs at the time this happened. I saw smoke rising from the village and ran as fast as I could to see what was burning. As I ran I tripped and fell on a very sharp rock, cutting an extremely deep gash in my leg above the ankle. Bleeding, I dragged myself back to the settlement. All was destroyed. There was nothing left, not even the remains of the Clan members...... my mother, my fourteen little students, all my friends and kin ...... all gone.......... no home, no food, only water left........
At that moment I wanted to die too. Perhaps the Raiders would return and kill me. But my instincts told me to hide. I went up into a rocky area into a well hidden cave which no one knew about, save the Clan members. Here I nursed my wound and wailed and mourned.
I do not know how many days I was in the cave as I began to run a fever. My grief was so deep I almost wished I had been there to leave this existence with the others. One morning when I was feeling particularly sorry for my self and my predicament, I screamed in pain and in pity. Then I lay down in a deep feverish sleep.
I awoke to sounds of men talking. I looked up and there stood a man that looked like an overgrown leprechaun, and an amazing taller man with long hair and who looked like a beardless giant leprechaun. Even with their countenance, my first thought was that they were part of the gang of Raiders and had come to kill me.
"Are you going to kill me?" I asked.
"No, Lady, we are not," said the tall one. "I heard your cries, then they stopped, so we started searching for you. I see that your village has been attacked and destroyed, as well as a boats down at the shore."
"Are you some kind of leprechauns?" I asked.
"No," said the shorter one with the red beard and fierce looking demeanor. "I am a Dwarf, and this is my friend, Prince Legolas of Mirkwood, who is an Elf."
I sat up a little and rested on my elbow. "What!" I cried. "My grandmother told me of such beings, but I never thought any of you would come over the sea."
"We have been traveling, mostly by ship. By the way, my name is Gimli." He asked me my name and I told him Catriona.
My elbow could no longer hold me up. I fell back in weakness, and drifted in and out of consciousness. Sometimes I thought I heard voices, sometimes not. I was delirious and I thought I was dead and in the Realm of Afterlife. I finally woke to the soothing awareness of a cool compress on my forehead. Tea was brewing on a little fire, and Legolas slowly poured a few drops at a time in my mouth as Gimli held me up. I became conscious, but the fever still raged. Legolas then began to apply herbs and a dressing to my injured leg. His hands radiated heat unlike any emitted by human hands.
Legolas and Gimli became concerned that there may be more victims who had been injured and left for dead by the Raiders. Gimli decided to go search while Legolas stayed with me. I told Gimli that there were no other settlements anywhere within walking distance, but he insisted that he make an effort at least in case there were any more survivors.
I began to get cold again and started to shake. The Shadow of Death was beckoning to me as my body grew colder and colder. I told Legolas that I wished I were as tiny as a bird so he could hold my whole body in his hands and warm it. He took off his cloak and his shirt and walked towards me. I was shaking and confused and did not know what he was about to do. He turned me on my left side and he lay down with me with his hot chest against my back. He put his long legs against the back of my legs and his right arm reached around my cold body. He pulled his cloak over us, and we lay together for a long time, and the terrible chill began to subside. The heat from his body felt like it penetrated my every cell, making me drift off to sleep with such peacefulness, I felt as if my soul merged with that of Legolas. He had saved my life. =========================================================================
