Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings or its characters.
Pg. 2
Kalin's panic turned to numbing fear. The darkness seemed to close in on her, heavy and suffocating. This could not be! She was nothing without her sight, nothing! She would not become a useless object of pity, relying on others for her survival, and to survive for what? She had not fought her way back to consciousness to live for this!
Taking deep breaths, she fought to control herself. If she lost her head now, stumbling directionless and thoughtless in her panic, then surely all would be lost. For now at least she still had a purpose, a task left that none but she could accomplish. She would fulfill her duty and her dream, or she would die trying. She owed it first to Tirendil, and now to Malach not to fail. She would face the rest later. With trembling hands Kalin reached up and out, encountering nothing but air. See, she assured herself, the world was not falling in upon her. Not yet.
* * * * *
Her groping search for Tirendil's bow and quiver had been rewarded. They had fallen not far from her. She had gathered the spilled arrows of which only a few were broken. These she placed back in the quiver with the whole ones. Running her fingers carefully along the bow's smooth, beautifully carved surfaces, she guessed with great relief that it had not been damaged.
Her search for her pack, her horse, and, worst of all for Malach, had been in vain. Kalin had scrambled up a small bank to find the smoother flat surface of the trail. Remembering that the lower ground had been on their left and the attackers on the upper slope on their right, she had grasped an arrow to guide her, and slowly went back up the trail to where she guessed Malach had been attacked. Knowing she could be far off the mark, still she called his name and searched along the ground, first with her makeshift cane and then on hands and knees. She had found nothing. Oh why had she allowed him to come with her! Fearing that she had missed something but afraid of losing her bearings, she halted in indecision. What if the dark riders returned? She knew she would need to move along soon if she was going to survive. With a sickened heart, she promised to the air around her, "Malach, I will send help for you!" Turning back up the trail once more, Kalin let he tears fall as she wearily moved on.
Pg. 2
Kalin's panic turned to numbing fear. The darkness seemed to close in on her, heavy and suffocating. This could not be! She was nothing without her sight, nothing! She would not become a useless object of pity, relying on others for her survival, and to survive for what? She had not fought her way back to consciousness to live for this!
Taking deep breaths, she fought to control herself. If she lost her head now, stumbling directionless and thoughtless in her panic, then surely all would be lost. For now at least she still had a purpose, a task left that none but she could accomplish. She would fulfill her duty and her dream, or she would die trying. She owed it first to Tirendil, and now to Malach not to fail. She would face the rest later. With trembling hands Kalin reached up and out, encountering nothing but air. See, she assured herself, the world was not falling in upon her. Not yet.
* * * * *
Her groping search for Tirendil's bow and quiver had been rewarded. They had fallen not far from her. She had gathered the spilled arrows of which only a few were broken. These she placed back in the quiver with the whole ones. Running her fingers carefully along the bow's smooth, beautifully carved surfaces, she guessed with great relief that it had not been damaged.
Her search for her pack, her horse, and, worst of all for Malach, had been in vain. Kalin had scrambled up a small bank to find the smoother flat surface of the trail. Remembering that the lower ground had been on their left and the attackers on the upper slope on their right, she had grasped an arrow to guide her, and slowly went back up the trail to where she guessed Malach had been attacked. Knowing she could be far off the mark, still she called his name and searched along the ground, first with her makeshift cane and then on hands and knees. She had found nothing. Oh why had she allowed him to come with her! Fearing that she had missed something but afraid of losing her bearings, she halted in indecision. What if the dark riders returned? She knew she would need to move along soon if she was going to survive. With a sickened heart, she promised to the air around her, "Malach, I will send help for you!" Turning back up the trail once more, Kalin let he tears fall as she wearily moved on.