SUES AND SWORDS
Disclaimer: (elerian) I own nothing. Nothing. Especially not Lord of the Rings. Well, except maybe Karine, and Amelan, and... yeah. Anyway, I don't own the stuff that isn't mine.
AN: Bunnies! Green polar bunnies!
4. Of Wakings and Wanderings
Karine opened her eyes to a room that was small and crowded but pleasant. The walls were a glistening golden-white, and the tapestry over the doorway was pure white with gold-embroidered edges, and a part in the center as the opening. The person in front of the tapestry with her head outside the doorway sounded irritated and as if she was about to lose her patience. The person's raven-black hair swished, tumbling down her back, as she tossed her head angrily. As she adjusted her white-booted feet to a more comfortable position, the simple blue gown she wore swirled around her legs and settled itself softly about her body.
"Yes, young one, she will wake soon, but as I have said before, she is not to be disturbed. No, you may not come in to see her! She is no sculpture to be examined and criticized, nor an artifact to be disassembled and studied. Perhaps you will meet her when she is healed and no longer ill. Lairindil, go attend your duties-you have none? I can set you some, in that case-no? Then be off and leave us in peace. Go!" With that, she released a heavy tapestry set above the door to cover the center split so as to ensure greater privacy. Then she turned to Karine.
"Ah, you're up. Tell me, are you still tired at all, or do you feel the least bit sleepy?"
Karine was slightly confused at the unexpected question. "Well-no-not really, but sort of-"
The woman frowned at Karine and said, "Answer the question! There aren't many options-either 'yes', 'no', or somewhere in between-not all at once! Well?"
"Just-uh-somewhat sleepy, I think it's because I just woke up..." She was startled at the woman's flatly blunt manner and tried to give her the type of answer she was looking for.
Apparently this was satisfactory, for she nodded and introduced herself. Brushing back black strands from her face, she revealed pointed ears as she spoke. "My name is Temeril, and I am a healer. I've been caring for you for three days now, and apparently you have been unconscious for most of five. I have been given little and jumbled information by your companion, who-"
"Lan? Lan's here, too, wherever here is? Oh, that's good, then. Will I be able to see her soon? Where am I? How did I get here? Did it take a long time?" Karine's barrage of questions hit the unsuspecting healer almost as forcefully as blows.
"She's asleep at the moment, but in the time it takes you to get cleaned up and eat, she may wake up, despite the concoction I gave her. She must rest! I fail to understand how my patients are going to heal when they cannot rest!"
"Um..."
"Oh, yes, the bath is out that door, to the left, then take another left at the end of the hall, a left at the end of that hall, then a left at the end of that hall and follow the passage back to a little bath. After that, you may go eat. I put directions in with your change of clothes so we don't have a fiasco like last time."
"What happened last time?"
"Nothing, nothing. Now stop pestering me; I have plenty of work without you interrogating me." Although her words were harsh, the healer smiled as she exited the room. Karine shook her head, amazed by the woman's brisk manners. Then she got up and wandered into the hall, trying to figure out exactly where she was going.
Eventually, Karine found the bathing room that had Temeril had spoken of. She reveled in the steam and how nice it felt to be washed clean of all the grime and dust of several days. When she finished, she wrapped herself in a large towel and went to look at the clothes left for her. As she slipped the pale silver-grey dress over her head, she sighed in delight. The dress was everything she could have wished for-perfectly fitted, flowing, and flattering of her hair and features with its color. She picked up the slip of paper with directions on it and started to pick up her other clothing. Her pants were so dusty that their original color was a mystery, her shirt was only slightly less dirt-encrusted. Unsure of what to do with them, she left them on the chair where her dress had previously lain. 'Someone will get them, I suppose. Oh, this is LOVELY!" She flounced into the hall and made her way towards... wherever she was going.
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Karine looked at the sheet with directions, at the hall, at the sheet, and at the hall again. "Every hall here looks like the other! I can't remember if I've taken one left or two," she mumbled to herself. "Oh, well, I can just take another one!" With that, she turned left down another white hallway.
Although her judgment had seemed right at the time, Karine was beginning to wonder if she was in the right place. This hall was quieter and narrower than the other halls she had traveled down, and so much quieter that even her thoughts seemed to echo in an obnoxiously loud way. As she began to seriously contemplate turning back, she heard voices farther down the passage. Hastening her steps, she approached a bend in the corridor, the voices crescendoing every second.
Karine stopped, frowning, sure she'd caught Lan's name. No, she hadn't- wait! There it was again, an utterance about "Lady Amelan". She squeezed herself into a tiny nook so as to listen to the conversation undetected.
"...from what you've told me, she appears to be quite the warrior," said one voice, "your Lady Amelan. She sounds an interesting maid, indeed."
"Interesting?" replied a second, chuckling. The voice sounded familiar to Karine, but she couldn't recall where she had heard it. "Yes. I suppose you could call her that. And... also more than she seems." There came a pause, and Karine could imagine the speaker thinking of Lan in all her ...uniqueness. "Did I ever tell you of her escapade with that oddly- assorted group which was so well-received by our Lord and Lady? The dwarf, four Halflings, two men, and the Mirkwood elf?"
"No, I don't believe you did."
"Well, the elf-Legolas son of Thranduil, if I remember correctly-bumped into her, and since she had been ill recently (or possibly she was just over-exhausted) she began to feel slightly faint. The usual apologies, admonishments, and offers of compensation ensued, and he and Aragorn son of Arathorn agreed to escort her back to her room to get some rest. She asked their names, and they gave them as Legolas and Aragorn, but then she severely startled them both by saying: 'A prince of Mirkwood and a king of Númenor. Strange people walk the world in these times.' Aragorn was first to question her, asking who she was and how she knew. She responded that her name was a family name; she was a bard, and had traveled far.
They both scrutinized her for a time, with those cold stares so typical of the threatened-frightened her considerably, I'm sure," he added harshly, "and then drew apart to talk on their own. By this time she was getting more and more light-headed, and basically collapsed; however, the elf caught her before... before she was hurt." He sounded bitter.
"Do I detect a note of jealousy in your voice, brother?"
A derisive laugh. "Jealous? I doubt it. In any case, Legolas carried her part of the way back to her room-out of guilt, I suppose, for having caused her collapse. Aragorn came with him, and they had almost reached the North Wing when I happened upon them."
Another pause, then the irritatingly familiar voice again, now embarrassed. "You know the rest of it, or you've heard the rest. My 'completely unjustified' worry, my initial ...aggravation when I saw him bearing her so tenderly, as if she were made of crystal..." The speaker's voice shook off its tender mantle and returned to practicality. "The one thing you won't have heard, my friend, is what Legolas revealed to me of their suspicions. They thought her a spy of the Enemy, thought I had been fooled by a fair face into allowing a minion of the Dark One into our most precious Wood. That she was dangerous, and should be imprisoned immediately, to torture or to death, to reveal what she knew of his evil plans. What could I say? That our Lady has had our every shift of guards on the watch for her and her companion? No, for this was strictly to be kept within Lórien, among those who already knew of the quest. I felt I had only one option, so I did something I should not have-I made them forget."
"CELERION! What were you thinking? One is never meant to use that particular skill except in time of direst need!"
Karine felt a vague recognition of the name, but the situation in which she had met its owner was still aggravatingly elusive.
"And what was this, if not direst need? From the very moment I met her in the woods-from the moment she ran into me, I have felt the need to protect her. Protect her from those such as orcs, and at that time, from those who would, in their mistrust, imprison her. So I made them forget."
Karine thought furiously, trying to remember woods and running into people... oh, of course! Blue eyes, when they had just entered the wood and ever-talented Lan had managed to jolt her awake as they ran into the elf. Being carried, by someone or another... the memories flooded back to her.
The voices from the room stopped abruptly, and Karine belatedly realized that she'd let out a gasp in her surprise. Oops. She ducked out of her nook to hurry away before Celerion and his friend (or was it brother?) discovered she had been listening. She grinned, turning the information over in her mind. Legolas, Aragorn, and an admirer for Lan all in one breath! She set off to find food and, hopefully, the Fellowship.
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Lan opened her eyes slowly, the bright light of day causing spots and stars in her vision. When they finally cleared, Lan sat up cautiously. Seeing no one else in the room, she slumped down again. "Oh, my head feels like a dwarf mistook it for a mithril mine!"
"A perfectly normal reaction to this particular potion of mine, I assure you. Drink this." Temeril swept into the room and handed Lan a tumbler of something murky. When Lan took a swig, she almost spat it out, but forced herself to swallow, pulling a face.
"You wouldn't have to drink it had you taken it slowly yesterday, rather than running about and crashing into guests. I can only hope your companion does not follow your example."
"Karine's awake?!" Lan sat bolt upright, all dwarven mines forgotten.
"Yes, she woke a few hours ago..." Temeril tried to continue, but Lan had already dashed out of the room and gone in search of Karine.
'Where would she be headed? I can only hope she doesn't wind up where she shouldn't,' Lan thought as she ran. "Oh, gods, the Fellowship! I pray she hasn't found them and doomed us all!"
She actually managed to find her way to the hall where she'd eaten, but saw no sign of Karine or the Fellowship. She stubbed her toe against something, and realized she'd run off in such a hurry that she'd forgotten her boots. 'Oh, well, can't be helped now,' she thought, and set off again, determined to ask every person she came to until someone could tell her where to find her missing companion.
A familiar young girl grinned at Kan when she asked. "Uh-huh, there was a lady I talked to who looks like that," she replied. "Asked about a bunch of males staying her for a while-Men, something called Halflings, even a Dwarf. She said there was also an Elf with them-oh, yes," she added, sounding mystified, "she went on that he was... cute, I think. That didn't make sense, so I told her that baby animals were cute, especially deer. They let me touch them if I'm really gentle. Anyway-she said something about how strange I was, so I said that she was the odd one, and why was she calling me strange? Then-"
"Please, uh-what's your name?"
"I'm Lairindil! That means summer lily. I was born in the summer, you see, and-"
"Please, Lairindil, just tell me if you know where she is now." Lan was beginning to become exasperated with her overly talkative nature. 'Well, I couldn't have known-when she showed me to Karine's room she was fairly direct.'
"Yes, come with me." Once redirected, Lairindil was fairly quiet, perhaps seeing the worry and irritation in Lan's face. They came to a balcony, and the young elf pointed out a familiar figure fast approaching an unsuspecting Fellowship.
"By Eru above! What's the fastest way down there?" Lairindil seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and swiftly led her to a flight of stairs a little way down the hall from the balcony. Lan said her thanks and was about to take off running when Lairindil handed her something. "You might need this. Good luck, and good speed!"
Then Lan was off, the object heavy and biting into her hand, flying across ground with more speed and grace than she'd ever before been able to muster. 'Manwë ar Varda ná o nye,' she thought, not having breath to speak. Manwë and Varda be with me. Her feet barely touched the grass, and many an elf turned to watch her swift passage. By the time they caught sight of her, streaming hair flowing gracefully in her wake, her gown making her appear but a white blur, she was long past.
Lan finally espied her quarry ahead of her, walking quite unaware of the rigorous chase that had just occurred. Karine had a chase of her own, and devoted all her energy to its completion, but Lan would not allow her to succeed. 'I will never let her disrupt the canon.'
Karine watched the figures before her, waiting for a certain one to appear. 'Where could he be? I'm sure he's here. He must be here, or else I've walked all this way for nothing. AHA!'
She leapt forward-it was Aragorn, the beautiful Ranger of her dreams, Strider, Isildur's Heir-well, Karine began to leap forward. The iron grip on her upper arm and the flat of a blade cold against her neck stopped her sharply as she moved. Lan's voice was low, deceptively soft.
"We do not come into contact with them. They do not see us. We do not behave like morons when confronted with any member of said group therein!" Her voice had grown sharp and cold as the dagger she held towards the end, and the steel had pressed deep enough to draw blood. Karine, too frightened by the sudden change in her companion (and dare she say friend) to move, swallowed and gulped back tears. She tried, anyway; that a plump droplet rolled down her cheek was but a fact, and a minor detail.
Lan, seeing how shocked Karine was, relented slightly and sheathed Lairindil's dagger. She began guiding Karine back towards Cerin Amroth, away from the Fellowship. "Karine, listen to me. If we interfere with Tolkien, who knows what will happen! Even worse, if you reveal that you know the outcome, what can either of us do when the Dark Lord swoops down upon you to carry you off for questioning? Think about the implications of your actions-consider what you might bring down on us. And also on the Fellowship and the good people of Middle-Earth. You'll doom them to a life of slavery, never-ending horror, if you get involved. Imagine if the Fellowship begins to believe that the outcome is predetermined, or what if Boromir discovers that he is to die soon? Don't you know..." Lan continued to rant, fingering the dagger, until a cough interrupted her.
"She told me to say I'm sorry for interrupting, so I'm sorry to interrupt, especially because it was so funny the way you looked when I coughed. I guess you were surprised-okay, fine, to get the point... The Lady Galadriel wants to meet you in private immediately. Well-no, not immediately. She wanted to see you immediately before I left to look for you, so... she wanted to see you fifteen minutes ago." Lairindil grinned, proud of her logic. Lan exploded.
"WHAT? You could have said that as soon as you found us!" Lan clenched her fists, trying and barely succeeding to avoid strangling the grinning Lairindil. Only by great strain was she able to calm herself and keep her anger from her voice. "Please take us to her. The Lady must not be kept waiting."
"Sure." Lairindil held out her hand. "Can I have my dagger back?"
"Yes, of course." Lan slid it out of her belt and returned it. "Now, can we please hurry?"
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The trio ran at a breakneck pace, on which Lan insisted. She knew how wonderful an opportunity they had in being asked to meet with Galadriel, and had no intention of being any later than she absolutely had to be. Lairindil lead, and clearly enjoyed running through trees, along walks, and between other elves. When she stopped abruptly inside Cerin Amroth, it was all Lan could do not to run into her. Instead, she swerved, stopped, and patted down her hair, which was escaping the band she had wound around it the day before. When Lan finished primping, she looked at Karine to see if she was ready to go in. The pretty elf was still fixing her hair, smoothing her dress, and looking to see if her hemline was dirty. Lan poked her and nodded to Lairindil, who rapped on the wall beside the curtain over the doorway.
From within, a voice as spun silver uttered words Lan could not make out, and Lairindil pushed the heavy tapestry open. Lan braced herself against the shock of meeting Galadriel of the Teleri, who had seen the light of the Two Trees and was granddaughter to Olwë himself. Karine had ceased her fidgeting and, lifting her head, stood as tall as she could. She thought of all she had read in the Silmarillion, remembering the sorrow and wisdom of Galadriel, even in her youth. Then Lairindil was past the doorway and bowing, all hint of the roguish child in her gone. "My Lady Altariel, as per your command are now present one Amelan Sena and Karine Erisil." She rose from her bow and retired respectfully to a corner.
Karine's first real look at the famed Lady of Lórien was fully as awe- inspiring as one could hope. She barely resisted the strong urge to fall to her knees before the majestic woman, seemingly clothed in flowing, starry light. She was of such a height that she should seem to be towering conspicuously above Karine, yet instead Karine felt she was the one out of place in Galadriel's presence. 'Grave and beautiful-how aptly Tolkien described her!' she thought, sinking humbly into a deep curtsy and feeling ever so inadequate and alien.
Lan had trouble keeping her jaw from dropping. Such beauty and power contained in one person almost made her want to lie at the woman's feet, not to mention all of the years Galadriel had seen. She knew she should show some sign of respect, and reached for her sword to give a warrior's salute. When she realized that she did not have it, she settled for a bow, never having fully understood how or why one would curtsy. When she looked up, the Lady was smiling, as though Lan's actions amused her.
"You are wondering why I have called you here. It is not often two alien elf-maidens of unknown origins are asked to see the Lady of the Golden Wood." She paused, as if waiting to be assured that they were indeed as alien as had been reported to her.
"Well, my lady," Lan began, "it seemed somewhat unusual, but I did not intend to question your wishes." As she spoke she thought, 'Oh, to have said something more intelligent. Perhaps I shall sink into the floor. Yes, that seems about right.'
In her mind, she heard Galadriel's voice, nearly scaring her out of her wits. 'If you become part of the floor, it will likely be more difficult to say intelligent things.' Lan flushed at the realization that Galadriel knew her thoughts, but then noticed that the Lady had begun to speak again.
"Many of my visitors have questions for me, but this time, it is I who wish to ask you of your origins. My mirror shows me nothing of these."
Lan felt shocked and confused. The Lady Galadriel, posing questions to her? And in so straightforward a manner, too; whatever was the world coming to? She opened her mouth to begin speaking, but was interrupted.
"How many people do I have to ask to leave my patients alone!? Amelan, by now you should know not to go running about, especially considering what happened to you last time. Leaving in the middle of my assessment of your condition, too! And Karine..."
"Terfindariel... Please discontinue your yelling. These young ladies are in my care for the moment, and I do not believe that they shall come to any great harm." The instant Galadriel stepped in, the healer turned the brightest red Lan had ever seen on a person. "Truly your friends have named you 'Maicalambo'. Go and see to your other work, and I shall return your charges to you shortly."
The thoroughly chastised healer dipped a rapid curtsy and hurried out of the room, and Lan looked about to realize that Lairindil was no longer present. Sure enough, moments later the peace was shattered by a yell.
"LAIRINDIL!" The roguish elf popped her head in through the curtain, flashed a smile, and took off running, shouts following her. It was all Lan could do to keep herself from bursting into peals of laughter. Taking a moment to collect herself, she began to relate how she had arrived, and detailed all their adventures since. Karine remained silent, having been unconscious most of the journey.
"...and since we've arrived, we've been ...preoccupied with... meeting the residents and... uh... keeping well. I'm afraid I ran out on Healer Temeril, which is why she was so upset with me. I was, uh, looking for someone." Lan was positive that her little omission was reading like a neon sign to the Lady, but what can an elf-maiden do? Besides, why talk about it in front of Karine? But there was one thing she did want to say. "Lady, I do have a question. I know that you have not been fully informed about our origins, homes, or means by which we arrived here, but... do you think you know how we could possibly get home?"
The elven queen turned her wise gaze to a distant sight beyond the window, likely beyond the trees of her land, even out to other worlds. She drew in a great breath, seeming to condense all cares and worries into that one summation of weariness, and then expelled all at once, leaving her stronger and more potent than ever. The cascade of deep gold hair shone brighter than precious metal as she turned back to regard the two young maidens before her. "Amelan and Karine, the time has come for me to speak to you of the reason for which you have been called here..."
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Authoresses' notes: (dmr) WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! We're DONE with the chapter! ^^ Finally. Oh, and for those ignorant ones of you NOT completely fluent in Sindarin, Maicalambo means Sharp-of-Tongue. Read it, review it, and do whatever you like to Karine. Can I shoot her yet?
(elerian) Not yet! Why kill perfectly good characters? Granted, she has her (somewhat numerous) bad points but... interesting interactions count for something... right? Right? Anyway, dear readers, please review, and also please yell at Raist to get writing! Thanks! ^.^