In the Eye of the Beholder
Chapter 3 – A Memory
Skaian remembered that day she first laid eyes on a beautiful elf…
Her mother had died on the morning Skaian turned nineteen, and her uncles had sent her out of Edoras the minute her mother drew her last breath. They told her to look for her father, an orc.
How could they ever keep her? An orc-child of one of Rohan's finest shield maidens was despicably shameful! Skaian's physical features – her pointed orcan ears, pinkish-grey skin, almond-shaped golden yellow eyes, gruff voice and keen sense of smell – and her exceptional strength and height for a woman of Rohan would definitely give her away.
What she got from her mother, though, were her straight hair (not stringy like orcs') and her human body, smooth skin, grace, a perfect set of human teeth and the spirit of the Rohirric women.
She was thankful, though, that she had not the gangling walk and stooped back like the orcs.
Skaian journeyed forth in the wild hoping to find her orc sire. Rough and violent as orcs were, she was confident that they would not harm her. She would only need to copy their lanky walk and get dirty. Then her appearance would do well and would definitely pass for a pure-bred orc. She just needed to show them she could also be as violent as they are and act as if she possessed the hatred of orcs towards humans and elves. Her mother told her about these orcan characteristics when she was younger, should she need it someday. And that time had come.
She stopped in a clearing to rest a while and eat. Her mother's relatives were kind enough to at least provide her with food that would keep her for a few days, and a sword that once belonged to her mother when she was training as a shield maiden.
Skaian knew not what to do with a sword, for she never got a chance to be trained like the other Rohirric girls her age. She never even got the chance to get out of their house for no other reason except to chop wood and at those instances, she had been veiled. Only her eyes could be seen. She knew they all wanted her hidden, and since she wanted no shame to befall her mother and her family, she obeyed.
As she was eating, she smelled something…something… foul. Orcs, yes. Here they come and I am ready, she thought.
As she prepared herself to do her act, a loud yelling from the orcs was heard. It might be that they were under attack. She quickly composed herself, moving as quietly as she could towards the melee. She paused as she made out figures of archers in the trees who were attacking the orcs. She finally got her chance to prove herself to her orc kin.
There were not so many archers present and she knew they would not be able to fight for long. She knew, too, that the archers were outnumbered, for she could hear more orc footfalls growing clearer, nearer.
The archers seemed to have felt the peril that awaits them, and tried to flee. It would be unwise to fight a losing battle.
Great, I only need to slay an archer and it will be fine, Skaian schemed. She unsheathed her sword and made her way into the heat of the skirmish.
As the archers went down the trees to flee, one of them got stranded between an orc and Skaian. But before the orc could strike, an arrow hit his form. She wasted no time as she quickly felled the archer before her. She turned around, and it was the moment when her eyes beheld the most beautiful being she had ever seen.
Cold, gray eyes pierced hers – eyes full of hatred, contempt and grief. She did not want this archer to see her eye to eye. She turned away.
She stood over the fallen one, who was nearing his end. With his last breath, the archer struggled to say these words "Haldir! Tell them, my family…please…," but he wasn't able to finish what it was he had to say.
Skaian waited for an arrow to pierce her back. But none came. The archers were gone. She dared not look back.
The pack of orcs she had heard from a distance had finally arrived. Upon seeing Skaian for the first time, standing beside the dead enemy and noticing her bona-fide orc features, they knew she was one of them…
Skaian never found her father, though.
That was twelve years ago.
Skaian finally roused from her thoughts, gathered the food and went back to the cave.
She still could not believe having seen the beautiful archer once again after all these years.