Nagron had them ride through the night because he knew they would be safer during the day.
Though it was still dark, Nagron knew the sun was rising behind the Misty Mountains before them.
Hearing no signs of pursuit, the Ranger let the two horses slow eventually to a walk.
Racell was half-asleep in the saddle. She had never been on a horse this long.
Finally, Nagron called a halt near a small tributary of the Bruinen.
"Come Racell, let us dismount and get some breakfast."
"That would be nice." She pulled up Whin and tiredly, stiffly slid off the horse leaning on him to get feeling back into her feet.
Nagron waited until Racell could walk and then got the older girl to take her sister. The Ranger hopped off Hamna and then took back little Dinna. He lay her nearby on the soft needles under a huge old pine. Then he went over to Racell and hugged her hard. "Racell, I am sorry to take you from your home in the middle of the night. But it was necessary."
"What is wrong?"
"Orcs, Racell. They have come out of the mountains north of here and are moving southwards. A small troop followed me and they were headed towards your farm."
Racell shivered in his arms. Her father had told her about orcs. Burying her face, she held him tighter.
After a few minutes, while her uncle slowly stroked her back comfortingly, Racell pulled away. "What do we do now? Dinna and I do not know anybody else out here."
Nagron smiled and brushed her hair out of her face. "I do. I am taking you somewhere safe." He stopped before her and pulled off the ring that encircled his left forefinger.
"My father gave this to me. It is a very special heirloom of my house. With Analfin gone now, you are my only heir."
"An heirloom," Racell repeated as Nagron went over to his stallion. She looked at the ring reverently. She was not quite sure what an heirloom was.
The Ranger came back with a length of leather that he looped the ring through and then tied it around Racell's neck. "There you are. Now it is yours."
"Thank you Uncle Nagron. It's beautiful. I shall love it always."
He kissed her on the forehead. "See that you do poppet. Come, let's make a fire for breakfast."
Racell nodded and went to check on her sister first.
Dinna woke up as Racell came up to her. She sat coughing and rubbing her eyes.
"Morning Dinna. Uncle Nagron's making breakfast."
Dinna shivered and put her arms around her sister. Patting her on the back, Racell frowned at the heat she could feel through her tunic. Hopefully Uncle Nagron had some healing simples with him.
As she led Dinna by the hand towards their uncle, Whin and Hamna both raised their heads and snorted. Ears pricked forward in the predawn twilight, Racell could see they were looking back in the direction they had already come.
"Uncle Nagron, the horses are---"
"Quickly!" Nagron rushed to the girls, flinging Racell on Whin and tossing Dinna up into her lap.
"Ride hard to the mountains Racell! Do not look back! Find Rivendell."
Nagron quickly mounted Hamna and went towards the now audible sound of running feet.
"No uncle! No! Come back. Don't let the orcs to get you!" Racell tried to follow, but Whin was having none of it and reared, ears flattened against his head.
Biting her lip, she turned Whin towards the rising dark shapes of the mountains.
Wincing as she heard screaming and the clash of swords, tears coursed down her face as her terrified steed took off in a dead run.
Racell let Whin have his head until he slowed down on his own. Then she stopped him and he shifted underneath her nervously as she tried to decide what to do.
Uncle Nagron! She and Dinna had no else. She couldn't let him die!
Racell spurred the nervous gelding forward and they got half way back when Whin stopped and lowered his head quivering.
No matter how hard she kicked him, Whin would not go forward.
Racell, staring into the softening dark, let tears fill her eyes again.
Slowly she turned the horse away, leaving her uncle to his fate.
As she rode forward she knew she could not let Dinna see the orcs. She had to protect her.
The sun finally rose but Racell paid no heed to the light, letting Whin stumble on, her mind numb with the morning's events.
Dinna woke again and started crying. "My throat hurts Racell."
Racell unhooked their water bottle and let Dinna drink. By the Light of Heaven, Dinna could not be getting swamp fever too! She hugged her little sister. She couldn't lose her.
"Are you hungry sweetheart?"
"No, no, not now." She sat up tiredly. "Where did Uncle Nagron go?"
"He-he had to leave. We are to make for Rivendell."
"Is that another farm?"
"I am not sure. I know Daddy mentioned it once."
Racell sighed. She was tired and a little hungry. The sun sent golden shafts of sunlight through the steadily thickening oaks and pines.
When they crossed another creek, Racell finally pulled the tired Whin up and she stiffly slid off the horse again, pulling Dinna with her.
"Come I need to rest sweetie. But, I am going to have an apple first. Do you want some?"
"'kay."
Racell took her father's glittering knife out of its sheath and smiled at the beautiful curved lines on the blade and the inlaid handle. Her father had been very proud of this knife.
The girl took an apple and neatly quartered it, carefully cleaning the blade and returning it to its sheath.
Dinna ate the two pieces and drank some more water.
Racell cleaned her up and leaving Whin to wander for forage, the two girls curled up at the base of a pine and slept wrapped in their cloaks.
It was mid afternoon when the two girls awoke. Racell hugged the groggy Dinna and frowned as the little one groaned and buried her face in her sister's chest. "I don't feel good Racell."
"I know sweetie. Lay here and I'll try to find some herbs for you."
Dinna nodded tiredly and lay back down. Sighing Racell went to Whin and looked through her potato sacks, but there was nothing she could use to reduce a fever. She decided to walk a bit along the stream to hunt for fresh herbs.
A half hour later and Racell did not find anything. Going back to where Dinna lay still sleeping Racell sat next to her wiping the hair off her hot forehead. Now what was she going to do? No parents and now no Uncle Nagron. And they were in the middle of nowhere and Dinna was sick.
Maybe the orcs had gone and they could go home now?
The twelve-year-old put her head down on her knees. She was tired and her whole body ached.
Shivering again, she took a sip from their water bottle and threw a corner of her cape over herself as she cuddled her sister.
Elrond on the trail of the deer came upon the two girls curled up like puppies in a tangle of cloak.
Whin came up to Elrond and snuffled in his hair as the elf lord knelt by the soundly sleeping children and lay a hand on each of them, frowning at the heat of their illness.
Idly patting the nose of the inquisitive Whin, he said thoughtfully, "Why are these two young ones out here all alone and ill, my fine fellow?" Whin snuffled again and lipped the elf lord's hair.
Chuckling, Elrond pulled his hair from the horse's mouth. There was no fire, nor any sign of one. No signs of another horse. Could someone just have abandoned them?
That was too dreadful a scenario to contemplate and a shiver went through the elf lord. Taking a deep breath, he lay a hand on Racell's forehead to call her gently from sleep.
The girl sighed heavily and blinked tiredly. Someone was kneeling before her. Shivering again, she tried to sit up and rubbed her eyes.
The figure before her glowed softly like a shaded light. A hand reached out and cupped her right cheek. "Be not afraid little one. Why are you here all alone? Where are your parents?"
Racell realized this was not Uncle Nagron and sat up straighter, surprised that no stab of fear lanced through her. Calm flooded her senses
and she smiled sleepily at the elf who gently smiled back.
"Mum and Daddy are dead sir. And I think Uncle Nagron is too." She let her head droop and the hand moved away. "The orcs got him."
"Yrch!" Elrond stilled and listened to the night very carefully. At the thin edge of his hearing there might have been something...
"Come let us be off. If there are yrch about, they move more swiftly in the dark."
Racell nodded and got up stiffly, her body aching even more.
The elf lord went over to Rhean who stood nearby and lifted Racell easily into the saddle. He then went and got Dinna who did not stir, handed her to Racell and then leaped behind the two girls. Whistling, he called Whin to Rhean's side and off they rode into the darkening twilight.
But the elf lord and his young charges did not get very far when his sensitive hearing picked up definite sound of yrch. So close to Imladris!
Urging Rhean faster, Whin also raised his head, ears back as he kept up with the stallion.