Chapter 12
She was found quickly by a scout, circling the area for groups of patrolling Orcs. They must have been having sever problems with the dark creatures for when she told him that her village had been raided and that she was lost he believed her quite easily and escorted her to a nearby village. She was welcomed into the flet of another lady who had lost family to an Orc raid. The excuse was simple enough and when others questioned her she simply told them that she didn't wish to talk about it. Sorrow could kill elves and concentrating on the present was the most secure way of an emotional recovery.
Northern elves were so much freer than southern elves. She washed clothes for the village daily, sojourning to a nearby stream to scrub them against the clear stones and chat with the other women. They conversed about all sorts of things, an upcoming wedding just after harvest, harvest itself, elven couples that were together. She was shocked, but hid her surprise well when one day the hunters stopped by. One wading knee deep into the water to openly kiss and embrace one of them. The others just smiled and questioned the warriors of the news from the forest. When the group noticed her presence she was introduced as Lilluil whose village had been raided by orcs. To her surprise the hunters apologized and assured her that they were trying their hardest. They left soon after and she couldn't help but feel that her presence was what caused them to leave. Before they did though she saw two of them study her carefully, not shamefully studying the ground like the rest. She didn't meet their gazes, she had seen it often enough in the south.
She quickly made friends with her housemate, a lovely elf not even a century different from her age. She was silent and shy and she found herself often sticking up for her companion, even though she was newer to the village. Taniella would follow in her shadow when she went to the stream to wash their clothes, silently listening in on the conversation but never participating. After a while though she became more talkative to Lilluil, if not the rest of the village, telling her of things she had heard or seen that day. When she sewed dresses Lilluil would stand while Tanielle adjusted the cloth around her, for they were almost exactly alike. Save their hair and their faces, their build was almost a mirror image of each other.
Their home was a flet much like the one the hunters used. Built around the tree splits, where the main trunk branched off into several larger limbs. It was a pretty simple home as they went. Unlike the hunting flets the tree branches were interlaced directly over their heads creating a leafy ceiling that both camouflaged them and kept the rain out. In Mirkwood there it sparsely rained but when it did the torrents made the most weathered elves seek shelter. The wooden floor was woven of flat pieces of wood that had been softened in water, but a circular rug curled around their tree trunk to cushion their feet. In the crook between the two limbs was a specialized cabinet made specially for each flet. It held food; clothing, blankets and most other necessities were kept under two small cots that served as beds.
The day started as any other rainy day. She awoke sometime during the darkness of predawn to the rhythmic pounding of thousands of rain upon the roof. Her small cot was warm and comfortable beneath her and she had retired early the night before so she allowed herself to simply listen and smell nature at work. She smelled the sunrise adding a sharpness to the air that never happened in the south where the air was consistently warm. The first couple of weeks she had found that the light air was more difficult to breath because of it's thinness, only during the rains did they gain the body that the south wind seemed to posses. The gray light that filtered down exposed the curtain of water that circled her flet in a magical barrier.
Her toes slipped out from under her covers passing quickly through the chill air before they nuzzled into the warm rug. The seasons were on the verge of turning into Autumn, when it would supposedly become even colder than it presently was. The foreign air was still sharp in her lungs, but was softened slightly by the humidity. She immediately removed the small plain stone bowl from beside the trunk, adding small tinder and slabs of bark until a warm fire was going. The emanating warmth woke Tanielle who also rose and right away removed some food from their stores as well as the flat circular cover of the stone bowl. Once the fire was at cooking temperature they each took a side of the stone top and quickly set it atop the bowl. Tanielle set about cooking on the hot surface.
She gathered their laundry for the day and set it aside in a basket as well as setting another food collecting basket by the small walkway that connected their flet to the rest of the community. She dressed quickly and then sat down with Tanielle to eat. Her flet mate had managed to make several small dome breads.
Northern food, was so much blander than southern food. It was probably due to the fact that the south had so many more fruits and spices. Northern food wasn't the slightest bit inferior, but she did miss the taste terribly.
~I think I must be the luckiest elf in the village, having you for a flet mate.~ Tanielle commented jovially.
Lilluil swallowed her last bite of bread and dusted her hands free of crumbs. ~Oh, and why is that?~
Tanielle smiled softly. ~Well you don't seem to mind doing things that the others do.~
~Frankly I don't like to be stuck full of pins any more than the next elf.~
~No, I don't mean that. Although you do, do that. I meant things like finding firewood, collecting herbs, washing the laundry in the rain. Especially while the rest of us sit around and chat in the main flet. You are the most patient person I know.~
It wasn't that. Just, as the daughter of one of the southern lords she'd never really had the chance to do anything. All tasks were below her. Her head drooped in recollection. She had never been allowed to go out in the rain. I am from a raided village. ~I suppose it's because that's what I did back home.~
Tanielle fell silent immediately. ~Yes, of course. I'm sorry if I.~
She shook her head soothing Tanielle with a reassuring smile. ~Don't worry about it.~ It would be best not to stray too far from the truth. ~I'd better go do the laundry, it looks as if the rain might become heavier later today.~
Her friend smiled slightly. ~Of course, if you want I'll go help you gather herbs later on.~ She offered hesitantly.
She smirked. ~If you truly wish to, but I can probably do it faster.~
Tanielle nodded understandingly and grinned. ~I don't see how you can stand the rain so much. All the humidity makes it so irritable out there.~
Lilluil bent to pick up the baskets and winking over her shoulder set out along the corridor to the main flet.
The main flet was actually three levels, all circling an ancient old tree. Judging by the looks of it, the locations of these wizened hardwoods determined where the villages were built. It was massive. The top level had covered walkways branching off to a smaller flet off of which individual flets like hers were connected to. The second level held a community fire bowl which was constantly kept burning, for those whose fires had gone out. It was where people usually gathered to chat and talk, where story telling was held and where messengers announced news from the rest of the forest. This level was as far as visiting elves came. It was also where the visiting hunting groups slept in need.
The lowest of the flet levels was the last level and the guarded one. It was expertly camouflaged and guard archers constantly watched the surrounding areas from behind it's covering. The only way to the forest floor from here was by tree, if you were a guard, or by rope with a small knot on the end, by which one was lowered. She received several amused glances from the guards on duty as she stepped down to their level.
~Going out to do laundry in this weather Lilluil?~ One of the more outspoken ones, Seliuls asked.
She smiled slightly stepping onto the knot on the rope's end. ~Anything so I do not end up smelling as you do.~
Laughs rang out as the rope creaked and she slowly descended.
She was found quickly by a scout, circling the area for groups of patrolling Orcs. They must have been having sever problems with the dark creatures for when she told him that her village had been raided and that she was lost he believed her quite easily and escorted her to a nearby village. She was welcomed into the flet of another lady who had lost family to an Orc raid. The excuse was simple enough and when others questioned her she simply told them that she didn't wish to talk about it. Sorrow could kill elves and concentrating on the present was the most secure way of an emotional recovery.
Northern elves were so much freer than southern elves. She washed clothes for the village daily, sojourning to a nearby stream to scrub them against the clear stones and chat with the other women. They conversed about all sorts of things, an upcoming wedding just after harvest, harvest itself, elven couples that were together. She was shocked, but hid her surprise well when one day the hunters stopped by. One wading knee deep into the water to openly kiss and embrace one of them. The others just smiled and questioned the warriors of the news from the forest. When the group noticed her presence she was introduced as Lilluil whose village had been raided by orcs. To her surprise the hunters apologized and assured her that they were trying their hardest. They left soon after and she couldn't help but feel that her presence was what caused them to leave. Before they did though she saw two of them study her carefully, not shamefully studying the ground like the rest. She didn't meet their gazes, she had seen it often enough in the south.
She quickly made friends with her housemate, a lovely elf not even a century different from her age. She was silent and shy and she found herself often sticking up for her companion, even though she was newer to the village. Taniella would follow in her shadow when she went to the stream to wash their clothes, silently listening in on the conversation but never participating. After a while though she became more talkative to Lilluil, if not the rest of the village, telling her of things she had heard or seen that day. When she sewed dresses Lilluil would stand while Tanielle adjusted the cloth around her, for they were almost exactly alike. Save their hair and their faces, their build was almost a mirror image of each other.
Their home was a flet much like the one the hunters used. Built around the tree splits, where the main trunk branched off into several larger limbs. It was a pretty simple home as they went. Unlike the hunting flets the tree branches were interlaced directly over their heads creating a leafy ceiling that both camouflaged them and kept the rain out. In Mirkwood there it sparsely rained but when it did the torrents made the most weathered elves seek shelter. The wooden floor was woven of flat pieces of wood that had been softened in water, but a circular rug curled around their tree trunk to cushion their feet. In the crook between the two limbs was a specialized cabinet made specially for each flet. It held food; clothing, blankets and most other necessities were kept under two small cots that served as beds.
The day started as any other rainy day. She awoke sometime during the darkness of predawn to the rhythmic pounding of thousands of rain upon the roof. Her small cot was warm and comfortable beneath her and she had retired early the night before so she allowed herself to simply listen and smell nature at work. She smelled the sunrise adding a sharpness to the air that never happened in the south where the air was consistently warm. The first couple of weeks she had found that the light air was more difficult to breath because of it's thinness, only during the rains did they gain the body that the south wind seemed to posses. The gray light that filtered down exposed the curtain of water that circled her flet in a magical barrier.
Her toes slipped out from under her covers passing quickly through the chill air before they nuzzled into the warm rug. The seasons were on the verge of turning into Autumn, when it would supposedly become even colder than it presently was. The foreign air was still sharp in her lungs, but was softened slightly by the humidity. She immediately removed the small plain stone bowl from beside the trunk, adding small tinder and slabs of bark until a warm fire was going. The emanating warmth woke Tanielle who also rose and right away removed some food from their stores as well as the flat circular cover of the stone bowl. Once the fire was at cooking temperature they each took a side of the stone top and quickly set it atop the bowl. Tanielle set about cooking on the hot surface.
She gathered their laundry for the day and set it aside in a basket as well as setting another food collecting basket by the small walkway that connected their flet to the rest of the community. She dressed quickly and then sat down with Tanielle to eat. Her flet mate had managed to make several small dome breads.
Northern food, was so much blander than southern food. It was probably due to the fact that the south had so many more fruits and spices. Northern food wasn't the slightest bit inferior, but she did miss the taste terribly.
~I think I must be the luckiest elf in the village, having you for a flet mate.~ Tanielle commented jovially.
Lilluil swallowed her last bite of bread and dusted her hands free of crumbs. ~Oh, and why is that?~
Tanielle smiled softly. ~Well you don't seem to mind doing things that the others do.~
~Frankly I don't like to be stuck full of pins any more than the next elf.~
~No, I don't mean that. Although you do, do that. I meant things like finding firewood, collecting herbs, washing the laundry in the rain. Especially while the rest of us sit around and chat in the main flet. You are the most patient person I know.~
It wasn't that. Just, as the daughter of one of the southern lords she'd never really had the chance to do anything. All tasks were below her. Her head drooped in recollection. She had never been allowed to go out in the rain. I am from a raided village. ~I suppose it's because that's what I did back home.~
Tanielle fell silent immediately. ~Yes, of course. I'm sorry if I.~
She shook her head soothing Tanielle with a reassuring smile. ~Don't worry about it.~ It would be best not to stray too far from the truth. ~I'd better go do the laundry, it looks as if the rain might become heavier later today.~
Her friend smiled slightly. ~Of course, if you want I'll go help you gather herbs later on.~ She offered hesitantly.
She smirked. ~If you truly wish to, but I can probably do it faster.~
Tanielle nodded understandingly and grinned. ~I don't see how you can stand the rain so much. All the humidity makes it so irritable out there.~
Lilluil bent to pick up the baskets and winking over her shoulder set out along the corridor to the main flet.
The main flet was actually three levels, all circling an ancient old tree. Judging by the looks of it, the locations of these wizened hardwoods determined where the villages were built. It was massive. The top level had covered walkways branching off to a smaller flet off of which individual flets like hers were connected to. The second level held a community fire bowl which was constantly kept burning, for those whose fires had gone out. It was where people usually gathered to chat and talk, where story telling was held and where messengers announced news from the rest of the forest. This level was as far as visiting elves came. It was also where the visiting hunting groups slept in need.
The lowest of the flet levels was the last level and the guarded one. It was expertly camouflaged and guard archers constantly watched the surrounding areas from behind it's covering. The only way to the forest floor from here was by tree, if you were a guard, or by rope with a small knot on the end, by which one was lowered. She received several amused glances from the guards on duty as she stepped down to their level.
~Going out to do laundry in this weather Lilluil?~ One of the more outspoken ones, Seliuls asked.
She smiled slightly stepping onto the knot on the rope's end. ~Anything so I do not end up smelling as you do.~
Laughs rang out as the rope creaked and she slowly descended.