This has been sitting on my hard drive since before I took my break. I'm rather shocked to find it, really, when I should have had it up months ago. I am truly sorry for the wait, thanks for the wonderful comments. I've decided Out of Mandos, the original, will be changed, instead of scrapped, as I like this version of the original idea better, so the two will be two different stories. I hope you enjoy this.:)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Elrond's POV
Golden hair, bright green eyes, gentle soul near my own, fighting off my pain, giving me comfort from the storm that rages in me at my brother's death. Waking from such comfort, to the monstrous pain that has been my companion since Elros's death. I know not how to deal with it, or the dreams, for both are too much for me to work upon when the grief is still fresh, and the tear in my soul still bleeding.
I rise, to find that it is still night outside, and resign myself to my next sleepless night. I know not why such a dream would constantly awaken me; I know not what they mean, I only know that they are meant to tell me something. Who is this spirit that comforts me in the aftermath of my twin's death? I know not, for I know none that match what I have been allowed to know. Golden haired, with emerald green eyes, and a soul both old, wise, powerful, and innocent? Where could one find such a combination? None of the older members of the Elven race are innocent in their souls, for all have done some crime in their lives, or have seen too much in the wretched wars. So who could it be, if indeed it is a person? Yes, it is a person, it is a being, and this being is meant to be in my destiny, though I know not why...
I need to clear my mind, I need air. Gil-galad's palace is airy enough, for it has many windows and doors. But I need the scent of the sea, the crash of the waves upon the shore, the wind streaming into my face and air. I need peace to reflect, but not silence to remember. I don't want to remember.
Changing into a loose pair of pants and an airy tunic, I head outside, and down to the beach. The light of the stars shines down upon me as I walk, and I feel better, less confined out here among the sweet light of them and the moon. Breathing deeply, I head to my small cliff overhanging the sea, and sit down at its edge. I turn my eyes to the heavens, where I see my Father's star twinkling above. Closing my eyes, I let the wind sweep through my hair as I try to reflect, but only sorrow comes to me, and guilt.
/I am sorry, Adar, I failed to follow him. I know I promised to stay by his side, but I could not choose the way he chose. I do not know why, I just couldn't,/ I sigh in my mind, letting my emotions wash through me, wishing for a way to relieve my pain, yet knowing I deserve it. We were supposed to stay together, yet our paths became separate, and in the end, I am alone, even among friends.
I contemplate Mother's choice as I look into the sea, my eyes drawn to the gentle lapping waves that carve the land further with exceedingly slow care. I wonder if she felt so alone when our Father had been gone for so long, and wonder if that is one of the things that drove her to throw herself into the sea. I wonder if I would have had the strength to do it, but my mind turns swiftly from the thought, ere I truly consider it.
Looking away from the starlit sea, my eyes catch upon something wet, yet golden, lying on the beach. Frowning slightly at the unusually sight, I climb down, and approach, only to realize that the something is an elfling, possibly no more then ten years of age. Running to the child's side, I gently turn him over, to find him naked and pale. Checking his pulse, I find it thready and inconsistent, and that his lips are blue. I open his mouth, and find nothing blocking his airway, then turn him to his side and begin to pound his back to bring up the water he has swallowed. Finally the boy coughs, water pours from his mouth, and his lips begin to grow pink with the effort as his lungs clear themselves. When the last of it passes, I turn him back onto his back, and behold something that unsettles me deep within my soul. His eyes are emerald green, and shimmer with surprising power, and age old wisdom, buried deep within a veil of unknowing, all of it seemingly like a bright light hidden within his soul. Could this possibly be...
I deny myself to finish that thought, because it cannot be possible, for this is only a child, and instead take off my shirt, cursing myself for not bringing my cloak like I should. Wrapping it around the small frame of the child, I lift him up into my arms, holding him tightly so to share what body heat I can. He snuggles close, seemingly uncaring that he does not know me, yet trusts me. Looking down at him, I find that I in turn trust him as well, though I have no reason to.
Pushing the thought aside, I hurry on back to the palace, before the boy grows cold in the night air. He is already cold, his skin slightly like ice, and he shudders in my arms as his disturbingly wise eyes close, leaving him with the look of only an innocent child, with a strange light burning within him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Taking him directly to the healers' ward, I set him on the one of the beds, and start to check him over after waving Tenath, the night healer, off. He has no other injuries, not even a scrap or bruise on his fair skin. He doesn't even appear to be suffering from inhaling so much water, and watches me attentively as I work around him. All of this is strange, for how did he come to being nearly drowned and not receive any injury for it? How is he able to be awake and aware after near death? It is all very strange, and my suspicions increase as I continue my checking. His gaze unnerves me the most for some reason, possibly for that veiled existence that I can see within, that tells me I stand within the presence of someone great, old, and wise beyond time. But that is strange, for I also feel that I should protect this innocent being, who knows nothing of the evils of the world.
This boy isn't a normal elfling, I'm not even sure if he truly is an elfling. He doesn't act like one, yet I can see the playful innocence in his eyes. Yet he doesn't squirm, doesn't scream for his parents, doesn't ask me constant questions like a normal child. He only sits, and stares at me, his bright eyes gleaming with an untold secret. This is far from unnerving.
Finally I finish my examination, and allow him to sit up. Keeping his intense gaze on me, one tiny hand reaches up and starts playing with a lock of his hair, and he seems not to notice his own action, but that is the most natural action I have seen from him, the action at least marks him as something not so powerful, but more Elven.
"May I ask who you are and what you were doing in the sea at this time of the night?" I ask, to distract my thoughts, and the question sounds somewhat harsh, though I meant for it not to be, but he seems not to notice it, an absent smile on his face for a reason I cannot fathom.
"I know not," he says, and seems untroubled by that fact, though it begins to trouble me further.
"You do not know your name, or you do not know why you were at the sea?" I ask.
"Both," he says, and blinks, a slightly confused look briefly crossing over his eyes.
Pressing my lips together in thought, I looked him over. He isn't Sindar, that was easy enough to see, even in such a child. He had the bearing of one of the High Races, of the elves of light, but that was impossible, all are adults, this child could not possibly be of them.... Yet I see the shimmer of a light I had never known, a light older then the sun and moon, burning in this child's eyes. So much is unraveling in his eyes.
"You did not come from here," I say; stating it, rather then question it, because I can feel its true in the core of my soul.
His little face scrunches in thought, and then he smiles, as he seems to remember something, "No, I came not from here."
His speech is of the old tongue, of the tongue Maglor used... Quendi, and I understand it well, yet it seems strange to be coming from such young lips.
"I thought not," I mummer, unsure of what to do now.
"Yet, I remember you," he says softly, his eyes wide as they lock onto mine, and shock floods me.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Elrond's POV
Golden hair, bright green eyes, gentle soul near my own, fighting off my pain, giving me comfort from the storm that rages in me at my brother's death. Waking from such comfort, to the monstrous pain that has been my companion since Elros's death. I know not how to deal with it, or the dreams, for both are too much for me to work upon when the grief is still fresh, and the tear in my soul still bleeding.
I rise, to find that it is still night outside, and resign myself to my next sleepless night. I know not why such a dream would constantly awaken me; I know not what they mean, I only know that they are meant to tell me something. Who is this spirit that comforts me in the aftermath of my twin's death? I know not, for I know none that match what I have been allowed to know. Golden haired, with emerald green eyes, and a soul both old, wise, powerful, and innocent? Where could one find such a combination? None of the older members of the Elven race are innocent in their souls, for all have done some crime in their lives, or have seen too much in the wretched wars. So who could it be, if indeed it is a person? Yes, it is a person, it is a being, and this being is meant to be in my destiny, though I know not why...
I need to clear my mind, I need air. Gil-galad's palace is airy enough, for it has many windows and doors. But I need the scent of the sea, the crash of the waves upon the shore, the wind streaming into my face and air. I need peace to reflect, but not silence to remember. I don't want to remember.
Changing into a loose pair of pants and an airy tunic, I head outside, and down to the beach. The light of the stars shines down upon me as I walk, and I feel better, less confined out here among the sweet light of them and the moon. Breathing deeply, I head to my small cliff overhanging the sea, and sit down at its edge. I turn my eyes to the heavens, where I see my Father's star twinkling above. Closing my eyes, I let the wind sweep through my hair as I try to reflect, but only sorrow comes to me, and guilt.
/I am sorry, Adar, I failed to follow him. I know I promised to stay by his side, but I could not choose the way he chose. I do not know why, I just couldn't,/ I sigh in my mind, letting my emotions wash through me, wishing for a way to relieve my pain, yet knowing I deserve it. We were supposed to stay together, yet our paths became separate, and in the end, I am alone, even among friends.
I contemplate Mother's choice as I look into the sea, my eyes drawn to the gentle lapping waves that carve the land further with exceedingly slow care. I wonder if she felt so alone when our Father had been gone for so long, and wonder if that is one of the things that drove her to throw herself into the sea. I wonder if I would have had the strength to do it, but my mind turns swiftly from the thought, ere I truly consider it.
Looking away from the starlit sea, my eyes catch upon something wet, yet golden, lying on the beach. Frowning slightly at the unusually sight, I climb down, and approach, only to realize that the something is an elfling, possibly no more then ten years of age. Running to the child's side, I gently turn him over, to find him naked and pale. Checking his pulse, I find it thready and inconsistent, and that his lips are blue. I open his mouth, and find nothing blocking his airway, then turn him to his side and begin to pound his back to bring up the water he has swallowed. Finally the boy coughs, water pours from his mouth, and his lips begin to grow pink with the effort as his lungs clear themselves. When the last of it passes, I turn him back onto his back, and behold something that unsettles me deep within my soul. His eyes are emerald green, and shimmer with surprising power, and age old wisdom, buried deep within a veil of unknowing, all of it seemingly like a bright light hidden within his soul. Could this possibly be...
I deny myself to finish that thought, because it cannot be possible, for this is only a child, and instead take off my shirt, cursing myself for not bringing my cloak like I should. Wrapping it around the small frame of the child, I lift him up into my arms, holding him tightly so to share what body heat I can. He snuggles close, seemingly uncaring that he does not know me, yet trusts me. Looking down at him, I find that I in turn trust him as well, though I have no reason to.
Pushing the thought aside, I hurry on back to the palace, before the boy grows cold in the night air. He is already cold, his skin slightly like ice, and he shudders in my arms as his disturbingly wise eyes close, leaving him with the look of only an innocent child, with a strange light burning within him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Taking him directly to the healers' ward, I set him on the one of the beds, and start to check him over after waving Tenath, the night healer, off. He has no other injuries, not even a scrap or bruise on his fair skin. He doesn't even appear to be suffering from inhaling so much water, and watches me attentively as I work around him. All of this is strange, for how did he come to being nearly drowned and not receive any injury for it? How is he able to be awake and aware after near death? It is all very strange, and my suspicions increase as I continue my checking. His gaze unnerves me the most for some reason, possibly for that veiled existence that I can see within, that tells me I stand within the presence of someone great, old, and wise beyond time. But that is strange, for I also feel that I should protect this innocent being, who knows nothing of the evils of the world.
This boy isn't a normal elfling, I'm not even sure if he truly is an elfling. He doesn't act like one, yet I can see the playful innocence in his eyes. Yet he doesn't squirm, doesn't scream for his parents, doesn't ask me constant questions like a normal child. He only sits, and stares at me, his bright eyes gleaming with an untold secret. This is far from unnerving.
Finally I finish my examination, and allow him to sit up. Keeping his intense gaze on me, one tiny hand reaches up and starts playing with a lock of his hair, and he seems not to notice his own action, but that is the most natural action I have seen from him, the action at least marks him as something not so powerful, but more Elven.
"May I ask who you are and what you were doing in the sea at this time of the night?" I ask, to distract my thoughts, and the question sounds somewhat harsh, though I meant for it not to be, but he seems not to notice it, an absent smile on his face for a reason I cannot fathom.
"I know not," he says, and seems untroubled by that fact, though it begins to trouble me further.
"You do not know your name, or you do not know why you were at the sea?" I ask.
"Both," he says, and blinks, a slightly confused look briefly crossing over his eyes.
Pressing my lips together in thought, I looked him over. He isn't Sindar, that was easy enough to see, even in such a child. He had the bearing of one of the High Races, of the elves of light, but that was impossible, all are adults, this child could not possibly be of them.... Yet I see the shimmer of a light I had never known, a light older then the sun and moon, burning in this child's eyes. So much is unraveling in his eyes.
"You did not come from here," I say; stating it, rather then question it, because I can feel its true in the core of my soul.
His little face scrunches in thought, and then he smiles, as he seems to remember something, "No, I came not from here."
His speech is of the old tongue, of the tongue Maglor used... Quendi, and I understand it well, yet it seems strange to be coming from such young lips.
"I thought not," I mummer, unsure of what to do now.
"Yet, I remember you," he says softly, his eyes wide as they lock onto mine, and shock floods me.