-----------Chapter 4: Still Alive! ----------
When I came around I was in considerable pain and I was still lying on the floor where I had fallen. The only thing that had changed was that a considerable pool of my own blood had pooled around me and the man was gone. I tried to stand and almost fainted again, but finally I go to my feet and stumbled down the hallway in the direction of the main hall where everyone had been eating. As I stumbled along I fell over a shape in the middle of the hall, or rather three shapes, they were the bodies of the three elves whom I had been waiting for. I got to my knees weeping, this never should have happened, it was all my fault if I had just stay at the table they would never have been killed. As I was kneeling there weeping Legolas stirred, when he saw me he crawled over to me.
"Ánwë, what is the matter?" he asked gently.
"Oh Legolas you are alive, I thought- I thought- but what about the others? Are they dead? Oh this is all my fault."
"Hush! None of this is your fault, and no they are not dead we were all knocked out by someone- or several someones- it will be nothing lasting. See they are coming around even now, but come you are hurt!" he said , seeing my shoulder for the first time through the darkness.
"I am fine." I replied trying to bite back a hiss of pain as I put a little too much weight on my right arm.
"No you are not." He said seeing the pained look on my face. "Come on, we must get you to a healer." He picked me up carefully and as we were leaving I saw the Áthoden rise, help Qésar to his feet and follow us whispering quietly. When Legolas walked into the hall carrying me Elrond leapt to his feet and came running toward us.
"What happened?" he cried, "You three were to be protecting her, how did this happen?"
"We were going to find her when we were attacked from behind and knocked out by someone or some people."
"This is outrageous!" Elrond stormed, I had never seen him this angry. "Traitors! Here, in Rivendell, what shall we do? This corruption is spreading everywhere. Well come then we must get her in bed and healing soon she has already lost far too much blood." As he said this things began swimming before my eyes and everything went dark again.
When I woke again I was lying in my own bed and there was a strange old man sitting beside me holding a pointed gray hat in his lap and clothed in a robe of the same dull gray. His long hair and beard were grayish- white and his wise old face was full of wrinkles.
"Ah Ánwë, you are awake. I am Gandalf the Grey; I arrived the morning after you were wounded. You have been asleep for two days recollecting your strength."
"Two days! Has anything happened? Did they find the man who tried to kill me?"
"Unfortunately no, he seems to have disappeared along with the two men who came with him. But Elrond's people are looking." Just as he was finishing his sentence the door burst open and Legolas rushed in closely followed by Áthoden and Qésar.
"You are finally awake!" he burst out ecstatically, rushing over to the bed and throwing his arms around my neck.
A little while later I had gotten dressed and the four of us were strolling together on one of the terraces beside the waterfall. Aragorn, they told me, had ridden off that morning to search for the man; whom they called Dúnedír, after waiting two days for me to awaken. I was a little upset that I had not been able to see him before he left but I was also glad that he was searching because I was sure that if anyone found him it would be Aragorn. The evening light was beginning to spread across the valley of Rivendell casting a red- gold light on everything and it seemed to be almost shining from within the waterfall casting rainbows of light everywhere. We stood watching the golden sun sink below the lip of the valley as the shadows grew longer. Finally we decided that we should probably head inside and get ready for dinner. After getting dressed we all walked to dinner together talking and laughing gaily.
The next few weeks passed uneventfully with no more attacks in Rivendell but also with no news of my attacker. One day I was sitting with Legolas on the bank of the river when I felt something happen a long way away. It hurt horribly and somehow I knew it was connected with Aragorn. I leapt to feet, panicking, I had to find him and soon. Someone grabbed my arm, I jumped and twisted away, having forgotten that Legolas was there with me.
"Anwë, what is going on." He exclaimed looking rather frightened.
"It- it is- I do not really know actually but I felt something, something awful and somehow I know it is connected with Aragorn. We must find him.."
"And how exactly do you propose to do that? Middle Earth is enormous! If he is hurt we will never find him in-"
"No! We will, after the pain was gone I could feel, and still can, this sort of thread, and I think if we follow the feeling it will lead us to him." I looked into Legolas' doubtful eyes and whispered, "Please, trust me, you must trust me. I cannot do this alone, please." I trailed off still staring into his eyes.
Finally he sighed, "Alright, I will go. But we must leave soon so we can be long gone by the time the next meal comes 'round or else the will be on our tails before we have gotten anywhere." I nodded in agreement and we set off together chatting about our plans and trying to look nonchalant. We met Qésar and Áthoden and I almost thought that the game was up when they asked us where we were headed. We told them out for a ride and they said perfect they would come to, we couldn't think of any way to get rid of them. Finally I said I would get the horses ready if Legolas would get my things.
Everyone agreed and as the other two elves strolled off to their rooms Legolas hung back, "What are we to do now?" he exclaimed.
"I will hide their horses and saddle ours then I will lead ours under your window and climb up. I will run quickly to my room and get some things together while you go grab some food. Then we can go out the way I came in, but we must hurry, go on!" I turned and ran down to the stables where I saddled both horses and hid the other two horses behind the stable in the trees. Then I vaulted onto the back of my horse and led Legolas' horse around the back of the House until I was under his window.
I called up to him quietly, "Legolas I'm coming up, are you there?"
"Come on up. Do you need any help?" I heard his faint reply. I began climbing saying "If I need help I'll call." I used a rope he had put out the window for me because whatever the building was made of was so well fitted that there were no hand or footholds available for climbing. I climbed in the window to find Legolas, with his back turned to me changing his clothing.
"Legolas!" I exclaimed loudly, then I lowered my voice to a fierce whisper, "What are you doing, I thought you were decent."
He now had pants on, and he turned around grinning, "I was; when you started climbing."
"Oh my God!" I said rolling my eyes.
"Oh your what?" he said slightly puzzled.
"Nothing." I sighed not wanting to try to explain the concept of God to someone who had never heard of Him. "I'm going to my room to get my clothes, I'll be right back. You will go get some food right?"
"Of course." Legolas replied still standing there, shirtless and with an odd smile flickering on his lips. I gave him one last bewildered look and went to my room to gather what I would need for our journey and change my clothing. After changing into a long gown split on the sides for riding worn with leggings under it and a thick cotton shirt, I pulled on my soft leather boots for the first time since I had been there. I found a rucksack buried in the very bottom of my wardrobe and into it I put the salve for sore feet that I had found on my first day here along with an extra pair of clothing and a small knife that Elrond had given me. As an afterthought I added a hairbrush just in case I ever had any time to brush my hair, in the meantime I braided my thick hair into one long plait that hung straight down to my waist. Then last of all I picked up my belt, from which hung a sword Elrond had presented me with not long after my arrival and a long dagger, and buckled it on. I swung my bow and quiver over one shoulder and the bag over the other, picked up my cloak and hurried from my room down the hall back to Legolas' room. When I came in he gave me half the food he had gotten and I put it in my bag along with my other things. As I was doing this we heard footsteps and the voices of Qésar and Áthoden come toward the room, from what we could hear they had gone to the stables and were now looking for us.
"Hurry, hurry!" Legolas urged softly, rushing toward the window. He climbed down and I handed him the bags which he stowed quickly in the saddle bags. Then he called up quietly, "Unfasten the rope and throw it down then jump and I will catch you."
"Are you kidding?! I-"
"You have to." He hissed, "and quickly if you want to do this." I took a deep breath and sighed; all right I thought, as I untied the rope and threw it to him, I can do this. I sat on the windowsill and swung my legs out the window, as I was about to jump the door burst open and Áthoden rushed across the room yelling for me to stop, but before he could reach me I pushed myself off the sill and fell into Legolas' arms. He set me on my horse and leaped onto his own. We galloped off with Áthoden and Qésar yelling after us to stop. We made it to the gates before they were able to raise the alarm so we made it out without being stopped. I veered to left following the thread like feeling whose tug had become much stronger now that we were actually traveling. We galloped for a few hours before we finally stopped because the horses need rest and water if they were to last the whole journey. We traveled, without being found by Elrond's search parties for nearly two months before we reached the Gap of Rohan. We slept at the bottom of the pass that night planning to start our journey over it late next morning since I could almost feel the end of the thread of feeling we were following. But I was jolted out of my sleep early the next morning by a jerk that seemed to be from the thread and the tug on it was more urgent again. I shook Legolas out of his meditation, which used to replace sleep, and we galloped off over the mountain. It took a day and a half to get through the Gap and down the other side, and after arriving on the plains of Rohan we traveled for another two days before we saw the shape of what seemed to be two men battling in the near distance.
"That is him!" I shouted "I am sure it is."
"I agree it looks much like him." Legolas agreed. "Come, let us speed on our horses, he may need help."
I spurred my horse on even faster, urging him with the few words of Elven that I knew. We arrive at the scene of the fighting about a half and hour later and when we were still about ten minutes away I saw Aragorn's opponent thrust his sword deep into Aragorn's side.
"Nooooooo!" I screamed as Aragorn fell to the ground. His opponent turned his head so I could see his face- it was Dúnedír.