I lay there in the dark, and of course my mind went into overdrive
picturing horrible tortures inflicted on the helpless elf lord. Damn it.
How was I going to save him from all this? I tried to sit up again. I had
to do something, anything to distract them from hurting Lord Elrond any
further.
But I yawned, exhausted and before I could decide one way or the other, I collapsed back to the floor, asleep.
When I re-awoke, it was to find myself slung over a horse, which was trotting and causing me unspeakable pain. Just for fun, I threw up bile all over the side of the poor horse.
That got them to halt. Garn came over to me, pulling me head up by my hair. He looked as if he was about to slam my head, when Frasc made a sound of disgust. "Ah, don't bother Garn. It's going to rain again soon. We have to keep going. The camp is only a few hours away. Once we're there, you can do what you want."
Garn slapped my face for the heck of it, dropped my head and then remounted. The horse picked up its steady trot. I had the dry heaves a few times until exhaustion just undid me completely.
What had happened to Elrond? I had looked around as far as I was able but I saw no sign of the elf lord. Damn. They must have killed him or something. Tears went down my face and I watched them patter into the dirt. Soon I noticed there were a lot more. Ah good, it was beginning to rain. So here I was alone on a bouncing horse being taken to some camp where a group as friendly as this bunch waited. Undoubtedly Lord Elrond had been dumped somewhere. I closed my eyes. What a mess. What a big mess. This was so much worse than any other situation I had been, because Lord Elrond had gotten dragged into the mess as well.
And was probably now dead.
Who would have guessed lightning could be my friend? The rain came down harder and we heard the rumble of thunder. I could feel my horse twitch under me. Of course, as the storm moved on, the thunder got closer.
And finally, one big blast deafened us from straight overhead. It spooked my horse, who pulled its lead rope from the hands of Frasc and tore off into the scrub pines near the track we were following. I kept my head down trying to avoid close encounters with pine branches.
A flash of lightning struck nearby and I heard horses scream in terror. My horse picked up speed and continued to tear through the trees. The rain lashed us both and finally, the horse slipped in some mud as it ran down into a culvert. At the bottom, it grunted and stopped, exhausted. I tried to wiggle my hands free, or my feet.
The squirming I did loosened the rope that tied me to the saddle. As I was messing with the knot on my feet by moving them back and forth, I unexpectedly slid off and fell into the little streamlet. That jarred my shoulder something fierce and I put my head between my knees to stop the sparkling stars that filled my vision.
With a deep sigh, I looked at my hands in the lowering evening light. Using my teeth, I eventually got the knot free. And then in moments, got the rope off my feet. Luckily the horse hadn't gone far, merely under a cantilevered sycamore, which bent over the noisy little stream.
I limped over to the horse and fell against its heaving sides. Well, we were quite a pair. I patted the gelding slowly. I thought about mounting, but I saw the horse was really tired, so I picked up his dangling reins and started walking. I needed to find us some place out of the wet.
I grinned to myself as an errant thought crossed my numb brain. Surely Lord Elrond knew the spring weather was going to be so dicey. Then I shook my head. He probably hadn't given it much thought. After all, elves might get chilled, but they don't get colds or anything. What's a spring rain to them, but a blessing for the fields and woods?
Numbly I doggedly kept walking. I also realized I needed to put as much distance between the bandits and me.
Again I thought: Where was Lord Elrond?
That was a pretty hopeless night for me. I really had no idea where I was going, at least, not in the dark. And my heart was just leaden. I felt I had let Lord Elrond down by not defending him or protecting him from the bandits. I should have never drunk that watered down wine or whatever it was in the cellar. They must have figured out what some of Lord Elrond's herbs and tinctures were good for. The headache I had been nursing all day, was beginning to thump louder. I stopped a moment and rubbed my forehead. Sighing deeply, I looked around. Perhaps there was somewhere we could hole up for the rest of the night?
I kept walking, pulling the tired gelding behind me. Brushing aside the thin branches of birch saplings just coming into leaf and trying to dodge, not always successfully of course, low pine boughs.
Finally, it was so dark I literally walked into a tree. I bounced to the ground. The gelding snorted. Tiredly rubbing my forehead, I decided this would do. It was pretty dry under the pine and the dead needles drifted up against the tree trunk were certainly more comfortable than the damp earth. I dropped the reins, and curled up at the base of the tree and surprised myself by going to sleep right away.
The next morning it was kind of misty and I was stiff with pain and cold. I got up very slowly and went to the stream and washed my face. The gelding was cropping grass nearby, his tale idly swishing, looking no worse for wear. Well, it was good one of us was fine.
I looked about but could see nothing about to eat in the sodden leaves and fallen branches. I wearily pulled the gelding to a stone and awkwardly clambered aboard.
And off we went, slowly through the skeletal birches and hawthorn bushes. I heard rooks croaking overhead and the sound of some little finch chirping in a nearby pine. The horse's hooves clicked on unseen rocks. The mist was slowly burning off.
It was actually turning into a lovely day. The kind where the sky is still a bit pale from fighting off winter's chill, but the breeze was fresh and petals from something blooming sailed by. And the damp from the rain made the air so fragrant.
I wish I had been feeling up to snuff to enjoy it.
Go figure, I fell asleep on the gelding. And I only woke when I realized the horse had stopped and neighed. Blinking, I looked around and my heart sank. Would you believe it? The stupid horse had wandered right back to the bandits. Or they had found us. Garn was even holding his bridle at the moment.
Coughing, I rubbed my eyes and stared at him. "I went hunting for mushrooms?" (At least I think that's what I said.) I was feeling pretty wooly-headed by then.
Frasc came up and yanked me painfully to the ground, making me gasp with pain. "Certainly glad ol' Grunt here knows how to follow us. He wants his oats no doubt."
I just stood their swaying. I was in deep doo-doo now.
Bellan came up to me and unceremoniously tied me to the nearest tree, arms behind and around the truck. I started screaming in pain. That got me a quick, hard knock to the head, which sent me into thankful darkness.
Excruciating pain woke me as someone untied me from the tree, which started me screaming again.
Thankfully, I wasn't awake long.
The next time I awoke, dim light fell on my eyes. It wavered in a tendril of breeze. I moved my head fretfully as I ached something fierce. I felt hot and my throat was sore.
"Water." I croaked. "Please." I started coughing.
Someone stirred from nearby and then lifted my head. I drank the tepid, flavored water noisily. There wasn't much in the glass, but it made my throat feel better.
I opened my eyes slowly.
It was Glorfindel!
"My lord? I-I...oh my goodness, where is Lord Elrond? Did you find him? What of the other elves? And the horses?" I started coughing again, which hurt my chest and I brought the one hand I could move to my ribs. Damn human physiology! My injured shoulder was bound so I could not even twitch that side of my body.
"Lord Elrond is fine now, Marie. He has gone off....hunting. The others are all accounted for, including the horses."
I nodded tiredly. I smiled at the blond elf lord. He is so ethereal looking and the buttery candle light behind him made him look like an angel. He just radiated good cheer and warmth. My pains seemed to drift off some, and finally I did too.
It was raining again. What a soggy spring we were having. I didn't want to open my eyes, but, well, I had an insistent call of nature to answer. The room was unfamiliar. The bed I was in was roughly carved and dark. There was a fireplace throwing warmth and light into the room. There was a woven rug on the left side of the bed, and the curtainless windows showed streaming water and little else.
It was hard to get up with one arm, but I did and found a chamber pot under the bed. If I stood slowly, my head didn't whirl. As I kicked the pot back under the bed, I went to the window and opened it up a crack. I was feeling a bit warm, and the cool rain-washed air made me feel more comfortable. I stared out into the night, trying to figure where I was. There was a courtyard below, wet cobbles shining in light from a ground floor window. But I could see little else, a wall, some bushes. It was very quiet, so I didn't think it was an inn.
Puzzled, I leaned my head against the cold glass and closed my eyes, the dribbles and splotches of rain that hit me in the face felt really good.
I was gently turned from the window and I opened my eyes to see Lord Elrond smiling at me. I just stared. I brought up a shy hand and touched his cheek and scalp quickly. "You are all right? They-they didn't kill you or-or torture you?" My voice broke and I bent my head, covering my mouth so I wouldn't sob out loud.
I was so happy to see him, I didn't even mind he led me back over to the bed and settled me back.
"Marie. I am all right. My head wounds have healed nicely. And I have you to thank for it."
I rubbed my eyes quickly. "You got tangled up in a fallen tree in the river, and I had to cut your beautiful hair!"
"You can see it is already growing back. I am grateful for your fast thinking and help Marie. I know it was not easy for you."
"But, when I woke up in the cellar, you were gone! I thought they'd found you and dragged you off or something." I shuddered.
"Your rescue and care of me Marie, allowed me to recover. I left you in the cellar, intent on capturing the brigands. Rhean and Carenloth were nearby, so I had a mount. The men ran me quite a chase, and I admit, I did not expect them to go back to Clearfell to get you." He sat on the side of the bed, his eyes warm and smiling. "I expected to find you still in the cellar, out of harm's way, sleeping."
I just kept staring and nodded. "You left the wine."
"Yes."
I hung my head, feeling stupid. "We were going to their camp somewhere. I threw up all over their poor horse." I sat up awkwardly. "And then the rain returned and thunder scared my horse—his name was Grunt, poor thing---and we took off into the woods. And then lightning struck nearby and I heard the other horses scream."
I fell back against the pillows, my aches becoming known. "Then they found me again and tied me up against a tree. I felt for sure, I was never going to get away." Wincing, I looked down at the bandages. I asked with a big sigh, "Is my shoulder broken? A rock hit me as I fell into the river."
"It did enough damage."
I shifted uncomfortably and stared at the soft wool blanket in my lap. "I guess I am never going to be able to do anything here in Middle Earth without a keeper---to make sure I don't kill myself." I looked up at Elrond, who was still smiling.
"I think there's enough of us in Rivendell to do the job."
I rubbed my eyes. "Like a wayward five-year-old, I need a nanny."
"A goat?" The elf lord stood at that, his eyebrows raised.
I laughed, which jarred my shoulder. "No, well, we call female goats nannies too, but a nanny is also a governess." He still looked confused. "Um, a babysitter? Some one who watches small children?"
"Ah, I see. Well, you are certainly old enough to be without a .....babysitter."
"Look at me." I started coughing again. "I don't think so."
Elrond went to the little bedside table. He picked up a goblet there, poured some tincture in it and added a bit of water from a nearby carafe. He helped me drink it down and I flopped back against the pillows. A fine cloud of dust arose, and I sneezed. Now I knew where we were. This had to be Clearfell.
Just then there was a short knock, and Glorfindel opened the door a crack and looked around. "Good evening Marie. Nice to see you awake. Elrond, if you can spare a minute, one of the brigands has, well, hurt himself and is bleeding all over the kitchen."
Elrond cocked his head slightly at the blond elf and one eyebrow went up. "I see. I wonder how he got something sharp enough to injure himself upon?'
Glorfindel, looking innocent, just shook his head and opened the door wider to allow Elrond to pass him. "He was attempting to get free, I believe. He did not like the idea he and his friends were going to be here for awhile." Glorfindel said with a chuckle.
"I shall tend to the unwilling guest and return later, Marie."
"Yes, my lord." I slumped down in the blankets.
Soon, I was alone. Contemplating my state again.
I stared at the hearth and the lovely grey stonework that was carved into ivy-leaves, encircling the fire. I felt my eyes slowly shut.
I smiled as got comfortable, my pains fading off. I was going to be fine.
One should always have an elf lord around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE END~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But I yawned, exhausted and before I could decide one way or the other, I collapsed back to the floor, asleep.
When I re-awoke, it was to find myself slung over a horse, which was trotting and causing me unspeakable pain. Just for fun, I threw up bile all over the side of the poor horse.
That got them to halt. Garn came over to me, pulling me head up by my hair. He looked as if he was about to slam my head, when Frasc made a sound of disgust. "Ah, don't bother Garn. It's going to rain again soon. We have to keep going. The camp is only a few hours away. Once we're there, you can do what you want."
Garn slapped my face for the heck of it, dropped my head and then remounted. The horse picked up its steady trot. I had the dry heaves a few times until exhaustion just undid me completely.
What had happened to Elrond? I had looked around as far as I was able but I saw no sign of the elf lord. Damn. They must have killed him or something. Tears went down my face and I watched them patter into the dirt. Soon I noticed there were a lot more. Ah good, it was beginning to rain. So here I was alone on a bouncing horse being taken to some camp where a group as friendly as this bunch waited. Undoubtedly Lord Elrond had been dumped somewhere. I closed my eyes. What a mess. What a big mess. This was so much worse than any other situation I had been, because Lord Elrond had gotten dragged into the mess as well.
And was probably now dead.
Who would have guessed lightning could be my friend? The rain came down harder and we heard the rumble of thunder. I could feel my horse twitch under me. Of course, as the storm moved on, the thunder got closer.
And finally, one big blast deafened us from straight overhead. It spooked my horse, who pulled its lead rope from the hands of Frasc and tore off into the scrub pines near the track we were following. I kept my head down trying to avoid close encounters with pine branches.
A flash of lightning struck nearby and I heard horses scream in terror. My horse picked up speed and continued to tear through the trees. The rain lashed us both and finally, the horse slipped in some mud as it ran down into a culvert. At the bottom, it grunted and stopped, exhausted. I tried to wiggle my hands free, or my feet.
The squirming I did loosened the rope that tied me to the saddle. As I was messing with the knot on my feet by moving them back and forth, I unexpectedly slid off and fell into the little streamlet. That jarred my shoulder something fierce and I put my head between my knees to stop the sparkling stars that filled my vision.
With a deep sigh, I looked at my hands in the lowering evening light. Using my teeth, I eventually got the knot free. And then in moments, got the rope off my feet. Luckily the horse hadn't gone far, merely under a cantilevered sycamore, which bent over the noisy little stream.
I limped over to the horse and fell against its heaving sides. Well, we were quite a pair. I patted the gelding slowly. I thought about mounting, but I saw the horse was really tired, so I picked up his dangling reins and started walking. I needed to find us some place out of the wet.
I grinned to myself as an errant thought crossed my numb brain. Surely Lord Elrond knew the spring weather was going to be so dicey. Then I shook my head. He probably hadn't given it much thought. After all, elves might get chilled, but they don't get colds or anything. What's a spring rain to them, but a blessing for the fields and woods?
Numbly I doggedly kept walking. I also realized I needed to put as much distance between the bandits and me.
Again I thought: Where was Lord Elrond?
That was a pretty hopeless night for me. I really had no idea where I was going, at least, not in the dark. And my heart was just leaden. I felt I had let Lord Elrond down by not defending him or protecting him from the bandits. I should have never drunk that watered down wine or whatever it was in the cellar. They must have figured out what some of Lord Elrond's herbs and tinctures were good for. The headache I had been nursing all day, was beginning to thump louder. I stopped a moment and rubbed my forehead. Sighing deeply, I looked around. Perhaps there was somewhere we could hole up for the rest of the night?
I kept walking, pulling the tired gelding behind me. Brushing aside the thin branches of birch saplings just coming into leaf and trying to dodge, not always successfully of course, low pine boughs.
Finally, it was so dark I literally walked into a tree. I bounced to the ground. The gelding snorted. Tiredly rubbing my forehead, I decided this would do. It was pretty dry under the pine and the dead needles drifted up against the tree trunk were certainly more comfortable than the damp earth. I dropped the reins, and curled up at the base of the tree and surprised myself by going to sleep right away.
The next morning it was kind of misty and I was stiff with pain and cold. I got up very slowly and went to the stream and washed my face. The gelding was cropping grass nearby, his tale idly swishing, looking no worse for wear. Well, it was good one of us was fine.
I looked about but could see nothing about to eat in the sodden leaves and fallen branches. I wearily pulled the gelding to a stone and awkwardly clambered aboard.
And off we went, slowly through the skeletal birches and hawthorn bushes. I heard rooks croaking overhead and the sound of some little finch chirping in a nearby pine. The horse's hooves clicked on unseen rocks. The mist was slowly burning off.
It was actually turning into a lovely day. The kind where the sky is still a bit pale from fighting off winter's chill, but the breeze was fresh and petals from something blooming sailed by. And the damp from the rain made the air so fragrant.
I wish I had been feeling up to snuff to enjoy it.
Go figure, I fell asleep on the gelding. And I only woke when I realized the horse had stopped and neighed. Blinking, I looked around and my heart sank. Would you believe it? The stupid horse had wandered right back to the bandits. Or they had found us. Garn was even holding his bridle at the moment.
Coughing, I rubbed my eyes and stared at him. "I went hunting for mushrooms?" (At least I think that's what I said.) I was feeling pretty wooly-headed by then.
Frasc came up and yanked me painfully to the ground, making me gasp with pain. "Certainly glad ol' Grunt here knows how to follow us. He wants his oats no doubt."
I just stood their swaying. I was in deep doo-doo now.
Bellan came up to me and unceremoniously tied me to the nearest tree, arms behind and around the truck. I started screaming in pain. That got me a quick, hard knock to the head, which sent me into thankful darkness.
Excruciating pain woke me as someone untied me from the tree, which started me screaming again.
Thankfully, I wasn't awake long.
The next time I awoke, dim light fell on my eyes. It wavered in a tendril of breeze. I moved my head fretfully as I ached something fierce. I felt hot and my throat was sore.
"Water." I croaked. "Please." I started coughing.
Someone stirred from nearby and then lifted my head. I drank the tepid, flavored water noisily. There wasn't much in the glass, but it made my throat feel better.
I opened my eyes slowly.
It was Glorfindel!
"My lord? I-I...oh my goodness, where is Lord Elrond? Did you find him? What of the other elves? And the horses?" I started coughing again, which hurt my chest and I brought the one hand I could move to my ribs. Damn human physiology! My injured shoulder was bound so I could not even twitch that side of my body.
"Lord Elrond is fine now, Marie. He has gone off....hunting. The others are all accounted for, including the horses."
I nodded tiredly. I smiled at the blond elf lord. He is so ethereal looking and the buttery candle light behind him made him look like an angel. He just radiated good cheer and warmth. My pains seemed to drift off some, and finally I did too.
It was raining again. What a soggy spring we were having. I didn't want to open my eyes, but, well, I had an insistent call of nature to answer. The room was unfamiliar. The bed I was in was roughly carved and dark. There was a fireplace throwing warmth and light into the room. There was a woven rug on the left side of the bed, and the curtainless windows showed streaming water and little else.
It was hard to get up with one arm, but I did and found a chamber pot under the bed. If I stood slowly, my head didn't whirl. As I kicked the pot back under the bed, I went to the window and opened it up a crack. I was feeling a bit warm, and the cool rain-washed air made me feel more comfortable. I stared out into the night, trying to figure where I was. There was a courtyard below, wet cobbles shining in light from a ground floor window. But I could see little else, a wall, some bushes. It was very quiet, so I didn't think it was an inn.
Puzzled, I leaned my head against the cold glass and closed my eyes, the dribbles and splotches of rain that hit me in the face felt really good.
I was gently turned from the window and I opened my eyes to see Lord Elrond smiling at me. I just stared. I brought up a shy hand and touched his cheek and scalp quickly. "You are all right? They-they didn't kill you or-or torture you?" My voice broke and I bent my head, covering my mouth so I wouldn't sob out loud.
I was so happy to see him, I didn't even mind he led me back over to the bed and settled me back.
"Marie. I am all right. My head wounds have healed nicely. And I have you to thank for it."
I rubbed my eyes quickly. "You got tangled up in a fallen tree in the river, and I had to cut your beautiful hair!"
"You can see it is already growing back. I am grateful for your fast thinking and help Marie. I know it was not easy for you."
"But, when I woke up in the cellar, you were gone! I thought they'd found you and dragged you off or something." I shuddered.
"Your rescue and care of me Marie, allowed me to recover. I left you in the cellar, intent on capturing the brigands. Rhean and Carenloth were nearby, so I had a mount. The men ran me quite a chase, and I admit, I did not expect them to go back to Clearfell to get you." He sat on the side of the bed, his eyes warm and smiling. "I expected to find you still in the cellar, out of harm's way, sleeping."
I just kept staring and nodded. "You left the wine."
"Yes."
I hung my head, feeling stupid. "We were going to their camp somewhere. I threw up all over their poor horse." I sat up awkwardly. "And then the rain returned and thunder scared my horse—his name was Grunt, poor thing---and we took off into the woods. And then lightning struck nearby and I heard the other horses scream."
I fell back against the pillows, my aches becoming known. "Then they found me again and tied me up against a tree. I felt for sure, I was never going to get away." Wincing, I looked down at the bandages. I asked with a big sigh, "Is my shoulder broken? A rock hit me as I fell into the river."
"It did enough damage."
I shifted uncomfortably and stared at the soft wool blanket in my lap. "I guess I am never going to be able to do anything here in Middle Earth without a keeper---to make sure I don't kill myself." I looked up at Elrond, who was still smiling.
"I think there's enough of us in Rivendell to do the job."
I rubbed my eyes. "Like a wayward five-year-old, I need a nanny."
"A goat?" The elf lord stood at that, his eyebrows raised.
I laughed, which jarred my shoulder. "No, well, we call female goats nannies too, but a nanny is also a governess." He still looked confused. "Um, a babysitter? Some one who watches small children?"
"Ah, I see. Well, you are certainly old enough to be without a .....babysitter."
"Look at me." I started coughing again. "I don't think so."
Elrond went to the little bedside table. He picked up a goblet there, poured some tincture in it and added a bit of water from a nearby carafe. He helped me drink it down and I flopped back against the pillows. A fine cloud of dust arose, and I sneezed. Now I knew where we were. This had to be Clearfell.
Just then there was a short knock, and Glorfindel opened the door a crack and looked around. "Good evening Marie. Nice to see you awake. Elrond, if you can spare a minute, one of the brigands has, well, hurt himself and is bleeding all over the kitchen."
Elrond cocked his head slightly at the blond elf and one eyebrow went up. "I see. I wonder how he got something sharp enough to injure himself upon?'
Glorfindel, looking innocent, just shook his head and opened the door wider to allow Elrond to pass him. "He was attempting to get free, I believe. He did not like the idea he and his friends were going to be here for awhile." Glorfindel said with a chuckle.
"I shall tend to the unwilling guest and return later, Marie."
"Yes, my lord." I slumped down in the blankets.
Soon, I was alone. Contemplating my state again.
I stared at the hearth and the lovely grey stonework that was carved into ivy-leaves, encircling the fire. I felt my eyes slowly shut.
I smiled as got comfortable, my pains fading off. I was going to be fine.
One should always have an elf lord around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE END~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~