'Come, my child,' she said. I obeyed readily.
'I have never seen a nymph before,' I told her.
'And never will you again,' she said. 'For I was born from death, a sacrifice made by a pure woman gave me life. The sacrifice was her own life.' I realized then. She spoke of the woman that I had seen, the enchanting creature. 'When she died on the tree I was, her blood seeped through my bark and gave me life. For as long as a creature is pure, it shall not die. As long as a creature is as strong as she was, it shall not die. As long as a creature has the destiny to fulfill that she did, it shall not die.'
'What is your name?' I asked.
'You may call me Lady of the Wood, my child,' she answered. 'But if you refer to the woman, her name was Narmo Silmarána.' My blood froze. Narmo Silmarána, the most famous warrioress of Tol Eressëa, possibly all of Middle-Earth, and she had been expected to come protect our Vinya Laiquataurë as we began to settle. She had been coming to protect us from the dark elves of the Isle and any sabotage they might have done. They had killed her before she ever got to us, just on our borders.
"I had never seen Narmo before, but had heard of her in tales and ballads. Narmo means "wolf" in Quenya. The Cry of the Wolf and Shining Eyes are common among elfin warriors to boost spirits; even Aragorn knew it. Narmo was known for astute skill in battle. Among commoners, she was called "the savior." She had saved many villages on the Isle from dark elf invaders single-handedly. Narmo Silmarána was the greatest of all elfin fighters and I had found her dead. When this struck me, I did not know what to think. The gods surely did not expect me to play a part in the tale of Narmo Silmarána, or so I thought."
"Yes?" I asked breathlessly.
"And yet, here I sit beside her." answered Legolas. I froze, as though the very blood in my veins had become ice in mid-beat.
"Me.?"
"Aye. I know you could never believe me, but -"
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Your eyes," Legolas answered. "When I saw you for the first time in the park and you opened your eyes, I was shocked for your eyes were the very ones of the great elfin warrioress and the ones that had haunted me for so many years. And when I held you that one night, when you were crying about Peter, I felt your heartbeat against my chest. It was not a human's heartbeat; it could not be. I had never heard a heartbeat like that before except for an elf's.
"But no, I told myself. It could never be. How could she have become human and been born in another world? The gods, tonight in my dream, told me it was true. In my dream was the Lady of the Wood, whom I have become close friends with since my finding her. She has been my guidance since I took up residence at Vinya Laiquataurë, and she wished nothing more than to see Narmo Silmarána, she has always told me, the one that gave her life.
'You suspect something of this woman,' she told me in my dream. She was speaking of you.
'Aye,' I answered. 'I suspect the impossible. It cannot be true.'
'But the impossible can indeed be more plausible than reality,' she told me. 'She is indeed not who she seems to be, but who you think.'" I melted into the couch. It was all too much. An elf, me; I had hoped but I had never thought.
"Sydney, are you alright?" Legolas asked, resting a hand on my knee.
"Mmm," I said.
"Ah, well that clears it all up," said Legolas, smiling. "Do you believe me?"
"Of course," I answered. For the first time in a half hour, I looked down at my hand. The blood was beginning to seep through the cloth. "I'd better go get another one."
"No, allow me," said Legolas. "Go to your bed and I shall take care of it." I was too tired and bewildered to not capitulate. I walked down the hallway, as if in dream, and sat down on my bed. In a couple of minutes, Legolas came in, seating himself beside me.
"This shall sting," he said, placing a wet towel against my cut. It did, it stung like hell. I bit my lip and tried to not to let anything I was thinking slip. "I am so sorry. Tomorrow, should you like to take up a sword with me? You are Narmo Silmarána."
"Alright," I said. "If this stops bleeding by then." Legolas laughed.
"I am certain it shall," he replied. "But for now, try to sleep. I shall care for this wound. You need sleep." I merely nodded and closed my eyes, leaning back against the pillows. I never thought that I could actually fall asleep, but Legolas' touch was so gentle, that I managed. The thoughts that went through my mind last were, "Well, so I'm an elf. At least I could be with Legolas because I'm not human.but still.that woman, the one he loves. I could never try to win him from her. I could never do that."
As I woke up, I moved my hand, big mistake. I had completely forgotten. I somehow crawled out of bed and sat up, looking down at the bandage across my left palm. The bandage wasn't soaked with blood. Legolas had managed to make it stop bleeding, what a miracle healer. And then it hit me, the rest of the night before: I was an elf.
My head snapped up to the mirror above my dresser. I ran my finger over the ridge of my ear, just as it had always been, or at least, in this world. I didn't know how I felt about being an elf. I had always wished for it to be true, but now that it was, it separated me from my world, the only world I knew. How could I ever go back to being Sydney, not somewhere in the back of my mind knowing that I was Narmo Silmarána, famous elfin warrioress? Legolas had been right. There was no going back.
'I have never seen a nymph before,' I told her.
'And never will you again,' she said. 'For I was born from death, a sacrifice made by a pure woman gave me life. The sacrifice was her own life.' I realized then. She spoke of the woman that I had seen, the enchanting creature. 'When she died on the tree I was, her blood seeped through my bark and gave me life. For as long as a creature is pure, it shall not die. As long as a creature is as strong as she was, it shall not die. As long as a creature has the destiny to fulfill that she did, it shall not die.'
'What is your name?' I asked.
'You may call me Lady of the Wood, my child,' she answered. 'But if you refer to the woman, her name was Narmo Silmarána.' My blood froze. Narmo Silmarána, the most famous warrioress of Tol Eressëa, possibly all of Middle-Earth, and she had been expected to come protect our Vinya Laiquataurë as we began to settle. She had been coming to protect us from the dark elves of the Isle and any sabotage they might have done. They had killed her before she ever got to us, just on our borders.
"I had never seen Narmo before, but had heard of her in tales and ballads. Narmo means "wolf" in Quenya. The Cry of the Wolf and Shining Eyes are common among elfin warriors to boost spirits; even Aragorn knew it. Narmo was known for astute skill in battle. Among commoners, she was called "the savior." She had saved many villages on the Isle from dark elf invaders single-handedly. Narmo Silmarána was the greatest of all elfin fighters and I had found her dead. When this struck me, I did not know what to think. The gods surely did not expect me to play a part in the tale of Narmo Silmarána, or so I thought."
"Yes?" I asked breathlessly.
"And yet, here I sit beside her." answered Legolas. I froze, as though the very blood in my veins had become ice in mid-beat.
"Me.?"
"Aye. I know you could never believe me, but -"
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Your eyes," Legolas answered. "When I saw you for the first time in the park and you opened your eyes, I was shocked for your eyes were the very ones of the great elfin warrioress and the ones that had haunted me for so many years. And when I held you that one night, when you were crying about Peter, I felt your heartbeat against my chest. It was not a human's heartbeat; it could not be. I had never heard a heartbeat like that before except for an elf's.
"But no, I told myself. It could never be. How could she have become human and been born in another world? The gods, tonight in my dream, told me it was true. In my dream was the Lady of the Wood, whom I have become close friends with since my finding her. She has been my guidance since I took up residence at Vinya Laiquataurë, and she wished nothing more than to see Narmo Silmarána, she has always told me, the one that gave her life.
'You suspect something of this woman,' she told me in my dream. She was speaking of you.
'Aye,' I answered. 'I suspect the impossible. It cannot be true.'
'But the impossible can indeed be more plausible than reality,' she told me. 'She is indeed not who she seems to be, but who you think.'" I melted into the couch. It was all too much. An elf, me; I had hoped but I had never thought.
"Sydney, are you alright?" Legolas asked, resting a hand on my knee.
"Mmm," I said.
"Ah, well that clears it all up," said Legolas, smiling. "Do you believe me?"
"Of course," I answered. For the first time in a half hour, I looked down at my hand. The blood was beginning to seep through the cloth. "I'd better go get another one."
"No, allow me," said Legolas. "Go to your bed and I shall take care of it." I was too tired and bewildered to not capitulate. I walked down the hallway, as if in dream, and sat down on my bed. In a couple of minutes, Legolas came in, seating himself beside me.
"This shall sting," he said, placing a wet towel against my cut. It did, it stung like hell. I bit my lip and tried to not to let anything I was thinking slip. "I am so sorry. Tomorrow, should you like to take up a sword with me? You are Narmo Silmarána."
"Alright," I said. "If this stops bleeding by then." Legolas laughed.
"I am certain it shall," he replied. "But for now, try to sleep. I shall care for this wound. You need sleep." I merely nodded and closed my eyes, leaning back against the pillows. I never thought that I could actually fall asleep, but Legolas' touch was so gentle, that I managed. The thoughts that went through my mind last were, "Well, so I'm an elf. At least I could be with Legolas because I'm not human.but still.that woman, the one he loves. I could never try to win him from her. I could never do that."
As I woke up, I moved my hand, big mistake. I had completely forgotten. I somehow crawled out of bed and sat up, looking down at the bandage across my left palm. The bandage wasn't soaked with blood. Legolas had managed to make it stop bleeding, what a miracle healer. And then it hit me, the rest of the night before: I was an elf.
My head snapped up to the mirror above my dresser. I ran my finger over the ridge of my ear, just as it had always been, or at least, in this world. I didn't know how I felt about being an elf. I had always wished for it to be true, but now that it was, it separated me from my world, the only world I knew. How could I ever go back to being Sydney, not somewhere in the back of my mind knowing that I was Narmo Silmarána, famous elfin warrioress? Legolas had been right. There was no going back.