Author's note~ I know that I have some facts wrong, but I'm not like overly
obsessed so I wouldn't know the exact time that things happened. Just bear
with me for now, and don't attack me and send people with long sharp knives
after me if I'm wrong. Also, don't kill me if I have the ages of certain
people messed up. Lets just "pretend" for now. So BLAH! By the way, this is
a flashback, and the flash-forward will be represented by this:
~~~**~~~....not this: ~*~. Also, there will be another flashback (the same
one), that too will be represented by this: ~~~**~~~. Have fun!
The sounds of hooves were all that Airesiwe could hear. She lifted her heavy head a ways, and observed her surroundings. It was dawn, and the sun could just barely be seen from the tips of the mountains that signaled the presence of Gondor, the city of men. Her kind, the elves from Rivendell, were journeying there to hopefully rebuild their alliance with them. Airesiwe was told that she was going, simply because of an invitation from the King of Gondor. She would be known as, 'Princess of the South,' and by that, she would be known. For the people there already knew that Airesiwe was special, that she was different from all the rest of her kind. Everyone but her.
She looked around once more, after shaking off the daydream, and saw Osgiliath. It was beautiful, with green grass that shimmered in the sunlight. And the light breeze that swept across it made it even more scenic. The fortress was built with cement, and she stared at awe at it. For this was the first time that she remembered going so far away from her home. She looked up and saw that her older sister, Arwen, was steering the white horse in which they rode upon. Airesiwe sighed, and fell asleep once more.
~*~
When she awoke, she found herself still on the horse that she rode upon. Elves surrounded her, and persuaded her to get off, for they had finally reached Osgiliath.
"Finally, you awake from your never-ending slumber, Airesiwe," Arwen said while smiling. She was not much older than Airesiwe at the time. Airesiwe was no more than ten years old, and Arwen was going on twenty-five. It seemed like the beginning of time. The war of the ring had been won, and Isildor had taken it for his own keeping. Islidor had returned to his city, ring still in his keeping, and that's all that was known. Airesiwe had never met the man, though she heard the great tale that he had become known for. She would always replay the story again and again in her head. 'Islidor...cutting the great ring of power from the dark lord Saran's hand.' Elrond, the leader of Rivendell had also come with them on their journey. Elrond was tall, and mighty, and all elves respected him for he had great healing powers. But for some reason, Airesiwe had a great feeling in her heart that told her that he hated men, and thought they were weak. She could tell he was not looking forward to this expedition, and hoped that he would not hate her for starting it.
Nonetheless, Airesiwe got off the horse and followed her sister to the king. The elves waited for her near the entrance of Osgiliath. Along with Airesiwe, was her friend Vanagaer . He was her trainer, and helped her become a worthy warrior in Rivendell. He accepted her differences, and because of that, he was her only friend. She trudged along through the long hall that lead to the king, but instead, an old man sat there.
"Uh, hello," Arwen said breaking the awkward silence, "are you the king?"
The man stared at her. "No, King Isildor is not here, but rather he just left for Minas Tirith. I am to keep his place until he returns."
"Do you know when he will be back?" Airesiwe questioned, hoping that perhaps she may not be able to see him after all.
"Oh...dear me young lady. He will not return for awhile. If you wish to see him now, you might as well head for Minas Tirith." Airesiwe was almost ready to jump with joy before her sister stopped her.
"Then to Minas Tirith we shall ride," Arwen said looking back at Airesiwe. She had her cleaver little smirk on, which angered Airesiwe. She was not looking forward to meeting the king, and was started to see why Elrond hated them. Furious, Airesiwe stormed out of the hall and towards the entrance; Arwen and Vanagaer following. Airesiwe jumped on the white horse on which she rode, and proceeded to steer it back home, but Vanagaer stopped her.
"I have developed a task for you, Airesiwe," he said with hope in his eyes. "Please, just listen." Airesiwe stopped and turned her horse towards him.
"I'm listening."
"I was thinking, this would be a perfect ending to today's lesson. I order you, Airesiwe Greenleaf, to head to Minas Tirith...only this time, go alone."
"WHAT?!" If Airesiwe wasn't mad already, she was now. "IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT I MUST GO SEE THE KING, NOW I MUST GO ALONE YOU SAY?" Airesiwe felt her face getting hot with rage, so she took a deep breath and slowed down. "What will this prove Vanagaer ? I could get killed!"
Vanagaer looked at her straight in the eyes. "It will prove whatever you want it to prove Airesiwe." He mounted his horse and looked over his shoulder as he rode away with the rest of the elves. Suddenly, he shouted back to her. "Someday...you'll thank me!"
~*~
Airesiwe rode along to Minas Tirith in a very bad mood. Nevertheless, she kept thinking about what Vanagaer had said, and started to feel bad about what she had said back. Her bad mood wasn't entirely from that subject, but the fact that the white horse she was riding wasn't cooperating with her. Every five feet he would get spooked, and if not that then he would randomly try to buck her off. When they were about halfway there, Airesiwe was almost at the point where she was ready to just leave him.
Finally, she arrived at the white palace of Minas Tirith. She didn't know what was prettier, Osgiliath, or the white walls that stood before her. She was quite surprised to find her way there, considering the fact that she had not a clue where she was heading, but it didn't matter now. She just wanted to meet the king and get it over with.
~*~
"So this is it." King Isildor said when Airesiwe entered the room. "Certainly, you are not the 'best warrior in Rivendell'. Why should I welcome you here?"
Airesiwe was very offended by this statement, but kept her anger to herself. She wished not to make a bad impression in front of the King.
"You called me here, sir." Airesiwe stuttered, "I am Airesiwe, Warrior of the West, Friend of the North," Airesiwe almost choked on her nervousness, "and...and," she started to panic. She couldn't remember her last appellation.
"That's fine, Airesiwe," the king said while eyeing her. "All those name have no use in this hall. But I cannot just give you your worthy title for the South. You must prove your worth to me."
Airesiwe was not expecting this. She thought all she would do was say who she was and get out. She missed home already, and wanted to go back. Her thoughts were shattered when the King spoke again.
"You shall join our family to dinner." He said finally. "We'll meet you there in an hour."
~~~**~~~
"You had to go to dinner?" Frodo said, eyes open. He was obviously still interested in the story, although it bored all other people she told it to.
"Yes, it was quite tragic," Airesiwe joked. "I'll just skip that part. All I really did was eat anyway." Airesiwe laughed.
"Did you get your title?" Frodo said. "Princess of the West?"
"Yes, In fact I did..." Airesiwe said slowly, going back to her past.
~~~**~~~
"Princess of the West." The king said while looking at Airesiwe. "You have earned it, my dear. I'm sorry for ever doubting you." With that the King left. Airesiwe waited for some token, to show that she was here, but after some time she gave up and left. While walking out, she past something that she saw on the floor. Something gold, and small. It drew her towards it, and without knowing, she knelt down and picked it up. She fingered it for awhile, but then a shadow fell upon her. She looked up and saw one of the guards standing above her.
"What do you think you're doing?" the guard shouted. Not knowing what to do, Airesiwe shoved her discovery in her pocket and ran off. As she ran, she could hear the man's shouts from behind her, but she did not look back. She ran down all the levels until she got to the white horse. She jumped on its back, and without much of a command, the horse rode off. She rode out of the palace of Minas Tirith, and hoped never to see it, nor the face of men again.
~*~
Two days on horseback, and Airesiwe knew she was lost. Lost in both direction and thought. A few time she had to stop her annoying white horse, and at that time she would think. Something was different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She took her finding and held it in the palm of her hand. Unaware of what she was doing, she put it on. Nothing really happened, besides the fact that her vision darkened, and she could faintly hear screams in the background. She didn't want to take it off. Instead, she hopped on her paranoid horse and rode on. She knew where she was going now, which was quite odd to her. It was almost like something, someone was drawing her there...
Time passed, and before long Airesiwe ran out of water. She dismounted her horse and ran towards a nearby lake. She knew she wasn't quite far from home once she saw it. She remembered traveling a little ways with her trainer outside the borders of Rivendell, and that the lake was one of their stops. She missed her trainer, and all at once wished he was here, here to guide her and tell her what to do, and what not to do. But she knew she couldn't depend on him. He gave her this quest for a reason, and she was going to finish it.
She walked to the shore of the lake and knelt down, filling her hands with the clear liquid. Sipping it from her palms, she felt something brush against her back. She turned around, and saw a head push her into the lake. She tumbled in and went deep underwater. She could see faces, faces that she never thought she would see. Terrified, Airesiwe pushed up and finally reached the surface. She broke through, and gasped for air while treading water.
"UGH! STUPID HORSE!" She yelled back at the white creature who was walking away. She swam to the shore and took of the ring. Remembering the faces, she cupped it in her hands and stared at it. She heard galloping behind her, and turned around just to see the white horse charge into her, causing her to fall in once more. This time she closed her eyes while she was underwater, and swam quickly to the top. She jumped onto the shore and gasped for breath again. She looked at her hand and saw that she had dropped the ring and had lost it while underwater.
"SEE? LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!" she yelled back at the horse, but to her surprise, the horse was gone. She heard some odd noises coming from inside the forest, and ran. She ran as fast as she could, for she knew that whatever it was, it had killed that horse. She ran and ran and at some points, wanted to give up, but she kept running. She was not far from Rivendell.
~*~
"Where were you?!" Arwen shouted. "We were worried sick! We thought you too had been attacked!"
"Attacked by what?" Airesiwe questioned. "...wait a second...you knew where I was! It takes a long time to go to Minas Tirith and back! You shouldn't be questioning me for your the one who told me to go!"
"I'm quite sorry Airesiwe," Arwen sighed, "but we were attacked, by orcs, on the way back home."
Airesiwe stood in shock.
"We didn't lose much..."Arwen continued, "but ..."she stopped. She knelt down and held Airesiwe's hand. "We lost Vanagaer."
Airesiwe felt like she was going to die. 'This isn't happening, this is all a dream! I didn't find a ring, I still have that stupid white horse, I'm dreaming this is a dream!' she thought over and over to herself, but she knew it wouldn't changed anything.
At that time, one of the other elves walked over to Arwen and Airesiwe holding the rein of a brown foal. Arwen took the rein from the elves and motioned him off. She turned back to Airesiwe and placed the rein in her hand.
"He wanted to wait until you were older, I remember him telling me," Arwen said. "I think now would be a better time."
Airesiwe looked into the eyes of the young foul and patted him softly. "What is his name?" she whispered.
"That is for you to decide."
She looked into the eyes of the foal again. 'Bravery, he's full of it.' she thought to herself. "Firnephel," she said aloud, "his name is Firnephel."
~~~**~~~
Tears welled up in Airesiwe's eyes and she tried not to cry. She remembered Firnephel, and wished that she could have seen him again. All of the times that they had been together, were now gone. She looked down at her feet dangling from the rock, and felt something brush against her face. She turned and saw Frodo, his hand guiding her face to face him. Slowly, his face tilted and moved towards hers. Not knowing what else to do, Airesiwe did the same. She closed her eyes and felt his lips touch hers. They felt warm, and comforting, and she wished she could stay there forever. But something happened. A loud scream could be heard, and Frodo pulled away from Airesiwe. "Sam..." he whispered and jumped off the rock he sat on. He ran towards camp leaving Airesiwe on the rock. She too jumped off, and felt dizzy. 'No fainting,' she told herself as she too ran after Frodo. She knew this was going to happen. She could feel it, but she didn't think it would enter the forest. But it did.
It was finally here.
The sounds of hooves were all that Airesiwe could hear. She lifted her heavy head a ways, and observed her surroundings. It was dawn, and the sun could just barely be seen from the tips of the mountains that signaled the presence of Gondor, the city of men. Her kind, the elves from Rivendell, were journeying there to hopefully rebuild their alliance with them. Airesiwe was told that she was going, simply because of an invitation from the King of Gondor. She would be known as, 'Princess of the South,' and by that, she would be known. For the people there already knew that Airesiwe was special, that she was different from all the rest of her kind. Everyone but her.
She looked around once more, after shaking off the daydream, and saw Osgiliath. It was beautiful, with green grass that shimmered in the sunlight. And the light breeze that swept across it made it even more scenic. The fortress was built with cement, and she stared at awe at it. For this was the first time that she remembered going so far away from her home. She looked up and saw that her older sister, Arwen, was steering the white horse in which they rode upon. Airesiwe sighed, and fell asleep once more.
~*~
When she awoke, she found herself still on the horse that she rode upon. Elves surrounded her, and persuaded her to get off, for they had finally reached Osgiliath.
"Finally, you awake from your never-ending slumber, Airesiwe," Arwen said while smiling. She was not much older than Airesiwe at the time. Airesiwe was no more than ten years old, and Arwen was going on twenty-five. It seemed like the beginning of time. The war of the ring had been won, and Isildor had taken it for his own keeping. Islidor had returned to his city, ring still in his keeping, and that's all that was known. Airesiwe had never met the man, though she heard the great tale that he had become known for. She would always replay the story again and again in her head. 'Islidor...cutting the great ring of power from the dark lord Saran's hand.' Elrond, the leader of Rivendell had also come with them on their journey. Elrond was tall, and mighty, and all elves respected him for he had great healing powers. But for some reason, Airesiwe had a great feeling in her heart that told her that he hated men, and thought they were weak. She could tell he was not looking forward to this expedition, and hoped that he would not hate her for starting it.
Nonetheless, Airesiwe got off the horse and followed her sister to the king. The elves waited for her near the entrance of Osgiliath. Along with Airesiwe, was her friend Vanagaer . He was her trainer, and helped her become a worthy warrior in Rivendell. He accepted her differences, and because of that, he was her only friend. She trudged along through the long hall that lead to the king, but instead, an old man sat there.
"Uh, hello," Arwen said breaking the awkward silence, "are you the king?"
The man stared at her. "No, King Isildor is not here, but rather he just left for Minas Tirith. I am to keep his place until he returns."
"Do you know when he will be back?" Airesiwe questioned, hoping that perhaps she may not be able to see him after all.
"Oh...dear me young lady. He will not return for awhile. If you wish to see him now, you might as well head for Minas Tirith." Airesiwe was almost ready to jump with joy before her sister stopped her.
"Then to Minas Tirith we shall ride," Arwen said looking back at Airesiwe. She had her cleaver little smirk on, which angered Airesiwe. She was not looking forward to meeting the king, and was started to see why Elrond hated them. Furious, Airesiwe stormed out of the hall and towards the entrance; Arwen and Vanagaer following. Airesiwe jumped on the white horse on which she rode, and proceeded to steer it back home, but Vanagaer stopped her.
"I have developed a task for you, Airesiwe," he said with hope in his eyes. "Please, just listen." Airesiwe stopped and turned her horse towards him.
"I'm listening."
"I was thinking, this would be a perfect ending to today's lesson. I order you, Airesiwe Greenleaf, to head to Minas Tirith...only this time, go alone."
"WHAT?!" If Airesiwe wasn't mad already, she was now. "IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT I MUST GO SEE THE KING, NOW I MUST GO ALONE YOU SAY?" Airesiwe felt her face getting hot with rage, so she took a deep breath and slowed down. "What will this prove Vanagaer ? I could get killed!"
Vanagaer looked at her straight in the eyes. "It will prove whatever you want it to prove Airesiwe." He mounted his horse and looked over his shoulder as he rode away with the rest of the elves. Suddenly, he shouted back to her. "Someday...you'll thank me!"
~*~
Airesiwe rode along to Minas Tirith in a very bad mood. Nevertheless, she kept thinking about what Vanagaer had said, and started to feel bad about what she had said back. Her bad mood wasn't entirely from that subject, but the fact that the white horse she was riding wasn't cooperating with her. Every five feet he would get spooked, and if not that then he would randomly try to buck her off. When they were about halfway there, Airesiwe was almost at the point where she was ready to just leave him.
Finally, she arrived at the white palace of Minas Tirith. She didn't know what was prettier, Osgiliath, or the white walls that stood before her. She was quite surprised to find her way there, considering the fact that she had not a clue where she was heading, but it didn't matter now. She just wanted to meet the king and get it over with.
~*~
"So this is it." King Isildor said when Airesiwe entered the room. "Certainly, you are not the 'best warrior in Rivendell'. Why should I welcome you here?"
Airesiwe was very offended by this statement, but kept her anger to herself. She wished not to make a bad impression in front of the King.
"You called me here, sir." Airesiwe stuttered, "I am Airesiwe, Warrior of the West, Friend of the North," Airesiwe almost choked on her nervousness, "and...and," she started to panic. She couldn't remember her last appellation.
"That's fine, Airesiwe," the king said while eyeing her. "All those name have no use in this hall. But I cannot just give you your worthy title for the South. You must prove your worth to me."
Airesiwe was not expecting this. She thought all she would do was say who she was and get out. She missed home already, and wanted to go back. Her thoughts were shattered when the King spoke again.
"You shall join our family to dinner." He said finally. "We'll meet you there in an hour."
~~~**~~~
"You had to go to dinner?" Frodo said, eyes open. He was obviously still interested in the story, although it bored all other people she told it to.
"Yes, it was quite tragic," Airesiwe joked. "I'll just skip that part. All I really did was eat anyway." Airesiwe laughed.
"Did you get your title?" Frodo said. "Princess of the West?"
"Yes, In fact I did..." Airesiwe said slowly, going back to her past.
~~~**~~~
"Princess of the West." The king said while looking at Airesiwe. "You have earned it, my dear. I'm sorry for ever doubting you." With that the King left. Airesiwe waited for some token, to show that she was here, but after some time she gave up and left. While walking out, she past something that she saw on the floor. Something gold, and small. It drew her towards it, and without knowing, she knelt down and picked it up. She fingered it for awhile, but then a shadow fell upon her. She looked up and saw one of the guards standing above her.
"What do you think you're doing?" the guard shouted. Not knowing what to do, Airesiwe shoved her discovery in her pocket and ran off. As she ran, she could hear the man's shouts from behind her, but she did not look back. She ran down all the levels until she got to the white horse. She jumped on its back, and without much of a command, the horse rode off. She rode out of the palace of Minas Tirith, and hoped never to see it, nor the face of men again.
~*~
Two days on horseback, and Airesiwe knew she was lost. Lost in both direction and thought. A few time she had to stop her annoying white horse, and at that time she would think. Something was different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She took her finding and held it in the palm of her hand. Unaware of what she was doing, she put it on. Nothing really happened, besides the fact that her vision darkened, and she could faintly hear screams in the background. She didn't want to take it off. Instead, she hopped on her paranoid horse and rode on. She knew where she was going now, which was quite odd to her. It was almost like something, someone was drawing her there...
Time passed, and before long Airesiwe ran out of water. She dismounted her horse and ran towards a nearby lake. She knew she wasn't quite far from home once she saw it. She remembered traveling a little ways with her trainer outside the borders of Rivendell, and that the lake was one of their stops. She missed her trainer, and all at once wished he was here, here to guide her and tell her what to do, and what not to do. But she knew she couldn't depend on him. He gave her this quest for a reason, and she was going to finish it.
She walked to the shore of the lake and knelt down, filling her hands with the clear liquid. Sipping it from her palms, she felt something brush against her back. She turned around, and saw a head push her into the lake. She tumbled in and went deep underwater. She could see faces, faces that she never thought she would see. Terrified, Airesiwe pushed up and finally reached the surface. She broke through, and gasped for air while treading water.
"UGH! STUPID HORSE!" She yelled back at the white creature who was walking away. She swam to the shore and took of the ring. Remembering the faces, she cupped it in her hands and stared at it. She heard galloping behind her, and turned around just to see the white horse charge into her, causing her to fall in once more. This time she closed her eyes while she was underwater, and swam quickly to the top. She jumped onto the shore and gasped for breath again. She looked at her hand and saw that she had dropped the ring and had lost it while underwater.
"SEE? LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!" she yelled back at the horse, but to her surprise, the horse was gone. She heard some odd noises coming from inside the forest, and ran. She ran as fast as she could, for she knew that whatever it was, it had killed that horse. She ran and ran and at some points, wanted to give up, but she kept running. She was not far from Rivendell.
~*~
"Where were you?!" Arwen shouted. "We were worried sick! We thought you too had been attacked!"
"Attacked by what?" Airesiwe questioned. "...wait a second...you knew where I was! It takes a long time to go to Minas Tirith and back! You shouldn't be questioning me for your the one who told me to go!"
"I'm quite sorry Airesiwe," Arwen sighed, "but we were attacked, by orcs, on the way back home."
Airesiwe stood in shock.
"We didn't lose much..."Arwen continued, "but ..."she stopped. She knelt down and held Airesiwe's hand. "We lost Vanagaer."
Airesiwe felt like she was going to die. 'This isn't happening, this is all a dream! I didn't find a ring, I still have that stupid white horse, I'm dreaming this is a dream!' she thought over and over to herself, but she knew it wouldn't changed anything.
At that time, one of the other elves walked over to Arwen and Airesiwe holding the rein of a brown foal. Arwen took the rein from the elves and motioned him off. She turned back to Airesiwe and placed the rein in her hand.
"He wanted to wait until you were older, I remember him telling me," Arwen said. "I think now would be a better time."
Airesiwe looked into the eyes of the young foul and patted him softly. "What is his name?" she whispered.
"That is for you to decide."
She looked into the eyes of the foal again. 'Bravery, he's full of it.' she thought to herself. "Firnephel," she said aloud, "his name is Firnephel."
~~~**~~~
Tears welled up in Airesiwe's eyes and she tried not to cry. She remembered Firnephel, and wished that she could have seen him again. All of the times that they had been together, were now gone. She looked down at her feet dangling from the rock, and felt something brush against her face. She turned and saw Frodo, his hand guiding her face to face him. Slowly, his face tilted and moved towards hers. Not knowing what else to do, Airesiwe did the same. She closed her eyes and felt his lips touch hers. They felt warm, and comforting, and she wished she could stay there forever. But something happened. A loud scream could be heard, and Frodo pulled away from Airesiwe. "Sam..." he whispered and jumped off the rock he sat on. He ran towards camp leaving Airesiwe on the rock. She too jumped off, and felt dizzy. 'No fainting,' she told herself as she too ran after Frodo. She knew this was going to happen. She could feel it, but she didn't think it would enter the forest. But it did.
It was finally here.