-THE GAMES OF THE GODS-
-Disclaimer:-
Not mine! Nothing but the characters of Rachel and Kari are mine! I don't even really have control of the characters that I've borrowed, either...they seem to go off in directions all their own...
-2: Discovery-
Glorfindel walked quickly through the forest, intent on his destination. He really didn't know what that destination was, but he had had the strongest urge to walk This Way when he'd taken a break from archery practice, and he'd learned over his many years that if you got a strong feeling to Do Something you should do it. It was usually advantageous to you, or at least was better then ignoring the feeling altogether, since such strong feelings to Do A Certain Thing seemed to be prompted by the Valar, and it was not wise to upset them.
So there Glorfindel was, walking This Way, having no clue where he was going and how long it would take to get there. He was slightly worried, since a party from Lothlorien had recently arrived in Rivendell, and he was expected to be sitting at the main table next to Elrond that night for supper. But it was only just past noon, so he had plenty of time before he needed to actually start worrying about going back.
And fortunately for him, the Valar were in a relatively kind, if mischievous, mood that afternoon, so his destination was only a short ways away. It proved to be nothing more then a stream running through the wilderness, and the only reason Glorfindel knew it was the place was that the urge to walk This Way suddenly stopped. So he stopped and looked around, wondering what on Arda the Valar could want him out here for.
The answer came a few moments later, when two figures suddenly came hurtling out of the water towards him. Startled, he quickly stepped out of the way, drawing his sword in case of an attack, but the figures simply crashed to the ground where he had been standing and lay still. He watched the figures on the grass for a few moments, then cautiously sheathed his sword and went over to the figures. They were small figures, smaller then Glorfindel, at least, and extremely waterlogged. The dresses they were wearing revealed them as female, and when Glorfindel cautiously lifted some of the waterlogged hair of one of them, he found a delicately pointed ear. So they were two water-logged female elves. That had just shot out of the water at him while unconscious.
Glorfindel sighed, wondering why to Valar loved to make his life so interesting, then set about carefully rolling the two elves over, hoping to find out something more about them from their faces. The first elf rolled over without so much as a twitch, and a quick scan of her face revealed that she was a typical Lorien elf. Curious, Glorfindel wondered if these two could have been part of the party from Lothlorien that had gotten lost, and he quickly went to turn the other elf over. As he did so, however, the elf groaned and opened her eyes. Upon seeing him above her, peering down curiously, she promptly yelped and attempted to use her hands to scurry away from him.
"I'm not going to hurt you." Glorfindel said with amusement. The elf seemed not to have heard, however, and instead just stared at him with what looked like immense shock on her face. After a few moments of silence, Glorfindel tried again. "I am Glorfindel. What is your name?" There was a pause, and then the elf seemed to shake herself out of her shock and answered.
"Kari." she replied. Glorfindel arched his eyebrow again at the unusual name, which he'd never heard before, but decided not to say anything.
"What about your companion?" he asked, nodding towards the unconscious form of the other elf. The elf named Kari glanced down at her companion, and seemed to visibly start. After a long pause, Kari carefully tucked her hair behind her ears, took a deep breath, and answered.
"Rachel." she said, and Glorfindel shook his head slightly as he heard then name - he'd never heard it before, either, though it sounded vaguely like a name of one of the race of Men, not an elf.
"Where are we?" Kari's tentative question brought Glorfindel back to the problem at hand.
"Not far from Rivendell." he said, and he could see Kari's eyes widen slightly in shock. "Where are you from?"
"Uh...Hollin." the elf said after a pause.
"Really?" Glorfindel asked with interest. "I had heard all the elves from Eregion had gone into the west long ago."
"Well, we - Rachel and I - have been traveling for quite awhile." Kari answered. Only a slight hesitation in her voice let Glorfindel know that she wasn't telling the truth - or at least not the entire truth - but he decided not to push the topic further until later.
"Do you remember what happened before you woke up?" Glorfindel asked. Kari bit her lip, looking down at her friend, then looked back at Glorfindel and shook her head slowly.
"The last thing I remember was riding along the edges of Fangorn." she said.
"That is a long ways from here." Glorfindel said with surprise.
"I know. Which was why when you said we were near Rivendell I was so surprised." Kari replied.
"Hm." Glorfindel said, looking thoughtfully at the two elves. His mind was swirling with questions, but after glancing up at the sky, he decided questions could wait until later. He needed to start moving now if he was to get back to Rivendell in time for supper - though he had a feeling that if the two elf-maidens came with him back to Rivendell, supper would be delayed somewhat. There was nothing for that, however - he would not leave them out here in the wilderness, even if they wanted to. The Last Alliance might have destroyed most of Sauron's forces and destroyed his fortress, but his spirit was still alive, and not all of the evil in the land was due to him.
"Come, we should go to Rivendell. Your friend may be hurt, and it is not safe even this close to Rivendell." Glorfindel said, standing. Kari carefully stood up, and for the first time appeared to realize she was soaking wet.
"Where did you find us?" she asked, making a face.
"In the river." Glorfindel answered as he went over to the elf named Rachel and lifted her up. He would keep the fact that they'd come shooting out of the river at him for a later date, when perhaps it might be of some importance. Now, it made little difference. "Come, it's a good walk back to Rivendell." he said, and set off the way he had come, the water from the elf Rachel's clothing already soaking into his own clothing. Kari followed him quickly, leaving a trail of wet footsteps.
So it was that Elrohir and Elladan, just come looking for the elf-lord, found Glorfindel an hour later as he walked towards Rivendell - carrying an unconscious, damp elf-maiden, and followed by another damp elf-maiden.
"Been having an adventure without us, Glorfindel?" Elladan asked with amusement.
"These two are the ones that had an adventure, Elladan; I simply came across them afterwards." Glorfindel replied.
"And who would these two lovely maidens be?" Elrohir asked with curiosity, smiling at Kari and causing her to blush.
"The one I'm carrying I am told is named Rachel, and this other one is Kari. They say they came from Eregion, before it was laid to waste, and have been traveling since then." Glorfindel replied. "But now is not the time to explain further. Lady Rachel has been unconscious for an hour, at the very least. There is no visible hurt on her, but I still fear an injury."
"Well, let us bring her to father, then." Elrohir said. "I shall go tell him we found you and you are bringing injured company." With that, the young elf dashed off through the trees. Glorfindel shook his head and smiled slightly at the young elf's energy, then started walking again, with Elladan falling in beside him, shooting curious glances at Kari as they went.
They reached Rivendell quick enough, and found Elrond waiting for them, a mixture of curiosity and concern on his face. He quickly appraised the two elf maidens, both unconscious and conscious, and then motioned for Glorfindel to follow him as he led the way through the corridors to one of the sick rooms in Rivendell. It was more of an injured room then a sick room, since Elves never became sick, but it was called a sick room for the sake of familiarity.
The room was medium-sized, with a large bed at its center, taking up most of the room. There was a small wardrobe for the occupant's belongings, two or three chairs, and a small table with a pot of flowers on it, but no other furniture. There were many windows in the room, since three of the room's walls were outside walls. Other then that, there was the door they had entered by, and a small balcony on the eastern side of the room.
All this Glorfindel barely noticed, having been in the room before - both to use it and to visit others using it - but as he set the Elf Rachel down, he saw Kari looking around with awe. He frowned slightly - he'd visited Eregion once, before its inhabitants had left for the west, and in his opinion, it had been more awe-inspiring then Rivendell. But perhaps Kari had become unused to seeing Elvish dwellings, and was just reacting with awe to being among her kindred again after so long traveling.
As Glorfindel thought, Elrond had been carefully examining Rachel, and now straightened and spoke quickly to Elrohir. The young elf bowed to his father, then slipped quickly out of the room. This seemed to bring Kari's attention back to her friend, and she now turned to Elrond with a worried and anxious face.
"Well?" she asked when it became apparent that Elrond was not going to supply any information on his own.
"She is physically fine, but her mind seems to be suffering from some sort of trauma." Elrond said slowly, turning to Kari with a solemn expression. "As soon as Elrohir has returned with some herbs, and I have administered them, I would very much like to hear the tale of how your companion came to be so injured." Kari took a deep breath, then nodded, and silence fell over the room for a few moments, when Elrohir returned, his arms full of herbs, along with an empty bowl and a measuring scoop.
"You needn't have brought me the entire containers." Elrond said, amused, as he glanced at what his son was carrying.
"Well you didn't tell me how much of each you wanted." Elrohir said practically, setting his burden down on top of the small table. Elrond just shook his head, smiling slightly, and started opening various containers, measuring out amounts of their contents into the empty bowl. The last jar he opened was full of water, and this he just about emptied into the bowl with the mixture of herbs. Almost immediately, a wholesome, refreshing scent, like the air just after a rainstorm, filled the room, and all the elves breathed deeply.
"Ah, athelas..." Elrohir said quietly, and Elrond smiled as he carried his mixture over to the unconscious elf on the bed. Carefully lifting Rachel's head, he poured the liquid into her mouth slowly, letting her reflexes swallow for her even though she was asleep. When it was gone, he set the bowl back on the table, then turned to the waiting elves.
"Now, Elrohir, you can take that all back to the storeroom. Elladan, you stay here and watch for if she wakes up. Glorfindel and Kari, come to my study. We have much to discuss." Elrond said. Everyone nodded in response, and Elrond left the room with Glorfindel and Kari following, while Elladan helped load the containers of herbs back into his twin's arms before sitting down next to Rachel's bed.
----To be Continued----
(Still sounds corny...)
-Authors Note:-
Well, there you have it, the first two chapters of my new FanFiction. I wasn't sure about posting this, but, meh, I have several chapters written already, and this idea has been kicking around my brain since the middle of 'No Eyes Needed'. (I wrote the first few chapters of this while in the middle of NEN, actually.) So here it be. I have no idea how quickly I'll be able to update, what with school starting and such, but rest assured, it will be as quickly as possible.
~Crimson Starlight
-Disclaimer:-
Not mine! Nothing but the characters of Rachel and Kari are mine! I don't even really have control of the characters that I've borrowed, either...they seem to go off in directions all their own...
-2: Discovery-
Glorfindel walked quickly through the forest, intent on his destination. He really didn't know what that destination was, but he had had the strongest urge to walk This Way when he'd taken a break from archery practice, and he'd learned over his many years that if you got a strong feeling to Do Something you should do it. It was usually advantageous to you, or at least was better then ignoring the feeling altogether, since such strong feelings to Do A Certain Thing seemed to be prompted by the Valar, and it was not wise to upset them.
So there Glorfindel was, walking This Way, having no clue where he was going and how long it would take to get there. He was slightly worried, since a party from Lothlorien had recently arrived in Rivendell, and he was expected to be sitting at the main table next to Elrond that night for supper. But it was only just past noon, so he had plenty of time before he needed to actually start worrying about going back.
And fortunately for him, the Valar were in a relatively kind, if mischievous, mood that afternoon, so his destination was only a short ways away. It proved to be nothing more then a stream running through the wilderness, and the only reason Glorfindel knew it was the place was that the urge to walk This Way suddenly stopped. So he stopped and looked around, wondering what on Arda the Valar could want him out here for.
The answer came a few moments later, when two figures suddenly came hurtling out of the water towards him. Startled, he quickly stepped out of the way, drawing his sword in case of an attack, but the figures simply crashed to the ground where he had been standing and lay still. He watched the figures on the grass for a few moments, then cautiously sheathed his sword and went over to the figures. They were small figures, smaller then Glorfindel, at least, and extremely waterlogged. The dresses they were wearing revealed them as female, and when Glorfindel cautiously lifted some of the waterlogged hair of one of them, he found a delicately pointed ear. So they were two water-logged female elves. That had just shot out of the water at him while unconscious.
Glorfindel sighed, wondering why to Valar loved to make his life so interesting, then set about carefully rolling the two elves over, hoping to find out something more about them from their faces. The first elf rolled over without so much as a twitch, and a quick scan of her face revealed that she was a typical Lorien elf. Curious, Glorfindel wondered if these two could have been part of the party from Lothlorien that had gotten lost, and he quickly went to turn the other elf over. As he did so, however, the elf groaned and opened her eyes. Upon seeing him above her, peering down curiously, she promptly yelped and attempted to use her hands to scurry away from him.
"I'm not going to hurt you." Glorfindel said with amusement. The elf seemed not to have heard, however, and instead just stared at him with what looked like immense shock on her face. After a few moments of silence, Glorfindel tried again. "I am Glorfindel. What is your name?" There was a pause, and then the elf seemed to shake herself out of her shock and answered.
"Kari." she replied. Glorfindel arched his eyebrow again at the unusual name, which he'd never heard before, but decided not to say anything.
"What about your companion?" he asked, nodding towards the unconscious form of the other elf. The elf named Kari glanced down at her companion, and seemed to visibly start. After a long pause, Kari carefully tucked her hair behind her ears, took a deep breath, and answered.
"Rachel." she said, and Glorfindel shook his head slightly as he heard then name - he'd never heard it before, either, though it sounded vaguely like a name of one of the race of Men, not an elf.
"Where are we?" Kari's tentative question brought Glorfindel back to the problem at hand.
"Not far from Rivendell." he said, and he could see Kari's eyes widen slightly in shock. "Where are you from?"
"Uh...Hollin." the elf said after a pause.
"Really?" Glorfindel asked with interest. "I had heard all the elves from Eregion had gone into the west long ago."
"Well, we - Rachel and I - have been traveling for quite awhile." Kari answered. Only a slight hesitation in her voice let Glorfindel know that she wasn't telling the truth - or at least not the entire truth - but he decided not to push the topic further until later.
"Do you remember what happened before you woke up?" Glorfindel asked. Kari bit her lip, looking down at her friend, then looked back at Glorfindel and shook her head slowly.
"The last thing I remember was riding along the edges of Fangorn." she said.
"That is a long ways from here." Glorfindel said with surprise.
"I know. Which was why when you said we were near Rivendell I was so surprised." Kari replied.
"Hm." Glorfindel said, looking thoughtfully at the two elves. His mind was swirling with questions, but after glancing up at the sky, he decided questions could wait until later. He needed to start moving now if he was to get back to Rivendell in time for supper - though he had a feeling that if the two elf-maidens came with him back to Rivendell, supper would be delayed somewhat. There was nothing for that, however - he would not leave them out here in the wilderness, even if they wanted to. The Last Alliance might have destroyed most of Sauron's forces and destroyed his fortress, but his spirit was still alive, and not all of the evil in the land was due to him.
"Come, we should go to Rivendell. Your friend may be hurt, and it is not safe even this close to Rivendell." Glorfindel said, standing. Kari carefully stood up, and for the first time appeared to realize she was soaking wet.
"Where did you find us?" she asked, making a face.
"In the river." Glorfindel answered as he went over to the elf named Rachel and lifted her up. He would keep the fact that they'd come shooting out of the river at him for a later date, when perhaps it might be of some importance. Now, it made little difference. "Come, it's a good walk back to Rivendell." he said, and set off the way he had come, the water from the elf Rachel's clothing already soaking into his own clothing. Kari followed him quickly, leaving a trail of wet footsteps.
So it was that Elrohir and Elladan, just come looking for the elf-lord, found Glorfindel an hour later as he walked towards Rivendell - carrying an unconscious, damp elf-maiden, and followed by another damp elf-maiden.
"Been having an adventure without us, Glorfindel?" Elladan asked with amusement.
"These two are the ones that had an adventure, Elladan; I simply came across them afterwards." Glorfindel replied.
"And who would these two lovely maidens be?" Elrohir asked with curiosity, smiling at Kari and causing her to blush.
"The one I'm carrying I am told is named Rachel, and this other one is Kari. They say they came from Eregion, before it was laid to waste, and have been traveling since then." Glorfindel replied. "But now is not the time to explain further. Lady Rachel has been unconscious for an hour, at the very least. There is no visible hurt on her, but I still fear an injury."
"Well, let us bring her to father, then." Elrohir said. "I shall go tell him we found you and you are bringing injured company." With that, the young elf dashed off through the trees. Glorfindel shook his head and smiled slightly at the young elf's energy, then started walking again, with Elladan falling in beside him, shooting curious glances at Kari as they went.
They reached Rivendell quick enough, and found Elrond waiting for them, a mixture of curiosity and concern on his face. He quickly appraised the two elf maidens, both unconscious and conscious, and then motioned for Glorfindel to follow him as he led the way through the corridors to one of the sick rooms in Rivendell. It was more of an injured room then a sick room, since Elves never became sick, but it was called a sick room for the sake of familiarity.
The room was medium-sized, with a large bed at its center, taking up most of the room. There was a small wardrobe for the occupant's belongings, two or three chairs, and a small table with a pot of flowers on it, but no other furniture. There were many windows in the room, since three of the room's walls were outside walls. Other then that, there was the door they had entered by, and a small balcony on the eastern side of the room.
All this Glorfindel barely noticed, having been in the room before - both to use it and to visit others using it - but as he set the Elf Rachel down, he saw Kari looking around with awe. He frowned slightly - he'd visited Eregion once, before its inhabitants had left for the west, and in his opinion, it had been more awe-inspiring then Rivendell. But perhaps Kari had become unused to seeing Elvish dwellings, and was just reacting with awe to being among her kindred again after so long traveling.
As Glorfindel thought, Elrond had been carefully examining Rachel, and now straightened and spoke quickly to Elrohir. The young elf bowed to his father, then slipped quickly out of the room. This seemed to bring Kari's attention back to her friend, and she now turned to Elrond with a worried and anxious face.
"Well?" she asked when it became apparent that Elrond was not going to supply any information on his own.
"She is physically fine, but her mind seems to be suffering from some sort of trauma." Elrond said slowly, turning to Kari with a solemn expression. "As soon as Elrohir has returned with some herbs, and I have administered them, I would very much like to hear the tale of how your companion came to be so injured." Kari took a deep breath, then nodded, and silence fell over the room for a few moments, when Elrohir returned, his arms full of herbs, along with an empty bowl and a measuring scoop.
"You needn't have brought me the entire containers." Elrond said, amused, as he glanced at what his son was carrying.
"Well you didn't tell me how much of each you wanted." Elrohir said practically, setting his burden down on top of the small table. Elrond just shook his head, smiling slightly, and started opening various containers, measuring out amounts of their contents into the empty bowl. The last jar he opened was full of water, and this he just about emptied into the bowl with the mixture of herbs. Almost immediately, a wholesome, refreshing scent, like the air just after a rainstorm, filled the room, and all the elves breathed deeply.
"Ah, athelas..." Elrohir said quietly, and Elrond smiled as he carried his mixture over to the unconscious elf on the bed. Carefully lifting Rachel's head, he poured the liquid into her mouth slowly, letting her reflexes swallow for her even though she was asleep. When it was gone, he set the bowl back on the table, then turned to the waiting elves.
"Now, Elrohir, you can take that all back to the storeroom. Elladan, you stay here and watch for if she wakes up. Glorfindel and Kari, come to my study. We have much to discuss." Elrond said. Everyone nodded in response, and Elrond left the room with Glorfindel and Kari following, while Elladan helped load the containers of herbs back into his twin's arms before sitting down next to Rachel's bed.
----To be Continued----
(Still sounds corny...)
-Authors Note:-
Well, there you have it, the first two chapters of my new FanFiction. I wasn't sure about posting this, but, meh, I have several chapters written already, and this idea has been kicking around my brain since the middle of 'No Eyes Needed'. (I wrote the first few chapters of this while in the middle of NEN, actually.) So here it be. I have no idea how quickly I'll be able to update, what with school starting and such, but rest assured, it will be as quickly as possible.
~Crimson Starlight